April 06, 2012
By Joseph von Benedikt
In less than a week, Smith & Wesson will announce a significant new product. "Shield yourself," hints the teaser on the company's website. I've handled the new gun, and though I signed an iron-clad non-disclosure agreement I can tell you this: It is as big in personality, if not in sheer size, as the oversized M&P model that I'm gripping in this poorly lit, cluttered photo.
The product will be officially announced at the 2012 NRA Show in St. Louis, but at high noon on April 12 -- the day before the show -- the NDA is lifted and we'll post a major first look at the gun on Shooting Times, which will be followed by an in-depth shooting review in the August issue of the magazine.
Joseph von Benedikt
Raised in a tiny Rocky Mountain town 100 miles from a stoplight or supermarket, Joseph von Benedikt began shooting competitively at age 14, gunsmithing at age 21, and guiding big game hunters professionally at age 23. While studying creative writing at the university he began publishing articles about firearms and hunting in nationally distributed magazines, as well as works of short fiction about ranch life. An editorial job offer presented an open door into the industry, along with an eye-opening two years stationed in the Petersen Publishing building in Los Angeles.
A position serving as Editor in Chief of Shooting Times magazine took von Benedikt and his young family to Illinois for four years. Homesick for the great Rocky Mountains, von Benedikt swapped his editorial seat for a position as a full-time writer and moved home to the West, where he's been writing full-time ever since, along with hosting the Backcountry Hunting Podcast.
Favorite pursuits include high-country elk and mule deer hunting, safaris in Africa, deep wilderness hunts in Alaska, and wandering old-growth forest in Europe for stag, roebuck, and wild boar.
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