SHOT Show 2023 Debrief:
SHOT Show 2023 felt like old times! The pandemic mostly in our rear-view mirror, and folks were out and about and enjoying themselves. It was good to see all of our old friends who couldn’t make show since Jan 2020. 10 months in the war in Ukraine, many of our European friends are now seeing a spike in business. Recon and TACWRK in Germany, TR in France, Endeavour Tactical UK. Entities from Asia were also back; Lin from Survivor tactical Taiwan made the trip.
Our helmet bag, rash guard for conceal carry, shade shirts, and new Andrew Bawidamann Hawaiian shirts were the most popular items checked out in the booth! People also like our classic packing cubes, range bags and LV insulated jackets. Eric Graves from Soldier Systems Daily came to check out our new chest rig/placard and cummerbund attachment system. we are putting on our new chest rig and UAC (Universal Armor Carrier) plate carrier. We are also selling these parts to other nylon gear companies and the reaction was amazing! They are both a lightweight and elegant way to attach your gear together.
We also saw:
- Tom Marshall from Recoil Magazine
- Dana Gleason and D3 from Mystery Ranch
- David Kramer from MagPul and SOC-F
- Ernesto, Matt and Greg Thompson from Crye Precision
- Joe Savio from Modern Material and Holosun
- Zane and Adam from Spiritus Systems
- Jon of Larp Labs
- Zach Stone, Christina Rhine, and William from Son Of Liberty Gun Works
- Chip Lasky from Unity Tactical
- Zach with Cana Provisions
- The TNVC crew
- Don Edwards, Eric and Sam Houston from Greenline Tactical
- Redbeard Tactical
- Christian Craighead, who told us about his “adventure” in Nairobi Kenya
- Social Media personality and Army soldier, Hailey Lujan hung out in the booth for some laughs
The daily after-show parties were also a lot of fun! SOC-F (Special Operations Care Fund), kicked it off the good times at the Leatherneck bar! Also sponsored by us, Sons of Liberty Gun Works, and Big Tex Ordnance with affordable drinks, sausage, and meatball buffet! Garand Thumb was also spotted prior to his food poisoning as well.
The Blackwater party was fun over at the Battlefield Las Vegas property. We had fun playing on old armor fighting vehicles, watching old Blackwater training videos projected on massive screens, and gorging ourselves on burgers from the In-N-Out Burger trailer.
Every year the Crye Precision party is always a special event, and this year it did not disappoint! Held in a massive arena, this year’s theme was Honey I Shrunk the Party – Buzz & Woddy’s Sausage Fest. It included massive life-sized games from our childhood, Hungry Hungry Hippos, Rock’em Sock’em Robots, Legos, Operation to name a few. Some of our new team members had never been before, so at closing time we had to drag them out as the gravitational pull was so strong. Pretty sure we also forgot Austin and he had to catch an Uber back.
The industry has its challenges, a popular culture and big tech that has a love hate relationship with the gun and adjacent industries as well as political head winds. That said I feel pretty optimistic about the state of the industry and its future. Enjoy the rest of 2023 and see you next year!
-Todd Fairbairn (Founder and CEO)
