Several of us from the forum went down to SHOT again this year.
Some of us had appointments with various vendors, but were still able to look around at a few things in between places we had to be.
I'll start with some basic takeaways:
There is a general mood that I felt that is looking forward to the future in this industry, with a lot of innovation and new products that are taking things into the future.
New Wave of 6.5mm
There is a new wave of 6.5mm that really picked up in the US with the precision rifle crowd, best summarized by Zak Smith in his often-referenced article on 3 different 6.5-08 class cartridges about 10 years ago. Many 6.5mm shooters already understood the benefits of the low-recoiling 6.5x55 Mauser, as well as the .264 Winchester Magnum.
The .260 Remington really started changing things in the target-shooting crowd, where everyone started pulling their .308 barrels and going to .260 Rem when they saw that it is flatter with less wind drift than the .300 Win Mag, but fits in a standard short action.
Then the AR15 market experienced a leap in evolution looking at retained energy on target, as well as hit probability with the introduction of the 6.5 Grendel.
Hornady saw the market, and responded to the .260 Rem with the 6.5 Creedmoor, to which many people asked, "Why?" They're not asking anymore, and you see most rifle makers chambering in 6.5 Creedmoor now.
What we're seeing is a large wave of 6.5mm popularity that has been building since the first decade of the 21st Century. Evidence?
40 factory loads for 6.5 Grendel, including 3 new ones from Federal, 1 new one from Hornady with the 123gr ELD-M (their latest bullet line), and at least 6 SKUs between Howa and CZ for bolt gun 6.5 Grendels.
Savage and several other companies including Aero Precision introduced 6.5 Creedmoor AR10s, the Savage being a small frame.
AR15 Market Trends
Current trends in the AR market are more lightweight, different calibers, companies looking desperately for ways to differentiate themselves from the crowd of forged military-looking receivers, and not a lot doing a good job of it. Most are using Cerakote to put lipstick on a pig. For those that are distancing from the crowd, interest is huge in their designs and engineering feats.
PDWs
Compact, suppressed AR15s and AR15-inspired carbines are swelling across most manufacturers.
One company to look at is Cobalt Kinetics. They wiped the slate clean on design and aesthetics for the AR15, and really out-did themselves.
Suppressors
Growth of suppressor manufacturers is huge, much more than any of us ever imagined I think. SilencerCo has already taken integral suppression to the pistol world with the Maxim 9, and their company culture is very modern, engaging, and bend-over backwards to help get as many silencers into the hands of the people.
Optics
In the optics world, the new line of Vortex Viper PSTs is simply awesome, with improved zero stop Razor-like turrets, illumination in the side focus, and improved ruggedization with optical element retention.
The Elcan 1/3/9 prism scope is an exceptional piece of work for the DM role, and functions as a legitimate red dot sight on 1x, then can easily be turned to 3x with a knob, then 9x, with a proportional reticle to the magnification.
Geissele introduced their new coating system, a nano particle deposition, as well as several different triggers including single-stage for the AR, scope mounts, and even rifles with their new coating they have been working on. They are continuing to innovate at an almost breath-taking pace, while taking care of their customers.
There were just under 65,000 people in attendance this year, which is huge. I'm already looking forward to next year's show more than I ever have, and I've been there consistently since 2008, with 1 or 2 exceptions when I was overseas.
Some of us had appointments with various vendors, but were still able to look around at a few things in between places we had to be.
I'll start with some basic takeaways:
There is a general mood that I felt that is looking forward to the future in this industry, with a lot of innovation and new products that are taking things into the future.
New Wave of 6.5mm
There is a new wave of 6.5mm that really picked up in the US with the precision rifle crowd, best summarized by Zak Smith in his often-referenced article on 3 different 6.5-08 class cartridges about 10 years ago. Many 6.5mm shooters already understood the benefits of the low-recoiling 6.5x55 Mauser, as well as the .264 Winchester Magnum.
The .260 Remington really started changing things in the target-shooting crowd, where everyone started pulling their .308 barrels and going to .260 Rem when they saw that it is flatter with less wind drift than the .300 Win Mag, but fits in a standard short action.
Then the AR15 market experienced a leap in evolution looking at retained energy on target, as well as hit probability with the introduction of the 6.5 Grendel.
Hornady saw the market, and responded to the .260 Rem with the 6.5 Creedmoor, to which many people asked, "Why?" They're not asking anymore, and you see most rifle makers chambering in 6.5 Creedmoor now.
What we're seeing is a large wave of 6.5mm popularity that has been building since the first decade of the 21st Century. Evidence?
40 factory loads for 6.5 Grendel, including 3 new ones from Federal, 1 new one from Hornady with the 123gr ELD-M (their latest bullet line), and at least 6 SKUs between Howa and CZ for bolt gun 6.5 Grendels.
Savage and several other companies including Aero Precision introduced 6.5 Creedmoor AR10s, the Savage being a small frame.
AR15 Market Trends
Current trends in the AR market are more lightweight, different calibers, companies looking desperately for ways to differentiate themselves from the crowd of forged military-looking receivers, and not a lot doing a good job of it. Most are using Cerakote to put lipstick on a pig. For those that are distancing from the crowd, interest is huge in their designs and engineering feats.
PDWs
Compact, suppressed AR15s and AR15-inspired carbines are swelling across most manufacturers.
One company to look at is Cobalt Kinetics. They wiped the slate clean on design and aesthetics for the AR15, and really out-did themselves.
Suppressors
Growth of suppressor manufacturers is huge, much more than any of us ever imagined I think. SilencerCo has already taken integral suppression to the pistol world with the Maxim 9, and their company culture is very modern, engaging, and bend-over backwards to help get as many silencers into the hands of the people.
Optics
In the optics world, the new line of Vortex Viper PSTs is simply awesome, with improved zero stop Razor-like turrets, illumination in the side focus, and improved ruggedization with optical element retention.
The Elcan 1/3/9 prism scope is an exceptional piece of work for the DM role, and functions as a legitimate red dot sight on 1x, then can easily be turned to 3x with a knob, then 9x, with a proportional reticle to the magnification.
Geissele introduced their new coating system, a nano particle deposition, as well as several different triggers including single-stage for the AR, scope mounts, and even rifles with their new coating they have been working on. They are continuing to innovate at an almost breath-taking pace, while taking care of their customers.
There were just under 65,000 people in attendance this year, which is huge. I'm already looking forward to next year's show more than I ever have, and I've been there consistently since 2008, with 1 or 2 exceptions when I was overseas.
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