Written by: Greg Ellifritz
If you have been vacationing off the planet, you may not realize that the world’s largest trade show for shooting enthusiasts was held in Las Vegas last week. The Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trades (SHOT) show is one of the largest trade shows in Las Vegas every year.
In pre-pandemic times, 70,000+ shooting industry professionals attend the show where every major hunting and shooting company has booths and displays. This year many companies backed out and attendance was estimated at about 40,000.
The show is massive. There are are so many booths that it ends up being somewhere around 15 total miles of aisle space every year. It generally takes me at least three days just to see all the booths.
I attended the show every year for about seven years straight, but haven’t attended for almost a decade.
I like seeing all the new gear and meeting my friends from around the country, but I’ve lost a little of the excitement I once had for new gadgets. It’s truly mindset, skill, and tactics that will get help you win the fight. The gun you carry doesn’t matter all that much. I like cool new guns and gear, just like everyone else, but I don’t care for them so much that I need to spend thousands of dollars flying to Vegas every year to see their inaugural debuts. I’ll buy the new guns I like when all the bugs are worked out of them at least a year after their SHOT Show introduction.
With that said, I still like seeing all the new innovations. The new items reported below from a variety of sources on the ground at SHOT are the introductions that I am most excited about. Keep your eyes on these innovative new products in the coming year.
As always with SHOT show, the release dates on these items are NEVER what the manufacturer promises. Add at least six months to the publicized estimates for when these things actually arrive on the market.
The Lipsey’s Exclusive UC J frames
Smith & Wesson Ultimate Carry J-Frame
These are the guns I’m most excited about. In fact, I already have one ordered. My friends Darryl Bolke and Bryan Eastridge helped with the design. These are snubs that have good sights zeroed for popular defensive cartridges, great grips, and a factory action job. What more could you want?
If you click the first link, you’ll find it takes you to DB and Bryan’s new American Fighting Revolver website. Their previous Patreon page was de-platformed and removed yesterday. They will be putting up lots of revolver content behind their own site’s paywall. Support them if you are interested in revolvers.
And if you don’t know much about the .32 H&R magnum cartridge, watch Caleb Giddings’ 32 Magnum Ballistics Test video.
Kahr X9 “NEW Double Stack” 9mm
I haven’t seen a Kahr in my classes for years. I once occasionally carried a PM-9 as a backup gun and liked it a lot. If they did this one right, I predict it will be a standout hit for people who like a double action-ish trigger in a small hideaway gun.
The New PSA 570 Modular Shotgun Concept
I’m not the biggest PSA fan, but this is a neat idea. I hope it works.
Some New Guns We Might Review Later
Lucky Gunner’s take on the new guns at SHOT.
MEDIA DAY at SHOT 2024!
Michael Bane discusses some of the things he likes, including all the cool new lever action rifles I linked to individually below. A .300 Blackout lever gun with a can that uses P-Mags might be a great fighting solution for those states that have problems with semi-auto rifles.
Henry Lever Action Supreme Uses AR Mags
The New Winchester Ranger – Lever Action 22LR On a Budget
New Rossi R95 Lever Action Rifles in 45-70 Government
Smith & Wesson Model 1854 Lever-Action Rifle: First Look
Henry Big Boy X Model Review
Hidden In Plain Sight: The Crossfire Metalworks 22LR Viper Tac Bat
I’ve seen a lot of stupid gun designs over the years, but this might be the dumbest. Posting to alert my law enforcement friends about this slamfire bat/zip gun.
Zeta6 Dry-Fire Training Disk – SHOT Show 2024
I use live guns with ropes placed through the barrels and out the magazine wells for my close quarters shooting classes. Unfortunately “roping” revolvers doesn’t work so well. These might be great to show that the revolver is “clear” for training purposes. I have some on order. I hope they start making them for S&W and Ruger rimfire revolvers as well.
Daniel Defense H9
I actually trained the designer of the original H9 when he was a student at West Point. I enjoyed shooting an early production model of his pistol when it came out. I hope this update is a success.
If you’ve never gone to the show and are thinking about attending next year, read How to do SHOT Show and Preparing for SHOT Show 2025? What to Expect Your First Time. Maybe I’ll see you there.
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