rlauferblog

The old adage “often imitated, never duplicated” could very well apply to 5.11 Day at Urban Tactical. Indeed, I have noticed that several retailers have started offering promotions/events around May 11^th to celebrate the 5.11 Tactical brand but no one does it better than Urban Tactical! I have been covering their event for years!

We didn’t make it in time to be one of the first 25 to get a free 5.11 hat this year (I have in the past) but we did get some opportunities at the prize table as we did some shopping 😊

Play Plinko to decide your prize!

The 5.11 promotion applied across the board to the brand’s huge and expansive lineup, from clothing to footwear to gear like bags and packs.

There were also promotions on many other brands that Urban Tactical carries like UF Pro

And Oakley, where I saw some new eyewear that I haven’t seen before, such as their Vanguard Electronic Sunglasses! These feature an ultra-wide 12MP camera that captures hands free video from your point of view, has open-ear speakers and can connect with Garmin devices and fitness apps through Meta AI to track progress and analyze performance. The apps can give you historical data to track your progress over time, real-time metrics, “Action Auto Capture” to trigger highlights automatically, action LED signals for instant feedback, and shareable action media with activity data overlays to relive and share your moments.

The Standard Issue Ballistic HALO were more my speed though. These are part of the ALPHA modular and scalable “ecosystem” that “offers multiple configurations based on the mission and methods of infiltration.” Haha I love that description!

But seriously, ALPHA is a three-part system composed of a frame, gasket and goggle. It meets ANSI and MIL PRF standards, is compatible with multiple helmet platforms (e.g. Team Wendy, Ops-Core, PASGT etc. ) and is fully compatibility with PHANTOM Mask and Regulator Assembly for Military Free Fall (MFF) & Operations. I should have bought these!

Also super cool, this display of a Hero lens withstanding a shotgun blast.

More cool eyewear from Warbird. I liked the red frame Deep State with 4SHADOW™ polarized lens, Kaiwall™ Plant-based TR90 Frame Material and ANSI Z87.1 protection.

Gear to cover you from head to toe…you know I love balaclavas! Note the Ice Warrior Tac Gear Mammoth-X Winter Mitt/Glove to the right of the balaclavas as well. These were designed for extreme temperatures by a police officer with tactical team experience. They are tested and used by law enforcement, military professionals, and tactical teams across Canada. Some of the key features are 3M™ Thinsulate™ 240g insulation, a removable glove, wind resistance, two inside pockets for hot pouches, and a durable leather palm.

Urban Tactical actually carries about 15 brands of gloves including Mechanixwear

MoG Masters of Gloves

Hakson

5.11, HexArmor, Oakley, Turtleskin, Outdoor Research etc. etc.

Huge selection of boots from 5.11, Salomon, Lowa, Haix, Danner, etc.

Funny, ceriksson and I were talking about Streamlight on the drive up. He has the Wedge and I have the new Wedge SL. Never seen these in blue

Huge selection of Yeti!

Ultimately, ceriksson and I both bought Viktos jeans, at huge discounts I might add! He got the Operatus CCW while I got the Operatus XP Tactical Jean

The Operatus XP Tactical Jeans have an “Attackposture™ fit” that uses a stretch 12oz denim chassis with slightly oversized thighs designed to “move with the operator through the myriad of combat postures.”

It has two front slash pockets for AR15 mags.

And two leg slash pockets for pistol mags. I would use my NEOMag magazine holders but was too lazy to get them out of the safe for pics lol.

Other interesting features include a dual-pull fly zipper to give you “access” without having to remove your gunbelt.

And a gusseted crotch so you can kick like Chuck Norris

I didn’t get pics of the guns in the store but they had something for everyone…

I did however get a pic of some of the guns on the line for the shooting portion of the event.

Love the Marlin 1895 lever action in .45-70! Someone shot that in the stall next to me and you sure notice it going off!

I was super excited that they had a SIG Flux on the line! I have seen these at past events

And now I get to shoot one!

The results downrange were quite interesting. My first mag was a perfect vertical line (don’t think I have done that before). I tried to make adjustments with the second mag but I think that just widened the spread lol. Either way I really liked it! It felt similar to the B&T USW I shot at SHOT Show.

Another guest shooting it as well. BTW, as I have said repeatedly, I hate posting pics of other people lol. Don’t let my cropping them out of pics fool you, there were at least a couple of hundred shooters throughout the day.

A precision rifle on the line

We grabbed a hot dog on the way out as an appetizer for our upcoming wings of doom lol.

Thank you once again to Urban Tactical for putting on another benchmark 5.11 Day and your awesome hospitality, you guys are the best!

We stopped at Triggers and Bows on our way to Wingmaster. I haven’t been here in a while and ceriksson was looking for a specific type of gun oil but no luck.

Ok now for Wingmaster and some 10 MILLION SHU Blackenstein wings! A quick pocket check as we wait for Tre to whip up our cocktail of pain.

And here with go with Blackenstein!

