My feet are tired and my eyes are tired. My legs hurt from the flight. But life is good. I got to spend several days with some of my favorite people, people who are scattered all over the country. Typically, I only see them once a year, and it’s SHOT Show. SHOT quickly becomes about the people and much less about the newest AR-15 destined to be a game changer. Yet, you guys aren’t here to read about the people. You’re here to read about the guns. With that in mind, here is Pike’s Picks for SHOT 2025.
Bronco SPAS 12 Clone
Turkish firm Bronco showed off a few new shotguns. Turkey and shotguns are like turkey and Thanksgiving. The two go together. I typically ignore Turkish shotguns, as very few are worth the money. However, you showed me Turkish SPAS 12, and you got my attention.
Here’s the thing, even if it’s a piece of crap, it’s still accurate to an actual Franchi-made SPAS 12. The original guns were also ammo-picky, unreliable, and generally pieces of crap. But, and this is a but as big as J.Lo’s, they look cool. Looking cool is half the battle, and if you have a SPAS-12, half of the fight is over.
My Turkish is nonexistent, and the crew at the Bronco booth didn’t speak much English. We did the best we could, and I figured out it was a gas-operated, semi-auto shotgun that could be converted to pump action. It doesn’t just look like a SPAS it functions like a SPAS.
Most SPAS 12 parts fit, and the guys at Bronco assured me they fixed the reliability issues. Plus, the folding stock has the hook, and that’s just “chef’s kiss.” It might be my favorite new gun at SHOT 2025.
Fightlite Raptor Upper
I have a belt-fed brain. Call it a successful brainwashing by the United Marine Corps and an immense pride of being a machine gunner. Thus, belt-fed guns get my attention. Especially when I could own the thing. Fightlite has long produced belt-fed AR-type rifles, and their latest is the Raptor Upper.
The Raptor Upper drops onto any Mil-Spec AR lower and converts it into a belt-fed design. Fightlite aimed to make the Raptor a more affordable design compared to the MCR rifle. It’s still five grand, but that’s about four grand cheaper than the MCR. The Raptor upper eliminated a few things most people won’t miss, like swapping the Picatinny rails for M-LOK slots.
The Raptor retains the same quality and reliability of their belt-fed series. It just trims some of the fat to lower the price and simplify the design. It’s still pricey as hell, but it seems to be the cheapest belt-fed upper I’ve ever seen.
The Optics Ready Jericho
I like the Jericho 941, mostly because I like the CZ-75, and the Israeli derived the Jericho from the CZ-75. The Jericho not only has a slick name but was also the star of the famed anime Cowboy Bebop. Sadly, Spike never got the optics-ready model. In fact, none of us have until now, maybe? IWI showed an ORP model of the Jericho before, but it never came to be.
However, at SHOT 2025, the Jericho, with a Holosun 507C mounted, was on full display. This is the only thing the Jericho needs to be brought into the modern era. It’s already an accurate, soft shooting gun that’s as heavy as a brick. It’s a no-brainer to add an optic.
The Jericho has a cult following, and we’ve seen several variants and several companies have imported or produced the design. The IWI models with the frame-mounted safety/decockers have always been my preferred flavor. Add an optic to the Jericho, and I’ll be all in. Make it happen, IWI, and don’t make SHOT 2025 leave me blue-balled.
Walther PP in .32 ACP
Who doesn’t want to get their hands on Walther’s PP? Seriously? When was the last time you could get a PP in your hands? Sure, we have had the PPK and PPK/S, but my hands and holster have been devoid of a PP. The PP is the Police Pistol, the original gun that established the PPK and PPK/S as the more compact models.
Walther is bringing the PP to the hands of American shooters and premiered it at SHOT 2025. This is an American-made PP that comes in my favorite, the .32 ACP. The .380 ACP sucks in the Walther PP series; the bigger caliber hurts your hands. The .32 ACP is much softer in the blowback action and makes it a really smooth shooter.
As a .32 ACP nut and follower of the One True Cartridge, I will applaud anything remotely new, or in this case old-new, in .32 ACP. The PP should be out this year, and I’m going to try my hardest to get my hands on a PP and share it with you!
S&W Model 19 Classic (No Lock)
Let’s go from German PPs to American Magnums! .357 Magnums, or Magnum, it’s the S&W Model 19. Specifically, the new classic series model 19 without that stupid internal lock. S&W is breaking their mold, finally, and delivering more and more guns without that atrocious lock. They’ve been somewhat quiet about it until now.
S&W released a Model 10, a Model 36, and my favorite, the Model 19, in a classic configuration at SHOT 2025. It has a dark-blued finish with wood grips. Legendary lawman Bill Jordan consulted S&W in their design of the Model 19 and described it as a peace officer’s dream.
I’ve never been a police officer, but holding the Model 19 makes me feel like a state trooper dealing with the riffraff of the roads. The Model 19 is big, heavy, and hand-filling, unlike the PP. It’s big, loud, and everything a classic fighting revolver should be.
It’s Over
SHOT Show is over. Finally, it’s a long week with lots of walking, lots of guns, and those damn drag hurts, hitting me in the ankle every two minutes, but I get to see friends, sweet new guns, and collect swag. Speaking of, the best swag this year was the Flaskbang by Bad Moon Armory. It’s a two-shot flash shaped like a flashbang; check it out here.
What are your preferred SHOT 2025 picks? Let us know below!
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