Tag: shooting

2015 SHOT Show ‘Tremendously Valuable,’ Satisfaction High

The 2015 SHOT Show, held this past January at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, has proven itself to be one of the best across the collective spectrum of exhibitors, buyers, law enforcement personnel and media members of the show, according to a recent survey conducted by NSSF.

While attendance was down slightly from the record-setting number of 2014 that reduction was due to a concerted effort by NSSF to purge the attendance roster of 2,200 non-qualified buyers, an effort those admitted greatly appreciated. Many comments we received indicated both exhibitors and attendees noticed that the crowd quality was higher, leading directly to a more productive show for everyone.

“The show was beyond expectations,” Arthur Grant of Packin’ Fur Defense told us. “We found several suppliers willing to work with us despite our being a small start-up in the restricted Southern California concealed carry market space. We were able to find a distributor to work with, as well as a half-dozen vendors who are new themselves to distributing to retailers.”

It wasn’t just the show floor that got rave reviews. Every one of NSSF’s dozen Retailer Seminars was sold out to capacity, as was SHOT Show University, while many press conferences were filled to standing room only. NSSF’s press conference announcing our research department’s newest report, “Women Gun Owners: Purchasing, Perceptions and Participation,” was still turning people away at the door 20 minutes into the presentation.

Several other areas of the show displayed remarkable growth. The New Product Center had more than 600 products on exhibit, double that from 2014, but the real boost there came in the product scans: 28,000 versus 8,500 from last year. Our International Buyer’s Program was also another event that doubled its participation. Overall, the 2015 SHOT Show was a tremendous success, as you can see below, and that’s something that prompts us to make next year’s show even better.

I’d love to hear your SHOT Show success story. Email me at cdolnack@nssf.org. Contributors will be randomly selected to receive SHOT Show swag.

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Chris Dolnack is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Follow him on Twitter at @ChrisDolnack.

Outdoor Channel Marks Five Years of SHOT Show Sponsorship

Corporate sponsorship is an important part of making each SHOT Show more successful than the last. Exhibitor demands, attendee needs, technology, events, seminars and more change and grow each year. Those changes, of course, take funding to be a success.

We have been honored to have tremendous industry support at many levels over the years, but there is one company that stands above the others and has stood the test of time: Outdoor Channel.

The 2015 SHOT Show marked Outdoor Channel’s fifth consecutive year supporting the SHOT Show at a notably high level. Outdoor Channel is, literally, everywhere you turn when it comes to SHOT Show, providing tremendous support through its pre- and post-show publicity and their televised and web broadcasts that bring celebrities, products and show news to those who can’t make the trip to Las Vegas. A laundry list of behind-the-scenes projects also come together thanks to Outdoor Channel’s sponsorship.

Simply put, Outdoor Channel’s commitment to helping NSSF put together a show that has such immense value for every manufacturer, buyer, distributor and media member who takes the time and money to attend the show sets a benchmark for all others. Thank you Outdoor Channel, let others look to them as an example.

Dave Jeannette is Senior Director, Sales for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Follow him on Twitter at @DaveJeannette.

Generous Industry Sponsor Support Key to Successful 2015 SHOT Show

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The success of the 2015 SHOT Show was due in great part to the many dedicated industry sponsors that contributed generously in support of the firearm industry’s largest trade show. For many of our sponsors, this was not the first time they have stepped up to the plate.

Outdoor Channel made a remarkable fifth consecutive appearance as one of the show’s top sponsors, demonstrating unwavering commitment to the industry, as did Ram Trucks, returning for the third straight year as another top sponsor, its hunt-worthy vehicles on display garnering tremendous attention from the show’s 62,000 attendees.

Daniel Defense came back with strong support for the third year in a row. Not only did everyone staying in the Palazzo and Venetian have a room key sponsored by Daniel Defense, the company was the sole sponsor of the SHOT Show Mobile app and contributed to many other aspects of the show.

