I recently escaped the sub-zero Northern winter and headed south for a few days of sunshine and enthusiastic browsing of new shooting gear at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas. This annual gathering brings together the shooting, hunting and outdoor industry, showcasing an enormous range of gear for nearly every shooting pursuit — from tactical and military applications to personal defense, competitive shooting, hunting and airguns.

SHOT Show Background

The scale of the SHOT Show is genuinely staggering. This year, 2,700 exhibitors from 119 countries — and all 50 U.S. states — descended on Las Vegas for an event that has steadily grown since its debut in 1979. Those exhibitors fill roughly 820,000 square feet of floor space across multiple halls, amounting to about 18 acres and nearly 14 miles of aisles. I can confess to feeling every one of those miles after a few days of wandering the exhibition floors.

The event isn’t open to the public; attendance is limited to manufacturers, commercial buyers  and sellers in the shooting, hunting and outdoor sectors, as well as military and law-enforcement product vendors and the media that cover them.

Airgun companies make up a relatively small — though steadily expanding — portion of the exhibitor list. They’re scattered across the exhibition venue, ensuring that anyone covering airguns gets plenty of steps in. Beyond the military and police markets, there’s a substantial civilian demand for self defense, competitive shooting and hunting gear. While airguns for competition and hunting are still gaining traction in the broader U.S. shooting community, their visibility and appeal continue to grow.

In this article, I’ll highlight several of the companies I visited during my sweep of the show, discuss a couple of preshow releases and share the new or updated products they showcased.

Walking the Floors

I made my way to the Hatsan booth early on, mainly to get a first look at two rifles I’d been eager to handle: the Repex and Zylox PCPs. The Repex is a compact rifle — measuring 31 inches overall with a 17-inch barrel — weighing just 4.9 pounds. It comes in .177-, .22- and .25-caliber, producing between 18 and 27 foot-pounds of energy (fpe) from a 3,625 psi fill on its 165cc air tube. With its extended stock and ergonomic pistol grip, it strikes me as a very capable small-game setup. I’m planning to spend some serious range and field time with it in the coming months.

The Zylox PCP is available in a standard unregulated version as well as the regulated Zylox RG. It’s a bit larger than the Repex — 37 inches long with a 17.7-inch barrel — and weighs 6.1 pounds, still well within my definition of a lightweight hunting rifle. It’s also available in .177-, .22- and .25-caliber, in both sub-12 foot-pounds and FAC configurations.

Hatsan also showcased an extensive pellet lineup for the U.S. market, including H&N, their in-house Vortex pellets and the Apolo brand imported from Argentina. The Apolo range appears limited to the standard calibers but includes both Diabolo pellets and slugs. It was the slugs I found particularly interesting, with three options in .22-caliber (18 grains, 21 grains and 25 grains) and three in .25-caliber (28 grains, 33 grains and 40 grains). Apolo states that these slugs differ from traditional pellets due to their distinct shape, engineered for high-powered rifles capable of delivering accurate shots 100 to 150 yards. These slugs have an excellent ballistic coefficient, providing a flatter trajectory and strong energy retention downrange.

Two Models from Umarex

My next stop was Umarex, where two new releases were drawing plenty of attention: the updated Notos (the Notos G2) and a purpose-built .25-caliber platform called the Dual Fuel Outpost. The Notos G2 has been upgraded with a larger air tube, an integrated suppressor, a more ergonomic sidelever, increased power and a new 15-shot rotary magazine — all while keeping the price point appealing.

The Dual Fuel Outpost, available only in .25-caliber (my preferred small-game caliber), is a powerful PCP generating around 40 fpe. This platform’s standout feature is a dual power-source design. It can be filled conventionally from a high-pressure air tank or compressor, or it can run on the Umarex NitroAir cartridges. For certain shooting applications, those cartridges make a lot of sense, and having the flexibility to switch between power sources is a real advantage. I expect to use this rifle heavily over the next year and will share more thoughts as I do.

Offerings From Air Venturi

From there, I headed to Air Venturi, where the full Alpha series of rifles was on display alongside the modular Avenge-X, the MicroStrike subcompact carbine and the OmniStorm break barrel. While all these platforms are interesting, the OmniStorm is unique. I had the opportunity to work with an early prototype featuring the company’s OmniPiston Gas-Ram System, which allows the shooter to increase or decrease power by adjusting the piston pressure. A small hand pump connects to a fill port on the receiver to raise pressure, while a bleed valve reduces it. This lets you tune this break-barrel rifle for indoor plinking, crank it up for hunting or optimize it for a specific projectile.

Another product that caught my attention was the new Nomad Nano compressor, a slick portable unit that I intend to replace my 5-year-old Nomad 1 with! Even though I also have a full-size, high-volume compressor at home, I always carry a portable unit in the truck when heading out to the range or for longer hunts. The Nomad Nano has evolved from the trusted Nomad line, but is smaller, lighter and more adaptable. I’m told the unit has been stringently tested and is virtually maintenance free, which I think will be an excellent charging option on those longer trips.

At the AirForce Airguns booth, the focus was on their two product families: AirForce and Rapid AirWorx (RAW). AirForce builds everything from standard calibers to some of the most powerful production air rifles in the world. I’ve taken deer, wild boars and javelinas with their Texan Big Bore and have always found it reliable and hard-hitting. Naturally, I was excited to see their newest addition: the compact Tex Rex Brush Gun. At 31 inches overall with a 16-inch Lothar Walther barrel and weighing just 6.3 pounds, it’s a remarkably small package for a big-bore rifle. Offered in .457- and .50-caliber, it delivers three to four shots per fill and produces over 650 fpe. It features an M-Lok equipped forestock, Picatinny rail and a threaded barrel for accessories to tame the bark.

Another standout was a new accessory for the RAW HM1000 MicroHunter carbine I’ve been using. RAW is releasing a drop-in kit that converts the standard sidelever into a pump-action system, installable in about five minutes. I tried it on a demo rifle, and it was fast, smooth and intuitive. I’ve already ordered one for my MicroHunter — this will be a great rig for fast-paced pest control.

Early Releases

It is also worth noting that some companies released products earlier in the year, not waiting for SHOT. Airguns of Arizona is the importer of the British-made BRK rifles, and BRK is one of my favorite brands within the Daystate Group. A few weeks before SHOT they announced the launch of the Ranger XR2, an all-new series of four premium rifles designed to deliver outstanding accuracy, power, consistency, versatility and value. I have been told that the lineup will be offered in .177-, .22- and .25-caliber options.

The Ranger XR2 platform combines lightweight handling with rugged durability, making it ideal for hunting, pest control and target shooting. The model line spans ultra-compact carbines to full-size rifles that share several features, including Lothar Walther precision barrels, optional slug barrels purpose-designed for air slugs, externally adjusted power settings and adjustable stocks.

Overall, I noticed fewer brand-new rifles this year, though there were plenty of updates and new variants. I suspect tariffs are playing a role, pushing companies to refine existing platforms rather than launch entirely new ones. Hopefully, that pressure will ease soon so we can return to the strong upward trend of previous years. I also saw several manufacturers expanding their more budget-friendly offerings to attract new shooters, which is a smart move for the U.S. market.

Even with the slowdown, the airgun scene in the United States continues to grow, and airgun products are gaining more visibility across the industry.