There, I said it.
I’ve never been to SHOT Show. Even if I were welcome there, which as a non-press hoi polloi I certainly would not be, you couldn’t drag me screaming to a crowded convention in Las Vegas. It’s one reason I’m armed, to prevent anyone from trying. Some people have zombies, I have convention venues. I didn’t say it was a major reason.
So if I’ve never been and I’ll never be, why do I bother hating on SHOT Show? It’s because I’m a retired boomer with too much time on his hands in winter. I admit I spend a lot of it watching Youtube, and I’m a gun guy so I’m familiar with most of the gun channels though I ignore most of them. But SHOT Show is a guaranteed font of content for guntubers, so…
…during and after that stupid convention, all I see are images of two things: a) Faked-together vaporware that will never actually be sold, and b) Another exciting! plastic striker-fired 9mm!! Now with extra bumpy bits!!!
Just saying, I annually look forward to SHOT Show going away. It’s a personal peeve, your mileage may vary.
At least sometimes they are comical. In 2023 there was the ZENK RZMK-357, a “modern revolver” that looked, well, improbable at best. Some nice photoshop work lead people to believe it was real, but reality had other ideas.
Oh, I dunno, that 5.7×28 looks kinda neat in a Buck Rogers kinda way. Tho I don’t think I would want to actually shoot it. Is there a wireless ocular brain implant for acquiring a sight picture?
And it is not even April 1st yet. Go figure.
Not a show Show guy, but I do miss the Del Mar Gun show in California. Before the Politico Correctos took over, the latest and greatest, whatever, would be there in sufficient quantities to get it competitively priced. The good part was the number of used guns, gun heaven on earth! Two, giant auditoriums full, San Diego County Fair buildings with tons of outside venders (7000), with Co. Fair FOOD!!! Plus walkins with a gun for sale, I once got a nice Garand for $300 when it should have been $600+, but I was the 1st one to ask him “How much?”, lucky me.
Now I just do little County gun shows. They’re nice, occasionally you find something interesting. It seems everybody is running internet universal prices-same as California.