The Shooting, Hunting & Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show ended in Las Vegas. My contacts in the industry generally share a gloomy outlook for the gun business in 2010, although there are several significant bright spots.

“The high-end optics business is hurting, no question about it,” said one marketer with considerable experience selling the three biggest European riflescope brands.

Before the SHOT Show even got underway, Zeiss recently announced a price reduction on their best-selling Conquest 3-9x40 mm to $399. It was formerly $499.

One of the most promising segments is in handguns, namely the .380 concealed carry pistol. Smith & Wesson introduced a new Bodyguard model that comes with an integral laser sight from Insight Technology.

When I asked a Smith & Wesson insider if he anticipated as many orders as the Ruger LCP garnered on its debut—in excess of 70,000 guns were bought during the SHOT Show when it was released—his one word answer was, “More.”

Confirming the .380 pocket pistol’s red-hot status, a highly placed source at Hornady told me that .380 ACP is the one cartridge that they simply can’t keep up with.

Overall, however, industry executives are resigned to a flat 2010. The pushed-forward demand that drove up sales, in what industry wags sarcastically refer to as “Obama’s stimulus package” for the gun business, is over.

Some of the highlights from the show that caught my eye:

• A new double rifle from EAA, made in Italy, that has all the hallmarks of a classic African safari rifle… for under $4,000. The entire production run of about 500 guns was gobbled up by Cabela’s.

• Smith & Wesson’s radical new Bodyguard revolver with a totally new lockwork, including a cylinder latch on top of the backstrap.

• LWRC’s new Rapid Engagement Precision Rifle (REPR), a .308 Win. semi-auto along the lines of the Armalite AR-10 or Knight SR-25.

• Bushmaster and Remington’s new Adaptive Combat Rifle (ACR), a gas-piston AR-derivative.

• Bushnell’s laser range finding binoculars.

As the show ended, the industry shared in the elation over Tuesday’s dramatic election result in Massachusetts. “The election of Scott Brown is a very welcome surprise. It shows that the only thing that’s really bankrupt in America right now is the liberal agenda,” said an industry watcher.