If you were looking for a way to spend money while you’re in Las Vegas, skip the blackjack tables and keep your tablet, smartphone or laptop close at hand to stay on top of the bidding for this year’s SHOT Show auction items.
At stake are two items any outdoorsman or –woman would covet. The first is a large custom Bowie knife featuring a bull elk motif. Crafted by South Carolina blade artist Ross Tyser, the knife features a Damascus blade and Sambar stag handles featuring bronze and pewter accents.
“It’s a privilege to be selected to create a custom knife for the SHOT Show auction but I have to admit it’s also fun,” commented Ross Tyser in a press release from the Heritage Trust Fund, which administers the annual SHOT Show auction on behalf of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
The second item up for bid is nearly the definition of “unique.” The “Hornady Number One” bolt-action rifle, chambered for .300 RCM and topped with a Leupold premium scope is not only the first-ever firearm to bear the Hornady name, it will be the only firearm ever to be stamped that way.
“We don’t mean to alarm our friends at Remington, Winchester or Ruger. Hornady has no plans of going into the gun business,” commented Hornady President Steve Hornady, in announcing the gun through a separate press release with the Heritage Trust Fund. “The concept of creating a one-of-a-kind Hornady rifle has been percolating for several years and we are excited to make “The Hornady Number One” a reality for 2015– especially since the gun has been selected as the 2015 SHOT Show Rifle.”
The action and barrel for this special rifle were developed by Texas gunmaker Bill Wiseman & Company. The rifle will come with two custom-fit stocks, a display of American select walnut checkered by Lucid Solution’s Clem Boyd, the other a camo shooting stock by Hogue. Engraving honors on this top-end firearm go to David Baron of Connecticut’s Baron Engraving, a company that’s engraved more SHOT Show firearms than any other.
The rifle auction can be found here (the rifle will also be on display at the GunBroker.com booth #15147), while bidding for the knife takes place here. Bidding for both items closes at 5:00 p.m. EST on Jan. 23, the final day of the 2015 SHOT Show. Good bidding and good luck!
Chris Dolnack is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Follow him on Twitter at @ChrisDolnack.