Pre-SHOT Show Wish List and Non-Wish List
Every year I make a list of some things that I would like to see at the SHOT show as well as a list of some things that I really wouldn't like to see at the SHOT Show. I compile this list based off of trends that I see in the firearms industry and gaps that some manufacturers simply refuse to fill. So, without further ado, here we have it: my wish list and non-wish list for the 2023 SHOT show.
1. A lever action rifle chambered in the X-Frame calibers.
The Smith & Wesson X-Frame revolvers border on the ridiculous. They are offered in 500 S&W, 460 XVR, and now 350 Legend. They are great revolvers for defense against dangerous game for hunting in the back country but, aside from that, I have never really seen much use for them. The 500 S&W is simply too powerful for most people to handle and that includes me. The 460 XVR is a much more practical choice because it gives the shooter the option to also shoot 45 Colt and 454 Casull. The 350 Legend is another good offering because it provides the power of a 30-30 rifle in a platform that holds eight rounds. I have never tried shooting a brown bear with a 30-30 (I can't afford $20k for a brown bear hunt period), but if there is anything I am certain of it is that it's more powerful than the 10mm autoloaders that are trending for dangerous game defense. I would actually buy one of these handguns (probably the 460), but only if I could also have a lever action rifle chambered in the same caliber. In the mid-late 1800s, many lever action rifles such as the venerable Winchester 66, Winchester 73, and Winchester 92 were chambered in pistol calibers so that a cowboy would only have to buy one type of ammunition. Since the 500 S&W, 460 XVR, and 350 Legend are really just rifle rounds stuffed into a pistol, this is something that gun manufacturers need to look at offering the public.
2. A semi-automatic 10 gauge from Benelli
The 10 gauge is not dead. The simple truth is that it patterns better than any 12 gauge and offers the power to really thump late season ducks, geese, and cranes. I have a Browning Gold 10 myself and I love it. The problem is that this gun is damn heavy and I wouldn't want to drag it around on, say, a turkey hunt. With some hunters in areas of the country where a shotgun is their most realistic choice for deer and with other gauges like the 16 and the 28 seeing a revival, I would love to see a Benelli 10 gauge. I do not see how one could not be made on the same platform as the SBE3.
3. A lightweight bolt action rifle in 5.7 FN
The 5.7 FN round was made for the FN Five-Seven pistol and PS90 PDW. It has grown somewhat in popularity and, in my opinion, it is being under-utilized as a varmint round. There are some people who say that the 5.7 is nothing more than a glorified 22 magnum. I disagree. The 22 magnum rimfire fires a 30 - 50 grain bullet at 1540 - 2200fps generating between 300 - 324 ft/lbs of energy while the 5.7 FN fires a 27 - 40gr bullet at 2350 - 2550fps with energy over 380 ft/lbs. FN already makes a round with Hornady VMAX for this caliber which would be great for fox, coyote, bobcat, prairie dog, and other small game. Further, if the round catches on with varmiters, it would likely prompt manufacturers other than Federal and FN to offer their own selection of ammunition.
4. A LPVO with adjustable parallax
There are a lot of people out there who fail to understand that you don't need high magnification to shoot long distance. My farthest shot ever - with a 50 BMG at approximately 3,300 yards - was performed on 3x magnification (we WERE aiming for a large target with good contrast). With these new low power variable optic scopes, there is just no reason why a shooter cannot engage a target from 800 to 1,000 yards away - except for one thing: parallax. Very few of these scopes have adjustable parallax - even when they come from highly reputable manufacturers. If the trend in the industry is going to be toward LPVOs for the AR-15 platform, this is an issue which ought to be addressed sooner rather than later. There are probably a number of shooters out there running high quality AR builds with an LPVO who are wondering why their shots are not grouping up. While parallax may be neglible at lower magnifcations, any optic with a maximum power of 8x or greater really needs to offer this feature.
5. A 475 caliber personal defense round and handgun to match
As more states pass laws limiting ammunition capacity, this is a conversation we need to have. In states where capacity is limited, the standard has been ten rounds in a magazine. While wildcatters have developed the 460 Rowland and 50 GI to combat this issue, the fact remains that we need an industry standard large caliber personal defense round in .475 caliber. A full size handgun should be able to hold 13 - 15 rounds of 45 ACP or 17 - 21 rounds of 9mm. I have often suggested cutting down the 475 Wildey Magnum so that the COAL would be equal to that of the 10mm and pushing a 230 - 250 jacketed hollow point at velocities between 800 - 900 fps. This would create a round with slightly more power than the 45 ACP in a platform that is manageable for personal defense. Lower recoil rounds could also be offered. A round like this would offer greater penetration than the 45 with a larger wound cavity. It could also be made for a standard capacity of 10 rounds in a compact platform while going up to 50 caliber would provide less firepower. When Federal introduced the 30 Super Carry last year, I said that this was not a round that the industry needed and I was right. A high quality weapon would probably sell pretty decent in states without magazine restrictions as well.
