SHOT Show 2025 Day Three: The 51st State Shopping List
In yesterday’s end-of-day update, Daniel gave you a pretty good idea of what a TFB writer can expect at SHOT Show, but he didn’t mention one other factor. If you don’t live in a place with gun laws as permissive as the U.S., especially the southwestern U.S., SHOT Show coverage can be a particularly tough gig as you can’t ever expect to personally own a lot of the most interesting firearms. I’m not talking about the belt-fed machine guns or other wacky defense-sector stuff, I’m talking about basic, everyday firearms that y’all take for granted. Pistols. Revolvers. Semi-auto rifles.
As a Professional Hoser, I can still buy a lot of very interesting firearms, stuff that Americans can’t get a sniff at ( Type 81 LMGs and no-stamp short-barrel shotguns for starters). But unless the rules change, I’ll never legally be allowed to buy a decent semi-auto rifle or a modern handgun. Canada’s government has passed laws against most of the modern fun stuff on the civilian market.
But who knows where things are headed—with regime change in the U.S., we’re now hearing talk that Canada is going to become the 51st state, whether we want it or not. I have no comment on that, but this week, I’ve been walking around the show thinking—what would I buy if the laws changed, and I was allowed to buy anything here?
So, here’s my 51st State Shopping List. To be honest, I’d be scared of what might happen if the U.S. absorbed Canada—after a lifetime of wanting to buy forbidden firearms, I’m not sure my wallet could handle the excitement if that actually came true:
Revolvers
A childhood spent reading Rawhide Kid comics left me wanting a cap-and-ball shooting iron, and a centerfire cowboy revolver too. I stopped by the Uberti booth today to check out their lineup. Did I drool? Maybe a little.
But maybe the best idea would be to get something a bit more practical. Something from Ruger, a low-priced .22LR that I could use to plink on the cheap…
Or maybe a carry piece from Charter Arms, capable of switching between calibers? Every time I pick up a Charter Arms revolver, I feel like talking in a hardboiled private eye’s accent, ya see, with nothing but my bean-shooter keeping me safe from a button man who’s been twisted by a mean dame to take me out, ya see….
Uh, maybe, on second thought I should buy something else equally practical but less silly. Something like one of the very cool French forest service surplus Smith and Wessons that Navy has at its booth. What did the French forest service want with revolvers? Were they protecting the country’s cheese reserves? Who knows, but I want one.
This 51st State Shopping List is already getting into some tough choices, and I haven’t even gotten to the more modern handguns yet…
Semi-auto pistols
I’m just gonna say it: I like Kel-Tec’s weirdo pistols. If that’s wrong, then I don’t want to be right. I shot the new PR57 at Range Day and immediately thought: If this was Canada-legal, I’d have one. Maybe two.
And I’m actually pretty keen on the PMR-30, too. I like rimfire handguns, and the idea of having more than half a brick of .22 Magnum handy to deal with a raccoon running from my chicken coop really appeals to me, even if a shotgun makes more sense.
And then there’s the concealed carry pistols. I love concealed carry pistols, whether they’re from Seecamp:
Or North American Arms:
Or even the Browning 1911 clone they make in .380 ACP, which might be my favorite pistol at SHOT Show:
And then there’s the MAK clone of the MP5. Let me just say that while Canadian gun laws are stupid, so are American rules about SBRs, and the fact that y’all can go to jail for slapping an unlicensed stock on one of these firearms is just silly. We don’t have much going for our gun laws in Canuckistan, but at least we don’t make that mistake.
I shot the MAK MP5 clone at Range Day, and liked it so much I had to go to their booth today to see how it felt again.
Fun times. It just needs a stock…
To wrap it all up: To prove I’m a half-responsible adult, I’d have to throw a double-stack 9x19mm 1911 clone into the mix. An affordable one would make me perfectly happy.
This shopping list is already really adding up…
Shotguns
I already have pretty much what I want in the shotgun department, but I must say that Mossberg’s extended-mag snow goose gun would be equally fun on a winter crow hunt.
Rifles
Did I mention I liked the MAK MP5 clone? I believe I did. I’m going to say it again. I am sure the real deal from HK is nicer in every way, but I also believe that I’d be perfectly happy the rest of my life with one of these versions of the platform:
And as for a real rifle, I could happily pick something, anything, from PSA’s wall of fun.
I think the FAL clone from H&R is pretty cool, especially as the original had a long heritage in Canada as our battle rifle through the Cold War era.
And I’m also a sucker for H&R’s vintage ARs.
But honestly, I’d be perfectly happy with a rifle that up until 2020 was perfectly legal in Canada: The Ruger Mini 14 or Mini 30.
I like everything about these old-school semi-autos except the fact that I can’t get one in Canada, and the fact that the price tag would be pretty high even if I could. Ah well.
And one last kick at the can here: Cadex’s big-bore rifle series is actually made in Canada, but not legal to sell there. Go figure. But every time I see one of their offerings at SHOT Show, it makes me want to reject materialism, and embrace anti-materialism.
It’s a completely impractical rifle where I live, since the spruce woods are basically a Canadian version of the jungle. But if I wanted to bag a moose in the next county over, I think this would get the job done…
