Event Opportunities
This coming weekend is the Rangemaster Tactical yearly conference — TacCon — at the Dallas Pistol Club in Carrollton, Texas, so I’m taking a break from packing to type this. I have been going to this conference since 2015.
There are a few interesting things about this conference and how they relate to the larger gun-owning community, especially its defensive side. Three hundred plus people attend — most as students, several as trainers and some as support staff. This group is as diverse as the gun-owning community and nearly all of humanity.
The conference offers as broad a spectrum of training as the facility allows. Over the weekend, you could participate in classes related to self-defense and keeping someone’s hands off you; presentations and discussions on legitimate research into training for and applying defensive skill sets; reviews of actual events; judgment and decision-making exercises and shooting classes taught by both competitors and defensive-oriented trainers.
Gear, guns and all manner of support equipment are tested. The performances are watched by others and evaluated by trainers and writers. Writers and photographers from multiple publications are there as well. As for the trainers, both well-known and lesser-known instructors are there.
Why am I bringing this up? Well, a few events like this happen every year. They bring together serious practitioners who have disposable income. They will not only pay for training, but they are also actively looking for good equipment. They are looking at the instructors as well as their classmates. Who is using what? Why are they using it? What about that other thing? Oh, it doesn’t work …
Any one of these events would be a great place to engage with your customers and get real, honest feedback on your products. Does your holster survive a wrestling match? How does your ammunition perform? Do your new slings work in a shotgun class? Oh, that thing that just failed horribly; does it give you an idea for a better thing?
Other events include Shooter’s Summit in Texas, and the annual Guardian Conference in Oklahoma City. The Mingle is a women-focused training event in Georgia and the Pat Rogers Memorial Revolver Round-Up is in Arizona before Thanksgiving. And then there is the Thunderstick Summit in the fall for defensive shotgunners. Full disclosure: I’m presenting at three of the six events I’ve mentioned.
Anyway, we appreciate your support of FMG and its publications every day. I encourage you all to look for opportunities to engage face-to-face with your customer base. Email me anytime for more info: erick.gelhaus@fmghq.com.
