Primary Arms just recently announced their HTX-1 red dot, and it sounds pretty cool. From a technical perspective, it has a lot of good points – a clever adapter plate mounting system, two different reticles, and a fully enclosed emitter. However I think the more interesting (and less appreciated) story here is the work involved in actually producing a product like this completely in the US. So while at SHOT Show 2025, I stopped by the Primary Arms booth to talk to them about it.
Gunsmithing
The REAL Heroes of the M1 Carbine – not “Carbine” Williams
The Hollywood-spawned mythos of the M1 Carbine is that it was created by David Marshall “Carbine” Williams. The reality is far different. In real life, Williams was talented, but short-tempered, stubborn, and unable to work […]
Antiques
Whitney-Beals Walking Beam Pocket Revolver
This revolver, designed by Fordyce Beals (how cool of a name is that?), was developed while Colt’s patent on using the hammer to index the cylinder was still in effect. To avoid that patent, this […]
Combination gun
The Most Ornate Knife-Gun You Will Ever See: CM-1 “Dragon”
Combination knife-gun devices have been popular for hundreds of years, spurred initially by the single-shot nature of early firearms. The designs evolved to incorporate revolver cylinders when the revolver was invented, and remain interesting to […]
Photo bomb attempted at 7:27, thwarted at 7:30.
Kudos to Primary Arms. Hopefully Made-in-America commenters put their money where their mouth is to keep growing this manufacturing base.