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Shooting Industry - The SHOT Show changes for growth

SHOT Show 2006 was a record-breaker, continuing a trend that is all but expected of the industry megatrade show. However, the impressive growth of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) event puzzles many who are not associated with the industry.

"This is a gun show, right?" asked the coat-and-tie gent in the Charlotte airport, as we waited for our 10-hour delayed flight to actually do that--take flight to Las Vegas. "It's a trade show, a business trade show for the firearms industry," I corrected.

That didn't help. "And it's filling the Vegas convention center? A gun show?" he questioned. "Well, it's more than guns, it's ...," I went on, running down the list of gun/hunting/L.E./sport-related product categories. But, I could tell he wasn't buying it.

"And you're the editor of a magazine about gun shows?" "Ah, well ..., yes, gun shows."

This apparently well-educated businessman's disbelief is not surprising. The industry, in truth, is not large, especially when compared to other U.S. business segments. So, for a relatively small industry to more than fill the Las Vegas Convention Center--it just doesn't fit into the preconceived notion of the general public or business mind.

The growth of the SHOT Show has occurred because of a number of changes by NSSF, owners and sponsors of the show. The addition, and in some cases, the enhancement of certain product categories has accelerated the show's growth. The addition of paintball in 2004 helped boost the show's square footage and attendance.

This year, NSSF announced at the show that it had become a premier sponsor of the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA). Will we see a special section at a SHOT Show for competition shooting? Don't miss the importance of NSSF's endorsement of paintball and IDPA. It is a major shift in "attitude" at NSSF that reflects at the SHOT Show.

In truth, the SHOT Show doesn't seem to be as uptight as in the past. Some would attribute that to the upbeat buying atmosphere of this year's show. But it goes deeper than that. While those who run the SHOT Show still have a firm grip on what can or cannot be done at the show, it doesn't seem quite as authoritarian. Perhaps that's because it doesn't have to be. Quality products by quality exhibitors seems to be the rule, rather that the exception.

The most dramatic growth at the SHOT Show has been in law enforcement.

Not only has the number of new law enforcement-related companies attending the show increased, but also a significant number of long-time SHOT Show exhibitors are establishing additional booths in the L.E. section. Even our company, FMG Publications, will have a second booth at SHOT Show 2007, primarily to showcase our new publication American COP.

The growth of the SHOT Show has occurred despite more than a number of major challenges of the past decade or so. The anti-gun movement's all-out attacks, vicious as they were, backfired. Yes, there were casualties along the way, but the attacks forced the industry to join together to fight a common enemy.

This consolidation of power--harnessing the energy of intensely independent companies--more than anything, drew the industry together. That very tangible unity can be felt at the SHOT Show. Call it "passion," "camaraderie," "brotherhood"--regardless of the term, it has created a different "atmosphere" at the show.

That "feeling" is not lost on others.

"I am again reminded, heartened, that so many components of our industry are working together," said Doug Painter, NSSF president. "Many other industries just don't have that. They come to a trade show and they just don't connect. When we get together, we connect in our common love for the outdoors, our gun-rights heritage and passion for what we do. It's the theme that runs through our show that makes it quite different."

The SHOT Show promotional ad for this year featured five gents sharing hunting stories outside a cabin, and the headline: "It's like sitting around the campfire with 37,730 of your closest friends."

That just about sums it up, with one change: make that 40,892--the number attending this year's show.

In reality, the SHOT Show has changed because the industry has changed--and changed for the better.