The British Shooting Show 2025: The Aftermath

Yes, we're back from the British Shooting Show, and it feels like we’ve been hit by a bus. Bear in mind, we started setting up on Tuesday, didn’t get everything back to the warehouse until yesterday, and have endured a full week of early mornings, late nights, and enough logistical chaos to rival Eurovision… with nearly as many divas. Now that we’ve fully descended into madness (just ask David from EPIC what he witnessed on our stand), we can finally bring you our official post-show report.

The Industry Round-Up

Unlike previous years, we’re not doing a full breakdown of all the new releases—mainly because there weren’t many.

That said, here’s a quick rundown:

Daystate’s new rifle - The new Blackwolf has received online notoriety for its somewhat inspired design and has been showered with praise by the Daystate faithful.

Weihrauch launched a junior springer - The HW30 JUNIOR has been released at BSS2025 though we were hoping for a revised lightweight bullpup PCP to replace the HW100BP.

FX showed off the DRS Tactical, after having its release at the SHOT Show this Tactical variant is based on the gun they released last year.

Night vision brands including Pulsar, Pixfra and DNT have brought the usual annual releases with various upgrades across various models.

Theoben is "back"—or at least, RAW has slapped the name and the "Rapid" moniker on a new platform with a stunning stock and side lever. Time will tell if it lives up to its legendary predecessors.

UMAREX revealed the T4E TC68 - A mag-fed training gun that runs on CO2 or HPA for semi-auto fun, and it looks the part. Hopefully, it doesn’t ruffle too many feathers with the UK’s firearms laws, but given that their other T4E models have made it through just fine, we’re optimistic.

RTI revealed the Mora (Nightmare)—a beastly rifle for FAC owners. No word on a sub-12 version yet, but the demand for non-FAC airguns may force their hand.

The Real Star of the Show?

Ironically, the busiest stand wasn’t a gun brand at all—it was YETI. Yep, the coolers. We get it, though. Even we caved and grabbed some while you lot weren’t allowed in. 🤣

Meanwhile, plenty of retailers used the event to clear old stock. Can’t blame them—manufacturers and suppliers keep churning out slightly tweaked versions of existing models, making older stock less desirable. If an MK2 exists, no one wants an MK1 unless it’s dirt cheap or second-hand. This problem plagues every industry, and airguns are no exception.

Of course, if you’re hoping for actual innovation, IWA in Germany is where the real action happens. The UK market remains under the elitist, tweed-clad stranglehold of certain old-guard forces who make sure that if a gun isn’t made in Birmingham or Bolton, it isn’t worth looking at.

How Did We Do?

If you followed our social media, you might’ve noticed a trend—our non-domestic brands flew off the shelves like never before.

For clarity:

• Domestic brands (to us) = Airguns and accessories made or distributed within the UK by the big-name wholesalers. These are the brands you’ll find in most UK gun shops, including BSA, Gamo, SMK, and Walther (Umarex UK).

• Non-domestic brands (our imports) = The products we import directly from manufacturers overseas, cutting out the middlemen. These include EPIC Airguns, KalibrGun, AGT, Vector Optics, NateChrony, and APOLLO.

This year, our imported brands outsold domestic stock by a significant margin. That doesn’t mean the old favourites didn’t move—especially the best-value options—but the shift in buyer preference was hard to ignore.

And the Winners Are...

🏆 Best-Selling Non-Domestic Airgun: AGT Vixen Enhanced / EPIC TWO 300 CFB Klinsky

These two rifles sold in equal amounts over the show, so it’s only fair they both share the spotlight.

AGT Vixen Enhanced – This is our version of the Vixen, with tweaks and refinements we pioneered. It’s safe to say we’ve successfully converted a lot of shooters to our way of thinking, even if it’s ruffled a few feathers in the usual Facebook groups. But as we always say—publicity is publicity, and our service speaks for itself. People keep coming back, and that tells you everything. If you’re on the fence, just remember: you only ever hear complaints from those who like to moan. The happy ones just enjoy their rifles in peace.

EPIC TWO 300 CFB Klinsky – Already a firm favourite among our staff, this rifle blends pinpoint accuracy with modern styling and a surprisingly accessible price point. It’s a benchrest-capable airgun that doesn’t require a second mortgage, and judging by the show, plenty of you agreed. The stunning Klinsky stock definitely helped, and for those who want the folding target stock—it’s coming soon!

🏆 Best-Selling Domestic Air Rifle: Walther Reign M2

A lot of you asked if we had the price wrong on this. We didn’t. We just had a great deal with Umarex, since we’ve been championing the Reign as the best air rifle under £1000 for three years now. Maybe it’s finally sunk in!

If you want:

✔️ Accuracy

✔️ Great shot count

✔️ A side lever that can be swapped

✔️ A solid magazine with a single-shot option

There’s nothing else in this price range that ticks all those boxes.

🏆 Best-Selling Domestic Air Pistol: Gletcher NGT Revolver

We knew this was special when we reviewed it on the blog, and clearly, so did you. We took a risk dedicating so much stand space to these, but it paid off. Loads of you snapped up these gorgeous, historic little revolvers.

🏆 Best-Selling Scope: Vector Optics Taurus Compact 6-24x44 FFP

No surprises here. While the cheaper Veyrons were available, most of you ignored the price tags and picked up the scopes for a proper look. Once you saw where the extra money went, you made your choice. The 34mm tube makes all the difference—let’s face it, 1” tubes are dead.

🏆 Best-Selling Red Dot: Vector Optics VictOptics SPX Picatinny

The ongoing Dovetail vs. Picatinny debate continues, but sales tell the story—Picatinny outsold Dovetail nearly 2:1. The industry is moving on, and it seems most of you are too.

🏆 Best-Selling Accessory: APOLLO PMC Gun Bag

We knew these would sell well. We didn’t realise how well. The price-to-performance ratio was unbeatable, and by Saturday, we’d sold out of some options completely.

🔫 Most Shot Gun on the Range: KalibrGun Snipe 2

Luke on the range tracked the numbers, and the Snipe 2 had nearly 13% more mags through it than the next most-used rifle (the URAGAN 3). We sold out early, so lesson learned—next time, we bring more!

🎯 Most Consecutive Rings of Foz’s Bell (Most Accurate on the Range): KalibrGun Cricket 2 Smooth

An impromptu award, but an impressive feat nonetheless—one shooter emptied a full 14-round mag into Foz’s bell without a single miss. We didn’t catch your name, but well done!

📆 Most Popular Sales Day: Saturday

Our busiest day in terms of footfall and sales.

🔍 Most Popular Category of Item Bought: Scopes

No surprises here—most of you made a beeline for our optics deals, and very few of you left empty-handed.

🎯 Busiest Day on the Range: Friday

Day one saw the biggest rush to try the AGT URAGAN 3—being the only one available on the entire range meant it was in high demand. It held the top spot until the Snipe 2 overtook it later in the weekend.

🤣 Surprise of the Show: Luke and Karl getting covered in black barn paint

Someone ran over a full can of black barn paint during breakdown—ten minutes before we had to leave. Absolute chaos...

That’s a wrap on BSS 2025! Thanks to everyone who stopped by, had a go on the range and bought from us. Now, we’re going to sleep for a week. 🛌💀

What did you think of the show? Let us know in the comments—especially if you got your hands on one of our best-sellers!