SHOT Show Highlights
Take-Aways — We Wish? — From Lost Vegas
Four frantic days, 1,600-odd exhibitors, seven miles of aisles and 60,000 people all trying to see and be seen — welcome to the SHOT Show in Las Vegas. It’s a must-do — and also a “Good god man, this is overwhelming”-do. But we survived, again, and came home with our brains frazzled, yet dancing with loads of cool stuff we saw. Some of it will be gracing our pages and digital domains in features, videos and online hits. But not everything, so in no particular order herewith are some of the underlines helping to leave us dazed and mumbling … “Really, really want that!”
Remember those little milk cartons when you were a kid? Me too. But now they can come filled with either 125 rounds of CCI Maxi-Mag .22 Magnum or .17 HMR ammo. And, remember how you’d open one end to stick a straw in (sorry California, not any longer for you), or just so you could gulp down the milk? Well now, since these are called “Pour Packs” you can pour a handful of your favorite load right into your hand for easy loading. Then stuff the carton back into your pocket. I love this idea! Also comes in a 200-round .22 LR “Clean Suppressor” carton, made to run clean in your .22 suppressor.
KelTec’s very cool new .22 LR semi-auto plinker called the P17 is light — 14 oz. — has an adjustable rear sight, holds 16+1 and is barely longer than a dollar bill. It’s also got a barrel threaded for a suppressor and is made of polymer and metal bits. This reminds me a lot of the old Sheridan “Knocabout” single shot plinker and trail pistol from the 1950s, but this one is semi-auto and you can get it now! It comes with three mags, a really good trigger pull and the MSRP is only $199! Can you say, “Sell a zillion of ’em?”
The CZ75 platform is growing in popularity again and some custom makers — like Guncrafter Industries — are doing amazing work with them. Mec-Gar’s new 19-round CZ75B 9mm magazine adds to the options by incorporating a clever Drop Protection Systems (DPS) floorplate. The design incorporates technology from the building industry to reduce and redistribute shock when the mag is dropped on a hard surface. Great for competition and training. MSRP: $47.45.
There’s so much going on at Nighthawk Custom and their Korth line of revolvers we couldn’t decide on just one. So while the Super Sport ULX (.357 and 9mm) shown is eye-catching, you really do need to check out their website to see the many models available for this amazing, high-end revolver. Now including the new .44 Magnum Korth! Stay tuned for a review of the latter. Our Korth Kups runneth over!
Lightweight and compact, the Streamlight TLR-7 A light features customized ergonomic on/off rear switches with a High (left in picture) or Low position to match a shooter’s style. It delivers 5,000 candela and 500 lumens with a runtime of 1.5 hours. A rail clamp allows you to clip it on and off easily from the side of a variety of compact and full-frame guns. It’s handy and lightweight at only 2.4 oz. You need a light on your home defense gun if you don’t have one! MSRP: About $150.
SIG SAUER’s ROMEO1PRO is a miniature open reflex red dot sight, with either a 3 MOA or 6 MOA dot. It has 12 brightness settings and SIG’s “TruHold” Lockless Zeroing System is designed to hold up to recoil and return to zero shot after shot. The lenses are a molded glass “aspheric” type, with all sorts of high performance coatings on them to boot. It has a 20,000-hour battery life and an IPX-7 waterproof rating. This thing is tough enough to go to war! MSRP: $519.99 in black.
Ed Brown’s “Fueled Series” starts with a S&W M&P 2.0. Then it’s broken down to the base and rebuilt. Brown adds a custom accuracy rail, custom slide, custom barrel, custom extractor, custom sights, custom trigger, custom magwell, custom baseplates for the mags, custom machined pins and even a custom backplate. That’s a lot of customs! There are several models and the MP-F2 is shown. MSRP: $1,995 to $2,544.
XS Sights’ new “RAM” Night Sights (Radio Active Material) are 3-Dot tritium, with a classic notch and post sight picture. Available in orange or green for the front dot, the blacked-out rear and less powerful tritium in the rear dots, help the front to really jump out in the dark. Also, the front has the XS “Ember Glow Dot Technology.” The tritium “charges” the ember material and the combined glow really enhances the front sight appearance. The sights are CNC’d steel and can be installed by hand or using a sight pusher. They’re available for GLOCKs, SIGs, S&Ws, XD series pistols and the FN 509. MSRP: $100 to $120.
I’m a big fan of putting rifle scopes on hunting handguns like TC Encores and Contenders. A rifle scope with enough eye-relief gives you more options than most dedicated handgun scopes. This new model from Skinner Sights is their first scope. Made to exacting standards, it’s a 1x to 6x with a 30mm tube. It also has an adjustable brightness 2 MOA dot in the crosshairs, comes with steel QD rings and a basic mount for Marlin and Henry rifles. My sample has bright optics and great build quality for the price. MSRP: $249.
