I love April Fools Day because I work in the gun industry. I don’t know why, but the gun industry really embraces April Fools Day wholeheartedly. Sometimes, the jokes become permanent parts of firearms culture. For example, the Magpul Waffle maker still gets brought up. I honestly can’t believe they haven’t had one made. In the gun industry, April Fool’s jokes are typically release announcements that will make you take a second look. I picked a few of my favorites to share with you, just in case you missed them.
The Trijicon MGRS Hand Gun Announcement
The Trijicon MGRS isn’t an optic that a ton of people know about because most people don’t have access to heavy machine guns. MGRS stands for Machine Gun Reflex Sight, and it’s an optic aimed at guns like the M2 .50 caliber heavy machine gun. As such, it’s a big beastly thing. Trijicon went ahead and announced a method to mount your MGRS on your favorite handgun. They touted the following benefits of the MGRS on a handgun:
- Large Window
- Included 3X magnifier
- Less Recoil
- Picatinny Rail for Lasers
- No Printing
T.REX Sidecar SD Attachment
Most April Fools Jokes are just jokes. There is no intention to ever release them. However, I’m pretty sure T.REX Arms not only released the Sidecar SD Attachment as a joke but is willing to sell it. The Sidecar SD attachment mounts to your T.REX Arms holster and allows you to carry a suppressor covertly. Is it necessary? No, but do I want it? Yeah, kind of.
S&W Model 500-J
Is the .357 Magnum not enough for you? Is the .44 Magnum a sissy option for concealed carry? Clearly, you need a S&W 500 Magnum, but concealing one of them is a pain…until now! S&W announced the four-shot 500-J. That’s right, a J-Frame S&W 500 Magnum. It will surely pop your wrist into a couple of pieces, but man, you got that real stopping power!
VZ Grips Brings Us Optics-Ready Daggers
VZ grips make grips for guns, but they also dove into the dagger game. This April Fools, they are bringing us the world’s first optics-ready dagger. These daggers are available exclusively at VZGrips.com and allow you to easily mount the red dot of your choice to better aim your tactical dagger in the direction of your enemy.
Springfield Armory M2A
Springfield Armory has kept the boomer generation supplied with their precious M1A rifles but has now announced the revolutionary M2A. The M2A is kind of like Spinal Tap’s 11. It just goes one more than normal. With the M2A, this means it was two barrels that feed from one 40-round magazine. The M2A promises to give you two rounds of .308 per trigger pull to make double taps a single trigger pull. Recoil be darned!
Beretta Goes Retro
The most believable April Fools joke has to be Beretta announcing their latest accessory, the Beretta Retro Fanny Pack. This denim fanny pack offers you the latest and greatest way to carry a gun from 1982. This stylish accessory makes carrying your favorite Beretta a breeze. It’s perfect for being low-key casual and fancy. I would definitely buy one of these to pack my Tomcat in.
Barrett Brings Us Pa Deuce
The famed Ma Deuce, or M2 Machine gun, has served its country since the 1920s. Finally, Barrett has introduced us to Pa Deuce. Pa Deuce is a Barrett rifle fit with a set of spade grips. According to the one-pager we saw released by Barrett on April Fools Day, the gun is fully automatic and has a capacity of 15 rounds. Well, sign me up!
The April Fools Industry
I love April Fools and the gun industry. Ultimately, it’s a day everyone can enjoy. We get a laugh, and the companies get tons of social media engagement. It’s a real win-win. With that said, Magpul, c’mon, make the waffle maker!
