The Show officially opened today. I for one prefer the Orlando venue to SHOT Show’s traditional haunt, Las Vegas, where they’ll be for the next several years after this one. More room in the aisles, for one thing, less sense of being packed in like sardines.

The “miles of aisles” take their toll early on us geezers, and I still have a podcast interview to do tonight. Producer is down with a bad cold, host/moderator is stuck on the other side of the city, and I got elected to run the microphone, God help us all. Like giving a monkey an AK47…anyway, I don’t even have time to put things in alphabetical order by manufacturer tonight. So, please forgive the “potpourri” approach.

There is, overall, a definite sense of foreboding about the incoming anti-gun administration that pervades this gathering of firearms professionals. Lots of the heavy hitter gun rights players are here. Over at Second Amendment Foundation, Dave Workman notes that while he personally feels the new administration will come in early with all guns blazing (so to speak), director Alan Gottlieb has cautious optimism that President Obama will have his plate too full to come after us from the get-go. Time will tell. My friends at Sabre Defence, manufacturers of one of the finest lines of AR15 rifles, are taking orders hand over fist from the attending retailers, as are their competitors. Sabre’s Charlie Shearon told me today, “We took orders for more guns in November than we’ve sold in the last three years.”

At Taurus, CEO Bob Morrison showed off several new handguns, all geared for concealed carry and personal defense. They had on display a new little polymer frame .380 pocket pistol to compete with the hugely-in-demand Ruger LCP and the pistol it appears to have been almost cloned from, the Kel-Tec P3AT. Weight will be 10 ounces with a steel slide assembly atop its polymer frame, and a mere 8.5 ounces with Titanium slide. It will be produced in Miami and Taurus USA will be hiring some 70 new people to carry out their plans. Taurus’ biggest seller right now is their unique Judge, a revolver that can hold a .410 shotgun shell OR a .45 Colt cartridge in each of its five chambers. The recently introduced version that takes a 3” Magnum .410 shell is now joined by a small frame revolver (the size of an S&W J-frame or Taurus’ similar Model 85 .38 snubnose) that will take .410 shells. The Judge series is particularly popular among outdoor folks who live in poisonous snake country, for obvious reasons. Second in popularity is their PT1911, a well-executed, low-price clone of the classic Colt 1911 .45 pistol.
Blog reader Erich (welcome to this place, bro!) asked about the new little SIG .380. Played with it today. It’s a scaled-down 1911 that does indeed resemble the late, lamented Colt Mustang and Pocketlite .380s. Flat metal grip panels enhance its slimness and concealability.

Smith & Wesson has sort of re-introduced the classic old K-38s to its “retro” line – I say “sort of” because the front sights and stocks aren’t quite authentic – and the .41 Magnum revolver in both the target version and the iconic 4” barrel, fixed sight Model 58 variation. A truly beloved “cult gun” among knowledgeable gun enthusiasts, the S&W .41 Magnum will earn a hearty “welcome back” from those of us who habitually carry a handgun in the outdoors.

More tomorrow…

1 COMMENT

  1. Hey Mas! You rock baby but can you put up a pew pictures too?

    That S&W Mod 58 was a great wheel gun. eagle Grips makes and N frame Secret Service grip that makes that monster concealable and sleek as they tame the recoil.

    I’d love to have the stainless version!

  2. Mas, any word on when Sig will have more components out for the P250 other than 9mm?

    Also, its kinda off topic but not quite. Have you seen H.R.45, Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009? Mandatory licensing and registration for all handguns and any long gun capable of accepting an external box magazine. It does not look friendly.

  4. On one hand I’m happy that we are starting to gain momentum on the PTC issue, I think we are up to 37 or 38 states that are shall issue now and we are getting closer to success here in Iowa.

    But on the other hand I fear what our new administration will do to our rights further down the road. We ALL need to stick together and actively fight for our rights or we will loose them.

    Keep up the good work Mas, the blog is great and I love your spots on PDTV. Hope you’re having fun at the SHOT show.

    Chris
    Central Iowa

  5. Hi Mas,

    Thanks for the updates. Was Glock present again without any innovation this year? I keep waiting for them to do an update that is beyond their “wildly innovative short frame technology.”

    All the best,
    Mitch

  6. Oh wow! I’m excited to hear about the 58! I might break my “no locks for me after mine self-engaged” pledge (tho I’d just take it out if I got the new revolver).

    Am also curious about the 6-shot .38 Taurus 856 . . . it it actually on the same frame as the old 85 or merely something similar? Taurus’ J-frame copy was always a teensy bit larger than the J-frame (sort of like the never-released six-shot C-frame that S&W let die on the vine in the early ’70s) – I was wondering how an 856 compares to a D-frame.

    Okay, it’s too early in the morning to let my OCD get the best of me ( 😉 ) so I’ll leave off. Mas, thanks for the great reports. I’ve enjoyed this ‘blog since shortly after you started it, and am really liking the SHOT reports. BTW, “like a monkey with an AK-47” is a great simile – reminds me of PJ O’Rourke’s calling some political act that was both incredibly haphazard and self-serving “like monkeys at a salad bar.” 😀 Good stuff – I sure enjoy blogs by professional writers. Don’t walk too much in those endless aisles, amigo, and have fun!

    cheers, erich

  7. Thanks again for another great report. I am sure you will handle the podcast just fine.

    Interesting to hear about the 58 coming back. I would love to have one but I fear what the retail price will be. Any word from some of the other manufacturers on their take on the LCR? It would be interesting to hear how some of the other gun makers are reacting to it.

  8. Glad somebody else likes the Pocketlite. My problem, as learned in LFI-I, is I don’t want anything weaker than a 9 for personal defense. That said I bought a Pocket 9, which is an exact enlarged copy of the Pocketlite, during the 12 hours or so they were on the market. Took another year to find extra mags. Had it melted and the internals smoothed and that is one sweet little gun. Please tell those Colt Yo-Yo’s to either start building those again or else sell the rights to somebody.

    And as for the Second Amendment Foundation if you’re reading this column you should join. It’s not expensive and Mr. Gottlieb does a helluva job.

  9. These trade shows need to think out of the box ! Have all the visitors remain stationary and MOVE THE BOOTHS AROUND !!!

  10. Mas,

    Thanks for the running commentary. I know it’s extra work during a busy show, but it is much appreciated!

  11. Fellas, my girlfriend/adult supervisor/self-styled Techno-Chick is down sick, and without her, I won’t be able to post pix until I get home next week.

    Erich: Will probably post something on your forum when I get back too. Pretty hectic now…

    Jim: I’ve shot 9mm and .40 P250s and may have the first P250 .45 outside the factory (shoots sweet, but needs different sights, factory tells me mine were prototype and they’ll shoot where they look by the time the .45s leave the factory production line). Haven’t seen the .357 SIG version yet. Remember, what you and I call a frame ain’t what the P250 patent calls a frame; .45 mag won’t fit a 9mm or .40 housing, but the housings swap along with the barrel/slide assemblies.

    Mitch: Glock has given the SF (Short Frame) treatment to the 10mms, both the full size G20 and the compact G29. They also have new service pistol cosmetics with V-shaped slide serrations and a more aggressively “non-slip” surface to the grip-frame.

    ScottP: I TOTALLY agree on the sweet little Colt Pocket Nine. I shot two separate samples back then that could put 5 rounds in 2 inches at 25 yards, and loved the reliability. The Kahr lawsuit killed the gun. Wish both companies could work out an agreement to bring it back.