SHOT Show Product Spotlight visits the Streamlight booth for the latest flashlights including the brand-new Ultra Stinger, Stinger HPL, Strion HPL, TLR HPL Rail Mounted Light, a few additions to the ProTac family and more. For more on these products visit Streamlight at booth #12563 on Level 2 of the Sands Expo or go to the Streamlight website at streamlight.com.
Category: SHOT Show Front Page
Talking SHOT with Katie Pavlich
We caught up with Katie Pavlich, TownHall.com editor and Fox News contributor, to get her thoughts on this year’s SHOT Show.
SHOT Show Day 2—Word from the Floor
The staff at NSSF was receiving such positive feedback from the media in the press room, we thought Day No. 2 of the show would be a good time to take the temperature of the show floor and see how our exhibitors were getting along. Here’s what they had to say.
Cindy Daniel, Executive Vice President of Daniel Defense, one of this year’s top sponsors of the SHOT Show, said, “It’s been a very busy show. We’re optimistic that with the good vibe we’re seeing on the floor sales will pick up again and we’ll have a solid year.”
Daniel could very well be right. The show floor was humming with activity and we heard positive things from companies around the show.
“We’ve been pretty busy and there hasn’t been much down time,” said Kort Nielson, who works in marketing for Silencer Co. “Increasing our booth size and design and its new position in this hall has been good for traffic, but we’re also focusing on education.” Silencer Co. is holding two seminars this week for retailers on how to sell silencers.
Alexander Crown, working with military sales and suppressor tools in the Gemtech booth, told us, “Customers this year are more enthusiastic about the firearms industry as a whole. They seem to really be enjoying the technologies being offered.”
Jeff Patterson, PR guru with the Swanson Russell firm, said, “All our clients are happy with the traffic—SIG, Bad Boy Buggies, Otis Technologies, Weatherby, Leupold. The Leupold booth has been so crowded I can barely make it through, and most of our clients are looking forward to a steady year.”
Mike Capps, Senior Account Executive with PR firm Howard Communications echoed Patterson. “The ATK booth has been swamped . . . I think it’s due to the fact that it’s become one-stop shopping for the buyers. Under one roof you now have firearms, ammunition, optics and accessories, and we’re very pleased with the traffic that mix is generating.”
One company recognizing the leveling off of sales our industry experienced in 2014 isn’t resting on its laurels. Redding Reloading is experiencing high growth through expansion in international markets. “While we’re better servicing our domestic clients better right now, because we’ve been able to reduce our order backlog time from the four months we were experiencing last year (due to high volume) to two to three weeks this year, we’re really seeing tremendous growth in international markets,” explained Robin Sharpless, Executive Vice President. “Canada and South Africa in particular are proving very lucrative, as well as Australia and New Zealand.”
SHOT Show Product Spotlight – Zenith Quest Corporation
SHOT Show Product Spotlight is inside the Zenith Quest Firearms booth to talk about the latest selections of ammunition they’re bringing to the U.S. market and to check out their latest firearms being shown at the 2015 SHOT Show. You can find Zenith Quest Corporation at booth #620 and visit their website at zenithfirearms.com.
NSSF President: State of the Industry is ‘Determined’
NSSF President Steve Sanetti delivered the annual State of the Industry address Tuesday night at the SHOT Show. Watch it here:
SHOT Daily — Day 2 — 2015 SHOT Show
The digital edition of the Day 2 issue of SHOT Daily is now available online. SHOT Daily is brought to you by The Bonnier Corp. and the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
New ‘Women Gun Owners’ NSSF Report Announced at SHOT Show
More than half of women (55.6 percent) participating in a new study commissioned by the National Shooting Sports Foundation said they intend to purchase at least one firearm in the next 12 months. That finding and many others reflect the growing popularity of firearms ownership by women, who represent the fastest growing segment of the shooting sports.
Today during the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show), NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti discussed the findings in the new report, “Women Gun Owners: Purchasing, Perceptions and Participation.” NSSF, which owns the SHOT Show, is the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry.
“In the past decade, the number of women owning firearms and participating in target shooting and hunting has soared. This study helps us understand why women are choosing to purchase firearms and accessories and what shooting activities appeal to them most,” said Sanetti.
The study, conducted in 2014, focused on women ages 18 to 65 who owned at least one firearm. Over a third of women in the study were new gun owners, having purchased their first firearm within the last three years. This group of new gun owners, who are primarily between the ages of 18 and 34, reflects the changing demographics among women choosing to own firearms—a change captured visually in NSSF’s new infographic, “Girl Power,” which complements the new report.
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The women’s market is a force in our industry, and manufacturers, retailers and shooting ranges are making changes to their products and services to satisfy women’s tastes and needs. This report will assist anyone interested in knowing more about women’s enthusiasm for and attitudes toward firearms,” said Jim Curcuruto, NSSF Director of Industry Research and Analysis.
Among the report’s findings:
- The most commonly owned firearm by women in the study is a semiautomatic pistol, with 56 percent of women reporting they owned at least one. Shotguns ranked second, with 50 percent of women owning at least one.
- Women say their purchases are mainly influenced by Fit, Quality and Practicality.
- Women purchasing a gun in the last 12 months spent on average $870 on firearms and more than $400 on accessories.
- The majority of women report they are not driven to buy a gun on impulse but rather considered their purchase for months before deciding.
- Nearly all women (95 percent) have tried target shooting, and more than half (58 percent) have hunted.
- More than 42 percent of women have a concealed carry permit for their state of residence.
- Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of women reported having taken at least one training class.
Placing a premium on safety, women say the single most important reason why they decided to purchase or own a firearm is protection—both personal and home protection. Learning to hunt and going shooting with friends and family were also cited.
The report shows women are attracted to shooting activities such as practical pistol, clay target shooting, long-range shooting and plinking; they were not as active, however, in gun collecting or 3-gun and cowboy action shooting.
Growth of the women’s market is quite visible among firearms retailers. In NSSF’s Annual Retailer Survey, more than 74 percent of retailers reported an increase in women customers in their stores in 2013 over 2012.
According to the NSSF report, female engagement in target shooting grew 60 percent to 5.4 million participants between 2001 and 2013, and was up 85 percent for hunting to 3.3 million participants during that same period.
NSSF’s “Women Gun Owners” report is available to NSSF members and to media by request.
SHOT Show Product Spotlight – Carl Zeiss Sports Optics
SHOT Show Product Spotlight is inside the Carl Zeiss Sports Optics booth to check out the new top-of-the-line binocular, the Victory SF, a premium crossbow scope, the XB75, and a new Zeiss Terra binocular with an UnderArmour Exclusive Edition UA Bino Harness–all debuting at the 2015 SHOT Show. You can find Carl Zeiss Sports Optics at booth #13913 on Level 2 of the Sands Expo or visit their website.
SHOT Show Product Spotlight – Vertx
Vertx returns to the SHOT Show Product Spotlight for a second year to showcase their second generation of everyday carry bags, backpacks, range bags and much more. Visit the Vertx booth #126 on Level 1 of the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev. and be sure to visit the Vertx website.
Media Picks: Some Favorite Products of the Press at Media Day
The 2015 SHOT Show Industry Day at the Range proved to be a success to industry media members. Everyone in the media we talked to were decidedly upbeat about the day in general and the number and variety of hot new products exhibited.
Ace Luciano, book author with Gun Digest, told us, “I was very impressed with the new Benelli over/under. It’s probably the softest shooting stack-barrel double I’ve ever shot.”
Phil Massaro, another book author with Gun Digest and freelance writer for Guns & Ammo, Gun Digest the Magazine and several other industry publications found two pieces he wouldn’t mind adding to his gun safe. “The Smith & Wesson M&P .45 with the suppressor attached was so quiet and had what I felt was zero recoil. Truly an experience to shoot,” he told us. “I also fell in love with the new Stevens Model 555 over/under. Now, I’m not much of a shotgunner, so when I tell you I couldn’t miss with this gun, I’m speaking volumes about its fit. I don’t think I’ve ever had a shotgun fit me so well out of the box. It’s available in 20- and 12-gauge, and retails under $700, far below most of the over/unders on the market these days. I think one of the 20-gauges is going to find a home with me this year, though I think after my wife shoots it, I’ll probably never get to lay my own hands on it again.”
Two veteran outdoor writers, Ed Noonan and Steve Zahurak, both hailing from New York, found there was just as much value in some of the non-gun products setup for trial as they did the guns themselves.
“I saw a demonstration of the new all-in-one firearm cleaner and lubricant,” said Zahurak. “What I liked, besides that I didn’t need two separate products for gun maintenence, is that it was both nontoxic and biodegradable.”
Zahurak was also a fan of Ruger’s new drop-in trigger for the 10/22. “It’s very user-friendly,” he said.
“Two things that caught my eyes, literally, were the shooting glasses from Edge Safety Eyewear and the new Sightmark firearm sight. The glasses were very flexible, and that tells me they can take a beating without becoming damaged, while the Sightmark sight, a lightweight dot-within-a-dot arrangement looked to be a very intelligent design, one I’m looking forward to using for turkey hunting this year.”
Noonan and Zahurak also discovered a new product they think may be the ultimate training tool when you can’t make it to the range.
“Steve and I both thought the Coolfire product was pretty ingenious,” explained Noonan. “You fit the device in your gun’s barrel, fill it with air just like you would a bicycle tire, then dry-fire the gun. Though there’s no noise other than a click, the gun recoils as if you were using live ammo. That’s a great way to improve the realism of this kind of practice routine.”
Still, it was the guns that were center stage.
Another veteran writer, Tom Tabor, favored another offering from Savage, as did several others we talked to. “The new Savage rifle in .17 HMR is likely to be a hit this year,” Tabor told us. “It’s a new semi-auto chambered for that round, and Savage worked closely with CCI to develop ammo that works reliably in the action. It’s also accurate—I started shooting at small rocks behind the 100-yard silhouette targets they had set up, and this gun was spot on. With that kind of accuracy and reliability, and at the user-friendly price point Savage will be selling this gun, I expect it to do very well with consumers.”
For those looking for something at the other end of the price spectrum, Massaro told us that the Mauser 98 was one of the most beautiful guns to be shot during Industry Day at the Range, “Very true to the original, beautifully made,” he said. “For me, too, the Rigby rifle in .416 was, very simply, a privilege to shoot, and a little closer to home, the Christiansen Arms .308 with its carbon fiber barrel has almost no recoil, yet it weighs just six pounds, and its titanium muzzle brake does an outstanding job of keeping muzzle rise to almost nothing.”
As for the event itself, both media members and buyers were quite pleased with the new format of the event. Long lines into the range were eliminated thanks to dual drop-off points for the buses, and the invitation-only format allowed for better connections and engagement between exhibitors and invitees. That the chili from one of the many food trucks on the premises apparently rocked the house was just icing on the cake for everyone.
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