2023 NRA Convention Guns & Gear Round-Up
There were many new guns and products at the 2023 NRA convention, so we've put together a few of our favorites.
The NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits (referred to everyone as the NRA Convention) is arguably the second-largest “trade show” for gun people in the U.S. every year, and in the past decade has significantly increased in size and importance. It used to be that almost all new product introductions were done in conjunction with the SHOT (Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trade) Show in January, but now nearly as many products are introduced at NRAAM as SHOT. While the NRA as an organization has made more than their share of missteps in the last few years, the show is a great place not just to see cool new stuff but to hang around like-minded folks—i.e. people who love America and aren’t nuts. There were 14 acres of exhibits at the show floor, and even if you spent all three days at the show looking around you might miss something. Here are a dozen interesting things I spotted at the show, as well as a bit of a travelogue.
The Show
Unlike SHOT Show, which seems to be stuck in anti-gun Vegas in perpetuity, the NRA Convention moves around, seemingly alternating every year between a northern and southern location to let people all over the country have a chance to visit without having to travel too far. In 2023, it was back in Indianapolis at the convention center, right in downtown. In 2022, it was in Houston, and in 2024 it will be in Dallas. The NRA show is held in states that are friendly to your gun rights, and you won’t find any “no guns allowed” signs at the show—unless you go to see some of the speeches, where you have to disarm to get in the auditorium door. No thanks. I’ve got too much self-respect.
FYI: my daily carry at this year’s show (and the previous few months) was a USPSA Limited Edition SIG P226R with Trijicon HD sights in a Safariland 5198 OWB holster. It was loaded with an 18-round Mec-Gar magazine in the gun and a spare 15-round SIG magazine (also made by Mec-Gar) on my off-side in a Blade Tech mag carrier, as always tastefully concealed with the finest (or maybe just loudest) Hawaiian shirts. Ammo of choice was Black Hills’ 115-grain TAC-XP+P. Knife was a Civivi Badlands Vagabond Damascus. Flashlight was the Surefire Stiletto. Shoes were Brooks Adrenaline GTS 22—and if you’re wondering why I’m mentioning my shoes, you’ve never been to one of these shows, which can be brutal on your feet. Wear soft, comfortable shoes.
2022’s show in Houston, the first one post-scamdemic, was a bit thinly attended, and there were a lot of protesters screaming at us, because just a few days earlier in Uvalde there was a school shooting (and of course in the minds of leftists, law-abiding gun owners were to blame—not the shooter, and not the local cops standing in the hallways outside the classrooms for 45 minutes, listening to the screams of the children, calmly using hand sanitizer instead of doing something. Anything.) Anyway…
2023’s show in Indianapolis seemed just as heavily attended as the 2019 NRA show in Indy. While Indy is no Vegas, in some ways that’s a good thing. There’s plenty to do in Indianapolis on a weekend. Friday night, I went out to eat at Indianapolis’ famous St. Elmo’s steak house, sitting between Bill Wilson and Ken Hackathorn. I learned the posted speed limit on Bill’s driveway is 160 MPH, and for very good reason.
St. Elmo’s was good, but not as spectacular as I was led to believe, but then maybe my standards are unrealistically high, being married to a gourmet cook and having a private chef to a billionaire in the family (I don’t know how I’m not 400 lbs.). That said, for lunch a local drug dealer (seriously, he works for Big Pharma) took me to Shapiro’s Delicatessen, which is a 10-minute walk from the convention center. This crowded 115-year-old Jewish deli gave me huge New York vibes, and the sandwiches were excellent. The lady behind the counter even yelled at me like we were in Brooklyn (I tried to grab the wrong sandwich), which was hilarious. Fuhgeddaboutit.
Across the street from the convention center is the JW Marriott hotel, with a Starbucks in the lobby. On Saturday I strode across and ordered a Venti Misto with body positive cream. Don’t say heavy cream, it’s fatphobic. If you think I didn’t actually do that, you don’t know me. And as I had a press badge around my neck, the Starbucks employees assumed I was serious.
