NASGW, or the National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers, conducts a yearly show that’s much like SHOT, which is a private members-only affair. It’s a bit more back-of-industry focused than SHOT and isn’t a huge media draw. However, every year, they do an award show known as the Caliber Awards, and we’ve brought you the winners of the 2024 NASGW Caliber Awards.
Who Won The NASGW Caliber Awards
Best New Accessory – Caldwell Pullpup
If it didn’t win the best new accessory, it should earn the best name. The Caldwell Pullpup is a clay pigeon thrower that’s vaguely gun-shaped and arguably a bullpup clay launcher. It’s sort of silly but also kind of cool. I’m sure it’s not trap and skeet-approved, but it looks like a ton of fun if you just want to shoot clay pigeons out of the sky.
Best New Ammunition – Hornady .22 ARC
NASGW must have been impressed with Hornady’s new high-powered ARC round. The ARC series is expanding yearly, and the 22 ARC promises to provide .22-250 firepower to an AR-15 platform. It’s a small caliber, long-range, high-performance round that offers sub-1 MOA accuracy through the right rifle.
Best New Handgun – S&W Bodyguard 2.0
I fully agree with NASGW on this pick. The Bodyguard 2.0 is an amazing pistol. It’s extremely small but packs ten rounds of .380 ACP. It doesn’t beat your hand up. It’s super easy to conceal and quite accurate. It signals the rebirth of the .380 ACP pocket pistol.
Best New Optic – Leupold – Mark 4HD
Leupold’s Mark 4HD series is designed to be the top tier of Leupold optics. These are premium-grade optics that provide rock-solid reliability, dependability, and absolute precision. The Mark 4 series comes in various sizes and magnification settings, from 1.5 to 5 to 8 to 32. To be fair, I don’t know much about long-range precision optics, so I’ll take NASGW’s word on this one.
Best New Rifle – Ruger American Rifle Gen 2
The Ruger American series has always offered solid little bolt action rifles produced in America and sold for a very fair price. The Generation 2 models implement cold hammer-forged barrels with spiral flutes and a threaded end, typically equipped with a brake. The stock features a recoil pad that collapses to reduce felt recoil and larger than average bolt knob. It’s coming in all your standard calibers, as well as new options like the aforementioned .22 ARC.
Best New Shotgun – Weatherby SORIX
This year hasn’t been shotgun-heavy. In fact, I can’t name a single new shotgun for 2024. A lot of new shotguns hit the market in 2023, but apparently, the Sorix hit this year. The Weatherby Sorix is a semi-auto, inertia-operated shotgun. It’s a sporting shotgun but features massive, easy-to-operate controls and a cerakote finish. I can’t speak for Wetherby shotguns, so we’ll have to trust NASGW on this one.
Best New Suppressor – Rugged Suppressors SurgeX
I like suppressors, but I’m not an expert in suppressors. However, I do know Rugged Suppressors lives up to its name. They are famed for taking their cans to trade shows, tossing them on an M240, and letting the crowd cook off rounds all day long. The Surge X is a belt-fed rated, .30 caliber suppressor that promises reduced gas blowback and maximum suppression.
Best New Overall Product – Ruger American Rifle Gen 2
I won’t repeat the above, but Ruger got best in show at NASGW. In fact, they also pulled best manufacturer. Ruger certainly showed out at the NASGW caliber awards.
The NASGW Awards
The NASGW awards have been going on for years, but this year was the first I’d paid attention. Admittedly, I’m always wary of awards shows, but when I view their choices, it’s easy to see that NASGW seemingly knows their stuff. However, it’s worth noting that the competitors are all NASGW members, and not every company is a NASGW member.
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