The 2015 and 37th annual National Shooting Sports Foundation SHOT Show is here with 12.5 miles of aisles full of guns, gear and educational products ready to go. The show floor opened this morning and will welcome 60,000 attendees representing more than 10,000 manufacturers, distributors, publishers, sportsmen's organizations and retailers to Las Vegas this week. A whopping $90 million dollars will be dumped into the local economy over the next four days.
According to NSSF, the show "provides buyers and media a first look at new equipment and services used for target shooting, hunting, outdoor and law enforcement purposes. The show is open to trade members only and not to the public; consumers will see the products unveiled here on retailers' shelves during the course of the year."
Tomorrow NSSF will release new data about who is participating in the the industry and on female shooters in particular, who make up the fastest growing population of firearms owners.
"Our industry continues to see new and different customers embrace firearms ownership and the shooting sports. New gun owners-someone who has purchased their first firearm in the last five years-represent about a quarter of the total, and they are younger, female, urban/suburban-based and from many ethnic backgrounds," NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti said in a statement. "These new participants are altering people's perceptions of who firearm owners are and what they look like. It's very gratifying to see the broad-based appeal of our sports and culture. As an industry, we are determined not only to provide people with excellent gear to enjoy recreational shooting but also to deter legislation intended to burden law-abiding gun owners and provide appropriate safety and educational materials to help deter unauthorized access to firearms."
Popular political figures like Sarah Palin, Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke and rock star Ted Nugent will be in attendance at the show.
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