Text & photos
by Glen I. Voorhees Jr.
Western Field Editor

The good news is next year's Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show will be in Las Vegas. The two positive aspects to the show's location in New Orleans were the food and the convention center itself. New Orleans is one of the gourmet centers of the United States, but prices will max out most credit cards in a hurry.

The New Orleans convention center is one mile long and 200 yards wide, large enough for the entire show to be on one floor. This is convenient for the dealers attending as well as a benefit to the exhibitors.

The taxi service from the downtown hotels was expensive (plus there is an added charge for every passenger over one) and, in one case, it was a near death experience.

Dave Workman and I rode with a kamikaze Hindu from India in a car with a foul odor that had me gagging. Inquiring about the distasteful smell only got a smile and a "yes." After miming by holding my nose, the driver opened the console between the front seats and pointed to a large mass that he characterized as curry rice. The year it was cooked was never revealed, but the one clue we had was that he was driving a '92 Chevy.

His only grasp of the English language was "tankyouverymunch." He hit speeds of 55 mph in downtown traffic, only slowing down for red lights. When we got to the convention center where the foot traffic was heavy, he would push his taxi through the pedestrians, actually touching them with his bumper. One of those afoot was Massad Ayoob. As our suicidal driver tried to push Ayoob aside, he was greeted by a drop dead stare and then Ayoob stopped before he very slowly walked past the car. Not knowing Hindu, I wasn't sure what our driver was bellowing but I am quite sure it had to do with Ayoob's family tree.

When we arrived at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Workman paid the hara-kiri Hindu. From the guttural mumbling of the coachman, I got the feeling that Workman was not overly generous with his tip.

Other problems were encountered at many of the downtown hotels. Prices were exorbitant, including our hotel where services were in short supply. When I checked in at 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 9, there was a total of one person working in a new hotel of several hundred rooms. All of the access doors were locked and it took the cab driver and me several minutes to get the lone desk clerk to let us in.

Because of the square footage of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center this was the largest show in history, covering 475,000 square feet. To cover the entire show requires covering over six miles. Attendance this year was down 6.8% from Atlanta in 1999 and more than 20% below Las Vegas in 2000. Overall registration was 25,291, which included 12,857 retailers, 11,234 exhibitors and personnel, and 1,200 press.

The other good news was that the show offered an abundance of new products. To cover the magnitude of new material would be impossible, so I will touch on the high points for me. Other reporters from Gun Week will hit on items of interest to them in this and upcoming issues.

Remington
New in the Model 700 Remington line is the expected expansion of the Ultra-Mag. series. First came the .300 Ultra-Mag., then the .338 Ultra-Mag., and now they have included a 7mm and .375 Ultra-Mag. The 7mm is the flattest shooting big game cartridge on the planet, as far as I'm concerned, flatter shooting with a 140-grain bullet than a .22-250 with a 55-grain bullet. At 3,425 feet per second (fps), this is the perfect round for long range antelope, sheep and goat hunting. The newer .375 has 23% more power than the .375 H&H and shoots as flat as a 150-grain .270 Win. load. It generates 5,073-foot pounds of energy (fpe) with a 300-grain bullet.

Remington Arms Co. (PO Box 700, Dept. GWK, Madison, NC 27025; phone: 800-243-9700; on-line: www.remington.com) also introduced their new Titanium ultra-light, which should be a winner with hunters that traverse the high country. Weighing only 5-1/4 pounds (short-action) and 5-1/2 (long-action), it comes in .260 Rem., .270 Win., 7mm-08 Rem. and 30-06.

Marlin
The Marlin Firearms Company (100 Kenna Drive, Dept. GWK, North Haven, CT 06473; phone: 203-239-5621; on-line: www.marlinfirearms.com) has purchased the assets of H&R 1871 Inc., of Gardner, MA. H&R is the largest manufacturer of break-action single-shot rifles and shotguns. Marlin Chairman Frank Kenna III, commenting on the acquisition, stated: "H&R is the kind of solid, reputable company that we continue to actively pursue in order to solidify and expand our position in the industry."

Marlin has been setting new standards in the lever-action industry recently. This year they have introduced several new guns to attract the Cowboy Action Shooters. The new Model 1895 Cowboy in .45/70 is sure to be popular for long-range events. It features a 26-inch tapered octagon barrel with deep-cut Ballard-type rifling, 9-shot tubular magazine, plus adjustable Marble semi-buckhorn rear and Marble carbine front sights.

From my experience with Marlin rifles, I can tell you that they put the best iron sights in the industry on their lever guns. To accommodate those distant shots they have also moved the serial number from the tang to the left side of the receiver, thus allowing tang sight installation without destroying the serial number.

Other new releases include the Model 336 Cowboy. It features a 24-inch tapered octagon barrel, full-length magazine tube, deep cut Ballard-cut rifling, and a checkered American walnut stock. Offered in .30-30 and .38-55 caliber, this is a reliable long-range Cowboy Action gun, or for the hunter, a top-notch deer rifle. The .38-55 was first brought into the lever-action line in 1894. For those who like to reload, this is a good choice and you won't find many on the firing line.

