But what about last year’s Dealers’ Picks? Here’s an update on selected Dealers’ Picks from SHOT Show ’06, with some comments on what they’ve been doing — instead of snoozing — and how they can boost your sales!

Cor-Bon Ammunition’s President Peter Pi and National Sales Manager Mike Shovel were so busy taking orders when SI stopped by their SHOT Show booth to ask about new loads and calibers that they both did double-takes, just staring at each other for a moment. Then they laughed, grabbed two “bullet-boards” full of mounted samples and said, “Here! These are all new — take your pick!”

Cor-Bon’s biggest hit is undoubtedly their DPX (Deep Penetrating-X) line, which fires a solid-copper, heat-treated Barnes-X slug with a deep hollow cavity at high velocity, typically retaining 100 percent of its weight, while punching through most barrier materials and opening massive wound channels. DPX handgun rounds have proven popular with law enforcement and personal-defense shooters, while DPX rifle loads are scoring huge sales to big-game hunters.

“The DPX round is proof that demanding buyers will pay a premium for superior accuracy and terminal performance,” Pi said. Check out all the calibers at www.corbon.com.

Spyderco Knives has a simple formula for success: Keep improving your classics and keep coming up with exciting, new designs. Since SHOT ’06, they’ve introduced 27 new designs and expanded the bargain-priced Byrd line by seven models.

The original Endura and Delica folders are now in their fourth generation, retaining the balance and blade profiles that made them famous, while upgrading materials, grip textures and colors. These two models are so popular with U.S. Army troops that military officials asked Spyderco to make them with handle scales in “foliage green” to complement the latest ARPAT camouflage.

New models are typified by the Captain, a “mid-sized monster” with a radical, re-curved blade secured by a Walker LinerLock and sure-grip G-10 handle scales. To place your first order, go to www.spyderco.com and pull down “Dealer Contact” under the Spyderco tab.

Crimson Trace Corp. (CTC) had a banner year, bringing out several new models, including Lasergrips for the hot-selling Smith & Wesson M&P pistol and small-frame Taurus revolvers. The company also improved established models with even stronger, more comfortable and user-friendly configurations.

CTC also has gone beyond “basic black,” with finishes like handsome Burlwood and digital camouflage. Dealers should keep in mind that Crimson Trace Lasergrips are available at reduced cost as OEM options on Beretta, SIG Sauer, Ruger, Nighthawk Custom, Smith & Wesson, Kimber, CZ, Taurus and Wilson Combat handguns — meaning lower price-points and increased margins.

Go to www.crimsontrace.com, pull down “Support” and click on “Dealer Support” for a nationwide list of CTC distributors, from A-for-AcuSport to Z-for-Zanders.

Cylinder & Slide is a lot more than world-class pistolsmithing by “The Famous Moustache” Bill Laughridge and his crew. For knowledgeable dealers, it’s always a source for the best-quality parts and accessories you can’t find anywhere else. Bill was curling the ends of that moustache and smiling when he showed off his new front- and rear-sight sets with fiber-optic inserts for Smith & Wesson K-, L- and N-frame adjustable-sight revolvers with pin-on front sights. Each set comes with both green and red fiber-optic rods so the dealer or user can select colors according to their individual tastes and needs.

Bill always seems to be running across things like this: He recently acquired a bunch of Browning Hi Powers made special for the Belgian police — with factory lightweight alloy frames! They are perhaps the only factory-made alloy-framed Hi Powers in existence, and Bill has completely disassembled and rebuilt them for your discerning collector-customers. You can view them at www.cylinder-slide.com — but not for long!

SureFire listened when customers said they didn’t always need blinding tactical light, but they still wanted high-quality and reliability. They also wanted longer burn times on batteries — in flashlights for routine daily and outdoor use.

“So, we took all the engineering and development that went into building the world’s finest tactical lights and applied it to our new Outdoorsman series — our E1L and E2L LED lights,” explained Derek McDonald, SureFire’s VP of marketing.

“The users are giving them high marks,” added Francisco Palop, sales VP. “The Outdoorsman’s slightly lower lumen levels give plenty of light for almost any use, but battery life has been boosted to four hours on the ultra-compact E1L and six hours on the E2L. Combining tactical-light quality and toughness with savings on batteries sure makes my job selling them easier!”

Look for more diversification in SureFire’s future products and view all of the current models at www.surefire.com.

Black Hills Ammunition started out strong producing law-enforcement loads. The company went on to become the exclusive provider of precision and match ammunition for the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines, and, as owners Jeff and Kristi Hoffman told SI, “We’re just as pleased with the acceptance of our cowboy-action ammunition. The cowboy shooters are fine people and we’re devoted to giving them the finest ammo.”

“Acceptance” isn’t nearly strong enough, however. “Zealous enthusiasm” would be more accurate in describing shooters’ reaction to Black Hills’ cowboy loads. Applying the same high-quality control as found in their Black Hills Gold line, they offer “all the usual cowboy calibers,” plus harder-to-find rounds like .32-20, .38-40, .45 Schofield and .38-55. Old West packaging and buyer-friendly price tags help sales mosey right along, too. Check them out at www.black-hills.com.

Fobus Holsters continues improving the fit, finish and combat-proven durability of its precision-molded polymer holsters and magazine pouches, while keeping prices in the “any-customer-can” range. Their newest model, the Evolution 2 Series, features an added tension-adjustment screw to the built-in passive-retention system. This allows users to custom-tune the holster for ease of presentation or increased retention pressure, while staying within the safe limits engineered into the basic design.

Evolution 2 Series holsters are already available for most popular handguns in belt slot and paddle versions and standard or Roto-Holster variants. Orders are shipped free by First Class USPS mail. To start stocking Fobus, go to www.fobusholster.com and click on “Dealer Sign Up.”

Al Mar Knives doesn’t come out with many new models each year, but when they arrive, you can bet they’ll be perfect — elegant and aggressive: art with a razor edge. That describes the two new fixed-blade models: the straight-edged Back Up 1 and the downswept, hawkbill-bladed Back Up 2, designed by Kirk Rexroat. Both are minimalist designs with all a user needs and nothing he doesn’t. Also new for 2007 is a compact version of the SERE folder, a longtime favorite of police and military personnel, but in a handier daily-carry size.

All three show CEO Gary Fadden’s passion for clean lines, hand-finished edges and the finest materials. They are collector-quality in fine limited-production knives. Al Mar knife owners have a reputation for repeat purchases. Start cashing in on that at www.almarknives.com.