The SHOT Show began this morning, gathering 60,000 professionals at the firearms industry trade show. (SHOT stands for Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade.)
As you might have suspected, business is fantastic. According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the owner and sponsor of the trade show:
In December, the NSSF-adjusted total of more than 2.2 million background checks represented an increase of 37.6 percent over the same month a year ago. For all of 2015, background checks, which are used as an indicator of sales activity, were up 8.8 percent over 2014.
In addition to 60,000 professionals, there are 2,400 media folk here, of which I am one. What media wouldn’t want to be here? This is the best press room at any conference or trade show ever:
Packed jammed press room:
A picture of the chocolate shavings for coffee and hot chocolate in the press room sponsored by Nissan.
But back to the good stuff: this is a serious business that has flourished, despite an assault from the force and power of the federal government and its gun-obsessed partisan handmaidens. Make no mistake, the industry is formidable and will continue to grow because it serves the public demand. The economic impact, according to the NSSF, is $34 billion and the industry supports 263,000 jobs.
“Despite the political challenges being mounted against our industry, it is gratifying to see the American people supportive of firearms ownership and to see new and diverse customers taking their first shots and enjoying our sports,” said NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti.
Just to give you some idea of the size of show, there are more than 13 acres of exhibits here.
Stay tuned for more SHOT show coverage here at PJ Media.
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