Well... unfortunately this year we didn't really see anything "amazing" to report. It was pretty much the same as last year and "better luck next time." There were innovations but more like variations on the theme. Not anything ground breaking, which is what we were looking for.
On another note, we understand the backlog on barrels from Bartlein is lightening up. Apparently a second machine is online, and the wait is down to a couple months rather than a year. That's good news!
We checked with the importer of Saiga shotguns, since they are making a dent in the 3-gun world. The availability is nil. It was a "MAYBE" for this summer. If you haven't seen one of these yet, the hot setup is a 10-round box magazine, which reloads faster than speed loaders. The shotgun eats every shell made, and would probably run with dirt tossed into it. We heard rumors of a 25-round drum mag for this shotgun, but didn't see one anywhere at the importer's booth or in the show. MSRP on the Saiga-12 is around $800 if you can find one.
THE SAIGA 12 SMOOTHBORE AUTOLOADING SHOTGUN is designed for professional and sport hunting and small and medium-sized game under various climactic conditions.
It features a 12-gauge barrel with chamber, providing for shooting shot and slugs, including magnum, with a shotshell length of 2 ¾" and 3".
The shotgun is characterized by high reliability in harsh environments, and is capable of delivering single-shot fire and is reloaded automatically due to the energy of the powder gases, escaping from the barrel bore to the gas cylinder and the energy of the spring as well.
KAHR Arms announced their very small PM series 45. It's a 5+1 rounder and fits in small hands quite easily. It has a 3-inch barrel, and weighs in at only 17 ounces. Cool. We want one for our carry gun and then we can toss our holsters. This is going in our jacket pocket ! MSRP $838
