New Guns and Gear for 2025
Every year, when it’s cold out, even in Las Vegas, the faithful gather at the Sands Convention Center to swap every known virus and a few clearly yet to be discovered. Amongst all that, 2,800 gun, outdoor and accessory companies pitch their booths and fill them with the latest products to show their wares to prospective retail and wholesale buyers and the firearms industry media (that’s us, among others).
This year was no different. I can’t communicate the scale with currently invented vocabulary. I can say there are 13.9 miles of booths (a real number), and if you attempt to walk by each one, using every waking minute of the show’s four days, you’ll only be able to spend 43 seconds at each before running out of time.
Knowing you likely don’t care about our sore backs and forthcoming viral plagues, here’s a quick look at some new things that caught our wandering eyes.
North American Arms
They’re not new, but enjoying a resurgence of popularity, possibly as part of North American Arms’ anniversary. This belt buckle securely holds a .22LR NAA revolver with a 1⅞” barrel. A flip of a lever and it releases for use.
Is it an example of “open discreet carry”? These days, with everyone’s face buried in phones, few would notice it’s a real gun. NorthAmericanArms.com
Korth Bitcoin Revolver
One weird thing about Bitcoins, besides the fact they’re not real, is there will only ever be 21 million of them. How you can have a finite quantity of something that doesn’t exist is a bit of a quandary, but here we are.
In a nod to the skyrocketing value of Bitcoin (somewhere near $100,000 each as I write this), the gunsmiths at Nighthawk/Korth have created the Bitcoin revolver. Made with just shy of 2 oz. of real gold, there are only 21 allotted to the U.S. Market and 210 planned worldwide. The cryptic case is also a monument to machining excellence, along with the wooden case that holds that.
I don’t know the price, but as the saying goes, if you have to ask … KorthArms.com
Lyman Gunsmith Screwdriver Sets
The company will offer a couple of different configurations. The one shown here is the larger set and includes a broad assortment of dedicated tools and a universal driver for any standard bits — many included. Stands for both sets are equipped with mounting holes on the back so you can keep your bench clear. LymanProducts.com
Silencers To Your Door?
Yes, the folks at Silencer Central, working with the ATF, have cracked the code of buying a suppressor without requiring a PhD in government forms and process navigation. Using a mobile setup with a camera, fingerprint scanner and computer with their sophisticated software, customers complete a one-time registration and capture of the required information for suppressor paperwork. From that point on, order online, and Silencer Central will automatically process all your paperwork, and your new suppressor will be delivered to your door. Yes, you heard that right. I did the process at SHOT Show and will be completing a purchase when I get home. We’ll report back in a future article. SilencerCentral.com
Watchtower Firearms Apache Handguns
Slick as butter on butter, these double-stack 1911 9mm pistols are made in Texas by real American patriots, many (most?) of whom are Armed Services veterans. They’re absolutely beautiful handguns, machined with care and excellence. The compensator is screwed onto the barrel and recoils partially with the barrel. Interesting touch. We’ll be doing a feature in Handgunner as soon as practicable. WatchtowerFirearms.com
Vantage Point Armory Compensator
Want to add a compensator to your rail-equipped pistol? Check this out. Offered in partnership with the folks at Lyman, this device attaches to the rail to support a compensator forward of the muzzle. If you have a rail-mounted light or laser, there’s a way to attach it to the compensator assembly, too. VPArmory.com
Hornady 3-in-1 Power Case Trimmer
Reloaders celebrate. Hornady’s new machine blends speed and precision with its 2,000rpm quiet-as-a-mouse-motor. The real brilliance is the length adjustment mechanism and case holder. A tiny twist locks a new case into place while an equally tiny turn of the big, fat handle drops a completed one into the finished bucket. It’ll cut trimming time in half compared to traditional power case trimmer designs. Oh, and it trims, chamfers and deburrs all in one step. It’ll support rifle cartridges first but expect handgun case support soon. Hornady.com
CRKT Provoke-X Axe
The demo of this nifty product stopped passers-by cold. When folded into a no-sharp-things-exposed 8.7″ pocket-ready package, a quick flip of the wrist opens it into a fully functional axe complete with a spike opposite the blade. A safety button keeps things securely closed until you’re ready to deploy. CRKT.com
