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SHOT show
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2012
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SHOT show
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2012
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The Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade show (SHOT show) is the largest and most comprehensive trade show of it's kind. It is only for professionals involved with the shooting sports, hunting and law enforcement industries. It is the world's premier exposition of combined firearms, ammunition, law enforcement, cutlery, outdoor apparel, optics and related products and services. The SHOT show attracts buyers, manufacturers, importers and distributors from all 50 states and over 100 countries.
And this year the SHOT show in Las Vegas was an impressive event as always. In the past I wanted to see *all* the new rifles and handguns and shotguns and new camping gear and new optics and new hunting knives and new hi-tech flashlights and, and, and..... But it was always too much to see let alone 5 days to do it. It is not enough time to see it all. This time I focused on air guns and the associated accessories such as scopes. Still, a daunting task!
Scoping out the different scope manufacturers I was surprised by the wide range of quality. Some were like looking through dirty pop bottles and others were dazzlingly bright. Let me summarize a few: The criteria that I used to evaluate the scopes were; does it focus to 10yd/10m at max power, side focus, fully multi coated optics, optical distortion and reticle choices. I also took into consideration the price equals quality, or, not, in some cases. With this figured I disqualified the high-end-high-dollar manufactures in my criteria I felt they are top quality but out of most of our budgets.
Sun Optics has a good selection of scopes, but to my surprise very few focus down to 10yds. I spoke with the owner and he showed me a prototype for us air-gunners that will focus to 10yds with a side-wheel. The optics are good and clear and a mill-dot reticle is available. The reticle is the old style wire, and, notably, the owner is an engineer, taking into design considerations the Omni-directional recoil of spring guns to make sure the reticle stays intact. The scopes have a life time guarantee. The prices will be coming in around the $200 mark.
SightMark by Yukon looked like a decent scope. They have quite a few models that meet the air gun requirements and are in the $200 dollar area as well. I would generalize Sightmark, Leapers and Barska in the same quality/price category; $200-300.
One of the scopes I saw but had never previously considered is Kruger. A US owned company, they have a new model for us air- gunners, the TacDriver T4i. They come in 2.5-10, 6-24 and 10-40 power levels with side focus. The glass was very, very clear and with a price range of $340 to $440. I think these are excellent scopes.
Another scope that was a surprise was Konus. They are the only one I encountered that does not use minute-of-angle calibration of their turrets. Instead, they use 1/10 mil adjustments. This means that one click of the turret equals 1/10 the distance to the mill dot, and 10 clicks will move your next shot to where your mill dot was on the target. A much easier and faster system to get your shots on target. They run in the $310 to $350 area--another excellent scope.
Rex optics started in 2003 and have the Range Proven Models Premium Scopes looked very good and the prices quoted were very reasonable, but I want to see the prices list in writing. As soon as I find out the selling price I'll let everyone know.
Lastly of the scopes for air gunners at a reasonable price is the ubiquitous British Hawke. Since the UK lost its right to bear arms long ago, all of their scopes focus to 10m for air gunners. Hawke has the best selection of reticles and with a lot of side focus models to pick from, it's no wonder they are probably the most popular air gun scope. Prices range from $200-$400 plus.
As for what new in the pellet gun department...well in a word; Hatsan. Hatsan's reputation precedes them. They are known for accuracy and for good power. They have side-bolt action models which are fine. However, their rear-bolt along with the ambidextrous stock will be great for the left-hand shooters. But my favorite is the model AT44 sidelever. The sidelever works smoothly and operates the solid cast 10 shot magazine easily. The barrel isn't shrouded but has a threaded end. The power level is 42 FPE in .22 and 46 FPE in .25 caliber. Hatsan advertise a shot count of 70 and 60 respectively from the 180cc air tube. The MSRP price range for the PCP is $550-610 . . . we'll see
The premier Korean manufacturer Evanix has a new semi-auto/full-auto line. Yes that's right - fully automatic. The two that will/are being imported are the Speed and the Conquest. The Speed has a conventional air tube up front and the Conquest has a 400cc bottle. These are electronic guns. The battery pack is under the butt pad and is said to last for 500 shots before recharging is necessary. The shot count for the Speed is 40 and for the Conquest is 55. Not bad for a 35 FPE air gun. The thumbhole stock is ambidextrous and surprisingly comfortable. Overall these guns are well made, accurate, and, I'm getting mine in .22 cal. The SHOT show is where the World of Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Products meet.
Exciting as well as interesting, it was a real pleasure to see and handle the guns and the gear that helps the Sportsman in all of us. Again, the Shot show runs only 5 days (Mon-Fri) and it is difficult to see all the products available to us in that short time.
I'm happy to say that I left knowing a lot of the guns and gear up-close and personal.
I should know! They’ve all have my finger prints on them now!
Peter at large!
