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When Savage set out to make a semi-auto 17 HMR, there weren’t many who thought the wicked rimfire cartridge would ever be tamed. Yet Savage has done it. The new A17 is a rimfire for those who are ready to move past the .22 LRs and into a gun with more range, and more velocity. And that’s not all Savage has brought to SHOT Show.

If you wear a plate carrier, you can pretty much carry as many extra mag pouches and extra gear as you want. This isn’t always practical, though–and is ludicrous for those who need extra gear and the ability to hide in plain sight. So how do you conceal a full load out? Blue Force Gear has a good solution.

It is getting much easier to find an AK-47 that is made in the United States, but few of them will offer the value and durability of a Century. Their two new offerings are traditional AKs, but come in at a price point that is going blow your mind. Milled or stamped, these guns should be selling for under $700. And they’re robust guns.

Taurus has some new products at SHOT Show 2015. The Curve will be shipping soon, the 85 revolver turns convertible and the TCP gets its wings. These are not just new guns, but some fascinating new designs that blend form and ergonomic function in unexpected ways.

I love historic guns and the reproductions of them. One of my favorite of the Italian makers is Davide Pedersoli. I stopped by their booth in the Little Italy section of the SHOT Show floor to check out what was new.

Riflescopes have come a long way in the last ten years. It used to be that only elite hunters paid big money for high quality scopes, and those scopes mostly came from Germany. I don’t know if patents ran out on manufacturing methods, or manufacturing just got that much better overseas, but these days there are a lot of great scopes that are crystal clear even in low light conditions, and they don’t cost big money. You can still spend over $5,000 on a riflescope, but for $1,000 to $2,000 you can get what I’ve found to be as good a scope for a lot less (and sometimes even less than $1,000). This Burris XTR II 4x-20x is made in Malaysia, and I would put it against scopes many times its cost.

I’ve seen some amazing things at this year’s SHOT Show. Some of them I’d guessed were coming. Some of them were completely out in left field. Some of them, though, defy description. These blasters from Battle Arms Development take the Star Wars homage to the next level.

From DemolitionRanch, “There literally has been no new developments in the art of spear throwing since the cavemen first invented spears….UNTIL NOW!”

Firearms and self-defense expert Massad Ayoob answers five essential self-defense questions.