In any business, the industry’s major annual trade show gives you a chance to put a finger on the pulse and see how the whole organism is doing. The Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show is no exception.

The unnatural buying frenzy that followed the election of President Obama is waning in terms of guns, but is still absolutely in effect insofar as ammunition. While the ammo shortage has let up a little, I don’t see it getting a whole lot better any time soon.

Overall, the attitude of the buyers – the retailers who make up most of the attendees – was optimistic. Most of the vendors I spoke with were very happy with the volume of orders they wrote at the show.

The currents that drive markets are sometimes as obvious as the post-2008-election purchasing panic, and sometimes more subtle. An example: tons of folks bought their first AR15s or similar rifles during that period. Now we’re seeing a smaller but very real second wave of purchasing. The guy who bought his first AR last year takes his buddy, his brother-in-law, or his next door neighbor to the range with him when he goes to shoot it…and the guest realizes this is a pretty neat gun, and decides to buy one, too. We’re also seeing a generation of War On Terror vets coming back proud and confident of the skills they’ve developed with the M16 and M4, and want a similar semiautomatic version, the AR15, for reasons that include protecting their family. Hence, this year’s SHOT Show theme of “AR = America’s Rifle.”

I first heard the “America’s Rifle” term from my colleague, Chris Christian, who used it in one of the many articles he has written for the publications of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), which sponsors the SHOT Show. Everyone was fed up with the assumption that “AR” stood for “assault rifle,” a much demonized term in the American mainstream media. Actually, my understanding is that “AR”originally stood for Armalite, the company AR15 inventor Eugene Stoner originally formed to manufacture this rifle before Colt bought in to the concept and gave it some very long legs. Once it became the standard rifle of US armed forces, of course, “AR” was locked into firearms terminology forever.  Back in the day, my good friend Rich Davis proposed that the AR15 be called a “Home Defense Rifle.” Unfortunately, that didn’t catch on. Some suggested calling it a Sports Utility Rifle; I guess if you had one in a large caliber and lived in the hills of California, you could call it a “Big SUR.” That didn’t catch on, either.  Maybe “America’s Rifle” WILL grow legs. I hope so. Thank you, Chris Christian.

The day after the Show, I wound down at a Glock match at the Las Vegas Metro Police range. Met a lot of great people, many of them cops, and was delighted to see how many LVMPD officers had volunteered to run the range the department opened to this largely private citizen event. After all, law enforcement and law-abiding armed citizens are natural allies. It was a great match (check out the format at www.gssfonline.com; there’s probably one within striking distance of you if you want to give it a try), with lots of fine people attending.

I can’t think of a better way to wrap up an intense week in the world of the gun.

Remington’s introduction of their R-15 has done much to “legitimize” the AR15 as a hunting and sporting rifle in the US.

Arrow points to ejected spent casing as this young gun brother shoots the Glock match at the Las Vegas Metro Police range the day after the close of the Show. It was a great way to wrap up a week in “the world of gundom.”

Chris Christian, the gun writer and firearms expert who, to the best of Mas’ knowledge, coined the term “AR stands for America’s Rifle.”

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The SHOT Show – 4 days for attendees, 5 days for media, who get in a day early to debrief gun engineers and test some of the new firearms on various ranges in the host city – is over, and no one who attended is complaining. On the shuttle bus back to the hotels, almost everyone spoke of exhaustion. The “miles of aisles” of concrete floors are not conducive to the physical comfort of graying gun guys and gals. It ended today, Friday, an hour and a half earlier than the rest of the week. When they dimmed the lights to signal that 4 PM had tolled, a cheer went up through the vast convention center.

