There are a lot of people to thank for their contributions to the fifth (!) annual Gun Blogger Rendezvous, none more than Mr. Completely and Keewee for their efforts to pull it all together. As Mr. C put it, for him it’s not a lot of fun, but it sure is rewarding when it’s all done.
For the rest of is, it is a lot of fun, and we really appreciate it.
Others who contributed involved many in the industry:
Bill Brassard Jr., Director of Communications for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. The NSSF provided the pizza dinner Saturday night, and Bill is the gateway through which bloggers can get media credentials to attend the annual SHOT show in Las Vegas.
Rachel Parsons of the NRA, who provided a very nice breakfast for us Friday morning before we headed off to the range, but was unable to make it herself due to illness.
Randi Rogers AKA “Holy Terror” of Glock, who provided a certificate for any standard Glock handgun.
Charles Brown of Hi-Point Firearms and MKS Supply, who provided a certificate for a 9mm Carbine.
Kerby Smith of Para USA who provided a 35% discount coupon for any new Para pistol
Lori Petoske of Ruger Firearms who provided very nice briefcase-style range bags for all of the bloggers, plus cups, hats and other swag.
Larry Weeks of Brownell’s, who unfortunately couldn’t be with us as this year he was a range officer at the USPSA Multi-Gun Nationals being held in Las Vegas. Brownell’s provided AR-15 mags (I scored two), one of their top-of-the-line range bags, and other great stuff.
Colin Anthony of MidwayUSA, who provided shirts, a stack of excellent pistol range bags and other stuff, plus a discount code for blog readers (and another one to come!)
Patrick Harlan of Crimson Trace, who provided a certificate for any in-stock Lasergrip, and some very nice pistol rugs and other swag.
Leupold, who through Allen Forkner of Swanson*Russell, provided a damned nice VX3 scope.
Jamie Klund and Gary Shank of Cabela’s who hosted a tour of their 125,000 square-foot Reno store, and let us fondle the rare firearms in their Gun Room, (including a $30k Single-Action Army!) Cabela’s also gave us some discount coupons that most of us made immediate use of.
The Cowboy Fastdraw Association, who put on a match for Rendezvous attendees Sunday at absolutely no cost to us. It was, to coin a phrase, a blast. Special thanks to “Quick Cal” Eilrich and the Sage Hills Reno Rustlers Cowboy Fast Draw club who ran the match.
The Palomino Valley Gun Club who run a fine range, and the Western Nevada Pistol League who let us shoot their steel on Saturday.
Richard Brengman of Special Interest Arms, who brought some of his stuff to Friday’s Show-‘n-Tell for us to look at and handle. Richard lives an hour or so away in Gardnerville, NV, and said he thought some other local manufacturers might be interested in attending next year.
Derek of The Packing Rat, who donated an Air Venturi Bronco break-barrel air rifle. Derek is also the unofficial photographer for the Rendezvous.
And the Silver Legacy Resort and Casino who treated us well all weekend.
And thanks also to all the attendees who helped us raise money for Project Valour-IT. I met a bunch of new people this weekend, and my blogroll will be growing.