As I mentioned, there was too much for just one post about SHOT Show Industry Day at the Range, so here is your second installment.

I believe I closed the last post with the hysterical “Pre-Seasoned DuckShot”, yes? Well not six feet from the DuckShot, there was …. ummm…. a “Gyro-Stabilized Weapons Platform” called the Talon. 

This was TOTALLY out of my league, but if you ever want “Precision Marksmanship for Helicopter, Watercraft, and Vehicle Operations”, you heard about it here first! 🙂 There is truly something for everyone at SHOT.

Next up, was a trip to the Armscor/Rock Island Armory tent. When I arrived, I chatted with Heather while we waited for Michael Bane http://www.downrange.tv/blog/

to film a bit about the new .380 cal 1911 -style pistol, dubbed the “Baby Rock”. 

I’m sure Mr. Bane has much more expertise in this than I, so I’ll let you watch his piece, but I did get to shoot the gun right after him, so maybe something good rubbed off on me!

Almost back-to-back with the “Baby Rock”, I then got to shoot the Springfield Armory Range Officer Compact in 9mm. 

I shot the full-size 9mm Range Officer last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. The compact this year did not disappoint me either. The 1911 style is a tad unfamiliar to me, but no longer intimidating.  The accuracy made me very happy – even with the compact version. I LIKE putting a whole mag’s worth of rounds thru the target flapper while people are watching! Maybe once I finish getting the hang of revolver, I’ll move on to 1911’s next 🙂

Speaking of moving on to other disciplines, I felt a bit like the Monty Python sketch, “…And now for something completely different…”, because I tried… drumroll please…

A Crossbow.

Yup. It had a trigger, a scope, and a projectile, but that’s where the similarities ended. These were from Ten Point Crossbow Technologies, and I was so intrigued that I forgot to get pictures. So here’s the cover of the catalog for now until I can get to the booth tomorrow.

Shooting a crossbow was definitely a whole other experience. Apparently, finger placement of the support hand is very important – lest you lose them. Yeah, that’s kind of a good incentive to keep those digits down below the ledge LOL! The scope sighting was no different than a rifle, but the safety button was a tad different. The trigger pull was just weird – because there’s no recoil and no real noise – you just keep watching your shot through the scope. I didn’t “Robin Hood” anything, but I did hit the target in the general vicinity of “Center-ISH”, so I was satisfied. Crossbows are still a hunting no-no in my state apparently, but hey, the family camp is across state lines, so you never know!

Finally, after nearly 4 hours and an overpriced food truck lunch, I was ready to get back on the bus. As I was walking in that direction, I saw movement in my peripheral vision, and saw that something was overtaking me. I turned to see this, humming past me.

Welcome to RC controlled targets. These two “bad guys” were by Target Tracker, driven by CEO Wayne McGregor. They had apparently been working hard on one the ranges, had stopped for a T-shirt change and were headed back to “work”. Tough job to get shot at all day – but I guess somebody’s gotta do it! 

So, that’s my Range Day summary for 2015. There was way more to see, but there wouldn’t be enough blog space to talk about it in a whole year, so I chose only the things that grabbed my particular interest. There were hundreds of writers there, so I’m sure you’ll be able to find what piques “your” interest coming soon from your favorite outdoor writer or publication. I personally had a blast!

Range Day is only “Day Zero” for SHOT Show. There will be 4 more days of cool stuff to cover coming up, so don’t go far!