By: Teresa Mull

Gunpowder Magazine – and many of our contributing writers – are at the SHOT (Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade) Show in Las Vegas this week. GPM will be providing daily updates, live reports on social media, and exciting product previews all week.

Here are some facts (from the National Shooting Sports Foundation website) about “the mother of all outdoor shows.” Comment below this article if there’s something specific you’d like GPM to check out for you at SHOT!

At the 2018 show, exhibitors, buyers, media and other industry professionals hailed from all 50 states and more than 100 countries.

The 2019 SHOT Show will have more than 1,600 exhibitors on the exhibit floor and more than 2,400 total when including the Supplier Showcase and the all-new Pop-Up Preview.

SHOT is the largest event held at the Sands Expo and Convention Center. Total exhibit space for the 2019 show is expected to be more than 692,000 net square feet— equivalent to nearly 16 acres.

The SHOT Show boasts 12.5 miles of aisles—just a little less than the distance of a half-marathon.

More than 60,000 professionals in the shooting, hunting, outdoors, and law enforcement industry attended SHOT Show in 2018.

More than 2,400 members of the outdoor media, including international media, cover the show and promote the products they see at SHOT in their stories.

The 2018 SHOT Show brought over $88 million in non-gaming revenue to the Las Vegas economy.

Firearms and ammunition are a $6.2 billion industry (2017). The total economic impact of the industry is more than $51 billion, which supports more than 310,000 jobs.

The total weight of the exhibits for the 2018 SHOT Show brought in by Freeman, the SHOT Show’s general service contractor, exceeded 7,000,000 pounds, the heaviest show ever held at the Sands Expo Center.

Teresa Mull is editor of Gunpowder Magazine. Contact her at [email protected].

Photo Courtesy of NSSF.