Having a blast (or two) at the SHOT Show

First, the hunting gear highlight. Today at the Bass Pro Shops Media Day at the Range (the hands on warm-up to the SHOT Show kicking off tomorrow), Hunting Editor Ken Bailey and I shot the new Beretta A400 Xplor semi-auto. Two words: sweet and light. We were shooting Federal target loads, so there was no real need for the Kick-Off system, but it was clear the two oil hydraulic absorbers inside the stock can more than the trick when it come to all but eliminating recoil. Ken liked the Xplor so much he’s as much as decided to include it in his round-up of the best new gear for 2010 (to appear in the May issue of Outdoor Canada magazine).

For Canadians like us who enjoy things that go bang, it was a real treat to fire some of the stuff we normally don’t get our mitts on—namely, handguns and fully automatic rifles. We shot the likes of Glocks, revolvers, the .410 Judge, some cool Ithaca offerings and several different ARs from outfits such as Steyr and Sturm Ruger. Bucket list item #43: Shoot machine gun. Check.

We also made our way over to the long-distance range, where both Ken and I went two for two, ringing the bell at 880 yards with the .338 Lupwa, the same round preferred by U.S. snipers in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was something else to ping a target I could barely make out with the naked eye. No wonder the bad guys never know what hit them.

Finally, what would a day out in the desert be without peeling through the hills on a quad? Yamaha suited us up with boots, gloves and helmets and let us tool around on the latest Rhino side-by-sides, as well as the new Grizzly 550s and 700s with auto steering. Smooth rides all, and no bones were broken.

All in all, it was a cool way to spend a cool (and wet) day in Nevada. Thanks to Bass Pro Shops, the numerous suppliers and the Boulder City Pistol and Rifle Range for putting it all together. Now, time to go lose some money on the tables…