Steve Sanetti, NSSF
By Dave Workman
Senior Editor
A huge industry turnout, some hot new guns, ammunition and gear, and a warning from the president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation about remaining on the alert; that was the 2016 Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas.
Among the highlights of the 38th annual SHOT Show was the introduction of the new double-action-only snubbie revolver from Kimber, Ruger’s new striker-fired American Pistol, a deadly accurate .22 Magnum semi-auto from Savage and a shotgun from Mossberg called the “Scorpion.” And that just touches the surface.
According to the NSSF, this year’s turnout was the second largest in the history of the show. More than 64,000 industry professionals gathered for the four-day show, despite the fact that a lot of people apparently bailed out a day early due to concerns about the east coast blizzard.
What they saw and heard was all about strong sales and concerns about this year’s presidential and congressional elections. And that was the focus of NSSF President Steve Sanetti’s “State of the Industry” speech during the annual opening night gala dinner.
Sanetti pulled no punches, telling the audience, “We meet tonight at the very beginning of a crucial election year—for our industry and our nation.
“For the first time,” he observed, “we have seen candidates for the highest office in our nation overtly attack our industry, America’s oldest, one which proudly supplies our nation’s armed forces, law enforcement, hunters, and target shooters. The only one that sells Constitutionally-protected consumer products which require an FBI or State Police background check to purchase at retail. The one with the best record of reducing accidents through long-standing industry safety programs. And one which the majority of law-abiding citizens respect as an American institution which can provide, as a last resort, the means to protect their families from violent criminals who ignore over twenty-thousand Federal, State, and local laws governing the manufacture, sale, ownership, and use of firearms…
“We have to face the fact that our industry is being blamed, and attacked, and pilloried unfairly by politicians, media and agenda-driven social engineers seeking a convenient scapegoat for the result of policies which, ironically, they themselves have championed,” he added. “So, ladies and gentlemen, the state of our industry is, and must be throughout the year—alert.”
Chris Dolnack, NSSF senior vice president and chief marketing officer, said the industry organization is “optimistic for a year of strong sales, shooter participation, business-to-consumer outreach efforts, safety education and technological innovation.”
TGM walked the show floor twice a day, observing big crowds at all the major gun company exhibits. At times people were jammed shoulder-to-shoulder at Sig Sauer, Ruger, Mossberg, Remington, Browning and Winchester and many other displays. There were daily seminars that drew healthy audiences at the huge Vista Outdoors exhibit, which includes such companies as Speer, Savage and Federal Cartridge.
Colt’s new Model 1911 designed for the US Marine Corps with a tan Cerakote finish was a hit, and TGM found that it is a very good shooter during a Range Day tryout. Chambered for the .45 ACP, this sidearm is loaded with features including an accessory rail, match grade barrel, beavertail grip safety with bump, ambidextrous thumb safety, G-10 grip panels, Novak sights with tritium inserts, and long trigger.
The Kimber revolver, chambered for .357 Magnums, is a six-shot double-action-only model with a 2-inch barrel, fully-shrouded hammer, “boot” style grips, roomy trigger guard, smooth trigger and drift-adjustable rear sight.
TGM was impressed with the new striker-fired Ruger American Pistol. The test model we fired was chambered for 9mm, but a .45 ACP version is also available. It has a synthetic frame, stainless slide, ambidextrous magazine and slide releases, and the fire controls are quickly removable from the frame.
Mossberg’s two new shotguns are the Scorpion, a Model 500 outfitted with an adjustable stock, ATI Halo Heatshield and Side Saddle, and an ATI T2 TactLite, and seven-shot versions of the 590A1 and 590 Tactical pump shotguns.
There were so many new product introductions that it would be impossible to list them all or sort them out. Suffice to say that it’s a safe bet that consumers will be buying this year, possibly every firearm and round of ammunition the manufacturers can produce.
