SHOT Show 2018 – “The New Ed”

SHOT Show 2018 Round Up

Words By: Wally F. Photos By: Wally F.

……….SHOT Show, another one bites the dust again. Even though I stepped into Edward O’s shoes last December for TV-PressPass to continue to deliver firearms news, reviews, and promoting shooting sports and outdoor gear from Canada and beyond, it hasn’t sunk in until now.

……….I knew this gig wasn’t going to be an easy go, but it didn’t occur to me how much work it was until SHOT Show. I’ve make fun of Ed in the past for not wanting to go out and hitting the Strip after a day on the show floor and him doing his best old man impressions and sighing like he’s 50 years old. Fast forward to 2018 and I get it. Meeting after meeting, interview after interview, this was the definition of a “working vacation”.

……….I met many new people, and some old friends, a bunch of near misses, and everything in between. The amount of times I’ve had to introduce myself as “The New Ed” was staggering, borderline hilarious after day two, I should make a patch saying that, save me the conversation.

……….While there were no Gordie Howe hat-tricks this year at SHOT in terms of where everyone coveted one or two items universally last year like the Hudson H9 or the Maxim 9 finally debuting, there were a ton of great gems throughout the show if you looked for them. I know for a fact that I missed a ton just based on my social media feed.

……….What I did do though is concentrate on Canadian companies at SHOT this year and any Canadian related stories. That’s not to say I didn’t swing by the obvious booths like Sig and their much hyped and delivered P365 Nitron Micro-Compact pistol, the Glock 19X which is quite possibly the most popular rejected weapon system by the US Army that any firearms manufacturer has ever had, and a few odds and sods along the way. Of course I didn’t hit everything I wanted to, but I did get everything I needed to.

……….I can tell you this though. Every single company I spoke to told me that they are all doing much better in terms of company operations, sales, profits, and product roll out and production in general compared to last year. While many companies scaled back and reorganized operations, it was to the benefit of firearms owners. While there were a few standouts in significant product launches like the IWI Tavor 7 .308win battle rifle and their Tavor TS12 12+1/15+1 semi-auto shogun or Cadex Defence with their excellent debut of the CDX-R7 Lite and Field Comp bolt action chassis and the Falcon Lite Bipod, many more companies like Troy Industries, Mission First Tactical, Strike Industries, and others were concentrating on refining and innovating their existing product lines to make them better. The general consensus is that 2018 is going to be better than the previous year for both Canada and the USA. That’s good news for everyone.

……….I’ve got around two dozen stories I’ve captured from SHOT Show and I hope will be pushing them out in the next long while here. I’m still working on the multiple part interview with Tracey Wilson from the CCFR, a Canadian AR magazine comparo, company features with Matador Arms and Black Leaf Industries to name a few, as well as work on several feature articles highlighting Veterans and their businesses, and pushing to bring folks the most up to date firearms, outdoor gear, and training news from Canada and beyond as frequently as possible. I’m a couple of months in to this gig and I’m enjoying the grind like a new barista working the cappuccino machine at Starbucks. My name is Wally F. but you can call me “The New Ed” for now…