SHOT Show Day 2 Recap

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It's almost the end of day 2 of SHOT, and I'm already exhausted. But it's been a very productive and exciting event!

View of the SHOT show floor looking towards Arsenal's booth #13721

This was easily one of the biggest and most attended shows we've been to. Despite NSSF cutting back on who was allowed in, there appeared to be more attendees than in previous years. There was no shortage of gun industry celebrities at this years show either. Ted Nugent, Jerry Miculek, R Lee Ermey, Brock Lesnar, Massad Ayoob, Todd Jarret and a number of others were in attendance. Long lines and crowds naturally followed the celebrities around, but we dutifully stuck to our plan and continued hitting booths, finding all the cool new products we hope to show to you here.

Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson has two new pistols called the "Bodyguard" in .380 and 38 spl. Both handguns have integral lasers. It's become highly evident that this is the year of the pocket pistol.

The Bodyguard 38 is a light-weight revolver with an integral laser system, but the really big attraction was their little .380 autoloader. Smith & Wesson's new Bodyguard .380 attracted large numbers to their booth. With a 6+1, it's slightly bigger than the Ruger LCP, and still heavier than Kel-Tec's little P3AT, but it's still a fine little heater. The new pocket pistol features a double-action trigger with the ability to fire the striker again in the case of a misfire or light strike. Despite being double-action, the Bodyguard has a very smooth trigger with a consistent pull.

Smith & Wesson teamed up with Insight Technology when designing their new Bodyguard pistols, and incorporated the Insight designed touch-activated laser directly into the frame of both pistols. The integral laser makes the pistols less bulky, easier to conceal, and less likely to snag when being drawn from a pocket, bag, or purse.

Sig Sauer
Sig Sauer unveiled their new P229 E2. The new E2 (pronounced "E Squared") guns are modifications to the existing P226 and P229 pistols that include a smaller snap-on grip that doesn't require grip screws. But my favorite change is the new Sig SRT or Short Reset Trigger. Sigs have always had a long trigger reset that bothered me. You have to back off the triger quite a bit to reset the sear, and this occasionally resulted in a "click" instead of "bang" during rapid fire for me. The SRT replaces the sear and lever with a shorter version that gives you much less let-off before the sear resets. Other changes include the use of the X-5 style slide release lever which helps ensure proper slide-lock when using a thumbs-forward grip.

Sig also announced their new additions to the line of P238 pistols, including the P238 Equinox, the P238 Heavy Duty, and a P238 model with an integral laser system.


Browning
Browning showed off their 75th anniversary Hi Power alongside their 75th anniversary Mark III pistol. The Hi Power Standard comes with a highly polished blued finish and checkered grips fashioned from select walnut, while the Mark III has black composite grips and a black epoxy finish.

Both models have a 4 5/8" barrel and low profile fixed sights. The Hi Power Standard is also available with an adjustable rear sight and ramped front sight. The actions are a locked breech design with a single-action trigger. Ambidextrous thumb safeties are standard on both the Standard and the Mark III. Grips on the Standard are made from select walnut with cut checkering while the Mark III has black composite grips. Both pistols come with two magazines.

USFA
The Colt Woodsman Match Pistol is back! Not by Colt this time, but by USFA. We found the Woodsman on display at the 2010 SHOT show at the Davidson's booth. USFA released their newest project, the reinvention of the classic Woodsman Match Target .22 Type pistol, at this years SHOT show and announced that it would be distributed by Davidson's. The Colt Woodsman, as it was originally manufactured, was a highly sought after backpacking and trail pistol back in the 1930s. Many readers likely grew up learning to shoot with their dad's old Woodsman. Original Woodsman pistols still around today are highly sought after and can command high prices when they are in good condition.

USFAs reincarnation of the Woodsman is a handcrafted pistol with walnut grips and a highly polished blued finish. It is offered with either a 4 1/2" or 6" barrel, and both lengths include slab sided barrel weights. Other options such as a suppressor, engraving, nickel plating, or custom grips are also available for an addition charge.

Photos
I know, I promised photos from the show, and I'm making good on it. Most of the Cheaper Than Dirt! team at SHOT is busy seeking out the best deals on new products that we can bring to you, but we also managed to find some time to get some pics of all the goodies.

You can't really tell from these photos, but the SHOT show floor was packed. This shot is generally facing the Hogue booth (check out their nifty blimp on the right).


Bushmaster ACR Photos
Photo evidence: The Remington / Bushmaster ACR is no longer just a myth.



Also available in the new A-TAC camouflage pattern. More on A-TAC tomorrow.



Close up of the Basic ACR stock and adjustable cheek piece



HK had a number of new rifles out on display



HK is now manufacturing their own .22 LR rimfire MP5.



That about wraps it up for today. I'll have more news and information tomorrow, so keep an eye on the blog and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for all the latest direct from SHOT 2010.