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 19th 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

1 COMMENT

  1. It is nice that Colt might be on the mend. I have a 70 series LW Commander modified by Wilson Combat that I consider my carry gun. It seems so sad that Colt gave up their huge market share and basically died on the vine. I guess that they decided that the US military .223 rifle market was the way to go. Kimber and a host of others carried the 1911 banner and now Colt is scratching to get back some share. It is very tough to recover.

    There are so many competitive choices in the bolt action rifle market and I look forward to seeing the Thompson/S&W rifle when it gets to the retail market. Thanks for the great reporting.

  3. Thanks for the SHOT show updates! That little Mossberg 510 (can I say carbine?) has moved to the top of my acquire list.

  4. Captain Bob, I believe those are the standard grips for that particular model. They’re done in the Jerry Miculek style with a, uh, louder color pattern.

  5. “Kimber and a host of others carried the 1911 banner and now Colt is scratching to get back some share. It is very tough to recover.”

    Especially when ECONOMY – and JOB MARKET – are now so depressed, and will stay that way for the foreseeable future.
    At least one major retailer now is discounting the hell out of basic stuff – even high-caps for the popular Mini-14 rifle. This just isn’t a good time to launch a new gun selling for 20 times the price of those mags.

  6. While I agree with Matt that the economy stinks, the gun shows and stores in South Central Florida are full of buyers. Most want “black” auto rifles and handguns. There is some discounting but sales of ammo are brisk at these shows. Anything “tactical” commands a premium in this area. I can understand that the traditional Michigan, Ohio or Pennsylvania deer hunting market may be depressed, but in Florida it seems like self protection sells, as long as the gun is “black”. I saw an older (70+) couple where the woman had severe arthritis. They purchased a defensive shotgun with a pistol grip only. Her hands were badly deformed from the arthritis and the husband convinced her that a shoulder stock was unneeded. This is insane, but marketing is a strange business.

  7. “While I agree with Matt that the economy stinks, the gun shows and stores in South Central Florida are full of buyers. ”

    Ones here in central North Carolina are full of BROWSERS. But a little attention to the doorway for the public to exit shows how little is actually selling at them.