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My first stop was the Cooper Arms (and now Wilson Arms) booth. Their new offering for 2010 is the short-action repeater action, specifically the Model 54. In terms of rifles on display, I saw them chamber in .308, .243, .22-250, and .250 Savage. The M54 will also be available in 7mm-08 and .260 Remington. One of the M54s on display was a fully-engraved Western Classic (in the hard case shown in the first photo), along with an Excalibur, an MTV with a laminated stock, and a Classic (all three are shown in the third photo, from left to right in the vertical display). I was told that the Phoenix configuration, which is a synthetic version of the MTV (Montana Varminter), will be available for ordering later this year. Another thing I noticed is a new-style bolt release, which is at the left-rear of the receiver, used to remove the bolt. My plan is to order an M54 Phoenix in .260 Remington with a 26-inch barrel.
Note that Hugo Vivero, the owner of Cooper Arms and Wilson Arms, is shown in the third photo. He is the second person from the right. Also shown in the photo, to the left of Mr. Vivero, is Mike Hudgins, who has been with Cooper Arms for 16+ years, and has been handling Customer Service diagnostics and repair for the past 6+ years.
Below are three more photos of the M54 MTV with laminated stock. Note the new-style bolt release in the second photo.
Here is a photo of the M54 Excalibur, showing the magazine and spiral-fluted bolt:
Here is a photo of an M52 Classic in 6.5 x 284, showing the protruding magazine that was necessary to accommodate this cartridge:
Lastly, and still related to Cooper Arms, a friend of mine named Paul Garin designed five new cartridges that are based on .30 Carbine, called .17 Garin, .20 Garin, .22 Garin, 6mm Garin, and .25 Garin. He has Cooper Arms rifles that are chambered in these cartridges. He gave to me a small display, shown below:
