My SHOT Show predictions: I suck

A few days before SHOT I made seven predictions on what would and would not be launched at SHOT. SayUncle agreed to take on the prestigious role of unbiased judge and has given me my score:

1. Ruger will not launch an AR-15. Correct

2. A new cartridge will be unveiled. FAIL (a new cartridge was launched just before SHOT but it is not yet a production cartridge)

3. A non-autoloader rifle will chamber the .30 Remington AR (.30 RAR) cartridge. FAIL

4. Magpul will demo some whizz-bang concept gun. FAIL

5. Ruger LCP available in 9mm. FAIL

7. A new bullpup bolt action rifle will be released. FAIL

6. Ruger Mini-14 will get a minor upgrade but not what people where hoping for. FAIL

8. A 4th Generation Glock, if launched, will not convince any 1911 fanboy that plastic is cool. Correct

So that is a 2/8. Cerberus will not be employing me as a gun industry analyst anytime soon ;)

I can’t believe Remington did not convince anyone, including their bolt-action rifle division, to chamber a rifle in .30 RAR – new cartridges sell rifles. Ruger dropped the ball by not launching a 9mm LCP. I will be saving my bullpup bolt rifle prediction for next year.

Related Posts

Steve Jan 23rd 2009 misc Tags: , 6 Comments

6 Responses to “My SHOT Show predictions: I suck”

  1. N.U.G.U.N.on 24 Jan 2009 at 3:37 am link comment

    “6. Ruger Mini-14 will get a minor upgrade but not what people where hoping for. FAIL”

    I don’t know, I’d wager this one was correct. They did some extra polishing and rounding on certain parts. Offered in a new tactical configuration utilizing 3rd party stock. And offered a version with a Flash Suppressor.

    So that’s 3 out of 8 correct.

    And “2. A new cartridge will be unveiled. FAIL (one was launched just before SHOT but it is not yet a production cartridge)”

    There was the one cartridge announced that was a necked down version of the .327 Magnum. So that might count. And bring you up to half-right.

  2. N.U.G.U.N.on 24 Jan 2009 at 3:39 am link comment

    Oh, I just want to add that I am not sure I’d see the benefit of a 9mm LCP. I mean frankly, it’s not the easiest gun to control and shoot accurately as it stands.

    What I think they needed in way of pistols are the following:

    - Ruger SR-9 Sub-compact
    - Ruger P-390 (P-345 chambered in 9mm)

  3. Steveon 24 Jan 2009 at 7:41 am link comment

    N.U.G.U.N., number 6 could go either way, but people were hoping for a tactical pistol gripped folding stock Mini-14 and they did get it!

  4. Murdocon 24 Jan 2009 at 11:46 am link comment

    I will toss in my vote for #6 being correct. Yes, it’s obviously a step up from the TAPCO-stocked previous tactical Mini-14s, but the new ones aren’t what I would consider a “major” release.

  5. Michael Z. Williamsonon 24 Jan 2009 at 5:56 pm link comment

    A bolt action bullpup would take some serious engineering on the charging handle.

  6. Steveon 24 Jan 2009 at 6:08 pm link comment

    Michael, they do exist:

    http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2009/01/02/t-4-bullpup-pcp-air-gun/
    http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2008/09/12/alex-bullpup-bolt-action-rifles/
    http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2008/02/04/desert-tactical-arms-stealth-recon-scout/

Leave a Comment

Comment Policy: I reserve the right to remove comments at my discretion. Think of comment threads like a dinner party at someone's house. If you make the party unpleasant for others or me, you won't be invited back. I am happy to tolerate a wide range of viewpoints, even extreme ones, but I'm not going to tolerate nastiness, rudeness, trolling, vitriol, or excessive snarkiness toward the author(s) or other commenters. You may make your case passionately, but civility is expected. Please stay on topic and respect the technical nature of this blog.
Spam Filtering: To avoid spam, comments are filtered using Akismet and then manually approved. Do not be alarmed if you comment does not appear instantly. I do not check the spam folder more than once per day.