Why is SHOT show not open to the public?

[palmettomoon]

So basically it would be like every gun show ever?

As a sales rep at trade shows I can tell you the absolute last thing I need when I have 20 seconds to catch a prospect's attention is to have to answer the ****ing stupid questions, correct falsehoods, snatch expensive stuff from the hands of a mouth breathing moron that cannot consistently get a booger from his nose to his mouth without getting it on his clothing like you will see at gunshows. Just don't have time or patience.

 

[Kahrnut]

I scene dat

 

[chucklenut]

Try and walk in off the streets at the porn convention in LA and see how close you get (seriously try it, i got 8 feet inside the building!)

 

[streetglide08]

So basically it would be like every gun show ever?

No it would not be just another gun show. It’s for distributors and dealer to see new products and firearms for the year and make volume orders for the year so they can get the best discounts so they can pass them on to us the customer. The more you buy the better the discounts has been the case in the ones I’ve attended.

 

[TresMonos]

It keeps out would be protesters / people that want to cause a seen. It just takes one asshole to shut down something like this and make it extremely hard for the organizers to get any other location in the future. Plus insurance cost would make it almost unaffordable or the rules put in place by insurance company's would make it impossible to pull off.

It isn't about keeping protesters out...SHOT has always been restricted to industry professionals.

Just imagine the headline in the news icon there was a shooting at shot......

That would be quite a scene indeed...

 

[Alaskan]

SHOT is for venders, company reps, FFL holders, and stuff like that. NRA show and others are for the public.

 

[sparked1]

Makes sense I suppose.

 

[Omega]

Because they dont want it full of fudds

 

[gh1950]

Last time I went I was issued a pass because I said I was affiliated with some GA gun forum.....

Went once, local gun store gave me a note saying I was representing them.

Been to a lot of "thread shows".

They are trade shows. It cost the exhibitors a lot of money to staff and stage the exhibits. The exhibitors want the most bang for their buck, which is spending 10 minutes with a major retailer, not 10 minutes with some neckbeard who hasn't bought a new gun in his life.

I know at the thread shows, the real action is in the hospitality suites, which we want talk about here.