Outdoor Blast 2023 Date Set

David Vaughn (right) appears pretty excited after winning the $1K Ultimate Shoot-Out. This turned out to be a great event that let Blast show-goers shoot the Truck-Buck pellet rifle in hopes of collecting $1,000 cash.

The smoke is still settling on what was a smoldering-hot Ag-Pro GON Outdoor Blast last month at LakePoint Sports in Emerson. Hosted by the small staff that has been producing this monthly GON magazine since 1987, I say it without bragging, but we’ve been around long enough to learn what hunters want—and don’t want—at a pre-season show like the Outdoor Blast.

For starters, people want guns. Lots of guns. So, we once again hosted the Gun-An-Hour Giveaway where we gave one gun away every hour to someone who bought a ticket into the Outdoor Blast. 

We don’t need a committee to know that the GON Community will be just as fond of firearms in 2023 as they were last month, so look for another round of guns coming at the 2023 Blast. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Next, people like money. So, this year we introduced the $1K Ultimate Shoot-Out. We took Saturday of the Outdoor Blast and had time to let 79 folks shoot a Truck-Buck Shoot-Out pellet rifle from 45 feet to see if they could hit an egg. We were impressed that 45 of them connected, which brought those guys and gals back to a 4 p.m. showdown to see who could hit an egg at 60 feet. It took a few rounds to dwindle the crowd, but the winner turned out to be David Vaughn, a former Shoot-Out guy from 1993. It was fun handing cash over to a close friend of the GON Community.

Folks likes new pickup trucks, and folks like seeing other people win new pickup trucks. For 33 years, we’ve given a truck away. The last 15 trucks have been given away at an Outdoor Blast. 

The guy who won the 2022 Truck-Buck Shoot-Out truck from John Megel Chevrolet walked off the 30-foot stage with a tear in his eye because he said he really needed a new truck. Flip over to pages 10 and 30 and read a little more on that unique story that involves several folks in our GON Community.

Y’all seeing a trend here? It’s true that people like guns, money and pickup trucks—and other things like snake shows, big mounted bucks and the latest in hunting stuff. But it’s the people that make up this GON Community that make me proud to be a small part of a once-a-year event where we all come together to celebrate hunting season. 

For us, it’s exciting to think about our next gathering with the GON Community. In fact, the day after the 2022 Outdoor Blast, we were discussing plans for 2023.

So here goes. The 2023 Outdoor Blast will be back in Emerson July 28-30. We sold it out in 2022. As popular and good a show as it was, I bet it sells out again, just quicker. Inquire about a booth by calling Mindy at 800.438.4663 or at [email protected]. 

Maybe you’ve never been to the Outdoor Blast. There are hotels in the area. Consider a few days of it and come see what this GON Community is all about.