Shooting Industry Magazine

Mega Trade Show Busts
Records, Boots Business!

Chris Dolnack (left), NSSF senior vice president, presents a commemorative
print to Tom von Rosen, FMG president, in recognition of exhibiting at the SHOT
Show for 30 years. FMG publishes Shooting Industry, American Handgunner,
GUNS Magazine and American COP.

SHOT Show 2008 in Las Vegas was an overwhelming success, setting new records, boosting business and announcing that the industry is robust. It was a fitting tribute to the show, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in grand style.

“What better way to celebrate the SHOT Show’s 30th anniversary than with a turnout that not only broke, but shattered, all previous records for attendance and exhibit space,” said Doug Painter, NSSF president.

The 30th anniversary show, Feb. 2-5, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, covered 715,000 square feet of exhibit space. This included two “sprung structures” across the street from the convention center, dubbed the “Gold Hall.” The amount of exhibit space was nearly 60,000 square feet more than last year’s record-setting Orlando, Fla., event. For 2008, there were 1,950 exhibiting companies, up from last year’s 1,870.

NSSF reports that the total registered attendance of 58,769 dwarfs last year’s record-setting attendance of 42,216. There were 30,686 buyers at the show, along with 1,725 members of the media, 25,854 exhibiting personnel and 504 guests.

Exhibitors were impressed with the attendance and buying enthusiasm.

“The first day was probably the best day Legacy has ever had at the SHOT Show,” said Gene Lumsden, Legacy International president and CEO. “We’re very happy with the reaction to our products. We’re on track to have another very strong year.”

“This is a fantastic year for us. The SHOT Show is our show of the year. This is our 30th SHOT Show and we are very proud to be here. Hunting, in general, has been taking more and more importance in the company’s business, and the reaction to our products has been fantastic,” said Brian Lisankie, Aimpoint vice president of marketing and sales.

“Traffic was the strongest we’ve ever seen. Customers were very receptive to our new and standard products. All in all, a very positive show,” said Jason Hornady, Hornady vice president.

“Our best show ever. Saturday was the busiest day. The owner actually cancelled his appointments to work the booth. An amazing show. We wrote a record amount of business,” said Scott Pasquale, Amchar Wholesale director of sales.

Dealers were equally enthusiastic about the show.

“The biggest benefit of the show has been the many contacts I’ve made. Plus, entire lines of products are on display, so we get to touch the products, not just look at them online or in a catalog,” said Chris Dunn, owner of Chevlon Canyon Guns Co., Queen Creek, Ariz.

“What I especially like about the show are the contacts I make. Where else can you meet all of the CEOs and other executives? I also can’t say enough about the New Product Center. It offered some tip-offs to some new products that have real potential for my business,” said Bill Powell, owner of World of Sports, Florence, S.C.

“There’s no question that the greatest benefit is finding new companies and new products that will sell. I come here to find innovation,” said Doc Blanchard, owner of Doc’s Gun Barn in Pocatello, Idaho.

Thorsten Kortemeier, Minox managing director, holds the new MD 50 W Spotting Scope.

Peter Pi, Cor-Bon president, presents the company’s new Thunder Ranch ammo.

Steve Sanetti, Ruger president, shows
off the new Ruger LCP.

Bob Morrison, Taurus president and CEO, says The Judge is the company’s best-selling handgun.

Honoring The 80

At part of the 30th anniversary, NSSF honored 80 companies that have exhibited at every SHOT Show since 1979. Two hundred ninety exhibitors participated in the first show in St. Louis.

“When we opened the doors of the first SHOT Show, we didn’t know who was going to show up,” Painter said. “But these companies were on hand to form the building blocks of what has become the modern SHOT Show, and year in and year out, we could count on these 80 committed companies to be there to greet the ever-growing, record-setting crowds of attendees.”

One of the 80 companies is FMG Publications, publisher of Shooting Industry, American Handgunner, GUNS Magazine and American COP.

