Winchester Firearms introduced the new SXR autoloading centerfire hunting rifle this year. It's a rotary bolt design with good handling characteristics. Initially it will be offered in .270 and .300 WSM, .300 Win Mag, and 30/06 chamberings. To be honest, I spent most of my time at the Winchester booth looking over the Model 94's and Model 70's on display as if in memoriam. Winchester just announced the closing of their plant in New Haven, Connecticut ending production of these classic rifles. Rumors abound on the Internet with claims the rifles will now be made in China or Belgium. Not so. At least no plans along those lines currently. www.winchesterguns.com

Smith & Wesson is another American Icon that has had troubled times in the past, but the company is currently booming under new leadership. This year Smith & Wesson ventured into the long gun market with their version of the popular AR-15 design. I was told by a reliable source a new bolt gun may also be in the works. www.smith-wesson.com

Remington unveiled a radically new shotgun this year, the Model 105 CTi autoloader. The goal was to offer a lightweight light-recoiling shotgun that will handle all loads from field loads to 3-inch magnum. Weight is trimmed by a skeletonized titanium receiver with carbon fiber shell. The 105 loads and ejects from the bottom and the first shell can be loaded directly from the magazine into the chamber. An oil filled cylinder in the stock links to the bolt to soften recoil and automatically compensate for various loads. The gas operated system and convex R3® recoil pad further softens recoil. Remington claims up to a 50% reduction in felt recoil with the 105 CTi. It is interesting to note, the Remington press release states and I quote, "the Model 105 CTi features a new patent pending trigger designed for crisp, consistent trigger pulls (set at 3-1/2 to 4-pounds from the factory)". It would be nice if Remington would ship their bolt guns with triggers held to that standard.

Under an agreement with Zastava of Serbia Remington will be importing rifles built on the Mauser 98 action. The Model 798 will be offered in .243, .270 Winchester, .308 Winchester, 30/06, 7mm Remington Magnum, .300 Win Mag, .375 H&H, and .458 Win Mag. A Mini-Mauser action will be available on the Model 799 chambered in .22 Hornet, .222 Remington, .23 Remington, 22-250, and 7.62X39. The Model 799 rifles have a Sako-style extractor rather than the non-rotating claw extractor of the Model 798. Rifles will be polished blue finish with brown laminated wood stocks. Other features include a sliding thumb safety and single stage trigger. www.remington.com

Federal bucked the trend towards more and more magnum rifle cartridges with the introduction of the very sensible .338 Federal. It is simply a .308 Winchester necked up to handle .338 caliber bullets. This cartridge has been around for years as a wildcat and is a great medium range elk cartridge and is mild mannered enough for use on smaller game such as deer and wild hogs. The only drawback is most .338 caliber bullets were designed with the higher velocities of the .338 Win Mag. in mind. Handloaders need to pick their bullets carefully to insure positive expansion at the lower velocities. www.federalcartridge.com

The new Pro hunter line of single-shot rifle/handgun/shotgun/muzzleloader from Thompson Center Arms is an upgraded Encore with some useful features added. The most notable change to the action itself is a new rotating hammer spur that can be turned to either side to better allow thumb access when using low-mounted scopes. A FlexTech stock is available that incorporates four synthetic arches in the buttstock to absorb the shock of recoil. Other new features in the Pro hunter series include a Speed Breech on muzzleloader barrels, allowing for easy removal of the breech plug for cleaning, and fluted stainless barrels in rifle and handgun lengths. www.tcarms.com