GunBroker.com continued to be an extraordinary partner of NSSF and the SHOT Show, again sponsoring the NSSF Member Lounge and Business Center. Nissan also returned, sponsoring the 2015 SHOT Show Press Room for the second year in the row. Both are great examples of companies making the extra effort to help our industry thrive.

Other important sponsors returning to support the 2015 SHOT Show included Brownell’s, Gamo Outdoor USA, the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Mossy Oak, Trijicon, Smith & Wesson and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, among others, and NSSF offers many thanks to each and every one of them. Their support is invaluable to ensuring the continued success of the SHOT Show and NSSF’s mission of promoting, protecting and preserving hunting and the shooting sports.

Chris Dolnack is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Follow him on Twitter at @ChrisDolnack.

SHOT Show New Product Center: Top 5 Most Popular

Often the first stop for Buyers and Media, the SHOT Show New Product Center hosts many of the industry’s latest innovations. Here are 5 of the most popular products in the 2015 SHOT Show New Product Center. Product popularity is based off of the number of times product bar-codes were scanned during the SHOT Show.

SHOT Show Product Spotlight – Schmidt & Bender

SHOT Show Product Spotlight visits the Schmidt & Bender booth, #15151, on Level 2 of the Sands Expo. Schmidt & Bender brought several precision quality scopes to the 2015 SHOT Show, including the new 2.5-10×50 Polar T96 high transmission hunting scope. For more, be sure to visit the Schmidt & Bender website at www.schmidtundbender.de.

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.

“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.

Media Picks: Some Favorite Products of the Press at Media Day

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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.

Follow the latest news from the SHOT Show on Facebook, as well as Twitter at @nssfshotshow and #SHOTShow.

SHOT Show Facts and Figures

openingday5The SHOT Show® (SHOTSM stands for Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade) is the once-a-year gathering place for the shooting, hunting and outdoors industry—manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, publishers and wildlife conservation organizations. It’s where a passion for firearms, ammunition and outdoors equipment, plus the industry’s unified support for the Second Amendment, are on display.

The SHOT Show is owned and sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation®, trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry. The show is produced and managed by ConvExx. The show generates millions of the dollars in revenue that funds NSSF programs and services that help “promote, protect and preserve” hunting and the shooting sports. Among those programs are Project ChildSafe, the industry’s firearm safety education program; Don’t Lie for the Other Guy, which works to help prevent illegal straw purchases; and First Shots, which provides introductions to target shooting. See nssf.org for more information on NSSF programs and member services.

