SHOT Show continues to amaze

This is a two-part series about attending the 2017 SHOT Show.

C.J. Buck picked up the microphone and addressed the crowd.

“Welcome everyone,” he said. “My great-grandfather, Hoyt Buck, designed the beginning of the Buck Model 119.”

Garnet and I were standing in front of the Buck Knives booth at the 2017 SHOT Show in Las Vegas. This celebration was the 75th anniversary of the birth of the Model 119, known as the Special.

Hoyt responded when the U.S. government stated there was a need for fixed-blade knives by our military and requested donations during World War II. He was a pastor of a small church in Mountain Home, Idaho. The church basement became his knife-making shop.

“I didn’t have any knives, but I sure knew how to make them,” he is quoted as saying at the time in 1942. He worked as a blacksmith as a young boy, so making knives was a natural way for him to contribute to the war effort. Thus, the Model 119 was born.

C.J.’s presentation of the history was most interesting and the large crowd was paying attention to every word. Next, they placed a bowl on the counter and asked for business cards.

Then cards were drawn to give away 19 of the Model 119s, each with a special logo in the handle commemorating this celebration. Not sure why we were so lucky, but we both ended up with one and C.J. engraved each with our names and his initials.

The SHOT Show is more than a booth for Buck Knives. There are booths for Spyderco, Kershaw, Victorinox and other knives as well. Plus hand guns, military guns, cowboy action guns, hunting guns and more guns.

SHOT in Shot Show stands for Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade show. This is a four-day trade show dedicated to the shooting sports and anything associated with the shooting sports.

The numbers are impressive. The National Shooting Sports Foundation explains the show this way, “The show is the largest event hosted at the Sands Expo Center and attracts buyers from all 50 states and more than 100 countries. More than 1,600 exhibiting companies are positioned across show floor space that exceeds 630,000 net square feet-equivalent to more than 13 acres.

“Some 12.5 miles of aisles lead to displays of a wide spectrum of products, including firearms, ammunition, gun safes, locks and cases, optics, shooting range equipment, targets, training and safety equipment, hunting accessories, law enforcement equipment, hearing and eye protection, tree stands, scents and lures, cutlery, GPS systems, holsters, apparel, leather goods, game calls and decoys.”

Viewing and learning about the products are 65,000 buyers and 2,500 members of the press, who will walk those miles to see the items.

Only 1,600 members of the press were invited to an event at the Bolder City Shooting Range the day before the show opened. Garnet and I were there. Also at the range were 200 exhibitors.

On the firing line were rifles and pistols with cases of ammo at every station. An outdoor writer was invited to try whatever rifle or pistol they wanted to try. My interest at this event were the suppressors, which many people call silencers.

These devices screw onto the end of a rifle or pistol barrel and greatly reduces the noise when the rifle or pistol is fired. They are considered safety equipment in many European countries, because the tool makes shooting easier on the ears.

A suppressor does greatly reduce the noise, as I found out while firing a rifle with one attached, but they are not silent. Expectations are leaning toward making them more accessible and legal in more of our states.

The easily identifiable sound of automatic weapons being fired was evident along the firing line. I found myself standing near a table with two such firearms and watched as two people took turns using each.

Usually there are long lines to fire such weapons, but the person in charge turned to me and said it was my turn. The barrel has a tendency to move up when a machine gun is fired.

This man wanted me to first fire the rifle where this would happen. He had me fire it twice to illustrate the full effect. The barrel did move up or jump as the trigger was pulled.

Next he had me fire the second automatic rifle, which remained in place as the trigger was pulled and held down. There was no such jump.

Of course, there is no place in the hunting world for an automatic firearm. But, hey, it sure was fun.

Note: I have fired machine guns while in the Army, but not many. In fact, I have had more machine guns pointed at me and fired in my direction while in Vietnam, than I fired at the enemy. A recurring nightmare has me waking up and wondering how the machine gunner could miss my helicopter.

Next week: More information about the 2017 SHOT Show.