Our pal has done the work I’m too busy ( lazy?) to do for SHOT. He has been compiling some of the more interesting ( debatable) products. You can take a look below.
It’s that time of year again, SHOT Show. As in years previous, we will be trolling through the SHOT coverage and curating what we believe are the best announcements in guns, gear, gadgets, and whatever else nonsense they put out. We will be updating this page throughout the week, with the newest stuff appearing at the top of the page and the title being updated as well.
*As always, check back soon as I will update this post daily through out the week.*
BERETTA: 30X Cat Pistols
Following the success of the introduction of their 80X series in .380, Beretta has introduced a new run of their .32ACP Bobcat and Tomcat pistols. Featuring the signature tip-up barrel, the guns are a new generation for the modern market. They have drift-adjustable sights that can be swapped for red dot mounts. The new guns also come with optional threaded barrels and are intended for use with either a silencer (awesome) or a muzzle break (hilarious). These guns are seriously redesigned, as is evidenced by the mag release being moved from the heel to the market standard position (just below the thumb). These guns have always been well liked by people who know what they’re talking about, and now that they have been redesigned, I fully expect Beretta to make a bunch of them.
Gimmicks aside, the 30X series of guns are great options for CCW-ers who don’t have giant hands nor lots of grip strength. The tip-up barrel means that these guns can be loaded and fired without ever having to work the slide. They are chambered in .32ACP, so managing recoil will be a non-issue in almost everyone who owns a gun. They are small, lightweight, soft recoiling, and pseudo optics ready out of the box. And if you think that .32 isn’t enough for CCW, there are millions of dead Europeans from the 20th century who would disagree.
SMITH & WESSON: Model 1854 Lever Gun in .44 Mag
This one is a real “out of left field” entry. Big Blue out of nowhere decides to get in on the current lever gun resurgence with new production Model 1854 rifles, and they started with .44 mag. To their credit, they are actually following the zeitgeist and sending it out with a rail on top for optics mounting and threaded barrels. This, in my mind, shows that they are actually putting some thought into the guns’ design and target audience. The new ’54s have both a King’s loading gate on the side and the mag tube can be pulled out and emptied out the front. I do appreciate having both options instead of limited to one or the other. The gun also supposedly fits all the tactical levergun stuff make for Marlin 1854s as well, so aftermarket support should already be available. The trigger is the most unique aspect of the ’54, because S&W decided t put a flat-faced trigger on it. As far as I know this is the first flat trigger for a lever gun.
Honestly, if this gun had been introduced 4 or 5 years ago it would have been a market breaking event, but today? I hope they make a good rifle (let’s not have another M&P-12 fiasco!) and I hope they have large demand. With an MSRP of ~$1300, it won’t be a budget option, but still competitive. Overall, still a good showing from S&W.
DANIEL DEFENSE: H9 Pistol
Now, shock of all shocks, THE HUDSON H9 IS BACK! I never expected to see this gun in production again, ever. Not in a hundred years! It was going to be my generation’s equivalent of the Wolverine, or the Mateba Unica 6*. Super cool, low production, very expensive on the aftermarket. Now, since the legend of the gun has proliferated and the gun-buying public knows what it is, it is back in production! The best part is that the H9 is now being made by Daniel Defense. DD has the production capability and business acumen to keep the H9 up & going this time around. The H9 died because of poor business and marketing decisions by their executive team, the gun itself actually met the hype. In case it wasn’t obvious already, I’m super pumped about this announcement.
Apparently, Daniel Defense has been working on the new H9 since 2020 and re-engineered every single part of the H9. They say that the only interchangeable part is some internal sear spring. DD has invested serious time & energy into making this gun run, and run well. Also, this H9 is going to start with the aluminum frame that Hudson didn’t last long enough to bring to market, and has an optics plate system. The future of the H9 looks good in the hands of its’ new adopted home.
*or the Coonan .357-chambered 1911, or the 44-magnum automag
AVIDITY ARMS: PD10 now in 30 Super Carry
Rob Pincus’ “revolutionary 10 years ago” gun, the PD10, is now going to be available in 30 Super Carry. While I’m not a big fan of Rob, I am a big fan of the cartridge. I’m also willing to admit that it does seem to be a dying cartridge. Anyway, I hope the general gun-buying public changes their collective mind about it.