This was my 4^th or 5^th time having them and I am a very experienced heatseeker so not quite dramatic

ceriksson was new to such extreme heat though so his vid is a bit more entertaining lol. He actually did well considering though I believe he had a rough night lol

these screenshots capture the essence of the experience quite well

A-OK…or so he thought lol

I usually have Wingmaster’s Hulk wings but I wanted to try another one of his crazy near 300 flavours! I went to the opposite side of the heat scale with Peanut Butter Only!

ceriksson had the Bundy hot sauce + honey garlic

Always great to see Wingmaster! He is such a character and really adds to the experience.

Thanks again to Urban Tactical, Wingmaster, and my co-photographer buddy ceriksson for a great day!

RL

Based on the phenomenal success of last year’s show, the Toronto Knife Show has expanded in size for 2026! The show now spans two rooms to improve traffic flow and accommodate additional knifemakers. Oh, and an additional bank machine was added since we emptied out two of them last year!

Knifemakers also really stepped it up this year! I saw lots of unique scales, Cerakote, laser engraving, Damascus, and copper, lots of copper!

My first stops were to check in with the show organizers Murray St. Amour and Mike Mossington.

It was great to see Murray’s big camp knife again

But what really caught my eye was this archer’s sleeve, custom made by Phil Clot to carry one of Murray’s knives!

Yes, I bought one! That didn’t take long eh? Purchase at the first table lol

Mike and his lovely family. I remember Elizabeth helping out at Mike’s table back in the day and now she is here with her daughter!

Mike’s fine outdoor knives and knife supplies (of course I still have my gold handle filet knife!)

Both Murray and Mike, along with several other makers donated knives for the hourly prize draws.

Gaetan Beauchamp

Murray St. Amour

Mike Mossington

Casey Belli (I won one of his knives at another event!)

Brad Millman of Black Maple Blades

A couple of the winners…Brad’s knife

And Gaetan’s

I was so happy to see Gaetan Beauchamp back at a show! He is incredibly talented, particularly in Scrimshaw.

The “twin” pieces with artwork that span across two knives are amazing

The Geisha girls were my favourites

Gaetan had a cool microscope to take a close look at his incredible work

Again, great to see you Gaetan!

Actually now that I think about it, my purchase at Murray’s table was technically my second of the show lol. I pre-ordered some scales from Emily’s Casting Crafts for a custom knife project and picked them up at the pre-show dinner last night. We had a great discussion about options for the custom knife that Nicolas Bayley of Black Coffin Knives will be making for me. In any case, I wanted to see Emily’s incredible work.

If you have seen the Dessert Warrior camo shirt that I have worn in recent reviews, you wouldn’t be surprised that I noticed these right away.

Emily’s famous skull scales come in many colours including glow in the dark

Thanks for the mini saw!

Emily cast the fish scales for this filet knife by Casey Belli

Full shot of Casey’s amazing lineup

I like the Ulticlip pocket carry, along with the cleaver in shoulder holster as shown on his tactical mannequin!

I won a Coffin Spike like the one shown with translucent scales (mine is all black)

Some real beauties here

Wakizashi with 13” blade

A variety of tantos

Casey’s Khukuris are my favourite though

My next stop was Black Coffin Knives to brief Nicolas on the custom knife he will be making for me. I will reveal the details on that in a review upon its completion. In the meantime, let’s look at his awesome knives! I really like some of the new styles he has introduced lately.

I especially liked the shipwreck knives

And the Reaper, particularly in red, as I love ring knives

ceriksson, my co-photographer (and Moderator of the knife forum on Canadiangunnutz) recently purchased a Bare Beaver from Cam Lymburner and we wanted to see the latest collaboration versions with Buffalo Bones.

I liked the one with blue stingray insert and flame colouring

ceriksson went with the green stingray

Buffalo Bones does a lot of sheaths for Cam and I really liked this one

ceriksson with his new knife

I picked up a couple of Cam’s 3D printed “fidget knives” for gifts.

Buffalo Bones actually does sheath work for many of the makers at the show. There is no better in leather!

Ok now for one of my favourite pieces at the show, a Klingon Bat’leth at Northern Edge Custom Blades!

Hmmm I wonder if Seamus can make a sheath for this…

ceriksson liked it too!

Perhaps not as dangerous as the Bat’leth (unless you step on them!) Northern Edge’s Lego knives were pretty cool too!

Great to see William Nease back at a knife show! I was his first customer at his first show back in 2004!

I have one of his paper blades but have never seen one in the form of a chopper

I picked up one his trowels at another event. Super sharp!

The Chickenhawk is such an interesting design

The rescue version

Classic Nease style axe

The more things change the more they stay the same

 I have purchased a few knives from Todd Bolce so let’s see if I get lucky this time.

Oooo this DH Russell in Damascus would be a great match for the one I got in all black…Seamus snagged it though (lucky guy!)

Beautiful Damscus piece. I have visited Todd’s shop and he does everything, Damascus, Cerakote, laser engraving…you name it.

I like the textured scales on the bottom one

For stock removal, John Wilson sets the standard as he trained under Bob Loveless and continues to make his patterns.

This one was featured in a magazine

My favourites were this boot knife

And Chute knife

Now for some folders. Grimsmo brought 20 knives covering their three styles, Norseman, Fjell, and Rask as well as 10 Saga pens.

