SHOT Show Day 1 Recap

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It's the end of the first official day of the NSSF SHOT Show, and there were lots of new and exciting products to be drooled over.

Bushmaster and Remington
Bushmaster / Remington finally unveiled their long awaited ACR (formerly the Magpul Masada)



Not so fast though - if you want to get your sweaty palms on this baby, you'll need to be ready to shell out some serious cash: the basic model ACR retails for $2685, and the Enhanced model will cost you $3061. Actual pricing in stores is likely to be lower than this... eventually. We fully expect demand to keep prices at or above these levels for some time.

The basic model is available in your choice of black or coyote brown, and has a fixed stock, Magpul MBUS iron sights, and A2-style birdcage flash suppressor, and a full length top rail. The enhanced version, also available in either black or coyote brown, has the ACR adjustable 6-position folding stock and a quad rail forearm along with an AAC "Blackout" flash suppressor.

Remington has also their new AR rifle chambered for the .450 Bushmaster round on display. The .450 Bushmaster has the same case dimensions as a 5.56/.223, but packs a wallop with a massive 250 grain .45 caliber bullet. The cartridge was developed by Hornady specifically for Bushmaster. It features a soft polymer tipped SST bullet.

From Hornady:

Nicknamed "The Thumper," the 450 Bushmaster is the most radical cartridge ever chambered in production AR-15 type firearms. Hornady brings big bore performance to the most popular semi-automatic rifle in America — opening a whole new world of hunting to the battle-proven platform.

Hornady engineers worked closely with the Bushmaster design team building the cartridge to wring every last ounce of performance from the AR-15 without sacrificing any strength or reliability.

Well suited to hunt any North American game, the 450 Bushmaster will quickly become a favorite of bear country guides. By simply switching uppers, shooters can go from the prairie dog towns of South Dakota to bear country in the north woods!

The SST’s sleek profile makes for surprisingly flat trajectories and tremendous downrange energy. Put it all together, and you have a cartridge that gives your AR series rifle a serious attitude adjustment!

Ruger
Ruger brought out their new 22/45 .22 caliber pistol with interchangeable 1911 style grips. Was this little pistol the cause of all the rumors of Ruger producing their own 1911? Perhaps so - there was no sign of a new 1911 from Ruger, but we'll keep an eye out in case they have any surprises waiting for us.



Other new releases by Ruger include a new 20 round factory mag now for the Mini-30. Ruger has also teamed up with Umarex to produce a new line of break open air rifles.

Glock
Glock formally announced their 4th Generation handguns with adjustable grips. The grips aren't exactly interchangeable, rather they stack on one another allowing the shooter to adjust the grip size by stacking more or fewer grips on the backstrap. The new Gen 4 Glocks also have a dual recoil spring assembly, somewhat similar to that found on the Glock 26 and 27. The new spring is supposed to help improve reliability when shooting with rail mounted accessories or low powered ammunition.

For those who felt the need to swap out the stock magazine release on their Glock, never fear. The new Glocks have an enlarged mag release that is reversible,

Beretta
Beretta showed off their new 92A1 and 96A1 pistols. The new pistols are Beretta's newest evolution of their 92FS and 96FS handguns. Both new models feature magazines that are interchangable with the older 92 and 96 models, but feature a new internal buffers to reduce recoil stress on the receiver. Other new features include a 1913 rail and a replaceable front sight. Captive recoil springs are another new modification that makes disassembly simpler.

Colt
Colt unveiled their new folding stock AR designated the Colt SCW (Sub Compact Weapon). The version shown at SHOT was a full-auto version, but the guys at Colt assured us that a civilian legal semiauto version was coming soon. Colt incorporated a variety of new systems into the design of their new SCW, including their proprietary Colt Advanced Hybrid System (AHS) which is a unique combination of their modified direct gas-impingement system and their piston system.

Taurus
Taurus had a bunch of new products out at this year's SHOT show.

The biggest news was Taurus' decision to one-up Ruger and come out with their own line of polymer framed revolvers. They had their new Protector and Defender lines of polymer revolvers on display, and I have to admit, though they looked a little funny, they were definitely lightweight.

Taurus also has a number of new versions of the Judge revolver, including, a polymer framed model as well as a new large framed model named the Raging Judge Magnum. This new addition to the shot slinging Judge revolver lineup is capable of firing massive .410 3" Magnum shotshells along with .45 Long Colt, and .454 Casull cartridges. The Raging Judge will be available with either a 6" or a short 3" barrel.

Blackdog
Blackdog, as we mentioned in our interview with Kevin Rich, has their new Ruger 10/22 50 round drum, as well as a new AR Bolt and upper receiver dust cover.

Day 1 Summary
Wow, what an experience. Every year it seems that the SHOT show gets bigger and better. The energy and atmosphere here is truly electric.

Apologies for the lack of close up photos of all the new goodies - Most exhibitors didn't want photographs taken of their merchandise. In reality, this isn't a huge deal since they all had their own materials published, so we could get you the images above. Still, we'll try to get some photos up tomorrow.

Follow up with us tomorrow as we bring you day 2 of the 2010 SHOT show.