2009 SHOT Show: industry sprints through four days of mega trade show.

SHOT Show 2009 was another high-paced event, reflective of the mega trade show's importance to the industry as a venue for presenting new products and programs.

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The 31st annual event by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) was held Jan. 15-18 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.

While overall attendance was less than last year's Las Vegas event. SHOT Shows held in Orlando traditionally draw fewer attendees than the "Entertainment Capital of the World." However, the overall attendance of 48,907 at this year's event exceeded the number attending the last SHOT Show held in Orlando in 2007. In addition, the number of buyers at this year's show increased 5 percent over 2007. according to NSSF.

"This has been a tremendously successful show from a number of standpoints," said NSSF President Steve Sanetti. "Exhibitors and buyers were very upbeat, the products sold well, and I'd say the industry begins 2009 with a sense of cautious optimism in this challenging economy."

The future challenges facing the industry had a positive impact an the show, according to Sanetti.

"While those who are here are concerned about what may be coming legislatively or regulatorily, right now sales are excellent and there's a good feel about the show. Pressure from the outside tends to drive us together. There's more of a family feeling at this show," Sanetti said.

From The Show Floor

At the Ruger booth, Mike Fifer, president and CEO, was extremely pleased with the buyers at this year's show.

"I told Steve (Sanetti) last year that we should call this a consumer show since there were so many non-buyers visiting our booth. This year is different. Real buyers are crowding our booth. The most exciting new product this year is our LCR (Lightweight Compact Revolver), following on the LCP's success last year. We've booked phenomenal orders," Fifer said.

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Fifer said Ruger's focus on building the guns dealers want and having products available when they are announced is "reflected in our sales."

"Take, for example, Larry Barnett (Larry's Pistol and Pawn) in Huntsville, Ala. His sales of Ruger are up 40 percent and he said that two years ago, he would have never, ever forecast that. He never imagined it could be possible, but we're bringing out the guns that his customers want, we're paying attention and listening, and he's really pleased and he's rewarding us with more business," Fifer said,

Visit www.ruger.com.

At the Remington booth, dealers were attracted to a wide array of new products, keeping the company's salesmen busy.

"Our meeting rooms were pretty much fully booked and that saying something, because we have nine meeting rooms," said Al Russo, Remington's director of communications. "Our international guys were busy from start to finish, and the quality of the buyers at the show was very good. We saw good volume in our law-enforcement booths, and we were very pleased with the media turnout."

What Remington new products most interested dealers?

"Without a doubt, our new Model 887 Nitro Magnum 3" polymer pump and our new R-15 chambered in the .30 Remington AR were the best, closely followed by our triangular-barrel 700 XHR (Extreme Hunting rifle)," Russo said.

Visit www.remington.com.

Bob Morrison, Taurus International president and CEO, rated the show as one of the company's best.

"Our booth has been so busy, it's unbelievable. It's just been nonstop since the beginning. I always though Vegas was the best. The orders here are unlike any I've ever seen in our booth. The greatest attention getter is probably the new, small-frame Judge and the TCP (Taurus Compact Pistol). They have elicited the most attention and garnered the most orders," Morrison said.

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Morrison also said he had a "sleeper" best seller, the new Model 2045.

"It is a very nice new development in our line of double-action pistols; It's a polymer pistol. This one's got features galore and I think we'll do well with it. High-capacity, easy takedown, double-action trigger, resets by itself and it has an onboard lock," Morrison said.

Visit www.taurususa.com.

Joyce M. Rubino, Colt's Manufacturing's vice president and COO, was pleased with the buyer traffic and the reaction to the company's new emphasis in the commercial market.

"It's been excellent. We've had so many compliments on the new (booth) look and the presence Colt has here at the show. We're very proud to introduce all our new products and ail the exciting new developments we have for this year. There's been a lot of traffic in the booth for the four days," Rubino said.

In November, Rubino, a 30-year Colt employee, was assigned full-time to Colt's Manufacturing to emphasize the handgun market.

"We're very excited about doing that as we go forward with some additional investment in the company that will have some very positive changes in 2009. The Colt Rail Gun has been very well-received, along with the Colt 10mm, By the end of 2009, you will definitely see the new double-action-only New Agent," Rubino said.

Visit www.coltsmfg.com.

Mike Golden, Smith & Wesson president and CEO, said reaction to the company's new products was encouraging.

"I'm really proud of our team, because if you go through our business--whether it's our M&P line, tactical rifles, pistols, revolvers, hunting products, our Thompson/Center products--we're expanding our range of products, hitting more attractive price-points," Golden said. "Attendance appears to be very good. We've been busy the entire time. The country is in a tough economic environment right now, but our industry is choosing not to participate."

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Visit www.smith-wesson.com.

Peter Pi, Cor-Bon's president, said of the show: "It's been fantastic. It's been awesome."

"We've already given out twice the catalogs that we did last year. We don't see a slow-up. This started back in November, and right now, everything is just flying off the shelves. We're going from production, to packaging, to the UPS truck. We don't see any slow-up for at least another two years." Pi said.

