Shot Show
Well, the 30th Annual National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) trade show, called simply “the Shot Show”, was held in Las Vegas NV at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) from February 1st through February 5th, 2008. And let me tell you, it was quite a show! Now, mind you, this is from the viewpoint of an ‘outsider’ since my only reason for being included is that I’m fortunate enough to be married to the CFO of Toadstrom, Inc., an e-business on the Web at Toadstrom.com. I was there with my wife and her parents, so this was a pure business trip, not a vacation, despite the fact that we were in the penultimate “Sin City”: Las Vegas Nevada!
Since Toadstrom, Inc. is an “e-tailer” of sporting and camping products, they have joined the NSSF. As members of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, they were invited to attend “Shot Show University” on the Friday before the start of the Shot Show, and to a very nice dinner and concert on Saturday night. I won’t say too much about the “University”, as it was just that – a bunch of business classes. Good for what it was intended to be, I’m sure, but as I was there as a spouse, and not a business partner, it was pretty boring.
Now, the dinner on the other hand – that was cool. It was clearly intended as a way for the various members of the NSSF to meet and mingle. A free bar and cocktails before dinner certainly got the evening moving nicely. We were seated with three other couples for our dinner. During the dinner were shared a little bit and discovered that a few of the folks we were eating with are well known in the world of competitive shooting, and are even ranked among the world’s best.
Much of the sponsorship and funding was provided by Ducks Unlimited and the National Rifle Association, so we had members of those organizations speaking, and we even had a recorded message from Morgan Freeman in support of Ducks Unlimited. A Medal of Honor winner (one of only about 150 surviving such) also spoke, although he had to wait for the standing ovation he had received to die down. I will talk a little more about the politics and direction of Ducks Unlimited and the NRA in later blogs. I will say this now: I am a member of the NRA, and proudly so!
After dinner, we were treated to a live concert by none other than the world-renown Grammy winner, Randy Travis. I’m not an aficionado of country music generally, but I knew many of his songs, much to my surprise. Of course, country music being what it is, I and my wife found we were guessing the lyrics and pretty much able to sing along. A couple of his newer songs were really tear jerkers. One he sang was about ‘three crosses by the side of the road’, and was a story of how four people bound for Mexico were in a fatal crash, and the one who lived became a preacher. Pretty powerful stuff. Randy told a couple of jokes, and some stories. I had not seen or thought of that side of him, but I was impressed. He seems to be a fairly genuine sort. He was certainly well received by the crowd. Not too many people left early, but then again, how often do you a get a nearly private concert, while drinking wine and mixed drinks and eating cheesecake? Yep, it was a nice night!
I’m not sure exactly how large the Las Vegas Convention Center is, but the NSSF Shot Show pushed the envelope. It was too large, and had too many exhibitors to fit under the roof, so two tents were erected in an adjacent parking lot to handle another few hundred booths. There were some TWO THOUSAND vendors present. You name the type of gun, they were probably there. You name the purveyor of tactical or outdoor or hunting accessories, they were probably there. I will go into detail in some later blogs about some of the specific things we looked at, learned about and played with. Many of these companies don’t like working with Internet-based ‘e-businesses’ so we didn’t spend too much time there. Others were more than willing to discuss the growing opportunity presented by online sales, so it was a mixed bag. I did like poking in the Sig Sauer display, although Toadstrom, Inc. (Toadstrom.com) will not be selling guns in the foreseeable future. But I hadn’t handled an assault rifle before then – ooh, I had chills! And there were more than one display of .50 caliber rifles that I and my wife’s dad were fiddling around with. Manufacturers and sellers of GPS units, backpacks, flashlights, binoculars, hunting clothing, and just about anything else even remotely associated with hunting, camping, the outdoors, or any other reason to use and carry a gun. Even Blackhawk and Blackwater, the US Army, the Paralyzed Veterans of America, NV-OSHA, and the ATF had booths and were talking with the visitors and buyers. And I almost failed to mention all the cools toys and gadgets that were on display, and even for giveaway: the H-2 that had a deer-stand on the roof, the Jeep Rubicon that was painted and tricked by for the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Rhino off-road vehicle with all the accessories, and the US Army sponsored quarter mile dragster.
Toadstrom, Inc. (Toadstrom.com) was able to accomplish what they had set out to: They met representatives of the companies they regularly work with, and even handled and used many of the products that they have sold online already. We also met some more people and saw some products that can be added to the Toadstrom, Inc. (Toadstrom.com) inventory and list of providers. We have all learned quite a bit over the past 10 or 11 months that Toadstrom, Inc. Toadstrom.com) has been around, and they have found many outdoor products that people need and want. Now, they can say of much of that they have handled it, used it, or talked with the people who make or sell it, so they can easily and truthfully tell you about them.
Well, it was five days in which we walked probably 4 or 5 miles AT the Shot Show daily, after walking through our hotel, to the bus or the monorail, so we were four tired people, let me tell you. But it was a good trip overall, since as a family we got to spend quite a bit of time together, and for Toadstrom, Inc. (Toadstrom.com) they reaffirmed some relationships and partnerships, and started some others.
