By Keith Starkey

Hundreds of industry professionals, outdoor sports writers and a few journalists who have never even fired a B.B. Gun descended upon the annual outfoorsman’s delight known as Media Day at the Range. As the buses began to pull in and deposit droves of enthusiastic shooters and the range went “hot” at 8:30 a.m. sharp, all in attendance were guaranteed a good time.

Long-range rifle manufacturing legend Barrett, Inc. booth at 2017 Range Day

The “safety first” adage received a special enhancement from the service of volunteer members of the Nevada Army National Guard, who graciously spent their holiday working as Range Safety Officers. One Soldier revealed to us, “It’s an honor and pleasure to serve the state of Nevada in this capacity. more of a pleasure actually, I’m having the time of my life! And there’s nothing quite like the smell of gunpowder on a clear day. Very American.”

Other service members had elected to take a break from duty and simply enjoy the day. Third generation Marine Officer Anthony Repetto Jr. Invited both his father and grandfather to this years’ Range Day. “My father used to tell us to celebrate family with family whenever possible”, Anthony Jr. revealed, “and to always hold onto the moments like this. That were good.”

A few of the handguns available from Kimber’s 2017 line of revolvers

And for a firearms enthusiast, good times were locked and loaded all afternoon long. Specilty weapon platforms, suppressors, assault rifles and long-range snipering courtesy of companies like Ashbury Precision Ordinance were available to the thrill of the expert shooter and novice alike. Taking a break from trigger pulling to sample some chili and throwing a tomahawk at SOG’s knife range was also popular activity enjoyed by many attendees.

This attendee takes aim at a great afternoon during the Shot Show Range Day

In all, 2017 Media Day at the Range was a perfect combination of seasonable weather, excellent crowd turnout and a wonderful way to kickoff this year’s Shot Show.