“We’re proud to have been a part of this since the beginning,” said Tom von Rosen, FMG Publications president. “Contributing to this show’s growth, witnessing the industry’s expansion over the last 30 years and being able to share it with so many outstanding people has been our honor.”

Dealers crowd the Sierra Bullets booth.

Working The Show

Ellett Brothers, which marks its 75th year in 2008, held a birthday party at the SHOT Show, with nearly 2,500 in attendance, many of them dealers. The down-home hospitality in a ranch setting included plenty of food, drinks, country-dance lessons, a boot-shine stand and a full-sized horse display and murals.

“We wanted a small, old-fashioned country image, which is what we are. We come from a very small town — we’re not the big city type. We wanted to project what we really are: a friendly atmosphere in a country setting,” said Hewitt Grant, Ellett Brothers president and CEO.

John Bianchi was at the SHOT Show to help Bianchi International celebrate its 50th anniversary. The “father of the modern holster” spent hours signing collectors’ reprints of the well-known “Bianchi Histographs” — the landmark ads of 40 years ago that helped propel the company to a worldwide status.

At the Smith & Wesson booth, David McDaniel (center), national account manager, fields questions about the
M&P15 line.

At the Remington booth, John Trull (center), rifles project
manager, discusses new offerings.

At the Springfield booth, an XD gets a thorough exam.

“The methods and materials that go into making holsters are the biggest changes I see today,” Bianchi said. “It’s come a long way.” Bianchi made his first holsters by hand in the garage of his southern California home.

Remington enjoyed an “outstanding show,” according to Sean Dwyer, a Remington senior vice president.

“We always have a good show, but there seemed to be increased interest and excitement in what Remington is doing and its direction. Our trade partners know our new owners are positioning Remington for growth. That means more new and innovative products, which means more sales and greater profitability for our customers,” Dwyer said.

At the Leupold booth, dealers swarmed around the expanded VX-L riflescope line and Green River Mojave Binoculars, but were equally attracted to Leupold’s introduction into the lighting market with the new MX Modular Flashlight series.

Ruger’s biggest attention-getter at the company’s booth was one of the smallest firearms at the show. The company surprised a lot of distributors and dealers with the debut of the Ruger LCP (Lightweight Compact Pistol).

“It is absolutely the hit of the show,” said Steve Sanetti, Ruger president. “It has a lot of advanced features, which is typical of Ruger. We listened to the market and the market said you really ought to get into self-protection. All of our dealers and distributors have been saying Ruger needs to be in that market. So, here it is. The LCP is the real buzz here.”

At the Minox booth, Thorsten Kortemeier, Minox managing director, said the German optics company is being recognized for its cutting-edge technology and high-quality binoculars and spotting scopes.

“We offer excellent products that have good value for the dealer and the consumer,” Kortemeier said.

Minox has gained a following in the United States, under Kortemeier’s leadership, through selective product introductions, like the Minox HG (High Grade) series of binoculars and the MD 40 W Spotting Scope.

“Mostly, we want dealers to know they can make 30- to 40-percent profit selling Minox optics. We only offer products that meet very high standards and have a good value and price relationship,” Kortemeier said.

At the Taurus booth, Bob Morrison, president and CEO, took every opportunity to show buyers a well-ventilated Birchwood Casey Shoot-N-C target, evidence of the capabilities of The Judge. Chambered to handle .410 shotshells and .45 Colt, the revolver has become a best-seller.

“You wouldn’t have thought it would catch on, would you?” Morrison said. “The key was the Shoot-N-C target. You instantly see what the gun is capable of doing. While we thought it would sell well, I didn’t think it would be this good. It’s the hottest-selling handgun we’ve ever had.”

Savage continues to enjoy growing sales of rifles featuring its award-winning AccuTrigger. New for 2008 are the Model 25 Lightweight Varminter, Model 25 Classic and the Rimfire Camo Package. In celebration of its 50th year, Savage has produced 1,000 special-edition Model 110 rifles, which have numerous high-grade features.
Marlin drew large crowds with its introduction of the new XL7 Bolt Action.

