Paul’s SHOT Show 2025 Recap

Well, SHOT 2025 is over, but I’ve still got one more article for the event here. 2025 was not a massive year for new releases, but there were some interesting ones. In this recap, I’ll go over some companies that I hadn’t already covered, and then give my final thoughts for SHOT 2025. To see what Dan and I already covered from SHOT this year, check out our previous articles here.

Colt

Well, Colt is a company that I personally own two 1911s from, but the combined age of both is 161 years old. What that means is that neither of them is from the Colt of today. At Range Day, Colt only had revolvers to shoot, but they did bring some 1911s to the show itself.

Colt’s big 1911 release are two optic ready stainless guns, both 5″ models in 9mm and .45 ACP. These were, well, lackluster. The optic system appears to be proprietary, and also looked to be not great. The guns had DPPs on them, and didn’t have rear sights nor taller front sights for co-witness. Sure, the DPP can mount a rear sight, but that means nothing without a front. Colt’s advertising online is sparse, and this new optic system screams low effort to me. This very much seems like a checkbox to be ticked, rather than a well thought out release.

Dan and I enjoyed the Colt Grizzly that we shot on Range Day, and were happy to see more optic ready revolvers at the show. The 3″ Python with optic caught my eye. Colt’s revolver optic mount replaces the rear sight, and is certainly something that I’ve got more interest in than on their 1911s. It’s still pretty tall (like on many revolvers, but it’s not bad).

Overall, Colt is a company that I’m quite conflicted about. As a revolver fan, the newer Pythons and Anacondas are great to see. As a 1911 fan, Colt is an embarrassment to the design. From bad machining to a pile of MIM parts, to a bad optic cut, Colt is just dragging the 1911. At least there are other companies out there that care about America’s handgun.

Smith & Wesson

Much like Colt, I’ve got a lot of conflicted opinions on S&W. Many are here on Primer Peak, but the long and the short is that S&W has good ideas, but with pretty bad execution, usually due to bad quality control. SHOT Show 2025 just reinforced that for me.

Looking at a familiar gun, I inspected the Bodyguard 2.0 that S&W had at their booth. This was a manual safety model, and well, it was rough. The safety was incredibly stiff, and I can now see how people have broken them off trying to use them. The feed ramp was without a ledge though, so props for that?

For new releases, S&W has “reintroduced” classic revolver models that lack the internal lock that we all hate. Many folks think that removing the “Hillary Hole” will mean that the revolvers are good, but that’s just an element of it. Well, I was unimpressed by the build quality of these guns. These are not higher-grade guns, despite the “classic” naming. They are standard production guns, and have modern S&W production gun feel. That means that the bluing is meh, the OEM stocks are meh, and that the trigger pulls are meh too.

Modern S&W means corners cut, and the 19 showed that. The forcing cone was a little rough. While not the worst thing ever, this isn’t exactly S&W showing their best at the show. It is interesting that S&W went with part of the lockup moving from the underlug to the yoke on the 19, but then again they didn’t make the ejector rod longer to accommodate for that, so now the gun looks weird.

I don’t see much reason for someone to buy one of these classic guns. There are tons and tons of old Model 10s, 19s, and 36s out there. They will be better made than these guns, and will cost you less too. I bought two vintage Model 19s last year, and both were nearly half the cost of the MSRP of a new 19 Classic.

S&W needs to work on their quality control before trying to re-release old guns. It doesn’t matter how cool the new thing looks if it’s not made very well.

Daewoo

I went to Daewoo’s booth on behalf of one of our guest writers, and photographed some of their rifles.

The Daewoo rifles (and the DP51 pistol) have a big cult following here in the US. I think that they’re a little too 1980s for me, but I can see the coolness that they exude.

While not a deep-dive into it, the ergonomics of these rifles are a little odd. The charging handle locations on the K2C1 and K2S were not favorable (to me), and the K13 had weird ergonomics that scream “designed by someone who doesn’t shoot”. The weirdest thing on the K13 was that when using the right-side bolt catch, your finger would get wacked by the dust cover.

All-in-all, it was cool to see these rifles. Daewoo intends to bring them into the US again, but we’ll see if that actually materializes.

SDS (Tisas & Inglis)

My disdain for the poor quality of US made production 1911s lead me to Tisas last year. These 1911s (and Hi-Powers) are made in Türkiye, and give an extreme amount of value per dollar. I discussed what they brought to range day, but I still checked out their booth at the show.

Tisas has been putting more effort into their 1911s, which really says something given how good the guns already are. The big push over the last year has been into2011s, and more optic ready guns.

Tisas introduced a 2011-style gun about a year ago, but they’ve already revised and improved it. The new version has different slide serrations, a different barrel lockup (cone-bull barrel rather than a bushing system), and a longer frame to fit larger lights. I really dig the “commander” (4.25″) length, as these work more reliably, and make more sense for carry. These guns use an RMSc footprint for the optic, so that’s an easy thing to mount.

