|
LAS VEGAS — The 42nd Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade ShowSM (SHOT Show®) opened today at the Sands Expo Center, where a record 2,600 companies will exhibit products related to target shooting, hunting, outdoor recreation and law enforcement.
SHOT Show spans four days, Jan. 21-24, with additional show-related events in Las Vegas creating “SHOT Week” that include a fundraiser golf tournament to support healing veterans, Industry Day at the Range and SHOT UniversityTM, a professional development series.
SHOT Show attracts nearly 60,000 professionals representing 113 countries from the firearms and outdoor industry.
Owned and sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation® (NSSF®), the firearms industry trade association, SHOT Show is the largest trade show of its kind in the world. The show is open to trade professionals only and not to the public. No firearms are transferred at the show. Consumers will see the products unveiled at SHOT Show on retailers’ shelves throughout the coming the year.
The 2020 SHOT Show marks the 22nd time the show has been in Las Vegas. It has been at the Sands Expo continuously the last 11 years.
SHOT Show provides a significant economic contribution to the Las Vegas and Nevada business communities, pumping more than $88 million in non-gaming revenue into the economy. The record 2,600 exhibiting companies occupy more than 692,000 net square feet of exhibit space, completely filling the Sands Expo. To satisfy a huge waiting list of companies seeking to be part of the show, SHOT Show will expand in 2021 into exhibit space at the new Caesars Forum.
This demand for exhibit space at the show reflects the high interest Americans have for firearms ownership and recreational shooting equipment. NSSF surveys show that some 40 million Americans would like to learn more about the shooting sports.
Firearms safety is a major theme of the show, with the industry’s leading gun safety initiatives — NSSF’s Project ChildSafe®, Operation Secure Store®, Fix NICS®, Don’t Lie for the Other GuyTM and its suicide prevention program, collectively known as “Real Solutions. Safer CommunitiesSM”— looking to expand their industry partnerships, with the goal of helping to further reduce firearms accidents, thefts and misuse. For the first time, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, which has partnered with NSSF to help reduce the rates of suicide by firearm, will have a booth at the show to promote participation in the AFSP-NSSF Suicide Prevention Program.
NSSF also will be promoting its +ONESM Movement encouraging hunters and target shooters to mentor newcomers, as well as its National Shooting Sports Month®, a celebration of recreational shooting taking place every August.
SHOT Week includes the 6th Annual NSSF/HAVA Golf Classic in support of Honored American Veterans Afield, a firearms industry-run charitable organization that helps the healing of disabled combat veterans and their reintegration back into normal life through participation in hunting and shooting sports.
The two-day Supplier Showcase is a show-within-a-show, with 540 third-party OEM suppliers meeting with exhibiting manufacturers and exploring their needs for extrusions, fabrication, fabrics, machinery, metal, plastics, software, logistical support and tools. The event has more than doubled in size since its introduction at the 2017 show.
The 2020 SHOT Show will continue for the second year its one-day Pop-Up Preview section, where 260 exhibitors will showcase clothing, footwear, cameras, tents and other gear that today’s hunters and outdoors enthusiasts demand.
Education is an important part of SHOT Show and includes the full-day SHOT University and a variety of shorter Retailer Seminars taking place throughout the show week for retailers, as well as a dedicated law-enforcement education program. In the past, presenters have included representatives from ATF, FBI and the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Through its FixNICS initiative, NSSF has helped to significantly improve the FBI’s NICS database by adding the names of persons prohibited from legally owning or possessing a firearm.
On the day before SHOT Show opens, Industry Day at the Range, with more than 200 exhibitors, provides hands-on experience with hundreds of firearms, ammunition, optics and vehicles to more than 1,600 invited outdoor media members and buyers. NSSF is the title sponsor of the event. More than 2,400 members of the trade press cover SHOT Show.
SHOT Show is the largest event conducted at the Sands. Some 12.5 miles of aisles lead to displays of firearms, ammunition, gun safes, locks and cases, optics, shooting range equipment, targets, training and safety equipment, hunting accessories, law enforcement gear, hearing and eye protection, tree stands, scents and lures, cutlery, GPS systems and other electronics, holsters, apparel, leather goods, game calls and decoys.
Anyone with an interest in the show and new industry products can learn more at SHOTShow.org or by following the show’s news on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
-30-
About NSSF
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers nationwide. For more information, log on to www.nssf.org. |
