Text & Photos by Jeff W. Zimba
April 15-17, 2005 were the dates and Houston, Texas was the location. The event was the National Rifle Association's 134th Annual Meeting and Exhibition. This month's Industry News column has some great details about this event and on this, and the following page, we are happy to print a few of the sights for you. Next year's convention, (the 135th) is in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and if you ever thought about attending one of these events I would strongly encourage you to do so.
DPMS Wins NRA Golden Bullseye Award!
Well known Black Rifle manufacturer DPMS Panther Arms received the 2005 Shooting Illustrated Rifle of the Year award. Their winning rifle is their Long Range 308, as featured in the February 2005 issue of Small Arms Review. DPMS was presented with the award at a special breakfast on Friday, April 15th at the beginning of the 134th Annual Meeting and Exhibition.
In order to qualify for consideration for this award the new product had to meet the following criteria:
• Recently introduced and widely available to consumers in 2004.
• Used / Tested by a staff member or regular contributor to the magazine.
• Reliable in the field, meeting or exceeding the evaluator's expectations.
• Innovative in design and function.
• Styled in a manner benefiting the firearm industry and, perhaps more importantly, its enthusiasts.
Here at Small Arms Review, we believe that this is a major accomplishment and we are pleased to see an organization as large as the National Rifle Association recognizing a variant of the ever-popular M16 Weapons System with this distinction. Congratulations to DPMS. It is well deserved.
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Image Gallery
R. Lee Ermey autographs a book for a visitor at the Glock booth.
Don Ellis and Dan Shepherd from Lone Wolf Distributors with a display of their custom Glock pistols.
This year’s show covered over 4 acres and boasted an impressive 61,000 attendees.
The Texas Gun Collectors Association had a beautiful display including these Indian War Gatling Guns. The gun above is 1881 Gatling Gun s/n 231. It is chambered in .45-70 and was manufactured by Colts Armory in Hartford Connecticut. It was sold to the U.S. Army in 1882. The gun below is an 1874 Colt Gatling Gun, also chambered in .45-70. It was shipped to the U.S. Army in 1874 and used in the Indian Wars through the Spanish American War.
The booth of the 50 Caliber Institute. From left to right: John Burtt, Chairman. Teri Burtt, Secretary/Treasurer. Keith Pagel, Executive Director.
