Unique Highlights from SHOT Show 2024

Silencer Central Banish Speed K 

Just before SHOT Show, Silencer Central announced their Banish Speed K suppressor and I had a chance at the range day before the show to put some rounds downrange through a sample. The Speed K was developed at the request of some law enforcement customers and developed with the help of Federal Ammunition. The Speed K is a 5.56 suppressor meant to shine on short-barreled rifles, and compared to traditional cans it is short and fat—it is just four inches long and two inches in diameter. While in development, before they had a final name for it, this suppressor was called the “two by four” in-house at Silencer Central. The cops asking for this can specifically wanted it short, so that when mounted on their SBRs their carbines were still short and easy to maneuver in and out of vehicles and indoors. I found that it’s shorter in person than it looks in photos. The Speed K weighs 14.1 ounces—not the lightest, but it is full-auto rated, and to get that kind of durability you need tough construction. The Speed K is 100% Inconel for the utmost in durability—it has passed seven rounds of SOCOM testing. It comes with an industry standard hub and 1.375-24 universal mount. It is designed (like many new suppressors) to produce reduced backpressure. Using 55-grain FMJ out of a 10.5-inch barrel the Speed K was shown to generate 142.3 dB at the muzzle, and 138.5 dB at the ear, which is very competitive, as is the price—$1,199.

DiamondBack SDR

If I would have made a list of the things, I wasn’t expecting at the SHOT Show, a revolver from Diamondback Firearms is right up there. Diamondback is known for their small semi-auto pistols and AR-pattern rifles, not revolvers. The SDR—Self Defense Revolver—is an all-stainless six-shot .357 Magnum with a two-inch barrel. This is a DA/SA revolver with an exposed hammer spur. It has a red fiber optic insert in the front sight and a Novak-style non-snag rear sight with green fiber optic inserts to either side of the notch. The rubber wraparound boot-style grips help cushion your hand. The cylinder release is a large finely checkered trapezoidal button. The finish was excellent on the samples they had on hand, and their trigger pulls were good, not too heavy, and smooth, with no grit. The SDR seems deliberately aimed at Kimber’s K6s in both styling—it looks classy and sexy. But, at $777, it is priced to significantly undercut the Kimber. Diamondback isn’t known for making revolvers…but then neither was Kimber.

Hornady’s New 5.7 Offerings

Some unexpected ammo news out of SHOT Show came from Hornady, where they announced they were, for the first time, producing 5.7x28mm ammunition. A few years ago, I spoke to Steve Hornady asking him if his company would ever produce 5.7 ammo. This was right after Ruger introduced their Ruger-5.7 pistol, and the cartridge was hugely popular—and in short supply. And this was before Ruger brought out their LC Carbine in 5.7, and Palmetto State Armory brought out their Rock 5.7 pistol. Steve told me they had no immediate plans but would keep it in mind. The complicating factor is the cartridge itself—it is a unique bottlenecked cartridge without a taper, so the cartridge must be coated with lube at the end of the manufacturing process. Wet, dry, some sort of film lacquer, whatever—the point was that Hornady didn’t have the machinery to do that and was waiting to see how popular the 5.7 cartridge would remain before deciding to make the investment. Apparently, they felt the juice was worth the squeeze, because they are now offering two 5.7x28mm loads—a Critical Defense load with a 40-grain FTX bullet, and a 40-grain V-Max load through their Black line.

Palmetto State Armory “MP7”

On a very related note, one of the products generating a huge amount of interest at the show, especially on social media posts, was Palmetto State Armory’s concept gun. Officially, it is the X5.7, but it is being considered PSA’s take on the Heckler & Koch MP7. HK’s MP7 machine pistol, chambered in 4.6x30mm, is one of the most famous unobtanium guns out there. PSA’s concept was shown off to see what kind of interest it would generate, and if there was enough, they would then consider making it a reality. There seems to be more than enough. The concept gun had a 3D-printed shell, but used PSA’s 5.7 Rock pistol grip dimensions, fire control group, and magazine. It had an extendable brace on the back, a pic rail along the top, and if it does become a reality, they were aiming for a price somewhere between $500–$1,000. Some grumblers online were complaining that this wasn’t a real MP7 and they’d wait for the HK version…so I walked over to my contact at the HK booth and talked to him off the record. He told me that due to a lot of reasons, the chance there would ever be a variant of the HK MP7 offered for sale on the US commercial market was pretty much zero. Tommy Built (well-known for their semi-custom HK builds) announced during the show they’d be making a semi-auto copy of the MP7, and while it will look just like the real thing, expect to pay thousands and thousands of dollars—and for there to be a long waiting list. PSA’s X5.7 isn’t an MP7…but it will probably be close enough for most people, and with Fiocchi, Federal, and now Hornady making 5.7 ammunition, you should be able to find some.

