By Tom Carpenter with Jake Schiller

The annual SHOT (Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade) show in Las Vegas brings together people from all walks of the outdoor busines, showcasing new products of every description and letting folks get together  for old-fashioned face-to-face meetings in a digital world.

While Pheasants Forever's business is conservation, the show affords an opportunity to meet with key sponsors in the habitat mission ... and also take a look at what's new in the world of shotguns, clothes, accessories, dog gear and supplies, and every other category of product of interest to upland hunters.

Day one is always outdoors at the range. With rifles of every description popping, booming and rat-tat-tatting around us, videographer Jake Schiller and I wandered the shotgun area of the Boulder Rifle and Pistol Club just outside Las Vegas. Visit Pheasants Forever's Facebook feed to ride along on our day. Here are a few highlights, followed by some pictures.


DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS

*Shooting Federal Premium Gold Medal Paper Hull Shotshells through two smooth-handling doubles on opposite ends of the price spectrum -- Fox's A Grade side-by-side (about $5000), and Stevens' 555 Enhanced over/under (about $750).

*Checking out some sweet new knives for uplanders with CJ Buck of Buck Knives.

*Exploring a couple great new Citoris -- the CX and the little 725 in 28-gauge -- with Browning's Shaundi Campbell.

*Discovering Huntego's new Cleanshot system -- fire one of these through your bore and clean it out now.
 

DAY 1 PICTURES