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Jesse's Hunting > Gun Room Articles > Gun Room Archives > 2005 SHOT Show Guns in Review
2005 SHOT Show Guns in Review
Andy Moe - JHO ProStaff
- Insane Diego, CA
March 02, 2005
As of January 31, 2005, another SHOT Show has come and gone.
The Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show is an almost endless landscape of goods and services, showcased for the benefit of distributors, retailers, and journalists in attendance of the four-day event.
The businesses represented range from small shop owners to national and international distributors. As a shooter, I find the SHOT Show to be the land of dreams. It is very seldom that I can look upon a newly introduced firearm or reloading gadget and not imagine a darned good reason to own it.
Being a handgun hunting fanatic, S&W’s new .460 S&W seems to have earned a place in my gun safe by its mere existence. The fact that it will toss out a 200 grain slug at over 2300 ft/sec from a gain-twist rifled barrel might have a little to do with it also. Surely owning that revolver would entitle me to at least one extra mule deer hunt each season?
Ah yes, Andy! Dream on.
Davide Pedersoli debuted their new “Colt Lightning” pump rifle in 45 Long Colt. A masterpiece of machining, this rifle incorporates internal safety features that make it stronger and safer than the original models. That’s a comfort to the Cowboy Action Shooters destined to own one of these unique rifles, no doubt.
Pedersoli Colt Lightning Carbine
Well-made and solid, this rifle is likely to be a great addition to the Cowboy Shooting arena. |
Pedersoli also displayed their new “Hawken” rifle. This is an authentically detailed and finely crafted reproduction of the original and scarce Hawken Rifle. The black powder rifleman in me had a hard time putting this one down!
Savage Arms has tingled my somewhat dormant shotgun nerve by introducing its superbly made 411 side-by-side at an affordable price. I have never been a good wing shot but mounting that shotgun at the Show allowed me to imagine that I could actually hit a flushed bird on the wing. I could almost see the big cock buckle in mid-air; the smell of gunpowder mingled with the scent of dry fall foliage. I hear the soft rustle of my Harris tweeds already. Truly, those who have watched me attempt shotgun shooting would say that I was having a very delusional daydream! Still, that Savage was pretty enough, and solid enough, that I’d surely be happy with it just being in my safe. It would certainly impress those uninformed as to my gunning skills.
The Savage 411 SxS
The "new" version of the venerable Stevens 311, the 411 is made in Russia for the Savage Arms Co., a trend that is increasingly common among all the major American gun makers. |
Appealing more to my tastes and skills, Savage also debuted their long awaited Model 40 Varmint. This year’s model sports their exclusive Accu-Trigger. I wouldn’t mind having one of these sleek, single-shot .22 Hornet varminters along for the summer ground-squirrel festivities!
Savage has also stepped up the plate this year and taken a swing at helping the Lefties out there. This year they debuted their Model 93 R17GLV, left hand rimfire magnums in both 22 WMR and the super popular 17HMR. Savage has always been one of the few arms makers to cater to the left-handers of the world and this year they took it a step further by introducing this bull-barrel model of their popular Model 93GL. Ok. I’m a rightly, but I have a brother that will be happy about that one. Savage rimfires are known for their superb accuracy. I have yet to hear of one that doesn’t shoot.
Charles Daley Arms has also gone to bat for the left handed shooters in the world by introducing their “Field Grade” bolt actions in left hand versions. The term “field grade” might conjure an image of a plain rifle but these Charles Daley guns are anything but plain. The cost of tooling-up for left-hand shooters has paid off in a fine looking series of rifles and the Field and Stream “Best of the Best” award for 2004. Good show, Charles Daley.
One of America’s most venerable gun makers, O.F. Mossberg, has entered the centerfire rifle market again. This time it is with their “ATR” bolt-action rifle. “ATR” stands for “All Terrain Rifle”, and it is a business-like affair from butt to barrel. The metal finish is matte black and the stock is a wood-grained synthetic sporting sling swivels made into the body of the stock. Looking a bit like a Savage hybrid, this rifle is currently available in .270 and 30-06 and comes with factory mounted Weaver Style bases. The rifle is light and shoulders well. I could see myself straddling the ridges between Cow and Bear Creek up in New Mexico’s Sangre de Cristo mountain range with this rifle in hand.
Another Mossberg innovation displayed this year’s show was their exclusive “Extendable” butt stock available on their popular pump shotguns. This system will allow a young shooter to grow with his gun. O.F. Mossberg is again looking out for the shooter.
Remington Arms has introduced a new line of firearms. The “Spartan Line” consists of single barrel shotguns, over and under shotguns, over and under combination guns, double barreled shotguns (both hammered and hammerless) and a double barrel 45-70 rifle. The double rifle has the barrels held in a framework instead of the traditional joining with a soldered rib. This allows for a small “regulating” nut to lie between the barrels. By turning the nut the shooter can regulate the point of impact. The rifle is clearly marked as to the pressure levels the 45-70 shooter can load to – another interesting feature.
Spartan Series - Combo Guns
Remington is also getting into the import business with it's Russian-made "Spartan" line. |
The Spartan Line guns are imported from Russia. Remington has also added the heavy barrel to their model 504 rimfire and added the 17M2 chambering. Good news for us fans of that fledgling cartridge.
Ruger Firearms also displayed some new variations on old favorites. The Model 77 centerfire has been trimmed, pared, and outfitted for rough backwoods travel in their new laminated “Frontier” model. This bolt action sports a forward mounted scope base for an intermediate eye relief scope. The trend toward this “Scout Rifle” setup has been coming on strong over the last few years and Ruger has again answered consumer demands. They have also gussied up an old favorite in the 77/22 and are offering the gun with a laminated stock and a fluted barrel. This model is available in both 22 and 17 calibers, in the 17M2 and 22LR, as well as the 22 WMR and 17HMR chamberings.
J.P Enterprises was present with a display of their precision, match grade upper receiver assemblies for the AR-15 enthusiasts. The highly stylized and intricately machined upper receivers came in a multitude of variants. Extremely interesting to me was their set-up for Coyote Hunting. Combined with their patented, drop in trigger assembly; the AR becomes a serious varminter with reported 200-yard sub-MOA capability. This with factory ammo, no less!
Not all of the dream fodder was firearms. There were plenty of gunsmithing and reloading accessories, too. Lyman has introduced two new electronic reloading tools this year: The 1500 XP reloading scale and the 1200 DPS II combination scale and powder measure. Both have more memory then my first PC did and the 1200 DPS II has a PC interface for storage of load data beyond its internal 100+ load capacity. Either of these tools would speed up my reloading time and deliver 1/10-grain accuracy in every metered load.
A new company, Huber Concepts, was at the Show displaying their line of patented, ball bearing, drop-in triggers for military rifles. These affordable triggers drop in with no fitting and most are adjustable for sear engagement and over-travel. Their display rifles had glassy-smooth trigger-pulls. Huber Concepts’ triggers are available for Enfields, Nagants, Arisaka’s, and Mausers. Soon they will be adding triggers for the Savage and Marlin rimfire rifles. This is a company sure to make their mark on the Industry.
B-Square was also on hand with scope mounts and gunsmithing tools for the gun enthusiast. Their new “Lynx” series of all-steel rings has been expanded to accommodate all heights for the Ruger shooter as well as offering most of their rings in the 30MM tube diameter becoming popular with tactical shooters and hunters alike.
Hakko scopes of Japan had a large display of optics including their new line with the color adjustable reticule. By turning a ring at the back of the scope the reticule would change color by virtue of a colored fiber-optic filter that utilizes available lighting. It’s a slick feature that allows shooters to match reticule color to the shooting conditions. Also in Hakko’s display, tucked in amongst their already famous tactical scopes, were three examples of 19th century style tube scopes. With the popularity of Cowboy Action Shooting seeping into other aspects of the shooting sports I can see Hakko having a ready market for these high-grade, period optics.
And speaking of scopes, it’s impossible not to mention Leupold. Almost everyone who shoots is aware of Leupold’s reputation for quality glass works so I need not dwell on the product as much as I feel compelled to comment on their display of custom rifles mounted with Leupold optics. I did say that the SHOT Show set me to dreaming, didn’t I? Well, Leupold’s fine exhibits of the gun maker’s art gave me enough material to cover several months’ worth of dreams. A shooter couldn’t ask for finer rifles, or optics to be mounted on them. It was all I could do to tear myself away from their display rack.
Leupold Custom Rifles
A minor drawback disguised as a blessing at the SHOT Show is the number of awesome displays of gunmaking craftsmanship and innovation. It makes it hard to move to other booths when you see things like this! |
But the SHOT Show does that to a person. It’s hard to walk away from some displays even at the promise of newer and brighter items waiting at the next stop. Plan to attend some year if you get the opportunity, but be prepared for some sleepless nights to follow. At the 2005 Show we saw the best that was available, worldwide. Guns, ammo, clothing… even amphibious float planes!
If it had to do with outdoor sports afield, it was at the 2005 SHOT Show.
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