Every year, SHOT Show serves as a litmus test for the firearms industry. Sometimes, it’s about revolutionary new tech (remember the early days of micro-compacts?), and other times, it’s about refinement. SHOT Show 2026 feels distinctly like the latter – a year where “good enough” is no longer acceptable and manufacturers are obsessively tuning recoil, capacity, and materials to squeeze out every ounce of performance. Now, let’s take a closer look at some of the new pistols of SHOT Show 2026 that you might want to consider buying this year.
Kel-Tec PR 380
Kel-Tec keeps things weird, and we love them for it. The PR 380 is a spiritual successor to the discontinued P3AT (the smallest, lightest 380 ever made) but the new pistol uses a rotating barrel to manage recoil.
The PR-3AT 380 uses an internal magazine fed by stripper clips allowing the grip to remain impossibly thin while holding 11+1 / 13+1 rounds. Reloading with stripper clips is slower than swapping a mag, but it’s faster than loading a revolver. And honestly, with 11 rounds, you probably won’t need a speed reload in most defensive scenarios anyway.
MSRP: $399.99
Beretta B-22 Jaguar
Beretta has been leaning hard into their heritage lately, but the B-22 Jaguar is a whole other story – though it joins the Bobcat and Cheetah in the “Cat” series, unlike those pocket-sized carry pistols, the Jaguar is a purpose-built competition-ready 22LR pistol.
To build this handgun, Beretta collaborated with TandemKross. Usually, you have to buy a base gun and spend hundreds on aftermarket parts to get it race-ready. The B-22 isn’t the case. It sports a Steam Demon compensator and Accelerator thumb ledge right out of the box. Plus, it features an aluminum frame (the gun is incredibly light at 26 oz), a slide with M-LOK slots, and 5.25-inch threaded barrel.
MSRP: $749 – $969
Canik MC9 Prime Radian
With MC9 Prime Radian, Canik drastically improved the MC9. Partnering with Radian for an Afterburner compensator and backstrap upgrades took a “decent” micro-compact and turned it into a real flat shooter that you actually want to shoot all day. The difference in recoil is night and day. The trigger remains the best in its class.
FN 309 MRD
FN usually charges a premium, but the 309 is aimed squarely at the budget-conscious market ($549). It’s an internal hammer-fired gun, which usually means a smoother slide rack and a crisp trigger. The pistol features a direct‑mount MRD setup (RMS/DeltaPoint style) appreciated for simplicity. The 309 MRD isn’t revolutionary, but it brings FN reliability to a Glock price point.
MSRP: $549
Taurus TX9
Taurus took their wildly successful TX22 rimfire platform and upscaled it to 9mm. Reviewers are calling it a legit, duty‑grade pistol with a genuinely good ~5.5 lb trigger. It uses a chassis system like the P320, so it’s one more modular pistol on the market. If it proves as reliable as the rimfire version, this could be the budget sleeper of the year.
MSRP: $499.99
Springfield Echelon 4.0FC
Springfield released the Echelon 4.0FC, finally giving us a crossover size – compact 4″ slide with full‑size grip and duty‑length mags – for their modular COG chassis system. It’s the configuration most shooters actually prefer for duty and carry use.
MSRP: $710 – $832
Staccato HD C4X
Staccato continues to dominate the duty/carry 2011 space. The Staccato HD C4X is essentially a race gun built for concealed carry, roughly the size of a Glock 19. It pairs a compact slide/grip with an integrated compensator. It uses Glock-pattern magazines, which is a massive logistical win for law enforcement and civilians alike who already have stacks of PMAGs.
MSRP: $3,499
Smith & Wesson Night Guard & 686 Spec Series
The S&W Night Guard Series (specifically the Model 386 and 396) answers a very specific question: How do you carry a powerful revolver all day without it pulling your pants down? The answer is Scandium – it keeps these L-frame revolvers surprisingly light. Moreover, they pack 7 rounds of .357 Magnum or 5 rounds of .44 Special. The addition of usable night sights makes them more viable for low-light defense, a traditional weak point for revolvers.
MSRP: $1,239 – $1,329
S&W also introduced the 686 Plus Spec Series R Model – this is heavy metal. It features a moon‑clip‑ready 7-shot .357 cylinder along with a 4-inch barrel and a single-port compensator. It also features the factory-mounted Aimpoint ACRO.
MSRP: $1,999
Smith & Wesson M&P Competitor HD & M&P Carry Comp 10mm
They have fully embraced the compensator trend across their entire line. The M&P 9 M2.0 Competition HD is a statement piece. It’s an aluminum-framed race gun that manages to keep the balance familiar to their polymer lines, yet offers the stability you want in a competition shooter. It comes decked out with a spiral fluted barrel, a huge flared magwell, and a compensator right on the end. The ergonomics are fantastic, with an aggressive grip texture that locks into your hand. The gun ships with four magazines in the box.
MSRP: $1,299
But the real sleeper hit might be the M&P 10mm Carry Comp. 10mm is a fantastic caliber that is often miserable to shoot in a polymer handgun. By adding a compensator to the carry model, S&W has tamed the beast, making full-power loads manageable for rapid fire.
MSRP: $799
CZ 75 Legend
CZ went pure nostalgia with the CZ 75 Legend. No firing pin block, no accessory rail, no optics cut, just classic lines and that sweet, uninterrupted trigger pull. It’s a reminder that sometimes, you don’t need technology; you just need great geometry.
MSRP: $1,399
Glock Gen 6 ACRO
At the end of 2025, Glock made headlines with dramatic portfolio optimization and introduction of new series – the Glock V legacy lineup and, unexpectedly, the Glock Gen 6. If you read our overview, you know that the Gen 6 isn’t about a revolution but rather refinement. Glock improved the ergonomics and aesthetic, made the trigger break cleaner, introduced the new optics system instead of MOS, and made several internal changes to make the gun simpler. But essentially it’s the same reliable utilitarian pistol.
At SHOT Show 2026, the headline feature wasn’t the gun itself, but a native ACRO footprint. No more plates for the ACRO users means a lower bore axis and fewer failure points.
MSRP: from $745
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