by John C. Krull
Gun Week Production Manager

For 2004, the 26th annual Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show was once again held in Las Vegas, NV. This venue seems to many of us to be the place the SHOT should settle in as a home. There are plenty of hotels so there don't seem to be any billeting problems, and there is never a problem in finding what you want to eat when you want to eat it. The convention center is certainly roomy enough to hold all the exhibitors. Flights to and from Las Vegas can often be gotten for a song compared to flying to other parts of the country. And they have a limitless number of shows to see at night or, if you are so induced, you can gamble.

The SHOT Show is sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), which created the independent show as a showcase for shooting sports and outdoor-related products separate from the older, generic sporting goods trades show. This year the exhibits covered 527,000 square feet. This should elevate the SHOT Show, which is currently ranked as the 35th largest trade exposition in the country to an even higher status. New products are what buyers come to see from the 1,500 companies exhibiting, including people and firms from 65 countries.

The show was pretty busy and since I usually have to spend a fair amount of time in the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) booth, I have very little time to actually see many new products. I've never gotten to cover the whole floor.

We set the SAF booth up the day before the show opens. This is always an enjoyable chore with trying to see if everything that was shipped has arrived. Of course the hall employees just dump everything in the middle of your booth so the first thing that you have to do is get everything out of it to make room to setup. And amazingly tear-down always takes far less time then setup. Thank goodness for that, because by the fourth day I'm ready for a drink and want to go home. Conventions can be fun, but they are not the vacations that so many people seem to think they are.

Tent Cot
I always try to seek out some of the smaller vendors who actually have new and maybe even exciting products. One I found was called Tent Cot (Kamp-Rite Tent Cot Inc., PO Box 876, Dept. GWK, Lovelock, NV 89419; phone: 800-709-9905; on-line: www.TentCot.com). They make an all one-piece tent and cot combination, just like the name says. They set up in no time.

The Tent Cot is 28 inches wide by 7 feet long and 35 inches high. It will accommodate up to 300 pounds in weight. There are zip-open doors on all four sides. When the unit is folded up and put into its carrying case it measures just 30x35x6 inches and weighs just 18 pounds. On their website they say "leave the insects, rodents and snakes wondering where you are." This might be what will get your wife or girl friend out of the house and into the woods.

During the day the Tent Cot can be reconfigured to be a full lounge chair. It retails for $119.95 plus shipping with an optional rainfly for an additional $19.99.

Fobus
For several months and maybe years, I have been getting press releases from a company named Fobus USA (1300 Industrial Hwy., Suite B-3, Dept. GWK, Southampton, PA 18966; phone: 215-322-9227; on-line: www.fobusholster.com) but had no practical experience with their holsters. From the press releases they sounded quite functional so this SHOT Show I had to go hunt them down. This wasn't that difficult because they were located just one row over from our booth.

I talked with both Harry Gold and Lynn Kotowich and got to know the product much better. Theirs are a different kind of holster.

We discussed holsters that would be right for the two primary autos that I carry. The first being a Colt 1911 Gold Cup for which they gave me a sample right on the spot to take home and get used to. The second gun is an S&W Model 469, 9mm. The second holster for that gun I received in the mail a couple weeks ago.

Both holsters are very comfortable to wear and the gun retention is one that I have grown to have full confidence in. One disadvantage I have found for my type of concealed carry is that I am used to an inside-the-pants holster which conceals all of the holster and the gun below the belt. The Fobus holsters slip into the belt and pants, but the gun and part of the holster shows outside of the pants below the belt making it necessary to wear something longer to conceal the gun properly.

The Fobus holsters are contoured to fit your body, giving you maximum comfort. They are very lightweight, weighing only 2 ounces. They are molded from a high density plastic making them seamless and next to indestructible. If you do have a problem, they carry a lifetime warranty. Prices range from $19 to $37 for the belt holsters, and you get good quality for much less than a leather holster.

Also in their line are several products for law enforcement, including handcuff case, magazine and flashlight holders. They also have shoulder holsters and ankle holsters for many handgun models. Next I think I want to test one of their ankle holsters for either the S&W Titanium .38 Special or the NAA .32 Guardian, or both. We'll let you know if we do. Check them out on-line or request one of their catalogs. I think you'll like what you see just as I did.

Gatco
While heading towards the far end of the hall I happened upon my friends at Gatco Sharpeners (PO Box 600, Dept. GWK, Getzville, NY 14068; phone: 716-877-2200; on-line: www.gatco-sharpeners.com). I asked for John Anthon, the company president, but he was out sick that day. I've tested several of their products in the past so I asked what they had that was new and exciting.

