With firearms and ammunition sales having surged last year in a struggling economy, there were many positive signs this month at the industry’s annual trade show--the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show--that indicated sales will remain robust in 2010.
The SHOT Show filled the Las Vegas Sands Expo & Convention Center for four days, Jan. 19-22, with exhibitors displaying the newest in firearms, ammunition, outdoor apparel, optics, cutlery, and camping equipment. (Many of these new products will be reviewed soon in our “Hunting Gear You Need” section.)
The show is owned and sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearms industry’s trade association, and the return to Las Vegas sparked a rise in attendance over the previous year, with buyers packing exhibit booths to review products and place orders.
Staff at the NRA booth were on their feet all day, and constantly busy as visitors stopped by to inquire about Second Amendment issues and shooting and hunting programs, or just to renew their membership. Hunters’ rights issues came up frequently--attempts to ban or restrict lead ammunition, access to public lands, and a recent story we did on suburban deer hunting all generated discussion.
Overall attendance was 58,444, only several hundred shy of the show’s all-time record set at the 2008 Las Vegas show and more than 11,000 above last year's show in Orlando. The show attracted an all-time high of 31,280 buyers, and the 1,804 media professionals attending also established a new record.
With so many gun dealers present, the SHOT Show is fertile ground to increase the ranks of NRA’s Recruiting Program. NRA Recruiters are eligible to receive up to $10 for every new NRA member they sign up. Typical recruiters are gun shops, shooting clubs, certified instructors, or just individuals striving to build a stronger NRA membership. There is no cost to join, and you can find an application online. Once you’re accepted, NRA will provide you with membership applications, promotional materials, an NRA Recruiting Operating Guide, and other support to ensure your success. At the SHOT Show, staff signed up more than 300 highly motivated new recruiters. Becoming a recruiter is an easy way to supplement your income and help defend your firearms freedoms at the same time.
From the opening to closing bells, the mood was upbeat. Retailers like Glenn Duncan, owner of Duncan’s Outdoor Shop in Bay City, Mich., said he values the SHOT Show for the opportunity it affords to learn about exciting new products. “It’s good to see the industry offering so many new products--guns, ammunition, targets and more--and I really appreciated that the exhibitors were willing to take the time to give me the attention I needed.”
While it’s an annual thrill to see the latest guns, ammo and gear all in one giant venue, it was particularly impressive to see an American governor at the SHOT Show actually promoting his state as a friendly place for firearms manufacturers to do business. “We grew up with firearms,” South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds told nranews.com. “We grew up with hunting.” Rounds also pointed out that his state has 1.2 million acres of walk-in hunting land, and hunting and fishing contribute $200-$400 million annually to South Dakota's economy. At a press conference later on, Richard Benda, South Dakota's Secretary of Tourism and State Development, expanded on Rounds’ message to the firearms industry. When it comes to business, “We roll out the red carpet, not the red tape,” Benda said. “We will not regulate you out of business. We will not tax you out of business.” Moreover, South Dakota was one of the first states to ban frivilous lawsuits against gun manufacturers.
Accompanying Benda was Dick Williamson, an Ohio businessman with a native-American grandmother from South Dakota. On visits to the reservation to meet his relatives, Williamson often loaded up a trailer with clothes and food to donate to the most needy. On one trip, he came up with the idea of starting an archery business there as a way of creating jobs in an area that had 80 percent unemployment among native Americans. The result was Lakota Archery. “It’s where the Indians still make the bows,” Williamson said. “The jobs we’ve created help eliminate the ‘entitlement mentality’ and we’re even seeing cottage industries spring up around us. A local woman makes beaded quivers, and a native American artist, Daniel Long Soldier, produces great artwork for our advertising.” Lakota bows are made on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. Learn more about them at www.lakotaarchery.com.
Of course, the heartbeat of the SHOT Show is the chance to see new innovations from the firearms industry. Check back to nrahuntersrights.org next week as we start to review the guns, ammunition and gear that will be on the shelves in 2010.
