Kid in a Candy Store

Last week while in Vegas on business, had the opportunity to spend a day at the Shot Show. This annual event, put on by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, is a trade show dedicated to the industry. For folks in firearms/law enforcement industry, this is THE show.

For the enthusiast like me, it's like combining every gun shop you know of into one place. I had the opportunity to see almost anything I could be interested in. Including some things you might never see in a shop ($160,000 Blaser 4-gun shotgun set, anyone?).

My highlights included:

• Remington 1911 R1 in stainless steel. I've been waiting for this one and now the time seems to have arrived. Solid basic 19111 that should shoot well out of the box, but will also serve as a platform for performance enhancements. That's now on the Wish List.
• CZ full-line booth; I'm a big CZ fan, but dealers are few and far between. And when you do find a dealer, most only stock a few high-volume models. Had the chance to compare my CZ Canvasback O/U to the others in the line-up. I actually preferred my no-frills, visually simple model to more expensive alternatives like the Wingshooter. Too garish for my tastes.
• Browning Citori 725 Sporting; in a word: WOW! I've always loved this series from Browning since I picked up my first 525 Citori. The grip swell is outstanding and the ergonomics of these are second to none I've tried. Sadly, I'm no investing that much in a shotgun. For me, that would be like owning a $90,000 sports car - just wouldn't get used enough.
• Remington 1911 grip hunting knife; what a cool idea! A hunting knife based on the grips of the proven 1911 handgun. I need one.

Fortunately, as a trade show, I couldn't buy anything off the floor!

-Sean-