The 2010 Shot Show

We've returned from the Shot Show. It was a huge show made even bigger with the addtion of all of the new military and Homeland Security products.

The US firearms industry has been driven by the so-called "black gun" business - AR's, sniper rifles, Glocks, S&W M&P's etc - and all of the accompanying accessories and short barrelled handguns. Most of this is un-importable to Canada.

The Ithaca Gun Company has been resurrected. I talked with the new owner and he assured me that it will survive this time. He has invested heavily in new machinery and good employees. The Ithaca Model 37 Featherweight is available in 12ga, 16ga, 20ga, 20ga Ultralight and 28ga. The 28ga is new to the line. These Ithaca's appear to be well built and have very nice wood. The Model 37's are available in plain barrel (I see little market for this version) and vent rib with Invector Plus chokes. They are also building a specialty rifled slug gun. The Ithaca 37 12ga vent rib will sell in the $800-$900 range. Look for an Ithaca (US made) Over/Under in the near future. They had a prototype at the show. Ithaca also had prototypes of and will be producing a 1911 A1 45 ACP semi-auto pistol which looked very good.

Colt has revived their 1911 pistols with different models including a short barrelled pistol which will not come into Canada. Colt continues with the Single Action Army in various calibers and finishes. A Colt AR 22 LR should be available in Canada from Colt Umarex however it will be restricted. No Colt AR15's are to be shipped into Canada at this time.

Leupold has announced the return of the Redfield rifle scope (made in the USA). The line will be entry-level and will include a 2-7x32, 3-9x40 and 3-9x50 - all of which should sell for under $200.00. These scopes will compete directly with Bushnell's mid-range line. They seem to be a really good value, being clear with a nice wide field of view. I was unable to detect any distortion at the edges. We will be stocking the full line when they become available. For those with deep pockets there is also a new MK4 Ext Range/Tactical 4.5-14x50mm longrange scope.

Remington has introduced an imitation assault rifle based on the 597 22LR action. Our experience with the 597 action has not been that great as regards feeding and reliability. We have sold at least one but have not had any feedback yet. The Remington CDL Limited Edition is chambered for the 280 Rem this year. Remington has the 338 Lapua in their ammo line this year.

Bushnell has comletely revamped their Trophy line of scopes but they have not shipped any of these yet. The new Bushnell Trophy XLT rifle scope has 91% light transmission, multi-coated lenses, positive-click adjustments and comes with Butler Creek flip-up scope covers. The samples at the show gave the impression of good value for the buck. Bushnell has carried the new brighness and clarity characteristics over into the Trophy XLT line of binoculars as well. The Bushnell Fusion Arc 10x 42mm rangefinding binoculars was available at the show and will sell in Canada for about $850.00. They also have the new Bone-Collector muzzleloader rifle scope with the DOA 250 reticle. The Bushnell Elite 4200 series of rifle scopes now includes 2 new tactical 30mm tube scopes: a 6-24x50mm and a 3-12x44mm.

Leupold has introduced the RX600 and 750TBP rangefinders with a faster distance read-out. Both with green illuminated Mil-Dot reticle. Bushnell's Simmons brand has a low cost rangefinder that will sell for about $100.00 and the Redfield line will contain a competitive laser rangefinder in 2010.

Burris is offering a new Eliminator Laser rifle scope which with a few clicks in set-up mode allows the shooter to tailor the ballistic curve to his/her specific ammo. No more guessing the range and hold-over. It's all done for you.

Steiner Optics has been acquired by Beretta and was shown with Beretta's Burris line of optics.

We are waiting for shipments of the S&W M&P 22LR semi-auto AR-type rifle to begin soon. The Ruger SR-22RSC with fixed stock should be available in Canada very soon and price should be close to $600.00. It will be non-restricted.

The Beretta PX4 Storm semi-auto pistol series has now been shipped in 45ACP.

Although there was lots of exciting changes and additions, these represent some of the high-lights that are most applicable to the Canadian market.

Safe shooting - always.