Show season.

Those two words can be a blessing or a curse. And which one depends largely on your attitude. I truly feel blessed to have worked in the outdoor industry as a writer and editor for the vast majority of my adult life, closing in on 30 years now. I don’t take for granted the opportunities provided to me because of my career. That said, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit my hunting buddies have corrected me on more than one occasion when I’ve groaned during a late-December bowhunt, “In a couple weeks, I have to go the ATA Show,” or “I have to go to SHOT Show.” They quickly point out that I “get to go” to both trade shows. I know they’d pay a good amount of money for the chance to attend these industry-only events.

“Have to go” vs. “get to go” — a simple but powerful reminder for all of us in the outdoor business, especially people like me who count their time in the industry in decades rather than years.

As I type the intro to this article on the afternoon of January 22, I’m waiting to board my plane to Las Vegas for SHOT Show. Perhaps I’ll finish up the text in 4 days while waiting to board the return flight to my home state of Minnesota. If not, then I’ll tackle the job sometime shortly after returning home.

ATA Show Takeaways

The 2024 ATA Show in St. Louis, Missouri, is still fresh in my memory; it wrapped up on January 13. In my recap story from a year ago, I went into great detail about how the 2023 ATA Show compared in size (exhibitor numbers, retailer numbers, etc.) to the ones from 2022, 2021 (online-only due to Covid) and 2020 (pre-Covid, just barely, remember?).

I’m not going to dive deep into the traffic numbers in this article. In my opinion, was the 2024 ATA Show smaller/quieter than the 2023 event? Sure. How much smaller? It’s hard to say. If the ATA Show took place in the same venue year after year, like SHOT in Vegas, then it’d be easier to quantify. I will say this: The ATA Show is still certainly big enough to be worth my time, and as a retailer, I have to believe it’s worth your time, too.

Here are my top two takeaways from the 2024 ATA Show.

*The Bowtech Core SS was a show-stopper.

Granted, not all of the major bow companies attended the 2024 ATA Show, but that said, I was still able to shoot a good number of the newest compounds on the market. Because traffic on the floor was moderate, especially during the first and last hours of each Show day, I could take my time and shoot as many arrows as desired, from as many models as desired.

Keep in mind that these compounds don’t have peep sights installed, and draw length might not be perfect for every person who wishes to test bows. Thankfully, I’m average in height (5 feet 9.5 inches), so my draw length of 27.5 inches is fairly common. I draw 55 pounds on my personal hunting bows, and in almost every case the companies were able to set me up with a bow that fit very well.

I was impressed with many of the new compounds I tested during the ATA Show, but in my opinion, the show-stopper was the Bowtech Core SS. You should know that unlike many hunters, I don’t care much about high-end bow speed. For me, the only factors that matter are whether a bow has a comfortable draw cycle, solid back wall, and little to no hand shock.

I spent a lot of time testing the Bowtech Core SS over 2.5 days at the Show. I often shot a few arrows out of the Core SS and then set it aside and fired a few arrows from the Bowtech Core SR (speed bow, but still comfortable to shoot). Targets were big and close, so I often closed my eyes after achieving full-draw, then focused on my release, trying to take in the sound and hand shock.

“SS” stands for “super smooth” and the bow is properly named. It’s hard to explain in words the buttery-smooth draw cycle of the Core SS. Test one for yourself and you’ll see what I mean. It’s crazy! The bow holds wonderfully at full draw with a solid back wall, and upon release, the arrow is simply gone. Hand shock is as close to zero as I’ve ever experienced.

*PSE Founder Pete Shepley is the man. Period.

During the 2024 ATA Show, PSE Founder Pete Shepley was honored with the organization’s inaugural Industry Icon Award. It is presented to someone who's founded an industry-leading company, developed industry-changing products, or helped significantly grow participation in archery sports. This person is an industry pioneer who's become iconic because of their contributions. In my opinion, the ATA couldn’t have picked a better recipient.

Shepley founded PSE Archery more than 50 years ago in a backyard shed and grew it into one of the largest and most respected companies in the archery industry. He helped design and engineer hundreds of PSE products and is credited with over 77 archery patents. He started the PSE Dealer School in the early 1980s to teach archery professionals about products and archer development. Throughout his archery career, Shepley also competed internationally and hunted big game all over the world. He is, in one word, an icon.

So imagine my surprise when I stepped into the PSE shooting lanes during ATA and saw Shepley visiting with retailers and helping them test new PSE bows. At one point, the female PSE staffer assisting me said, “Pete, can you help me out?” and she placed the bottom limb of a PSE Mach 30 DS into his lap (he was sitting near the shooting line) so he could hold the bow while she turned limb bolts to reduce draw weight from 60 to 50 pounds.

