Once a year, in Las Vegas, the biggest firearms, weapons, knives, and gear manufacturers gather for one of the largest trade shows in the world: Shot Show. It’s here that they unveil everything new they’ve got coming out, as well as display all of their products for retailers, consumers, and media to get excited about. And boy, there were some exciting things at Shot Show this year. Of course, there were also some big flops as well. So, let’s get into the biggest winners and losers of Shot Show 2024
Utah Companies
Let’s start with the local guys. There were several Utah companies represented at Shot Show, including central Utah’s own Christensen Arms. Now, many people were a little concerned about what would become of Christensen’s after they were recently bought out, but so far it seems they intend to move forward with cool new innovations. Christensen’s debuted three new lines of bolt action guns at Shot Show: the Evoke series, the Modern Carbon Rifle, and the Modern Precision Rimfire. The Evoke line of rifles is set to be a somewhat more affordable line of rifles for big game hunters. They come in four camouflage variations and eight available calibers, with three more announced for this summer. It’s an all stainless steel system, from the barrel to the action. The rifle also features an integral muzzle break and a detachable box magazine. Weighing in at just under eight pounds and promising sub-moa accuracy, this might be a great rifle for those looking to get started in hunting that want to support local business. Starting price for the Evoke line is just under $900, and ranges up to a little over $1,000, depending on the camo pattern. The Modern Carbon Rifle (MCR) is the gun for those with a little more jingle in their jeans. It’s got an all carbon stock, carbon fiber barrel, and is optics and suppressor ready. It also comes with the same sub-moa accuracy guarantee and weighs in at an incredibly light 6.7 lbs. This gun’s a hunter’s dream in all but the price tag, which sits at right around $2,400. Like I said, this is not one for the faint of wallet. Now, for those of you looking at something for small game, Christensen’s is also releasing the Modern Precision Rifle Rimfire. A lightweight and potgut-unfriendly variant of their popular MPR, this new rimfire bolt-action comes in .22 Long Rifle, .22 WMR, and .17HMR. And don’t you worry, it takes Ruger magazines, so you’re all set to use the same mags from your 10-22. However, with a $1,200 starting price, it’s probably not a kid’s first .22.
Another Utah company with some neat innovation is Double Tap Ammunition. This Cedar City company has developed a new kind of snake shot (i.e. rat shot, shot shells, whatever you want to call it). The DT SnakeShot features a tight spread of #9 lead pellets and an added copper penetrator behind it, to ensure that whatever snaked dared mess with your cattle will never come back. It’s available in any of your favorite revolver cartridges, but unfortunately semi-auto handgun enjoyers are a bit out of luck on this one.
Of course Browning made an excellent showing, but their new line is certainly not cheap. The Morgan-based company debuted their John M. Browning over-under shotgun collection, and let me tell you, they are gorgeous guns. The engravings are outright beautiful, and they can even be customized just for you. However, you better have a spare arm and leg to spend, because the least expensive of these shotguns comes in right around $20,000.
Lever Actions
Those of us with a fondness for cowboy-action rifles were in for a big treat at Shot Show this year. No less than three companies debuted new lines of lever-action guns, including Stag Arms, Aero Precision, and Smith & Wesson. Stag and Aero are sister companies, so it makes sense that they are both coming out with lever guns at the same time. However, it makes less sense if you consider the fact that both of these companies typically make exclusively AR-15 style rifles and parts. So, what gives. Well, I asked and got this answer: the AR is in danger. A representative from Aero Precision told me that because AR-15s and other “assault weapons” are at risk of getting banned in several states (whether constitutionally or not), a lot of retailers are asking for an alternative. And if you can’t have a gun that fires as fast as you can pull the trigger, the next best thing is one that can fire as fast as you can chock the lever. Regardless, the Stag lever action ships with wood furniture and is marketed more toward hunters. The Aero Precision variation is more tactical in nature, featuring full length M-Lock and Picatinny rails for scopes, flashlights, lasers, and other attachments. Both are only going to be available in .45-70 Government and .30-30 Winchester to start, but I have been assured that more calibers are soon to follow. On the Smith and Wesson side, we have the Model 1854. This one is for those who prefer a revolver-caliber lever action, as it will only be available in .44 Remington Magnum to start. It also features a modern flat-trigger design and a short pic-rail on top for optics. I will mention, however, that when experimenting with all three rifles, the Model 1854 did stand out, and not in a good way. The lever was not nearly as smooth as the others and the trigger was stiff, but that may change in the future, so lever gun fans stay posted.
