Why This SHOT Show Will Be My Last

I’ve been blessed. No doubt about it. Having now attended 25 out of the past 27 SHOT Shows has been an awesome experience. Yet, there comes a point in time where one must move on.

Over the years while attending SHOT I have experienced some awesome venues and host cities. Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Orlando, and of course, Las Vegas. Each location established its own unique personality and I watched the SHOT Show grow into what it has become today–one of the largest trade shows held annually in the U.S.

Over the years I’ve seen lots of unique and revolutionizing product innovations. After all, that’s what the SHOT Show is all about, isn’t it?

Perhaps, but what SHOT has provided most to me has been relationships. Relationships with fellow outdoors writers, gun buyers, exhibitors, manufacturers reps, industry movers and shakers, and many others who share a common interest of shooting and the outdoors.

The SHOT Show is an industry show meaning you can’t gain access without credentials. During the early years those credentials were pretty easy to establish. No more. Today, access to SHOT requires an approval process that certainly is meant to weed out the marginal attendees.

Indeed, SHOT has evolved into a highly regarded and respected industry trade show holding almost mystical dream-like possibilities for the average enthusiast who may never get to attend.

So, why would a sane person give up all of this for future years? It’s a question I’ve asked myself many times over the past year as I’ve pondered this difficult decision. I honestly have no specific reason that sounds good to articulate. Just that sometimes you feel it’s time to move on to new experiences and break out of the routine.

Does this mean I will never attend another SHOT at some time in the future…probably not! Yet, I have already made commitments for both 2016 and 2017 that makes SHOT attendance those years out of the question.

In the coming days leading up to SHOT Show 2015 I plan a few posts reflecting back on my past SHOT experiences. I hope you will find them insightful, interesting, and perhaps even a bit thought-provoking.

SHOT holds lots of possibilities for everyone who attends. A good SHOT Show can make or break many businesses. Dreams come to life by upstart vendors banking on a new product’s acceptance. There’s local gun store buyers with a keen eye for those products that set them apart from the big box stores. Everyone who attends SHOT has goals and objectives to achieve.

This year I plan to soak up the SHOT Show experience with a vision of a person who knows they won’t be back next year or even the year after. It’s time for me to step back and focus on some other important things in my life.

During the next few Januarys SHOT will become an opportunity cost as I take my 6y/o daughter to places that help live out her dreams. Oh, yes…Disney strikes the same sort of magic in the hearts of youngsters of all ages much as SHOT has done for me for over two decades.

Indeed, the SHOT Show is very much like a temporary theme park for those of us who enjoy guns and the outdoors. But like everything else in life, there comes a time to say goodbye!