A few of my followers may be aware that I had the opportunity to attend the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show 2018 last week in Las Vegas, Nevada. The NSSF SHOT Show is a trade show featuring all kinds of small arms, accessories, and like kit. It’s the fifth largest trade show in Las Vegas and includes more than 16,000 exhibitors from different parts of the world. It was the first SHOT Show that I attended, and I had a blast.
The event packs almost all five floors of the Sands Convention Center, it’s immense. I love that the Sands Convention Center is attached to the Palazzo and Venetian casino resorts. All manner of things shooting related can be found there. I swear I walked over 10-miles the first day, wandering up and down the rows and rows of vendor booths and displays. New guns, improvements to old guns, innovative kit, and shooting industry celebs, could all be found under one roof.
Despite all of the guns, kit, and gadgets, my favorite thing about SHOT is the people. Not necessarily the masses of enthusiasts that burst through the doors to grab-up all of the SHOT Show swag (actually, not at all those people!), I’m talking about the friends and acquaintances I knew would be there, too. I reconnected with friends I hadn’t seen in 15-years and finally met folks I’ve “known” via social media / social circles for 20-years. The Green Beret Foundation hosted a “reunion” at the Rockhouse Bar at the Venetian. So that was a great night… a room full of Green Berets drinking for free! What could go wrong? Throughout the week I was able to meet shooting industry celebs I’ve been following (not stalking!) for years… super neat opportunity and lots of selfies!
At the end of the week, I came away with a greater appreciation of the goings-on of the SHOT Show and the amount of work that goes into pulling off such an incredible event. I found SHOT to be about the people and the relationships between those people! Sure, I enjoyed walking the booths and displays, but I really loved hanging-out with old friends, making new friends, and expanding my network both personally and professionally.
Similar to Soylent Green, “SHOT Show is People!”
Leave a Reply