Click here to download the catalog as a PDF file. To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. Russ Thurman FMG Shines At SHOT Show 2008 he world’s “largest trade show of its kind” keeps getting larger and larger and larger. If you attended the 30th annual SHOT Show in Las Vegas in early February and you’re not bone-tired, stumbling-weary, bleary-eyed (you get the point), you either went to the wrong convention center or you know something the rest of us don’t. SHOT Show 2008 lived up to its billing as “a must-attend celebration,” with NSSF reporting records in virtually every measurable category of size and attendance. I’m grateful NSSF didn’t remind us of the number of “miles of aisles” at the show. Exhibitors were understandably delighted in the number of dealers and buyers crowding their booths, with many reporting record sales. We at FMG Publications were immensely pleased with the crowds that descended on our two booths, one in General Hunting and Shooting, the other in Law Enforcement & Tactical Gear. Visitors crowded in to talk business, meet our staff and deliver new-product information. Dealers eagerly snatched up copies of Shooting Industry, GUNS Magazine, American Handgunner and American COP, along with extra copies of our everElizabeth Jarrell T popular SHOT Show floor map. A new attraction this year at our booth was campaign-style buttons, which proclaimed our election-year positions, while promoting our magazines, of course: “Put GUNS In Every Home,” “Every American Should Be A Handgunner,” “Say No To Catch And Release: American COP,” and my favorite: “New Economic Policy: Buy. Shoot. Repeat — Shooting Industry.” Dealers and other attendees collected the buttons as if they were cast in gold. Also on display at our booth was a commemorative print, recognizing FMG Publications as a “30-Year Exhibitor.” Eighty companies have exhibited at every SHOT Show since the first one in 1979. We’re proud to be one of them. Our president, Tom von Rosen, accepted the commemorative artwork from Chris Dolnack, NSSF senior vice president. Representatives from the NRA also stopped by our booth on the first day of the show to present a framed “Insure Your Gun Rights” poster, designating FMG as one of the industry companies contribut- Buy. Shoot. Repeat. Supporting The Industry ing to this important, election-year membership drive. Again, we’re proud to step forward as one of the companies that’s always there, whether it’s being at every SHOT Show, supporting industry-driven initiatives or holding special events. That includes the Shooting Industry Masters, which raised $15,000 for NSSF’s Step Outside program in 2007. While we sent the money to NSSF shortly after the July 2007 match, von Rosen presented a symbolic check to Doug Painter, NSSF president, during the organization’s board of directors meeting. We also presented “thankyou” plaques to our 2007 Shooting Industry Masters sponsors at the show. We appreciate their support in helping us raise money for and awareness of the Step Outside program. Finally, I’d like to thank all of you who stopped by our booth to present your new-product information, explain new programs and discuss what is happening at your companies and gun shops. Next month, I begin my 15th year as the editor of Shooting Industry and it is always nice to have the family stop by for a chat. Continued on page 45 At left, Steve Sanetti (center), Ruger president, accepts a thank-you plaque for Ruger’s sponsorship of the Shooting Industry Masters from Russ Thurman (left), SI editor, and Randy Moldé, Masters chairman. Above, Susan Houde-Walter (left), CEO of LaserMax, stops by FMG’s booth for a visit. We’re Calling You Out! Gun Valley Showdown. Page 34 46 MARCH 2008 www.shootingindustry.com