It’s that time of year again! Every January, tens of thousands of exhibitors from across the firearm industry descend on Las Vegas for what many consider to be the high point (no pun intended) of the annual news cycle. For one week, the who’s who in the gun world hawk their latest wares to legions of media men, who in turn show off those products to the teeming masses. Some firearm journalists are very professional, approaching everything from a consumer’s perspective and asking marketing representatives the tough questions. Others are shills who uncritically parrot corporate talking points because they’re afraid of losing sponsor dollars. SHOT is great. SHOT is terrible. Get your bingo card ready, because the expo starts next week. I’ve compiled this card out of many tropes I’ve observed from the media coverage of past SHOT shows.
“Tactical levergun” – The firearm market goes through trends just like any other. For some reason, starting about six years ago, lever-action rifles covered with rails have been very “in,” and now that Ruger owns Marlin, I fully expect to see more.
Genuinely interesting foreign product – Selling guns in the U.S. is easy mode. As long as you can bring your product to market for a reasonable price, it’s virtually guaranteed to sell. Because the civilian firearm markets are so much smaller, though, European and Middle Eastern companies are forced to compete harder. For that reason, many of the best firearms available in the U.S., handguns in particular, come from foreign companies. It’s always refreshing to see manufacturers that take their craft seriously instead of just innovating new ways to make a questionable AR-15 for $400.
Weird caliber no one asked for – Does anyone else remember when .224 Valkyrie was the new hotness?
Not for civilians – One of the cool things about SHOT is that some companies show off prototypes or even full products for the military and law enforcement markets. Although I’m disappointed that we’ll never see .338 Norma Magnum miniguns for sale at our local gun shops, it’s still interesting to see new designs like that.
Major product announcement the week before – Companies like Ruger, Magpul, SIG Sauer, and Springfield Armory are big enough to directly influence media coverage of their products, so any announcements they might make at SHOT risk being drowned out by the deluge of other new product announcements. For that reason, the big names sometimes unveil new guns and accessories in the weeks leading up to the show to grab more attention.
Glock clone – Glock pistols have long had a robust aftermarket, and since the patents relevant to the Gen 3 guns expired, that aftermarket has expanded from small parts to major assemblies. For years, it’s been possible to build a complete Glock using no Glock parts, and manufacturers including ZEV, Shadow Systems, and now even Ruger offer just that.
Turkish shotguns – Although a Mossberg Maverick 88 can be had for less than $250, the rack at your local gun store is probably packed to the gills with cheap Turkish shotguns in any configuration you could want and many you don’t. This isn’t to say they’re all bad, though—I’ve heard decent things about some of the so-called “Turkinellis,” clones of the Benelli M3 and M4. It seems like there are always new models being displayed at every year’s SHOT show.
Yet another 9mm micro-compact – The P365 came out eight years ago. The Springfield Hellcat and Glock 43X came out six years ago. The Smith & Wesson M&P Shield Plus came out four years ago. These have all proven themselves as excellent high-capacity slimline concealed carry pistols; the time to compete in that market segment has come and gone. Any new competitor would have to either be parts-compatible with an existing one or cost far less to pull enough customers away from the other options to justify the effort.
YouTube clickbait – It isn’t just the gun and gear companies competing for attention—the reporters do it as well. If you keep up on firearm news, then once SHOT kicks off, you’re virtually guaranteed to see some kind of ridiculous YouTube video thumbnail with someone mock-screaming and pointing at the product in question, accompanied by a superlative title that goes something like “NEW GLOCK KILLER???” or “You won’t BELIEVE this NEW AMERICAN AK-47!!!”
New company – With tens of thousands of people at SHOT, it’s a make-or-break opportunity for any small startup trying to break into the market. Expect to see lots of bold claims like “thinnest 15+1 9mm” or “lightest AR-10” from brands you’ve never heard of.
Enclosed emitter pistol optic – It’s truly mind-boggling how rapidly the state of the art in pistol reflex sights has advanced. Ten years ago, the Trijicon RMR was king, few viable competitors existed, and optics-ready pistols were few and far between. Now, optics on carry guns are the norm, and open-emitter sights are quickly being supplanted by fully enclosed designs that prevent the ingress of dust and moisture. I would be surprised to see fewer than three new enclosed-emitter red dots shown off at this year’s SHOT.
