{"id":8230,"date":"2011-01-24T06:07:59","date_gmt":"2011-01-24T12:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/?p=8230"},"modified":"2011-01-24T06:08:39","modified_gmt":"2011-01-24T12:08:39","slug":"record-setting-shot-show-signals-good-year-ahead-for-hunting-and-shooting-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/record-setting-shot-show-signals-good-year-ahead-for-hunting-and-shooting-industry\/8230\/","title":{"rendered":"Record-setting SHOT Show Signals Good Year Ahead for Hunting and Shooting Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>LAS VEGAS \u2014 Back in 1979 before the first SHOT Show, organizers worried that industry professionals might not show up for the fledgling event, a story recounted in the just-released National Shooting Sports Foundation 50th Anniversary history publication. Organizers needn\u2019t have worried then, or now, about the vitality of the SHOT Show.<\/p>\n

The 2011 Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show soared above expectations by setting records for buyer attendance at 31,769 and media attendance at 2,074.<\/p>\n

Overall attendance of 57,390, comprising buyers, exhibitors, media and guests, ranked the show as the third largest ever behind the 2008 and 2010 events. In this sluggish economy, the SHOT Show demonstrates the resilience of one of America\u2019s oldest industries and the popularity of its products.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe importance of the SHOT Show to the firearms industry cannot be underestimated,\u201d said Steve Sanetti, president and CEO of NSSF, which owns the trade show. \u201cThe SHOT Show is simply the must-attend business event for all segments of our industry. Based on what we\u2019re hearing, industry has every reason to think that 2011 shows promise of being another strong year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Filling the Sands Expo and Convention Center to capacity with 1,600 exhibiting companies covering 630,000 net square feet with their booths, SHOT Show brings together all facets of the $4 billion industry. Many companies use SHOT Show, the largest trade show of its kind in the world, to announce new products and services. Buyers and media members are able to handle and discuss products that include firearms, ammunition, outdoor and tactical clothing, optics, knives, related accessories and law enforcement equipment.<\/p>\n

A number of changes were made to exhibition halls to make navigating the huge show easier, including widened aisles, better signage and a new escalator. Those changes received widespread positive responses. \u201cThere was much better traffic flow,\u201d said exhibitor George Trulock, whose choke tube company booth was set up on the lower floor. \u201cThe changes that were made worked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Comments from exhibitors and buyers confirmed that the 33rd SHOT Show was a success.<\/p>\n

Bob Morrison, president and CEO of Taurus, captured the mood with his comments in a local television interview: \u201cWe are having terrific growth right in the middle of this recession, and I\u2019m delighted to be in this business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other industry professionals were just as upbeat about both the show and their prospects for the year.<\/p>\n

Lea L. Ramthun of Beretta said, \u201cBusy is the word. Dealers are excited about our new products. We\u2019ve seen a lot of smiling, happy faces.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul Pluff of Smith & Wesson said, \u201cThe show has been an extremely positive event, very busy\u2014almost busier than I have ever seen it. We anticipate a great year due to a very successful SHOT Show.\u201d<\/p>\n

Samuel Glen of Weather Stone Ltd. said, \u201cI\u2019m the guy who puts the guns in the movie stars\u2019 hands. I have to see what\u2019s new, and this SHOT Show has been really great for that. Everything has been really smooth and set up so that it has been easy to get my work done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laurie Aronson, president and CEO of Lipsey\u2019s, a distributor, said, \u201cLipsey\u2019s is going full speed at this show. We\u2019ve heard nothing but positive comments from retailers who are telling us they are busy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Randall Pence, of Sturm, Ruger, said, \u201cTraffic in our booth has been super. Our Scout rifle has been of big interest, and our LC9 pistol has been the hit of our booth. We\u2019re sensing a very positive attitude from everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chris Schwarzkopf of ArmaLite Inc., said, \u201cNew products are the retailers\u2019 main focus. We\u2019ve seen a lot more traffic in our booth than we expected, and we added some excitement in our booth with a simulator made by Cubic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blake Mecham of Browning said, \u201cFoot traffic is up, attendance is great, we\u2019ve had good buzz about our products and our 1911-22 was the hit of the show for us. This SHOT Show has put us in a good position for the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Retailers like Ron Mengel of San Juan Shooting Range in Montrose, Colo., say that attending the SHOT Show is a must. \u201cI come to the show to stay current, to see people in industry and to get ideas about new ways to retail. We live in an out-of-the-way area, so finding these quality products can be a challenge.\u201d Internet-based retailer John Riddle of Outdoor Elements added, \u201cCompanies are really evolving and thinking outside the box, which is tremendous to keep the sport going. It\u2019s enjoyable to see the innovations that are out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 100 countries were represented at the show. Steve Collings of New Zealand-based Steve\u2019s Wholesale said, \u201cWe import a lot of ammunition and gunpowder, so it\u2019s very important to come and talk to my suppliers, to find new products, to get updates, to get a heads up on a change in metal prices. It\u2019s absolutely essential to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Retailers do more than purchase products for their stores at the show. They improve their business skills at SHOT Show University, which was sold out, and at seminars where representatives from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives review regulations that apply to federally licensed retailers. For the second year, law enforcement professionals were provided with their own series of educational seminars.<\/p>\n

With media at an all-time high, a larger press room, including a new working press area, was widely praised. Media also turned out in force at Media Day prior to the show, where they could test new models of firearms and other products.<\/p>\n

Highlights from the show included . . .<\/p>\n

Some 2,000 industry guests attended the NSSF State of the Industry Dinner sponsored by the Outdoor Channel at which NSSF reviewed its accomplishments over the past year. Comedian Jeff Foxworthy provided entertainment.<\/p>\n

NSSF announced its 50th anniversary celebration and publication of \u201cThe National Shooting Sports Foundation: A History 1961 to 2011, 50 Years of Promoting, Protecting and Preserving Hunting and the Shooting Sports by NSSF, the Firearms Industry\u2019s Trade Association.\u201d An accompanying film, which will soon be available online, was shown at the NSSF State of the Industry Dinner.<\/p>\n

Doug Painter, NSSF\u2019s longest-serving employee and former president and CEO, who will retire this spring after 37 years with the Foundation, was honored for his service to the industry and the organization.<\/p>\n

Bob Behn, 41-year industry veteran and former Marlin president and CEO, was presented the NSSF-Ken Sedlecky Achievement Award.<\/p>\n

Michael Bane, television host, blogger and author, received the Professional Outdoor Media Association-NSSF Grits Gresham Shooting Sports Communicator Award.<\/p>\n

The NSSF Retailer of the Year Award was given to Sportsman\u2019s Warehouse in Rocklin, California.<\/p>\n

The 2012 edition of the SHOT Show will be January 17-20 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

For coverage of the show visit www.shotshow.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LAS VEGAS \u2014 Back in 1979 before the first SHOT Show, organizers worried that industry professionals might not show up for the fledgling event, a story recounted in the just-released National Shooting Sports Foundation 50th Anniversary history publication. Organizers needn\u2019t have worried then, or now, about the vitality of the SHOT Show. The 2011 Shooting, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":8231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,58],"tags":[1387],"class_list":["post-8230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news-from-the-industry","tag-shot-show-2011"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8230\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.downrange.tv\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}