“Traffic has been strong. We had concerns about the Super Bowl in the middle of the show, but it just spread traffic into the last two days,” said Mike Jensen, Marlin vice president of sales and marketing.

Smith & Wesson’s display of the new Night Guard Series revolvers during the show delivered a continuous stream of dealers, along with the additions to the M&P line and the i-Bolt rifle.

“The SHOT Show is always an exciting time for our company because it serves as a launching platform for a variety of innovative Smith & Wesson and Thompson/Center products,” said Michael Golden, president and CEO. “This year, our list of new products included a compact version of our highly popular M&P45 polymer pistol. We also launched 10 new variations of our award-winning Thompson/Center ICON bolt-action rifle.”

At the FNH-USA booth, a dealer shoulders a SAW.

During a fashion show, Browning debuts its Transitions clothing line.

Buck Knives unveiled a new booth at the show, one reflecting a warm, welcoming, family atmosphere. That’s important to CJ Buck, CEO and president, who represents the fourth generation to run the company.

“We’re getting back to our core,” CJ said. “We’ve decided that what Buck is has more to do with providing reliable tools to people to allow them to thrive in the outdoors and everyday experiences. That is our focus. You’re going to see more innovative leadership from us in hunting.”

What you won’t see from Buck is more tactical knives.

“Tactical is becoming less and less of a category for us. It’s not who we are as a company,” CJ said. “Our customers see Buck in a certain way. We are always looking at ways to better reach the market and to help us better understand what product gaps we have and what message we need to be delivering.”

One of the knives CJ proudly promotes is the Gen 5, designed by his son, Josh, as an intern project two years ago.

“We used it as a special collectible and it was so well received it is now in the line. We have two versions, a high-end and a more moderately priced version,” CJ said.

Browning’s new X-Bolt hunting rifle attracted a lot of attention at the Browning booth, along with the Citori 625 over-and-under. In addition, Browning held an elaborate fashion show to highlight its new Transitions clothing line.

“What motivated this is for many years, we have produced state-of-the-art, technical outerwear and gotten very little attention,” said Scott Grange, Browning’s public relations and shooting promotions manager. “We decided it was time to let the outdoor writing community know what we actually do have. This new Transitions series we’re offering for 2008 is a spectacular way to introduce folks to technical outerwear. I think we’ve hit a home run today.”

At the ATK booth complex, Federal showcased its new Vital-Shok Trophy Bonded Tip big-game bullet, Fusion debuted its 20-gauge sabot slug for deer hunting and RCBS highlighted the R.A.S.S. Shooting Bench. ATK also honored its 2007 Dealer of the Year. For the second year in a row, and the third time in four years, Mike Goschinski, owner of Fin Feather Fur Outfitters, Ashland, Ohio, was presented the Dealer of the Year Award.

Carson Optical is enjoying a surge in sales, driven by independent scientific testing that shows the company’s HD (High Definition) binoculars offer superior light transmission.

“The testing has done more than we hoped. It not only has encouraged dealers to contact us when they’ve seen the ads, it has encouraged consumers to call directly. If we didn’t have a dealer in that area, we soon had one, because they had an instant customer. The Carson brand has really turned the corner in how much it’s recognized now,” said Tim Faust, Carson sales manager.

A million dollars in cash, behind a well-sealed display case, drew dealers to the Lansky Sharpeners booth.

“It’s a way of letting dealers know they can make a lot of money selling our sharpeners,” said Bob Kufahl, Lansky sales and marketing director. “We tell dealers, one, you get the Lansky name, which means you get a product that is not only recognized, but accepted by consumers. Two, you get a good quality product and we do a lot of pull-through advertising. It’s profitable. With an accessory like sharpeners, you can make decent margins.”
SHOT Show 2009

Next year’s SHOT Show will be held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., Jan. 15-18. For hotel reservations and other information on the show, visit www.shotshow.org.

This Feature Article is sponsored by:

Battenfild Technologies Inc.
www.battenfieldtechnologies.com

Taurus
www.taurusUSA.com

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