NSSF Blog

Media and the SHOT Show

When it comes to firearms and accessories, there's no better place to soak up knowledge about them than at NSSF's Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show. Media that cover these outdoor activities know this and use the SHOT Show as a combination story generator and education hub, which can pay dividends throughout the year and even for an entire career.

Last week, 1,800 members of the media made a point of coming to the SHOT Show in Las Vegas so they could learn about and ogle (sometimes not in that order) the latest gear the industry produces and sells. Having a better grasp of what products are designed for and how they function helps media gain a better understanding for why industry holds certain positions on legislation and regulations. For example, when you see how popular AR-style modern sporting rifles and accessories are, and that there's an AR for nearly every sporting use requiring a rifle, you can see why millions of owners of these modular rifles are concerned about potential legislation that would prohibit ownership of them.

Factual errors that appear about modern sporting rifles and many other gun-related issues in media stories often occur because of reporters' lack of knowledge about guns and gun ownership. The SHOT Show not only affords media an opportunity to see equipment on the show floors but to attend "media day at the range," where reporters can see, handle and test equipment, and then pose their questions about design and specifications directly to manufacturer representatives. Most "outdoor media" who attend SHOT know the value of this media day prior to the show, and we were pleased to see that mainstream media writers made good use of the range day to learn more about firearms in a hands-on way.

With nearly 40 million Americans active participants in hunting and the shooting sports, it's important that all media, not just outdoor media, better understand our sports and the equipment gun owners enjoy owning and using--lawfully and responsibly. There are many new owners out there after a record year for firearms sales. This sales surge, as NSSF President Steve Sanetti put it in his State of the Industry address at SHOT Show, "is a testament to the popularity of firearms ownership in America and proof that hunting and target shooting remain popular activities among all ages." 

The show itself was a big success. In an economy that is still sputtering, the 58,444 trade professionals who attended nearly matched the all-time record set at the 2008 show in Las Vegas. And there were positive signs that the industry would continue to see robust sales in 2010, building on the extraordinary sales of the last 15 months.

See NSSF's Bullet Points, the SHOT Show blog and @NSSFSHOT Show on Twitter for highlights of the show. There's also lots of show-related Tweets at #shotshow. And here's the SHOT Show wrap-up press release.

Outdoor Media Gearing Up for SHOT Show

More than 1,100 outdoor media professionals have pre-registered so far for next month's Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show, where the latest gear for hunters, shooters and outdoor enthusiasts begins its journey from manufacturer to marketplace. The annual show, which brings together the largest gathering of outdoor media in the world, will draw 60,000 industry professionals to do business over four days in Las Vegas.

If you are a working media professional who covers the shooting sports or writes about the equipment and accessories used by hunters and shooters, there is still time to register for a SHOT Show media badge. To receive a badge, you must provide proof that you cover the industry on a regular basis. Read the media registration guidelines at www.shotshow.org.

At the show, which is owned by the National Shooting Sports Foundation and is open to  trade professionals only, media representatives join firearms retailers, shooting range operators, law enforcement and others to learn about the latest products. Media also has the opportunity to attend several "media days." These are invitation-only events, but most will allow bonafide media professionals to attend.

At least three events have been planned by exhibitors and their representatives that allow media to handle new products and, in some cases, test them at Las Vegas area shooting facilities.

Here is a profile of three such events, all of which take place on Monday, January 18, the day before the SHOT Show opens.

--Bass Pro presents Media Day at the Range, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Boulder City Pistol & Rifle Club. See www.media-day.com for more information. More than 40 companies are participating.

--2010 New Product Event, 9 a.m. to noon, Desert Sportsman's Rifle & Pistol Club. Kevin Howard, coordinator, khoward@howardcommunications.com. Participating are Browning, Winchester Repeating Arms, Bushnell, Winchester Ammunition, Mossy Oak, Browning Footwear, LaCrosse/Danner Boots, Taurus, Polaris, Birchwood Casey and Crimson Trace.

