Saturday at the Movies: SHOT Show Selections

SHOT Show, the huge gun industry trade show, returned to Las Vegas this past week, after a COVID-caused hiatus in 2021. Though attendance was down signficantly this year, it was still a major event, with thousands of companies showcasing products in two massive exhibit halls. There were plenty of new handgun offerings, and notably, some of the big AR-platform black rifle builders are now selling bolt guns. Here is the new Aero Precision A700 bolt-action rifle.

SHOT Show Day 2 Highlights — Nine Companies

This video from the Classic Firearms YouTube Channel spotlights a number of interesting products, both at Industry Day at the Range, and inside SHOT Show 2022. Companies covered include: Zastava (1:00), Kalashnikov USA (6:33), LMT Defense (12:21), Geissele (20:35), SureFire (25:12), Foxtrot Mike (32:20), Maxim Defense (34:15), Great Lakes (44:35), and Sylvan Arms (46.20).

Top Five New Guns from Industry Day at the Range

There were many interesting rifles and handguns on display at the Industry Day at the Range. Savage’s new straight-pull Impulse PRS/NRL rifle attracted considerable attention. Many of the testers at the range were also impressed by the new .44 Auto Mag which is featured in this “Top Five” video from TheGunSnob channel. The tester said this .44 Auto Mag was “by far my favorite [gun] I shot all day.”

Magpul New Products

TFB TV showcases multiple new products from Magpul for 2022. We liked what we saw, including a new $600 Pro 700 Lite chassis, and a new 8-ounce bipod. Magpul also had its radical FDP-9 “enclosed pistols” on display. Magpul explains: “With recently confirmed classification of the FDP-9 as a handgun, the purchaser can enjoy the firearm as a self-enclosing, large-format pistol. They may also choose to file the appropriate ATF Form 1 and, after approval, purchase a conversion kit to legally assemble it into the FDC-9. It will then be classified as a short-barreled rifle (SBR) and subject to all NFA laws.”

Mantis — Advanced Dry-Fire Training System

Mantis makes a variety of firearm-arms mounted systems that monitor muzzle movement and display that through a mobile App. These systems allow dry-fire practice at home — a great way to improve your marksmanship without spending big bucks on ammo. Mantis had a display at SHOT Show 2022. A Mantis dry-fire device fitted to an AR-platform rig (with the Mantis Blackbeard trigger reset system) is featured in this video record at the Mantis SHOT Show booth:

Cutting Edge Bullets — Solid, High-BC Bullets for .22 LR Reloaders

With the growth of long-range rimfire tactical competition, there has been interest in high-BC bullets fitted into the diminutive .22 LR case. This effort has been pioneered by Cutting Edge Bullets, which offers a variety of .22 caliber projectiles created expressly for hand-loaded .22 LR. Cutting Edge also offers dies and special shellholders for reloading the .22 LR case. This video (from 2020) explains how Cutting Edge pioneered long, high-BC lathe-turned solid bullets for the .22 LR cartridge. These bullets and dies were on display at Cutting Edge’s 2022 SHOT Show booth.