Daystate And BRK At The Great British Shooting Show
Thanks to Tony Belas from Daystate, we have an interesting look at the the Great British Shooting Show. This took place from February 16 – 18, 2023 in Birmingham, UK. Take it away, Tony…
The Great British Shooting Show is the closest thing in the U.K. to the NRA Show in the U.S. It’s a major shooting sports event that draws wide attendance from both the trade and consumers.
After three years of cancelled and reduced attendance, the great British Shooting Show is once again advancing. Attendance numbers were rumored to be over 50,000 people attending over three days which is a 40% increase on 2022 and likely a record.
That compares to the approximately 61,000-person attendance at the 2022 NRA Convention in Houston from a country with a population only 1/5 that of the USA and where shooting is strictly regulated. Impressive, huh???
For airgun shooters the Great British Shooting Show has become the new focus. It’s likely to be the biggest air gun show anywhere in the world, though the show itself is not exclusive to air guns and covers all shooting disciplines.
Returning to the show after a COVID19-induced break, was the Daystate, BRK and MTC Optics group of companies with a brand new booth.
For the 2023 Great British Shooting Show, the company decided to have a new open-design structure. This enabled visitors to handle the products and talk to experts without any interference or obstacles.
Below. leading U.K. airgun writers Nigel Allen (left) and Richard Saunders helped-out fielding customer questions.
Also included was an adjacent Daystate shop where accessories, spares and customer service enquiries could be met. In this area, the company’s technical staff were able to answer directly any inquiry about older Brocock and Daystate rifles. This is something you don’t normally see at a show where new sales are usually the main driver for attending companies.
Above, Daystate and BRK Team shooters pitched-in also. Here we see Matt Fletcher, Soren Drost and Lee Unsworth. Soren (center) flew in from Denmark for the occasion.
Opposite the main display area was a six-lane, 30-Yard range where shooters could try a new BRK Ghost, Daystate Alpha Wolf Safari, Huntsman Revere or the tiny Brocock Ranger XR! Range staff were supplied by Reasheath College. They were actually students from the gamekeeper’s course, bringing a splash of youth and on-the-job training into the show!
Below, there were dealers also at the show. The gentlemen below purchased the last BRK Ghost at the show after trying one on the range!
The Daystate/BRK/MTC Optics group will be exhibiting again in Germany next week at the trade-only IWA OutdoorClassics show and Hard Air Magazine will be there to report on it.
The next U.K. retail airgun show will – once again – be the Northern Shooting Show at Harrogate, North Yorkshire on May 6-7.
There’s never a better time for American shooters to visit the UK, enjoy the Northern Shooting Show and take-in a great British vacation, too. See you there!