At Remington, the unprecedented demand for mainstream caliber ammo has kept their new .30 load for their (A)R15 from achieving the popularity many expected when that gun debuted last year. Remington epitomizes an industry year that’s more evolution than revolution. There are new variations of their Model 700 bolt action centerfire rifle (5 million now produced) and their Model 870 slide action shotgun (the 10 millionth produced this year). The company is putting more emphasis on classical “blue steel and walnut” treatment of such arms as their popular, efficient Model 11/87 autoloading shotgun, a move that pleases this old traditionalist’s heart. On the new side, their recently introduced Model 887 Nitro Magnum pump designed to take the 3.5” 12 gauge shotgun shell can give you the same amount of lead in the air as two standard 12 gauge shells at once with a single pull of the trigger, and is now available in a very nice (and affordable) Tactical version.

Returning to SIG, one reader touched bases to ask me just what “tweaks” (mentioned in an earlier blog post) that company had applied to their P250 US-made pistols. Well, they’re selling kits now with two different size guns sharing a single fire control group: effectively (and legally) two guns in one. They have another P250 variation with an ambidextrous manual safety. Finally, the company is working on a striker-fired version because some police departments are now specifying that design in mass-purchase bid requests. I like striker-fired pistols; in recent years, I’ve carried the striker-fired Glock more than any other gun, and am wearing one or two Glocks this week because tomorrow will find me relaxing and recovering from the trade show at a Glock match on the Las Vegas Metro Police Department range. Still, one advantage of hammer-fired guns such as the P250 is that in holstering, the shooter can hold the hammer down with the thumb and prevent an accidental discharge if something like an unsafely-designed safety strap, or the drawstring of a windbreaker, or (most commonly) a careless shooter’s finger gets into the trigger guard and applies rearward pressure to the trigger.  Different folks have different opinions and tastes, and that’s what makes horse races.

Laser Ammo (www.laser-ammo.com) offers an incredibly affordable “shoot/don’t shoot” training system and marksmanship practice system which works off a laser attachment fitted to your own gun and interfaces with computer generated imagery. I liked it so much I ordered one, and I didn’t order much at this particular cornucopia of gundom.

I met a lot of old friends and a lot of new ones, and if the feet are tired and heavy, the heart is upbeat and light. I’m gonna finish some work and catch up on sleep tonight, and shoot a match with friends tomorrow. The SHOT Show was a renewing experience that gave some insights into where the gun industry and the people it serves happen to be right now…and we’ll discuss that here in a little greater depth before too long.

Brian Lasley, left, and Mike Streeter, right, of Remington discuss their company’s new Tactical version of the Model 887 slide action shotgun, chambered for the awesome 3.5″ Magnum 12 gauge shell.

Master police trainer and combat pistol champ Dennis Carroll shows off SIG’s P250 pistol, “tweaked” with ambidextrous manual safety levers (arrow).

The last (next?) welcome we all saw as we left an exhausting but successful SHOT Show.

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It’s the third day of the SHOT Show for the dealers attending, the fourth day for the professionals who got there early for set-up and networking and advanced product testing.

AR15 rifle variants are everywhere. One theme this year of our host, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), is that “AR” stands for “America’s Rifle.” It’s good to see new companies coming in and being innovative. American Spirit Arms introduces an AR15 with a bolt operating lever located on the left side above the magazine, like an FN FAL. This eliminates the one non-ergonomic feature of Gene Stoner’s Armalite design in this writer’s opinion: the awkward T-handle at the rear of the action. The price is competitive, the action is smooth, and the handling IS faster. Heckler & Koch’s take on the American AR, shown as a non-functional prototype last year at SHOT, is shown this time as a functional prototype, and seems to draw much from the company’s 416 rifle.

Chiappa of Italy introduces a reasonably priced .22 Long Rifle version of the AR15, and also their intriguing Rhino revolver, reminiscent of an earlier Italian design, the Mateba. The barrel is parallel to the lower portion of the frame instead of the top, bringing bore axis down and thus reducing muzzle rise. The action of this “upside-down” .357 Magnum feels surprisingly smooth. There are already holsters being made for it, and it will accept a 6-shot speedloader for an L-frame Smith & Wesson. Instead of a round cylinder, this revolver’s is hexagonal: you don’t see hexagonal cylinders every day, at a revolver match OR a geometry class.

