Story by Tom Claycomb III

SHOT Show is the mother of all outdoor shows. Gun, knife, outdoor clothing, ammo companies and shooting gear companies all attend. The show kicks off on Monday morning with Media Day at The Range. In the morning it is all media and in the afternoon it is media and buyers. They want media to attend to get publicity on all of the new guns and ammo but the buyers are a must as well.

Outdoor professionals get to shoot all the new guns, ammo and test the new silencers. This year seemed a little slower paced than normal. Normally there are numerous fun shotgun ranges. This year, there were none, zero. Well, there was one that had some little plastic frisbee-type of targets they threw but that was it.

Then Tuesday D-Day hits! The show opens at 8:30. Meetings are scheduled every half hour and I’m hustling non-stop. Of course, I’ve got to meet with my sponsors but I’ve also got to allow enough time to meet with new companies.

There were 82 companies I was interested in visiting with plus setting up for further talks, and another 60-75 companies that fit my current criteria. Here’s what was seen, discussed, discovered plus some industry insights.

The first booth I hit at the range was Henrys-which is my favorite lever action rifle company. This year they’re introducing 60 SKU’s! At their show booth they had 30-50 new guns.  So, there’s no way to cover their 2026 SHOT debut in anything shorter than a 10-page article.

They have come out with a slew of .22’s. Over the next few months I’ll have some of the Henrys guys out for a ground squirrel and pigeon hunt.  It’s no telling how many .22’s they’ll bring.

I was overwhelmed by all the new features many of their guns are offering. Thumb hole stocks, threaded barrels, M-LOK slots for attaching accessories and plus many more.

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