I was most anxious to see the Fjell in Damasteel that they shared on social media…yup, it’s a stunner

I really like the mechanism, sort of like an airlock, on the Saga pen (shown next to a mini variant)

Rod Olson renowned for his button-lock folders

Steve Vanderkolff with a great assortment of classy folders

My two favourites, both with stag scales and Dellana Dots (named after the knife maker who invented them) for opening

Adam Smith has been making knives since 1975! It was quite surreal to see a balisong on the cover of one of his old catalogues before they became prohibited!

You know I gravitate to the unique and SAK Modder fits that description!

ceriksson picked up the one at the bottom

The Champ was my favourite. I met the collector who bought it later at the show and Parminder got one last year too

Speaking of Parminder, guess who we ran into at Paul Savage’s table! Parminder just bought this beauty from Journeyman Smith Paul Savage.

Another beauty on Paul’s table

More great forging at Fire Drawn Forge

Scott’s “window” knife was awesome!

The sheath has a window to expose the Damascus

And the handle scale is partially clear for the same reason

His chopper was fun too

As I mentioned in the intro, there were A LOT of copper infused blades at the show, for example at KC Forge

Muskoka Forge

Cool Buddha cap

 I liked the paring knives with glow in the dark scales

I like the way Trails Edge is incorporating copper into his outdoor knives. Dylan spends a lot of his time outdoors in Northern BC where he can field test his designs. As he says on his website “Just because it is designed to be used doesn’t mean it can’t be stunning”

Of course, he does make them in field grade as well.

More copper at 47 Kitchen Knives

And Sujo Blades

Even collectors I ran into had copper infused blades, such as this Pickle Kutterz

If I were to buy a kitchen knife, it would be from my friend Steve Cornelsen at Bad Llama forge (who I believe is now available at Knifewear).

Bunny Blade also has some nice ones across three product lines, Heritage, Signature, and Performance.

I liked the Damascus one the best

More great forged kitchen knives and tools like spatulas at Crane Culinary Custom Knife & Tool

Divide knives focuses primarily on kitchen knives and they had some partially finished sets ready for customization to customer specs

Of course, they had completed knives as well

Turning now to outdoor style knives, great to see Justin Dale from Matethi Custom and check out his karambit that I missed at another event. I love karambits and it was the only one at the show!

In addition to his stock removal knives, Wynn Stitt was showing his first two forged blades

The big natural handles on Wynn’s knives fit my hand very well and they are a lot lighter than you would think.

Brad Millman of Black Maple Blades had a lot of knives with Griptex handles. I really like the rubbery, sticky feel of them. No way they will fall out of your hands, even when wet.

On Bancroft Cutlery’s table, I liked the orange cord-wrap

Nice filet and outdoor knives from Jeff Maluske, Mad Trapper Knives. Again, outdoor knives made by someone with a lot of outdoor usage experience.

Hunting and outdoor knives by Matt Bedlington

Chris Green of Black Cat Metal is a Calgary based bladesmith who, according to his website,  was inspired to start forging knives after watching “Conan the Barbarian”.

And now more my speed, leaning a bit tactical, Iron Stinger

Love the glowing Griptex

Very interesting approach on this one. First it was Cerakoted in FDE then another layer of black. A laser engraver was then used to remove some of the black layer to expose the FDE underneath in a hex pattern. Cool!

More tactical knives from Steve Stuart, many of which were made from files

I liked the “gentleman folder”

Tim O’Brien had a Khukuri with convex grind that I really liked at another event and was wondering if he would bring another one. No luck there but I did like the daggers set up in small-of-back (SOB) carry.

This dagger was really nice too

Malcolm Stewart does such a broad array of styles. I like his medieval pieces, like his gen 2 mace, now with studs on the handle.

When I think of Aaron Byard I usually picture his smaller knives like kiridashis and prybars

Of course he makes full size knives as well

Cole Thompson is a Toronto based blacksmith, specializing in chef knives, EDC blades, and forged metalwork. I like his take-down tantos in small and extra-large lol

I really liked the “forged EDC” on Principle Forge’s table

Nice forged chef’s knives too

I actually preferred this one to the full Damascus

Justin Lamoureux of Rainy Day Forge is based in Manitoba and tests his products in the wild.

This one looks stunning

Again, Griptex, I am really starting to like it!

This friction folder sold quickly! A couple of people also mentioned to me that they wanted it but it was already sold.

Sacco had kitchen knives

But of course I gravitated to their Khukuri!

Hailing from Muskoka, Craig Henshaw combines Japanese and Western Bladesmithing styles, using the san mai method of wrapping Damascus steel around a core of high carbon steel. I liked the ones with Hudson’s Bay pattern scales

Christian Roy with both Damascus and single steel hunting and kitchen knives

Veinot Knives

Pretty sure I know who got this one

Colourful handles

If you want really colourful handles, Muskoka Turner is an amazing source

Ok let’s end with art knives, Jacco Van de Bruinhorst aka JVB

Wolfgang “Wolfe” Loerchner and his hand filed works of art

A technique he passed down to his daughter Elizabeth…enjoy your new knife Parminder

And now for some people of the show! Great to see waterfowler again.

