LIVE! From Las Vegas...

[Rocky Raab]

it's me!

Here at SHOT Show, which opens in about an hour. Heading out the door in moments to get a (high-priced) parking spot. Will report anything astounding, such as Ruger's mystery announcement (see their website).

Went to Gun Writer's Range Day yesterday, where Winchester/Browning and Springfield Arms had rifle, pistol and shotgun ranges stacked with pallets of ammo and guns, with the request to please shoot it all up.

Unfortunately for me, the only guns close to varmint-capable were some new T-bolts rifles in .22LR, .22Mag and .17HMR, plus a sole X-Bolt in .243 WSSM. I shot the WSSM and the .17. Everything else was a .30 and up Mangleum. (Including a snazzy O/U rifle in 458 Win Mag that EVERYBODY but me wanted to shoot.)

The varmint rifles were slick, the shooting was fun, and there's not much else to tell. There were so man other writers in line to shoot the guns that I gave up the bench pretty quick. Think I shot fewer than 20 rounds total - all day. The BBQ lunch was great, and so was the "goody bag" that they gave everybody.

OK, out the door to SHOT!

[Rocky Raab]

And so it ends for another year.

I actually left the show Sunday afternoon. I had gotten to all 50 companies on my writing assignment list, plus another dozen or so that interested me. That's out of more than 1900 booths!

I lugged about 40 pounds of press kits, brochures and assorted swag away from those 60 booths. Darn good thing I didn't visit more!

My list was primarily reloading suppliers and varmint/predators stuff in general. I'll be contributing to a long article in the July Varmint Hunter Magazine, so can't leak too much before then.

But the reloading industry is booming. Costs of everything are up, which mirrors the skyrocketing of raw material prices. Reloading supplies are up less than factory ammo, and should remain that way, so that's reassuring. The backlog of primers is shrinking as companies catch up with military contracts, too.

One of the bigger surprises was the re-introduction of the moribund 5mm Remington Rimfire Magnum by Aguila. The "re-energized" round will carry Eley priming, a new powder specially designed for the cartridge, and a lighter 30-gr hollowpoint. Muzzle speed is 2300 fps, which is almost exactly between the 22 WMR and the 17 HMR. Downrange numbers better BOTH of them, with an effective killing range of 125 yards at least. T/C has already announced both pistol and carbine barrels for it - more companies may follow. Cost is suggested retail of $20 for 50. Sure beats the $100 of collector ammo for those with Rem 591/592 rifles!