94 percent of our audience of Rural Lifestyle publications, Farm Collector, Gas Engine Magazine, Grit & Mother Earth News, participate in recreational outdoor activities. Much of that includes hunting, fishing and camping. So we knew the Las Vegas SHOT show (Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show) would be the perfect place to learn more about the industry, meet new advertisers and network. And it was!
The show was held January 15-18, 2013 at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas. The event is owned and sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). I attended with my colleague Sheila Kearney. We had the opportunity to see the newest products in firearms, ammo, cutlery, outdoor apparel, optics and related technology.
According to the website, this is the largest trade show of its kind in the world and the fifth largest trade show in Vegas. There were more than 62,000 people in attendance and 1,600 exhibitors filled booth space covering 630,000 net square feet, but the show is a trade-only event; it is not open to the public.Â
We met a lot of the marketing contacts for many of the “big guns” (pun intended), like Ruger, Remington, Winchester, Smith & Wesson, Nikon, just too many to mention!Â
Here’s the WR Case & Sons Knives booth and the Rokon all-terrain motorcycle. Sheila had a pedometer and we figured out on just one day of walking the show, we walked 8 miles!
Because the Outdoor Channel is a pinnacle sponsor, we also had the chance to run into many “celebrities”, like Bruce from The Swamp People, the guys from Gold Rush, Nick Mundt of The Bone Collectors, and even Ted Nugent.
Bruce from The Swamp People
The guys from Gold Rush
Ted Nugent
We got to meet and greet with country singer and avid deer hunter Craig Morgan, who I had also seen at the 2009 Red Power Round Up in Madison, Wisconsin. He signed my Farm Collector and Sheila’s copy of Grit!
Craig Morgan
Below is Jeff Foxworthy. We got to talk to him walking down the aisle at the show, too. We went to visit Rick’s Restoration (a TV show that is a spin-off from Pawn Stars); Harris International Labs has a product called Evapo-Rust and Rick from the show is their spokesperson. Their ads, with Rick, can be seen in Farm Collector, Gas Engine Magazine and Motorcycle Classics.
You can visit www.shotshow.org to learn more about this event.
See you down the road!