Sharp & Fiery, one of the moderators on Bladeforums

with ceriksson, knife forum moderator on CGN

Bigjay, Usual Suspect on Usualsuspectnetwork! So we have all major knife forums represented!

Super Grimsmo collector, Bob from Chicago

Micaeli!

Sincere apologies to Vachon Knives, Ulysse Robert Knives, and Ikigai Knives I think I missed your tables and I do try to get them all.

There you have it, another incredible show! Thanks to the organizers, exhibitors, and my co-photographer, ceriksson!

Let’s see if we can make it three rooms and four bank machines next year!

RL

Much like my visit to the Ontario Outdoor Adventure Show, my visit to the Montreal show was unplanned. In fact, I extended my visit to Montreal a day before the show just so that I could attend!

As such, I didn’t have much time for pre-show planning so I just assumed it would be similar in focus to the Ontario show, e.g. “where should you go” as opposed to the Sportsmen’s shows which are more about “what tools should I use when I get there” lol.

Both of these factors (unplanned and focus on destinations) explain why this review is much shorter than my typical reviews (like the three others that I posted this week!)

I just saw Dirty Leather last week at the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show but it was great to catch up again, especially since I had my niece and nephew in tow (they love their new leather keychains!)

Next my favourite booth of the show representing Parcs Nunavik! It was great to learn about Parc National des Pingualuit, a Quebec provincial park located in the Ungava Peninsula 100 km south-west of the Inuit village of Kangiqsujuaq. It is 1,133 square kilometers in size and features a giant meteor crater! The host (holding an Ulu) was very friendly and welcoming!

Of course, I also love that they had Inuit knives on display, such as this one made of soapstone

This special tool is used to cut ice blocks when building an Igloo

I believe this is used for a fishing spear or diving (something waterborne at any rate)

Thanks for the pen, it fits in my patch

Nanuk was also at the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show last week but they brought completely different products. Last time they had cases with Guard Dog knife inserts, this time cases for photography equipment.

Ok now this was a cool display! The basket for a hot air balloon!

My friend just won an Oscar for doing the makeup for the movie Frankenstein. I am sure they could have used these burners as a props in the movie! Can you picture the lightning bolts hitting these to awaken Frankenstein?

Given the original focus on diving of the Outdoor Adventure show there were lots of exhibitors related to PADI

I like how they put the contest details in this tank cut-out

The rest of the tank

Assembled

Again, a very friendly rep, this time from PADI…it helps to have welcoming people at your booth when you are trying to get people to visit! (other shows can learn from this lol)

Les Corsaires du Saint-Laurent offers boat tours on the St. Lawrence River on their “Orca” a rigid or Airsolid inflatable boat designed in Quebec. The boat is 26 feet long and has an aluminum hull to allow for beaching on sand and a 200hp Suzuki moto to handle the currents and tides of the St. Lawrence River. Life jacket included.

By comparison, a standard inflatable boat at Les Excursions de L’Ouest

Nomad World backpacks are quite unique as they have a Smart Compression System that is essentially an integrated pump and vacuum compression system for maximizing space on the go. Of course they also have organized compartments, TSA-approved anti-theft locks etc.

Bloovs Eyewear sunglasses and googles from Barcelona

La Girouette clothing made of Alpaca wool

There were lots of campers at the show as well. I really like the look of Helio

This Tesla Cybertruck converted into a camper was pretty cool too

nice bright red camper from VanSora

Or if you prefer more stealth, Nomad Van

Nice handmade items at the Uganda tourism booth

After the show we went to the top gun store in the city and home to Expo-Impact, CRAFM where I was happy to see our national IPSC Champ Alex Berdat in a competition!

The obligatory wrist check

That’s a wrap! We all had a good time at the show and i am glad i extended my trip to attend.

RL

Last year was my first time attending the Quebec Outdoor, Hunting, Fishing, and Camping show and I liked it so much that I extended my trip to Montreal so that I could go again this year! Good call!

MD Charlton was my first stop and as it turns out, my first of several visits to their booth!

I reached out to them prior to the show via social media so knew they would have two things i was really interested to check out. First, I wanted to have another look at the P320 with FLUX DEFENSE LEGION Conversion Kit that I saw at Expo Impact.

And yes I absolutely love it!

Later on in the show I bought a balaclava (more on that shortly) and came back to retake the pic. Don’t I still look so friendly in my Dessert Warrior Camo?

Next I wanted to see the Shatterball window breacher

Yup, I bought a set!

Lots of other cool things at the MD Charlton booth! Later on I came back with Strikeman’s SIRT gun to compare it to a Sig P365. Pretty close.

And here is the awesome OSCAR6™ HDX PRO Compact Spotter with Optical Image Stabilization. The spotting scope uses a digital accelerometer to control the level of stabilization applied based on the device’s physical movement. 

I arrived at Armurerie Elite Precision’s booth just in time to see him sell the school portion of his business. Congrats!

This will allow him to spend more time on gunsmithing, for example setting up precision rigs or Cerakoting

I loved the 870 inspired by Jurassic Park. My favourite gun of the show!

