By Dave Workman | Senior Editor
The annual Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show is the world’s largest exhibition of firearms, ammunition and accessories that unfolds every January in Las Vegas, attracting tens of thousands of industry professionals including manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers.
This is a monstrous show, held on two levels of the Sands Convention Center. It is not open to the general public, but rest assured, the public will be learning of new products throughout the four days of the show, and for weeks and months afterward.
As in years past, TGM is offering a preview of many new products including some that were introduced late in 2016 that will be officially unveiled in Las Vegas.
Naturally, handguns grab a large share of attention, and this year should be no different.
For example, there are several new handguns on the market, including some that will genuinely raise eyebrows and expectations. There is quite a variety in design to meet different consumer needs, and quite a few are being offered with threaded barrels to meeting the growing market for suppressors for hunting and target shooting.
Colt Competition Stainless.
Colt (colt.com) has a brand new version of its popular Competition Pistol, chambered for the venerable .38 Super. This model joins pistols chambered in .45 ACP and 9mm, with the same features including a Dual Spring Recoil System, Novak patent-pending adjustable rear sights and fiber optic front sights, an undercut trigger guard and upswept beavertail grip safety with memory bump.
Colt also fits this pistol with a National Match barrel, and the handgun wears a handsome blue finish, and blue/black laminated grip panels.
Browning Black Label 1911 .22.
Browning’s (browning.com) new Black Label 1911-380 Medallion pro model will be offered in full size and compact versions this year. The pistol has a matte black finish frame, blackened stainless steel finish with silver brush polished flats on both sides of the slide, and the grips are checkered Rosewood with the gold Buck Mark emblem. The pistol comes with two magazines. The full-size gun has a 4¼-inch barrel and the compact version has a 3-5/8-inch barrel.
Another new Browning entry is the Black Label 1911-22LR Gray full size and compact, chambered for .22 Long Rifle cartridge. This one features a rail for 2017. The slide is machined aluminum that has a gray anodized finish.
Browning’s Buck Mark Field Target suppressor-ready model in .22 Long Rifle features a 5½-inch round barrel with a matte blue finish. This barrel is threaded for a suppressor, and comes with a thread protector ring. It also has an integral scope base with Pro-Target rear sight and front blade sight. Grips are made from laminated Cocobolo.
A second new Buck Mark is the Lite Flute UFX model. It has a 5½-inch steel barrel with fluted alloy sleeve and a matte blue finish. It has a Pro-Target rear sight with a TRUGLO Marble Arms fiber optic front sight, and Ultragrip FX ambidextrous grips.
Ruger MKIV .22 LR
The three latest entries from Sturm, Ruger (ruger.com) include the Mark IV .22-caliber semi-auto, the latest incarnation of the original handgun that launched Sturm, Ruger back in 1949. This one is available in either the Target or Hunter models, and it takes down with the press of a single button on the rear of the frame. The Target model has a 5.5-inch bull barrel, adjustable rear sight, blade front sight, one-piece precision CNC-machined grip frame, bolt stop, ambidextrous thumb safety and checkered grips. It is available in blue or stainless finish. (I was so impressed with the blued test model that I bought it.)
The Hunter model has the same features but with a 6.88-inch fluted bull barrel with fiber optic front sight and adjustable rear. It has a stainless finish and checkered grip panels.
Ruger’s LCP II is chambered in .380 ACP, with a steel slide and one-piece glass-filled nylon grip frame. It has a blue alloy steel barrel, 6-round magazine, fixed front and rear sights and the hammer is recessed within the slide.
Ruger American Compact.
Lastly, Ruger’s American Pistol family expands with a new version in .45 ACP and six new variations in 9mm. It has a low bore axis and Novak LoMount Carry three-dot sights, ambidextrous safety, automatic sear block, modular wraparound grip system that allows adjustment for palm swell and trigger reach, two nickel-Teflon plated steel magazines and an accessory rail.
Inland Liberator .45ACP Derringer.
Inland Manufacturing (mkssupply.com) has announced a new Inland Liberator Derringer pistol in .45 ACP. This two-shot handgun is made from stainless steel with a bead blasted anti-glare finish. Weighing 18 ounces, wood grips and sized for pocket carry.
New from EMF (emf-company.com) for the cowboy crowd is the Great Western II DLX Alchimista III, a two-tone single-action sixgun that is simply eye-catching. It features an 1873 barrel, cylinder and mainframe paired with an 1860 Army grip frame. It also has a competition, trigger, octagonal barrel and the revolver has engraving in old silver and blue. It has a blued barrel, cylinder, hammer, trigger and grip frame and matte stainless finish on the main frame. This revolver is made by Pietta in Brescia, Italy.
Two new handgun models are being introduced by Iver Johnson (iverjohnsonarms.com), one built on the Model 1911 platform and the other a four-barrel derringer. The Iver Johnson 1911A1 Chrome is chambered in either .45 ACP or .38 Super, both ideal for competitive handgunners. This pistol has a chrome finish and black Dymondwood or black pearl grips, dovetailed front sight and standard GI-type rear sight, standard hammer and grip safety.
Iver Johnson Pocket Ace.
Iver Johnson’s Pocket Ace derringer is chambered in .22 Long Rifle. Made from 17-4 PH stainless steel, it has a rotating firing pin that allows each barrel to be fired separately. The small pistol features an integrated, ambidextrous safety/takedown lever. Barrels are 2 inches long and the skeleton hammer is large enough to be easily cocked for each successive shot. It has wood grip panels.
Smith&Wesson .22 Victory.
Details for all the new Smith & Wesson handguns which will be introduced in January were not available as we went to press. However, late in 2016, S&W Introduced a new competition .22 LR rimfire called the Victory which should attract attention at the SHOT Show. The new SW22 Victory® is constructed on a single-action, enclosed hammer-fired, blowback semi-automatic design. It comes highly featured with innovative design qualities that include a match-grade, interchangeable barrel for superb accuracy on the range or in the field along with a simple one-screw takedown design. It featues a removable interchangeable threaded barrel.
SIG SAUER1911 BB-gun.
Sig Sauer (sigsauer.com) has a new airgun modeled after the 1911 Max centerfire pistol, making it a great training and practice aid. It’s a CO2 powered model with a 16-round magazine and fires .177-caliber BBs up to 410 fps. It has a full metal slide and frame, blowback action, a cam lever CO2 loading port and the same controls as a 1911 Max firearm.
Walther Creed.
Late in 2016, Walther (waltherarms.com) announced the Creed semi-auto, a 9mm pistol that features what they call a “pre-cocked double-action trigger system” and a bobbed hammer. Metal surfaces are coated with Tenifer that produces a matte black finish. The pistol has a low profile three-dot sight system, front and rear cocking serrations, 4-inch barrel, loaded chamber viewport, 6.5-pound trigger pull, molded accessory rail, and either a 10- or 16-round magazine.
