Free Republic

A popular Harrisburg outdoors show that was postponed indefinitely because of a controversy over assault weapons will not be rescheduled this year. The Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show had been scheduled to start Feb. 2 at the Farm Show Complex. But its ban on assault weapons in the wake of a Connecticut school shooting led to a backlash and vendor boycott. Organizers indefinitely postponed the event last month.

For a number of years, I visited the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The show, which is held in a hideous rambling building originally intended to handle livestock, is a genuine monster. For a solid week, people in the tens of thousands come from near and far to grope sporting goods, book hunting and fishing trips, attend demonstrations, and generally see what is what. ESS, as it will hereinafter be referred to, is put on by Reed Exhibitions. Reed is the world’s largest organizer of trade shows and the like; the firm handles 500 events in 39...

The Eastern Sports and Outdoors Show (ESS) is one of the biggest in the world. It is (or was) held in Pennsylvania, and had upward of 200,000 attendees each year. On January 18th, word was received that the management of ESS decided to change the show rules at (for major shows) the last minute. They decided the political climate was right to prohibit Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs) from the show. The response was immediate and massive, amplified by overwhelming grassroots support. Vendors bailed, even if it cost them thousands, in protest of this blatant politicization of the show. Cabela's, one...

We the people have spoken.

We have just learned that Reed Exhibitions has decided to postpone the 2013 Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show. In the days following Reed Exhibitions’ announcement that modern sporting rifles would be prohibited from the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show, the leadership of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) has been in intense, frank discussions with Reed Exhibitions management in an effort to reverse this unacceptable decision. These discussions reached an impasse. NSSF is in no way affiliated with, nor does it participate in or exhibit at this show in any way. Reed Exhibitions does, however, manage the NSSF-owned SHOT Show...

For Immediate Release: Janurary 22, 2013 Crimson Trace Withdraws from Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show (Wilsonville, OR) - Crimson Trace Corporation, the industry leader in laser sighting systems for personal defense, announces their withdrawl from the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show February 2nd- 10th in Harrisburg, PA. Despite five years of attendance to serve the over 200,000 consumers in the Harrisburg and surrounding areas for one of the largest outdoor shows in the country, Crimson Trace stands with their industry partners and the NRA, who have decided not to attend in reaction to the decision from Reed Exhibition on displaying...

TenPoint Crossbow Technologies’ Chairman and CEO, Rick Bednar, expressing his company’s steadfast disagreement with the decision of the Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show management to prohibit the display and sale of Modern Sporting Rifles at its 2013 Harrisburg, PA event, has decided to remove TenPoint’s display from the upcoming February 2-10 show. “We are taking this action to stand in solidarity with many other shooting and outdoor sporting goods manufacturers in support of the guarantees expressed in the 2nd Amendment to our Constitution,” Bednar said. “We regret having to make this decision because we have supported this great consumer event...

O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc, America’s oldest family-owned firearms manufacturer, today announced that the company will not attend or support the 2013 Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The company reached this decision after Reed Exhibitions banned Modern Sporting Rifles and has refused to reconsider their stance. Mossberg’s position on the Second Amendment is unwavering and steadfast; therefore, the company will not support any organization or event that prohibits the display or sale of legal firearms. We stand united with our loyal customers and supporters in this constitutional right and had only hoped for a different outcome.

Due to Reed Exhibitions' refusal to reconsider their decision to ban Modern Sporting Rifles from the February 2-10 Eastern Sports Show in Harrisburg, PA, the National Rifle Association has decided to withdraw from the show. We had called on Reed Exhibitions to reconsider their decision; unfortunately they have steadfastly refused to do so. As a result, the NRA will not be participating in the upcoming show in Harrisburg or in any other shows hosted by Reed Exhibitions that maintain this policy. We are disappointed that Reed Exhibitions has ignored the concerns expressed by attendees, the outdoor industry and the NRA...

On Tuesday afternoon, The Sportsman's Shop in New Holland was the last major gun dealer from Lancaster County still scheduled to attend the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show in Harrisburg. On Tuesday evening, owner Joe Keffer pulled the plug. "As a member of the Board of Governors of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, I have been working, in good faith, with Reed to find a compromise to allow the show to continue at the caliber to which my fellow exhibitors, manufacturers and the more than 200,000 attendees have come to expect," Keffer wrote on the store's Facebook page. "After nearly...

Smith & Wesson will not attend or support or participate in the 2013 Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, Pa. in response to organizers banning the display and sell of tactical-looking firearms often called assault rifles from the show. Smith & Wesson manufacturers a successful line of what it and the industry calls “modern sporting rifles” under the M&P brand name. ... In a news release, James Debney, president and CEO of Smith & Wesson, said: “As a market leader in the firearm industry and an iconic brand that spans 160 years of American history, we believe it is...

The Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show is billed as the largest show of its kind in North America. But after the event made a decision to ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines, it may now lose that title. "We felt that getting involved last year was a good business decision. It has a lot of coverage, a lot of exposure," said Ben Bode of Trop Gun Shop in Elizabethtown. Trop was one of the first vendors to boycott the show, and their customers responded. Trop's Facebook page exploded with 'likes', they received letter, faxes and praise from clients. But...

Ruger has decided not to attend the upcoming Eastern Sports Show. We are very frustrated by Reed Exhibitions’ foolish decision to ban the display of modern sporting rifles. We feel that, as one of America’s firearms manufacturers, we must withdraw from the show as a commitment to the 2nd Amendment rights of our customers.

Wixom, MI --(Ammoland.com)- Trijicon, Inc., global provider of high quality, innovative aiming solutions to military, law enforcement and individual customers, has decided to withdraw its participation and support of the 2013 Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. “We, at Trijicon, are very disappointed in the decision of Reed Exhibitions to ban the display of Modern Sporting Rifles from the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show.”, said Tom Munson, V.P. of Sales & Marketing for Trijicon. “Many of Trijicon’s loyal customers are responsible and law-abiding owners of these types of legal firearms and we will not support any organization that...

(Philadelphia) -- Hunting and fishing retailer Cabela's Inc. says it won't participate in what has been billed as Pennsylvania's largest outdoor sports show next month following the decision to ban display and sale of assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.

The Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show, also known as the Harrisburg Gun Show, has announced it will limit the type of firearms that it will allow to be exhibited. “We have made the decision not to include certain products that in the current climate may attract negative attention,” they posted on their website. The hunting and fishing show, the largest consumer event in the nation, offers 1,200 exhibitors and will run from February 2 – 10, 2013, just outside of Harrisburg, PA. A representative to the show told the Daily Caller that “no specific information was available on the type...

The Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show, also known as the Harrisburg Gun Show, has announced it will limit the type of firearms that it will allow to be exhibited. “We have made the decision not to include certain products that in the current climate may attract negative attention,” they posted on their website. The hunting and fishing show, the largest consumer event in the nation, offers 1,200 exhibitors and will run from February 2 – 10, 2013, just outside of Harrisburg, PA. A representative to the show told the Daily Caller that “no specific information was available on the type...