Well, I didn’t take many pictures at all on the 3rd and 4th day of the SHOT Show. Jason and I were too busy getting some work done. And by work I mean securing new product for the Pro-Shop at Okeechobee Shooting Sports and then taking “First-Look” videos of the products that we will now be carrying in the shop. Here are a few of them.
Shooter Ready?
Diving head-first into the world of action shooting sports.
2013 SHOT Show (Day 2)
Day 2 was quite the long day. Jason and I made quite a few trips across the floor to film some “First Look” videos for the Okeechobee Shooting Sports fanbase. We also spent a lot of time downstairs on the first floor where a lot of the smaller, more personable companies are located. Here is one noteworthy product that we found down there.
2013 SHOT Show (Day 1)
I know I didn’t post anything last night, but we ended up going over to the Encore and having a bite to eat after a 12 hour day walking the floor and trying to get product.
Quite honestly, I haven’t seen much on the main floor that is new and exciting that isn’t going to be vaporware. And you can read about that stuff on the bigger blogs.
2013 SHOT Show (Day -1)
The 2013 SHOT Show isn’t underway yet, but thanks to our friends at TOPS Knives and a few extra exhibitor passes, we got to walk the show floor a little early. We are helping them set up their booth each day and in exchange, we get nice little passes with orange stripes that get us onto the floor a couple of hours early.
Today, there still wasn’t much to see except a bunch of show employees attempting to run each other over with various propane powered pieces of machinery. What got me was the sheer size of this show. We walked for hours today and didn’t even make a dent in the place. My main objective was to scope out booth locations so I know where to go the rest of the week.
Tonight, we went to a small get together for Action Targets and their subsidiaries. We got to see their new line of steel targets for rimfire (it is very likely that you will see some of these targets at Okeechobee Shooting Sports towards the end of February), and some pretty cool simulators that integrate gas blow back airsoft guns (rifles and pistols), a projector, and some fun scenarios such as western shootouts, to some more serious training simulations like active shooter scenarios and simulated traffic stops gone bad.
We logged in quite a few steps today walking the floor and the work hasn’t even started yet. It’s time for a nice hot shower and a warm bed.
We have arrived…
We made it. I am writing this from the Press Room at the 2013 Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show. All of us now have this nice little green ribbon on the bottom of our badges that says “Media” on it. So, I plan on posting quite a few pictures here every night.
Some predictions:
- Glock announces a (sort of…) new model. In a much desired caliber. And then tells everyone it will not be available until at least June. and THEN we don’t actually see one in the wild until after SHOT in 2014.
- Throngs of people lined up around all Modern Sport Rifle Manufacturers booths.
- A surge in Gun Shops and Retailers buying reloading equipment and components. Ammo is getting scarce and smart retailers will pick up everything from presses, to powder.
That’s really all I have. This is my first SHOT Show and I have no clue what to expect other than sheer euphoria the first time (and most likely every subsequent time) that I step foot on the show floor.
Oh, it’s freezing here, too.
Stay tuned…
2013 – Time for a relaunch.
Ok, so I didn’t exactly use this blog quite as intended in 2012. Or at all.
So, it’s time for a relaunch. I am thinking about taking the blog in a slightly different direction. Instead trying to make it about tips and tricks, I’m thinking more about some in depth match reviews. Both major and local matches. Not only does it have the opportunity to help others see what a match is like, but it will most certainly help me self-analyze post match.
The first thing I plan to write about in 2013 is SHOT Show. That’s right, I will be attending with a few of the guys from Okeechobee Shooting Sports in an effort to obtain some new products for the shop and range. I hope to get a post up each night, but since I’m there as a buyer (and have a LOT of companies to meet with) and not as media, some of the more in depth products may have to be covered after I get back to Florida. Anyways, be on the look out for the some of the posts.
Anyways, here’s how my 2012 went. I shot a lot of matches. None of which I placed very well in. At Phil Strader’s 2012 Pro-Am I met a great contact in the industry, Brad Gannaway from Hear-Pro. We talked quite a bit as he was making me a set of custom molded ear plugs. He informed me that he would be setting up a booth at the 2012 Rockcastle Pro-Am 3-Gun Championship and since I already had an entry into that match, I told him I would talk to him again at the Rock. At the Rock, we chatted a bit about 3-Gun and he informed me that he was going to be starting a team for the 2013 3-Gun season. He also asked me (somewhat in jest) if I wanted to go with him to the Ozark 3-Gun Championship in Missouri. He said we would shoot the staff match and I could help work his tent for the rest of the match. All I had to do was drive to his office in Birmingham and I could ride with him from there. I also got to shoot the Blue Ridge 3-Gun Championship the same way. Meeting Brad was honestly one of the best things to happen to my career in the shooting sports. Through him, I have met a lot of great people in the industry. I thank him for that.
I also am working almost full time in the Gunsmith shop at Okeechobee Shooting Sports as an Apprentice Gunsmith. I’m learning more than I thought I had the ability to remember. I plan on writing about some of the cooler projects we do in the shop here as well.
Hopefully, you will see much more from me in 2013.
