This is the third in a series of reports from the 2012 Shooting, Hunting Outdoors Trade (SHOT) Show, the largest gathering of shooting and outdoor retailers, along with associated media, in the world.

It’s almost over for me.

Today was the third day of the SHOT show and it comes none too soon.  Having spent five days in Vegas, meeting untold people, destroying my diet, draining a considerable number of beer bottles and making all sorts of grand plans, it’s time to head home.  Shortly after the posting of this narrative, the computer will be shut down, the suitcase zipped up and we will head to the airport after a short siesta.

First order of business: there was no post yesterday.  As near as we can guess, yesterday was the day that our body finally made the adjustment from Eastern Time to Mountain Time.  Of course, we are now headed back home and will undoubtedly suffer another bout of minor jet lag but that’s the price you pay to play.

Yesterday was productive but we were somewhat in a mental haze all day.  To those skeptics out there: no, it had nothing to do with excessive consumption of spirituous beverages.  If it had, at least there would have been a semi-scientific explanation.

Next it: we’re not a “foodie” by any stretch of the imagination but the highest point of our day yesterday was arguably dinner.  We dined at an establishment called “First Food and Bar” in the Venetian Hotel.  Sammy D (Sam Demarco) is the executive chef.  I had seared Ahi tuna garnished with pomegranate seeds served with some alien green vegetable and deep-fried pumpkin ravioli.  The tuna was incredible and the ravioli, though it initially sounded questionable, was astounding.   Watching the pirate battle at the Treasure Island casino from the window at our table was a bonus as was the fact that one of our cohorts picked up the tab on his expense account.  Long live corporate America!

It’s nice to feel completely civilized once in a while, even if it is only an illusion.

Sadly, we were invited to dinner tonight at one of Vegas’ hottest restaurants as the guest of a major publisher, but were forced to decline as we will be rising at “Oh-Dark-Thirty” in order to make our plane.

We did dodge a bullet last night when our dinner companions headed to the casino as we headed to bed.  Apparently the evening ended sometime just before sunrise as the group joined a gaggle of porn stars (in town for a trade show, not to be confused with the stripper’s convention we mentioned in post #1) to shoot craps until the wee hours.  For the record, my friends said the men and women of the smut industry were “really nice and very down-to-earth.”

Oh, the SHOT show?

The last two days have been a series of meetings, conferences, more meetings, running into old friends and trying to make sense of all the data that your brain becomes saturated with as you run willy-nilly through the show.

As I look over my notes, sometimes there will be entries such as “GRp W booth, call guy next week, seen srtr0– fly down.  CALL!!”

I have no idea what some of these entries mean but perhaps when I spread all the business cards, notes and literature out on the floor at home, it will make some type of sense.

For those who listen to Indiana Outdoors Radio Show on WFNI “The Fan” AM-1070, Yours Truly will do a call-in segment with host Bryan Poynter.  If you are not familiar with the show, I’m not surprised because it airs from 5-6 am on Saturday mornings on AM 1070.  Bryan does an outstanding job and it is unfortunate that the program director at The Fan has relegated the show to essentially the Death Valley of radio programming.

One question that often arises about the SHOT Show concerns the cele3brity sightings.  We’ve seen plenty.  Whether it was running into Maj. John Plaster (“The Ultimate Sniper”)  while cutting a corner or seeing Jim Zumbo coming out of the restroom, there are plenty of noteworthy folks to ogle.

Here is a semi-comprehensive list of our personal celebrity sightings in no particular order: R. Lee Ermy (TV, movies), Chuck Mawhinny (most confirmed kills by USMC Sniper), John Plaster (see above), Sammy Davis (Medal of Honor recipient, Indiana resident), Ted Nugent (Rock star, wild animal), The Bone Collector guys (I don’t watch the show), Richard Marcinko (Red Cell), Jeffery Deaver (famous author, wrote latest “new” “official” James Bond 007 novel), John Gilstrap (famous author), Chris Kyle (#1 U.S Military sniper of all time, former SEAL), Jim Shockey (some hunting show I don’t watch, but he is ruggedly handsome), Doug Koenig (“World’s best all-around shooter “)….and several more who are apparently famous but I personally didn’t know.   I missed Beary Grylls and Survivorman, along with several UFC and country music stars.

In one memorable instance, I was chatting with a guy at a meeting and later someone mentioned that he was a either the winner or runner up on one of those reality TV shooting shows.  Unfortunately, I don’t remember his name or the show but it meant nothing to me either way.  Looking back at the above list and my comments, it’s rather apparent that I don’t watch much TV.

Well, it’s time to shut down the netbook for the evening.  With any type of luck, we’ll post a wrap-up of the SHOW Show in the next day or so.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites