It Begins

I’m about halfway through Day 1 of the NRA Annual Meeting in Atlanta, and thought I’d take pause to share what I’ve seen so far. Since it’s Friday, and still a work day for many, things are a bit slow. Still, things look to be off to a great start and just might be on pace to exceed last year’s show in Dallas.

One of the first booths I headed to was Federal, to quiz the folks there about the new 7mm Backcountry round. A nagging concern has been availability of ammo, particularly whether or not other manufacturers would be loading the round. I was assured that other ammo makers would indeed be producing 7mm Backcountry, with Remington rolling out their line later this year. Reloading companies are also working up answers to the reloading question, with RCBS reportedly being very close. According to the Federal rep I spoke to, the Peak Alloy steel case will need nothing more than neck sizing…no trimming, and no full-length sizing required. He also said that there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 14 gun makers adding 7mm Backcountry to their lines. I am optimistic.

After buying my first silencer from Silencer Central last year, I wanted to stop by and see their new 9mm suppressor, the Banish 9K. Although I’m not that excited by suppressed pistols, I have got to say that this thing looks pretty darn cool. It is tiny, and it is light. And for a 3D printed titanium can, $699 is not a bad price.

One last observation for now is a change I noticed from last year, and I hope it signals a bigger show overall. Last year in Dallas, industry giant Smith & Wesson had a tiny booth, located all the way back in a corner of the hall. This year, they have a much larger footprint, and are more centrally located. Hopefully this is a sign of a rebounding NRA Annual Meeting.

Anyway, time to get back out there…I’ll keep you updated.