I am back and officially "spent"! Three solid days of talking to people, building relationships, dinners, drinks, lots of drinks, parties and more drinks, celebrities in and outside of the industry, music, and of course... guns!
The NRAAM was much smaller than SHOT Show this year, which is typical I hear, but it surprised me nonetheless.
Things that impressed me:
The people - the gun culture is an amazing group of people. I had bartenders, waiter staff, Uber drivers and even a Moms Demand Action member compliment the people attending the convention as some of the nicest, genuine, honest people they've encountered.
The city of Nashville - I love Nashvegas, maybe it's because I'm a musician and I've not tried to break into the music industry so I'm not soured and scorned. However the people, the amenities, the food, the weather and the vibe was warm and welcoming.
The manufacturers - there are some older gun guys that have been around since Browning invented the semi-automatic, and they are the typical grumpy gun guy that you often find working the counter at a gun store. However the vast majority of manufacturers have fresh, young blood that has become the face of the industry and are more accessible, more welcoming and inviting, eager to help and to please.
The guns - of course everyone was molesting the new Glock 43 9mm single stack, and it is a damn nice gun. It feels really good in your hand. However I was also impressed by CZ and their continued growth within the market as a serious player in the quality firearms game. I will not lie, the Scorpion is badass! You feel like a SWAT or special ops team member when you hold it...and although they make an adapter for an "arm brace", the thing is begging to be SBR'd. The CZ pistols are impressing me more and more. They feel very nice in the hand. The construction is solid and you can tell that a lot of time goes into the design, manufacturing and the finish of their products. CZ is definitely on my radar.
The biggest thing that impressed me was talking to Bill Alexander of Alexander Arms. That guy is the mad scientist of ballistics. The guy that created the .50 Beowulf cartridge is now changing the game and re-designing the 300Blackout with Rainier Ballistics to make a 300BLK subsonic affordable... like $0.50 a round or so.
