It’s that magical time of the year when everyone in the industry decides to fly to Vegas, swap colds and flus, and look over everything coming out in the next year. SHOT Show is defined by miles of aisles, sore feet, and stacks on stacks of steel, polymer, and everything else that goes into making a gun go bang. It does start with a bang, notably Industry Day at the Range, or Range Day.
For the first time in the decade-plus I’ve been coming to SHOT, the weather at Range Day was actually nice. I’ve faced rain, freezing temperatures, and wind that definitely caused me to miss shots. This year it was sunny, clear, and downright beautiful.
After roving, doubling back, and climbing the hill a couple of times, I’ve found five new guns worth bringing to your attention.
Diamondback SDR-A
I wouldn’t call myself a revolver guy, but I would call myself a “sick of semi-auto, striker-fired handguns” guy. The alternative I use to vent my frustration just happens to be revolvers. Diamondback Firearms has been pumping out its SDR line and has seemingly achieved good results.
This year, they unveiled the latest in the lineup, the SDR-A, which stands for aluminum. The gun uses an aluminum frame to reduce weight without inflating cost. With an MSRP of $614, this little 15.6-ounce gun won’t weigh you or your wallet down.
The barrel and cylinder are steel, so no rupture worries. The finish is a glass bead finish with DBGuard to protect the gun from corrosion.
We got to put some lead downrange with the SDR-A, and color me impressed. I expected a lot more recoil, although we were shooting some tame Federal American Eagle 130-grain, so that helps. The gun is double-action only with a 2-inch barrel.
The trigger performed better than I expected from a budget-ready revolver. We get a high-visibility orange front sight and a green rear sight. I was hitting steel targets at 25 yards, and the gun wasn’t beating me up.
The FN 309
The FN 309 was an interesting surprise. It’s FN’s attempt to break into the budget firearms market. The FN 309 isn’t just a cheap 509, but a fairly different gun. Instead of a polymer frame striker-fired gun, it’s a polymer frame SAO hammer-fired gun, much like the FN Reflex series.
The FN 309 doesn’t skimp on modern features. It comes with the MRD system, which specifically allows you to mount optics with Leupold DPP or Shield RMS footprints. The gun has a rail for lights, lasers, and cupholders.
The magazines are new and proprietary, which makes some of you groan, but wait! The magazines have an MSRP of around $20. Yep, that’s it.
The magazines are made entirely of polymer, and the guys at FN assured us they tested the hell out of them to ensure they met FN standards. The trigger is decent—not a refined trigger like a 1911, with a bit of take-up—but overall, it won’t detract from accuracy.
The gun comes in a compact form, roughly the size of a Glock 19, and in terms of recoil and handling, handles a lot like one. It’s easy to rack, the magazines drop free, and the sights share the 509 dovetail, so options exist for those who want to co-witness with their optic.
Steyr ATD and ATC Series
Steyr has always made some interesting guns. The ATD and ATC series isn’t actually made by Steyr; it’s made by Arex in Slovenia, which is now owned by a Czech firm that owns both Arex and Steyr. It’s a bit complicated, but that’s the story.
The ATD and ATC series are similar in some ways, but also different. They are all hammer-fired DA/SA guns with metal frames. The ATC is designed for the competition market and offers models with 5- and 6-inch barrels. The ATD is a simpler design intended for defense and duty, available in standard and comped configurations.
The ATC has a full-steel frame, while the ATD has a lighter aluminum frame. The ATD has two variants: a base model and a ROCK model with a lightened slide. Every model gets options for optics and a rail for an accessory.
I’m a DA/SA nerd and love hammer-fired guns, so you’ll have to deal with my bias. The triggers were outstanding throughout the entire series, with the ATC pulling ahead thanks to its competition design. However, the ATD shot flat and fantastic.
The all-metal long slide of the ATC was great, but the longer 6-inch model’s slide seemed to make the gun dip more when the slide returned to battery. I’m more interested in the ATD models and can’t wait to get more range time with one.
The Alpha Foxtrot Romulus
Alpha Foxtrot joined the 2011 craze a long time ago with the Romulus. At Range Day 2026, they introduced .45 ACP and 10mm variants of the Romulus series guns. These 2011s will use standard 2011 magazines and come with Checkmate mags.
The .45 ACP gives you 11 to 13 rounds, and the 10mm comes with a 15- to 18-round capacity. Like a Southern dinner, they come with all the fixins. It’s optics-ready, it’s railed, and it’s even comped! The guns come with these massive controls; I could set a glass of water on the slide release.
I could make this a bulleted list: it’s got a flat trigger, a massive beavertail, a huge magwell, a grip texture that grips back, and more. How do they shoot? Quite nicely. The 10mm is well-tamed with the comp and makes fast shots easy.
The .45 ACP is even smoother with that push-like recoil. The guns had iron sights, and I was hitting plates at 25-ish yards. It’s tough to say for sure how far they were, but they were far enough for my front sight to cover the entire target.
I’m impressed, and the Alpha Foxtrot 2011s aren’t priced astronomically; hopefully, they’ll be in the same $1,400 range as the 9mm versions.
CZ 75 Pre-B
CZ had a new CZ 75—or rather, an old CZ 75. This year CZ is going old school and making original CZ 75 series guns in the Pre-B configuration. They are going retro to a crazy level.
It’s got the short dust cover, the original hammer and trigger, the original grips, the steel design, and it’s even blued. This Pre-B style CZ 75 even ditches the firing pin block, which cleans up the trigger to a fantastic degree. It’s absurdly nice and smooth, and until now, I didn’t realize what that firing pin block took from me.
It’s old, but fantastic. I’m already a CZ fan, and having the opportunity to own an O.G. style CZ 75 gets me excited. The classic steel, DA/SA design with its fantastic ergonomics and light recoil impulse makes it a blast to shoot.
While I want optics and rails on most of my guns, some are meant to be experienced. The CZ 75 isn’t a Southern dinner, it’s a gun that has me excited. The gun industry is doing a lot of retro re-issues lately, and I’m happy to see it.
Cold Range
My feet hurt, my head hurts, I’m dehydrated, but call me happy. Shooting someone else’s ammo through a variety of guns is enough to remind me of why I suffer through Vegas every year. Range Day gave us a little peek at what’s coming, and I’ve found enough to be excited about.
