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Hello fellow BB war fighter’s I'm sure by now you have seen quite a few videos, FB posts, Tweets and Instagram’s about the 2018 Shot Show. Well it’s not over yet, we still have a bunch of pictures to post and a few more videos, so keep checking back every few days.
Taking a break from all of the hype, I thought I’d share some interesting facts and insights from our experience. This was the 40th year of Shot Show; the first one was in St Louis in 1979, with 5,600 in attendance and 290 exhibitors. In comparison the 2018 Shot Show had 60,000+ attending, 1,660 exhibitors across 3 floors of the Sands Expo encompassing 630,000 square feet (11 football fields including the end zone or 14.5 acres)
Going through the list of exhibitors that identified themselves as “Airgun and Airsoft Products” quickly reduced that 1,660 number to 87. Filtering a bit more brought what we would consider “Airsoft” exhibitors to about 19. This does not include apparel, uniforms, tactical gear and other cross-platform items.
Crosman did give us a great look at air rifles. Yes air rifles that shoot projectiles from .177 up to 50 cal. You can hunt game with these, but I’m digressing.
Over all the experience for “Airsoft Media” was great. We only ran into a few individuals’ that wouldn’t even give us the time of day. We spent a fair amount of the morning before the show started at 0830 in the media room and the NSSF Member lounge. We got a lot of questions about Airsoft and provided some education. It felt great to talk about the sport and change some peoples’ perception on what it was all about.
All of the “Airsoft” vendors were awesome, taking the time to talk with us and allowing us to take some photos. We ran into more than few that knew of Airsoft Pacific and were excited to have us there. In addition to the vendors a few Airsoft / MilSim personalities were there, some very popular with the AP following, some not so much. Our goal in attending Shot Show was in alignment with our Mission Statement.
Yes, we had a blast and it was a huge educational experience. I’d like to thank the AP Media Content and Technical Contributors for all of their hard work. JD Graham “Grounded” deserves a special shout-out!
As for our 12K+ members we hope you continue to follow and support Airsoft Pacific.
Be safe and see you on the field,