Strike Industries Dual Folding Stock and Brace

As SHOT was taking place in Las Vegas, the BATFE’s (illegitimate, unconstitutional) rule concerning pistol braces had been on hold nationwide for over to a month due to injunctions from federal courts, and my email inbox had been overflowing with ads from wholesalers and retailers once again offering braces for sale. I didn’t see a booth for SB Tactical (the inventors of the pistol arm brace, SB-Tactical.com) and reached out to Alex Bosco, the owner at SBT and a friend, checking up on him. Turns out he and his people were too busy boxing and shipping out braces to come to the show. Regarding brace legislation, he is “cautiously optimistic.” I bring this up because a lot of people are now making braces and they seem to be selling as well as ever. I spotted maybe the most intriguing brace I’ve ever seen while at SHOT 2024—the dual-folding brace by Strike Industries. This brace clamps onto a rear MIL STD 1913 picatinny rail using a generous aluminum and steel clamp. It has a machined aluminum arm, and the brace section is a polymer fin that rests against your forearm. There are pushbuttons on the top and using them you can fold the brace to the left or to the right. It locks in place when folded. Strike provides several rubber pads of varying thickness to adjust tightness on the brace when closed. There are multiple sling attachment points including QD sockets on either side and the rear. It extends 9.5-inches from the back of the rail and weighs just 9.6 ounces. They offer two versions—a stock, and then an arm brace version that also comes with a stock adapter with rubber buttpad. This would be useful if you ultimately planned  to register your pistol as a short-barreled rifle and didn’t want to have to buy a completely new stock. The dual-folding stock is $197.95, whereas the dual-folding brace (with buttpad included) is $219.95.

Galco Gunleather’s Thunderclap 

Galco Gunleather had a newish holster on display—the Thunderclap. This is an outside-the-waistband steerhide holster that is high-end, but its traditional looks hide a secret—both the mouth of the holster and the belt feature steel reinforcement. This helps rigidity and durability. This is the first holster in Galco’s “Masterbilt” series, premier-grade holsters which use premium steerhide, have a leather lining, and feature hand molding. The Thunderclap is available in brown or black and offers a neutral cant, and currently is only available for 1911s. My contact at Galco initially wasn’t sure how well these holsters would sell, as they are not inexpensive—$249—and has been surprised at how popular they’ve been. I pointed out that people who spend $1,500–$4,000 on custom or semi-custom 1911s would have no problem paying that for a quality holster.

Canik TTI Combat

Canik pistols have seen quite a lot of success in the U.S. market. These Turkish-made polymer-framed striker-fired pistols are modular, offer modern features, are reliable, and are very affordable. There are a number of different models offered, but the big surprise at SHOT was the new Canik TTI Combat. Taran Butler gained fame as an accomplished competition shooter, but now he is more well known as a firearms instructor to Hollywood. Footage of him training Keanu Reeves—with live ammo, something previously just not done—for John Wick 2 quickly went viral, and now every actor in Hollywood seemingly shows up at TTI (Taran Tactical Innovations) for live-fire training sessions. Taran is in high demand these days; just as sought after are his flashy TTI Combat Master pistols built on Glocks and Staccatos, and you’ve probably seen them in movies or on TV shows. But these are not cheap, and his top-of-the-line Pit Viper and Sand Viper integrally compensated pistols are well over $5,000, and there’s a long waiting list for those. But now there’s the TTI Canik. The Canik TTI Combat is an 18+1-shot 9mm that features a unique frame designed by Taran Butler with aggressive grip texturing, a ported and fluted barrel, the first Canik compensator, new trigger, an optics-ready bronze slide, a custom holster, and a hard case with cutouts for the gun and all the accessories (backstraps, magazines, optics plates, etc.). Full disclosure—I’ve been friends with Taran Butler for close to twenty years and have put him (as himself) in two of my novels. He told me at SHOT, “Finally it’s a TTI pistol people can afford.” There was no pricing listed anywhere that I could see, but Taran told me the pistols would be around $1,000.

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