Expo-Nential Success

14,127 Attend The First NRA Carry Guard Expo

This feature appears in the November '17 issue of NRA America’s 1st Freedom, one of the official journals of the National Rifle Association.  

By all accounts, the National Rifle Association’s inaugural NRA Carry Guard Expo was a huge success. More than 14,000 people attended the personal protection and home defense show held at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee.

The event boasted 124 seminars, with topics spanning home defense, active threat protection, concealed-carry tactics, gender- and age-specific training, less-than-lethal defense and much more. According to the NRA, more than a third of the visitors—as many as 6,400—attended one of the seminars and workshops. Another 200 were on hand for the NRA Concealed Carry Fashion Show on Friday night. That event showcased 50 products from nearly two dozen exhibitors.

In addition, the exhibit floor featured 160 exhibitors spread across nearly 100,000 square feet of the Wisconsin Center. Several leading firearms manufacturers were on hand displaying their latest product lines for concealed carry, personal protection and home defense.

It was heartening to both organizers and exhibitors that the crowds came out in force for this first-year event—the biggest and best of its kind.

“The NRA Carry Guard Expo exceeded even my best expectations,” said Marshall Smith, director of trade shows and events for 5.11 Tactical.