Believe it or not, the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s 2013 SHOT Show is only a month away. The SHOT Show, to be held January 15-18 in Las Vegas, is the biggest event of the year in the gun industry. There will be thousands of exhibitors in the Sands Expo & Convention Center. If you qualify to attend the show (SHOT Show is not open to the general public), you can register today at SHOTShow.org. While you’re on the SHOT Show website, you can sign up for optional offerings including retailer and law enforcement seminars, the State of the Industry Dinner, SHOT Show University and more (Some of these programs require significant additional costs). While getting reading for SHOT Show 2013, you can access current updates and SHOT Show news through the SHOT Show Blog and the SHOT Show Facebook Page.
The 35th Anniversary SHOT Show is less than three months away, and there’s no time like the present to start planning your show. Watch this video news update for details on what you need to know about the 2013 SHOT Show. SHOT Show will run January 15-18, 2013 at the Sands Expo Convention Center in Las Vegas. Note: SHOW Show is not open to the general public. However, persons in the shooting industry and working journalists can obtain credentials to attend. Learn more about the 2013 SHOT Show at www.ShotShow.org. Late breaking news and special promotions can be found on the SHOT Show Facebook Page. CLICK LINKs to Register for 2013 Shot Show: Attendees | Media
Exhibitor Registration and Personnel Credentials
SHOT Show exhibitors may now order show credentials for booth personnel on the Exhibitor Dashboard. All exhibit staff must wear credentials at all times in order to gain access to the show floor. Order your credentials today and avoid on-site lines and fees. Get more details at the SHOT Show blog.
15 WEEKS AWAY . . . Registration for the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s 2013 SHOT Show is now open for all attendees at www.shotshow.org. Believe it or not, the show — Jan. 15-18 in Las Vegas — is just 15 weeks away. While registering, attendees can order State of the Industry Dinner tickets, enroll in SHOT Show University, and sign up for other educational offerings. Media registration is also now open.
Multi-Gun fans should tune in to Shooting USA TV this Wednesday, May 23rd. This week, Shooting USA features the USPSA Multi-Gun Nationals held recently at the Desert Sportsman range in Las Vegas.
John Scoutten and Mike Irvine narrate the action and provide analysis of this exciting discipline, which requires mastery of rifle, shotgun, and pistol. In addition, this week’s episode of Shooting USA covers wheelgun competition at the Memphis Charity Challenge. Shooting USA airs Wednesday nights at 8:00 pm Eastern (check your local listings for other time zones).
Watch Video Preview of May 23 Shooting USA Episode
Fire up your VCRs boys, this is the episode of Shooting USA you don’t want to miss — the 2012 SHOT Show Special. Shooting USA’s hour-long 2012 SHOT Show Edition airs on the Outdoor Channel Wednesday February 15 at 3:00 PM, 8:00 PM, and 12:00 Midnight (Thurs) Eastern Time. (Check local listings for other time zones.) In this 60-minute special, the Shooting USA team checks out the latest and greatest guns and gear. Host Jim Scoutten and assistants John Scoutten, Mike Irvine and Jay Gilmore trek through the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas reporting on new products for 2012.
Here’s a 4-minute-long Preview of the SHOT Show Special:
While you’re tuned in to the Outdoor Channel to view the SHOT Show Special, you may want to catch this week’s Impossible Shots show as well. This week the trick shooters run Col. Jeff Cooper’s speed challenge, the El Presidente, using single-action six guns. In addition, the legendary Jerry Miculek engages multiple targets using both rifle and revolver. Impossible Shots airs Wednesdays at 6:30 pm and 11:00 pm Eastern Time.
Before the largest crowd ever to watch a 3-gun match, and with the largest payday in the history of the sport on the line, on the evening of January 18th, eight of the country’s top 3-gunners stepped to the firing line at the Clark County Range outside Las Vegas. With the famous Las Vegas strip illuminating the desert sky as the backdrop, the sport of 3-Gun formally announced its arrival to the shooting industry, major media outlets and a national television audience.
