Best. Year. Ever!

How do you know it's the best year ever? It's when company after company rolls out guns you can't wait to shoot and optics you've just gotta see to believe. We'll be reviewing some of these in more detail in the coming months, but if you can't wait, you can see them all under one roof at this year's NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits, May 14-17, in Phoenix, Ariz.

By NRA Staff

Best. Guns. Ever!

Airforce Airguns' Edge .177 air rifle, designed for the Sporter Class of NRA 3-Position air rifle competition, now features the firm's TS1 Adaptive Airgun Target Sight, which is a new universal diopter unit that provides maximum precision, ease of use and a huge range of vertical adjustment at an affordable price. The sight is adaptable to most air guns with a standard 11mm mount base. www.airforceairguns.com

Browning has a new 12-gauge, 3-inch and 3 ½-inch semi-auto shotgun, the Maxus. The Maxus is all about the numbers: 18 percent less felt recoil; 44 percent less muzzle jump; 19 percent faster bolt speed; and 24 percent faster lock time. And thanks to its synthetic stock and aluminum receiver, the modern-looking Maxus weighs in at under 7 pounds. Its all-new Power Drive gas system is sealed against the elements and is said to function reliably with both light and heavy loads. Along with a choice of 26-inch or 28-inch barrels, a Vector Pro lengthened forcing cone, Invector-Plus choke tubes and Speed Load plus loading, Maxus offers a patented Turnkey magazine plug removal system and Browning's Dura-Touch coating in both black Stalker and Mossy Oak Duck Blind camo finishes.
Also new from Browning is the Growth Insurance Program. For a limited time, if you buy one of Browning's selection of compact model shotguns, you'll be eligible to purchase a full-size stock later on at 50 percent off. This offer includes the Micro BT-99, Silver Micro Sporting, BPS Micro Trap and BPS Micro Field. www.browning.com

Crosman welcomes the cool new Marauder to their lineup of pre-charged pneumatic air rifles. With an auto-indexing circular 10-round clip, built-in pressure gauge and adjustable match-grade trigger, the Marauder launches .22 pellets at 1,000 feet per second (fps) and . 177 pellets at 1,100 fps. A choked and internally shrouded barrel gives improved accuracy and super-quiet shots. An attractive hardwood stock with ambidextrous raised comb and custom checkering keep it stylish. www.crosman.com

CVA's new APEX interchangeable-barrel rifle duplicates the aesthetic and ergonomic features of the best European high-grade single-shots. Stainless steel and fluted Bergara barrel options are available in 13 chamberings, including muzzleloader, centerfire and rimfire. www.cva.com

DPMS is offering the new REPR, a precision .308 Win. semi-automatic AR-pattern rifle originally developed for military trials. But this version is legal for civilians in most areas, and boy, does it look cool: The coyote-brown-coated rifle features a Magpul adjustable buttstock, a four-rail, free-floated aluminum fore-end, a "Remonite" barrel coating claimed to drastically increase barrel life and a patent-pending "Ventilator" gas redirecting system for cleaner running. www.dpmsinc.com

GAMO's Shadow Express .22 cal. air rifle/air shotgun combo shoots either pellets or shotshells, which makes it great for small game at medium to close range. Features include a bull barrel with full vent rib, two-stage adjustable trigger and twin cheek pads for ambidextrous use. The P-23 CO2 semi-auto air pistol looks similar to a classic Walther PPK/S. It touts a velocity of 400 fps and fires 12 shots in 2.4 seconds. www.gamousa.com

Henry Repeating Arms Co. is offering the Lincoln Bicentennial Tribute Golden Boy rifle commemorating the birth of Abraham Lincoln. The .22 LR rifle features an engraved cameo portrait of Lincoln on the receiver and a replica image of the Lincoln Memorial on the American walnut stock. Also new from Henry is the Boy Scouts of America Centennial Edition licensed Golden Boy rifle celebrating the Scouts' 100th anniversary in 2010. The .22 LR rifle features the Scout oath, law, logo and more on its receiver, buttstock and fore-end. www.henryrepeating.com

Kimber's latest addition to their family of 84M rifles includes the Classic Stainless, with an attractive walnut stock and stainless barrel, available in .243 Win., 7mm-08 Rem. and .308 Win. This year also brings a new chambering for the Classic 84M—.223 Rem. www.kimberamerica.com

Knight Rifles' interchangeable KP1 line now includes the tip-up centerfire Wurfflein rifle in .45-70 Gov't and .444 Marlin. It features a 24-inch Green Mountain barrel and is available with both laminate and composite stocks. www.knightrifles.com

Marlin, building on its popular XL7 line of bolt-action rifles, is offering a new XS7 line of short-action rifles chambered in .243 Win., 7 mm-08 Rem. and .308 Win. These are offered in compact stock sizes, which is an exciting development for youth! Look for models with both black and RealTree camo stocks. Marlin's also introduced two new rifles, the blue steel and walnut-stocked Model 338MX and stainless Model 338MXLR with a gray/black laminated stock set, that chamber an all-new round: the .338 Marlin Express. Marlin reports that they're getting .30-06 Sprg. performance out of the new chambering! Also new is the Model 925RM, an affordably priced .22 WMR bolt-action rifle with a black synthetic stock and a 22-inch barrel. www.marlinfirearms.com

