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The Column, No. 17: The 2006 NRA Annual Convention  press. Besides joking about his new gameshow, “Beat the Glock,” I suggested a new recording of a Nugent classic for Ted: “Back Strap Fever.” Strangely, no firm commitment has been made at this point. This year's NRA convention was held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, drawing some 55,000 - 60,000 NRA members from around the country. It was extremely well organized; Milwaukee proved to be a very pleasant venue for it and the weather was beautiful. Unlike many other gatherings, it was distinctly hunting and shooting related, refreshingly so, with little paintball, knife, fishing lure, or jewelry distractions. It was interesting to view the manufacturers that loudly, steadfastly the NRA and it was equally interesting to wonder about those in the industry who apparently do not.  rumored to be user-adjustable from forty to four hundred pounds. Savage Arms, Browning, Ruger, Beretta USA, Bushnell, Leupold, Barnes Bullets, Sightron, Weatherby, Glock, Henry, Bushmaster, Howa, Kimber, Knight Rifles, Austin & Halleck, North American Arms, Thompson, Alliant Powder, Springfield Armory, Federal, Hornady, Hodgdon, Millett, CZ-USA, and many others were prominent participants. The opening "event" was held in the nearby stadium a block away from the exhibitors, also extremely well organized. The mood was tremendously upbeat throughout; everyone seemed to be having a great time. With the main exhibition hall open from 10AM to 6PM, it was easy enough to see most of the show in a day-and tell the manufacturers themselves what you appreciate, and what you don't like. If you care about your Second Amendment rights, and enjoy hunting and shooting, it is hard to imagine not having a great time; I didn't see anyone that wasn't. The best advice I can give to anyone is to go and find out for yourself. It was an easy drive into the "great city by a Great Lake" from Plainfield, IL with my long-time shooting buddies Dave Metcalf and Chuck Fabiano. The trip was uneventful, excepting that Riflemaster Dave discovered to his surprise that his cell phone had a defective safety as evidenced by the 76 pictures it took of the inside of his pocket. Milwaukee has always been an easy town to navigate in for me, and terrific food and accommodations are easy to find at amazingly reasonable rates. There is a lot to see and do in Milwaukee in addition to actual event itself; that added to the "family event" flavor of the entire gathering. No matter what where your personal interests may be, there is plenty going on to keep any NRA member occupied.  I personally enjoyed discussions with Tony Knight at the Knight Rifles booth, Ron Coburn, Brian Herrick, and the entire Savage Team at Savage Arms, Ben at Alliant, Coni and Randy Brooks at Barnes Bullets, Alan at Sightron, Bob at Millett, Ray and Sandy at North American Arms and Austin & Halleck / North American Arms, and Jordan at Bushnell to name but a few. |