Next on to see the latest amazing precision rifles from Antler Arms.

I liked the leaf pattern the best

Their top of the line model on display

Lots of interesting finishes

ELCAS Tactique is a top seller of MDT chassis

I really liked the HNT26 anniversary edition. Super light, folding, and cool topo-like finish

More great stocks from MDT

This one is being built on a Tikka T3X

Lots of superlight bipod options as well

I like MDT’s style

Secure Arms recovers firearms from the more than 2,000 that are voluntarily surrendered to Quebec police forces for destruction and repurposes them for precision shooting, recreational shooting, or hunting.

Cerakote Quebec (unfortunately my pic of their table display did not come out well)

As I reported at the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show, the CCFR just scored a huge win with the Supreme Court accepting to hear their Appeal on the OICs!

Featured at the CCFR booth, the Strikeman dry-fire laser training system

What the kit includes

SIRT gun

Available laser cartridges…both handgun and long-gun

Typical target setup

I tried it first without wearing my glasses

And I shot high left, which is funny because I am usually more likely to shoot low left.

Then I tried another round with my glasses on and the results were MUCH better (except for that one flier)!

Great to see Sophie Beland again, she is a great ambassador for the CCFR and shooting community.

With the Canadian rep for Strikeman

And now some really interesting displays! La Cognée is dedicated to manual tools and traditional apparel

Axes and knives made by BR Rinaldi out of Italy

My favourite, the Cleaver-machete №213 – Santa Giustina model

I tried a selfie with my DSLR lol

Traditional hunting apparel

Apologies that I didn’t get the vendor’s name but great job on the Stihl display!

So great to see Conception Claude Piette again! His calls are works of art! I picked up a couple at the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show two years ago, one of which was a gift and has called in MANY coyotes!

The pieces hand-carved by Samuel Côté are my favourite.

More great calls from Recall Designs

I wanted to get more info on Spypoint game and trail cameras but their booth was constantly swamped.

Great to see Sitka back at the show! I covered them in detail last year and I wasn’t kidding that I liked their Balaclava as I ended up buying one at Gagnon Sports lol.

Does my Dessert Warrior sprinkleflage blend in with their “concealment” clothing?

New this year from Sitka, this fishing wader/jacket combo. Remember, Sitka is owned by Gore (as in Goretex), so you know they will be waterproof! 

Indeed the CAT-5 jacket has many features to ensure it is waterproof. It is made of 3-layer GORE-TEX® with Stretch, has welded submersible cuffs to lock out water, a fused magnetic center-front placket that seals out moisture with reduced bulk, and fused hem construction that further limits water pickup.

magnetic internal and zippered outer pockets for your phone and bait

Hood with rear vent to help keep it in place when your boat is moving at speed

And it looks great (it does come in 3XL but they did not have one on display)

Some of the great features of the CrossCurrent Zip GTX Wader include: 4-layer GORE-TEX® Pro laminate, 5mm neoprene stocking feet, customizable, padded suspension with air-mesh lining, and YKK® AquaSeal® center-front zipper. Only one seam is external, the rest are all internal.

Hypnose is a Canadian company that develops and distributes specialized high-end products for outdoor activities and sports.

Being a Canadian company is not merely a patriotic advantage, it is a practical one as they understand our climate. For example, they make Balaclavas good for -30C that fit under helmets with neck warmers of different lengths depending on your activity and what you might be wearing (e.g. snowmobile, ATV etc. )

Of course, I picked up a Balaclava lol!

Traktiq also specializes in outdoor apparel and accessories with a focus on high visibility

And SKRE specializes in ultra-light hunting gear.

And still more Canadian options, CONNEC is based in Quebec. Their mission is to strengthen our connection with nature and do so by placing the outdoors people’s needs at the forefront of the design process.

Moving on to taxidermy, Alain Paquette had my favourite display. So many unique pieces!

Interesting lamp from Creations LJ

What would be worse getting hit by the moose or the truck?

Zone T3

Mireille Pouliot Créations

Beautiful woodwork from Daniel Bonneau

Great to see the SAR boat from Coast Guard Auxiliary again. I had the opportunity to board it at the show last year.

I didn’t take too many pics in the boating section but this Kingfisher caught my eye

Nice canoes from Centre du Sport LSJ

Mustang Survival for safe boating

I even managed to find a Sasquatch at the show! An Argo Sasquatch but still!

Some of the retailers at the show, Pronature

I actually stopped in at their relocated store in Trois-Rivieres on the way back

Ecotone, who had one of the largest retail spaces at the show

I liked the look of this Finntrail gear. I will have to do some research about them.

Nice Excalibur hoodie too

That’s a wrap for my coverage. Once again, a great show and I am glad that I made the trip!

For my post-show meal, I had a Sugar Shack poutine at Le Chic Shack

 I skipped dessert as I found one to match my shirt at the show

RL

The Toronto Sportsmen’s Show started off with some great news! The Supreme Court just announced they will take up the CCFR’s case, effectively putting the confiscation on hold. I caught Tracey for a quick pic before she headed to some media interviews.

Later in the day I also met Conservative MP Blaine Calkins, a strong supporter of the shooting community.

