#SHOTShow2018

The dramatic increase in the number of firearms purchases made by women over the past decade is indisputable. One only need look at the number of “muddy girl” or “Tiffany blue (Robin’s egg) colored firearms on the market today for verification that the firearms industry has taken notice. However, recent studies are now showing that growth could be more substantial than originally thought and that women may have surpassed the number of men obtaining concealed carry permits nationwide.

A Lithuanian company called MakSnipe brought to the SHOT Show 2018 their line of 12 gauge slugs which they are going to launch in the US market. The company plans to offer loaded ammunition as well as the slugs separately. Their 12 gauge ammunition comes loaded with Baschieri & Pellagri powders and in Fiocchi hulls. All MakSnipe slugs are lead-free and have steel and polymer construction. Let’s take a quick look at the slugs this company makes.

At SHOT Show 2018 McRees Precision has introduced a new bolt action rifle chassis for the Remington 700 barrelled action. Perhaps the most significant feature of this new chassis is that it is compatible with AR-15 handguards.

Another innovative company that I came across in the NEXT section of Level 3 of SHOT Show 2018 exhibition was Jones Arms. It is easy to simply pass by their booth because the most interesting product they have is not something that immediately catches your attention. At first glance, it looks to be just another AR-15 based PCC barrel. When the company officials handed me the barrel, I was shocked because it weighs a fraction of what you expect such a barrel to weight.

Dead Foot Arms has introduced an AR-15 buffer tube with a quick stock deployment feature. In order to extend the stock, you simply need to pull it back. The stock will extend and stop at a preset length. Then, collapsing it back is accomplished by pressing the lever just like in the case of conventional AR-15 stocks and buffer tubes. You can see how that works in the video below.

H&P Manufacturing is one of the companies that brings the metal 3D printing technologies to the firearms industry. We see more and more companies deploying these technologies to manufacture sophisticated parts that would otherwise be too difficult or even impossible to machine.

In Iver Johnson Arms’ booth at SHOT Show 2018, there were two new firearms. One of them is a four-barreled derringer chambered in .22LR and the second one is a 1911 pistol-based carbine.

At the range day of SHOT Show 2018, a company called Sol Invictus Arms has introduced a 9mm pistol called TAC-9. It is inspired by the TEC-9, which was a similar weapon designed in the mid-’80s by George Kellgren. The TAC-9 has the same overall layout and is a blowback operated firearm too. The main difference is the new lower receiver designed by Sol Invictus Arms.

Everybody had to know that 5.11 Tactical was not going to roll into SHOT Show with celebrity appearances and Black Rifle Coffee Company coffee in their booth without bringing along some dope new gear. We previously covered their new GEO 7 Terrain & Night camouflage patterns, but they also have new, innovative packs to peak your interest. Their Rapid Origin and All Missions Pack (AMP) both offer unique traits that may just suit your needs.

Nikon showed off their brand new Spur Reflex Sight under their P-TACTICAL line of products at the 2018 SHOT SHOW. Their Spur Reflex Sight features multi-coated optics with an anti-reflective proprietary coating that Nikon calls “TRUCOLOR”, it helps minimize that blue look you get with some of the other reflex sights on the market. It also has unlimited eye relief, a wide 27x16mm field of view and 1x magnification. The Spur Reflex Sight has a 3 MOA dot and 10 brightness level settings with the first two being night vision compatible. Nikon claims 15,000 hours of continuous use from one battery.

Good news Canada! You’ll finally be getting the Glock 19 Gen 4. Glock showed off their new Canadian compliant version of the G19 Gen 4 at the 2018 SHOT Show. The factory Glock 19 barrel is 102mm which was too short to be legal in Canada, they require handgun barrels to be over 105mm. The new Canadian compliant model Glock 19 Gen 4 has a barrel that’s 106mm in length and as you can see from the picture below it pokes out a tad from the slide. I wonder if the extra few millimeters of barrel length will give any noticeable increase in velocity and accuracy? Meh, probably not.

New from American Tactical for 2018 is a conversion adapter that allows you to use 9mm Glock mags with your AR-15 lower. It’s made out of 6061-T6 Aluminum and locks into place via the AR-15 mag catch. The Glock mags are released by hitting a button on the bottom of the adapter.

ProMag showed off their new drum mags for the AR-15, AK-47 and AR-10. In case you missed it they also just released a new Archangel stock that converts your standard Ruger 10/22 rifle into a take down. Not a whole lot of details have been released on their new mags but what we do know is their AR-15 drum mag will hold 65 rounds, their AK-47 drum mag will hold 50 round and their AR-10 (.308) drum mag will hold 50 rounds. I didn’t have official weights on the drum mags and I forgot my digital scale at home, but the mags did feel very lightweight.

When it comes to SHOT Show everyone comes for the shock value of the guns that are announced, but be sure to stick around for the myriad of gear options, too. One company consistently strong in this segment of the market is 5.11 Tactical with their expansive portfolio of clothing, backpacks and tactical gear. So what are their new products for 2018? They have quite a bit, but the absolute headliner is their GEO 7 CAMO.

Palmetto State Armory debuted their new AK-47 chambered in 9mm at the 2018 SHOT Show. They’re calling it the PSAK-9. The model they had on display was using MP5 mags but they are also going to release a model that uses Glock mags as well. They also have plans for a version with a folding rifle stock as well as a pistol version that will probably make use of one of the various pistol braces on the market.