SHOT Show 2023 - New Stuff I Think is Interesting

 SHOT Show is always interesting to me and 2023's edition is turning out pretty cool. I'm not an industry or media guy so I'll never be invited, not like I could afford to if I wanted. So I read what others put out on social media and their blogs etc. 

Henry

Henry dropped two cool things this year. The first I won't jump on since I don't need a new cartridge (especially after 350 Legend) and the other I would buy. The first is a collab with Remington called .360 Buckmaster. It's a new straight-wall cartridge based on 30-30 intended for those few states that limit gun season to straight-wall cartridges. It's rimmed unlike 350 Legend and is designed for lever action rifles. It's also more powerful. I think this will be a great option for folks like me who love lever action rifles but are living in those states.

The second thing is the Homesteader rifle. It's a traditionally laid out semi-auto rifle with wood stocks, chambered in 9mm. Apparently, the magazine well can be swapped from the proprietary magazines over to the more popular pistol magazines such as Glock, SIG and Smith and Wesson. The versions shown at SHOT have a threaded barrel. Congratulations, Henry. You've packaged out a semi-auto 9mm rifle I'm actually interested in. Wood stocks and threaded barrels for the win. This is the most surprising thing for this year. I'm very excited about it. I want a WOOX stock for it though. 

Beretta

Beretta brought back their old .380 pistol, the Cheetah but modernized it. They call it the 80X. It has an accessory rail and provisions for red dots. I want one with a threaded barrel. I would love to see how .380 suppresses from a larger pistol than these usual pocket guns. 

They also, released a shotgun based on the A300 platform for home defense. It's packaged similar to the 1301 that's very well liked but it's not as expensive. I want a 1301 but I won't spend the money just yet. This one could fit that bill. I have an A300 Outlander I use for duck hunting and I like the platform. 

Marlin

No official word yet on the 336 but there are rumors of one at Range Day. A new 336 is my most anticipated release for this 2023.

Update: I checked the Marlin website and they have the 336 as early 2023 and interestingly, the 1894 will be re-released in Spring 2023. Good thing I've saving my money now.

Update 2: Apparently, Ruger does have a new 336 and 1894 on the show floor! Apparently, neither of those guns have a threaded barrel but are the traditional wood and blued steel. Looks like I need to wait to see if they do a version of the 336 with a threaded barrel. It would be genuinely funny if I got all hyped up for a specific version of the 336 and it never comes out!

Update 3: After talking with YouTuber, Target Suite, he says Ruger does have an SKU with a threaded barrel for the 336 but didn't get into the specifics of how the rifle is styled. We'll just have to wait and see.

It's also got me thinking that since I've changed the configuration of my 1894 CST to use Leupold's 2.5x scope instead of the red dot setup, maybe I'll wait for Ruger to release a new 1894 in 357 and set it up like I did ProjectVaquero but this time I'll execute exactly on how I wanted it with blued steel and wood furniture. I liked the CST's stainless which makes sense as an outdoors gun in the weather and all but I still love that blued steel and brown walnut look. I can't wait to see what 

Harrington & Richardson

This is an old name in firearms that got caught up in the Remington bankruptcy. They've made a huge selection of guns over the years including guns for the war effort during the 40's but was most recently known for inexpensive single shot rifles and shotguns. Palmetto State Armory bought the brand from Remington. Apparently they are starting up production of retro rifles starting with the Colt 723. That will make the Cloners happy as it will given them an option to build Black Hawk Down clones. RIP MSGT Gordon. 

I'm not a cloner but the return of the H&R brand is good news. Some folks are hoping for new make M1 Garands since they had tooling to make the rifle back in the day. Count me in for that. 

Looks like that's it folks. I've learned from SHOT Show 2023 that I wanted to know and plus some. Marlin will indeed have a threaded barrel SKU for the 336 but we'll see how it looks and incredibly, Henry has blown me away with the Homesteader. I can't wait to see how the Homesteader turns out when it's officially released. I think I'll make it my 2024 or 2025 project.

Bond Arms

Bond Arms is known mostly for 2 shot derringer pistols but they jumped into the lever action rifle market. They have a lever action lower receiver for AR-15 pattern uppers and uses Remington 870 pattern stocks. I'm toying with the idea of a .300 Blackout upper for that gun but apparently Bond Arms is planning a 9mm build. I might jump on that. I love lever action too much.