by Dave Workman | Senior Editor
When it comes to trade shows, there is nothing quite like the annual Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show, probably the largest firearms industry trade show in the world, and certainly one of the biggest of any kind in North America.
According to the official SHOT Show website, this year’s show will feature more than 1,600 exhibitors, covering 630,000 square feet of booth space. The show is expected to draw more than 62,000 industry professionals from all 50 states and 100 countries.
The four-day SHOT Show provides a venue for companies big and small to strut their stuff, from guns and ammunition to clothing, camping/cooking utensils, optics, knives and all types of accessories. There is also a special section devoted to law enforcement, and the whole thing covers two levels of the Sands Convention Center and part of the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.
Winchester 1866 Yellow Boy and 1873 Commemoratives (shown) are chambered for the .44-40 Winchester.
This year will provide a special interest to the media because guns are being pushed into the spotlight by various candidates running for president. Hillary Clinton has made gun control a central plank of her campaign. Everybody who is anybody in the firearms industry will be there including leaders in the gun rights movement, top names in manufacturing and marketing, along with every active firearms journalist.
The show is open only to the industry. It is not a public event. Industry professionals from some 100 countries all over the world attend this gathering.
What they will be seeing in Las Vegas will soon be appearing in gun stores, sporting goods outlets, catalogs and on television.
But here’s a little prelude to what can be expected over the next several months.
Browning’s Citori 725 Grade VII shotguns will be available in 20- and 28-gauge and .410 bore.
For openers, Winchester is celebrating the 150th anniversary of their legendary brand name with the introduction of commemorative versions of several famous models. Included in the lineup are the Model 1866 Yellow Boy lever-action and the Model 1873 lever gun, both chambered for the .44-40 Winchester cartridge. Both rifles are fitted with custom Grade V/VI walnut straight grip stocks and deeply blued 24-inch octagonal barrels.
Then comes the Model 1894 lever-action, chambered in .30-30 Winchester. It’s got a 24-inch octagon barrel, adjustable semi-buckhorn rear sight, Marble Arms gold bead front sight, and a handsome checkered stock.
A special Model 70 bolt-action, with Pre-64 style controlled round feeding and claw extraction, has a high grade V/VI American black walnut stock with cut checkering, deluxe shadowline cheekpiece and black forend tip, a 24-inch barrel, chambered in .270 Winchester.
On the shotgun side, Winchester’s SX3 Ultimate Sporting Adjustable and SX3 composite Sporting Carbon Fiber models are being introduced. The SX3 Composite Sporting Carbon Fiber model has a synthetic stock, Signature Red Briley bolt handle, and the barrel length choices of 28, 30 and 32 inches.
The SX3 Ultimate Sporting Adjustable wears a Grade II/III walnut stock with satin oil finish, adjustable comb and cut checkering. The ported Perma-Cote gray has a vent rib with Tru-Glo fiber optic front sight and white mid-bead. Barrel lengths are the same as the SX3 and it is chambered for 12-gauge 2¾-inch shells.
EMF’s Kronos semi-auto in .30-06
Winchester’s SXP Long Beard 12-gauge pump has a 24-inch barrel with an Invector-Plus extra-full Long Beard turkey choke and Tru-Glo fiber optic sight. Chambered for 3-inch magnums, it is finished with Mossy Oak Break-Up Country camo.
The SXP Extreme Deer Hunter 12-gauge pump has a synthetic pistol grip stock finished with Mossy Oak Break-Up Country camo. It has a 22-inch rifled barrel with a Tru-Glo fiber optic front sight and adjustable rear sight.
Savage has some new rifles and a couple of new shotguns. For big game hunters, the Lightweight Hunter has a 20-inch stainless steel barrel, black composite stock and adjustable AccuTrigger. It is chambered in five popular calibers including .223 Remington, .243 Winchester, 7mm-08 Remington, .308 Winchester and .270 Winchester.
The company also has a series of .17 Winchester Super Magnum rifles, including the B.Mag with a target beavertail, heavy barrel, and a sporter model. B.Mag rifles feature an adjustable AccuTrigger, eight-round center-feed rotary magazine and thread-in barrel headspacing.
