SHOT Show 2014 Round Up….
One week, 160,000 steps and almost 90 miles’ worth of walking later, SHOT Show 2014 in over. I’m sitting in the airport terminal waiting for my plane and thinking back to this year’s show. Knowing what to expect this time, I was able to pace myself much better and, as a result, I was able to see everything without nearly killing myself from exhaustion.
One of the big news items this year wasn’t something at the show but the show itself. The NSSF fired their old management company due to a nasty public relations issue (to put it diplomatically). The new company seemed to manage everything well enough although there was some hiccups with the media day passes. To be fair, however, I’m not sure the badge issues were really the company’s fault as there was a nasty snow storm that delayed mail across the board. In my case, my media day passes arrived at my home in on Friday…4 days after media day. They gave me no problems getting a new badge though so no worries. Considering it was this new company’s first SHOT Show, I think they did quite well in the end.
That’s not to say there wasn’t issues with other companies. The rumor mill was going crazy at the show. Some of the hotels (Caesars Palace and the hotels they own, specifically), were giving some attendees a really hard time. I won’t go into specifics because, frankly, I was never able to get specifics myself. Either way, there was a lot of mumbling and wharrgarbl about the chance that SHOT 2016 might not even be in Vegas. One of the cities being thrown around was Orlando, FL, incidentally enough. As much as I love Vegas, and I seem to be in the minority among attendees in that aspect, Orlando would be nice because that’s just a 2 hour drive from my home. So NSSF, if you’re listening, Orlando has my vote.
But you don’t care about that stuff, do you? You just want gun news. Oh, I’ll feed you, baby bird.
I have to be brutally honest here, none of the guns announced really blew my skirt up. Part of it might be an almost complete lack of surprise for the big releases. For that, I take issue with their marketing decisions to announce the new releases well ahead of SHOT. Regardless, there were 3 guns that were real standouts to me.
Benelli Ethos
First off is Benelli’s new semi-automatic shotgun which they call it their “Ethos” line. I got to try it out a bit at Media Day and, after taking a few shots, this shotgun is WAY up on my “to purchase” list. First off, it’s incredibly light. Even though it has wood furniture throughout and lots of special options (of which I’ll get to in a moment), it’s so light that pretty much everyone that picked it up said “wow” as soon as they lifted it. Oops…problem. Light gun equals higher recoil, right? Not anymore, apparently. Benelli has incorporated a new recoil reduction system into the stock that reduces the felt recoil by 42%! They’ve also redesigned the receiver. It uses a rotating, locking bolt (like an AR-15). Benelli claims that this bolt, along with the other changes, means that no matter how light the load, this gun will cycle it. It also has a top rib made out of carbon fiber. Mmm…tasty, tasty carbon fiber. I’m so easy like that. You put carbon fiber on it and I immediately fall in love with it.
Anyway, Benelli says that they’ve be coming out with an adjustable stock option later this year. I can’t wait to see that because, if I’m honest, I couldn’t get a good cheek weld on this particular gun which means I couldn’t get the view level which means I probably hit about 3 clays out of 20 rounds. It wasn’t really the gun’s fault though. <excuses>I was wearing a thick coat that I had never shot with before and I wasn’t used to the crazy clay launcher they were using (it shot them in random directions).</excuses> They also told me that there will be an adjustable stock version upon release. This one’s on my Christmas list for 2014.
SIG P320
Throughout my time writing on this site, I have tried to give insights into the mind of nerds (our love of cargo pants and carbon fiber, for example). We also like modular things. The idea that we can buy a base unit then customize it to fit our needs over time no matter what those needs may be is like music to our ears. There must be some very influential nerds at SIG because they’ve released a modular pistol! There is a serialized main piece then you can swap out the frame, slide, barrel, trigger and caliber at will. This lets you have a full sized pistol for weekend shooting then you can change it out to a compact carry piece for the rest of the week. This is also SIG’s first striker fired pistol. The initial offering will be in 9mm, .357 SIG and .40 with a .45 version that will be out later.
Taurus View
Now we’re getting to the two “controversial” guns. The View by Taurus being the first. When this came out, a lot of bloggers poked fun at it. They forget, however, that not every gun owner is an Operator. This gun isn’t meant for the weekend tactical warrior nor is it for the 3 Gun Competitors. It seems that so many writers forget that there are, dare I say, casual gun owners out there that could not care less about the tactical capabilities of a gun. They want a small, light gun that goes bang when the trigger is pulled. The fact that the View is cool looking is a bonus. If you ask me, the gun is a great step in the right direction of marketing to women without painting it in patronizing pink.
