SHOT Show 2018 kicks off in Las Vegas

By Daniel Terrill

In true Vegas fashion, the NSSF welcomes patrons to SHOT Show 2018 at the Sands Expo. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Tuesday began the 40th annual Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trade Show in Las Vegas where the gun and shooting sports industries converge with clients and media.
Citing last year’s figures, the show brought in some 2,000 exhibitors to the Sands Expo that attracted approximately 64,000 people in the business as well as buyers for military and law enforcement, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association that organized the event.
The NSSF reported the firearms and ammunition industries generate $8 billion in annual revenue. Yet, the gun industry has taken an economic hit due to the U.S. political climate over guns mellowing since voters put a Republican majority in both chambers of Congress and one in the White House.
Despite gun sales holding strong in 2017 — falling a modest 12 percent behind the record setting 2016 — the industry had overproduced and saw earning potential fall. Sales for companies like Smith & Wesson fell 17 percent, Vista Outdoor by 12 percent, and Sturm, Ruger & Co. by about 20 percent for the year.
Retailers also took a hit, most significantly Gander Mountain, which declared

Source: Guns.com