SHOT Show 2012
                                     Airguns for the coming year!
                                                                            Jim Chapman
I have meetings set up with the management, development, and marketing guys from all the airgunning companies this week, and have a chance not only to look at new products but dig into plans for the coming year. I'll post daily briefs then write a more detailed summary after the show.
Airguns of Arizona have some of the finest guns made decorating their walls. Though not new, I love the Huntsman Classic ...it's a hunting gun to dream about!
My first stop was Airguns of Arizona, and they had some beautiful new guns; One that I’ve been looking forward to seeing is the pre-production Daystate Wolverine .303, which is an elegant big bore that is generating 100-110 fpe for 20-30 shots. The thing that is immediately apparent is how light and how well balanced the gun is, which is due to the lightweight aluminum air reservoir. A sophisticated mechanism uses the residual air to automatically index the 5 shot magazine. JSB has developed a .30 caliber pellet weighing 47 grains in conjunction with the gun, and both will be shipping in March. This gun is not going to be cheap, but it is the definition of an heirloom air rifle.
The new Verminator MK2 uses the updated Royal breech block with power adjuster and valving. A new more tactical style stock is also an upgrade as well as a full barrel shroud which is supposed to be very quiet. The verminator extreme includes a long and short barrel in .177, .22, or .25 with a quick change system that uses no tools for changing barrels. The kit includes a arrow shooting barrel as well as a fishing reel and mounting system 4 arrows a flashlight attachment and bi-pod. The shroud system includes extensions for extra quite use. An extra magazine scope and fitted case is all part of this extreme pack. A very cool gun that I’ll be getting to hunt with in the near furture
AoA head Robert Buchanan brought me through the new Verminator. My hunting buddy Charles Peebles shoots one of the older versions with such consistant accuracy it's hard to believe if you don't see it for yourself.
Just based on this I want to hunt with this new gun .... but now that I can fish with it and hunt big game with arrows .... I've gotta have one! How can anything that mixes, pellets, arrows, and fishing gear not be great?
Leapers was next on my list, and my intention had been to look at scopes. There were several new models that I liked which are too numerous to relate in this short write up, but what stands out is the trend to use etched glass reticles on the 30 mm tube models, which I was told provides better light transmission and more robust design than traditional wire crosshairs under heavy recoil conditions. All scopes are moving toward the use of lockable uncovered turrets, that have a good tactile response. Somebody had asked me about the bug busters;  the new models are 4x, 6x, and 3-9x variable, have an increased field of view, and are using the new turret configuration.
Two things that I really liked may sound like minor gadgets, but they resolve a lot of my headaches related to sighting systems. The first is a dovetail to picatinny adaptor, which are a very clever insert that converts a weaver type mount to a dovetail allowing any rings to be used on every gun.
These will only cost a few dollars, and I’m going to keep several in my gun kit …. The days of having the wrong mounts for a specific gun and scope are gone! And these devices don’t increase the height/profile so the scope sits low on the gun.
The other thing I really like was a small, yet high intensity (500 lumens) spot light called the Vanquish 55, that fits in the palm of your hand. The long life battery pack was also small and easily to stash away while the light is in use. There are a number of mounts and clamps so these lights can be used in  a variety of settings,
It's late and I am hungry! I also visited UmarexUSA and Hatsan today, but rather than rush through this I will post on them tomorrow.

I have meetings scheduled with Crosman, Gamo, Predator International, and Airforce tomorrow, as well as several non airgunning companies manufacturing predator calls, lights, and other hunting equipment

Catch up then!
A photo taken down one of the aisles, right outside the Leapers booth, I have more on their products below. I walked a bit further down to the Airforce booth. They had one of the Talon Ps on a nice tripod that could be release on any plane by squeezing a grip release. The news here is that 1) they put a nice adjustable stock set up on the small air bottle, 2) They incorporate a Foster style quick release coupling , which I like a lot better than the proprietary fill connector used previously, and 3) they’ve added a manometer.
The Evanix Bullpup is very inetersting, it uses the same action and I was told delivers the same performance (velocity, accuracy, and shot count) as the standard configuration Speed.
I'll have the Bullpup .25 in a few weeks to start testing and am really looking forward to it. There are so many guns coming out that are potentially great predator guns.