Vegas trip has interesting beginning

This is the first of a two-part series about attending the 2014 SHOT Show.

So there I was, minding my own business, when...

The sound of the telephone shattered my peaceful sleep. It was 11:30 p.m.

"Hello," Garnet said.

"Who are you and what are you doing in that room?" the person on the other end said.

"Well," Garnet said, "who are you?"

"I'm the manager at the front desk," the person said. "You are not supposed to be in that room and you must vacate immediately. I have bellhops outside your door waiting to help you move."

Garnet handed me the phone and then she walked to the door.

"What's going on?" I asked the manager and she told me the same story.

Garnet walked to the bed and whispered to me, "There are four men standing outside our door."

I reached for my Colt Commander .45 kept in the nightstand next to the bed, but it wasn't where it should be. We were not at home, but were experiencing our first night in Las Vegas to attend the Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show, also known as the SHOT Show.

"I will be down at 4:30 to settle this," I told the manager. "Now we are going to get some rest."

Garnet checked and the men were gone and we tried to sleep. Of course, sleep was elusive and neither one of us closed our eyes, so I headed to the front desk at 3 a.m.

The manager explained the situation: Our room was scheduled for maintenance and it should not have been assigned to a guest. The problem centered on the fact we were given three reservations, not just one. This was because we always stay at the Stratosphere and, therefore, were given two nights free.

We needed to change rooms and there was no way around this situation. The manager then softened the blow of the inconvenience we were experiencing, by knocking $100 off of our room price and giving us a buffet dinner.

The change was from Room 023 to Room 013 on floor 18. I told the manager I could call if we needed help.

Garnet was up and ready to change rooms when I returned. The room change was completed in about 20 minutes with no other help required.

By this time, 4:30 a.m., we were wired and sleep was not an option. We headed for breakfast and then to catch a bus to the Boulder Rifle and Pistol Club. This is an annual event taking place the day before the beginning of the SHOT Show.

The idea of taking outdoor writers to the range is for the firearm, optic and other shooting-related product manufactures to allow outdoor writers a chance to try their new products. Imagine a new Glock pistol or Remington rifle at a shooting station with cases of ammo nearby. All the writer need do is sit down and shoot as much as desired. With a thousand writers and a couple thousand firearms available, imagine the fun of trying the new products.

Plus many manufactures of shooting-related products, but not firearms, had booths at the range. This allowed them to show their products to the writers. An example is the Camp Chef people who were showing off new outdoor cooking products.

While visiting at one booth, I felt an object hit my neck. At first I thought it was a drop of water and looked up to see the origin of the object. No water was visible. I felt my neck and retrieved a piece of metal. It was a bullet fragment.

Analyzing the source was interesting. The firing line was behind me and I was facing away from the targets, which were around 100 yards from my back. The wind was blowing 15 or more miles per hour in my direction.

A bullet striking a metal target must have shattered and sent fragments high into the air. The wind, blowing in my direction, must have carried one small fragment in my direction, where it drifted down wind and landed on my neck. The significance of this experience for us all is to realize the importance of wearing eye glasses everywhere on a shooting range, not just on the firing line.

Garnet and I were tired from the room change the night before and, therefore, from lack of sleep, so we didn't participate as much as usual. My focus was on shooting a crossbow and I did several times. Interesting tool and one I hope to own one day. We headed back to Las Vegas and our new room at noon.

Next week: On the floor of the SHOT Shot and attending the Outdoor Channel Golden Moose Awards.