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Awesomeness is not a word you would think could make it through spell check, but it is actually a word. If there was one product at Media Day at the Range, SHOT Show 2012, that excelled at awesomeness, it was the modular rifle chassis system from Ashbury Precision Ordnance, or APO. It is called the Saber-FORRST, for Folding Rifle Stock System Tactical. They all don’t seem to fold, going by the catalog, so it is a little confusing. But they sure excel at awesomeness.

You wouldn’t think that a gun would be made specifically to bang around behind the seat of your truck, to get banged and bumped on who knows what, and to get dripping wet, dirty, and still work, but that is exactly what Savage has done with the new Hog Hunter line of rifles. They aren’t pretty guns, but they aren’t for pretty game either.

The TC Arms Venture is one of the best value in American made bolt action rifles, and this year TC answered the call to make a youth sized version. It has an 11.5 length of pull out of the box and it will be available in .223, .243, 7mm-08 and .308 for now. The barrel is only 20 inches for good balance in a small gun, and it comes with a 1 inch spacer for the stock, so the gun can grow with your child. All of the Venture rifles come with an MOA gaurantee, and we proved this out easily with a rifle they sent us for testing. There is also a new winter camo Venture as well. TC makes a lot of “gotta have it” guns and this looks to be another.

The AR-10 finally is available with a non-proprietary magazine, it takes Magpul P-Mags now. Also some new uppers from Armalite as they charge ahead with a 7.62×39 and 6.8SPC upper for their iconic rifles.

If you carry a .40S&W duty pistol and would like to be able to use all those extra rounds in your backup revolver, Charter Arms has finally come to market with their affordable line of revolvers for rimless cartridges. The guns are currently available in gunshops and from what we saw at SHOT Show this year, they work great, even in the blowing sand of the desert with dirty cheap surplus ammo.

Sig Sauer brings a lot of new products this year, and they all have the common theme that they are based on guns we already know and love, and probably even own, from Sig. The P224 pistol is the same doublestack 9mm, .40S&W or .357Sig. as your P226, but in a compact for concealed carry. The SIG716 is a 7.62NATO rifle based on the successful SIG516 platform, the M400 is finally a standard AR from Sig for you police armorers & Sig enthusiasts out there, and the 551-A1 is just like the Swiss 550 on which the 556 is based. Also SBRs!

Daniel Defense has a novel concept in the “modern sporting rifle” (otherwise known as ARs made for hunting). They have decided that rather than just paint some camo on one of their existing rifles, it would be much better to actually build an actual hunting rifle from the ground up. Ambush Firearms is a separate effort from DD to do just that. Watch the video for the details. They even have a forend for the guns that feel like a shotgun forend. It is a great approach that is refreshing for those of us who hope the AR-15 platform hunting rifle becomes a big part of the hunting market. And yes, they make a .300 Blackout!

A real StG 44 is out of reach for most WWII enthusiasts, but this .22LR replica, made in Germany and imported by ATI could give you that fix of history you are looking for. At full weight and $599 it will fly off the shelves, so get one while you can.

Every gun used for daily carry deserves a quality and comfortable leather holster system, and these belts and holsters from Aker Leather are second to none. Aker is a small company with big products, and these are new for SHOT Show 2012.