Mossberg is offering new shotguns for turkey hunters: the Model 935 Magnum Turkey Gun and Model 930 Turkey Gun. Both are equipped with pistol-grip stocks. www.mossberg.com

Remington debuted its R-15 AR-pattern rifle chambered in the intriguing new .30 Remington AR cartridge. It's designed to offer .30-cal. performance from a standard-size AR platform. The rifle sports full-coverage camouflage, a free-floated 22-inch barrel and a single-stack, four-round magazine. Also, the .223 Rem. R-15 VTR line has been expanded with a Stainless Varminter version sporting a 24-inch triangular-pattern barrel and a Thumbhole Varminter with a Bell & Carlson stock. Also new is the Xtreme Hunting Rifle (XHR) series designed for big-game hunting with a magnum-contour barrel and synthetic stocks in RealTree patterns and Hogue rubberized grip panels. Chamberings range from .243 Win. to .300 Rem. Ultra Mag.
Remington is expanding its shotgun line and offering an interesting new slide-action shotgun, the Model 887. The 3½-inch-chambered 12-gauge shotgun features an innovative "ArmorLokt" polymer overmold on its steel parts for weather resistance—and a very cool, futuristic look.
Best of all, Remington is coming out with more guns geared toward those of smaller stature, including a "Compact" Model 870 and 11-87 variants that feature a length-of-pull adjustment system. www.remington.com

Rossi brings the fun with its new Tuffy, a single-shot .410 shotgun. At 3 pounds, the diminutive Tuffy is perfect for even the youngest shooters with its thumbhole stock grip and safety features (including the Taurus Security System). Even cooler, you can safely store up to five shells in its buttstock. Just open the neat little hinged door and pop ‘em in! Rossi's also offering its Matched Pair youth line with laminate stock sets in .410/.22 LR and 20-gauge/.22 LR combos. The Trifecta youth line has been expanded to include laminate stocks in your choice of three different colors. www.rossiusa.com

Savage's AccuTrigger has influenced trigger designs all over the gun industry and now its Accustock is destined to do the same thing for stocks. The AccuStock uses an aluminum spine and 3D Bedding Cradle molded into a composite stock. The result is a polymer composite stock that possesses many of the same properties of high-end aftermarket stocks on a production rifle. The AccuStock is said to facilitate more consistent accuracy in two ways: by increasing rigidity and by giving three-dimensional bedding pressure.
If you're a southpaw in need of a compact rifle, Savage saves the day with its new 11FLYXP3-Youth left-hand centerfire package rifle and its MARK II-GLY Youth left-hand, a target rimfire. These bolt-action shooters offer everything you expect from a Savage, including awesome accuracy and the Savage AccuTrigger. The centerfire comes complete with mounted scope and is available in .243 Win., 7mm-08 Rem., .223 Rem. and .308 Win.; the rimfire is chambered in .22. Keep an eye out for later in '09, when a scaled-down version of the Milano over/under shotgun will be available. www.savagearms.com

Stoeger launches an all-new lineup of .177-caliber air rifles, dubbed the X Series. Check out page 18 for a full review of the Stoeger X20! www.stoegerairguns.com

Thompson/Center Arms now offers the Icon Precision Hunter, an upgraded ver-sion of the company's bolt-action Icon rifle that includes a bedded action and match-grade barrel. T/C also adds a new bolt-action rifle, the Venture, inten-ded to offer quality performance to budget-minded shooters. www.tcarms.com

Traditions adds the Outfitter, a muzzleloader/shotgun/rifle that converts between platforms with the removal of a screw; the Vortek, an overmolded muzzleloader design with detachable trigger group and stainless steel barrel; the LT Accelerator, which pairs the company's Accelerator Breech Plug with the Pursuit LT muzzleloader; and the Buckstalker, a break-action in-line with good features for the money. www.traditionsfirearms.com

Best. Optics. Ever!

Using Nikon's new Monarch X binocular is one way to spot the latest guns and gear.

Cabelas' Slugger EXT Shotgun Scope is calibrated to compensate for bullet drop out to 200 yards. Just sight-in the main reticle at 50 yards and the other reticle aiming points will match slug drop at 100, 150 and 200 yards. The Cabela's EXT bullet drop reticle is specifically designed for use with Hornady's SST slugs (for fully rifled barrels only). www.cabelas.com

Crimson Trace, best known for its laser-equipped handgun stocks, now has a modular vertical foregrip for rifles that combines a red laser and a white light. The MVF-515s contain an activation switch on each side that controls the light and the laser independently. You'll be surprised at what a great learning tool a laser sight is when you use it to train with your rifle! www.crimsontrace.com

Nikon is offering the Coyote Special line of riflescopes, designed for predator hunting and featuring Nikon's BDC predator hunting reticle (it utilizes ballistic circles that make shots on a moving target simpler). New in its muzzleloading riflescope line is the Omega 1.65-5X36mm riflescope with a reticle calibrated for ballistic-tipped sabot muzzleloader bullets. In binoculars, Nikon is offering the Monarch X binocular, available in either 10.5X45mm and 8.5X45mm versions. The binocular features fully multi-coated optics and a water- and fog-resistant design—our cover model, Lauren, managed to score one (see photo at left)! www.nikonsportoptics.com

Zeiss introduces two Victory Diavari riflescopes with reticle options in the second focal plane, which means the reticle will not increase in size as magnification is increased. www.zeiss.com/sports