Part 1: The Show Floor
Insane. That’s the best way to describe the first ever Tactical and Competitive Sports Show. And by insane I mean insanely good!
The aim of the event was to “engage our diverse shooting landscape” by bringing together manufacturers and industry leaders representing both the tactical and competitive disciplines. The event coincided with Firearms Outlet Canada’s grand opening of their new retail space.
I should point out that I got a media pass and had early access so that’s why the place looks empty in some of my pics. In reality, 6,000 tickets were distributed and I think everyone showed up lol! There were lineups around the building all day
And this is what it looked like on the show floor once the (flood) gates opened!
Before that though, the Mayor performed the ribbon cutting ceremony.
Alright let’s start with firearms.
First stop, the Outdoor Escapes booth who was showcasing some of my favourite brands including Zev
And Desert Tech
They also had Blaser rifles
Speaking of favourite brands, I was very glad to finally meet Sean of Freedom Ventures and check out his sampling of STI.
I shot the Costa Carry Comp at SHOT show but did not snag any pics so I took the opportunity to do so
this time
Again, I don’t shoot IPSC but I love STIs, especially the full race guns such as this DVC Steel.
Since I borrowed Sean’s gun for the pic, he borrowed my knife.
The National Historical Arts Museum booth was across from Freedom Ventures…for fans of vintage
firearms
North Sylva had the largest display of the show with CZ, HK, Meprolight and more
Colt AR15s
If I could continue my gun store tour anywhere in Canada, Wolverine would be at the top of the list…fortunately they saved me a bit of a trip lol.
Since I know you are all interested in the non-restricted, made in Canada, .223 for under $1000, WK-180C, I will start with that one.
No dust cover keeps the cost down
I preferred the B&T GHM9
And this CZ race gun
Of course Wolverine has a huge selection of Barret and Accuracy International so I was pleased they brought one of the latter as well
Also great to meet the team at O’Dell engineering and to see their soon to be released new Canuck bullpup semi-auto shotgun, shown here in two different configurations along with the Canuck Renegade.
My buddy liked the bullpup as well.
He also liked the Radical Firearms AR15 out of Texas with M-Lok and MFT furniture for under $800.
Sig Sauer brought a variety of handguns
And AR15s, including my beloved MPX, this time with folding stock
Sig will also be importing Ritter and Starck high end precision rifles ($10,000 for the bigger one pictured below) with a cool feature whereby undoing three screws allows you remove the scope and barrel as one unit so you can swap calibers without having to re-zero.
I missed the Mossberg booth at SHOT so I was happy to see them here so that I could check out their new mag fed pump shotgun…as I am sure you have heard, the mags come in 5,10,15, and 25 capacity.
I recently saw the 500 Magpul and really liked the ergonomics but not the fact that it didn’t have a rail or ghost ring sights. Cue the 590 version , which has both!
Classic 590A1, military spec
And what did I find at the Gravel booth? Ladies and gentlemen, farmboy is alive and well!
The gun I am holding is a real Remington M-24, yes over $5,000 for this US Army Spec Sniper Weapon System.
Lots of goodness at the Tactical Ordnance booth where I finally got to meet not only the legendary Casey Brouwer but also Pavehammer! After over 10 years on CGN we finally meet in person.
Casey is best known for his modified shotguns and is the only person outside of Vang Comp authorized to do their compensator modification
Wild compensator on this custom race shotgun
My all time favourite shotgun remains the Benelli M4 and Stoeger showed a couple of modified variants
Perhaps the most interesting gun at the Stoeger booth was this Tikka T3 Tactical with Black Label forend featuring an integrated bi-pod that rotates into multiple positions and folds up into the rail
Another look at the Victrix Armament that I saw at the Sportsmen’s Show
Tikka Ranger gun and Sako TRG
Huge crowd around the Glock booth (as usual) but I did manage a few pics of the G19 Canadian edition
And the FBI spec gun with the new Streamlight TLR-7 500 lumen light
Always loved those red guns lol
Howa precision rifles with components sourced from Japan and assembled in the USA
Ok moving on to firearms accessories…Red Tower Armoury does some incredible cerakoting and Hydrographics as shown on this Hello Kitty shotgun that I really liked! Yes, I would rock that lol
Another fine example, this time in Kryptek snakeskin
But probably my favourite pattern is the pin-up girl camo..i had seen a gun with this coating online and it looks GREAT!
Highlander Tactical holsters, a great Canadian success story of awesome kydex for all of your gear
Including full kit
tourniquets
And AI mags
After meeting the crew from Nanuk at the Sportsmen’s show I did some more research on their product line so I came back to look for specific cases and was pleased they had all the ones I wanted to see along with more colour samples and the new 15 handgun case.
It was nice to catch up with Dan as well, he really listens to clients, nice touch on including a blue gun this time 😉
Last but not least, optics!!! The focus of this show really shined here as Stoeger brought some tactical Steiner optics versus the hunting line for Toronto Sportsmen’s Show
The 10x42R
M1050 LRF
They also had DBALS on the table but I didn’t get closeups
I missed the Vortex booth at SHOT although I did run into the Toronto crew while having a steak in Vegas lol…nice to see them again and have a chance to check out the lineup
The new RAZOR AMG red dot
My buddy has the Strike Eagle 1-6×24 on his AR15 and loves it…the illuminated, glass-etched AR-BDC reticle was HIGHLY visible and subtends with popular 5.56 mm cartridges…my friend can attest to Vortex’s claim that “the centered halo promotes fast target acquisition.”
Finally, Trijicon!
I have an MRO but I like the SRS as well
Not to mention the RMR
Surefire lights
And since you always ask…
Part 2: Firearms Outlet Canada’s new retail shop
The new shop is located in the same building as the old shop except that it is several times (as in at least 5) the size. The new space features classrooms and a soon to be opened in-door range (where the show was set up this year).
A quick shot of the store
Unfortunately my camera set up did not work too well with the back-lighting so sorry for the dark pics of the long guns
Hand guns
A few closeups of the shortest Tac Ord (although I liked the even shorter one on the show floor better)
The Sig P210 Legend
B&T APC
Tons of firearms accessories
I really want a Shot Maxx!!
So all in all a FANTASTIC show and a great day! In addition to all the cool gear, it was great to catch up with so many familiar faces and meet some people I have wanted to meet for a while. I believe they have plans to expand next year’s show and I do believe they could easily double or triple in size given the massive turnout. For sure I will be there.
RL
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