The next Shot Show will be next January in Orlando Florida…I wonder if Toadstrom, Inc. is going there? I’ve never been to Orlando…
Well, the 30th Annual National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) trade show, called simply “the Shot Show”, was held in Las Vegas NV at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) from February 1st through February 5th, 2008. And let me tell you, it was quite a show! Now, mind you, this is from the viewpoint of an ‘outsider’ since my only reason for being included is that I’m fortunate enough to be married to the CFO of Toadstrom, Inc., an e-business on the Web at Toadstrom.com. I was there with my wife and her parents, so this was a pure business trip, not a vacation, despite the fact that we were in the penultimate “Sin City”: Las Vegas Nevada!
Since Toadstrom, Inc. is an “e-tailer” of sporting and camping products, they have joined the NSSF. As members of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, they were invited to attend “Shot Show University” on the Friday before the start of the Shot Show, and to a very nice dinner and concert on Saturday night. I won’t say too much about the “University”, as it was just that – a bunch of business classes. Good for what it was intended to be, I’m sure, but as I was there as a spouse, and not a business partner, it was pretty boring.
Now, the dinner on the other hand – that was cool. It was clearly intended as a way for the various members of the NSSF to meet and mingle. A free bar and cocktails before dinner certainly got the evening moving nicely. We were seated with three other couples for our dinner. During the dinner were shared a little bit and discovered that a few of the folks we were eating with are well known in the world of competitive shooting, and are even ranked among the world’s best.
Much of the sponsorship and funding was provided by Ducks Unlimited and the National Rifle Association, so we had members of those organizations speaking, and we even had a recorded message from Morgan Freeman in support of Ducks Unlimited. A Medal of Honor winner (one of only about 150 surviving such) also spoke, although he had to wait for the standing ovation he had received to die down. I will talk a little more about the politics and direction of Ducks Unlimited and the NRA in later blogs. I will say this now: I am a member of the NRA, and proudly so!
After dinner, we were treated to a live concert by none other than the world-renown Grammy winner, Randy Travis. I’m not an aficionado of country music generally, but I knew many of his songs, much to my surprise. Of course, country music being what it is, I and my wife found we were guessing the lyrics and pretty much able to sing along. A couple of his newer songs were really tear jerkers. One he sang was about ‘three crosses by the side of the road’, and was a story of how four people bound for Mexico were in a fatal crash, and the one who lived became a preacher. Pretty powerful stuff. Randy told a couple of jokes, and some stories. I had not seen or thought of that side of him, but I was impressed. He seems to be a fairly genuine sort. He was certainly well received by the crowd. Not too many people left early, but then again, how often do you a get a nearly private concert, while drinking wine and mixed drinks and eating cheesecake? Yep, it was a nice night!
I’m not sure exactly how large the Las Vegas Convention Center is, but the NSSF Shot Show pushed the envelope. It was too large, and had too many exhibitors to fit under the roof, so two tents were erected in an adjacent parking lot to handle another few hundred booths. There were some TWO THOUSAND vendors present. You name the type of gun, they were probably there. You name the purveyor of tactical or outdoor or hunting accessories, they were probably there. I will go into detail in some later blogs about some of the specific things we looked at, learned about and played with. Many of these companies don’t like working with Internet-based ‘e-businesses’ so we didn’t spend too much time there. Others were more than willing to discuss the growing opportunity presented by online sales, so it was a mixed bag. I did like poking in the Sig Sauer display, although Toadstrom, Inc. (Toadstrom.com) will not be selling guns in the foreseeable future. But I hadn’t handled an assault rifle before then – ooh, I had chills! And there were more than one display of .50 caliber rifles that I and my wife’s dad were fiddling around with. Manufacturers and sellers of GPS units, backpacks, flashlights, binoculars, hunting clothing, and just about anything else even remotely associated with hunting, camping, the outdoors, or any other reason to use and carry a gun. Even Blackhawk and Blackwater, the US Army, the Paralyzed Veterans of America, NV-OSHA, and the ATF had booths and were talking with the visitors and buyers. And I almost failed to mention all the cools toys and gadgets that were on display, and even for giveaway: the H-2 that had a deer-stand on the roof, the Jeep Rubicon that was painted and tricked by for the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Rhino off-road vehicle with all the accessories, and the US Army sponsored quarter mile dragster.
Toadstrom, Inc. (Toadstrom.com) was able to accomplish what they had set out to: They met representatives of the companies they regularly work with, and even handled and used many of the products that they have sold online already. We also met some more people and saw some products that can be added to the Toadstrom, Inc. (Toadstrom.com) inventory and list of providers. We have all learned quite a bit over the past 10 or 11 months that Toadstrom, Inc. Toadstrom.com) has been around, and they have found many outdoor products that people need and want. Now, they can say of much of that they have handled it, used it, or talked with the people who make or sell it, so they can easily and truthfully tell you about them.
Well, it was five days in which we walked probably 4 or 5 miles AT the Shot Show daily, after walking through our hotel, to the bus or the monorail, so we were four tired people, let me tell you. But it was a good trip overall, since as a family we got to spend quite a bit of time together, and for Toadstrom, Inc. (Toadstrom.com) they reaffirmed some relationships and partnerships, and started some others.
The next Shot Show will be next January in Orlando Florida…I wonder if Toadstrom, Inc. is going there? I’ve never been to Orlando…
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