The 2017 SHOT Show had nearly 70,000 attendees cruising the giant Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas earlier this month.
As a famous comedian once said, “the sooner you fall behind, the more time you’ll have to catch up.”
Truer words have never been spoken, at least in the context of planning for the 2017 Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show. SHOT Show. With nearly 1,900 exhibitors to visit at the 39th Annual SHOT Show, and only four days to do it, you need all the catching-up time you can get. After walking more 30 miles (yes, I counted!) through dusty range bays and exhibit hall aisles, I did manage to find plenty new gun and gear finds that blew my tactical kilt up. Here are a few of my favorite SHOT Show 2017 finds.
1. Plastic Suppressors
Inland Manufacturing’s new PM-22 rimfire suppressor has “disposable” polymer baffles and the whole unit costs less than $200. photo from guns.com.
Wait a tic. Isn’t building a silencer out of plastic akin to making football helmets from soggy doilies? You might think so, but the idea actually makes sense. The folks at Inland Manufacturing thought, Hey! The inside of suppressors just gets blown to smithereens anyway, and metal is heavy and ‘clangy’ sounding. Why don’t we make suppressor guts out of plastic? Voila! Enter the PX-22 rimfire silencer. It’s lightweight, quiet, and cheap. The outer aluminum tube and stainless steel base are the serialized parts, so swapping new internals is just a maintenance job. Even through the intestines are “disposable,” early models are handling thousands of rounds with no ill effect. For now, you’ll have to mail your suppressor to Inland to get new baffles installed, but if the Hearing Protection Act becomes law this year, you should be able to just order replacement baffles online. The retail price is just $189.95. If you’re not familiar with suppressor prices, that’s super-duper inexpensive.
2. Plastic Practice Bullets
Polycase Ammunition has been molding plastic and copper bullets like these ARX defensive rounds for a few years now. This year, they showed off a new line designed for everyday range use.
Apparently plastic was a theme for SHOT Show 2017. The folks at Polycase Ammunition have been injection-molding defensive bullets from a mix of plastic and copper for a few years now. This year, they showed off practice ammo made by the same process. Why? If you like to shoot steel targets, and who doesn’t, the Polycase Inceptor RNP bullets fragment to dust when they hit something hard. That means safer shooting for you and for bystanders because there are no lead and copper jacket fragments to fly back your way. While doing so is not recommended by three out of four personal injury attorneys on TV, demonstration videos show company volunteers shooting steel targets from just inches away with no ill effect.
Read the rest at Range365.
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