Tisas also updated the MAC 9 (the higher-end brand within SDS/Tisas), and it now uses the Agency AOS plate system for mounting an optic. This is an upgrade, and is cool to see. Both guns are competitively priced (street price of about $700 for the Tisas and $950 for the MAC), and I’ve already seen the older versions sell well. I’m happy to give the Tisas B9R DS a try in the near future.

Tisas is also releasing more optic ready versions of their single stack guns, like the “Raider” above. These use the same RMSc footprint as the 2011, and I really love that. Another Tisas might be coming my way, in the form of one of these OR Raiders.

I’ve never been a Hi-Power lover, but I can appreciate one that is well-made. The “Inglis” ones are well-made, and have the same machining quality as Tisas’ 1911s. These are also very competitively priced, and run less than $500 street price.

Overall, Tisas is putting Colt and Springfield to shame. Their 1911s are so well made, and cost so much less than the US counterparts. Hell, there’s a reason why the CMP is using Tisas to make their 1911s these days.

Sentry Manufacturing

The last company that I’m covering is a smaller one, but I really liked what they brought to SHOT. Sentry Manufacturing is a Louisiana-based company, and they make one product. That one product is an update to the AR15’s charging handle.

The “Deadlock” is an ambidextiourous AR15 charging handle, that has a button to unlock and use it. Many people bemoan the charging handle location on the AR, but I think it’s great. It’s in an optimal spot, is easy to make ambi, and just elegantly works into the design of the gun. My only issue is that when wearing gear, it’s easy to catch your charging handle on straps and webbing. Well, the Deadlock works a little different, using a push-button to unlock the charging handle, allowing you to pull it. If the button isn’t depressed, the handle is locked into the receiver.

The button is intuitive to use, but simply makes the CH less annoying when wearing gear. I’m always a big fan of gear that takes something that I’m already using, and just makes it a little better to use.

Aside from the button, the Deadlock also sports a big gas shield (helpful when shooting short or suppressed guns), a thicker shaft (steverambo.png), and independent pull wings. The independent wings mean that if you snap off one of them (somehow), the other one still works. Most ambi charging handles don’t do this, so I like it.

Price is $150-$160 from Sentry, and while that seems like a lot, there’s nothing else like this on the market. I’m interested in getting one of these for my sole AR.

SHOT 2025’s Biggest Winners

For me, there are a few standout SHOT 2025 winners.

#1 KelTec

The PR57 stole SHOT 2025. If this gun is as good as it seems, it’ll sell like Diet Coke to Mormons.

#2 Mec-Gar

Mec-Gar’s steel Glock magazines are really a hot product. They’re well-made, and when they hit the store shelves, they won’t be there for long. I’m very much looking forward to testing these out.

#3 Shield Arms MPS

A company managed to make an FCU system that isn’t a nightmare.

#4 SDS-Tisas-MAC-Inglis

Tisas (and the Tisas-adjacent companies) are putting the US 1911 makers to shame. These guns are wonderfully made, and are not only the best value for the dollar, but are just good, regardless of price.

#5 Lipsey’s 

Lipsey’s has the right mindset for what to release. Between the new S&W Mountain Guns and the MAC-V-SOG UC revolvers, I think that Lipsey’s really cares. However, they’re relying on the actual manufacturers to make the guns good, and as we’ve seen, they can’t always put out the quality that they should.

SHOT 2025 wasn’t a massive year for big releases. That being said, not every year can be SIG P365 and Glock 48 announcements. The PR57 is pretty big though, and I’m sure you’ll see plenty of people shooting them poorly at a public range before too long.

SHOT 2025’s Biggest Losers

When it comes to losers, I’ve gotta point the finger at 3 of the big legacy brands.

#1 Smith & Wesson 

What’s the excuse for bringing guns with mediocre build quality to a massive event? I don’t think that S&W cares about what foot to put forward, and events like SHOT really show that. From the rough Classic revolvers, to the horrid safety on the BG 2.0, I really don’t think that S&W really cares anymore. It’s a shame.

#2 Colt 

Colt also seems like a company that has given up. Since being bought out by CZ, they’ve done some neat things, but the 1911 feels left behind. They’re the damn company that Browning made the gun with, but they cannot give half a sh*t to make them to a good quality these days.

#3 Springfield Armory 

While I didn’t photograph anything over at SA, I did monkey with their 1911s and the Prodigy. Much like Colt, I feel like the quality just isn’t there. However, I think that SA does care, they just don’t want to put more effort (which means money and costs) into making their 1911s better.

The SHOT Verdict

SHOT Show 2025 came and went. The best part of the event was meeting people. People from companies, instructors that we’ve trained with, and friends, both new and old. The stuff always comes and goes, but meeting people is the real reason why I haul my butt down to Las Vegas every few years. What I come home with are fun memories, and occasionally the SHOT Crud. Hey, at least the fever this year was only 102 degrees!

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