If you are into firearms and gear, there is no place on Earth like SHOT Show. For the one or two of you who may not be in the know, SHOT stands for Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade. It’s held every year in Las Vegas, and yours truly recently returned from the festivities (and I’ve got the jet lag to prove it).
I’ve been to the show three times, and I’m still in awe when I first enter the exhibit hall. At SHOT, you’ll find more than 2,800 exhibitors from 119 countries. The show floor covers more than 18 acres, and they tell me it is large enough to park 556 F-16 fighter jets there. I’ll have to take their word for it.
I was one of 2,500 members of the media to cover the trade show, which, by the way, is not open to the general public. It is for professionals in the shooting, hunting, outdoor, and law enforcement industries only. There was no shortage of attendees, however. About 60,000 strong this year from all over the globe.
More exclusive still is Industry Day at the Range, or simply “range day” as we call it. It is invite-only, and SOFREP has been on the guest list for as long as I can remember. It’s held on an enormous range about 20 miles outside of Las Vegas that looks very much like what I would imagine the surface of Mars to resemble. Tons of reddish dirt and no buildings for as far as the eye can see. This year, there were constant 20-30 MPH winds, but that just added to the fun, in my humble opinion. 500,000 rounds were fired on that range that day. I fired everything from a .22 cal pistol to a full auto weapon. Life was good.
Our good friends from Osight were there, allowing shooters to try out their new X and S series red dot sights. I wrote about those here, during the show. Suffice it to say they are super bright and sharp. The optics are crystal clear with zero parallax. I’m a huge fan of the charging covers which act to protect the optic and keep it charged and ready for action. And the price…don’t expect to pay four or five hundred for these (even though they are completely worth that). No sir, the Osight S retails for $249 and the smaller Osight X retails for a super affordable $229.
Venturing back indoors the next day, I felt a pressing need to take a photo of the “official” SHOT Show sign. It was not an easy thing to do, as I had to chase a bunch of people out of the way to take an unobstructed pic.
After walking around a bit and taking in the lay of the land, I headed off to Osight’s product launch for their Osight X and Osight S red dot optics.
Here, we see US Marine Corps veteran and host of the SHORTSHOT TONY YouTube channel, Tony Pham, telling the crowd about his experiences at the product launch. You can check out his review of the products here.
As part of our photographic walking tour of SHOT 2025, we see this beauty in gold from Iron Monkey Rifle Works out of Kenmore, Washington. This is for when you absolutely, positively must have the most blinged-out firearm on the block. There is truly one of everything at SHOT Show.
For those of you who want to send a message in a little more subdued way, we feature the “Take America Back” carbine chambered in 5.56. This baby was built by Black Rain Ordnance out of Newton County, Missouri
It’s not all about firearms. Here, we have the “Warhawk” Jeep custom-built by Hennessey Defense Systems. It debuted at SHOT Show this year and it’s based on a 3.6 liter V6 Jeep Rubicon. There was no mention of the price, but you can find out more about the vehicle by filling out a form on their website.
Maybe knives are more your thing. There are plenty of those at SHOT, for sure. Here we have a “Plague Doctor” knife from Spartan Blades. The photos don’t do them justice as they are absolutely gorgeous and one of a kind. “Do not fear, my dear” is engraved on each piece, and the Damascus blades are as unique as fingerprints. If Santa is reading this, put one of these (green please) on my Christmas list for 2025.
Need a new backpack? Love SIG SAUER? 5.11 has just the product for you in its Range Ready 38L backpack. Co-branded with SIG SAUER, this range-ready backpack features a 600D exterior and padded MOLLE shoulder straps. There is a side access compartment that holds not one but TWO pistols (SIGS, hopefully). If you want one, you better order one soon. The folks at the 5.11 store in Vegas told me these sold out just as quickly as they put them on the shelves.
If you live in Florida, like I do, damn near everything is out to kill you (gators, wild boar, bear, bobcats, panthers, sharks, tweakers). In addition to your firearms, it’s wise to have a less-than-lethal product at the ready. For that, Saber fills the need with their Frontiersman Max product. It sounds like I’m making light of the situation, but one morning before sun up I was heading out to the car in my driveway when I noticed that less than ten feet away from me there was a big brown bear nosing around in my garbage can. Luckily, it took one look at me and ran off. Not sure if that says more about me or the bear. In any case, a couple of weeks ago a man a town over wasn’t so lucky and a brown bear bit him in the abdomen. So, yes, there is a real need for bear spray.
If you’re like me and you are into guns, I’m sure you love all things Barrett Firearms. How could you not? Here we have the Barrett Mk. 22.
According to the company:
“The Barrett Mk. 22 is SOCOM (ASR) and the US Army’s (PSR) choice for the next generation of a bolt action sniper rifle effective against personnel and materiel at extreme (1500m) ranges to increase standoff and overmatch against a worldwide proliferation of extreme distance sniper systems. The rifle is designed to fire two new types of ammunition: M1162 .338 Norma Magnum Armor Piercing loaded with the LAPUA 300 grain AP529 projectile and M1163 .300 Norma Magnum OTM loaded with the BERGER 215 grain Hybrid Target Projectile.”
With that, we’ll wind up our brief tour of SHOT Show 2025. In all honesty, if you had a month to wander the halls of the show, you still wouldn’t be able to see everything. One must pick and choose. I’ve brought you some good stuff today. Check back from time to time as I intend to add to this piece. Like the show itself, it will keep growing and growing.
Out, for now.
-GDM
