anyone going to the shooting show in Birmingham [16-18 feb]?

[20series]

well Debs and I went and had a good wander, easy to get in and plenty of room to see stuff and walk about without being carried along in the throng. Picked up some bullets and had a good look at potential future purchases.

We're planning to got to the Northern in May to see if it's as good as the reports.

Alan

[Oddbod]

Life is too short to wrestle with the throng, human beings especially en masse are not a pleasant thing and are to be avoided.

Especially as there will little to interest me as it is mainly just a fashion parade of the latest gegaws, here today gone tomorrow kit for the shooting fashionistas.

Except it wasn't.

What I saw in the main was good, solid kit designed to suit shooters' needs and an eckofalot of firearms for sale.

Yes, there were knick-knacks for dick-heads but they were very much in the minority.

[dromia]

Depends on you areas of interest and what you are able see and handle at other times I suppose.

My current areas of interest are Springfield 03 and Krag rifles along with British 1776 pattern flintlock rifles, If there was a goodly selection of them then I would have missed out, but even so having to come near the heaving masses of humanity would still have kept me away.

I value my well being.

[Primer]

Glad I am not going , and if I was even thinking about going . Falco would have put me off .

Roll on the Northern Show , cheaper , nicer area than the NEC , and they can do a decent fry up there !

I was planning on going to the Northern show this year to coincide with my trip to Cumbria, missed it last year as it was the weekend after we were in the lakes, so on booking the lakes this year we had to book a week later than last year due to cottage availability and I thought great I can go to the Northern show only to see they've moved it to a later date this year aaarggh so still going to miss it.

[The Gun Pimp]

Would this be a bad time for me to mention my Shot Show trip ? 5 days - 7 hours per day and I still did not see it all. And that was skipping the shotgun stuff !

Then 3 days in the bars and casinos to recuperate....................and buy an extra suitcase for my freebies and shopping. Its a tough gig but someone has to do it.

I spoke to one guy who had one of those fitness gadgets on his wrist - measures distance walked - he walked 40 miles of stands in 3 days !!!

The Shot Show has its good points but here's what a well-known American website had to say on learning that the SHOT Show was to remain at the current venue for another nine years. I agree entirely - if you want to see a really good Show then visit IWA in Germany next month.

Bad news folks — SHOT Show will continue at the Sands Expo through the year 2027. That means nine (9) more years at this “dog” of a facility infamous for its inadequate parking, confusing floor plans, and nightmarish ingress/egress through the Venetian hotel. Oh and it’s hard not to think about the thousands of people who get sick every year attending SHOT Show at the Sands. If you have been there, you know what we’re talking about. So SHOT Show fans, steel yourselves for nine more years of the same sad situation.

[breacher]

Would this be a bad time for me to mention my Shot Show trip ? 5 days - 7 hours per day and I still did not see it all. And that was skipping the shotgun stuff !

Then 3 days in the bars and casinos to recuperate....................and buy an extra suitcase for my freebies and shopping. Its a tough gig but someone has to do it.

I spoke to one guy who had one of those fitness gadgets on his wrist - measures distance walked - he walked 40 miles of stands in 3 days !!!

The Shot Show has its good points but here's what a well-known American website had to say on learning that the SHOT Show was to remain at the current venue for another nine years. I agree entirely - if you want to see a really good Show then visit IWA in Germany next month.

Bad news folks — SHOT Show will continue at the Sands Expo through the year 2027. That means nine (9) more years at this “dog” of a facility infamous for its inadequate parking, confusing floor plans, and nightmarish ingress/egress through the Venetian hotel. Oh and it’s hard not to think about the thousands of people who get sick every year attending SHOT Show at the Sands. If you have been there, you know what we’re talking about. So SHOT Show fans, steel yourselves for nine more years of the same sad situation.

Been to IWA - preferred Shot Show.