Visit www.dakotaammo.net.

Carlo Fiocchi, Fiocchi of America's VP of sales and marketing, said dealers were drawn to the company's line of nontoxic ammunition.

"The show was very busy. We were covered with visitors and it turned out to be pretty good, actually. We are introducing a nontoxic, tungsten-compound line of shotshells, and a nontoxic line of rifle centerfire. We have a lot of interest in these new products and we believe they are going to do really well in 2009," Fiocchi said. Visit www.fiocchiusa.com.

Charles Brown, MKS Supply president, said, "We hit a home run with the (Charter Arms) Pink Lady," indicating new customers don't always want a traditional-looking firearm.

"They might want it to look like their iPod or their cell phone. They've got different tastes so we've got a whole new public in the shooting industry that appreciates a different look. And that's good, because we need new people," Brown said.

Visit www.charterfirearms.com

BAE Systems Products Group announced at the show that it had combined its law-enforcement and security product brands into a single organization: Safariland, LLC.

The company's branded products previously were manufactured by independent businesses and separately marketed. These include American Body Armor, Second Chance. Protech. Defense Technology, Bianchi, Monadnoc and Hatch.

"We are committed to fostering a one-company culture to deliver exceptional value for our customers. Safariland will provide the law-enforcement and security markets with the same top-quality products we've manufactured for years, but now through one streamlined organization," said Scott O'Brien, Safariland's president

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Visit www.safariland.com.

At the Sports South booth, the distributor donated a half-million dollars to Ducks Unlimited's Rescue the Duck Factory program, which preserves waterfowl and waterfowl habitats.

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"It is our hope that other leaders 'in the industry will become involved in this effort, as well," said Skipper Dickson, Sports South LLC president. "This potential crisis can be prevented by supporting Ducks Unlimited in conserving waterfowl habitats: today, which will preserve the future of waterfowl and waterfowl hunting for years to come."

Visit www.internelguncatalog.com and www.ducks.org.

At the Kimber booth, company president Leslie Edelman presented a $75,000 check to USA Shooting. The amount brings the company's total contribution to the U.S. Shooting team to $675,000. The amount, based on sales from the Kimber Team Match II Pistol, is the largest contribution to USA Shooting by any firearms manufacturer.

Visit www.kimberamerica.com and www.usashooting.com.

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At the Buck Knives booth, the company unveiled the Boone and Crockett Classics Series in conjunction with the Boone and Crockett Club. The seven knives in the series honor Heroes of Conservation.

"This collection pays tribute to the men like Theodore Roosevelt, who gave rise to the American conservation movement and forever changed the way we view our wildlife resources," said CJ Buck, Buck Knives president. "Like the Boone and Crockett Club, Buck is committed to helping protect America's wildlife resources and hunting heritage."

Visit www.buckknives.com and www.boone-crockett.org.

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Auction Supports Heritage

The 2009 SHOT Show Auction raised $33,179, which will benefit the efforts of the Hunting Heritage Trust. The auction was featured exclusively on www.gunbroker.com.

Topping the bidding was $15,100 for a Bianchi silver-trimmed double gunbelt rig fitted with two fully engraved Colt Single Action Army pistols. A pair of new Marlin 338MXLR Custom rifles and a documented first case of Hornady .338 Marlin Express ammunition brought a high bid of $11,054. Remington Arms' Serial #1 of the Remington 105 CTi II yielded a high bid of $7,025.

Visit www.huntingheritagetrust.org.

Mark Your Calendars

The SHOT Show returns to Las Vegas for the next three years, with the event scheduled to be held at the Sands Expo Center & Venetian Resort Hotel/Casino. Mark your calendars for Jan. 19-22, 2010; Jan. 18-21,2011 and Jan. 24-27,2012.

Visit www.nssf.org and www.shotshow.org.

RELATED ARTICLE: Sanetti: Increase Participation By 20 Percent

Steve Sanetti, NSSF president, presented a number of ambitious goals for the trade organization at the SHOT Show's State of the Industry dinner, Jan. 15.

"We're reformulating the National Shooting Sports Foundation to make it more effective in fulfilling its strategic mission to promote, protect and preserve the hunting and shooting sports--and make no mistake, that's all of the shooting sports," Sanetti said.

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"You'll see we've set some pretty ambitious goals for ourselves, but that's what you wanted us to do. In a world where some adults and children, in particular, have a modern affliction that some people call 'outdoor deficit disorder,' we' re determined to increase combined participation in hunting and the shooting sports by 20 percent over the next five years."

In addition, Sanetti made it clear the NSSF would lead the fight against anti-gun assaults.

"We are determined to help protect our livelihoods and our way of life, whether we choose to use an AR-15 at the range or a muzzleloader in the deer woods. We will fight to protect this industry and all those who value our individual right to own and use firearms for all lawful purposes," Sanetti said.

Sanettis remarks and the State of the Industry video report may be viewed in this story in Shooting Industry's Digital Edition. Visit www.shootingindustry.com to view and subscribe to SI Digital