Weird Kel-Tec – Criticize them all you want, at least they’re innovating. Smart money bets that Kel-Tec will unveil some completely bizarre new model this year.
More gaudy SIGs – In my professional opinion, SIG Sauer is as much a lifestyle brand as it is a firearm manufacturer. They have legions (haha) of loyal fans eager to spend hundreds of dollars extra on whatever new P226 or P320 variant is on offer this season based purely on questionable aesthetic preferences.
Takes Glock mags – One of the cool things about the state of firearm technology is that some design features have become de facto standards purely out of practicality rather than top-down enforcement from any industry body. One of those is Glock magazines. They’re cheap, they’re ubiquitous, they’re reliable, and they can be had in a wide variety of calibers and capacities. Any manufacturer that wishes to garner attention for a new pistol-caliber firearm would do well to use magazines if at all possible, and dollars to doughnuts says you’ll see some new pistol or carbine that takes Glock mags.
5.7×28 – Like 10mm Auto, the 5.7 cartridge was thought to be the way of the future in the early 1990s, fell out of favor for business reasons, and has recently made a resurgence. For whatever reason, the last few years have seen a flurry of new guns come onto the scene chambered for this small-caliber, high-velocity pistol round.
Generic “new” AR-15/AR-10 – Because the economy of scale exists to product AR parts at rock-bottom prices, everyone and their brother is eager to make some money selling an AR that does the exact same thing as the thousands of other models already on the market. That’s fine. Choice is a good thing. What I take issue with is companies making wild claims and calling their ARs “revolutionary” or something similar when the only thing they’ve done is incrementally refine the designs of some of the components. It happens at every SHOT Show.
Clueless marketing rep – These are a problem in many industries, not just firearms. Companies are worried that their engineers who actually know the products don’t come off as slick and polished in front of a camera, so they instead trot out PR people who have no idea what they’re talking about and just end up sounding stupid anyway.
Handgun stock/brace – Braced pistols aren’t legal in every state, but in those where they are, they’re very popular. It’s easy to see why—the ability to have two guns in one, a pistol and what amounts to a carbine, is very attractive. Whether it’s a full chassis system like the CAA MCK or a minimalist collapsing brace like the Flux Raider, I expect to see some company reveal or detail a new brace or stock system for pistols.
Yet another AR PCC – Everyone likes the AR-15 platform. Everyone likes pistol-caliber carbines. The AR receiver design has some limitations that suit it poorly to that role, but that won’t stop every two-bit rifle builder under the sun from churning out another 9mm AR that does the exact same thing every other 9mm AR does, including having feeding problems, recoiling harder than a 5.56, and destroying some drop-in triggers.
No price or release date – Everyone knows that two of the most important questions to ask about an announced product are when it will be available and how much it will cost. It’s understandable when a company shows off a prototype alongside its new products, but I find it tremendously frustrating when an actual product is announced with no word on pricing or availability.
PSA vaporware – South Carolina juggernaut Palmetto State Armory is renowned for its commitment to bringing reasonably priced firearms to the masses, maligned for its spotty quality control, and absolutely infamous for going to SHOT with prototypes it consistently fails to productize. Remember their MP5 clone from seven years ago? Yeah, so do I.
PGO shotgun – I absolutely do not understand the popularity of pistol-grip-only shotguns. I don’t see any use case for a shotgun that’s harder to shoot accurately, but for some reason, people keep buying them, so the industry keeps coming out with new ones.
The word “tactical” – It’s the gun world’s version of words like “chud” and “woke.” It means basically nothing but people keep using it in conversation. You could expand this from a bingo square to a drinking game: while you’re watching video coverage of the expo, every time you hear someone say “tactical” in a context where it doesn’t mean anything, take a shot. I guarantee you’ll finish the week with liver damage.
Modernized historic firearm – What’s old is new again! I think it’s neat when a firearm manufacturer updates a classic design with modern materials and features, as long as it’s done tastefully. See for example the Beretta 80X. Now if only SIG Sauer would bring back the P239 or Smith & Wesson the 3913NL…
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