Smith & Wesson Model 40 “Lemon Squeezers”.

It seems like it was just a couple months ago, though it was actually a couple years back, that I was complaining to Smith & Wesson that they needed to bring back traditional high polish blued handguns to their line. For a while there it seemed S&W was only interested in building stainless steel handguns. I like stainless steel for some applications but still prefer blued steel on most of my handguns. You can imagine how pleased I was to see S&W not only is making some blued versions but bringing back some classic designs. The Model 40 “Lemon Squeezer” is a Chiefs Special hammerless variation with a grip safety and is not only available in blue but also in blue with a color case hardened frame and in nickel. Another classic, the Model 22 .45 ACP, was also introduced at the SHOT Show this year.

Smith & Wesson also introduced an extensive line of shotguns from Turkey. There were autoloaders, side-by-sides and over-and-unders in a variety of finishes. So many variations, in fact, I would not know where to start. Suffice it to say, in-depth reviews will be forthcoming from our publications.

Surefire Outdoorsman flashlights

Surefire is the leader in flashlight innovation and this year was no exception. There were new models introduced but the big news is an advance in LED technology that dramatically increases lumen output and runtime across the board. For example, in the popular Outdoorsman series, the EL1 single cell LED flashlight until now had an output of 25 lumens and a runtime of 4 hours. Hold on to your hat. The EL1 now has an output of 30 Lumens and an incredible runtime of 17 hours. The EL2 Outdoorsman two-cell light has boosted output from 30 to 45 lumens and runtime from 6 to 18 hours. This advancement addresses one of the main concerns of people who own or have considered owning a Lithium powered light. Batteries are expensive and the high light output heretofore meant fairly short runtimes.

Surefire Echo (top) and Leo (bottom).

Surefire also has a new line of tactical knives built to high standards and with some interesting features. All knives other than the fixed blade Echo will have blades of S30V steel, which in my opinion is the best stainless blade material available for general use. The Echo fixed blade is made of 3V CPM steel for added toughness. The LEO folder is more than a knife. Tools of use to Law Enforcement and rescue personnel are built in, including a harness cutter, a toothed slotted wrench that fits hex head nuts from 13/64 to 1/2-inch, a flat head screwdriver blade, and a wire cutter/crimper.

Kenneth Kelly with one of his custom handguns and his Pistolsmith of the Year Award for 2007.

Ken Kelly, President of Magnaport, was selected Pistolsmith of the Year 2007 by the American Pistolsmiths Guild. It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. I shared a hunt camp with Ken last month and he is as down to earth and likable as he is talented. Ken is shown in the photo above holding one of his custom conversions of the Ruger Super Redhawk.

Ted Werner of HySkore.

Ted Werner, President of HySkore, demonstrated one of his newest products, a high benchrest that allows the shooter to shoot from a standing position. Why a standing position? Hard kicking rifles can give the shooter a beating when seated at a benchrest. Shooting from a standing position allows for better positioning of the rifle and allows the body to move more freely under recoil. Good idea, Ted.

Ajax Camo Grips for the 1911.

Fashion conscience shooters know that camo is the new black. There is no practical reason to have camo grips on a handgun but they look kind of cool. Ajax introduced a selection of camo patterned grips for the 1911 at SHOT Show this year and I suspect they will sell a lot of them.