Day at the range

The SHOT Show has become an annual event for Garnet and me. We have made this trip for 25-plus years. This year the dates of SHOT were Jan. 21 through 24, a Tuesday through Friday.

We head for Spokane on the Saturday before the show and spend the night at the Ramada at the airport. A Sunday mid-day flight was preferred in years past, but last year reservations were made too late, so only an early flight was available. This incident redirected our flight efforts.

Normally the flight to Las Vegas is full, with every seat taken. Not so on this 8:25 a.m. departure. There were 60-plus seats empty last year. This earlier flight is now our favorite.

Traveling can be a time-consuming experience, even though many would consider a trip to Vegas to be simple. Once in the airport the traveler must collect luggage and seek transportation.

A two-way ticket is purchased for van transportation to our hotel. We stay at The Stratosphere, which is now called The Strat. Extensive remodeling has taken place over the past few years.

Why arrive a day early, as we were in Vegas on Sunday and SHOT didn’t begin until Tuesday? The SHOT Show organizers recognized another opportunity for manufactures of firearms, ammunition and other related products to have the press and buyers experience some hands-on knowledge of the products.

This is titled Industry Day at the Range. It is an invitation-only event, with around 1,800 media and buyers attending. Over 200 manufacturers’ have products for test firing and demonstrations.

Imagine one firearm manufacturer having a different firearm at several shooting stations. Stacked beside the firearm are cases of ammunition.

An attendee need only take a seat and shoot as much or as little as desired. There are long lines at some stations, while others are begging for shooters.

“Come shoot this machine gun,” a gun representative called to me.

The machine gun, legal in Nevada, was fun to shoot, but this was all. There is no practical use for a machine gun in my life. Besides, more machine guns have been aimed/fired at me than me shooting a machine gun.

Another fun product experienced at the range was a 12-gauge shotgun with a box-type container capable of holding 25 rounds. As fast as the clay birds could be released two of us shooters were blasting them out of the sky.

This created nonstop entertainment for about five minutes. Again, it would be fun to have one and shoot and shoot and shoot, but think of the expense of shooting all of those shells.