SHOT Show Day 4: It's a wrap

Friends,

Nothing earth shattering today in a short day, but I did manage to be productive.

Inked the deal with Aimpoint, we will be a "LE" designated dealer. We bought a little of everything.

Today's reviews:

Burris: I've been harsh on Burris in the past, for good reason, but I haven't called the current weather yet, so I sought them out at the Steiner booth and for the first time in 4 years I really checked them out, especially the Euro Diamond and Tactical which is their best. Conclusion: Still junk. Love the "Invisible knobs" where you can hear the clicks but can't feel a darn thing. The wire reticles are so badly finished is looks like someone painted them with a brush, with different colors. The optics were simply OK. I think these are made to make someone money and there is little to no effort in making these a good product. If you have to have one, you won't get it from us.

Meopta: These guys have always had decent glass and are an OEM manufacturer for many "name brand" optics. The manufacturer behind the curtain, so to speak. Nice hunting scopes with crappy turrets. One scope had stated 1/4moa knobs but the numbers were not correctly marked (a common problem with Meopta SHOT show samples, it seems). They do have a new 1-4x K-Dot variant with holdovers with very bright daytime illumination, but the reticle is very faint without it. Overall, these are still decent European optics but nothing special and no real tactical value. Some things never change.

Barrett: Always been a fan of Ronnie Barrett, both of his products, his personality, and his politics. His relatively new Director of Sales, Kyle Lynch, epitomizes "stand up". We won't be selling their rifles, but we will be offering their rings. 30 and 34mm alloy designed for hard kicking guns and long picatinny top rails, like for Barrett, DTA, and more. The 34mm will be available in two heights and the 30mm will be had in four. Alloy rings with T25 Torx screws, "zero gap" technology, over 1" wide, price point around $199, these rings I predict will be a "go to" solution for many long range shooters in 2010.

Zero Tolerance Knives: I remember when these first debuted and I reported on it on my first SHOT Show report. I've been strictly optics since we started but maybe it's time to test the waters. Great quality knives and a consistent dealer pricing structure. Good people too.

Rokon: I still want one, but should have bought it last year, as this year's "SHOT Show Special" is nothing special at all. The olive drab Trailbreaker I'm told is the one to get, with the Kohler engine. It sure looks cool. Looks perfect for the NW Montana mountains.

BAE Systems: Their first SHOT show, these guys specialize in mobile security i.e. armored SUV's and trucks. For $160,000 you can get a grenade resistant Toyota Land Cruiser, brand new from the factory, with all required axle/tranny/suspension/engine upgrades to haul around the 3500 pounds of armor plating you now carry. Armor piercing bullet protection is an optional upgrade, not standard, so be sure to ask questions if you seek to create your own Batmobile. Nice people and a fascinating industry.

Well, that about it. I will conclude that overall there was very little really new and exciting optics, except for the Vortex PSTs. Vortex is the tip of the spear right now. There is a trend to make a 1.1-8 or 1-8x versatile riflescope for tactical applications but no one on the show floor had the finished product. And I bet Trijicon will steal all their thunder down the road anyway.

Also, I learned for the first time today that Kowa spotters are widely used by the US military, including the Navy SEALS, Army and Navy shooting teams, Secret Service, and USMC. This is not very common knowledge but even further validates why we recommend Kowa spotters!

Thanks for stopping by. I'll be posting pretty regularly here this year and look forward to interacting with you.

Scott