NRA Annual Meeting 2009 – Gun Show Reviews

Ruger SR-556 piston driven AR-15 rifle in hand at the 2009 NRA Annual Meetings in Phoenix

SIG Sauer P238 .380 ACP pistol on a camouflage background at the 2009 NRA Annual Meetings in Phoenix

Kahr P380 pistols in a display case at the 2009 NRA Annual Meetings in Phoenix

LaserLyte training laser and target system on a booth table at the 2009 NRA Annual Meetings in Phoenix

Miniature firearm in a display case at the Miniature Arms Society booth at the 2009 NRA Annual Meetings in Phoenix

Phalanx holster being demonstrated with a pistol at the booth at the 2009 NRA Annual Meetings in Phoenix

NRA Annual Meeting 2009 at a Glance

Dates	Friday to Sunday, May 15 to 17, 2009
Venue	Phoenix Convention Center
City	Phoenix, Arizona
Meeting	138th NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits
Attendance	About 50,000, with more than 400 exhibitors
Banquet Speakers	Oliver North and John Stossel

The 138th NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits came to Phoenix in May 2009, a short drive from the Gun Websites home base in Tucson, in the middle of the gun and ammunition buying rush that followed the 2008 election. About 50,000 people filled the Phoenix Convention Center, and the Gun Websites crew filmed the new carry guns of the year, the SIG Sauer P238 and Kahr P380, the piston driven Ruger SR-556, LaserLyte lasers, holsters and the Miniature Arms Society’s tiny working firearms.

NRA Annual Meeting 2009 History

The 2009 NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits ran May 15 to 17 at the Phoenix Convention Center, the 138th annual meeting of the National Rifle Association. The NRA reported about 50,000 attendees and more than 400 exhibits filling acres of convention space, along with an air rifle range and workshops on concealed carry, Refuse To Be A Victim, hunting in Africa and firearms law.

Oliver North and John Stossel headlined the Celebration of American Values Banquet. The mood on the floor was shaped by the 2008 election: gun and ammunition makers reported record demand driven by fear of a renewed federal assault weapons ban, and NRA lobbyist Chris Cox joked that gun sales were the one sector of the economy that was thriving.

Our Take on NRA Annual Meeting 2009

2009 was the year the pocket .380 took off. With record numbers of new concealed carry permit holders, the SIG Sauer P238 and the Kahr P380 were two of the most talked about guns in the hall, and lasers small enough to fit standard holsters, like the LaserLyte Rear Sight Laser, were right behind them.

On the rifle side, Ruger’s new SR-556 showed how fast the big names were moving into the AR-15 market, with a piston driven design aimed at the flood of first time AR buyers.

Our NRA Annual Meeting 2009 Adventures

Phoenix made 2009 an easy road trip for an Arizona crew. The crew worked the hall booth to booth, from the big rifle makers to small holster companies, and stopped at the Miniature Arms Society booth to see working firearms built at a tiny scale.

The crew also picked up a closer look at the Leitner-Wise Countashot, a magazine round counter it had seen at SHOT Show that January without getting a chance to film it.