Posted in News, tagged gun industry, hunting trade show, National Shooting Sports Foundation, shooting sports, SHOT Show on January 17, 2011| 3 Comments »
Yep, it’s here. The annual gathering called the Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trade Show … SHOT, get it?
Most manufacturers in any related industry will display their newest products for the first time, from shotguns to hunting boots and everything in between. In between meetings, I’ll be roaming the floor so what should I look for?
What’s on your wish list? Rumors, inklings, rumblings, or other tidbits I should chase for ya? Watch this space for a few reports … if anything noteworthy surfaces.
Posted in News, tagged Awesome Upland Road Trip, Bird hunting, bird launchers, dog training, Dogtra, free hunting gear, free outdoor gear, hunting equipment, hunting gear, hunting website, road trip, RR, RR Deluxe, shooting gear, shooting website, SHOT Show, shotguns, skeet shooting, SportDog, SportHunter, Sporting Clays, target shooting, www.shotgunlife.com on January 17, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Yours truly actually "working" at SHOT ... you'll hear this interview on my radio show.
(ORLANDO) SHOT Show updates … What innovation there was in our universe was in the highest-tech segment of our world, dog training collars. Translation: ho-hum of a show in many respects. But here are some more notable exceptions:
Dogtra introduced their “RR Deluxe,” a remote bird-launcher release system that has a loudspeaker mimicking both duck call and beep sounds. It interfaces with their pheasant and quail launchers, and uses a standard, codable transmitter that allows you to chain up to 16 launchers if your wife will let you buy them and you can figure out how to code them all!
The duck call feature is particularly intriguing for added “realism” for retriever trainers. The beeper is described by Dogtra as helping you locate the launcher system in heavy cover (helpful, especially when you’re trying to locate your dog at the same time). I’d like to see uplanders served by a pheasant cackle on version 1.1, or better yet, the last launch of the day featuring a comely synthesized female voice announcing the start of happy hour.
If you live the shotgun lifestyle, you might visit www.shotgunlife.com, a new site creators are describing as in the “Best Gun” category. You’ll find articles (many very long), some product information, and at least a nod to women shooters, so pour yourself a half-skinny-soy-no foam latte’ extra caffeine and take a look.
SportDog is touting their new SportHunter 1825, a slimmer-profile receiver and transmitter system that offers up to 16 stimulus levels (requires a few button pushes – ask your texting-savvy kid to help) and (thank you) vibration AND tone through the collar receiver. Both should come in handy for creative dog trainers. They’ve also built a new “docking” system for charging batteries. No word on whether or not you can combine tone and vibration to perform the drum and guitar solos in the surf tune “Wipeout.”
There’s a black version and a camo version, both are waterproof, and can be adapted to handle up to three dogs using SportDog’s “Add-A-Dog” (a great title for a spouses’ worst nightmare) collars.
Next stop on the Awesome Upland Road Trip: Reno, Nevada and the Safari Club International convention, next week. How about for you? Where would you wear a new pair of Irish Setter boots? Tell me in the comments section and you might win a free pair!
Posted in News, tagged Bird hunting, bumpers, Dead Fowl, Dokken, hunting equipment, hunting news, retrieving dummies, SHOT Show, shotguns, Smith & Wesson, Weatherby on January 16, 2009| Leave a Comment »
SHOT Show Shorts: Despite the economic laments, things here at the largest shooting and hunting trade show in the world are looking up. The consensus is if it’s “black,” it’s putting manufacturers’ and retailers’ bottoms lines there, too. In other words, self defense firearms, tactical gear and related products (even if used by hunters, a la’ the AR-15-style rifle) are hot sellers despite (or because of) the credit crisis, political uncertainties and general down-in-the-dumpness.
That said, here are some more great new products for guys and gals like us:
Remember MAD magazine? Remember their ongoing cartoon “Don’t you hate …”? Well, most of us could have chipped in with “I hate plastic bumpers that sink after one puppy bite.” Innovator Tom Dokken (Dead Fowl Retrievers) has solved our problem with foam-filled plastic knobby retrieving bumpers. Available in 2-inch diameter size only, they will float until incinerated, appear impervious to puppy teeth and shot, and will also hold injected scent, just like his clever and realistic bird “bumpers.”
(Watch for a new book from Tom on retriever training, with eventually, accompanying video.)
I also saw another new shotgun, this one an autoloader from Weatherby that runs about $700. It’s made in Turkey with an eerily Italian look, and comes in both wood and synthetic stock choices. Weatherby says their Turkish gun differs from competitors in the use of machined rather than cast metal parts and a dual-gas valve system. Hmmm.
And kudos to Smith & Wesson, a relative newcomer to the shotgun market. They received a Field & Stream magazine “Best of the Best” award for their Elite Gold SxS shotgun. A sweet, nimble shooter at $700.
Duty calls – cocktail parties to visit. Gotta go!
Posted in News, tagged Awesome Upland Road Trip, firearms, hunting gear, new technology, polymer gun, SHOT Show, shotgun, target shooting on January 16, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Short SHOT: [More later.] Remington has taken a leaf from its handgun counterparts, introducing a shotgun with polymer frame and other components. Called the “887 Nitro Magnum,” this 12-ga. pump still has a steel barrel and receiver, but that’s where the similarities to the reliable 870 end.
The external polymer shell protects the guts of the gun from corrosion. Ditto for the trigger plate, made from the same polymer. And though the TPA contains the fire control and carrier – similar to the 870 fire control – it also, uniquely, contains the right and left shell latches.
Gotta go! More to come from Orlando, FL.
Posted in News, tagged bird dog, electronic collars, hunting dogs, hunting equipment, hunting gear, hunting gear checklist, SHOT Show, Tri-Tronics, upland bird hunting on January 15, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Though in meetings most of Day One of the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show, I was able to visit a few manufacturers’ exhibits. Innovation as always, is a keyword at this gathering and already one product jumps out at we dog folk:
Tri-Tronics’ TracerTM Light is designed to fit any G-series receiver. Hunters are able to turn the light on or off with a simple press of a button on their transmitter, and can choose between a blinking light or constant mode, which is visible from up to a half mile. It is inserted at the “base” of your collar battery unit and wraps around the entire battery. It doesn’t appear to add much weight or bulk to the collar, and won’t lighten your wallet too much.
If you let your retrievers “help” with decoy placement before first light, run dogs until full dark, or just want the added safety of light when walking Fido on a busy road, this might help. My guess is, houndsmen will find this item most helpful.
For hunters who run multiple dogs, the TracerTMLight is available in three colors: red, white and blue. It is available as a single accessory ($49.00 MSRP), already attached to the accessory receiver ($193.95 MSRP) or pre-installed in a Trashbreaker remote trainer ($514.00 MSRP).
[SHOT Show gossip you didn’t hear here: watch for another GPS tracking collar to compete with Garmin, this one with stimulation so your dog doesn’t need to look like a retail display mannequin for electronic collars. Maybe as soon as this hunting season.]
Scott Linden Outdoors 