SHOT Show 2016 at a Glance
| Dates | Tuesday to Friday, January 19 to 22, 2016 |
|---|---|
| Venue | Sands Expo and Convention Center and Venetian ballrooms |
| City | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Attendance | About 64,000, with a record number of buyers |
| Exhibitors | More than 1,600 on over 640,000 net square feet |
| New This Year | NEXT Pavilion for 100 new companies, SHOT Show TV |
| Gun Websites Crew | Twelfth SHOT Show in a row for the Gun Websites crew, every show since 2005 |
SHOT Show 2016 came off a record year for gun sales and drew about 64,000 people and a record number of buyers. More than 1,600 exhibitors spread across the Sands Expo and the Venetian ballrooms, and a new NEXT Pavilion gave 100 young companies their first SHOT booth. The Gun Websites crew filmed the FB Radom MSBS from Poland, photographed everything from K-9 vests to night vision helmets, rolled in with a patch-covered headliner, and documented a serious bacon habit.
SHOT Show 2016 History
SHOT Show 2016 ran January 19 to 22 and filled more than 640,000 net square feet, about 13 acres, across the Sands Expo and the adjoining Venetian ballrooms. NSSF counted about 64,000 attendees, the second highest total ever, with a record number of buyers. More than 60 new companies joined the main floor and another 100 debuted in the new NEXT Pavilion. SHOT Show TV aired in more than 70,000 hotel rooms, and NSSF estimated about 90 million dollars in non-gaming revenue for Las Vegas.
The industry came in hot. 2015 had set records for NICS background checks, and new executive actions on guns had been announced earlier that month, so dealers arrived ready to buy. Many exhibitors called it one of the busiest shows they had seen.
Our Take on SHOT Show 2016
The floor in 2016 showed how wide the industry had grown. Next to the rifles and pistols there were tactical helmets with night vision mounts, gas masks and filters, medical kits, K-9 vests on dog mannequins, electric fat-tire bikes and even self-balancing hoverboards, the gadget of that winter.
Poland’s FB Radom brought the MSBS modular rifle, an early sign of how many European and Eastern European makers would push into the US market over the next decade. Engraved single action revolvers and custom knives still had their corner, proof that SHOT was never only about black rifles.
Our SHOT Show 2016 Adventures
The trip started under the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign at night and an orange-walled hotel room that became gear storage and an edit bay. The evening events were bigger than ever, with palm trees lit in red and green and a green laser show over the crowd.
The best ride of the week was a car with a headliner covered in morale patches, with a Doberman riding along. Booth models in red berets and fur coats, playing card promotions and a row of police cars parked outside the convention center rounded out the sights.
New Guns and Gear at SHOT Show 2016
Guns and gear the Gun Websites crew filmed and photographed at SHOT Show 2016.
Rifles
- FB Radom MSBS modular rifle from Poland
- Safer Options rifles on the slatwall
- AK-pattern rifles
Handguns
- Engraved single action revolvers
Tactical Gear and Night Vision
- Tactical helmets with night vision mounts
- Gas masks and filters
- Tactical pouches and medical kits
- Gun cleaning kits
K-9 Gear
- K-9 BSD dog vests and harnesses
- Army style tactical dog vests
Knives and Outdoors
- Machetes and knives with sheaths
- Camouflage tube launcher
- Electric fat-tire bike in olive drab
Patches of SHOT Show 2016
The patch game was in full swing by 2016. Before the show the crew had AK caliber patches for 7.62×39 and 5.45×39 ready to hand out, a board full of collected patches, and a car with its entire headliner covered in morale patches and state flags.
What We Ate at SHOT Show 2016
2016 might be the best documented breakfast run in Gun Websites history. Buffet trays of bacon, hash browns and sausage gravy, muffins and donut holes, plates of bacon with biscuits, tomato and red onion, chocolate donuts with a banana for balance, and a pocket bottle of hot sauce for everything else.
SHOT Show 2016 Videos
FB Radom MSBS at SHOT Show 2016
A look at the Polish MSBS modular rifle.
Around SHOT Show 2016
More SHOT Show Years
SHOT Show 2015 · SHOT Show 2017
SHOT Show returns to Las Vegas every January. Upcoming dates are on the Gun Show Calendar, and every year of coverage is on the SHOT Show page.