The following are my brief impressions of things that I got to see at the recent SHOT Show. There was lot of interest in the prototype .308 Bullpup from Kel-Tec, which takes standard metric FAL magazines. It is planned to be produced in various barrel lengths, and should be reasonably priced.It was interesting, with its forward axial cartridge ejection, just above the barrel.
I don’t recall pricing but $2K would be my best recall/guess. Mr. Kellegren [the “Kel” in Kel-Tec] personally showed me the patent pending ejector. It ejects the casing on the same forward stroke of the bolt that chambers the next round!
The new domestic AUG clone got a lot of attention, and they told me they took 2,000 orders at the show. (Model STG 556)
LRB Arms, famed for their top-regarded M1A forged receivers, was showing a version [the “M25”] with integrated scope mounting points. Those kludgy scope mounts may be a thing of the past. Military users had been welding the mounts to the receivers to keep them from shaking loose! Wait list for up to a year.
“Assault weapons” are here to stay! One industry insider commented that with everybody and his dog (including Smith and Wesson – what would Clinton think now?!) Selling these black rifles, its tough to see the industry standing for a ban on these profitable items.
And speaking of Smith, its announcement of its friendly acquisition of Thompson Center Arms has optimists speculating that the marriage will be a good one, with TC’s esteemed barrel making skills enhancing S&W accuracy. Could this, along with modern machining and MIM (metal injection molding) bring Smith back to the true glory days?
FN’s PS90 (the futuristic one with a plastic stock that looks like is was made from giant elbow macaroni) is selling well to civilians (who can afford the special 5.7 x 28 ammo) in new variants that provide a [optics mounting] rail instead of the terrible 1X scope.
Lever gun shooters who have slept through the last year will be pleased to learn of Hornady’s soft-pointed “Leverevolution” ammo, which provides modern ballistic performance from venerable cartridges. .30-30 is a true deer-getter, and other cartridges reach effectively much farther than before
Savage introduced a varmint rifle in several popular chamberings. The remarkable trigger, an H-S Precision stock and a solid action promise custom rifle performance for about $1,000. One model displayed had the Savage Accutrigger with a 6 ounce pull that was a pleasing rarity for a production rifle.
That’s all from Orlando. OBTW, the word is that the biggest gun industry show will be returning to Las Vegas for the next decade or so.
Letter Re: SHOT Show Report From Mr. B.
