{"id":1831,"date":"2020-01-28T08:24:01","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T08:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/?p=1831"},"modified":"2020-06-29T17:21:29","modified_gmt":"2020-06-29T17:21:29","slug":"shot-show-is-all-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/shot-show-is-all-business\/","title":{"rendered":"SHOT Show Is All Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

SHOT Show: Work First, Guns Second<\/span><\/h1>\n

Every year, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) puts on the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show, for professionals in the firearms industry. The show has had various venues over the years, including Orlando, Florida. For the past few years, though, the SHOT Show has been hosted at the Sands Expo convention center<\/a>, adjacent to the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Week-Long Trade Show<\/span><\/h3>\n

SHOT Show consists of four types of events stretched out over five weekdays in January. Monday is Media Day At The Range, held at the Boulder City Shooting Range just outside of Las Vegas. This day is dedicated to allowing members of the media and purchasing agents to shoot a wide variety of guns. At the same time, inside the Sands Expo Center, there is SHOT Show University, put on by the NSSF. This event has various classes of interest to people in the firearms industry, such as shooting range safety and help with the legal aspects of buying and selling guns.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SHOT Show Is Not Your Typical Gun Show<\/span><\/h3>\n

There are also various NSSF-sponsored networking opportunities throughout the week. The main event, though, has to be the trade show and exhibition, which goes from Tuesday to Friday of SHOT Show week. The size of the trade show boggles the mind: It takes up practically all <\/span>of the 2 million+ square feet of the Sands Expo<\/span><\/a>, and is stuffed to the gills with manufacturers, distributors, and other organizations related to the firearms industry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What Happens In Vegas…<\/span><\/h3>\n

When I mention that I\u2019m headed to SHOT, it usually elicits one of two reactions. People who work the show as either media or an exhibitor are sympathetic, knowing what\u2019s in store for me that week. People with a more casual relationship with the gun industry think it will be a fun time of flitting from booth to booth, learning about the coolest guns and the latest gadgets. To be fair, there is a certain element of truth to that. Every year, there are more new and amazing guns revealed at SHOT. However, the thrill of those new products soon wears off, and you find yourself facing the fact that SHOT is all about the business of guns.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Two-Edged Sword<\/span><\/h3>\n

SHOT Show\u2019s greatest strength is also it\u2019s curse: Practically everyone in the firearms industry goes to the show, which makes it a \u201ccan\u2019t miss\u201d event for people whose livelihood depends on the business of guns. But because the show is only five days long, it means there is always a lot of work to do in a very short period of time. SHOT Show means that everyone is in one place, at one time. However, that time is very short, and the place is rather large.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SHOT Show In Pictures<\/span><\/h3>\n