As many of my fellow contributors have already said, SHOT Show is absolutely huge. There’s no way to visit every booth during the show’s four days. You just can’t do it. 2024 was no different. I walked the floor all day, every day, and I maybe saw a quarter of the exhibitors in any detail. That includes merely slowing down and assessing their offerings as I passed by. If you count stopping and talking, that percentage goes way down.
Some booths are better than others in terms of display, access, and their various wares. Different things appeal to different people, so any list like this is purely subjective. Those criteria affect my choices, but I mostly judge how I was treated by the folks working there. A lot of that has to do with what time you stop in. If a booth is mobbed, you won’t get much attention unless they know you. It’s just how things go.
Several booths stood out to me for various reasons, but they all had one thing in common: they seemed genuinely glad to talk to me about their products and appreciated my stopping in. That goes a long way and is a major reason each of these booths made the list. Here they are in alphabetical order.
AGM Global Vision
AGM Global Vision specializes in thermal optics. I stopped in on a colleague’s suggestion to look at their new Rattler V2 rifle scope. Thermal optics aren’t cheap, and many companies are understandably leery of sending out samples for writers to knock around. But a nice fellow named Wyatt Heaton approached me, saw my media badge, and said he would love to work with me. That doesn’t happen very often.
I hung around and talked and even entered a raffle for a free Rattler V2. I didn’t win the scope, but I did win a sweet shirt. All the guys at AGM were friendly and helpful and even accommodated my request for numerous photos. If they are representative of AGM’s staff, I think the company will do well. Great job AGM.
Blackbeard Belts
Blackbeard Belts was among the smallest booths I visited, but they have what appears to be an outstanding product. Again, a friend referred me to Blackbeard, and I soon learned why. The owner, Michael Moreno, is very friendly and enthusiastic. I like it when a small company is confident in their product and doesn’t mind saying so. Blackbeard makes a line of gun and duty belts, and Michael and his staff will tell you and show you why they exude such confidence.
I was able to secure one of their Ranger belts to test and I’m looking forward to running it. They even recognized me when I returned three days later to take the photo for this article. That speaks volumes when they see so many people every day.
Bond Arms
I’ve been aware of Bond Arms, but I have no experience with their products. But I’m a total lever gun nerd, and their new LVRB tactical lever gun drew my immediate attention. The rifle looks and feels awesome. The action is smooth, and it has all the tacti-cool things we want, including an AR upper with a bolt carrier group slightly modified to engage the lever. The quality seems to be there. It’s available in .223 Wylde, with .300 Blackout and .450 Bushmaster on the way.
But as much as I liked the gun, my conversation with company president Gordon Bond is why Bond Arms made this list. We talked lever guns and firearms in general. He showed me the features and talked about how and why they built it. The company president. Gordon was one of the nicest people I’ve met at SHOT Show. I’ll be giving them some business.
Dry Fire Mag
My Mag Life editor asked me to look into Dry Fire Mags products, since they look very promising for dry fire training. Hence the name, obviously. I stopped by the booth, where I met John Seigler, who enthusiastically told me about their product and how they’re expanding past their Glock-compatible mags. I liked hearing that since I’m not a Glock guy.
The Dry Fire Mags reset your pistol’s trigger while dry firing. Dry fire training’s weak spot has always been having to manually rack the slide after each shot. I’ve gotten around that by using a gun I don’t carry because it has re-strike capability. It’s more realistic, even though it isn’t my carry gun, but it isn’t ideal. Dry Fire Mags will fix that very soon.
The booth also featured a virtual dueling target, on which John thoroughly kicked my butt. But it was great fun, and I immediately grasped the potential. That was cool, but it was the staff’s friendliness, and the way John approached our conversation that put them on this list. Seeing a pattern?
Global Ordnance
My writing colleagues and I visited Global Ordnance as a group, where Kat Leahy gave us the tour, including the new Monolith rifle. I think I need one of those in my life. We looked at other stuff, including their Bloc shooting glasses and the new Grand Power Stribog, chambered in the Lord’s Caliber, AKA .45 ACP.
Once again, the people (in this case, Kat) made it better. Her snarky good humor was fun, and she made sure we saw everything. I went back several times to look at various products and she recognized me when she was there. Being recognized is nice. Customers, and writers, appreciate it. I didn’t feel like just another rube passing through, and that makes all the difference.
Mantis
I’ve worked with Mantis for almost two years now, and they’ve always been very nice and very helpful. Elise Abbot is my contact, and she’s just as nice in person as she is by email. The other staff are friendly too, always ready to answer questions and demonstrate their first-class dry fire system.
But they have something new this year. So new that it doesn’t even have a name. I don’t know if I’m allowed to describe it, but I will say that I missed an appointment with Colt because I was having so much fun whacking zombies with an AR-15. Terribly unprofessional, I know, but I couldn’t help it. Did I mention it was a real AR-15? Once I get my hands on whatever this is eventually called, I’ll be doing it with MY AR-15. Again, the staff were enthusiastic and proud of their products. They should be. They should also be proud of how they treat the people who stop by their booth.
Vertx
Vertx. What can I say about Vertx other than they make fantastic gear and are some of the nicest people ever? Our writers’ gang was in and out of the Vertx booth all week. We looked at their packs and the various inserts by which to customize them. We also checked out their clothing line and other accessories.
We were always greeted with a smile, and Taylor Pinkett, Brian Montgomery, and the other Vertx crew always had time for us and answered our questions. And it wasn’t just us. It was easy to see that they treated everyone that way. They made time for everyone who needed information. I’ll be glad to work with Vertx in the future, not only for their great gear, but for their great people.
Lots of Fun
I don’t want to imply that other booths were rude or inattentive. They weren’t. I only talked to two people I felt didn’t want to talk to me. And that’s okay. They can do things however they want. But I can say that I’m far more inclined to do business with the companies and people who understood why they were there. Honestly, I could have put several more booths on this list, but I only have so much space. But I will name some honorable mentions, including LOWA Boots, Winchester Repeating Arms, Henry Repeating Arms, Ruger/Marlin, Palmetto State Armory, Hi-Viz Sights, Taurus, and Altama Boots.
This is my second SHOT Show and, even though my feet are killing me, I had a blast. What’s not to like about being surrounded by cool guns and gear and thousands of your closest friends? But the best part was seeing old friends and making new ones. That’s why I’m already looking forward to SHOT Show 2025.
