John Johnston is a retired sergeant detective who served with the Austin Police Department for 25 years. He resides in Lampasas County. To contact him by e-mail, please go to olsingleshot@gmail.com. Almost 60,000 retailers attended this year’s Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trade Show, along with 1,900 journalists from around the world. Last year was a recordsetting year for sales of handguns and AR-type rifles. Rifle sales have settled down, but handgun sales remain promising for retailers.

This annual show had quite a few new items, which would take forever to list, so let’s talk about a few that got my attention.

Winchester had its new pump shotgun -- the SXP -- and it looks great but nothing like the old Model 12, plus the SXP is made in Turkey. Some limited versions of the 1894 .30-30 are available to the public. Winchester even put the safety on the tang instead of those ugly crossbolt safeties, however these are being manufactured in Japan. I do not know about you, but I think the Winchester 1894, an American icon, should be made in America. There also were some limited versions of the 1892 models in several small calibers.

COURTESY PHOTOS John Johnston, left, and Chris Hodgden discuss the trend in mixing gunpowder. Glock has done a little redesigning of its basic design. There now is a removable and changeable back strap to accommodate shooters will small hands. The recoil spring will be beefed up -- two springs -- to assist in functioning when using an attached light or laser. Since Glocks are used by 65 percent of all law enforcement agencies in the United States, these changes will keep them in the best-seller column.

The old Ithaca line of shotguns is back and made in this country. My first shotgun was an Ithaca, and the company has been a favorite of mine. The quality is still there, and Ithaca kept the bottom ejection that is favored by both left- and right-handed shooters.

Shown here is the Beretta Kick-Off recoil-reducing system. Redfield scopes have returned under the Leupold banner. They are medium-priced scopes, and the quality appears much as it used to be. They are made overseas but will have the same quality customer care as Leupold products.

I have been attending the SHOT Show for more than 20 years. During that time I have seen different trends in the industry. For a while it was the synthetic stocks, then the matte finishes, then better triggers, and now it seems to be recoil reduction. With Benelli and Thompson Center getting attention for their urethane inserts in both rifle and shotguns, recoil reduction became quite a selling point.

Now Beretta has what it calls the “Kick-Off” system. This is basically two oil-filled shock absorbers built into the butt stock, which Beretta claims reduces recoil by 48 percent.

One thing I enjoy is seeing the entrepreneurs and their new products. One item was a baseballstyle cap with a drop-down face cover. The cover simply folds back into the cap when you put it back on. I have seen similar hats, but this one was quick and easy.

Another innovation was a company making round gun safes out of extruded pipe. With round turntables on ball bearings, the rifles are readily accessible. When the door closed, it was perfectly smooth. One safe was even painted like a shotgun shell.

Ammunition availability is slowly getting back to normal, but .380 remains hard to find. This seems a little strange, since most major pistol companies are making pocket-size .380s.

Hornady is coming out with a line of rifle ammunition that is about 10 percent faster than previous loads without raising the chamber pressure. This is achieved by mixing current powders, thus making their loads proprietary. Sooner or later Hodgdon will come out with a similar powder for reloaders.

With the cost of ammo skyrocketing, reloading is booming. If you can find the components, you can save about 50 percent on your ammunition.

Scopes are about the same, with most manufacturers getting at least their glass from Asian companies. One fairly new line I liked at the show was made by Konus. The glass was exceptionally clear, and it was made to the highest standards of the industry. There will be more about these scopes in my future columns.

AR-type rifles are still in high demand, even though their prices start at $850 and go up to several thousand dollars. All the major companies make a model, with the difference being that the new models are chambered in more traditional calibers for all types of hunting. And hundreds of companies offer accessories for these rifles.

Another item seen in nearly every aisle was a tactical flashlight. Priced from $19.95 to a few hundred dollars, these lights are in demand by law enforcement officers and civilians alike.

I spent three days at the show and saw maybe 60 percent of what was displayed. The shooting, hunting, outdoor trade is indeed alive and well.