After nearly two years of coronavirus closures of national outdoors conventions and sporting shows, the doors are reopening to anglers, shooters, and campers.
The largest show in the nation for the camo crowd, the National Rifle Association’s Great American Outdoors Show, opened Saturday in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to long lines and huge crowds that local media compared to the record 2020 crowd of 179,000.
Willes Lee, the NRA’s first vice president, told Secrets, “They’re just enthused to be able to get back out in America again.”
In an interview hours before the massive, eight-day show opened inside the iconic Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center, he said that people “are tired of being cooped up, they’re tired of being forced to be locked down.” He added, “it makes everyone feel like America is getting back to normal.”
The outdoors show season began in Las Vegas with the annual Shot Show hosted by the National Shooting Sports Foundation. It took place last month during the height of the latest virus string, reducing crowds a bit.
The NRA show is happening as reports indicate that the omicron variant is tapering off. Online posts showed crowds of mask-free attendees waiting in line and attending the show. Pennsylvania does not require masks indoors.
About 1,000 of the usual 1,100 vendors showed up. They include major manufacturers of hunting and shooting weapons, angling and camping equipment, and guides.
Lee said that the other NRA shows, notably the upcoming national convention in Houston in May, are drawing attention and should provide an economic shot in the arm to local economies and the nation’s leading Second Amendment lobby.
??THE GREAT AMERICAN OUTDOOR SHOW IS OPEN AND IT IS PACKED!
Join us at the world’s largest outdoor show.
Feb. 5-13 in Harrisburg, PA!
➡️ https://t.co/qo6UCuFZU3 pic.twitter.com/2E6PMH6ajI
— NRA (@NRA) February 5, 2022
“It works both ways. We bring in a lot of money into the economy,” he said.
The NRA recently has been under fire in the media and especially in New York, where it is in a legal fight with the attorney general. Lee said that the litigation is costly but worth it.
“It is expensive. But if we’re going to save the NRA from government tyranny, the government attacking us, I’m all for it,” said Lee.
He noted that membership has remained at a high of 5 million and did not suffer the normal drop-off when a pro-gun Republican, former President Donald Trump, won, as in past political cycles.
Mostly, he said an hour before the opening ceremony for the show, “I’m just glad to be here.”
