The flood of gun innovations being unveiled this week and, indeed, the very existence of the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show) are statements about the resilience of American freedom.
More than 55,000 people come to this show from all 50 states and from, in 2024, a total of 119 countries, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). This is an industry that grew in America—that was, in fact, a central pillar of the American industrial revolution—and that is still evolving and meeting demand.
The SHOT Show is not a consumer gun show. It is a trade show. The SHOT Show is for those in the gun business. As I write this, everyone who is anyone in the gun business is likely in Las Vegas for the SHOT Show. This year’s show has over 2,800 exhibitors. Guns and gear are spread out over about 830,000 square feet (about 18 acres). There are over 14 miles of aisles at the show.
This is the 47th annual SHOT Show. It is the key annual event for this $8.9 billion industry; in fact, the SHOT show is the largest event held at The Venetian Expo. It has grown so big the NSSF had to expand it in 2022 into the nearby Caesars Forum.
Almost all the retailers Americans buy guns, ammunition and related products from send representatives to Vegas this week to see what is hot, to look for product introductions and line extensions that their customers might want and to place orders.
In sum, this show represents the engine of innovation that is the gun industry in America and in the various parts of the world that make guns for Americans. These manufacturers are continuously evolving and rethinking freedom’s tool—yes, guns—in order to please you and me.
This is also the competitive marketplace that some freedom-loathing politicians and activists want to shut down. Former President Joe Biden (D) once called this industry “the enemy” for this reason. He did not, of course, articulate just what he thinks this industry is the enemy of. But then, he wouldn’t, as gun makers and gun owners are natural enemies of anyone who wants to subjugate the citizenry.
While it is important to know, or to remember, this basic truth, it is also important to appreciate and then to enjoy these new products. These images from the SHOT Show only exhibit a handful, but there is just too much to show.
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