Driftwood Outdoors: Archery Trade Association Show brings hunting industry to St. Louis
Hunting is big business. Proof of this was on display at the Archery Trade Association (ATA) Show, which took place in St. Louis this year Jan. 11–13.
Hundreds of companies were in attendance to meet buyers looking to stock their shelves with the latest and greatest archery and hunting products. It’s a reunion of sorts, where friends who only see each other once a year catch up. Lots of deer, elk, and turkey pictures are shared, along with endless stories about people, places, and products.
It's been about 10 years since I attended my last ATA Show. A career change led me back to the more traditional outdoor industry, which gave me purpose to attend the trade show once again. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised.
While the show was smaller, with numerous major companies like Realtree, Mathews, and more not in attendance, there were many notable names there, along with a whole bunch of lesser-known companies. This gave buyers and dealers in attendance more time to talk in a less crowded environment.
One noticeable change is the huge emergence of electric bike, or e-bike, companies. It reminds me of the expensive cooler explosion the industry experienced a decade ago. Many of those companies have disappeared. But e-bikes were everywhere.
QuietKat, a major e-bike company, really launched the niche in the industry. I was there from the beginning. On a hunt in Illinois a decade ago, I saw the first prototype of QuietKat. Today’s bike looks nothing like that one. It’s amazing to me that, a little more than 10 years later, there are more than a half-dozen companies selling some sort of electric bike in the hunting industry.
The way bows have changed over the years is remarkable. I was in attendance to watch Pete Shepley, the founder of PSE, receive a lifetime achievement award. My first two bows were PSE in the 1990s. I can only imagine the changes Pete’s seen across the archery and hunting industries in the half a century he’s been producing bows. Many of those changes his company is responsible for.
We’ve come a long way from sticks and strings in terms of technology. Which makes me want to become much more dedicated to actually hunting with sticks and strings.
Archery target companies are still going strong. There was a giant Sasquatch target on the floor I know my friend Shags would like, but I really want a new 1/3 size bison target I came across. I hope to add a dozen or so 3-D targets to my new property so I can have a personal walk-through course to shoot with my friends.
These targets aren’t cheap, so it’ll take awhile to acquire that many, but a guy must get started to reach a goal, so the bison target might be my first one.
Arrows, calls, and clothing are still big business, but hunting blinds have exploded. The number of companies selling treehouse-style blinds even outnumbered the e-bikes. We have definitely made hunting more comfortable in the 30 years I’ve been at it.
I’m as guilty as the next guy with a Redneck on my back 40. Being able to sit all day in comfort is great for hunting, but it’s also nice for just observing wildlife. These hard-sided blinds work just as well for wildlife watchers as they do for hunters.
First-time attendees, like Sawyer, which sells bug spray and water filters, found the show to be a valuable experience. Lauren Plunkett, the company’s Hunt and Fish Community Manager said, “I was really impressed by the number of dealers who visited our booth. There is a lot of interest in preparedness and dealers were eager to take advantage of show pricing. Attending this show was valuable for us.”
All in all, it was great to be back at the ATA show to catch up with many old friends and to see how the industry has changed in 10 years, and how it’s still the same. I’d say the Hollywood-type craze of 10 years ago has calmed down a lot and that, for me, was a great takeaway from my trip.
In a few weeks, I’ll attend the SHOT Show in Las Vegas, which is much larger. I’m eager to see how it has changed too. I’ll let you know what I observe.
See you down the trail.
For more Driftwood Outdoors, check out the podcast on www.driftwoodoutdoors.com or anywhere podcasts are streamed.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Driftwood Outdoors: Archery Trade Association Show brings hunting industry to St. Louis