Savage Arms announces the production of yet another millionth Model 110-series rifle, introduced circa 1958. This plain-looking, beautifully shooting bolt action is proof of American values: you can look a little different, but if you can make those with you look good, they’ll love you and you’ll be popular. These Savage bolt guns shoot so well they do make their users look good. The company has a new Stevens brand pump shotgun (Stevens being a long-standing economy line under the Savage umbrella), that looks remarkably like the cheap Chinese copy of an Ithaca Model 37 that has been around for a while, and whaddaya know, it is stamped as made in China. Price is low, and with Savage Arms standing behind it on warranty, value should be high.

On the ammo front, Winchester is now selling a “buck and ball” load for self defense, a big solid slug with a sprinkling of smaller buckshot pellets in the shell. From the American Civil War to Brits in the Malaysian conflict, this combination historically worked well in close combat. Federal has a reduced velocity #4 buckshot load it has determined to be suitable for home defense. Both of the above are 12 gauge rounds. Are you one of the countless Americans who keeps a sweet-handling M-1 .30 carbine handy for home defense, but worries about the anemic reputation that gun’s full metal jacket round earned in WWII and Korea? Speer introduces a .30 Carbine 110 grain Gold Dot bonded hollow point load that should be much more dynamic.

More tomorrow.

American innovation exemplified by the American owner of American Spirit Arms.

Mas feels left-side operating handle above magazine on American Spirit rifle definitely improves the ergonomics of the AR15.

Forthcoming HK AR clones in .223, above, and .308, below.

Here’s a cutaway showing the unique mechanism of the new Chiappa Rhino revolver. The barrel is on the bottom, below the sight rib.

Lady champion Julie Goloski-Golub, a true ambassador for the shooting sports, does her daily demo at the Smith & Wesson booth.

S&W’s incomparable Jerry Miculek shows the crowd how to run a revolver at speed.

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Outside news pervades the Show. A local Las Vegas man shot and killed a home invader who kicked down his door. No charges filed, but one local news station calls it “the 14^th murder of the year” in the community. (?!?!?) FBI arrested over 20 firearms industry people in a supposed sting that came out of an undercover investigation involving bribery of a foreign official in regard to a foreign government weapon purchase. I have heard a barnyard colloquialism for poultry feces applied to this case more than once here. And the announcement last night that Republican Scott Brown had won the Senate election in Massachusetts occasioned many a high five out here.  Now, back to the guns…

FNH announces a semiautomatic “sold to civilians” version of the SCAR rifle in 5.56mm NATO, and SIG has their own well-done take on the AR15 in the same chambering, new for this year. The many backwoods home folk who’ve bought a Ruger Mini-30 in 7.62X39 can now get the useful 20-round Ruger magazines for it, at long last. Ruger also has a double action GP100 7-shot revolver and an 8-shot single action Blackhawk chambered for the .327 Federal Magnum round. Their Standard model .22 auto pistol, a staple in rural home armament since 1949, can now be had with 1911-like checkered walnut grip panels…a nice, proven look for a nice, proven firearm.

The super-popular Glock pistol is now available in Generation Four configuration, initially in calibers 9mm and .40 S&W. Its grip frame is smaller from the backstrap to the trigger, fitting smaller hands better and giving improved trigger reach. Two spacers pin on to make it a little bit larger or, with the last spacer, even bigger than standard to better fit large hands. The magazine release is now reversible for left-handed shooters and in a more easily-reached and –activated configuration. Finally, a double captive recoil spring (which can’t be retrofitted to earlier models) is said by most who shoot it to dramatically reduce the felt recoil of the Glock .40.