The Model 1894 Cowboy was developed in close cooperation with the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS), the leader in Cowboy Action Shooting membership and match programs. It has a 24-inch tapered octagon barrel, full magazine tube, American walnut checkered straight-grip stock, and semi-buckhorn rear and bead front sight. The squared finger lever makes this gun pure "Old West." This model also puts the serial number on the left side of the receiver to allow tang sight installation. Calibers are .38/357, .44 Spl./44 Mag., and .45 Colt.

Marlin has introduced a special Model 1897 Cowboy Action in ..22 caliber, which may be used for Junior Cowboy Action events or it can be used for practice when you don't want to shoot expensive ammo. This takedown model has a 24-inch tapered barrel with Marble semi-buckhorn rear and Marble brass bead front. The straight grip American black walnut stock has cut checkering, blued steel for-end cap, and Mar-Shield finish. This .22 is also tapped for scope mounts or a receiver sight.

All of these Cowboy Action guns also make fine hunting guns.

Taylor's & Company
Taylor's & Co. Inc. (304 Lenoir Drive, Dept. GWK, Winchester, VA 22603; phone: 540-722-2017; on-line: www.taylorsfirearms.com) started in 1988 under the direction of Tammy Loy and Sue Hawkins. According to Loy, they started out to answer the needs of Civil War buffs, who wanted quality reproductions from that era. The rapid expansion of Cowboy Action Shooting led them to include single action revolvers and rifles from Uberti and Armi Sport. They are the only importers of the Armi line, including the Sharps in various configurations.

Loy showed me their latest import from Armi Sport. They are reproducing the Spencer rifle, invented by Christopher Miner Spencer. Spencer's first design in 1860 was noted to be "accurate and fire rapidly, have a long effective range and hold seven metallic cartridges which weren't affected by dampness, and it didn't need caps to fire." In 1865, Spencer came out with an improved 1865 Model. Armi Sport has faithfully reproduced this model. Because of its ability to fire rapidly, it was very effective on the frontier.

This carbine is first being offered in .44 Russian, .45 Schofield, and will soon be available in the original .56/50. I often wondered why no one had copied the Spencer, but now someone has. The Cowboy Action craze has accelerated the production of Western style guns. This should be an important addition to fans of this new sport.

Loy also showed me their great line of reproduction accessories as well as their other Civil War era replicas.

Tristar Sporting Arms
Tristar (1814-16 Linn St., Dept. GWK, North Kansas City, MO 64116; phone: 816-421-1400; on-line: www.tristarsportingarms.com) is adding to the list of Cowboy Action guns by importing from Australia a very fine reproduction of the 1887 Winchester lever-action 12-gauge shotgun. This shotgun is capable of shooting standard 2-inch shells. With a 22-inch barrel, it should make a great dove and quail gun as well as being at home at Cowboy matches. Although modern-made, it is a very good facsimile of the 1887. Can you imagine the look of fellow hunters when you pull this gun out of the case?

Marty Fagen, the general manager of Tristar, is very fastidious about the quality of her imports. A few weeks ago in these pages, I reported on the side-by-side double that she is importing. For the money I felt this was the best buy on the market. Fagen will see to it that the 1887 will be top quality from muzzle to butt plate, as well. I'll report on the performance and quality of this replica of a classic 19th century shotgun in a future issue of Gun Week after I get a sample from Tristar.

Black Hills Ammunition
Black Hills ( PO Box 3090, Dept. GWK, Rapid City, SD 57709; phone: 605-348-5150; on-line: www.black-hills.com) has added another cowboy load to its already long line of old style Western cartridges. They have added the .32H&R Magnum, specially designed for the Ruger Single Six Revolvers. According to Jeff Hoffman, Black Hills president, "Its 90 grain Double A bullets amble along at 750 fps to provide a quick and satisfying string of plinks on steel desperados when a cylinder-full is unleashed down range."

Their impressive list of Cowboy Action loads makes them the king of the hill-"Black Hills," that is. They offer: .32 H&R, .32-20, .38 Long Colt, .38 Special, .357, .38-40, .44-40, .44 Colt, .44 Russian, .44 Special, .45 Schofield, .45 Colt and .45-70.

Black Hills also has a growing line of modern ammo. New offerings for this year include: .223 Rem. with 60-grainV-Max bulltet; 6.5-284 with 140-grain Hornady A-Max bullet; .338 Lapua with 300-grain Sierra MatchKing, and a .40 S&W with 165-grain FMJ.

Now if I could just talk the Hoffman's into issuing a .405 Winchester, I would be happy.

In Part II of my SHOT Show report in the next issue, I'll look at some more new guns, as well as ammo, scopes, binoculars, and ancillary items to make the hunting and shooting sports more enjoyable.