By Kurt Gruber, TacticalGunReview Staff Writer
This past weekend almost 75 thousand gun owners (73,740 is the official number announced on NRA Radio’s Cam and Company show) traveled from all corners of our great country to the heartland for the 2012 NRA Annual Meetings. I jumped in the car and made the 900 plus mile drive from Texas for this amazing convention of likeminded Americans. The NRA Annual Meetings has something for everyone; from an air gun range, the expo floor with over 500 manufacturers and retailers set up to show off their products, the actual annual meeting and election of NRA officers, seminars on everything from BBQ and game processing techniques to the sniper war in Afghanistan, and a whole lot more. To say that this event can induce sensory overload in even the most powerful amongst us is an understatement.
The first thing that I noticed when I walked into the convention was how amazingly organized the NRA had everything set up for registration. This is my fourth annual meetings trip and the first time that I was not able to pre-register and get my credentials ahead of time. We arrived early on the opening day and there were already a large number of NRA members present; however the lines moved very fast and I had my badge and was headed to the expo floor in less than 10 minutes. Walking onto the expo floor was amazing. The vendors were set up on 340,000 square feet of exhibit hall and there was not a square foot wasted. Friday was a lesser crowd and it was still tough to move from booth to booth, especially around the major vendors/manufacturers. Saturday the expo floor was elbow to elbow and you just had to get into the flow of traffic. The layout of the expo floor was very well set up with approximately 40 rows of booths.
Many manufacturers debuted new products at the expo this year. They included Smith and Wesson with the debut of their new concealed carry pistol the M&P Shield, which is available in 9mm or .40 S&W and is a very nice thin framed single stack gun, styled after their popular M&P line. Other notable introductions included a number of new 1-6 power scopes from manufacturers such as Leopold (look for a review on this site of this optic sometime soon), Bushnell, and Vortex which are great for 3 gun shooters. NightForce had their new H58 reticle precision rifle scopes on display. FNH introduced their new precision rifle platform, the Ballista, which is a switch barrel platform which will support .338 Lapua Magnum as a base caliber and provide the ability for the shooter to switch the bolt and barrel to shoot .308 Winchester or .300 Winchester Magnum. Bushmaster was on hand to let the public know that the caliber and barrel length quick change kits are going to be hitting the market for their Adaptable Combat Rifle (ACR). Benelli USA introduced a new match ready 3 Gun Shotgun which includes many of the popular aftermarket modifications made to their shotguns to get them ready for matches off the rack. Speaking of shotguns, Jerry Miculek has joined forces with Mossberg for a signature competition shotgun. With over 500 vendors the amount of new things being introduced was phenomenal, another reason why this expo is always worth the trip. There was something for everyone from AAC and SilencerCo for those with the Class 3 bug to classic 1911 builders such as Kimber to pretty much every AR variant manufacturer from Black Rain Ordinance to Rock River.
As an avid competitive shooter I ran into a lot of the greatest pros from the sport. Rob Leatham of Springfield Armory was splitting his time between SA and Safariland. Julie Goloski Golob of Smith and Wesson spent time in a number of booths signing autographs on pictures and in her new book “Shoot”. Travis Tomasie, of Para Ordinance, and Max Michel, of Sig Sauer, both formerly of the US Army Marksmanship Unit were representing their new companies and giving competitive shooting presentations. Tori Michie Nonaka, of Team Glock, signed autographs right next to “The Gunny” R. Lee Ermy in the Team Glock booth. There were also a number of former, and current, Top Shot contestants on hand, such as Iain Harrison, winner of season one, who now works for Crimson Trace. Team FNH was represented well by the majority of their 3 gun team including Tommy Thacker, winner of the 2011 3 Gun Nation championship, Chris Cerino from season one of Top Shot, Dianna Liederdorf, Mark Hanish, and Larry Houck who gave some great presentations on getting into the sport of 3 Gun. In addition to the competitive shooting community there were a number of American Heroes who were present, including SFC (Ret) Sammy Lee Davis, who earned the Medal of Honor for his valor in Vietnam, and Maj (Ret) John L. Plaster, who was with the Special Observation Group (SOG) in Vietnam and created and was commandant of the National Guard Sniper School.
The convention also included a couple of special events such as the Celebration of American Values Leadership Forum on Friday which featured a large number of speakers including Republican primary candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich and Texas Governor Rick Perry among many others. Friday night also included the NRA Country Jam 2 featuring Trace Atkins. Saturday ended with the main event for the convention, the Celebration of American Values Freedom Experience featuring Larry the Cable Guy and Conservative commentator Glenn Beck. Wayne LaPierre and Chris Cox were the Masters of Ceremonies at this event and Lt. Col (Ret) Oliver North delivered the invocation and benediction. After the invocation Mr. LaPierre introduced the membership to a group of heroes who were present, the wives of many of the members of Seal Team 6 who were killed when their Chinook helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan earlier this year, who received an amazingly heartwarming standing ovation from the packed house in the Edward Jones Dome. Larry the Cable Guy followed with his unique brand of redneck comedy and had the crowd rolling for the next 45 minutes. Glenn Beck followed Larry with an amazing keynote address that fired up the crowd. The words of the day were “Yes I Will” as opposed to the “yes we can” that the opposition has adopted. Glenn also explained how he wanted to endorsed his shoe for the office of president; however since it is not a natural born citizen and is this constitutionally ineligible has chosen to support Mitt Romney should he become the republican nominee because “He is not a communist”.
All in all this 141st Annual Meetings and Exhibits was a great experience. It was wonderful to spend the weekend with so many likeminded gun owners, especially during such a critical election year. The message was common, get out and shoot then get out and vote. The 142nd Annual Meetings and Exhibits will be held in Houston, Texas next year May 3rd through the 5th. Hope to see you all there.
Latest posts by Kurt Gruber (see all)
- Staff Review: Devil Dog Concepts Hard Charger - January 28, 2015
- Adams Arms .308 First Look - October 7, 2014
- Staff Review: Taran Tactical Benelli 3gun competition parts review - April 25, 2013
Were can I get a copy of Col. Oliver North’s Invocation at the Freedom Experience? It was wonderful/exceptional and would like to share it with my pastors and Sunday school class.