1. More AR or AK Platform Modern Sporting Rifles
We already have so many options to choose from in this category that it has really been done to death. Except for those in states overrun by tyranny, there is literally nobody out there who cannot find an AR, an AK, or something that offers similar useability if they want one. There is very little room left for innovation on this platform so, unless someone is releasing something truly stellar, it's probably not going to pick up much steam. This includes pistol caliber carbines, by the way. Yes, they are a heck of a lot of fun to shoot. However, they are very expensive and less practical than a platform chambered in a rifle round. If you must make another modern sporting rifle, here is one I think would be really cool: do one in 458 Winchester. Or maybe do a Browning BAR (the real BAR) remake in a semi-automatic platform in 30-06. That would be too cool. How about a modernized FAL? There are lots of AR manufacturers out there. Do we really need more? If your answer is yes, here is an idea: make me an AR-10 in 300 WSM which is actually reliable. I always thought that would be cool.
2. More Micro-9 Pistols
I get it. Sig Sauer did something truly magical with the 365 and 365XL line of pistols. Springfield Armory worked hard to piggyback off of that success with their Hellcat line and Glock to a lesser extent with its 43X. There are other wonderful options such as the Shield series from Smith & Wesson, not to mention some others from Walther. I think we have enough.
3. Yet another new rifle round
Again, I get it. Manufacturers need to keep selling guns and introducing a round that promises everything short of giving you a blowjob in the deer blind is certainly something that helps with that. But what have we had recently? Aside from the 30 Super Carry mentioned above, we have seen the 6.8x51, the 6.8 Western, the 6mm ARC, the 6mm Creedmoor, the 224 Valkyrie, the 300 PRC, the 6.5 PRC, the 28 Nosler, and many many others. This year it's going to be all about the 7mm PRC which, I will admit, is an awesome round. The question we need to ask is whether we really need these new chamberings when the industry is having a hard enough time as it is keeping up with demand for ammunition. Is the 300 PRC better than the 300 Winchester Magnum? Yes. Will the 7mm PRC be better than the 7mm Mag and probably the 28 Nosler? Almost certainly. Are the 6mm Creedmoor and 6mm ARC any better than a 243 Win? No idea, I have never shot any of them. Will anyone be able to honestly go through the advantages and disadvantages and help me decide between a 6.8x51, a 6.8 Western, and a 7mm PRC? I don't know. What I do know is that the money I would spend on a new rifle is better spent on ammunition and range time to train with my old one. I have shot many animals with the 308 Winchester, the 300 Winchester Magnum, and the 6.5 Grendel (now over a decade old). I am unconvinced that these new calibers will make an animal any more dead. While we are at it, please stop with the tungsten 12 gauge shot. It's just too expensive.
4. More electronic gadgetry for long range shooting
First of all, long range shooting is supposed to be tough. That is part of the fun of it. However, I understand the desire to be absolutely sure when you're out on a hunt that you have paid a substantial amount of money for (and probably waited years for a tag). There are electronics out there now that sync your rangefinding binoculars to your scope and your phone to automatically calculate a shooting solution at any distance. That's probably a cool feature until Mr. Murphy shows up on your hunt and the battery dies. Then, if you can't shoot, you're up shit creek without a paddle. Yes, it's kind of cool that this technology will help us reliably make shots out to some pretty good distances. But will your bullet even ethically kill a game animal at that distance? Something to thing about.
5. Reboots that suck or for which you can't meet demand
I was a bit disappointed with Winchester's reboot of their lever action rifles simply because they were made in Japan. A Winchester 66, 73, or 92 should be made in America! They aren't bad rifles. I just feel dirty using one. The new Colt Python? The fact is that there is no way they were going to satisfy everyone with this one, and therefore, the price point should have been under $1,500.00. You simply cannot get one for less than that and, with the high quality Smith & Wesson 357 going for half the price, there just isn't much reason to pay the premium for a Colt (now, I do wish they would start mass producing a REAL Colt Single Action Army again - I would be all over it unless it was priced in an ungodly way or "updated" so poorly that it was no longer true to the original). No transfer bar safeties on single action revolvers, please. I am also looking a Ruger - a manufacturer I truly love - with their reboot of the Marlin 1895. Is it truly badass? Yes. But they simply can't meet demand! Ruger is a large company and this was a big disappointment for me.
