Pease call off the search parties. Send all the guys with the search dogs home. I know I have been woefully out of touch and you haven’t heard from me but please try to understand. I’ve been at SHOT Show.
SHOT Show, as some of you that have followed these pages will remember, is the Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show held each year in Las Vegas, Nevada. Las Vegas and all of its glory aside, SHOT is the granddaddy outdoor and gun show of the year. It is the World’s Fair, Greatest Show on Earth, and the nirvana of all gun related trade shows. SHOT this year had 14 miles of aisles to walk (14 miles!) and while I don’t think I saw half of what was there, it seemed I walked all of it, twice, every day. The website claims there are over 2,000 booths spread over 800,000 square feet, by the end of the day when they rang the bell for the show to close I was toast. Then, if you are lucky, you may be invited to a companies after hours event! All of these are good and I went to several, but the pace my friends is grueling.
So that is the thing about SHOT. It is in Las Vegas, much of the populace thinks Vegas is THE place to be. But yours truly, your humble outdoor scribe, maybe doesn’t think it is the center of the universe. I like going to SHOT, seeing all of my industry friends and making new ones, seeing all of the new guns and other products and learning about them so that I can bring them to you. After a few days in Vegas though, I am ready to get on a plane and get the heck out of there.
Every year when I return I am always asked “What did you see out there? Anything good? Anything you can’t live without?” Well, yes and no. Yes, I saw several new firearms that seem good and really interesting, and I would like to try them out. Again, the immensity of SHOT and the miles you travel to see everything is daunting. So do you really see all that is there? No, I fear you don’t see half of what is available. But I can tell you some of what I DID see and remember the space doesn’t allow for much of it. Stay tuned, I’m sure you will be hearing more of the wonderfulness I saw at SHOT Show.
Benelli Montefeltro shotgun. Benelli didn’t really reinvent the inertia powered shotgun they have been famous for, but they did significantly change their Montefeltro and M2 line of shotguns. New for 2023, the Montefeltro and M2 shotguns are now upgraded with Benelli’s newest Inertia-Driven System bolt for outstanding performance and exceptional reliability. A redesigned bolt handle improves bolt manipulation, even when wearing gloves. This gun’s improved ergonomics complement the handsome walnut stock, pairing perfectly with the deep gloss-blue finish on the sleek receiver and barrel. In truth the older Montefeltro’s (and the M2’s) were sometimes a pain to load. The new 2-piece shell latch makes loading the shotgun a faster and easier task. I have not fired the new Montefeltro or M2 yet, stay tuned. (www.benelliusa.com)
BONE-DRI Rust Prevention Gun Cases. I am hard on guns, I admit it. Guns are meant to be used and I use them. I hate to clean guns, OK I am lazy about that sometimes. None of this works well if you spend a wet day in the field. If you haven’t returned home with a wet firearm that needs dried out before cleaning, you haven’t hunted very much. BONE-DRI Rust Prevention Gun cases make the claim that you put a damp gun in the case and the case dries it out. “BONE-DRI Rust Prevention Gun Cases are the only gun case brand in the world that can eliminate moisture from the entire firearm inside and out by extracting hidden moisture from inside a firearm in order to prevent rust. No other brand compares. Our cases are engineered with Absorbits Moisture Removal Technology.” This is going to revolutionize the gun case world. (www.bone-dri.com
Stoeger STR-9MC Micro Compact Pistol. There are more sub compact and micro sized semiautomatic pistols chambered in 9mm out there than I can count. They all appear to be very similar and most of them go bang when you pull the trigger, but you need to take a look at the new Stoeger STR-9MC. Why? Here are a few reasons, for a very moderately priced pistol the trigger on this little guy is nice. There are multiple sight options on the STR-9MC to chose from, a three dot system with snag resistant edges, and optics ready models with a machined area to mount your favorite red dot included. A tactile loaded-chamber indicator on the top of the receiver is a nice touch. You can see the indicator is up when a round is chambered or can feel it on the gun without looking. Three interchangeable backstraps (grips) offer a custom fit for the gun to feel right in your hand. Maybe the biggest reason to check out the new Stoeger STR-9MC pistol? MSRP on this gun is $399.00 (www.stoegerindustries.com)
Federal, Remington, and HEVI-SHOT Bismuth shotshells. Those of you in the shotshell world may have noticed that bismuth is back. As a non-toxic choice in pellets, bismuth may not be quite on the same level as lead, but it certainly outperforms steel. Now with Federal, Remington, and HEVI-SHOT all coming from the same house, this is a logical move as HEVI-SHOT has been producing bismuth shot for a long time. From the folks at Federal, “Never compromise performance. Hit upland birds and waterfowl harder with a payload of 9.6 g/cc density bismuth shot. Sourced from our partners at HEVI-Shot, the industry leader in pellet technology, HEVI-Bismuth is 22 percent denser than steel, delivering more energy downrange. Launched by the FLITECONTROL FLEX wad, bismuth pellets pattern and connect with better lethality, and their metallic properties make them safe in both modern and classic shotguns.” www.federalpremium.com