NRAblog first ran into Jake McCloskey & Wade Pinkston of Maverick Outfitters back in Albuquerque, New Mexico for the National Police Shooting Championships. They were part of the merry band who came out a few days early to participate in the Tactical Police Competition preceding NPSC. After a second sighting at the San Antonio Tactical Competition, we thought that'd be the last of Maverick until NPSC 2011. But there they were in Sands Expo Center along side the 58,000 others who made their way out to SHOT Show.

"SHOT Show is very important to our operation," explained Pinkston. "A face-to-face interaction when discussing basic marksmanship, team communications, or home defense planning – just some of the disciplines we teach at Maverick – is always more impressive than a simple phone call. We can provide that here at SHOT."

"Even more so when you look at the way we train," said McCloskey. "They don't come to us, we go to them. Train in their facilities, with their equipment, to make them more comfortable while operating in their community. Being away from our home base helps to emphasize that point."

But what about the main draw to SHOT – the guns.

"Of course we're here for the guns," smiled McCloskey. "Checking out the latest production lines gives us a chance to handle the firearms. That gives us an idea about what will work in our system and what won't. And truthfully, they're pretty darn cool."