LAS
VEGAS - The 39th Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show, owned
and operated by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF),
signaled a positive year ahead for the firearms industry. Strong
attendance, upbeat buyers and sellers, and a series of packed special
events that collectively made up "SHOT Week" resulted in one of the
top-rated SHOT Shows.
The
show spanned January 17-20 at the Sands Expo. Industry professionals
packed the aisles from the opening bell, and attendance totaled nearly
65,000, surpassing last year's turnout to make it the second most
attended SHOT Show ever.
At
one of the show's biggest events, the NSSF State of the Industry Dinner
on the first day, NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti, in a speech
titled "A New Hope," listed a series of priorities that industry will
focus on to help protect its future and that of its customers. "Our
overriding hope is that when it comes to helping stop the misuse of
firearms by criminals, and preventing access to them by legally
prohibited felons, the violently mentally ill, and the drug gangs who
terrorize disarmed inhabitants of our cities, the American public will
realize we are all on the same side."
There
were thousands of products for buyers to see on the show floor,
encompassing firearms, ammunition, accessories, optics, knives, gun
safes, apparel and law enforcement equipment, among other categories.
More than 500 new products from 338 companies were on display in the
show's New Product Center, sponsored by U.S. Concealed Carry
Association. In addition to the more than 1,600 exhibiting companies on
the main show floors, the NEXT 2.0 Pavilion provided first-time vendors
from the show's extensive waiting list with welcome visibility and
potential new customers.
SHOT
Show is the largest trade show of its kind in the world, attracting
attendees from more than 100 countries. "I think we've arrived at a
point where we're truly balancing the needs of an enormous crowd of
industry professionals with the venue and services they need to
successfully set the course of their businesses for the months ahead,"
said Chris Dolnack, NSSF Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing
Officer, "That's not a small feat, and we are pleased to see that our
efforts to produce a continuously high-quality show has once again paid
off."
The show drew excellent reviews from exhibitors and attendees.
Jan
Mladek of Smith & Wesson said, "SHOT is always a great opportunity
to showcase our product line. Our traffic numbers were huge, and I think
we reached a record number of people this year."
Matt
Allbritton of Daniel Defense said that celebrity appearances at their
booth were a huge draw for them. "Additionally, SHOT is always very
productive for us, giving us time to meet with our existing clientele
and a chance to meet new customers and build relationships."
GunBroker.com's
Donald Hall said, "We're swamped! It's been a banner year, with our gun
auctions drawing all sorts of customers. We're happy to sponsor the
NSSF Member Lounge and happy to see it full of members."
Ram
Trucks' vehicles were on display in the main lobby of the Sands Expo.
"The attendees are always passionate, as pickup trucks play an important
role in the outdoor lifestyle," said Dave Sowers. "SHOT is an excellent
venue for meeting new potential customers."
In
addition to title sponsors Ram Trucks, U.S. Concealed Carry Association
and Daniel Defense, SHOT Show supporters included Aguila Ammunition,
Brownells, Carhartt GunBroker.com, SIG Sauer, Smith & Wesson, Vista
Outdoor and Winchester Ammunition. "We couldn't do this year after year
without our sponsors," said Dolnack. "We appreciate them taking their
support of SHOT Show to another level."
For
buyers like Recon Defense's Lisa MacLeod, the show was a success. "This
is a whole new level," she said. "But in spite of the huge crowd, the
exhibitors we needed to find were easily located, and we are very
impressed with the courtesy of the staff."
At
the Vista Outdoor booth, the crowd was thick and J.J. Reich said, "We
have had several outdoor personalities give presentations this year,
including some online personalities like Hickok45 and 22Plinkster. Our
new product releases received a lot of attention."
Aguila
Ammunition's Josh Sadler was pleased with the show as well. "We had a
very productive show. Our sales numbers are already up as a result, and
we're excited about next year already. Thanks, SHOT Show!"
At
the State of the Industry Dinner, the sold-out crowd of more than 2,200
were treated to the unique humor of Mike Rowe, star of the wildly
popular Dirty Jobs television show and advocate of skilled trade
workers. He had the crowd rolling in laughter for more than an hour.
Other big moments were the presentation of the NSSF Ken Sedlecky
Lifetime Achievement Award to Alan Mossberg, who guided O.F. Mossberg
and Sons for decades, and the Grits Gresham Shooting Sports Communicator
Award to Ashley Hlebinsky, curator of the Cody Firearms Museum at the
Buffalo Bill Center of the West, writer and TV personality.
The SHOT Show's official opening on Tuesday was preceded by many events.
The
kickoff event the 3rd Annual NSSF/HAVA Golf Classic, held on Sunday in
support of Honored American Veterans Afield, which works to aid the
healing process of military veterans through hunting and other shooting
sports activities. More than $150,000 has been raised in support of this
effort since the golf outing began in 2015.
Monday
saw some of the SHOT Show's most popular pre-show events-SHOT Show
University, an education forum for retailers; Industry Day at the Range,
an opportunity for media and buyers to experience hands-on testing of
products; NSSF's first Executive Management Seminar, providing business
information to executives and rising managers; and the all-new Supplier
Showcase, featuring more than 260 third-party OEM suppliers that reached
a crowd of nearly 3,000 designers, engineers, purchasing agents and
others in the manufacturing sector.
"We
are very pleased with the outcome of the 2017 SHOT Show, particularly
how our new offerings like the Supplier Showcase were received," said
Dolnack. "We want all our attendees and sponsors to know that our
dedication to listening to their feedback, innovating at SHOT Show and
working hard to improve the show experience for everyone will continue."
Preparations
have already begun for next year's 40th anniversary SHOT Show, which
will return to the Sands Expo on January 23-26, 2018.
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About NSSF
The
National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the
firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve
hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership
of more than 12,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers,
shooting ranges, sportsmen's organizations and publishers. For more
information, visit www.nssf.org.