SHOT Show 2015: Day Three Notes and Quotes

Following the conclusion of Thursday’s Day Three of the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s (NSSF) SHOT Show (www.shotshow.org), the 36th edition of the show began its home stretch run in Las Vegas.

Capped by the night’s rousing 15th annual Outdoor Channel Golden Moose Awards program at the Venetian Theater, the depth of show aisle crowds earlier in the day had begun to thin a slight bit as this year’s show continued at the Sands Expo and Convention Center.

With only one more day left in this year’s SHOT Show, here are the various sights and sounds that caught the eyes and ears of our OutdoorChannel.com editorial crew.

Shockeys to Chair National Hunting and Fishing Day

Some of the biggest news of the day was the announcement that Outdoor Channel talents Jim Shockey and his daughter Eva have been selected as the honorary co-chairs for the 2015 National Hunting and Fishing Day.

Slated for Sept. 26 this year, both members of the father-and-daughter duo were excited and humbled by the selection.

For Jim, host of Outdoor Channel’s UNCHARTED series and co-host of the network’s Jim Shockey’s Hunting Adventures, the NHF Day co-chair honor will give him to continue to give out the message of conservation that he works tirelessly to promote each year.

“It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the hunt, but we as hunters and anglers need to remember what it takes to generate such beauty,” said Jim in a NHF Day press release. “We have a duty to conserve our heritage and that starts by recognizing the efforts of those before us and establishing a mindset of conservation in the next generation of outdoorsmen.”

For Eva, who capped the day by doing red carpet interviews at the 15th annual Golden Moose Awards, the NHF Day selection continued to affirm the values that her father taught her growing up.

“Growing up, my dad always instilled a passion to conserve the natural resources that we often take for granted,” she said in a NHF Day press release. “As an outdoorswoman, I see the value in keeping and expanding the natural resources that we have to enjoy.”

---

Eva, who last spring became the second woman to ever appear on the cover of Field & Stream magazine, is passionate about her hunting pursuits across North America and around the world. Traveling as much as 250 days a year, she is mindful of those hunters and anglers who went before her to do the work necessary to enjoy the wild heritage she pursues today.

“NHF Day is a great way to stop and observe those who came before and the efforts taken by those to conserve our lands and waterways,” said Eva.

For more on this year’s upcoming National Hunting and Fishing Day observance, visit www.nhfday.org.

Knight & Hale Honored with Golden Moose Lifetime Achievement Award

At Thursday night’s packed house gathering for the 15th annual Golden Moose Awards, one of the night’s best moments came when Realtree Outdoors founder Bill Jordan strode to the podium and gave a warm and heartfelt speech to introduce the winners of the night’s biggest award, the GMA Lifetime Achievement Award.

“A number of years ago, I came to the SHOT Show with a dream and a new camouflage pattern,” said Jordan. “Two of the people that helped me out at that show, who came by the booth and introduced me to outdoor writers, and who believed in my dream were the winners of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Harold Knight and David Hale.”

“I’m glad that my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ allowed me to live long enough to see this moment,” said Hale to the crowd, as he acknowledged some of the health troubles that have beset him in recent years.

“David would like you to think that he’s on his last leg,” laughed Knight as he ribbed his friend good naturedly. “The truth is he’s still got some miles left in him. In fact, we flew here today from South Texas where we have spent a few days chasing wild quail in South Texas. When that dog would lock on point, David was pretty quick to be there when those wild birds came boiling up.”

As the Knight & Hale duo exited the stage, Jordan and the crowd at the GMA’s erupted, knowing full well that they were honoring two of the pioneering giants in the hunting, shooting and outdoors industry.

Nugent Entertains the Crowd with Guitar Melting Performance

Outdoor Channel show host Ted Nugent, the Motor City Madman known for his electrifying guitar playing abilities, entertained the crowd at the Golden Moose Awards on Thursday night.

Nugent – affectionately known to many as Uncle Ted – started the evening off at the Venetian Theater by playing the nation’s national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner.

Later on, he would return to the stage and amp the crowd up with a stirring rendition of his famous tribute song to the late, great bowhunter Fred Bear.

After playing his “Fred Bear” song, Nugent would give perhaps the best quote of the night when he said: “I reek of backstrap!”

Line of the Night, Part Two

If Ted Nugent had the night’s best line at the 15th annual GMA’s, at the pre-show dinner at Tao’s restaurant in the Venetian Hotel, Jordan Shipley might have had the best line of all.

Co-host of the Bucks of Tecomate and Tecomate Whitetail Nation shows on the Outdoor Channel, the former University of Texas football star and NFL wide receiver revealed a culinary side to his persona.

“Did you get to sample that sea bass dish,” Shipley asked the OutdoorChannel.com editorial crew. “Man that was some good stuff. That was some amazing, life changing stuff.”

While the comment brought a chuckle or two in the crowded gathering, it was also a pretty true statement as many others had actually commented on the dish.

And who knows? Perhaps we can find out and post the recipe here on OutdoorChannel.com in the coming days, something that can help turn your next shore lunch or post-trip fish dinner into a memorable meal of some epic cuisine.

Sure-Shot Game Calls Yentzen One Duck Call

A visit to the Sure-Shot Game Calls (www.sureshotgamecalls.com) booth on Thursday provided a glimpse of one of the year’s best new duck calls to hit the market.

Charlie Holder, the CEO of Sure-Shot who is reinvigorating the company partially built by former world duck calling champion Jim “Cowboy” Fernandez, showed off the unique call that features some amazing innovation and some of the most ducky sounds that exist in the crowded call industry these days.

With a unique polymer material used to construct the call, a screw-lock design that keeps the insert from falling out and makes the inside of the call completely air-tight, a demonstration of the call turned more than a few heads on the crowded show floor.

“This call sounds unbelievably great,” said Holder. “With this material, it’s virtually indestructible – you can run a truck over it and nothing will happen.

“And we’ve had a great response from customers this fall since the call has been brought out. In fact, we have been all but sold out of the call in recent weeks. And better yet, despite getting so many of these calls to the market this season, I haven’t had a single call from a duck caller wanting to complain about it.

“I guess we’ve done something right and have made a pretty good call.”

Notes and Quotes

At Thursday night’s 15th annual Golden Moose Awards, a virtual capacity crowd filled the Venetian Theater in one of the SHOT Show’s hardest to come-by tickets.

Tiffany Lakosky, who is expecting her first child in a matter of weeks, strode to the platform with her husband Lee after the hosts of Crush TV had won a GMA for best bird hunting footage and told the crowd that “Baby Crush is excited and moving all over the place tonight.”

Driven’s Nicole Reeve, who is expecting a baby this spring with her husband Pat, said that this year’s GMA ceremony was a bit more challenging for her than previous ones have been. After accepting a GMA award on Thursday night, Nicole said “This year’s show is kind of hard on us pregnant women. The babys are active and it’s hard to sit here for three hours without a bathroom break!”

One of the disappointments of the night was when Midway USA’s Gun Stories host Joe Mantegna was unable to accept a GMA award for the popular Outdoor Channel show. Mantegna, who plays the character David Rossi on Criminal Minds, was unable to attend the ceremony after catching the flu.