I also met Premier Doug Ford and told him that I hope he meant what he said about the recent home invasion case and that he should protect legal gun owners like Saskatchewan is doing.

It was also great to finally meet Hunter Chef Michael! I have been to his restaurant Antler but we never met. I appreciate his opinion piece on C21 that was published in media.

More good gun news, there were lots of new ones at the show! Actually, not just new guns but also new distributors and new ranges like Down Range Shooting Sports. Range Arts, who is collaborating with Down Range had one of my favourite guns of the show, this tricked out Henry Homesteader! It looks super cool in real life like the love child of a Homesteader and Kriss Vector lol. Yes, it takes Glock mags!

Another cool new offering on the Canadian market, a Glock mag fed lever action from Sterling Arms! The mag release and trigger are “like” an AR15 while the safety is a crossbolt.

JR walked me through all the details

Introducing Magnus and Sons, our newest distributor for amazing brands like Anschutz, TacSol, and SBI!

Anschutz, as you may know, makes high end precision rimfires, we are talking Olympic level!

I liked the G-28. And if you noticed the price, consider they have some that are even double of that!

Spectre Ballistics is a bit more “tactical” and known for their light weight. Love that drum mag on the superlite ST-22

ST-22 Precision

I have shot TacSol before and always said if I were to get a .22LR rifle, it would be a TacSol.

The X-Ring with Magpul stock

And the takedown version with Magpul Backpacker stock

With Boyd’s Forest Camo Hardwood Laminated stock (felt like more of a benchrest gun given the width of the fore-end).

And my personal favourite, the PRS gun with KRG chassis!! Yup, this is the one for me!

Ok now on the huge O’Dell Engineering display of Bergara and Canuck.

Bergara is now offering mag fed versions of their popular rifles that make it easier to walk in the bush with your firearm unloaded and quickly pop in a mag when needed.

note the left-hander

rimfires

Wranglers

Including a new Trapper variant

Some new variants of the TACOP Pro shotgun

As you probably guessed, I love the gold

The more affordable Elite Operator

Shotgun revolver that shoots .410 AND .45 LC! BTW, I should mention that when O’Dell brings such things to the Canadian market, they go through three iterations, meaning the manufacturer sends a prototype to O’Dell who take it apart and re-spec the parts and send it back. The process then repeats two more times.

Canuck pump action shotguns

And over-unders

O’Dell really covers the shotgun spectrum

Now on to Tactical Imports for the shotgun I was really anxious to see, a Canada legal version inspired by the Benelli M3! That’s right, switchable from pump to semi!

Tom bought one on the spot!

That’s not a mag, THAT’S a mag!

Also from Axor, the super popular .410 revolver shotgun. I believe the micro sold-out in 48 hours and there was a waiting list sign-up at the show!

I believe the Axor FS-Pro was a military over-run

Another interesting new gun, the KOFS Triple Barrel Shotgun

Some real fire breathers from Sulun arms

Sulun also makes a revolver shotgun

Tactical Imports is also the distributor of Extrema Ratio knives and I was anxious to check those out as well.

First the fixed blades. The Numen was quite impressive!

The Herring commemorative dagger was my favourite fixed blade.

Though the MISERICORDIA, their take on the Benchmade SOCP, was also super cool.

Now on to the folding knives

The MH-STEALTH was developed in collaboration with the operators of the Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK) and the Gemeinschaft Deutscher Kommandosoldaten. It kinda feels like a folding version of the SOCP to me.

Cool red scales

I like so many of the Extrema Ration folders (like the RAO variants) but ultimately the Glauca G1 GSG9 is my favourite

Operator AF

The business end of a Russian DSHK 12.7 mm, brought to you by Gagnon Sports!

Adam did an amazing job organizing a recent Shoot ‘N Show. Reach out to him for your shooting needs.

More high end military hardware, the Cold War era FRF2 at Uxbridge Arms

Victory Ridge Sports had a nice selection of shotguns and boltguns

“Can” you tell which was my favourite? Of course it was the Maple Ridge Armoury Maverick! (“can” you see what I did there?)

Hold and Point Mounts makes a gun wall mounting system for your Airsoft, paintball and Nerf

I found something to match my shirt!

Nerf muzzle

Vs. Airsoft muzzle

When it comes to archery, Excalibur and Bowtech always bring the heat! I recently covered the Excalibur Hybrid X, the first compound crossbow from Excalibur in 20 years at another event. This time they were introducing a TAKEDOWN version of the RevX, the TD!

The Quick-Loc Technology lets you disassemble and reassemble in seconds with a button pull

It also stows neatly in the included Explore Take-Down Utility Soft Case

The Bowtech Alliance was voted “ATA Best New Bow” and is chock full of technology. It is super light (just over 4 pounds) and delivers 338 FPS.

I like the customizable GripLock, especially after I learned that the adjustments are not to fit hand size (as I mistakenly thought) rather they provide the ability to fine-tune grip angle with a simple Allen wrench.

The Ascend is also new from Bowtech and is meant to be a serious bowhunting option in a more affordable package.

