Airsoft Action March 2020 | Page 19

EVENT REPORT SHOT SHOW 2020 - LAS VEGAS, USA airsoft does not yet have its own dedicated area at SHOT. There are literally thousands of products for attendees to see on the show floor, encompassing firearms, ammunition, accessories, optics, knives, gun safes, apparel and tactical equipment, among other categories. Hundreds of new products from numerous companies are on display in the show’s New Product Centre alone. In addition to the exhibiting companies on the main show floors, the NEXT Pavilion provides first-time vendors from the show’s extensive waiting list with welcome visibility and potential new customers. If there’s something you want to find in relation to Shooting Sports, including the very latest airsoft innovations, then “SHOT” is most definitely the place to visit! Not all of the important attractions are on the Show floor though and one of the most eagerly anticipated events is “Industry Day” at the Range. This takes place on the Monday immediately prior to the show at is held at the Boulder Rifle & Pistol Club Boulder City, Nevada, approximately 25 miles out into the desert south of Las Vegas. Sadly, Nige and I flew into Vegas on the Monday afternoon this year and missed Range Day but from all accounts much ammunition was expended and much safe, shooting fun was had by all that attended. Our arrival time also sadly meant that we missed SHOT MEALSIM at “The Heart Attack Grill” but at least I managed to keep my patch collection up to date! POUNDING THE FLOOR(S)! The doors to the show proper though opened bright and early on the Tuesday morning, and after a brief visit to the professionally run Press Room it was time to get rolling. As much as I like to see as much as possible when I visit SHOT, experience has taught me that you need to make a schedule and stick to it. It’s simply just not possible to see everything but with so many friends in attendance there was a constant “heads up” flow of information in relation to exciting new products. First up was real firearms - and you really can’t see everything! One of the trends that caught my eye very quickly was the move yet further towards even lighter carbines and rifles, with many manufacturers going for skeletonised rails and stocks. With all the big names in play, firearm models that stood out for me where from Knights Armament, Remington Defense, Daniel Defense, LMT, Lantac (oh, that SPR!), and BRO. It was also interesting to note that the AR/AK story also seems to be “still a thing”, and there was also a lot more “AK” action than I’ve seen before too! There were a couple of specific things that I wanted to check out and the first of those was the Laugo Arms “ALIEN” pistol, as this seems to be causing a lot of chatter. This is marketed (with a hefty price tag!) as their flagship pistol, which has now gone from prototype to production and even been approved for IPSC competition use. The 9mm “ALIEN” allegedly has the lowest bore axis available on a handgun, with the positioning of its fixed barrel some 1.7mm below the line of the grip axis. With an overall length of 8.5-inches, the pistol is certainly unusual to look at and it feels very comfortable in the hand. I can only speculate how long it will be until we see a licensed version but if the Hudson is anything to go by it won’t be long! Of course, the other stand I wanted to spend some time on was that of SIG www.airsoft-action.online 19