Pacific Airgun Expo 2021

[steveoh]

Hello fellow Pacific Airgun Expo attendees, vendors, and supporters. Normally I would have started marketing the PAE at the beginning of summer, and really stepping it up about now. I don't think it is too late to market starting now if we want to hold a show March 20-21 of this coming year, but I waited this long hoping to get an idea of what was going to happen with the pandemic and our restrictions.

Some firearm gun shows were back on for a month or so, but now some have had to cancel shows again.

If we held a show I'm not sure we could maintain social distancing in the hall we've been using. If we had the same number of tables as last time, we might squeak by with two wall vendors moved to the center isle. But even that feels like it might be a bit claustrophobic in this new era for our many elder patrons of our sport.

So, we might want to consider the big hall where our first show in Placerville was and really spread out. Much of the hall would be wasted, and it would have that "empty show" feeling which we got away from with the smaller hall, and would have much more cost which we can't really afford with the previous prices for table rent/volume and attendee cost/volume. We could all just accept paying more, but if making a profit on your table rent is important and the margin was slim in the best of years, it might not be feasible.

In any case we have reached a point in the calendar where I need to start taking action if we're going to have a show, and I waited as long as I could to see if the pandemic was looking good, but the future is still unclear, so I'm putting it out to you guys. Let me know please how you feel one way or the other: show or no show and small or big hall, and I am most especially asking the people that have rented tables in recent years and would do so at the next show.

Additionally I have another item to mention, or rather ask about. After last year's show had to cancel (just in the nick of time too) due to Covid, people that had rented tables wanted to be taken care of in different ways. Some donated the money to me, and thank you VERY much. The PAE is not much of a money maker with the best show, and a non-show is a bummer, so thank you. Some of you wanted your money back, no problem, I did. And a few split it with me. I think I took care of everybody, but I do not have some kind of fancy show management software to keep all that straight. Who would have ever thought this could happen to a small hobby show, and, well, to the whole rest of the planet?

So, if I did not take care of any of you, thank you for being nice and not saying anything, but it was not intentional and now is a good time for me to take care of any outstanding business, so please speak up.

Ok guys that's all I've got. Please get back to me on both questions as appropriate.

On a personal note I have been having fun lately dialing in an Air Arms S510 .25 I bought a year ago. It's not much, but I've got 12 yards indoors I can shoot in my new house/shop here in the beautiful little city of Clearlake, CA, and 25 yards if I stretch it out the back door, which is kinda sketchy (I am in the city limits) so only good for a few odd sighters and not a big shooting session (although the ZeroDB moderator works great). Best thing though is I'm only 30 minutes away from an awesome shooting range which only costs $50/year, and 20 minutes from a lot of BLM land. Not that there's any game out there.

I have my eye on an area that might work for Field Target. It has a very large parking area. I'm thinking a concurrent big bore long range Field Target game alongside the usual Field Target games.

Hope this note finds all of you healthy and employed and enjoying your airgun hobby every chance you can. Very nice to be writing all of you. You make up one of my favorite communities.

yours in airgunning,
Michael McKeown
707-337-9410

[spingerpreacher]

Looks as if 2023 it's on again:
https://www.pacificairgunexpo.com

(the register button is 404 at the moment)

Wish it were a little further north.  Ya won't find me buying any gun from California.