Speaking of archery, I like that there was a range set up at the show

Puma Knives and Brave The Wilderness are always a star attraction for those looking for knives, this year even more so with their most expansive range of offerings yet! Indeed, their product lines have an international flair with Puma and Otter from Germany, Svord from New Zealand, and Joker from Spain.

Let’s start with Puma

I liked the Hunt to Survive edition

Happy to see the General back in stock

Next, Otter.

I picked up a Mercator last year, now they are available in different scale colours/materials with and without clips.

the 05 buckhorn has a very unique lever lock

Next, Joker

While I do like stag handles, in this case the Nomad and Norizo were my favourites

Now Svord

The Black Flag Bowie is exactly my type of knife with its 13.5” blade lol

I also really liked the look and feel of the Kiwi filet knives

Last but certainly not least, a knife designed by Hewitt Custom Millwork who made the walnut handle and leather sheath for the blade made in Germany.

I am a big fan of thumb ramps so glad to see one here. It fits great in the hand.

Available in several scale colours with leather or kydex

The Toronto Sportsmen’s Show has a huge hall dedicated to fishing and I usually don’t cover it as I am not really into fishing. Still people ask me about it and every year I intend to do some coverage but don’t get around to it. Well this year I am officially dipping my toe so to speak into the water!

And what better way to start than with St. Croix, reputed to be some of the best fishing rods in the world!

I learned a lot during my visit to their booth, such as the need for power, flexibility, sensitivity, the different types of rods you would need for freshwater, saltwater, and ice etc. so thanks to the reps.

I looked at the top of the line Legend Xtreme

I was immediately blown away at how light it felt especially considering the 7’ length but the flexibility of the carbon fiber was even more impressive

Again, different rods for different applications and here is the Legend Xtreme next to the Mojo-Musky. I liked the GRASP II (what I would call a “pistol grip” lol) which was actually designed by St. Croix and found exclusively on their rods. The patent-pending grip has three interchangeable trigger options – a full-sized palming trigger, a smaller, standard-sized casting trigger, or no trigger. You can swap between these without tools.

Next the Legend X2

to give you a sense of the height

Thanks again to the rep who caught a record breaking Bigmouth Buffalo at 24.45LBS

Moving on to optics, there were some great options for night vision. I have looked through night vision in the past but I have to say the latest generations are insane. You can pretty much see the person’s skull!

Pulsar had some great monoculars and binoculars

I tried the top of the line DXT50

This is what you would typically see

Next some weapon and helmet mount night vision from Cold Harbour Supply

Mmmm quads

I tried the red SAR helmet mounted set…just so awesome! I wish I could get a pic to show you what the night vision looks like.

Next a visit to Vortex to see their incredibly expansive line of optics

I wanted to have a closer look at their line of handgun red-dots

I looked at the Defender XL and ST and learned about the differences between an enclosed and open design

And now for my biggest surprise of the show, the new AMG® 1-10×24 FFP, yours for $6,400! I believe the British Military is using these and I urge you to watch the video on Vortex’s website that gives you the background on “Project Eleanor”.

One of the super cool features, Dual Zero Turrets that allow you to switch zeros for suppressed, unsuppressed, long- or short-range loads.

Again, an amazing show discovery!

Great to see Army Issue Surplus back at the show. I was just at their retail store about a month ago and picked up another surplus PR-24 like the MANY he had available at the show.

I also picked up another TK05R from Fenix, though this time it was for a gift.

Fur is always a big attraction at the show whether taxidermy or fur products for wear. SCI had an interesting display set up in a mobile unit.

The warthog was definitely my favourite

More taxidermy at the show

Last year I put my hand in a trap at the Ontario Fur Managers Federation booth, this year they had a 3D printed version to try

Beautiful fur clothing from Cahill’s

Nice to see Nanuk back at the show and I am glad they brought cases with Guard Dog knife inserts

I had a great chat with Tactical Distributors Canada who had Altama footwear and their Bullfrogs overshoes on display. TDC represents many other brands such SPY Standard Issue, First Tactical, Cobra Cuffs, Hero’s Pride, Safety Jogger Works, and Original SWAT.

The Tavor 7 used to display Silent Dry anti-rust chamber safety plug and dummy rounds drew A LOT of attention!

Hopefully that gives you a sense of how many great things there were to see at the show! I spent the whole day there (thanks for the early access) and could have gone back if I didn’t have to fly out for Montreal Audiofest and the Quebec Sportsmen’s Show.

Let’s stay optimistic about the CCFR’s case in the Supreme Court and maybe we will see some old familiar guns back at the show next year.

RL

The CKG Shoot ‘N Show 2026 is an incredible multi-faceted event that combines knifemakers, vendors, collectors, and shooting, hosted by Gagnon Sports!

While the name is Shoot ‘N Show, I will start with the show part and save the shooting for the end lol.

Nicolas Bayley formerly of Farmboy Customs has branched out on his own under the Black Coffin Knives banner. Nicolas is known for using unique handle and sheath materials.

He has now added laser engraving to his repertoire as showcased on this piece!

Great to see Casey Belli of Belli Custom Metal again! I like the look and the feel of his knives and was thrilled to actually win one at another show!

