NRA hits high note with Annual Meetings attendees

By Jim Shepherd

Cautiously optimistic might be an overly-conservative description of the throngs of people who pushed fire marshals to their very limits at the NRA's Annual Meetings this weekend in Phoenix. A very heavy turnout and slower-than-anticipated registration process led to many attendees waiting as long as 90 minutes to get into the show on Friday. The crowd was further delayed when fire marshals limited access due to crowding concerns.

Once they were inside, moods changed from surly to sunny. As one attendee said "we should be happy, we all hold the same values for our country and our individual rights."

Those problems were resolved for the final two days, but the message to everyone watching - including the national audience watching on Fox News was pretty straightforward - we are not meeting because we're afraid; we're meeting because we're celebrating the values we hold in common. In fact, the Fox News correspondent on site had planned to focus his reporting on the fact gun owners were "nervous and concerned" over the Obama administration's attitudes toward guns and gun owners.

Concerned, maybe. Afraid? Don't think so.

Bringing a million gun owner to Washington would be impressive, but tens of thousands of people exercising their Second Amendment rights while shopping and visiting at the gun enthusiasts' equivalent of homecoming weekend isn't a bad thing, either.

From show open until closing, people were moving as a throng through aisles occasionally clogged to a standstill. While being delayed, many prolonged the delay for others by handling the many new products on delay. Unlike the SHOT Show held each January by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the NRA Show is open to general NRA members, allowing many of the exhibitors to actually offer their product for sale.

And the new products were there. There were some interesting juxtapositions there. First, Ruger continued their torrid pace of new product introductions, rolling out their new AR-style rifle, the Ruger SR-556. On the other hand, Stoeger took a longstanding staple of the shotgun market - the double barreled shotgun, added rails and a dark black finish and rolled out their Double Defense, a $439 "tactical" side-by-side. For both, smart tactics. Stoeger's known for their coach gun - basically the prairie version of the Double Defense, Ruger- until their launch of the polymer SR9,and the diminutive LCP and LCR .380 pocket guns, had been the brand with solid products built on durability and value. The black guns for both are in at price points where they have a good chance at making money.

The talk of the show, however, continued to be what was missing - easily purchased ammunition. As the supply chain continues to be taxed, there's still a broad line of cartridges that simply aren't available.

Traveled out tonight, but there's a simple message from the NRA Annual Meetings - the gun community is concerned about the future- and moving cautiously as a business entity because of that concern. As a body of individuals, it is very, very animated and attentive.

Republished from The Outdoor Wire.