SHOT Show 2022 and Airsoft
There are so many different pages and outlets to follow for any Airsoft rifles, gear or anything related to our sport along with news and it would be a good idea to compile the list and details all in one place and not isolated by brands. This blog will be updated during the week for all the info and to cover the event fully!
First thing that popped up in the social media feed was from SS Airsoft and at the Elite Force booth with the new stuff on display. Great thing about the SS Airsoft store and field is that they have customers in every area of Airsoft from new players to speedsoft and Milsim so they are excited to share and bring into their store for the local players. for the longest time the Elite Force HK 416 was the most popular and out of the budget for some of the newer players well now Elite Force is releasing the HK 416 competition rifle, much lower price but still a great performance and customer support along with it. Estimated price is around $249 and in second quarter of 2022 which is right around the corner!
Just looking at the HK 416 you can see it will save the player a lot of money right out of the box and in usability. The obvious railed front for any accessory but it also has ambi fire selector for the left or right handed players. Another little big deal is the buffer tube sling loop already installed. Preventing players from trying to install one and cutting wires which ends up being costly and takes them out of the weekend game. This rifle looks ready to go out of the box!
Now for the more serious play the Elite Force HK MG4 is coming out in 2022 and this is hot news! “Set to release in October of 2022 at $1,400
An 800 round internal hopper will feed this replica with the 5,000 round box magazine keeping that hopper full
Internals: Proprietary gearbox (More to be disclosed soon)” – SS Airsoft
Now the HK MG4 has been on the list for Airsofters and this blog has covered several other custom HK builds such as the HK MG4(AEG), HK21 and HK11 and the HK G11 now the Airsoft Community will have another support gun on the field to complete loadouts or collections!
Lets load up our mags not and it looks like PTS is making a big impact on the SHOTShow scene. Seems like several big stores are excited to see what they are bringing out this year and for their customer base.Here are some pictures from Airsoft Extreme that sparked their interest. Over the years PTS has proven their reliability and robust builds and now they are expanding to the SpeedQB and speed soft scene.
Here is a nice clear shot of the new mags coming out from PTS and notice the “SpeedQB” branding on it? And for the regular players don’t worry since PTS is coming out with a long lineup of other magazines for the Airsoft market!
These new EPM magazines from PTS look kind of like a modern mag and for a wide range of common rifles on the field so nobody is left out, definitely have to check with your local stores to grab these up!
Now here is some juicy news and products to get excited about. PTS and Zev Tech are working on a Glock base pistol and an M4 type build for the high speed players. We need to follow up on these and learn more as soon as the news comes out.
At the Evike booth they were giving away free patches, yes it is the wrong year but the 2021 SHOTShow didn’t really happen due the world being crazy so they might as well give them out instead of sitting in the warehouse. There is a lot of new products and partnerships with the Evike and EMG branding and there will be more as it comes out!
This was one of the first new product pictures released by Evike and it is the CMMG Banshee, a real firearm company and now Evike or EMG is making the Airsoft version of it. In the firearm world this it the best of both worlds with the functions of the M4 and the mags and ammo of the AK. In the Airsoft world they have tired this over and over with different brands and it never really caught on, what do you think about it?
Shotguns and SHOTShow 2022!
Elite Force is bringing out a CO2 powered shotgun. Taking shells and being a ‘3 Shot’ version. There are a lot of Airsoft shotguns on the market but they are spring, green gas or AEG. A CO2 version will be usable in more areas of the USA and this is big news.
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Now the snipers can rejoice! For the longest time there has been a very sparse selection of heavy grade ammo for Airsoft snipers and especially in the BIO form. With Elite Force again listening to the players and bringing what they want and need to the field this will be great. White BBs to see the shots downrange and being a .40 that is BIO will allow more snipers on the field depending on the rules.
Big topic for snipers, fields and regular players. BB FPS and Joule Energy and making sure they are able to be within the field limits. Use the FREE App BB FPS Converter is a app that helps you convert between BB velocity, BB weight, and BB energy. It easily and quickly converts results as you change the values.
Now here is some interesting news from a once small time company with a rocky legal past to now being on the right path in the current world of the Airsoft and Firearms industry, Lancer Tactical.
Lancer Tactical is releasing a 9mm AK version and most of the market is going that way to reflect the ammo costs in the USA but this will be another option for the AK fans that are looking for maybe a more budget friendly build than an LCT or NPO. Always a fan of the AK builds so this is great. Now getting into other AK’s and sort of going backwards in the Airsoft timeframe is Lancer getting a license agreement with Kalashnikov USA to make some basic ‘AK’ and some others but the name will be on all their new AK releases.
Saying how it is going back in time since just about every Airsoft rifle is equipped with rails and modern parts for the players and the more serious players or collectors will be going after the LCT builds due to the quality. This is in the middle and not sure of the success. It is interesting that Lancer Tactical is not getting the licenses from these companies.
RELATED BLOG: THE END OF LANCER TACTICAL – COUNTERFEIT LAWSUITS
Back in the day they were copying everyone and everything if you check out the article above and now they have stopped so it seems and gone on the right path we can only hope. Looking at the news from SHOTShow 2022 for Lancer Tactical and one would think they would be sharing this on their social media to further excite and prime the customers but that is not really the case.
Looking at the official Lancer Tactical Instagram they have wiped all the old content clean and started fresh. Huge amount of likes with little comment ratio so it is very odd. Either they are buying likes or deleting and starting fresh on Instagram while their Facebook is still remaining the same.
Another odd thing is the MK19 debut and all the hype it got, gas powered shells and a single inner barrel which doesn’t make any sense but this was talked about in previous years and now gone and silent about it. Just a way to get people talking about Lancer Tactical and it worked but not the best way to do things.
Now this is going to be a HUGE News update for all the Milsim West players and Airsoft Operators in 2022!
Looking online for any stores or Airsoft personalities talking about Valken and could not really find any but this is on their Facebook page in 2022, now.. While all the other Airsoft companies are designing and moving forward with technology and trends Valken is not all. The grip bipod has been around for over 15 years in the Firearms and Airsoft world and never popular. Case in point.
No likes or shares or interaction on their Facebook or booth it seems. Huge investment to attend and promote at SHOTShow with little to no return. Some of their rifles were just a rehash of previous models and one of their M4’s uses an SMG mag or M4 mag since it comes with a sweet custom adapter, looks the same as the M4 to UZI adapter from 10+ years ago. Can’t make this stuff up. They need to stick to the paintball stuff since they are so out of touch and just wasting money at this point.
Written by Brian Holt
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