- Wish List
1. A lever action rifle chambered in the X-Frame calibers.
The Smith & Wesson X-Frame revolvers border on the ridiculous. They are offered in 500 S&W, 460 XVR, and now 350 Legend. They are great revolvers for defense against dangerous game for hunting in the back country but, aside from that, I have never really seen much use for them. The 500 S&W is simply too powerful for most people to handle and that includes me. The 460 XVR is a much more practical choice because it gives the shooter the option to also shoot 45 Colt and 454 Casull. The 350 Legend is another good offering because it provides the power of a 30-30 rifle in a platform that holds eight rounds. I have never tried shooting a brown bear with a 30-30 (I can't afford $20k for a brown bear hunt period), but if there is anything I am certain of it is that it's more powerful than the 10mm autoloaders that are trending for dangerous game defense. I would actually buy one of these handguns (probably the 460), but only if I could also have a lever action rifle chambered in the same caliber. In the mid-late 1800s, many lever action rifles such as the venerable Winchester 66, Winchester 73, and Winchester 92 were chambered in pistol calibers so that a cowboy would only have to buy one type of ammunition. Since the 500 S&W, 460 XVR, and 350 Legend are really just rifle rounds stuffed into a pistol, this is something that gun manufacturers need to look at offering the public.
2. A semi-automatic 10 gauge from Benelli
The 10 gauge is not dead. The simple truth is that it patterns better than any 12 gauge and offers the power to really thump late season ducks, geese, and cranes. I have a Browning Gold 10 myself and I love it. The problem is that this gun is damn heavy and I wouldn't want to drag it around on, say, a turkey hunt. With some hunters in areas of the country where a shotgun is their most realistic choice for deer and with other gauges like the 16 and the 28 seeing a revival, I would love to see a Benelli 10 gauge. I do not see how one could not be made on the same platform as the SBE3.
3. A lightweight bolt action rifle in 5.7 FN
The 5.7 FN round was made for the FN Five-Seven pistol and PS90 PDW. It has grown somewhat in popularity and, in my opinion, it is being under-utilized as a varmint round. There are some people who say that the 5.7 is nothing more than a glorified 22 magnum. I disagree. The 22 magnum rimfire fires a 30 - 50 grain bullet at 1540 - 2200fps generating between 300 - 324 ft/lbs of energy while the 5.7 FN fires a 27 - 40gr bullet at 2350 - 2550fps with energy over 380 ft/lbs. FN already makes a round with Hornady VMAX for this caliber which would be great for fox, coyote, bobcat, prairie dog, and other small game. Further, if the round catches on with varmiters, it would likely prompt manufacturers other than Federal and FN to offer their own selection of ammunition.
4. A LPVO with adjustable parallax
There are a lot of people out there who fail to understand that you don't need high magnification to shoot long distance. My farthest shot ever - with a 50 BMG at approximately 3,300 yards - was performed on 3x magnification (we WERE aiming for a large target with good contrast). With these new low power variable optic scopes, there is just no reason why a shooter cannot engage a target from 800 to 1,000 yards away - except for one thing: parallax. Very few of these scopes have adjustable parallax - even when they come from highly reputable manufacturers. If the trend in the industry is going to be toward LPVOs for the AR-15 platform, this is an issue which ought to be addressed sooner rather than later. There are probably a number of shooters out there running high quality AR builds with an LPVO who are wondering why their shots are not grouping up. While parallax may be neglible at lower magnifcations, any optic with a maximum power of 8x or greater really needs to offer this feature.
5. A 475 caliber personal defense round and handgun to match
As more states pass laws limiting ammunition capacity, this is a conversation we need to have. In states where capacity is limited, the standard has been ten rounds in a magazine. While wildcatters have developed the 460 Rowland and 50 GI to combat this issue, the fact remains that we need an industry standard large caliber personal defense round in .475 caliber. A full size handgun should be able to hold 13 - 15 rounds of 45 ACP or 17 - 21 rounds of 9mm. I have often suggested cutting down the 475 Wildey Magnum so that the COAL would be equal to that of the 10mm and pushing a 230 - 250 jacketed hollow point at velocities between 800 - 900 fps. This would create a round with slightly more power than the 45 ACP in a platform that is manageable for personal defense. Lower recoil rounds could also be offered. A round like this would offer greater penetration than the 45 with a larger wound cavity. It could also be made for a standard capacity of 10 rounds in a compact platform while going up to 50 caliber would provide less firepower. When Federal introduced the 30 Super Carry last year, I said that this was not a round that the industry needed and I was right. A high quality weapon would probably sell pretty decent in states without magazine restrictions as well.