Palmetto State Armory
The big winner of Shot 2024 was Palmetto State Armory. PSA really knocked it out of the park with everything they had on display this year. Let’s start small with the Dagger. No, it’s not a knife, it’s their line of handguns that may just be some of the best pistols I’ve ever felt for their price point. Of course, PSA had a lot more than just handguns. Now, for the last couple of years, the gun community has been hoping that an American company would make a variant of the law-enforcement-only HK MP7, and Palmetto delivered. Their big knockout item this year was their X5.7, an MP7 clone chambered 5.7×28. Now, 5.7 isn’t the most popular or affordable cartridge out there, but compared to the original MP7 cartridge of 4.6×30, it’s a much better option for an American market. It’s marketed as Personal Defense Weapon (PDW), so it’s a pistol-length firearm. It’s sling and brace compatible, and comes with attachment rails and a threaded barrel for suppressors. It’s looking very promising as a home defense gun, and it won’t break the bank too badly with a right around $1,000 estimated price. Other PSA innovations this year include a new line of pump action shotguns that promises to be Remington 870 furniture compatible, an STG-44 clone for all the WWII history buffs out there, and their new Emerge series of bolt action rifles for hunters and precision shooters. All in all, PSA really blew the roof off of this year’s Shot Show, and it showed in the massive crowds constantly surrounding their booth to get a peak at all the cool new guns.
More S&W
As mentioned previously, Smith and Wesson announced a new lever-action rifle this year, but that’s not all from them. They also had two other new guns of note, including the Model 350 revolver and the M&P FPC folding carbine. I actually had high hopes for both of these guns, but they just didn’t turn out in my opinion. Let’s start with the Model 350. Now, S&W has always made good revolvers, and they’ve always made the biggest revolvers out there, but I’m not sure anyone really asked if it was a good idea to make a revolver in 350 Legend. Not to bash on 350, it’s a fine AR and hunting cartridge, but that’s just it, it’s a RIFLE caliber. The Smith and Wesson representative did say it’s supposed to have less recoil than their 500 Magnum, but still, that’s not really comforting considering the absolute wrist-breaker that is 500 Mag. Additionally, you’re not getting nearly the velocity or energy out of the 350 Legend that you should, considering you’re trying to shoot a cartridge designed to be shot out of a 16” or longer barrel out of a ported 7.5” barrel. Now, one upside is that it does come with full moon clips, which is pretty neat, and the Model 350 does have a seven round capacity, which is more than you could say for most revolvers. I’m just not sure the trade-offs are worth it for this behemoth handgun, but if you are a fan of big bore, this one could be for you. Now onto the M&P FPC. I had high hopes for a folding carbine bearing the M&P designation, considering the well-deserved success of Smith and Wesson’s pistol line of the same name, but I was sorely disappointed. Designed as a competitor to the KelTec Sub2000, which is a weird gun in and of itself, the FPC took the weird one step further. Unlike the KelTec, it folds to the side instead of over top of itself, making the FPC more optics friendly, so that’s a plus. But, also unlike the Sub2000, the M&P also does not take Glock magazines, which are the most universal magazines in the pistol world. The manual of arms on the FPC is awkward and stiff, and I was really not a fan of having to stick my finger in the path of the bolt to hit the bolt release. I would prefer not to pinch my finger every time I want to close the bolt. The trigger was really not great either. It was really heavy to pull and had lots of squish, so I was not impressed. I hate to be down on Smith and Wesson, but I think they might be the big losers for this year’s Shot Show.
Knives
Now, despite the name, Shot Show is not just a gun expo. There’s police gear, camouflage, backpacking equipment, and of course, knives. Now, there were a lot of cheap Chinese knife companies, but a couple of the American made knife brands really stood out. Buck Knives had some interesting new hunting and EDC knives. The line that really stood out was the 838 Auto series. These knives featured assisted open and easy concealment, and I’m excited to try them out more. SpiderCo also had some cool new offerings, including a new take on their classic Shaman series with a smaller blade for easier everyday carry.
Conclusions
I would love to go further into everything I saw at Shot Show 2024, but there is simply too much to mention. Additionally, while I was there for two days, walking the floor and talking to exhibitors and manufacturers, I bet I didn’t even see half of the show. But, of what I did see, PSA was the big man on campus for this year, and unfortunately S&W just didn’t make the team. Lever action enjoyers were also big winners this year, and our Utah companies made a strong showing as well. Below you’ll find pictures of everything I’ve mentioned in this article, and make sure to stay tuned to the Outdoor Corner for more and innovations in the guns, knives, hunting, and fishing world from MidUtahRadio.
