Airguns Make Big Noise at SHOT Show
Wind-Powered Projectiles Garnering Much Attention in Shooting Industry
With the hustle and bustle of racing around four days of SHOT Show 2017 and an extra day of range time behind us the GunLink team is now working to organize it all and bring our readers info on the latest developments from the shooting industry. While it seems like many companies were conservative with their R&D last year, likely due to the unknown outcome of the election, there were a few themes that I noticed; one of which was air guns.
It may have just been me, but it seems like a lot more companies than usual were displaying air guns and it got me thinking about what could be driving all of the interest behind this segment of the shooting sports. The answers to this question are likely as varied and diverse as they are to the question of why anyone is interested in any kind of shooting activities. Airguns can be quieter, less expensive, and, in some regards, safer than shooting traditional firearms. Another reason for their popularity is likely that there are fewer regulations on air guns since they are not considered firearms – making them more readily available to a wider audience. It may also be the case that positive role models from last summer’s Olympic Games shooting sports events may have sparked more interest in air guns. Continue reading
Faux Automatic: Rapid Fire Without a Machine Gun
Before heading to SHOT Show this year, I consulted with a few other female shooters that I know to ask what they were hoping to see new this year. In general, I was surprised to find that they were actually in the same KISS school of thought that I am: something that works well, works consistently, and is not difficult to understand how it works. One thing that did surprise me was more interest in fully automatic firearms than I had expected. I have been fortunate in that I have had the opportunity, on more than one occasion, to shoot automatic weapons. If you have not experienced full-auto mag dumps yourself, to be completely honest, it is even more fun than it looks.
Fully-automatic weapons, or machine guns, are regulated under the National Firearms Act (NFA). The law basically says that the only legal machine guns for civilians are the ones that were lawfully possessed prior to May 19, 1986 and those require payment of a $200 transfer tax, lengthy approval process, and federal registration in the NFRTR. This makes for a very limited supply of weapons that are in circulation, which – as we learned about supply and demand in Economics 101 – drives the price sky high – often into the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Unless you either join the military or have some pretty cool friends, you may not get the opportunity to shoot a machine gun.
However, a shooter and their ammo (ergo, their money) are easily parted and the firearms industry has come up with some innovative ways to turn a pocket full of money into a hot, smoking pile of spent brass. Thanks to that innovation, there are some legal ways to simulate full-auto firing power. Continue reading
2017 SHOT Show Boasts Big Attendance and Positive Outlook for the Firearms Industry
Four-day show draws nearly 65,000 industry professionals
LAS VEGAS – The 39th Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show, owned and operated by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), signaled a positive year ahead for the firearms industry. Strong attendance, upbeat buyers and sellers, and a series of packed special events that collectively made up “SHOT Week” resulted in one of the top-rated SHOT Shows.
The show spanned January 17-20 at the Sands Expo. Industry professionals packed the aisles from the opening bell, and attendance totaled nearly 65,000, surpassing last year’s turnout to make it the second most attended SHOT Show ever.
At one of the show’s biggest events, the NSSF State of the Industry Dinner on the first day, NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti, in a speech titled “A New Hope,” listed a series of priorities that industry will focus on to help protect its future and that of its customers. “Our overriding hope is that when it comes to helping stop the misuse of firearms by criminals, and preventing access to them by legally prohibited felons, the violently mentally ill, and the drug gangs who terrorize disarmed inhabitants of our cities, the American public will realize we are all on the same side.”
There were thousands of products for buyers to see on the show floor, encompassing firearms, ammunition, accessories, optics, knives, gun safes, apparel and law enforcement equipment, among other categories. More than 500 new products from 338 companies were on display in the show’s New Product Center, sponsored by U.S. Concealed Carry Association. In addition to the more than 1,600 exhibiting companies on the main show floors, the NEXT 2.0 Pavilion provided first-time vendors from the show’s extensive waiting list with welcome visibility and potential new customers. Continue reading
GunLink SHOT Show 2017 Photo Gallery
We are blazing our collective trails through the 13 acres (630,000 square feet!) of SHOT Show 2017, through the 12.5 miles of aisles (many of them multiple times over) to visit with as many of the 1,600 exhibitors as we can squeeze into the short time that we have here this week. Don’t forget that you can help us shape our coverage by posting in the GunLink Forums SHOT Show thread.
While the days, weeks, and months ahead will bring more in depth reviews and news about what is being unveiled at the enormous industry event, we will take you inside the halls of the SHOT Show to get a glimpse of what attendees saw through the following photos. Comment below or in the show thread if you have any questions or want more details about particular photos or products before we have a chance to post more details about them.
And, of course, a big shout out to our partners who help make our coverage possible, including Brownells, Gunz Incorporated, Shot Force Pro targets, Northwood Components, BulletSafe, and Safariland Group! Continue reading
39th SHOT Show Kicks Off at Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas
Firearm industry professionals gather at largest trade show for target shooting, hunting, outdoor and law enforcement products.
The 39th Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade ShowSM (SHOT Show®) opened its doors this morning at the Sands Expo Center with industry expectations running high in response to the energized market in America for firearms, ammunition and accessories.
Over the next four days, the show will attract nearly 65,000 industry professionals from the firearms and outdoor industry, including 2,500 members of the outdoor press-the largest gathering of outdoor media in the world-and showcase new, innovative products used for target shooting, hunting, outdoor recreation and law enforcement purposes.
Owned and sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation® (NSSF®), the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry, the SHOT Show is the largest trade show of its kind in the world. The show is open to trade members only and not to the public; consumers will see the products unveiled at the SHOT Show on retailers’ shelves during the course of the year.
The 2017 SHOT Show opens following a year of extraordinary firearms sales-the strongest in history based on NSSF-adjusted background check statistics-and a surprise end to a tumultuous election season. Following those elections, the $6.7 billion industry is seeing purchases continue at a steady pace. Both industry professionals and consumers are optimistic about the future of firearms ownership and the shooting sports. Responding to this optimism, NSSF has added a number of new features to the show. Continue reading
SHOT Show 2017 Range Day Photos
The 2017 National Shooting Sport Foundation’s (NSSF) Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show) officially kicks off tomorrow and, as it has for years, today yielded the opportunity for members of the media and industry buyers to get hands-on trigger time with some of the newest and most innovative firearms and accessories that are hitting the shelves. The GunLink team was on hand from the opening shots through the last call so we could get first hand information and experience to pass along to those who were unable to make it out.
Check out the SHOT Show Industry Day at the Range photos below and keep an eye right here on the GunLink Blog and on the GunLink Forums for more details on our live-fire excursion into the new firearms market, from the new Hudson H9 pistol through the Smith & Wesson Performance Center M&P 10 modern sporting rifle chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor. Continue reading