I was handed a box -inch square by 5 inches long. It contained a lightweight black aluminum device 9/16 of an inch in diameter, rounded with a flat side. On the side it is labeled Gatco Edgemate Carbide Sharpener. When I got it home I wanted to give it a really good test. After some thought I decided I would see what results it would have on my letter opener, which isn't sharp and has never been sharp, and more or less tears the mail open for me.

For the size of this sharpener I couldn't believe the rate with which it was putting an edge on my letter opener. It was actually leaving filing-like pieces on my desk. The edges of the letter opener were smooth and even. It only weighs 2 ounces and is a very handy size and does the job well in a timely manner. The only thing that I would like to see different, and it's something I will probably do myself, is a hole drilled in the end of the handle for a lanyard. You do need a steady, firm surface to use the Edgemate on, but then that is true of most any knife sharpener other than a steel.

The retail price of the Edgemate Carbide Sharpener is just $19.99.

On several canoe trips both in New York state and up into Canada, we have had to pack in everything we needed for the time period we were going to be there. You are first off restricted by the rules or laws of the area you are camping in, such as no tin cans, no glass, etc., etc. At times we have made up our meals and frozen them, which also helps keep other items cold for at least a few days. Other times we have resorted to freeze-dried food. This hasn't always been the most pleasant experience, but you are so hungry by the end of the day you would eat anything anyway.

At one booth I saw a lady giving out samples of food, which perked my interest. It even smelled good.

They were cooking up Mountain House (Oregon Freeze Dry Inc., PO Box 1048, Dept. GWK, Albany, OR 97321; phone: 800-547-0244; on-line: www.mountainhouse.com) freeze-dried food. I tried some and was impressed. It tasted like real food.

I asked Melanie Cornutt to send me some literature and a couple of samples if she could. A few weeks later I received some Lasagna with Meat Sauce and Beef Stroganoff with Noodles along with the literature.

One night Pam asked what we were going to have for supper. I told her lasagna. She was confused because I hadn't started any cooking yet. Another nice thing about the Mountain House foods is that they cook in their own packaging by adding a couple of cups of boiling water and letting them stand for 8-9 minutes. That's all it takes. Clean up is as simple as throwing out the packaging.

Cooked beef, sour cream, mushrooms, dehydrated onions, and precooked noodles are some of the ingredients in the beef stroganoff. There are also other things I don't recognize (guar gum, carrageenan, etc.), but then that's true of any prepared foods. It was delicious.

The meals come in single or double servings, and four-portion servings packages in some cases. Most common in their catalog is the double-portion serving. I didn't believe some of their offerings: Chicken Stew; Chicken a la King; Turkey Tetrazzini; Seafood Chowder; Spaghetti w/Meat Sauce, and Potatoes and Beef w/Onions. These are just a few. They also have a vegetarian menu, breakfast entrees, vegetables and desserts (like cheesecake). Prices vary from $3.99 for a single to $10.49 for the four-serving meals.

AOSafety
For the last couple of years now I have seen a company by the name of AOSafety/Peltor (5457 West 79th St., Dept. GWK, Indianapolis, IN 46268; phone: 800-327-3431; on-line: www.peltor.com) at the show. In the past they have always shown their brand of safety sunglasses that come in many different colors. Unfortunately I can't wear any of them because I wear prescription glasses, but Pam has found many of their samples useful while riding with me. She likes to change colors to be cool-actually she keeps losing them.

They also have many different variations of hearing protection. One of their newest that I really like is their Alert Tactical Hearing Protectors. These combine not just hearing protection like regular earmuffs, but also have the electronics to stop sounds such as shooting or tool noise that could be damaging to your hearing, and amplifying the sounds that you want or need to hear. All this is combined with an AM/FM stereo radio.

I think I'll be using these more for times when I'm working in the shop or mowing the lawn than I will at the range only because I spend more time in my shop and mowing my lawn than I do at the range. Besides all these outstanding features a big plus is that they operate on two AA batteries, so there's no going to the store and hunting up some kind of special expensive batteries. They retail for $340.

First Aid Kit
Another of AOSafety's products is a first aid kit. This is an item that I often see missing from shooting ranges. Their large General Purpose First Aid Kit is designed for use at the range or on the hunt. Each kit contains 154 pieces of commonly used first-aid supplies, including: cold packs; bandages; antiseptics, and more. I added a couple things of my own which you may also want to do. The hard clear plastic case has a fold-away handle for easy carrying and is pre-drilled for easy hanging. The suggested retail price is $33.

Well, I'm going to let it go at that, because a couple of the products I have been trying will be reviewed next week in my Father's Day gift article. This isn't all I got to see, but I will be testing other products from Taurus, North American Arms, Mossberg, DPMS, Bushmaster, Winchester, Black Hills and many others in the upcoming months.

When you contact any of these manufacturers, remember to tell them that John at Gun Week sent you.