About the PD10 in 30SC specifically, it has a 4″ barrel (most 30SC are no more than 3″), is single stack, striker fired, and comes with an optics place system. 30SC increases the 10-round mag to a 12-round with no loss of power. Honestly not a bad package. MSRP: $625
HENRY ARMS: Lever Action Supreme in .223 & .300BLK
Henry has introduced a new lever gun. …sorta. This new gun is a box mag-fed .223 or .300BLK. It takes a pic rail on top right out of the box, is threaded for use with a silencers, and the mags it takes are AR mags. Yes, you can slap a 30-round pmag in your suppressed lever gun. What a time to be alive!
This gun to me looks like a slightly modded variation of their Long Ranger series, which was available in .308, .6.5 Creedmoore, .243, and .223. The big difference is that the Long Rangers took proprietary mags and this new Supreme takes AR mags. Very smart on Henry’s part. I look forward to seeing these be very popular, if Henry can produce them in sufficient numbers.
FLUX DEFENSE: Raider 365
Flux defense brings the ability to turn your EDC into a PDW to the Sig P365. Wild, I know, but hang on. This is a little more involved than what they normally offer. The normal Flux chassis had a spring loaded telescoping brace, whereas this chassis’s brace in a swing-out design, meaning a much more usable length of pull and on a smaller gun. The Raider 365 is an all-aluminum chassis, requires a new 6″ barrel Flux sells, and will retail around a grand. I don’t see this being a giant commercial success. Still cool though.
DESERT TECH: WLVRN Bullpup Rifle
Long story short: Desert Tech has replaced the MDRX bullpup rifle with a totally new replacment gun: the WLVRN. It is chambered in 5.56, .300BLK, 6.5 Creed, and .308. It will utilize a caliber swapping system meaning that you can go from shooting an intermediate caliber to a short action rifle caliber without needing another gun. The WLVRN is 49 parts simpler and $250 more expensive than the MDRX it’s replacing. Honestly kinda cool, even if they are doing away with the forward-eject feature.
AERO PRECISION:
So, Smith & Wesson isn’t the only company to drop a new lever gun out of the blue on us this year. Aero showed off a pre-production model repro of the 1895 lever gun. As can be seen by the lower of the two guns on the video thumbnail, this one is intended to be tactical right out of the box. The guy from Aero in the video mentions that Stag Arms will be carrying the more traditional wood-stocked version of these guns. They will be initially offered in .30-30 and .45-70, and compatible with already existing Marlin 1895 furniture.
BERETTA: 92 G-TS
Beretta combined a few of the guns they released in the last few years into what may be the most desirable potential EDC gun for me: A DA/SA with a frame mounted(!) de-cocker. The “G” in the title means de-cocker only, no safe position. The “TS” stands for twin-sear, which I guess they had to design to get the de-cocker onto the frame? It’s not entirely clear, but the gist of it is that this new gun retains 100% parts compatibility with older gen 92 slides, including those with slide-mounted safeties. If you wanted to just be goofy about it. The new 92 GTS includes the optics plate system and a front rail, meaning this sucker is loaded with features. $800 MSRP for the all-black standard model.
BOND ARMS: “LVRB” Lever-Action AR
I’m starting to notice a pattern. New lever guns, more lever guns, and EVEN MOAR NEW LEVER GUNS! I guess this one from Bond Arms has actually been shown off before, but SHOT Show vaporware doesn’t count in my mind, so here we are again.
The LVRB is noticeably different though, because it is less a lever gun made tactical and more of an AR with a lever-actuated action. I find this intriguing because that means that lots of AR-intended accessories still work. Scope mounts, lights, lasers, bipods, and (most importantly) different calibers! Lever gun in .223? Check. .300BLK? check. Silenced .350 Legend? If you got the can, absolutely! Hell, ever wanted to see a lever gun chambered in 6mm ARC? Now you can! This gun may look like hell, but the possibilities are limitless. This seems like a direct competitor to the Henry Supreme above, but this one traded looks for utility. I’m very excited for this one.
HARRINGTON & RICHARDSON: AR Wood Furniture
Harrington & Richardson is a retro-AR producer who got scooped up by PSA (or, at least their holding company) a year or two ago a la Remington Outdoors. Except, unlike Big Green, PSA seems content to let these companies continue being good. H&R is previewing a new line of AR furniture for their retro guns, but they are made of American-sourced wood & materials. This is super cool in my book, even if I don’t have any guns that I’d consider putting them on.
CZ-USA: Scorpion Evo in .22LR
The title says it all. MSRP around a grand, no pistol version expected.
Big letdown, honestly, but maybe interesting to some.
Scattered Shots 
I’ll say this for “woody” ARs: some new shooters find them much less intimidating than one with more typical furniture. (Another point of education, after they try it.) I put one together for Mrs B using Black Gun Wood’s furniture set, and we now take it whenever we bring a new shooter to the range.
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