For the upcoming hunting and shooting seasons, there has been a plethora of new products that debuted last month at the Archery Trade Association show (ATA) held in Indiana and the Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Show (SHOT) in Las Vegas, that should piqued the interest of hunters and shooters.

From the ATA show, Rick Weaknecht, from Weaknecht Archery in Kutztown who attended the show, said there were only a few major announcements in equipment as most companies have essentially refined existing products. But he said the big news is that Horton Crossbows is back in business as certain parts of their bankrupt business was bought by 10-Point Archery.

Horton's new crossbow, named Storm RDX, is a reverse limb draw bow that has a speed of 370 fps with a 400-grain bolt, weighs 7.7 pounds and has a 10-inch axle-axle width when cocked. It's hard-hitting with 122 ft/lbs of kinetic energy and comes with an intact cranking mechanism that 10-Point uses on some of their other crossbows.

Barnett, said Weaknecht, debuted their BC Rage crossbow that weighs a mere 6.5 pounds with a 330 fps speed and kinetic energy rating of 97, but no built-in cranker. It's favorably light, easy to shoot and carry.

For compound bows, Weaknecht said Bowtech's new Prodigy is their top-line compound vertical bow that has three unique draw force settings that can be adjustable without a bow press. Their "PowerDisc" allows for a Power Setting for maximum speed and knock-down power; a Classic Setting for a hard-hitting yet smooth draw that is ideal for treestand or ground blind hunting; and Comfort Setting for a smooth-as-silk draw when frigid temperatures make drawing tough. The bow measures 32 inches axle-axle, shoots at 343 fps, has a 7-inch brace height and an 80 percent let-off. It's a premium bow with a premium price.

As for sights, Weaknecht said single pin sights are in and becoming more popular. And Montana Black Gold seemed to draw the most interest at the show. With one pin, effective yardages can range from 5 to 30 yards, the yardages most deer are ethically shot.

For arrow rests, Ripcord drew the most attention and for broadheads Rage's new Trophy Taker (3-pack, $100) features a single stainless shaft and stainless blade that slips through the ferrule and locks into place creating a 4-blade, 1 1/8 or 1 3/8-inch diameter cut-on-contact head.

At the SHOT show, handguns, rifles, shotguns and suppressors were in demand by retailers.

As for handguns, Ruger's hot selling 9mm LC9 polymer pocket size semi-auto pistol is now available with a redesigned trigger mechanism providing striker-fired action (ala Glock) with a lighter trigger pull than the original LC9 that was hammer fired. That, plus their LCP Custom is a refined version of their top selling .380 LCP that now features a wide, anodized aluminum, skeletonized trigger, stainless guide rod and dovetailed rear sight and photo luminescent front dot sight.

Glock came out with a competition, single stack 9mm semi-auto with red dot sights (Modular Optics Systems – MOS) plus a G40 10mm MOS Hunter. Sig Sauer too introduced their P320 Modular handgun with customizable handgrips (similar to their P250 line) and suppressors for rimfire, centerfire and rifles up to .338 Lapua Magnum.

Several new shotguns were introduced by a variety of gun makers but the most notable and affordable was an over-and-under from Savage Arms. Their Stevens 555 is a quality over-under offered in 12 and 20 gauge with lightweight aluminum receiver with reinforced steel inserts. The 12 ga. has a 28-inch barrel whereas the 20 has a 26-inch barrel. With chrome-lined barrels, the 12 ga. weighs a mere 6 pounds while the 20 clocks in at 5.5 pounds. And get this. It's priced at a reasonable $692 MSRP. Most over-under's typically cost anywhere from $1,000 to over $5,000.

As for rifles, Ruger's American Rifle-Predator bolt action comes in 204 Ruger, 22.250 Rem, .223 Rem, .243 Win., 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 Win. It's already set up for a scope and has a lightweight trigger. A good choice for coyote hunting.

And lastly, ammo. Most notable was Winchester's Deer Season XP developed especially for deer hunting. It uses a large diameter polymer tip for optimum expansion and enhanced downrange performance and is offered in seven calibers.

While there are more items to list, these are the most prominent for 2015. To check them out, merely go online with the name of the company and add .com and it should come up.