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January 22, 2018

SHOT Show® Celebrates 40th Anniversary at Sands Expo in Las Vegas


The world’s largest trade show for target shooting, hunting, outdoor and law enforcement products.

LAS VEGAS — The Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade ShowSM (SHOT Show®) will take place at the Sands Expo Center from January 23-26. The 2018 show marks the 40th anniversary of the event and 20th time the show has been in Las Vegas.

Over four days, SHOT Show will attract more than 60,000 professionals from the firearms and outdoor industry to view new, innovative products used for target shooting, hunting, outdoor recreation and law enforcement purposes.

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 members 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 during the year.

The SHOT Show has grown exponentially since it started in 1979, in St. Louis. That inaugural show attracted 5,600 attendees and had 290 exhibitors covering 51,153 net square feet of exhibit space. Compare that to the 2018 show with an expected attendance of more than 60,000 and attracting 1,660 exhibiting companies occupying more than 630,000 net square feet of space, completing filling the Sands Expo. Taking the new, two-day Suppliers Showcase into account, more than 2,100 companies will be exhibiting at SHOT Show this year.

Many official show events cluster around the four days of SHOT Show itself, creating “SHOT Week.” These include the 4th 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 expanded two-day Supplier Showcase is a show-within-a-show for more than 400 OEM third-party suppliers to meet with exhibiting manufacturers and explore their needs for extrusions, fabrication, fabrics, machinery, metal, plastics, software, logistical support and tools.

Education has always been an important component of SHOT Show and includes SHOT Show University for retailers as well as a law enforcement education program. Presenters include representatives from ATF, FBI and the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

On the day before SHOT Show opens, Industry Day at the Range, with more than 200 exhibitors, provides hands-on experience to 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.

NSSF promotes several of its key programs at booths at the show, including the Project  ChildSafe national firearms safety program and the straw-purchase prevention program Don’t Lie for the Other Guy. NSSF’s new Operation Secure Store is a comprehensive initiative with ATF to help Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) make well-informed security-related decisions to deter and prevent firearms thefts.

NSSF will be promoting its National Shooting Sports Month, taking place in August, at the SHOT Show, encouraging attendees to help celebrate the fun and enjoyment of target shooting.

For the ninth year in a row, the SHOT Show will take place at the Sands Expo Center. SHOT is the largest event hosted at the Sands and attracts buyers from all 50 states and more than 100 countries. 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 equipment, hearing and eye protection, tree stands, scents and lures, cutlery, GPS systems, holsters, apparel, leather goods, game calls and decoys.

Anyone with an interest in the show and new industry products can learn more www.shotshow.org or by following the show’s news on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

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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 more than 11,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers. For more information, visit nssf.org.

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Media contact:
Bill Brassard
203-426-1320

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