by The National Shooting Sports Foundation, sponsor of the SHOT Show, announced today that they ended their agreement with Reed Exhibitions to produce and manage the show. Reed, who managed both the SHOT Show and the Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show, ran afoul of gun owners when they said they were banning the display of “modern sporting rifles” at the Harrisburg show. Reaction from both gun owners and exhibitors was swift and severe leading to the eventual cancellation of this year’s show.
At the time, NSSF said they were evaluating “all options regarding the management of future SHOT Shows.” It is now official – Reed Exhibitions is out. Losing a show the size of the SHOT Show has got to hurt and I, for one, hope it hurts a lot.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms industry, today announced that it has reached an agreement with Reed Exhibitions to terminate the agreement the parties had for the management of the SHOT Show. Accordingly, effective immediately, Reed Exhibitions will no longer be manager and producer of the SHOT Show.
Reed Exhibitions provided excellent service to NSSF and the customers of the SHOT Show for more than three decades, however, the company’s decision to restrict the sale of certain types of firearms this year at its consumer hunting and fishing show — an event unrelated to NSSF and the SHOT Show — was in conflict with NSSF’s mission to serve the shooting sports industry. As a result, both organizations decided it was in the best interest of the SHOT Show to end their relationship.
NSSF is actively engaged in the process of identifying a new show management company to manage and produce the SHOT Show beginning with the 2014 SHOT Show.
The SHOT Show — the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show — is owned and sponsored by NSSF. It is the largest and most comprehensive trade show for all professionals involved with the shooting sports, hunting and law enforcement industries. The 2014 SHOT Show will be held Jan. 14-17 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas.
