Idaho Commerce Department Touts Attendance At Las Vegas Gun Show

Courtesy PNW Arms

Ammunition designed and manufactured by PNW Arms, a company that relocated from the Seattle suburbs to Potlatch, Idaho in 2011.

The Idaho Department of Commerce and 24 Idaho businesses are attending the Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show and Conference taking place in Las Vegas through Friday.

The trade show is billed as “the largest and most comprehensive trade show for all professionals involved with the shooting sports, hunting and law enforcement industries.”  It’s owned and sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearms industry trade association based in Newtown, Conn.

The Idaho Department of Commerce began an effort to recruit recreation technology companies to the state in 2008.  As we’ve reported elsewhere, the term “recreation technology” is intentionally broad — Commerce Director Jeff Sayer says it encompasses “anything under a Cabela’s roof” — but, notably, it includes the gun industry. 

In August, StateImpact asked the Commerce Department how much money has been spent on rec tech recruitment.  The department could not provide a figure, because it doesn’t track the spending separately.

Department spokeswoman Megan Ronk declined to provide a full list of the Idaho companies attending the SHOT Show.  The department’s press release highlights two ammunition and accessories manufacturers, along with a children’s outdoor clothing manufacturer and others.