On the shotgun front, the Model 42 takedown is a combo shotgun and rifle chambered for .410 shotshells and .22 long rifle or .22 Magnum. It has a synthetic stock and forearm, matte black finish on the barrel and action and adjustable rifle sights.
There’s also a new Stevens 12-gauge autoloader with a 3-inch chamber, inertia recoil system and rotating bolt, that uses the interchangeable Beretta Mobile Choke System. It is available with either a 26-inch or 28-inch vent rib barrel. There are five versions including a couple with camo finishes.
On a side note, Boyds announced late in 2015 that it was introducing Savage A17 replacement gun stocks in several designs including Classic, Featherweight Thumbhole, Heritage, Platinum, Prairie Hunter, Pro Varmint, and the Varmint Thumbhole. The Savage A17 is the first semi-automatic rimfire specifically designed for the sizzling .17 HMR cartridge.
Shotgunners ought to warm up to Browning’s new offerings of limited production Citori 725 Grade VII shotguns in 20- and 28-gauge and .410 bore. They are hand-engraved on the receivers and fitted with Grade VI/VII walnut close-radius pistol grip and palm swell stocks. They come with a John M. Browning Signature fitted case, and they are available with barrel lengths of 28, 30 or 32 inches. Each comes with five choke tubes.
Browning will also have a 16-gauge Model A5. This “sweet 16” has a lightweight aluminum receiver with black anodized bi-tone finish while the stock and forearm are gloss finished walnut with 18 LPI checkering.
New Citori Model 725 Sporting and Field O/U models include .410 models with 30- or 32-inch vent rib barrels, Grade III/IV walnut stocks and forearms with a gloss finish.
In the rifle arena, Browning will have an X-Bolt Hell’s Canyon Speed bolt action with a composite stock finished with A-TACS camo and Cerakote Burnt Bronze on the barrel and action. Calibers range from .243 Winchester to .300 Winchester Magnum, with barrel lengths of 22 inches for standard calibers, 23 inches for .270 WSM and .300 WSM, and 26 inches for rifles in 26 Nosler, 7mm Remington Magnum and .300 Win. Mag.
They feature an adjustable Feather Trigger, detachable rotary magazine bolt unlock and X-Lock scope mounting system.
The X-Bolt Long Range Hunter is chambered for 6.5 Creedmore, .270 WSM, .300 WSM, 26 Nosler, 7mm Rem. Magnum and .300 Win. Magnum.
Mossberg was keeping a tight lid on its introductions for a SHOT Show official debut. There will be an MVP Scout in .308 Winchester and a couple of semi-autos in 5.56mm. The Scout model has a threaded barrel and black synthetic stock.
Also look for some new semi-autos chambered for either 3- or 3½-inch 12-gauge magnums. There are versions with either synthetic camo stocks or walnut.
You’ll soon see some white-stocked Steyr semi-auto rifles, thanks to what turned out to be a “gross underestimation” of the demand for white AUGs. That revelation came in late October. The White AUG A3 M1 will be available in a Short-Rail version, a High-Rail version as well as an Optics version with either a 1.5X or 3X integrated scope. It features a quick-change barrel with a collapsible forward grip. The rifle also includes one translucent polymer AUG 30-round magazine, a cleaning kit that stores in the rifle’s buttstock and an owner’s manual.
EMF has a new Italian-made Kronos gas-operated semi-automatic in .30-06. It has a 20-inch barrel made from 4140 steel, varnished walnut stock with checkering on the grip, and magazines that comply with various state regulations.
There’s a new Cavalry Turkey Fowl shotgun from American Tactical Imports. It’s an over-and-under model with 21-inch high vent rib barrels and 9-inch extensions, and a walnut stock.
Joining the Turkey model is the Cavalry Sport, 12-gauge 3-inch magnum, with a wood stock, high rib with double bead and 30-inch barrels.
Strategic Armory Corps has announced a new Armalite model, the M-15 light tactical carbine (LTC), chambered in either 5.56x45mm or 7.62×39 mm. This semi-auto has a 16-inch Cerakoted stainless steel barrel cut with a 1:7-inch rifling twist with a ½-28 thread.