Think about this scene: Here’s Shepley, who could be home in an easy chair counting his money, and instead he’s helping people at the shooting lanes late in the afternoon on the Show’s second day. I don’t know Pete Shepley personally, but seeing his dedication to the PSE brand, and his support to the PSE staff and the ATA Show itself was tremendously impressive.

Archery Business Pavilion at SHOT Show

In the many months leading up to the 2024 SHOT Show, we published five feature articles explaining and promoting the first-ever Archery Business Pavilion at SHOT Show. This exciting venture is a collaboration between NSSF (National Shooting Sports Foundation) and Grand View Outdoors (Archery Business and Bowhunting World magazines are part of the Grand View Outdoors family of brands.)

Held annually in Las Vegas, Nevada, the SHOT Show is the largest and most comprehensive trade show for professionals involved with the shooting sports and hunting industries. The 46th SHOT Show set new benchmarks for industry innovation, collaboration and engagement. With an expanded show floor, a record-high number of exhibitors, and an array of new features and networking opportunities, the 2024 SHOT Show was the largest to date.

More than 55,400 industry professionals packed the 13.9 miles of aisles over 4 days at The Venetian Expo and Caesars Forum, eager to view new, innovative products used for target shooting, hunting, outdoor recreation and law enforcement.

“The energy on the SHOT Show floor this year was off the charts,” said Chris Dolnack, NSSF senior vice president and chief customer officer. “The feedback we’ve received from our exhibitors and attendees has been amazing, and we can’t thank them all enough for helping us make the show what it is: the greatest trade show in the world.”

This was the largest SHOT Show ever, marking the third year of expanded exhibit space at Caesars Forum, in addition to The Venetian Expo. More than 2,600 companies displayed products and services in booths covering more than 821,000 net square feet and attracting attendees from 117 countries and all 50 states.

Archery Business Pavilion Takeaways

The all-new Archery Business Pavilion (located in Caesars Forum) featured exhibits from leading manufacturers and suppliers in the archery industry. The new area of the show provided a focused environment for archery retailers and industry professionals to explore the latest trends, products, and business opportunities in the archery sector.

As editor of Archery Business magazine, I spent a good amount of my time each day in the Archery Business Pavilion. Of course, because I have “skin the game,” I wanted the new space to be a success. I must say I was impressed. The NSSF team did an outstanding job of making it easy for Show goers to find the new Pavilion. The space was clearly marked on the SHOT Show overview map, and special lime-green carpet runways (think shortcut) across the floors of Levels 1 and 2 in the Venetian Expo (the two main exhibit spaces) helped direct traffic to the SHOT Bridge, the path to Caesars Forum and the Pavilion. NSSF even had Show workers standing with signs directing people to the SHOT Bridge and the Pavilion; nice!

The Pavilion space itself was big and bright, in a word, outstanding. Visitors entering the Pavilion from the SHOT Bridge direction were met with impressive booths from Muck Boot Company/Rocky Boots and SKB Cases, and just behind them were Moultrie Mobile, FeraDyne Outdoors (Rage, Block Targets, Muzzy, Carbon Express, AXE Crossbow, etc.), Bakcou, Spot Hogg, Scent Thief, Tethrd, LimbSaver, Lancaster Archery Supply, Pure Archery Group (Bowtech, Black Gold, TightSpot, Ripcord, Excalibur Crossbow, etc.), Rock Ridge Outdoors, Victory Archery, and many others.

In my opinion, traffic in the Pavilion was good. Yes, it would take a bit to get busy in the mornings, but I attribute that to the fact the Pavilion and all other booths in Caesars Forum are a bit of a hike from the SHOT Show entrances.

“The first year of anything can be a real challenge,” said Grand View Outdoors President Derrick Nawrocki. “With the support of the NSSF, the Archery Business brand, our 2024 exhibitors, the many fans of this concept, and all teams involved at Grand View Outdoors and the SHOT Show, we pulled off a very successful year No. 1 with only room to grow. We are firmly committed to promoting the Archery Business Pavilion heavily to independent retailers this year to continue to improve quality room traffic. We are lucky to be in Caesars Forum, which is easy to find and navigate, and is considered by all to be a wonderful space to exhibit. No wonder this area of SHOT has exploded.”

“This is our first year here; the floor traffic has been great,” said Eric Griggs, owner and president of GAS Bowstrings, which showcased its products in the Archery Business Pavilion. “It’s been great to see a lot of crossover folks who are thinking about adding an archery department or already have one. Everybody comes to SHOT, so having an archery-specific section provides a level of convenience. I imagine this section will really take off in years to come.”

Preparations have already begun for next year’s 47th SHOT Show, January 21-24, 2025, in Las Vegas. To learn more about exhibiting in the Archery Business Pavilion, visit  www.SHOTShow.org/archeryexhibit.