SHOT Show 2022 thoughts and reflections

GEAR CHECK: Our readers don't just follow the news - they stay ready. Featured gear from this story is below.

Daniel Sharp

Another SHOT Show has come to an end and my feet hurt. It was awesome to see familiar faces and all the new innovations in the tactical sector. The majority of the people there were respectful professionals. However, there were a few goobers. Here are some of my thoughts about the event.

Tactical Santa

One of the funniest thing was seeing the chubby old vets with a sack full of swag. They indignantly stomp from table-to-table, gobbling up every scrap of freebies in sight. Stickers, pens, velcro wallets, it doesn’t matter if they already have 27 wallets, they want more. They don’t talk to the vendors. They are only there for the novelties, and to fart up all the aisles.

Mask debacle

Nevada has a statewide mask mandate. A fair amount of attendants were not happy about it. My personal beliefs aside, it was comical seeing the health board officials go toe-to-toe with the handful of attendants chanting “let’s go Brandon.”

New gear

Seeing new products before they hit the market is pretty awesome. Watching tacti-bros trying to act like they already know everything about everything they see… that is gold. It makes me wonder why I’m apparently the only one who’s not already a master of every piece of equipment in existence.

Walking up to a booth

The moment you walk up to a booth, eyes begin darting to your badge. This will determine the way you’re about to be treated. If they see you as a potential buyer or someone who can help them, you’ll get a much warmer reception. Some booths will expect you to already know why their product is impressive, even if they just invented it.

Takeaways

Everyone runs out of business cards fairly fast. It’s a good idea to have a QR code for people to scan. The food options available on site gave me the goose poops. Next time I’ll bring snacks. It is easy to get lost, they told us if you walked by every vendor present, the trail would be 35 miles. However, the app had a built in GPS to show you how to find specific booths.

Overall, SHOT Show was a fun experience, and I plan to come back next year. Although, I will certainly bring more comfy shoes.

You may also like

Blog

American officials privately told Iranian negotiators to disregard Trump's public posts on Truth Social, describing his rhetoric as aimed at domestic audiences while the actual negotiating position behind closed doors is "completely different." A deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz is simultaneously close and falling apart.
Federal agents discovered a sophisticated drug smuggling tunnel running from Tijuana to a fake San Diego storefront called Buy 4 Less, seizing over a ton of cocaine worth $45 million linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Four suspects are charged.
Iran fired 13 ballistic missiles and 17 drones at Kuwait and Bahrain in a predawn attack on June 3, killing one person, heavily damaging Kuwait International Airport and hitting US military bases. The US responded with strikes on Qeshm Island. Social media footage and unverified reports allege a C-17 Globemaster worth $350 million may have been destroyed on the ground.
Leaked documents reveal that BusPatrol, which already has AI cameras on 40,000 school buses across 24 states, plans to add license plate readers that photograph every passing vehicle and share the data with law enforcement without a warrant. Child safety is the pitch. Mass surveillance is the product.
In 1966, federal agents raided 2801 Broadway in San Francisco's most exclusive neighborhood and discovered the largest private weapons cache ever found in American history. The owner was William Thoreson III, a charming heir with a face like a movie star and a mind like a serial killer. He never answered for it.

Like This Story? Check Out What Our Community Is Buying

Our best sellers are designed for real-world use - not hype.

View Best Sellers