(Allison Barrie)
The latest, greatest, shotguns and rifles are making their debut at SHOT Show this week.
Attendees at the world’s largest gun show, taking place in Las Vegas, are getting first looks at new innovations in long arms….and there are debuts galore to explore.
Here’s the scoop on five of the Reveals at SHOT from Weatherby, Benelli, Standard Manufacturing Company, FNH and Barnes Precision.
Weatherby Element Deluxe
Weatherby’s big announcement at SHOT this year is the new Element Deluxe semi-auto shotgun. The Element Deluxe is leading the charge for a new line featuring an inertia-operated action designed for high-volume shooting with reliable smooth performance. The design aims to make weapon the ideal choice for hunters and shooters.
There are three gauge options -- 12, 20 or 28, with a choice of a 26 or 28-inch barrel. The overall length is between 46 ¾ inches and 48 ¾ inches depending on the model.
In terms of looks, Weatherby designed the Element Deluxe with Minelli and the beautiful walnut stock reflects the collaboration. The receiver is made of aircraft-grade aluminum alloy, which is both lightweight and strong.
The Element Deluxe weighs in at less than seven pounds and showcases Weatherby’s oft-admired fit and finish.
Weatherby clearly thought about cleaning when designing the shotgun. From the chrome-lined chamber and bore and drop out trigger, through to the inertia-operated action directing carbon and gas out of the barrel, lots of steps have been taking to streamline cleaning.
The design includes a ventilated top rib that dissipates heat and improves the sighting plane. For rapid target acquisition, there is a fiber optic green bead front sight.
It has a dual-purpose bolt release that unloads shells in a magazine safely without chambering them and releases the bolt forward.
The 12- and 20-gauge Element Deluxes will be available for about $1,099 and the 28 gauge for about $1,149.
Benelli Model 828U
Benelli is mostly known for its semi-automatic shotgun designs with great ergonomics, performance and pointability.
At SHOT, Benelli introduced its first over-under shotgun, the Model 828U. The company has transferred a whole lot of what people love about their guns into this new operating system. And the overall weight is a mere 6.6 pounds.
Last year, Benelli also made waves with the introduction of its first double-gun.
The new over-under uses the patented Progressive Comfort System to minimize both recoil and muzzle flip. The gun features a lightweight aluminum receiver, easy to operate top lever and effortless ejection system, as well as automatic safety. It has lots of other popular features like the fiber optic front sight and fully removable trigger group.
Benelli’s new over-under shotguns are available in two options: nickel-engraved for about $3,000 and black-anodized for $2,500 -- both are interchangeable with 26 inch and 28-inch barrels.
DP 12
Standard Manufacturing Company introduced a new 12-gauge shotgun that is designed to merge the very best of a pump shotgun with a double-barreled shotgun -- it amps up a double barrel with the capacity and loading of a pump.
This DP-12 is a pump-action bullpup-style shotgun machined from a 7075 aluminum billet. It has side-by-side barrels and two seven-round magazine tubes. When fully loaded, it will hold a total of 16 shells.
As you’d expect from combat shotguns, when fired the DP-12 has a healthy recoil. It does have a recoil shock absorber.
And super cool -- it has a single trigger. The single trigger fires the barrels one at a time – firing first right and then left. The cycling slide clears and reloads both chambers. It has a full-length Picatinny sight rail, removable threaded chokes and magazine witness holes in the magazines to keep track of the number of shells.
It will be available for about $1,395.
FNH
FNH USA revealed five new FN 15 rifles; the Tactical Carbine, the Sporting Rifle, the Patrol Carbine, MOE SLG, and a Designated Marskman Rifle.
The 6.6-pound FN15 Tactical Carbine is chambered for the 5.56 NATO cartridge. The 16-inch barrel is chrome-lined and hammer-forged with an FNH 3-pronged muzzle. It has a Midwest Industries LWM M-LOK 12-inch hand guard and will be available for about $1,479.
The FN15 Patrol Carbine also weighs 6.6 pounds and also has a 16-inch chrome-lined barrel. It has a Samson flip-up rear sight and a Midwest Industries 7-inch quad rail hand guard. It will be available for a bit less at about $1,219.
Slightly heavier at 6.8 pounds with a 16-inch barrel and finished in gray, FN15 MOE SLG is also chambered for the 5.56 NATO cartridge and available for a wee bit less at about $1,169. It features a MOE SL rear back up sight, stock, hand guard and trigger guard.
The most expensive of FN’s new rifles is the FN15 Designated Marksman at about $1,899. Also chambered for the 5.56 NATO, it has a match-grade 18-inch barrel and weighs 7.2 pounds. It features a Timney Competition Trigger SureFire brake and MOE pistol grip. It also provides a Magpul M-LOK 15-inch hand guard, Magpul MBUS Pro sights and STR stock.
The FN15 Sporting Rifle includes a lot of the FN15 Designated Marksman special features and is also an 18-inch barrel taking 5.56 NATO. It weighs 7.7 pounds and will be available for about $1,749.
Barnes Precision .308
Barnes Precision revealed its new line of .308 rifles at SHOT Show this year.
The new CQB-10 and LR-10 rifles are available in both a 16-inch and 20-inch versions.
To provide robust heat and corrosion resistance, the match grade barrels are CNC machined from Montana 416 SS barrel blanks inhouse and then treated with Nitromet. They’ve got a sleek-looking black finish.
The Ultralite Extreme 14-inch hand guard has a lightweight sleek design for enhanced accuracy leveraging the Barnes Precision approach to four reinforced interchangeable sling swivel inserts and barrel nut.
One solid piece of 7075 anodized aluminum is used to machine the billet upper and lower receivers. The lower has an ambidextrous bolt latch and adjustable tension screw while the upper has a nickel boron-coated standard bolt carrier group. As far as triggers go, there are two options; a HIPERFIRE 24E or Geissele G2S.
Barnes Precision has introduced a new Heavy Metal Buffer System to reduce recoil and the technology features on the new line. The rifles also come with MAGPUL MBUS sights.
Ballet dancer turned defense specialist Allison Barrie has traveled around the world covering the military, terrorism, weapons advancements and life on the front line. You can reach her at wargames@foxnews.com or follow her on Twitter @Allison_Barrie.
Get a daily look at what’s developing in science and technology throughout the world.