- The Non-Wish List
1. More AR or AK Platform Modern Sporting Rifles
We already have so many options to choose from in this category that it has really been done to death. Except for those in states overrun by tyranny, there is literally nobody out there who cannot find an AR, an AK, or something that offers similar useability if they want one. There is very little room left for innovation on this platform so, unless someone is releasing something truly stellar, it's probably not going to pick up much steam. This includes pistol caliber carbines, by the way. Yes, they are a heck of a lot of fun to shoot. However, they are very expensive and less practical than a platform chambered in a rifle round. If you must make another modern sporting rifle, here is one I think would be really cool: do one in 458 Winchester. Or maybe do a Browning BAR (the real BAR) remake in a semi-automatic platform in 30-06. That would be too cool. How about a modernized FAL? There are lots of AR manufacturers out there. Do we really need more? If your answer is yes, here is an idea: make me an AR-10 in 300 WSM which is actually reliable. I always thought that would be cool.
2. More Micro-9 Pistols
I get it. Sig Sauer did something truly magical with the 365 and 365XL line of pistols. Springfield Armory worked hard to piggyback off of that success with their Hellcat line and Glock to a lesser extent with its 43X. There are other wonderful options such as the Shield series from Smith & Wesson, not to mention some others from Walther. I think we have enough.
3. Yet another new rifle round
Again, I get it. Manufacturers need to keep selling guns and introducing a round that promises everything short of giving you a blowjob in the deer blind is certainly something that helps with that. But what have we had recently? Aside from the 30 Super Carry mentioned above, we have seen the 6.8x51, the 6.8 Western, the 6mm ARC, the 6mm Creedmoor, the 224 Valkyrie, the 300 PRC, the 6.5 PRC, the 28 Nosler, and many many others. This year it's going to be all about the 7mm PRC which, I will admit, is an awesome round. The question we need to ask is whether we really need these new chamberings when the industry is having a hard enough time as it is keeping up with demand for ammunition. Is the 300 PRC better than the 300 Winchester Magnum? Yes. Will the 7mm PRC be better than the 7mm Mag and probably the 28 Nosler? Almost certainly. Are the 6mm Creedmoor and 6mm ARC any better than a 243 Win? No idea, I have never shot any of them. Will anyone be able to honestly go through the advantages and disadvantages and help me decide between a 6.8x51, a 6.8 Western, and a 7mm PRC? I don't know. What I do know is that the money I would spend on a new rifle is better spent on ammunition and range time to train with my old one. I have shot many animals with the 308 Winchester, the 300 Winchester Magnum, and the 6.5 Grendel (now over a decade old). I am unconvinced that these new calibers will make an animal any more dead. While we are at it, please stop with the tungsten 12 gauge shot. It's just too expensive.
4. More electronic gadgetry for long range shooting
First of all, long range shooting is supposed to be tough. That is part of the fun of it. However, I understand the desire to be absolutely sure when you're out on a hunt that you have paid a substantial amount of money for (and probably waited years for a tag). There are electronics out there now that sync your rangefinding binoculars to your scope and your phone to automatically calculate a shooting solution at any distance. That's probably a cool feature until Mr. Murphy shows up on your hunt and the battery dies. Then, if you can't shoot, you're up shit creek without a paddle. Yes, it's kind of cool that this technology will help us reliably make shots out to some pretty good distances. But will your bullet even ethically kill a game animal at that distance? Something to thing about.
5. Reboots that suck or for which you can't meet demand
I was a bit disappointed with Winchester's reboot of their lever action rifles simply because they were made in Japan. A Winchester 66, 73, or 92 should be made in America! They aren't bad rifles. I just feel dirty using one. The new Colt Python? The fact is that there is no way they were going to satisfy everyone with this one, and therefore, the price point should have been under $1,500.00. You simply cannot get one for less than that and, with the high quality Smith & Wesson 357 going for half the price, there just isn't much reason to pay the premium for a Colt (now, I do wish they would start mass producing a REAL Colt Single Action Army again - I would be all over it unless it was priced in an ungodly way or "updated" so poorly that it was no longer true to the original). No transfer bar safeties on single action revolvers, please. I am also looking a Ruger - a manufacturer I truly love - with their reboot of the Marlin 1895. Is it truly badass? Yes. But they simply can't meet demand! Ruger is a large company and this was a big disappointment for me.
Comments
Post a Comment