Gun Digest
 

SHOT Show 2022: Day 1 Roundup

The first day of SHOT Show 2022 is over, so here’s a quick peek at some of its most interesting guns and gear.


 
Returning after a year's sabbatical, SHOT Show 2022 is now in full swing. With Monday being Industry Day At The Range, today was the first real day of walking the show floor and looking at what the different companies had to offer. While nothing we saw on display today is going to revolutionize the small arms world any time soon, there were still plenty of interesting items to see from brands both big and small. Here’s what jumped out at us on day one of SHOT Show 2022:

Smith & Wesson CSX Pistol


Smith & Wesson’s new concealed carry pistol was unfortunately not at range day, but they brought out some examples to the floor for some hands-on impressions. It felt very nice in the hand, even with the short flush-fitting 10-round mag. The single-action trigger was very crisp, and it overall felt like a very well-made piece. No word on a 30 Super Carry version of the CSX as of yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised to hear one announced in the near future. Whatever your opinion on the CSX is, in the world of new concealed carry guns at least it’s something different.

FN High Power


It’s hard to keep secrets in the gun industry, so it was impressive that FN managed to keep their new iteration of John Browning’s classic design under wraps until SHOT Show 2022 was actually in motion. The new FN High Powers felt very solidly constructed and featured an interesting aesthetic blend of the original design with some modernizations, such as a 17-round magazine. The BHP has definitely made a comeback recently with clones from the likes of Girsan and Springfield, so having a new, slightly modernized option from the original manufacturer will certainly be appreciated.

Everything on the new FN High Powers looked and felt great to me besides one detail: the profile of the grip. This is subjective of course, but I know I’m not the only one who fell in love with the original BHP design largely because of how perfectly its grip fit my hand. The new FN High Power grip felt perfectly fine, nice even, but some minor changes to its profile eliminated that magic, “perfect match” feel I experienced with the original design. That being said, it still looks solid and it’s nice to see the Hi Power finally receiving the love it always deserved in the USA.

Tippmann Belt-Fed .22 Gatling Gun


Tippmann brought out a prototype for their new .22 belt-fed Gatling gun, and while there’s still work to be done before it becomes commercially available, it looked very promising indeed. We joked with Tippman Jr. about how it seemed like the most fun solution for dealing with a squirrel problem, and he assured us that it was since its 50-round belts will be able to be linked together. Tippmann’s mag-fed Gatling guns are convenient and fun, but unless you own a cartoonish number of magazines it’s virtually impossible to shoot them enough to get the barrels hot. With this new belt-fed option, as long as you take the time to load and link the belts you could crank away all day. The MSRP will supposedly be less than $400 as well.

Odyssey A.T.S. Virtual Reality Training


One of the most unique booths we stopped at today, and probably the most fun as well, was the Odyssey virtual reality training system. The system is still being developed and improved, but the company has already come a long way since they first debuted at SHOT Show and their potential is evidenced by the fact that they have already sold units to the U.S. military. It essentially works by acting as the missing link between virtual reality video game headsets and practical firearms training, replacing the plastic, ambiguously shaped controllers of yore with something much closer to a real firearm. The system is compatible with laser training pistols, BB guns, and even real firearms, the latter of which can use a conversion kit that utilizes gas to simulate recoil.

The software side is open source and will allow users to create any simulation environment that they desire, and Odyssey even teased that the system will be compatible with augmented reality as well. This would allow users to train on the range with live ammo, but rather than putting holes in paper, they will be able to mow down hordes of virtual enemies. The Odyssey system still has some work to be done before it’s perfect, but this is without a doubt the future of firearms training and probably even of video games as well. This is a small company that’s very well worth keeping an eye on.

Zastava M77


Unfortunately, there is nothing certain about the future of Zastava M77 imports, but the fact that they had one hung up at SHOT Show 2022 was a good sign. The best I could get Zastava’s rep to confirm to was “we’re working on it”, but that’s better than nothing. This unique Yugoslavian/Serbian 7.62x51mm AK battle rifle has been imported before and they are very desirable on the used market, so hopefully Zastava USA manages to start bringing these in soon.


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