Airguns at the 2018 SHOT Show – Day One

There’s a ton of new airguns at the 2018 SHOT Show! Over the next few days, I’ll do my best to bring you as much information as possible on all these new products. Today let’s start with an overview…

A clear highlight among the new airguns at the 2018 SHOT Show is the Benjamin Fortitude PCP air rifle. The Fortitude is said to give up to 90 shots per fill using its regulated action. The price will be $299.99 and Crosman tells us that it will be shipping by April 2018.

Here, Jay Duncan from Crosman shows us the Fortitude…

… while below Phillip Guadaloupe of Crosman shows us the Custom Shop Marauder that’s now available with a Lothar Walther barrel and camo-dipped stock on request.

In my opinion, one of the most interesting trends among airguns at the 2018 SHOT Show is the appearance of more lower cost charging solutions for PCPs.

Crosman was showing the new Benjamin Traveler portable compressor. This is designed to connect directly to the 12 Volt  battery of a car, lawn mower or ATV and provide up to 4,500 PSI of High Pressure Air to directly fill a PCP air rifle.

Look for this portable compressor to be available around July 2018 and to sell for about $650.

There was a huge array of new airguns at the 2018 SHOT Show on the Air Venturi booth. Among them was the Hellraiser Hellboy, a BB-firing M4 carbine lookalike. It’s a CO2-powered gun, of course, and typifies the increasing number of fast-firing airguns that are becoming so popular.

Below, Kristen Coss, the Marketing Director for Air Venturi, shows us the Hellboy.

There were many new airguns at the 2018 SHOT Show to be found at the Airguns of Arizona booth. These include the new Daystate Red Wolf – Serie Rosso – PCP air rifle with a stunning red stock. Terence Logan – Daystate’s Sales Manager – shows us the new gun.

Also there was the new regulated Brocock Compatto. Regulated PCPs are another huge trend at the 2018 SHOT Show!

There are new pellets, too. Below we see the new .177 caliber alloy pellets from Predator International.

Of course, there’s the usual cast of characters to be found at the show. Below we see Rossi Morreale from American Airgunner with Stephen Archer. Looks like Rossi’s trying to match my grey beard, but he’s still got a long way to go!

Another well-known airgun personality I met was Michael Wendt – the owner of the Airgun Nation Forum – was making his first visit to the show.

There’s a whole lot more new airguns at the 2018 SHOT Show to come. Check back for more reports in Hard Air Magazine!