Practical Shooting Show - Report

The Practical Shooting Show 2018 catered for the, well, practical shooter, believe it or not! Now firstly, it wasn’t a huge show by any means, what with it taking up half of an average size exhibition hall, but it was all about quality, rather than quantity; so, for the practical shooter, this show was undiluted. Like a shot of Jägermeister, this show went down well with me! So firstly, it was a quick 200-mile drive for me from the Midlands down to Exeter the night before. The show was indoors, which was a good thing, because on the Saturday it rained all day. Upon entering the show, you are ink stamped on the hand with an AR15 shaped stamp, that alone was seriously cool! But the really cool stuff was inside.

Plenty on offer

Gunroom.TV were the official media partners of the show and competitive practical shotgunner Cansh Pope was there to grab unsuspecting shooters and well-known people in the industry for an interview on camera. Exhibitor wise, where do I begin? Well, here is the list – Magload, Sportsman Gun Centre, Oceania Defence, Edgar Brothers, Southern Gun Company, Gunfellas, Redwolf UK, North West Custom Parts, Black Rifle Ltd, Practical Shooting Supplies, UKPSA, Rossendale Ranges, Masterclass Custom Guns, 3Gun Nation UK, Kentucky Firearms Club, AW Armoury, Tactical Solutions, Alwyn Wallace Firearms Ltd, SHIELD Sights, Vortex - Country Sports Wholesale, Frome RPC, Kings Competition Products, Bluejacket Firearms, Elite Shooting Centre, EZLoad, Typhoon Defense, National Target Shotgun Association, Chosen Tactical, Teague Chokes, Scott Country International, Pilgrim Bandits, Viking Arms, 5.11, RUAG, Custom Ear Plugs, Firing Solutions, The Tunnel Target Sports Centre, Practical-Tactical Bags, Spartan Refinishing, Blue Fieldsports, Caliber Shooting, 3 Gun Nation UK, PatrolStore, South Point Firearms, Magic 9 Design, ITL Shooting Supplies, Regency Rifles Portable Range, Beechwood Equipment, and Caledonian Classic Arms. So, just a few to get your juices flowing!

9mm straightpull!

North West Custom Parts were there, showing off their wears and their stand was oozing AR goodness with their show piece special being a new 9mm straight-pull AR that takes Glock magazines. I got my mitts on one and it feels very nice! Black Rifle were there showing off their new carbon fibre forend for the Smith and Wesson 15-22. I handled a Smith with one fitted and I’ve got to tell you, it makes the gun even lighter than it already is; plus, it looks superb too and also still has the M-LOK slots like the original sport forend.

Advanced Target Systems were showing off their very Gucci kit. Using Xbox software with an integrated cloud system, the targets are steel and are rated for all centrefire calibres and react when shot at, with LED lights that surround the plates, but they can be set up with multiple targets, all linked together and the lights can be set up to flash to indicate which target needs to be engaged first. In fact, there are literally hundreds of different games that can be programmed into the system. Not only that, but all times are recorded onto the cloud-based software, so you could actually compete with someone else in another country playing the same game! If this is the future of speed steel shooting, then I’m in!

LBP goodness

Oceania Defence had their Walther PPQ LBP, which is something different from the 1911s that GSG have pretty much owned the market with for a good while now; but, if you are a 1911 fan, then also on the Oceania’s stand was the very new Colt Gold Cup LBP by Walther. I had a good fondle of it and I must say it’s loads lighter than the GSG, watch this space for the review!

Vortex UK had a stand showing off all their latest optics, including the new Diamondback range. Calibre Innovations were showcasing their new Double R or RR race ready semi auto shotgun; this thing looks great and has all of the features that you would expect on a 3 Gun shotgun, big bolt handle, pre-milled out loading port to help make those quad loads flawless (not me, I’m all fingers and thumbs!) and big bolt release. Keep an eye out in these pages for a future review!

Custom Fit Guards were displaying their full range of ear, or should I say ‘hearing defence’ products. Made from silicone, they take a mould of your inner ears and then fabricate a pair of very Gucci inner ear defenders, either with passive or electronic internals. I have a pair myself and they have been perfect for the hot summer months that we have had, where normal cupped ear defenders would be hot and uncomfortable.

Magload was another very interesting stand that was showing off their shotgun cartridge caddy systems for the tubular fed shotgunner rather than the box fed shotgunner! A great customisable system that attaches to your belt rig and allows you to strip away shells four at a time if you can quad load! They even had a 3D printer on display actually working and producing components for their Nexus caddy system.

Conclusion

So, the Practical Shooting Show 2018 was, all in all, a great success and can only get bigger next year and I’ve been told that the plan is the next one, in 2019, will be moved up into the Midlands, which certainly works well for me! Safe shooting! – Rack.