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Leupold comes out of the gate this year with a new family of scopes, the Mark 5 models. All of these models will feature 5X zoom capability, starting with a 5×25 and 3.16×16. These scopes were designed with shooter optic interaction as the focal point. SPECS:  Weight: 30 oz. Linear FOV (ft/100 yd) Low — 20.5 Linear [...]

Hornady has continued to dominate the market in ammunition this year, always surprising with incredibly accurate factory loadings. I personally have been very impressed with the 6.5 Creedmoor loadings, including the American Gunner line. New for this year, Hornady has several new options.

Building on the success of the Taurus Raging Bull, this year we were treated to a new revolver built for the hunting market. The Raging Hunter, with all the features a handgun hunter needs.

World-famous hunter Fred Eichler was on hand to fill us in on the details. Fitting, since he had a hand in the development. You can also find a video of Fred harvesting an antelope with a Taurus Tracker in 357 Magnum, at 133 yards. It is always nice to have an expert end user involved in the development of a new gun.

SureFire is the industry leader in flashlights, no question about that. New for 2018, an absolute gaggle of changes across the board.

There were enough new ammo introductions at the 2018 SHOT Show in Las Vegas to cover ever shooter’s palate, from the long-range warrior to the competitive pistol champion. Several manufacturers introduced brand-spanking new offerings for newly developed cartridges, like Hornady’s Precision Hunter in 6.5 PRC and Federal Premium with the 224 Valkyrie. There’s been quite a few exciting additions for competition shooters, too, with range-friendly loads from Federal and Inceptor that are capable of knocking down steel targets while reducing splash back from projectiles. There was even quite an assortment of new shotgun loads for wingshooters and turkey hunters.

Syntech Ammunition was launched a few years back, specially designed as a high-quality training round. It keeps a lead core, but the jacket is polymer. The bullet is encased to keep any lead on steel contact from inside the gun, eliminating aerosolized lead and overall making a cleaner to shoot round. The construction also reduces splash back from steel targets.

Geisselle is best known for a suite of AR triggers, suitable for every platform and style. They have become a force to be reckoned with, and are featured as standard equipment in more premium rifles than any other brand. In addition, they have slowly but surely created fantastic tools, hand guards, and a variety of other products. This year at SHOT Show, they pulled several rabbits out of the hat.

I was a young cowboy with a fondness for horses, firearms, and pretty girls, in that order. One afore-mentioned pretty girl awaited my arrival across a high mountain pass that guards my Rocky Mountain home, but as my diesel pickup growled its way upward toward the pass I knew I was going to be early for our date. So I geared down and pulled off the highway into a small patch of ponderosa timber. The motor grumbled to a halt and I lifted my most recent crush off the truck seat, it’s long frame svelte and gleaming in the late afternoon light. The action was as smooth as whipped cream sweetened with maple sugar, and I forgot all about my upcoming date. Carrying the curvaceous form a little way from the truck I swung it to eye level and squeezed. A distant twig disappeared with a thunderous crack, and smoke rose in slow spirals from the six-inch barrel of my vintage Colt Python. I was in love.

Captain Barton fell breathlessly against the roots of a gnarled tree that seemed older than time itself. The flickering flames of what had only moments before been a $35 million AH64E gunship lit the surrounding jungle in desperate, hungry tones. He looked back at the wreckage now fully involved and choked at the thought of his co-pilot.