Golden Triggr Awards Presented at Triggrcon 2022

TriggrCon 2022 made its return after being affected by the pandemic, not only returning to adjust to show life post-pandemic but also to a new location, Kansas.  While the move from the pacific northwest may come as a surprise, the previous host state of Washington doesn’t have the best presence of welcoming the firearms industry.  Kansas, located in the center of the country, a new home for recent Rainier Arms expansion and warmly welcomes firearms.  This created a new opportunity for TriggrCon. 

Held at the Flint Oak Hunting Lodge, this location while remote, offered large shooting areas with a variety of shooting ranges from tradition distances as well as 650 yard long ranges.  A variety of firearms, suppressors, accessories and parts were on display.  Along with the ranges, was a vendor area where soft goods, products, parts and new items were also showcased as well.  A tradition at TriggrCon is to review all of these products and select the Golden Triggr Award winners.

TriggrCon has a meaning, while many assume it is merely referring to the part of a firearm, it represents Tactical Research Innovation Guns and Gear Review.  Seeking and rewarding new and innovative products has always been the heart and spirit of the show.  In years past there has been numerous new and exciting products debuted, showcases and awards at the show.  2022 allowed us to continue that tradition.

In the past one outlet was selected to bear the responsibility of selecting the recipients, this year Guns & Tactics was selected to lead this process and we decided to drive a committee of industry media professionals to seek a variety of input, experience and perspective.  This groups from respected outlets such as RECOIL Magazine, UN12, AR15news.com, Small Arms Review, IMAV Studios, Pew Pew Tactical, The Firearms Blog, Mil-Spec Monkey, Breach Bang Clear, and Ava Flannel.  A great group of true professionals passionate about the industry and innovation.  I can say it was an honor to network, brainstorm and interact with this group to select our award winners of 2022.

The time came, the selections were made, and at the VIP party held at the Stearman Airfield with great music, barbecue and the industries best people, the winners were to be named.  One area to highlight is this group not just celebrated the TriggrCon, but raised significant funds for the Resilient Warrior organization.  This non-profit project focuses on providing America’s veterans services and resources to lead healthy and productive lives after their service.  Whether it be assisting with housing, professional skill development, support, or mental health resources, Resilient Warrior aims to help. 

The panel noted this pistol, a 1911 double stack handgun, offered great ergonomics, soft recoil impulse, and accuracy.  The innovation noted was the link-less style barrel in a 1911 type platform.  This allows barrels or slides to have more modularity offering slide changes, caliber changes, giving the user more options with their pistol.  The H-Tac is a new offering for 2022, diverting from their traditional competitive presences, offering a duty or defense style handgun. Phoenix Trinity

Cobalt Kinetics also had a history of strength in the competitive space, however with new leadership came a new focus, rugged, dependable, duty grade rifles.  While the rifles shot well and demonstrated reliability, the panel noted what was going on under the surface.  Cobalt Kinetics used an extended upper receiver that presented a flange that interfaced with the hand guard.  This mating surface offered stability between the upper receiver and rail.  Additionally, a large jam nut with extra surface area secures the barrel versus the traditional barrel nut found in the AR15. Cobalt Kinetics

When these optics hit the market, designed mainly for use on handguns, man¥ people took notices.  The panel appreciated that these small optics offered clear class, crisp dot, long battery life and durability.  But what lead them to the Golden Triggr was the design of a closed emitter style optic, in a small footprint that can be mounted to the slide with top accessible screws.  This leads to a more common mounting footprint for market adoption, secure proven mounting method and a low profile allowing use of traditional sights.  These EPS sights are sure to be very popular in the handgun red dot sight trend that is arguably the hottest trend in the industry now. HOLOSUN

The Rapid Attach Butt-stock Adapter is a device that allows the user to quickly attach or detach a butt-stock assembly from an AR style firearm.  The RABAD was robust, simple to use and offered solid lock up when assembled.  Any style of carrier, buffer, or silent spring system can be used with the included parts, no special adapters or modifications are needed.  The RABAD installed with simple hand tools and allows for reducing the footprint of the firearm for storage or for quickly swapping stocks for shooting style changes. Stern Defense

The panel did remark on the amazing offering of new suppressors debuted at the show.  Hindsight being perfect, we really wished there was a Most Innovative Suppressor Award as there was some great products that would have made selection difficult.  New modular suppressors, a baffle-less PCC suppressor, heavy use and multi-configuration suppressors as well as traditional designs all were showcased.  The panel agreed while we were listed with range conditions to evaluate the suppressors, many of us noted great sound performance, innovation and quality.  It is really exciting to see so many companies embracing this segment and bringing new suppressors to the market.