Photo by Tim Walsh www.seanchaicom.com
Team FNH USA’s Tommy Thacker defeated teammate Mark Hanish in the final round of the 3-Gun Nation Championship Finale, sponsored by Brownells, to become the 2012 3-Gun Nation Champion, winning an unprecedented $50,000 from Leupold Tactical Optics and NBC Sports Network.
“Unbelievable,” Thacker said, trying to put the enormity of the moment into words. “The only thing I could think is I am so blessed and everything happens for a reason. The only thing I could think is to thank God. When you think about everything that happened, I don’t know how else to describe it. Coming into this, I knew everything was right. I was in the zone more than I’ve ever been, and after the first run, I knew I was going to win this thing.”
For finishing second, Hanish was awarded a Barrett MRAD rifle fitted with a Leupold scope and BORS system, along with a check for $2,500 from Brownells.
Counting prizes awarded to other finals competitors, the Las Vegas payouts totaled $67,500, with an additional $15,000 in product value. In all, 3-Gun Nation paid out more than $150,000 in cash prizes on the 2011-2012 3GN Tour.
Champion’s Profile: Tommy Thacker is Director of Product Management for Law Enforcement & Commercial Sales with FNH USA. He is also a nationally-ranked competitive shooter, certified firearms instructor, and small business owner. He served as the inaugural Captain of FNH USA’s award winning shooting team.
The 3GN Championship Finale, sponsored by Brownells and sanctioned by NRA Sports, was the culminating event of the 2011-2012 FNH USA 3-Gun Nation Tour, Presented by SureFire. Spanning ten major 3-gun events all across the country, more than 1,500 competitors earned scores toward the 3GN Standings. From there, the top 50 competitors qualified to the 3-Gun Nation Championship in November, a one-day Tactical Optics-only match that comprised the deepest field of 3-gun talent ever assembled. The top 16 shooters then battled in an elimination Shoot-Off, with the Final 8 advancing to the Las Vegas Rumble On the Range.
Vince Bottomley, editor of Target Shooter online magazine, is one of the UK’s best shooters. Vince has excelled in both “point-blank” benchrest and long-range target shooting (F-Class and Benchrest). We had a chance to chat with Vince while he attended Media Day and SHOT Show in Las Vegas. During his SHOT Show sojourn, Bottomley enjoyed a week of American firearms freedom. On Media Day, Vince sampled a wide selection of firearms now banned in Britain, including black rifles, full-auto AKs, and assorted handguns. Vince even got to shoot his favorite Smith & Wesson 586 revolver under the tutelage of legendary wheelgunner Jerry Miculek. Watch the video below for a Brit’s take on SHOT Show, and the Second Amendment freedoms we take for granted here in America. Vince also chats about his work on the Target Shooter web site.
If you’ve been to SHOT Show at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas, you know that navigating the vast multi-level hall can be challenging to say the least. The lower-level booths are packed tightly together, and the numbering system in the upper halls is confusing. To make the SHOT experience less frustrating, we suggest planning ahead with the Online Show Planner. This provides searchable floor layouts with booth names and numbers. You can search for your favorite companies, then “connect the dots” to move efficiently from one location to another.
Begin mapping out your SHOT Show visit on the main Show Planner Page on your browser. This allows you to search exhibitors by company names and to create a personalized list of booths you want to visit (you must set up an account to save search results). There is even an integrated event calendar that helps you keep track of meetings, demos, and special appearances.
You can also move directly to the SHOT Show Floorplan and search for booth locations. This can help you visualized the placements of exhibits on different levels. Note locations of stairwells and escalators so you won’t have to cross an entire floor just to change levels. We suggest keeping a note pad as you jot down booth numbers. Then plot an “itinerary” one level at a time. We generally start on the ground floor and work upwards. That’s because many of the smaller, precision-focused companies traditionally exhibit on the ground floor. You’ll find the mega-sized booths for Leupold, Mossberg, Smith & Wesson etc. on the upper floors.
