Just got back to the shop after a couple mad dashes through airports to make it from Indianapolis to Connecticut. Flight delays due to weather in Chicago almost left us stranded but made the connector in Chicago with minutes to spare. They closed the door behind me. It was a good few days, had a chance to meet some of our customers and introduce ourselves to many more. James River Armory was once again kind enough to share their booth with us so we enjoyed not only their company but also had the opportunity to learn even more about their top of the line receivers, bolts and barrels. Its an enormous investment of time and resources to produce all three of these critical parts and its wonderful to see them dedicate their efforts into making parts that meet their high standard of quality. We always have a great time with the JRA gang, both in the booth and the after hours down time. Thanks Mark, Mike and I left John and Roger back at the booth while we went on scouting expeditions. We also attended a couple of the NRA presentations that satisfied our mutual interest in history in general. This was our first presence at the NRA convention and we found it quite a bit different that SHOT show and some of the other show and exhibitions we attend but it was a worthwhile trip and we will make plans for Nashville. The NRA Stand Up and Fight Rally at the Lucas Oil Stadium was great. Mike and I went but John and Roger preferred to go back to their room and get caught up on their sleep. After the colors were presented, the Star Spangled Banner was sung and, having just come back from Knob Creek where the line "...with bombs bursting in air" is always accompanied by explosive being detonated, I was a little disappointed that nothing blew up! Sara Evans and Alabama entertained while Sarah Palin, Col. Oliver North, Wayne LaPierre and others spoke to the receptive crowd. While waiting to get into the rally, we met a very interesting 88 year old gentleman who in currently enjoying his 3rd career as a photographer for the newspaper that he formerly owned. He's a life time NRA member and drove up from Louisville for the convention. We had him sit with us and enjoyed an evening of stories about the changing face of America. I made plans to visit him in the fall when I return to Knob Creek and he has decided to attend KC himself so I'm looking forward to seeing him again since we share an interest not only in firearms but photography as well. Spending time with some of our older citizens really helps put today's mentality in perspective. That was one of the highlights of the trip for both Mike and I. Sadlak Industries has formed a strategic partnership with OnCore Targets so we now manufacture all of their targets and do all their shipping out of the new shop we have established for that purpose. OnCore is owned by Sean Callanan, 3 time world bow hunting champion. I spent quite a bit of time visiting hunting guides and hunt camp and lodge owners to acquaint them with this new product line. The targets are cut from a dense self-healing foam in the shape of every animal you can imagine and then air brushed for a 3D appearance. I've learned a lot about targets in the past few weeks and I'm pretty excited about this new line. Well, that's the synopsis of Mike and Dee's latest adventure! It was a good few days but I'm pretty tired.
A "range report" from the show--another went and while there asked a couple of powder manufacturers when the shortage would end. The answer was not good. Said they had contracts that kept them running 100% through the summer. Guess we will just have to keep scrounging.