Taurus has its new slim-line 9mm pocket pistol and micro-size .380 mentioned earlier in this SHOT Show blog series. I didn’t get to shoot them, but IDPA Five-Gun Master Jon Strayer did, and he likes them; his word carries a lot of weight with me. Most visibly on display were still more variations of the phenomenally successful Judge series of revolvers with lengthened frames and cylinders that can fire either the .45 Colt revolver cartridge or a .410 shotgun shell. The one that intrigues me most is the new carbine-size revolving shotgun. With a shield at the front of the cylinder to keep gas blast from burning the forward hand’s wrist during firing, it has a wooden fore-end and shoulder-stock. This allows its fiber-optic sights to be held rock solid on target as you double action five shots as fast as you can pull the trigger. I don’t see it so much as a defense gun as a super-cool .410 for pest shooting on the farm. It’s available with a rifled barrel for solid single projectiles, and as a smoothbore for birdshot and buckshot. The latter should hold a pattern much better than the spray of shot that normally emerges from rifled barrels.

I had the honor of meeting Ed Pepping, one of the heroes whose story was told in “We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories from The Band of Brothers.” He was kind enough to autograph some copies of that book that I’ll give to buddies of mine. Thanks to the SOD folks (www.BUYSOURCEONE.com) for hosting him. At 87, Pepping has a steel-strong handshake and a mind to match. Thank God for him and his generation…and for the current generation of America’s warfighters, many of whom were present at the Show.

From Taurus…

Blast shield at front of cylinder protects shooter’s forward hand on the newest configuration of the Judge, below.

The configuration of the 4th Generation Glock, below.

A great American at 87!

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On the official opening day of the show, we found the aisles at the Sands Convention Center absolutely packed.  More cool stuff than I or any other single person can check out.

There were cool little shotguns. Mossberg has a new slide action for smaller-statured folk that isn’t just shortened, but is scaled down overall. The Model 510 Mini Super Bantam weighs only five pounds, if that. It will be available in .410 and in 20 gauge. Recoil might get a little snappy in the latter chambering with a gun this small, but I’m looking forward to getting one for testing. Benelli has an elegant new autoloader called the Legacy 28. It’s chambered for the 28 gauge shell, and advertised as “the lightest semiautomatic shotgun in the world,” with an unloaded weight of about five pounds.

A Colt exec told me that rumors of a new double action revolver from this fabled old company are false…for now. He indicated, however, that both plans and equipment are in place for this to happen, somewhere down the road.  My fellow gun writer Wiley Clapp was at the Colt booth, justifiably proud that he had convinced the company to bring out a Series ’70-type Lightweight Commander .45, a popular model that hasn’t been offered since the early ‘80s.

Discussions with ammo makers and distributors indicate that the tremendous shortage won’t ease any time soon. Military demands have been massive. European governments have realized that, with a commitment in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US won’t be able to come to their aid if needed any time soon, and are building up small arms ammo inventory at a pace not seen there since the Cold War. This is why European ammo sources have largely dried up on the American market. Clay bird shotgun loads are available in abundance…everything else seems to be still in short supply, and is likely to remain so for some time to come.

SIG has a really neat little .22 Long Rifle version of their military-style semiautomatic rifle. Haven’t shot it yet, but those who have tell me they love it. The company has also upgraded its Classic line of semiautomatic pistols, and tweaked their polymer P250 series of “convertible” semiautomatic service pistols.

Uberti has introduced a cool replica of the 19^th Century Remington Rolling Block. Their quality control has improved by leaps and bounds since Beretta took ownership.

Will report on more tomorrow as the world’s largest firearms trade show continues.

Author, center, gets to hang with cool people at SHOT. Left, Kenn Blanchard, author of Black Man With A Gun and producer of the Urban Shooter podcast; right, Steve Denney of Pro-Arms Podcast.

At a book signing at Krause Publications booth, Ali Palmos of International Supplies thanks Backwoods Home for enthusiastic response to their Wounded Warriors raffle. There’s still time to enter: see 1-11-10 blog entry or click on January 11 in the calendar to the right.

Wiley Clapp at the Colt booth, with the new update of the classic old-style Colt Commander lightweight 1911 .45 auto, under the plastic bubble.

Chris Gosselin of Mossberg shows off the scaled-down 20 gauge pump his company has just introduced, the Model 510

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