Once again Hovey does his unique style of interviews with more than 20 companies at the Shot Show exploring new knives, guns, crossbows, shooting accessories, manufacturing methods and hunting-outdoor clothing on an extended 1 1/2-hour episode of Hovey's Outdoor Adventures that will be up through the end of February.  

  Once again Hovey does his unique style of interviews with more than 20 companies at the Shot Show exploring new knives, guns, crossbows, shooting accessories, manufacturing methods and hunting-outdoor clothing on an extended 1 1/2-hour episode of Hovey's Outdoor Adventures that will be up through the end of February.  

  Already on YouTube are 11 videos featuring companies like Traditions, MOJO, Streamlight, Buck, Case, Barnett, Excalibur, Ten Point, Hodgdon, Manzella, Lucky Bums, Irish Setter and Prois. In addition,  posts on the Backyard Deer Hunting and Hovey's Outdoor Adventures Radio Show Blog, provide additional exposure for brands such as Puma, Bear & Sons, Parmatech, Winchester Ammunition, Cabela's, Davide Pedersoli, Chiappa, Arsenal, Smith & Wession, CVA, Thompson/Center Arms, Knight Rifles, Mossberg, Iver Johnson, EOtech,  and Dynamic Finishes who all had interesting new products at the Show.

  Clothing for the underserved members of the outdoor market was highlighted, wth Prois offering a nearly complete line of women's hunting-outdoor clothes and the ill-named firm of Lucky Bums had a very complete line for kids and junior hunters, including specialized items as turkey hunting vests and folding camo kids seats. Products offered by these companies combined with those from Irish Setter (boots and shoes) and Manzella (more that 35 styles of hunting gloves) can outfit many lady and junior hunters. One unmet need is for juniors who are larger that ever before, but who still want to go outdoors and cannot find clothes that fit.

  Crossbow makers outdid themselves this year with Excalibur, TenPoint and Barnett offering crossbows that are shorter, slimmer and lighter than ever before while still improving performance. The muzzleloading market saw a hammerless .50 caliber Vortek Strikefire from Traditions, CVA  has upgraded their Optima V2 with a higher precision trigger group in both rifles and pistols with CVA's sleeper being a 14-inch Scout pistol on the Optima frame that shoots cartridges like the .243 Winchester and .44 Remington Magnum. Not to be outdone in the cartridge department, Winchester Ammunition had a .17 Caliber rimfire that was shot on Range Day from a sweet Winchester Low Wall single-shot rifle.  Rock Island Armory also had 1911 pistols chambered for the 9mm/22 centerfire semiauto round that they introduced last year. This pistol is also sold with conversion elements so that it can also shoot the 9mm Parabellum.  Arsenal's Siamese-twin 1911 frame guns, which use one grip, hammer and trigger to fire two guns simultaneously, drew a lot of attention for their novelty, if not their usefulness. The same might be said for Chiappa's new three-barreled 12-gauge shotgun.

  Retro is going strong at Cabela's with their pre-64 Winchester Model 70s, that this year will be sold in the 7mm Mauser caliber. These had cut checkering, a new-sized magazine to fit the cartridge, good Americal Walnut and were sold with period paperwork and accessories. If you never had a chance to purchase a "real Model 70" in a very usable caliber, here is your chance. They will also be offering the larger Model 70 Westerner in 7mm Magnum that is spot-on target market for a lot of American hunters. If you did not have a chance to purchase one of these guns new, or perhaps was not even alive when they were available, you can get one now while stocks last. Delivery is expected in mid-year, but order now.

  Ads on the show include Ersatz Vegas. You send this firm the amount of money that you would spend on gambling and they send you some receipts from Vegas hotels and events, cheap trinkets and a bucket of SIN, Inc., (Synthetic Industrial Non-Nutritives, Inc's) High-Solids Puke Vodka so you can have the full enjoyment of the Vegas experience without leaving home. Using Ersats' services would remove the risks of loosing everything you own during a night of drunken gambling. This may prevent you from having to sell your daughter out of  Bible College to a Middle Eastern Prince to settle your debts.  Also, Fix It, Inc, with one telephone call will solve your little problems. This includes  guiding you back to your hotel room, getting you to a hospital or retrieving your vehicle.