Last week, people who had attended SHOT Show started the trek home. From the media folks covering cool and interesting pieces to the attendees and the gun companies showing of that cool new stuff.
But SHOT isn’t just about new technology, but also new lines from established companies.
Lever-action firearms, for example, have been with us for coming up on two centuries now. So a company that’s decided to get into the lever action game would show it off at SHOT.
And the folks at Everytown’s The Smoking Gun has decided to complain about all the goodies there in a piece headlined, “DEADLY INNOVATIONS FROM THE 2024 SHOT SHOW”
Yes, the all caps was their idea.
So what does that have to do with lever-action guns? Apparently, they’re “deadly innovations” now.
Smith & Wesson unveiled its first lever-action rifles — a stark contrast to the company’s AR-15s — which can be seen as the company’s attempt to compete with Ruger’s Marlin Firearms brand of lever-action rifles. Smith & Wesson’s new Model 1854 rifles are also a nod to the company’s roots, as Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson patented their first lever-action pistols and rifles in 1854, as part of the short-lived Volcanic Repeating Arms Company. The new rifles are chambered for the .44 Magnum and hold nine rounds.
Henry Repeating Arms, another company known for its lever-action rifles, has introduced the new Lever Action Supreme rifle that is available in two popular AR-15 calibers and uses AR-15 magazines. In other words, the company is capitalizing on the gun industry’s push for assault weapons. This follows the company’s introduction of the semi-automatic Homesteader rifle last year, which uses 9mm Glock, Sig Sauer, or Smith & Wesson pistol magazines.
Now, the Henry is interesting because it just involves a magazine swap versus how you typically have to reload a lever-action rifle, but since it’s not going into a semi-automatic rifle, there’s literally nothing for The Smoking Gun to really have an issue with, right?
Except that despite their claims of just wanting some “commonsense” gun control, they really don’t want us to have access to any firearm at all.
These are based on technology that first turned up in a handgun in 1826. This isn’t an innovation in any appreciable sense, though Henry using magazines is new. Smith & Wesson’s offerings are just new lines based on old, beloved, tried-and-true technology to try and carve out a bigger market share.
As a capitalist, I approve.
What’s more hilarious is that if you really look at the offerings, these “deadly innovations” are micro-steps forward. Kel-Tec SUB2000 now lets you leave optics on the rifle when you fold it. Palmetto is taking semi-auto tech and making an MP7 clone in 5.7. Kahr has an AR-15 styled Thompson.
Nothing here is a huge leap forward in firearm technology, yet The Smoking Gun–and, of course, Everytown as a whole–is freaking out over it.
Well, if that’s what it takes, that’s what it takes. I challenge all firearm companies to start developing some really cool stuff for next year, just to watch their heads explode.
