SHOT Show 2014 at a Glance
| Dates | Tuesday to Friday, January 14 to 17, 2014 |
|---|---|
| Venue | Sands Expo and Convention Center |
| City | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Attendance | About 67,000, a new record |
| Exhibitors | About 1,600, with more than 400 on the waiting list |
| Gun Websites Crew | Tenth SHOT Show in a row for the Gun Websites crew, every show since 2005 |
SHOT Show 2014 came three weeks after the death of Mikhail Kalashnikov on December 23, 2013, and the Arsenal booth set up a memorial portrait and guest book that the Gun Websites crew signed. Attendance climbed to about 67,000. The crew covered the Crye Precision SIX12 revolving shotgun, talked NFA paperwork with the ATF at its booth, and spent a day at the Las Vegas Antique Arms Show at the Riviera.
SHOT Show 2014 History
SHOT Show 2014 ran January 14 to 17 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center. NSSF reported about 67,000 attendees, a 6 percent jump over 2013, with about 1,600 exhibitors on 635,000 net square feet, 131 of them new and more than 400 more on a waiting list. It was the first show run by ConvExx after NSSF ended three decades with Reed Exhibitions in 2013, and the Sands deal was extended to keep the show there through 2018.
The industry was coming off the record sales of 2013, and the mood on the floor was still busy but starting to shift from panic buying to the question of what happens when demand cools.
Our Take on SHOT Show 2014
The death of Mikhail Kalashnikov hung over the whole show. AK importers and builders filled their walls with everything from classic stamped receivers to modern AKs with long free float handguards and adjustable stocks, and the memorial book at Arsenal filled with notes from people whose careers were built around his rifle.
The Crye Precision SIX12 was the strangest gun of the year, a revolving cylinder 12 gauge that could ride under a rifle or stand on its own. FAB Defense showed rifles dressed in its stocks and rails, and the ATF booth drew questions about NFA paperwork and wait times as interest in suppressors and short barrel rifles kept growing.
Las Vegas Antique Arms Show
The Las Vegas Antique Arms Show runs at the same time as SHOT Show and draws collectors from around the world. In 2014 it filled the Riviera Convention Center with antique arms, militaria and one of the best knife making material selections anywhere in town.
Our SHOT Show 2014 Adventures
The week started early in the hotel parking garage, with cameras and batteries charged the night before on a desk covered in cables. Three wheeled security patrol vehicles buzzed around outside the Sands, and the High Roller observation wheel was still a skeleton of steel going up on the Strip.
The highlight off the show floor was the Las Vegas Antique Arms Show at the Riviera Convention Center, held the same week as SHOT. The aisles were packed with collectors, antique pistols and a pinfire revolver with a folding bayonet, plus tables full of custom knife blades and handle materials. Hahn’s Military Surplus was another stop on the drive around town.
New Guns and Gear at SHOT Show 2014
Guns and gear the Gun Websites crew photographed and filmed at SHOT Show 2014.
Shotguns
- Crye Precision SIX12 revolving 12 gauge
- AR-style 12 gauge shotguns
Rifles
- Remington M40 sniper rifle display
- AK-pattern rifles with modern handguards and stocks
- FAB Defense rifle stocks and rails
- Scoped AR-15 rifles and bolt action rifles
Pistols
- Smith and Wesson M&P compact pistol
- Glock branded accessories
NFA and the ATF
What We Ate at SHOT Show 2014
Food in 2014 was mostly whatever could be grabbed between booths, but the crew did sit down together for at least one real dinner with plates piled high before the last day on the floor.
SHOT Show 2014 Videos
SHOT Show Tips and Tricks, 2014 Edition
How to survive four days at SHOT Show.
Talking with the ATF about NFA Firearms
Questions for the ATF at its SHOT Show booth.
Around SHOT Show 2014
More SHOT Show Years
SHOT Show 2013 · SHOT Show 2015
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.