Heading into the NRA Show – aka the NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits – there are a number of things to grab one’s attention. Here they are, in no particular order.

There is the ‘state of the industry’ which is an ongoing point of discussion thanks to a slow economy, high inflation and whether or not there has been yet another change to newly imposed tariffs. You know, the ones that are giving importers and foreign based manufacturers headaches.

The executives in attendance from exhibiting companies will likely have a lot to say about the first quarter of 2025, but may only have nothing but questions about what will happen the rest of the year. Hopefully we’ll find a few that see a path through the economic turmoil, and are willing to share their insights.

Working towards a better 2025, exhibiting companies will likely take the NRA Show as their best opportunity to introduce new products post-SHOT Show. The NRA is a sneaky good time to introduce a new product. Compared to SHOT Show there are fewer companies exhibiting at the NRA Show and even fewer rolling out new products. This makes the week of the NRA Show a very good time to grab people’s attention.

At least two major companies have done exactly that as Mossberg (booth #2837) announced their new 990 AfterShock on Tuesday. Ruger (booth #2225) is continuing their new products through partnership approach with the release of their RXD 22Ti and 30Ti suppressors with Dead Air Silencers (booth #2863), which were just announced today.

The brand new RXD line of suppressors makes its debut this weekend in Atlanta. Photo courtesy of Dead Air and Ruger

And Magpul (booth #1043) announced their new DAKA Universal Grid Organizer which can be customized to fit any case horizontally – and vertically. Check out their hype video on YouTube.

There are certainly more new products that will be on display. But, because the NRA Show is a consumer show, there are a number of exhibitors that will be showcasing cool and unique accessories and swag. Oh, the swag.

Magpul already offers their Grid Organizer for a number of hard cases. With the new DAKA Universal Grid Organizer shooters can upgrade the internals of almost any case. Photo courtesy of Magpul

The NRA’s Competitions Division enters this year's show on firmer ground and one step closer to launching their America’s Rifle Challenge (ARC) competition format following a beta test match last weekend in Indiana at Camp Atterbury.

Under the previous administration the Competitions Division saw its budget reduced, staff cut and their impact within the organization all but eliminated. While best known for its lobbying and political power, the NRA was once one of the largest champions of the shooting sports, and an NRA championship title meant something.

That cachet is all but gone, until now. During this year’s SHOT Show I sat down with Josh Savani, the Executive Director General Operations for the NRA, and talked about the future of the shooting sports within the organization. He made it clear that as the NRA rebuilds internally. returning the Competitions Division to its former status is a priority.

It won’t happen immediately, though, despite many counting on Savani to simply snap his fingers and fully fund all programs and departments that have suffered through cuts.

The fact is it will take some time to refill the NRA’s coffers, and the new leadership is painfully aware of how mishandling the NRA checkbook can damage the organization. They are likely to go slower than some members would like so as not to make any critical missteps.

This year will be one where we see the Competitions Division take extra time to get things right, spend their budget carefully, and put the Division in a position to run in 2026 while they are walking in 2025. America’s Rifle Challenge is a major effort by the NRA to engage and activate their members. Done correctly and it could be a major first step in reclaiming the NRA’s top spot within the shooting sports, and rebuilding strained relationships with those industry members that have a keen interest in growing competition shooting.

The NRA’s Competitions Division spent last weekend doing a test run of the America’s Rifle Challenge to streamline all aspects of the match so that NRA affiliated ranges can easily and efficiently run their own matches starting this August. Photo courtesy of the NRA

Finally, there’s the proverbial elephant in the room at this year’s NRA Show. Following the recent elections, in which 19 new reform-minded board members were elected, the NRA’s Board of Directors, once a large 76 person rubber stamp for the past NRA administration, is poised to have significant impact.

A friend, and one of those newly elected reformers, texted me last week that, “I am already getting grief that we are not doing enough and I don’t join the BoD for a week and a half.” That should give you some indication of how eager NRA members are for substantive change within the BoD.

These NRA Annual Meetings will be the coming out party for this newest iteration of the organization’s Board of Directors. We will have a feel – hopefully by Sunday – for how much of a departure from the past we’ll see with this Board.

I’ve been told that the NRA’s current memberships is 3.9 million – a long way from those halcyon days in 2018 when the NRA reached 5.5 million members. A lot of the decline, in the opinion of many members, industry leaders and observers, is due to the mismanagement of the past administration and the resulting legal battles.

Just like in sports, fans – the members in this case – see the recent changes within the NRA as signs for a better future. But, just like sports fans, they expect a lot and they expect it right away. They are not in much of a mood for a ‘rebuilding’ year. They are expecting to make, and go deep in the playoffs. Another important election year is ahead of us in 2026 and members definitely don’t want to find themselves counting more losses than wins.

— Paul Erhardt, Managing Editor, the Outdoor Wire Digital Network