Glock has two new models, both in the new .45 GAP caliber.  The Model 38 is the Compact (equivalent to the Model 23) and the Model 39 is the Sub-Compact (equivalent to the Model 27).

SIG has a single action Model 226 in .40 S&W.  Imagine a 226 with a magazine well, and a thumb safety like a 1911.  Trigger reset is excellent.  This is going to be a great IDPA pistol.  SIG now has "red" and "blue" guns for training.  So does Taurus.

Taurus wins "Weirdness Award" for 2005 with a 5 shot revolver with a 6.5" barrel that fires the .410 shotshell and the .44-40 revolver cartridge.  Taurus also has a 1911, and a very interesting new Tracker model (and a snubnose variant) that fires the 9 mm with moon clips, and the .38 Special and .357 Magnum cartridges.

Colt is alive and well with 1911s.  I'm glad Colt is back.  I like my new production .38 Super 1911 a lot.

Crimson Trace Laser grips are available for lots of pistols and revolvers now.  I noticed something when I picked up a full size Detonics 1911 with a laser grip.  In the proper ready position (sights off target, finger off trigger), your trigger finger blocks the laser.  A soon as you bring the pistol on target and your finger goes on the trigger, the laser reappears.  It's like having an extra switch that works just when you want it to.  Nice discovery.

HK was at the SHOT Show this year, but if they had anything innovative, I missed it.  There seems to be a trend, and SIG did something similar, to a more simple trigger.  The result is that the P2000 "LEM" and the SIG "DAK" triggers feel like revolver triggers.  And their point is?

C More has a very cool tactical weapon light.  You'll have to see this to understand, but you can move the sides of the light and it will fit a tactical rail, or you can use it like a "6P" and the barrel is round again.  And, of course, it has a high output LED.  It's called a "TransFormer" and made by "Quantumleap."  I want one.


Ruger's Redhawk Alaskan snubnose .454/45 Colt anti-large animal revolver has a nice balance to it.  You get 6 rounds of Powerful Cartridges before you have to reload.  With my Glock Model 20 10 mm pistol, I get ten more rounds of Powerful Cartridges before I have to reload, and when I do reload, there are 16 more rounds available.  I understand the grizzly bears prefer to deal with a Glock pistol, because they use the plastic slivers for toothpicks.  Bears are best left alone, but as the predictable "gunwriters" would say, I would not feel inadequate with a Ruger Redhawk Alaskan revolver.  And it's also available in ".480 Ruger," whatever that is.


FN's "Five-seveN "(that's the way they write it...cute) USG pistol holds 20 rounds of 5.7 X 28 mm ammunition.  Every SHOT Show results in a "I want one NOW!" firearm.  The FN wins this year.  Notice how long the boldface type stayed around on this item?  The SS196 "Sporting Round" for the USG has a cartridge weight of 105 grains (Cartridge Weight!) and a bullet weight of 40 grains, and heads downrange at 1,650 fps.  I understand there is some other ammunition available for this pistol, but that's pretty impressive.  Sights, stock, trigger action and reset are all Good.  These things are either Good or Bad, so this is a compliment.

Drum roll.  Smith and Wesson is at it again.  Here are the new models:


460 VXR in .460 SW Magnum.  This giant revolver fires not only the new, fastest proprietary cartridge, but also handles the .454 and .45 Colt.


619 and 620.  Fixed sight and adjustable sight versions of a beefed up Model 66.  My new Model 67 looks just like the 620, which suggests I can shoot .38 Special +P until the cows come home without problems. 


Oh, yes, the 619 and 620 are seven shot models.


Model 990L in .45 ACP.  This sure feels like the Walther P-99 "QA" trigger - the trigger action that copies the Glock ("slack out, press,trap, reset...").


Model 60 with a FIVE inch barrel.  This was a close runner up to the Taurus .410 revolver for weirdness.


And some new S&W 1911s, but who cares...  On the other hand, this one is in .38 Super.  I could care about this particular model at some point during 2005.

Additional Comments.  I did not take the time to check out all of the wild game cooking spices at the show, or spend much time looking at knives or accessories.  My interests were pretty much limited to 1) finding new stuff, 2) keeping up with the state of the art, and 3) checking out the trigger reset on the FN 5.7.  I was troubled by the lack of anything new in .38 Super or 10 mm, but I didn't see any buggy whips there either. 

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