--2010 Smith & Wesson Shoot Out, 12:30 to 4:30, American Shooters. Tonya Giudice, coordinator, info@blueheroncomm.com. Participating are Smith & Wesson, Thompson Center, Walther, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Coleman, Dallas Safari Club and Trijicon. .

Note: All of the media days are independent of the SHOT Show and are not official SHOT Show events.

SHOT Show, Task Force 20-20 and Legislative Challenges

All are topics touched on by NSSF President Steve Sanetti in his video interview with Jim Shepherd on The Shepherd Report in Orlando last week at the National Shooting Sports Foundation's Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show. Watch it.

POMA/NSSF Grits Gresham Award

Tom Gresham, whose Gun Talk Radio 16,000-member Truth Squad, responds to inaccuracies about firearms and firearms issues that appear in the media across America, was presented with the Professional Outdoor Media Association/National Shooting Sports Foundation Grits Gresham Shooting Sports Communicator Award last evening at the SHOT Show. Two outstanding outdoor communicators, J. Wayne Fears, the inaugural winner of the award, and Doug Painter, senior advisor at NSSF, presented the award to Tom, who is the son of the late Grits Gresham, an icon of the outdoor media world.

From left, Chris Chaffin, president of POMA; Tom Gresham, J. Wayne Fears and Doug Painter.

Learn more about Gun Talk's Truth Squad at www.guntalk.com.

SHOT Show News

The NSSF's SHOT Show is in full swing on this opening day. Keep up with news of the show at www.shotshow.org, see photos at SHOT Show's Flickr site, receive alerts via the NSSFComm Twitter site or, on your cell phone, text Follow NSSFComm to 40404.

Reporting live on-site at the show, among others, are NRA News and ESPN Outdoors.

NSSF's State of the Industry event is this evening, where our Report to Members video covering how in 2008 NSSF programs helped promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports will be shown. The video will be posted on the SHOT Show Web site for viewing sometime tomorrow.

 

NSSF's SHOT Show

Very light blogging recently as we prepare for NSSF's SHOT Show, the annual trade show for the shooting, hunting and outdoor trade that moves from Las Vegas to Orlando this year, January 15-18. The show is the largest of its kind in the world, and one of its main features is the 1,300 members of the media, mainly representatives of the outdoor media, who attend. This largest gathering of outdoor communicators focuses mostly on new products (firearms, ammo, apparel, accessories, law enforcement equipment and more) that will be available to consumers and law enforcement armorers later in the year. In the weeks following the show, these new products can be seen on outdoor TV and radio shows, in magazines and newspapers, and on the Internet on Web sites and blogs.

What adds interest to the 2009 show is that it will take place as gun sales continue to surge throughout America. In December, there was a 24 percent jump in the number of FBI background checks, continuing a trend from the previous months. Since a background check is required by federal law for anyone purchasing a firearm from a retailer, the checks are regarded as a good indicator of sales. Sales are at such an unprecedented level that the government has even run out of the forms required to complete sales and do the mandatory FBI background checks, stating for the first time that it's OK to use photocopies of the form, known as the "4473." What's driving the increase in buying is concern among gun owners that the sale of certain types of semi-automatic firearms may be restricted when the new president takes office and begins working with the new Congress. These concerns are borne out by a recent poll of hunters and target shooters by Southwick Associates that found an extraordinary 80 percent of respondents believe it will become more difficult to purchase firearms under the incoming administration and Congress.

The SHOT Show is the one place where the shooting sports industry gathers each year to buy, learn and network, and where its passion for firearms and united support of the Second Amendment are on display. Even though show registration was down several weeks ago, figures have jumped over the last week to pull even with Orlando show of 2007. That says a lot about our industry in this anemic economy and bodes well for another successful and exciting event. Although SHOT is open to the trade only, those interested in what's happening in Orlando can watch videos and read articles about the show at www.shotshow.org.