  • The 2015 SHOT Show runs Tuesday, January 20, through Friday, January 23, at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada. The SHOT Show exhibition floor opens at 8:30 a.m. each day and closes at 5:30 p.m. except for the last day when the show closes at 4 p.m. (Law enforcement booths located in Venetian ballrooms open at 8 a.m. daily.) See complete show floor hours. The Press Room is located in the Venetian Murano Ballroom on Level 3. The Press Room opens at 7:30 a.m. each day. See complete Press Room hours. SHOT Show Industry Day at the Range, slated for Monday, January 19, at the Boulder City Rifle & Pistol Club, is for exhibitor-invited media and buyers.
  • This is the 37th annual SHOT Show. The first SHOT Show was in 1979 in St. Louis, Missouri. The SHOT Show has been held 16 times in Las Vegas, more than in any other host city, including consecutively since 2010. SHOT Show will be presented at the Sands Expo and Convention Center through 2020, under the latest agreement.
  • SHOT is the largest event held at the Sands Expo and Convention Center. Total exhibit space for the 2015 show is expected to be more than 630,000 net square feet—equivalent to more than 13 acres, the area covered by the New Orleans Superdome or the base of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
  • The SHOT Show boasts 12.5 miles of aisles—just a little less than the distance of half a marathon. Exhibitors, buyers, media and other industry professionals hail from all 50 states and 100 countries.
  • Nearly 70,000 professionals in the shooting, hunting and outdoors industry attended SHOT Show in 2014. The show is for trade only and is not open to the general public.
  • The 2015 SHOT Show will have more than 1,600 exhibitors and more than 2,400 members of the outdoor and mainstream media, including international media, cover the show and promote the products they see at SHOT in their print, Internet, radio and television stories.
  • The total weight of the exhibits for the 2014 SHOT Show brought in by Freeman, the SHOT Show’s general service contractor, exceeded 6,400,000 pounds, the heaviest show ever held at the Sands Expo Center.
  • Over 100 buses are hired by the SHOT Show to accommodate SHOT Show attendees staying at partner hotels along the Las Vegas Strip for complimentary rides to the Sands Expo Center.
  • It took 250 concessionaires to accommodate the food and beverage bistros inside the Sands Expo Center during the 2014 SHOT Show.
  • The Law Enforcement section remains the fastest growing segment of the SHOT Show. To illustrate this growth, law enforcement was started 12 years ago, covering 7,000 square feet; today it covers more than 170,000 square feet of the show.
  • Over 2,100 people attended the opening night NSSF State of the Industry Dinner at the 2014 SHOT Show.
  • Over 10,000 scans for more information were made by media and buyers of the products located in the New Product Center of the 2014 SHOT Show.
  • There were over 340,000 visits by attendees at the 2014 SHOT Show to the 2014 SHOT Show mobile app.
  • 98% of all exhibitors at the 2014 SHOT Show renewed their booth space for the 2015 SHOT Show before the 2014 SHOT Show even concluded.
  • The 2014 SHOT Show brought over $89.6 million in non-gaming revenue to the Las Vegas economy. Firearms and ammunition are a $8 billion industry. The total economic impact of the industry is nearly $38 billion, which supports more than 245,000 jobs.

The SHOT Show’s website is shotshow.org. Follow SHOT Show on Twitter @NSSFSHOTShow and #SHOTShow, and on Facebook.

How SHOT Show Revenue Works for the Betterment of Our Industry and Sports Year-Round

NSSF makes no secret of the fact that the SHOT Show provides 80 percent of our revenue, allowing us to keep membership dues low and to provide the member services, government relations, communications and customer recruitment programs critical to the industry’s growth.

Here are just a few things that the SHOT Show’s revenue is helping to support:

  • Research: NSSF offers ground-breaking industry and market research, helping all of its members make informed and data-based decisions.
  • First Shots: Thanks to this fast-growing NSSF program, thousands of newcomers have been introduced to the shooting sports in a fun and safe environment at their local ranges.
  • Government relations: NSSF represents thousands of industry businesses, making the industry’s collective voice heard all the way from state capitols to Capitol Hill.
  • Communications: NSSF is actively engaging hunters and shooters as well as reaching out to the media and our entire industry with key information and updates across multiple platforms.
  • Modern sporting rifle campaign: This NSSF campaign continues to erase misconceptions about AR-15-style rifles, commonly labeled “assault weapons” by the anti-gun crowd, by educating the masses about these popular firearms.
  • Youth programs: NSSF actively contributes to many programs helping to introduce the next generation of shooters and hunters to our sports in a safe, educational and fun environment.

And that’s just scratching the surface of what NSSF is doing for our industry and our sports on a daily basis.

The most recent illustration of how your participation in the SHOT Show benefits the entire industry is the recently held 2011 Shooting Sports Summit in Louisville, Ky. The Summit brought together more than 175 leaders from throughout the industry and the hunting and shooting sports communities — not to mention 2012 presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty and new-media icon Brian Solis.

All Summit attendees were there with the same goal: to increase participation in hunting and the shooting sports. We encourage everyone to read a complete recap of what took place in Louisville last week. It really demonstrated the unity of our industry and our sports in meeting tomorrow’s challenges.

So, the next time you send in your booth deposit or enter your credit card information for attendee registration, remember that the SHOT Show truly is the show that supports everything you stand for.