One last tip — some of the most accurate match and hunting rifles will be found in the clustered “co-op” booths for particular European countries. The interactive Show Planner may not necessarily list ALL the individual exhibitors from a particular nation. So if you’re looking for a small company from a particular region (e.g. Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland), you can often navigate to the host country’s central “encampment” and find what you seek.
The 3-Gun Nation Championship is the culmination of a 10-event series involving nearly 2,000 match competitors across the country. The Championship finale will be held at night, under the lights, in front of an invitation-only SHOT Show crowd in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Jan. 18, at 7 pm at the Clark County Range. The 3-Gun Nation elimination series began in November, with a field of 64 competitors. The top eight were selected to compete in the Championship match.
Winner Earns $50,000 — Courtesy Leupold and NBC Sports
Leupold has made sure the 2012 3-Gun Nation Championship finale features one of the largest payoffs in shooting history. The Oregon-based optics manufacturer has put up a $25,000 first-place prize. A matching offer from TV host NBC Sports brings the winner’s check to an unprecedented $50,000.
Man-on-Man Competition in Finals
The eight finalists will compete in a man-on-man shoot-off using rifles, shotguns and handguns. The first competitor to knock down all the steel targets, including the final stop plate, wins the match. Watch the Video below to see last year’s 3-Gun Nation Finale from Las Vegas:
The 3-Gun Nation Tour is the only point series and qualification standard-setting body in the sport of 3-gun and is sanctioned by the National Rifle Association. 3-Gun Nation matches can be seen on the new home of Versus, NBC Sports Network.
In past years, Safari Club International (SCI) conventions were hosted in Reno, Nevada. This year, SCI’s 40th Annual Hunters’ Convention will be held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center (MBCC) in Las Vegas. This facility is 50% bigger than previous venues. The exhibit show space at the MBCC encompasses 750,000 square feet, with over 2,400 dedicated booth spaces. On the show floor you’ll find hundreds of top-flight outfitters offering the world’s finest hunts, plus numerous firearms displays from manufacturers and custom gun-makers.
In addition, SCI has contracted an additional 250,000 square feet for meeting and ballroom space to support all other SCI-related functions. This enables SCI to house every event under one roof including evening dinner and auction, day time auction, and special banquets. So far, it looks like the 40th Annual SCI show will be the biggest and best ever. SCI member registrations are 20% ahead of 2011’s convention to date and SCI expects 15% more exhibitors than ever before. If you’re an avid hunter, definitely mark your calendar for the SCI Convention in February.
SCI Convention Keynote speakers and evening entertainers include NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre and musicians Martina McBride, Trace Adkins, Brit Beat, and Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons.
Believe it or not, the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s 2013 SHOT Show is only a month away. The SHOT Show, to be held January 15-18 in Las Vegas, is the biggest event of the year in the gun industry. There will be thousands of exhibitors in the Sands Expo & Convention Center. If you qualify to attend the show (SHOT Show is not open to the general public), you can register today at SHOTShow.org. While you’re on the SHOT Show website, you can sign up for optional offerings including retailer and law enforcement seminars, the State of the Industry Dinner, SHOT Show University and more (Some of these programs require significant additional costs). While getting reading for SHOT Show 2013, you can access current updates and SHOT Show news through the SHOT Show Blog and the SHOT Show Facebook Page.
The 35th Anniversary SHOT Show is less than three months away, and there’s no time like the present to start planning your show. Watch this video news update for details on what you need to know about the 2013 SHOT Show. SHOT Show will run January 15-18, 2013 at the Sands Expo Convention Center in Las Vegas. Note: SHOW Show is not open to the general public. However, persons in the shooting industry and working journalists can obtain credentials to attend. Learn more about the 2013 SHOT Show at 
Fire up your VCRs boys, this is the episode of 
Vince Bottomley, editor of 
If you’ve been to SHOT Show at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas, you know that navigating the vast multi-level hall can be challenging to say the least. The lower-level booths are packed tightly together, and the numbering system in the upper halls is confusing. To make the SHOT experience less frustrating, we suggest planning ahead with the 
In past years, Safari Club International (SCI) conventions were hosted in Reno, Nevada. This year, 
