Well, we’re back from the SHOT Show. Correction; I’m back, Bob’s stuck in Vegas due to Snowpocolypse.

Anywho, I have a slew of things I want to cover from my time at the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trades (SHOT) Show. I’ll have articles on UTM bullets, Daniel Defense’s new guns, gear, rethinking my everyday-carry (EDC) gun, veteran’s events, “swag hags,” being responsibly armed, and a number of other things.

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There’s always one, of course, that I feel I need to get off my chest before I can concentrate on digging in and writing about the SHOT Show. This year, it’s pigs. No, not the kind you roll up in a blanket and eat, or the little piggies that are in desperate need of a pedicure after leaving the show.

I mean the kind of men who talk to women as if we’re only at SHOT Show for their amusement and pleasure.

Sounds harsh, right?

Well I have to say, that’s downright complimentary compared to what I really want to say.

I have a reputation in the industry for being a hard worker, as do my female friends in the industry. We certainly didn’t get as far as we have by being floozies or having less than stellar morals.

So I have a question for some of the guys in the industry: what makes you think you can talk to us like we’re for sale? Or worse: free?

From the return of the booth babes at range day (I’m sorry, but if you need “good looking girls” outside your tent to get guys in to see your guns, you’re essentially announced that you have crap for guns), to men offering room numbers and rub downs – this year’s show was a cringe-worthy experience for a number of us.

In an industry where women are the fastest growing demographic of customers, this behavior is out of place.

Don’t get me wrong – the overwhelming majority of guys at the show are chivalrous, polite, and great friends. It’s the few rotten piggies that tend to shake mud on the rest.

And it’s not just me. I spoke with several of my girlfriends in attendance this year and they all said this year was terrible, but no one knows exactly why.

Female business owners, shooters, and writers in the industry are well-represented, so it shouldn’t be the ratio of guys-to-girls. One night, I was one of three women in the circle bar which was overwhelmingly crowded with men from the show. After one man ‘tried to put his stank on me’ at the bar, I thought Bob was going to need bail money. (Bob forgot how wicked I can be with my words, and after I put him in his place he apologized and moved on)

Many women, like myself, aren’t able to bring their spouses with but none of us hide the fact that we’re married. I wore my wedding ring the whole trip, announced on Cam&Co that my 12 year anniversary was this Sunday, and it’s widely known I have three children. Why anyone would ask me ‘what’s your bite’ (what does that mean?!) and offer me a room key is beyond me. Saying, “I thought you were fun” after being shut down only shows these guys really need to be taught a lesson.

Look, I have a philosophy: you can have fun and go out with people of the opposite sex. There’s nothing wrong with that. But if you wouldn’t say or do something if their spouse was standing right beside them, you shouldn’t say or do it at all. Is it that hard to understand, guys?

It’s not even flattering to have some guy who owns a company he just asked me to visit and write about rub up on me and act like an imbecile. We’re in Vegas, go pay somebody to give you what you need, or check out the adult video awards that hold a convention in town the same week.

The bottom line is that you guys need to keep yourselves in check. Check your friends, too. Our industry has a bad enough reputation without adding this crap to the mix.

As for me, I’m bringing a squirt gun to the show next year. Any of you get out of line, and I’m gonna spray you right in the face… or the crotch.

Stop being pigs.