The National Rifle Association 135th Annual Meetings & Exhibits, Part II
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Again, I woke up at 4:30am, showered, got ready to go. I was informed by Dave via e-mail that he wouldn’t be going back up with me. Apparently he was too tired out from Saturday. Whatever.
Since I didn't have to pick up Dave, I took another way to Milwaukee. It was actually a much easier drive since I was able to get into downtown using the Kilbourn Tunnel.
Again, I arrived around 7:30am.
As I walked up the catwalk the guards in the middle of it informed me that they were told to only let staff pass to the inside of the convention center until 8:00am. No big deal... I'd sit outside with a cigar. I turned around, walked back towards the parking deck, took the elevator to the ground floor and walked to the front of the convention center. At which, I was able to walk right in with no problems. I walked around, bought a muffin and soda from one of the Levy stands and scoped out the location of the seminar I was going to attend.
It was called "NRA and the Media--A Forum for Straight Shooters" "A panel of three journalism professionals will discuss the media’s accuracy and fairness in their coverage of NRA and firearms’ issues. The panelists include: Wisconsin radio talk show host Vicki McKenna; Brian Patrick, professor of journalism and author of NRA and the Media, and Cam Edwards, host of NRAnews.com and author of many articles on Second Amendment issues. Moderated by NRA Board member Susan Howard."
The seminar was quite interesting. The three panelists were an excellent choice for a seminar of this nature. It was nice to meet Vicki & Brian and of course nice to see Cam again.
After the seminar I headed to the show floor...I had a lot to see. I veered towards Smith & Wesson again to see if there was any swag. Most disappointingly, there wasn't any. I talked to a S&W guy about the new M&P pistols. My main question was "When the .357 sig version comes out can we just buy the .357 sig barrel to drop into our .40 S&W M&P's?" The answer I got was "probably" He could commit to a firm "YES" but he said it will be most likely just a barrel replacement and at the very most a barrel + rod/spring swap. I asked when the conversion would be available. He said shortly after the .357 sig version is released. So around Aug/Sept. This was good news indeed. I took a peek at the Walther G22 (still a contender for my next rifle) and drooled over the new S&W M&P AR-15's.
After S&W I headed to where I left off yesterday so I could see every booth. I went up and down every aisle admiring most of what I saw. I basically skipped the outfitters since hunting has no appeal to me and concentrated on the firearm, ammo & accessory manufactures.
I had a great conversation with a guy at the Crimson Trace booth. They seem like nice people to deal with and I was able to play with a bunch of their laser grips on various models including the new Glock version which I had yet to see in person.
The guys at North American Arms were a disappointment. They weren't very friendly or responsive to questions which is shitty since I own 2 of their guns and I've never had a problem with their people before.
I had a quick chat with an absolutely HOT twenty-something at the SIG-ARMS booth. I was happy to take the pin & poster she was offering.
I spent some time at the Beretta booth towards the end of the day and noticed that they were selling off everything they had left at their 'store' at a LARGE discount. I picked up a Beretta 92FS Cleaning kit that was originally $20 for a mere $5. I was happy. They also had a lot of clothing but nothing appealed. I assume all of their hats were gone... cause at 75% off I certainly would have picked up a style or two.
I thought that Stoeger had the best looking booth. It had places to sit, plasma tvs and a fake fireplace, giving it a very lodgy feel. As my camera in my right and the heavy bag of catalogs/swag in my left were weighing me down... I took a few minutes to give my arms a break and relax in their booth a few minutes before continuing around that aisle.
My pick for “Best Unknown Company” (to me) was a company that can convert specific firearms (special barrel/rod/spring) into guns that you can target shoot inside your home using specialized ammo. It’s really interesting technology. The price is WAY to high right now but it’s a cool idea just the same.
After my last row, I headed back to the NRA Store. Picked up a couple of things, walked back to the car and headed home. The NRA Convention was a GREAT experience with lots of really great people (I was only 1 of 55,000 people who attended.)
I highly recommend going. I've already made my reservations for next April in St. Louis!