Oh yeah, the gun itself…
It’s a tiny and light, all-metal .38 special revolver. It’s got a clear polymer side plate on it that lets you see all the inner workings. I spent a good long time dry firing it at the show just so I could watch how all the parts work together. While the window has gotten a lot of press, I haven’t seen many talk about the curve of the gun. It’s curved around the long axis so that it will fit more comfortably against the body when carried inside the waistband. There will be right and left handed versions as a result of that curve, by the way. For its tiny size, this gun is surprisingly comfortable to hold. This isn’t a gun that I would want to put more than 10-15 rounds at a time through at the range however because it’s going to be snappy as heck to shoot. Other than that, I can see this gun being quite popular.
Glock 42
The other controversial gun. The big questions most people had was “why did it take them so long to come out with it?” and “why isn’t it a 9mm?” Frankly, I’m ok with the .380 choice…for now. In holding this gun, I too think it would be awesome in 9mm as well. In the meantime, .380 is an incredibly popular size for concealed carry and, again, remember that not everyone spends their weekends practicing clearing homes with an AR decorated with the most advanced tacticool hardware there is. For those out there that don’t spend hours every day sculpting their tactical beards, the .380 is fine. Not ideal, mind you, but fine.
It should be no surprise to hear that this little pistol is everything you would expect from a Glock: simple, plain and works. The size isn’t much different from the 26 line, although it is a bit shorter, thinner and lighter. I didn’t get the chance to shoot it but, considering my experience with many other Glocks, I think it’s safe to say it’s going to shoot pretty much like every other Glock. The trigger and grip all felt the same to me. Nothing groundbreaking, nothing exciting. Frankly, I’m OK with that.
Final Observations
Like I said, nothing that really made me giggle like a little kid. There were a couple more interesting things to note. First off, every year I’ve been there (2 so far), I’ve noticed less and less booth babes. It’s great that these companies are finally coming to the realization that women might want to buy their products also and having a bunch of bikini clad girls in the booth with little idea of how to actually use a gun isn’t going to help sell to a rapidly growing demographic.
That being said, a lot of companies are still struggling with how to actually market to women. Some people still don’t get it and it was hilarious watching some of the sales reps’ jokes fall completely flat on some of the women attending. It’s not a matter of painting something pink and then calling it quits. The companies that are realizing that women have different needs beyond color coordination are going to come out on top in the coming years. Fyi: when a lady asks you what would be good for women, showing her a pink revolver is not going to win you points. Taurus seems to get it, for example, and 5.11 Tactical is coming out with a whole bunch of women’s clothing and accessories. It’s not going to be an overnight change to the industry but I see lots of consistent progress in the right directions.
Finally, I have to ask a question of my fellow attendees: did anyone see a booth there that DIDN’T have the Duck Dynasty guys on it? Anyone? Beuller?
Anyway, the only thing left is….
2nd Annual Gun Noob Awards of Awesomenicity 2014
This is where I award a bit of lip service to the stuff that really stood out. The votes have been tallied, the certificates signed and the presenters are ready. Let’s make history!
Friendlist Booth Staff – FNH USA
Let me tell you, FNH got a lot of brownie points right off the bat with their sponsoring of a large number of free charging stations around the show. This year I had no battery issues and it’s thanks in large part to them. When I actually went to their booth, however, they were absolutely awesome. I got to meet a lot of people and even the Public Relations Manager came over to say hello. They were eager to talk to me about their products and were very excited about their offerings. Pat yourselves on the back, FNH, you won this show.
Thinking Outside the Box – RADETEC
Ok, this isn’t a new product at all but they still had one of the most “ok now that’s freaking cool” devices there. They make a digital counter that keeps track of the ammo in your gun as you shoot it. It’s science fiction all the way and the geek in me loved it. I will admit they’re not the most practical of items but dang if they aren’t trying to build something neat.
Shut Up and Take My Money – Slide Fire
I don’t know if there’s a more polarizing firearm accessory out there. Some people think they’re too awesome for words while others think that the company is poking an angry ATF with a stick. Regardless, you can’t deny that this is an accessory that will put a smile on your face if you get to try it. Again, I know this isn’t a new item but this was the first time I’ve gotten the chance to try it out. The people at Media Day were great and I have to give a special shout out to Gil for showing me some of the new toys coming down the road.
Makes Me Want to Punch A Wall Award – People who stop in the middle of the aisles and just stand there blocking everyone from passing
Seriously. You know who you are. Stop it. Those aisles are barely wide enough for normal traffic. The middle of a busy intersection isn’t the time to stop and check your text messages or catch up on old times with friends. Move to the side and let the rest of us pass!
Best In Show – Benelli
I have to say that, though they didn’t win best booth, Benelli walks away with the best new product as well as the best presentation of that product. The Ethos shotgun is a masterpiece and the way they showed it off was incredible. Between the awesome motorcycle and the string quartet, they really know how to get people interested in a new product. There’s a part of me that feels we’ll be seeing the philosophies and technologies in this new shotgun make their way into the rest of Benelli’s offerings. It’ll certainly be fun to watch.
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