Either I’ve stopped thinking ahead or markets are finally catching up: I’ve found existing or possibly imminent sources for most of the innovative products on my wish list:
High speed video is creeping into the mainstream: The just-under-$1000 Sony RX100MV can record a few seconds of HD (sort of) resolution at up to 1000fps.
Usable thermal imaging is widely available under $1000, and digital “night vision” is getting close to supplanting perpetually too-pricey image intensifiers. I found enough businesses working in this space that I’ve decided to wait to see what comes to market, rather than pushing for the particular integrated consumer product I have in mind.
In the consumer gun industry:
I haven’t written about them, but Flat Line bullets have brought revolutionary monolithic projectiles for long-range shooting to the masses.
Two years ago I asked for a three-mode trigger. I still haven’t seen what I specified, but the Echo trigger is a clever variant I hope to try soon.
Mantis has promised a second generation of their IMU that mounts to gun rails and interfaces with smartphones, allowing us for the first time to conveniently quantify and analyze recoil effects on firearms.
Bullpups continue to storm the mainstream. If you don’t like any of the increasing number of native bullpup autoloaders (AUG, Tavor, RDB, RFB, PS90 etc.) you can find conversion stocks for many popular platforms like the M1A, Ruger 10/22, Saiga, et. al. The KSG pump-action shotgun can actually be found at retail. From Europe we have clever single- and double-shot bullpups that should eventually be available at reasonable prices in America.
I don’t know that it’s in development, but at least someone thought it was worth patenting a new sealed-gap revolver.
Inexplicably, however, I’m still waiting for more heavy subsonic .22LR ammunition!
