Another SHOT Show has come and gone and as always I have returned home with a stack of catalogs, a lot of photos, and a wealth of ideas for articles for the coming year. SHOT Show 2006 was the largest yet and it will take some time to sort through all the information gathered. On my desk is a stack of business cards, many with notes scribbled on the back to remind me of things I need to follow up on. And, as always, I am remembering booths and people I should have visited but simply couldn't get to.

If you have never been to SHOT, or haven't been in a few years, it is hard to comprehend just how large the show is. The SHOT Show web site (www.shotshow.org) has some interesting statistics to bring it in to perspective. For example, there was 625,000 net square feet of exhibit space with over 1800 exhibitors, 13 miles of aisle carpet, and 4 million pounds of freight on the floor, including over 11,000 unique firearms. It's estimated if you spent the entire four days during open hours on the floor and visited every exhibit you would only have 72 seconds to spend at each booth. It's no wonder there are always things I intend to do but don't get done.

Let's concentrate on what I did see though. I spent a lot time on the floor with no set schedule or agenda. When I saw something interesting, I took some photos and gathered some information. My purpose here is to provide you in no particular order with photos, some basic info, and some personal opinion on products I found interesting.

There were few new firearm models introduced this year. The market is pretty well saturated and manufacturers for the most part are concentrating on new finishes and features for proven designs. A notable exception is the new Kimber Pro Defense handgun. It's Kimber's entry into the crowded DAO polymer-frame self-defense handgun market. The KPD will be offered in .40 S&W caliber initially and has all the bells and whistles currently popular in pistols of this design including an integral light rail, ambidextrous magazine release, ample magazine capacity (12 rounds), large dovetailed three-dot combat sights with night sights available as an option, and interchangeable backstraps that allow the user to fit the gun to their hand. It is a handsome gun and made in the U.S.A. www.kimberamerica.com

Taurus upped the flinch factor with the introduction of a 2-1/4-inch fixed sight Raging Bull revolver chambered for the potent .500 S&W Magnum. It's a belly gun for Brown bears obviously and while not pleasant to shoot would certainly be preferable to getting gnawed on by large four legged critters. www.taurususa.com

Rob Leatham was on hand at the Springfield Armory booth and is shown here holding a custom shop version of the new XD .45 ACP. This one has Bomar adjustable sights added. The introduction of a .45 ACP XD variant so close on the heels of the ballistically similar .45 GAP model raises questions on how viable the .45 GAP cartridge will be in the marketplace. It is a well-designed and useful cartridge but perhaps the overwhelming popularity of the venerable .45 ACP will be too much to overcome. Time will tell. www.springfield-armory.com

The Freedom Arms Model 97 .45 Colt with 4-1/4" barrel was introduced some time before SHOT Show 2006 but I include it here because it is a beauty and high on my want list. I included my wrist watch in the photo to illustrate how compact this little single action is. Nothing little about the price but Freedom Arms revolvers offer true custom grade quality and accuracy. www.freedomarms.com