Sure - entering ( as pedestrian ) via Hotel / Casino is not ideal but its not entering through a damp, muddy field neither ! I can stomach a leisurely stroll through a casino !!

Yes, layout was a little confusing but I got a lot done by simply remembering to cover each room in a grid pattern.

And my shopping ( well, what I save on it ) paid for the hotel and flights.

It was going to be a bucket list sort of thing - kindly arranged by someone able to get tickets easily - but now I think it will be an annual event for me !!

[MistAgain]

Would this be a bad time for me to mention my Shot Show trip ? 5 days - 7 hours per day and I still did not see it all. And that was skipping the shotgun stuff !

Then 3 days in the bars and casinos to recuperate....................and buy an extra suitcase for my freebies and shopping. Its a tough gig but someone has to do it.

I spoke to one guy who had one of those fitness gadgets on his wrist - measures distance walked - he walked 40 miles of stands in 3 days !!!

The Shot Show has its good points but here's what a well-known American website had to say on learning that the SHOT Show was to remain at the current venue for another nine years. I agree entirely - if you want to see a really good Show then visit IWA in Germany next month.

Bad news folks — SHOT Show will continue at the Sands Expo through the year 2027. That means nine (9) more years at this “dog” of a facility infamous for its inadequate parking, confusing floor plans, and nightmarish ingress/egress through the Venetian hotel. Oh and it’s hard not to think about the thousands of people who get sick every year attending SHOT Show at the Sands. If you have been there, you know what we’re talking about. So SHOT Show fans, steel yourselves for nine more years of the same sad situation.

I always thought Shot and IWA were for genuine trade only and that you needed to be a trade member of BASC or GTA to get in ?

[Zilberbak]

I went on Saturday and the thing I walked away with was how busy it was and that in my opinion that was a good thing. The NEC for all its faults (including the food & drink prices) is a good venue and easy to navigate. We seem to expect too much sometimes and it whilst it was more like a "trade show" there was still enough of the smaller stands selling bits and pieces. For me the best bit wasn't even a centrefire or rimfire but the Umarex Glock BB gun on the Ronnie Sunshine's stand (the Oceania Defence's PPQ LBP and Section 2 Shotgun equal second place). The Glock albeit a BB gun was hilariously accurate in feel and the Ronnie Sunshine's guy had to pull it from my dirty little mitts to get it back.

Good to see all the different shooting types literally rubbing shoulders and it almost felt as though there was a bit of solidarity between us all.

[Thorney]

Worse thing about Shot Show is the food, utter garbage and hideously expensive, if you think the NEC was bad then its a 5 star restaurant when compared to Sands!

[The Gun Pimp]

Would this be a bad time for me to mention my Shot Show trip ? 5 days - 7 hours per day and I still did not see it all. And that was skipping the shotgun stuff !

Then 3 days in the bars and casinos to recuperate....................and buy an extra suitcase for my freebies and shopping. Its a tough gig but someone has to do it.

I spoke to one guy who had one of those fitness gadgets on his wrist - measures distance walked - he walked 40 miles of stands in 3 days !!!

The Shot Show has its good points but here's what a well-known American website had to say on learning that the SHOT Show was to remain at the current venue for another nine years. I agree entirely - if you want to see a really good Show then visit IWA in Germany next month.

Bad news folks — SHOT Show will continue at the Sands Expo through the year 2027. That means nine (9) more years at this “dog” of a facility infamous for its inadequate parking, confusing floor plans, and nightmarish ingress/egress through the Venetian hotel. Oh and it’s hard not to think about the thousands of people who get sick every year attending SHOT Show at the Sands. If you have been there, you know what we’re talking about. So SHOT Show fans, steel yourselves for nine more years of the same sad situation.

I always thought Shot and IWA were for genuine trade only and that you needed to be a trade member of BASC or GTA to get in ?

Yes, they are both trade shows. You can't just turn up and pay for a ticket. You need some proof of being involved in the gun-trade or outdoor stuff in general.