My favourite was the Khukuri, which again felt great in the hand with its handle inspired by a bird shape, and I also liked this tanto

Perhaps best of all the cleavers with shoulder rigs!

Indeed, the cleavers were very popular with attendees

Always great to see Cam Lymburner

Known for his kitchen knives

and big blades with a super light feel, such as this work in progress Damascus beauty

Cam is branching out into other designs such as these chisel woodworking knives. Hmmmm, I think I need a blunt breeching version.

Speaking of breeching tools, I liked the prototype Beaver Tooth pry tool

Cam also had a bunch of blades designed to fit into Buffalo Bones Sneaky Pete wallets (you will see one in a minute)

Including some fancy versions

Ceriksson wasted no time in picking up one of these

Next we headed over to Buffalo Bones to get some sheaths made for his new knife. There is no better in leather than Buffalo Bones!

This is the Sneaky Pete pocket wallet/knife sheath that I mentioned

However, ceriksson opted for simple pocket slips in leather and Kydex. Yes Seamus is now doing Kydex sheaths as well!

Next a check in with my good friend Todd Bolce

Todd has been doing a lot of Cerakote lately, such as this lovely green

I liked his Titanium prybar!

Justin Dale of Matethi Custom Knives

Holding a knife very inspired by the event’s Pirate theme

The little shiv was my personal favourite

Malcolm Stewart is so versatile! From conventional knives to Almarada daggers to the positive medieval like a Mace and crossbow!

The Mace was my favourite

Versus a more modern breeching tool, my Strider CR Crash Axe

Awesome big Seax from Adam Mayer Knives

I also liked the little neck arrowhead shaped survival tool

Also really cool, the mini Higonokami that Adam made using Damasucs steel that he forged at Paul Savage’s shop

Big selection from Phil’s EDC

The Busse Battle Mistress was definitely my favourite here!

I have seen Movie Armament Group at other shows but I think this was by far the best assortment of items they have shown! So many incredible pieces.

Some of my favourites were this umbrella

Ballistic knife (you may remember this in The Punisher)

And if that is not ballistic enough, how about a revolver knife!

The business end

Though perhaps my absolute favourite was in this display. Can you guess which one?

Ninja hand spikes! These brought back so many memories lol

Streamlight brought all their newest lights

Such as the The ProTac® Rail Mount VIR Pro, a gun-mounted tactical light featuring visible white light along with IR illumination that can easily be changed via the head-mounted switch. It has a cutoff that prevents unintentional visible illumination when operating in IR mode. In High Mode the visible light has 1,100 lumens; 40,000 candela peak beam intensity; and 400m beam distance.

The PolyTac® 1X is a compact, tactical flashlight with a rugged polymer body and rocky stipple grip texture. It offers a max 500 lumens, 18,000 max candela and a beam distance of 268 meters

Their latest handgun light, the TLR-3®X delivers 500 lumens, 6,500 candela, and 161 meter throw in a very economical package.

The ProTac^® Rail Mount 1L-X is a compact, multi-fuel, high-output tactical light designed for short-barreled rifles and carbines. In high setting it offers 850 lumens; 30,000 candela; 346m beam distance.

Originally mounted on the left with a pressure switch, I asked to swap sides just for pics. This was done in a few seconds and you can easily operate the light without a pressure switch

I took advantage of show specials and picked up a Steamlight Wedge SL

The rep for Kershaw knives also brought a great selection

My favourites of which were the Blur in Kings Camo

and Shoreline Bass

Last but not least among the  vendors, some fine packs from Bowman Gear

I liked the MCB

Would you be surprised that ceriksson picked up one of these as well? Lol

Ok moving on to collectors…

James brought last year’s CKG knife design winner, the prototype serial #0!

As well as the first knife he ever made (at Morgan Koens shop)

Chris’s fantastic collection

I liked the Japanese take-down kwaiken

Lots of Pickle Kutterz

I liked the folder! (ceriksson has one on order!)

Some pickle kutterz with their knives!

My Strider CR Crash Axe was pretty popular…ceriksson

Bigjay!!!

Micaeli

Axes seemed to be a thing, with not one but THREE Winkler Sayocs and an RMJ!

The Jack Carr cross lol

And from a Canadian author

Now on to shooting! This incredible display of TacOrd shotguns is a sign of good things to come

To the range!

I went straight for the TacOrd lol

I had shot this 1301 at a previous event and loved it so much that I wanted to shoot it again

It is a laser

fitting that I wore a red shrt

I was also super thrilled to finally shoot a Troy PAR! I have been wanting to try one of these for a long time! I loved it!

I am sure I can get better groups with more time on it

We ran into Micaeli on the range, about to shoot the S&W 500

I think she liked it! First shot went in the 9 ring too!

Second shot

Good shootin

Micaeli also shot (and liked) the Troy PAR

Now for some sights from the show and its Pirate theme

Even the muffins were skulls!

A good match for my Emerson Gypsy Jack

Steady stream of people

A few prize draws

And my swag from the show

Fantastic job by Adam and crew at Gagnon in putting this event on. I think the combination of displays with live shooting worked out really well. As always, CKG members bring the fire, thanks so much for sharing your incredible collections!

RL