Outdoor Blast Attractions Hit All-Time Record High

It’s all subjective, I guess, but it does feel like there’s more to talk about for this year’s Ag-Pro Outdoor Blast than there ever has been since me and the others from GON created this show in 2007 for a place to have our Shoot-Out. From dunking booths and backyard cooking competitions to half the crew from Swamp People in the house, there’s been a pile of attractions roll through the GON Blast doors over the years. It’s been rewarding to watch it grow as we figured out what exactly would attract the outdoor community to spend a summer day, or all weekend, with us to ring in the new hunting year. We think our formula is pretty stinking good at this point.

The 2025 Ag-Pro Outdoor Blast, presented by Kenzie’s Optics, will take place July 25-27 at the LakePoint Champions Center in Emerson, north of Atlanta off I-75 at Exit 283. Below are highlights of what to expect.

Below are some of the highlights of what to expect. More info can be found at GON.com/outdoor-blast.

Gun-An-Hour Giveaway: Every hour on the hour, we draw an attendee’s name at random. It’s simple—hear your name, claim your gun. The Ag-Pro GON Outdoor Blast is open for 20 hours, and we are giving away 20 guns. All you need to do is go to the Gun-An-Hour booth, fill out an entry form, show your paid entry bracelet and drop your entry into the hopper. You stay eligible all day with that one entry. We start fresh each day. You’ll need to be 18 years old and go through the standard federal background check. You must be present to win, and you must claim your gun within 30 minutes of your name being called.

The Gun-An-Hour Giveaway is made possible through a partnership with non-profit 30-30 Ministries and Adventure Outdoors.

GON Truck-Buck Shoot-Out Finals: The 36th annual Truck-Buck Shoot-Out Finals take place on Sunday, July 27, in the John Megel Shoot-Out Arena. Twenty-one GON subscribers will take the stage in a pellet rifle shooting competition where one lucky hunter will win a new Silverado from John Megel Chevrolet. The second-best shot wins a Firminator G-3 food-plot implement from Ranew’s Outdoor Equipment.

GON Youth Shoot-Out Finals: Don’t miss the action Friday, July 25 at 6 p.m. as our qualified youth hunters face off in a BB gun competition. The GON Youth Shoot-Out involves a special partnership with 4-H and shooting specialist Chris Sagar. The winner earns a $3,000 shopping spree from contest sponsor Adventure Outdoors, along with a three-day hunt with Woods-N-Water. The second-best shot goes home with a CVA Scout break-action .243 centerfire rifle from BPI Outdoors.

30-30 Ministries $1K Shoot-Out: The 30-30 Ministries $1K Shoot-Out is back. Anyone ages 13 and above can step into the John Megel Shoot-Out Arena and shoot a Truck-Buck Shoot-Out pellet rifle and qualify for the chance to win $1,000. Qualifying is $10 for three shots at an egg from the 45-foot stage. Qualifying times on Saturday, July 26 are from 9:30-11 a.m. and then again from 12:30-2:30 p.m. Those who hit an egg during qualifying will compete in the finals at 4 p.m. where the best shot wins $1,000.

GON Wall Of Fame & Georgia’s Greatest Whitetails: The GON Wall of Fame and Duncan Dobie’s Georgia’s Greatest Whitetails exhibits bring some of the biggest bucks of the 2024 deer season and some of Georgia’s most famous record bucks from the past.

Official Deer Scoring: Bring your mount or antlers, and our team of official B&C scorers will tally up the inches, and your buck’s final score will automatically be listed in GON’s Georgia Deer Records. Scoring takes place at the Deer Wall against the back of the building. Drop your rack off anytime during show hours Friday or Saturday and until 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 27. But don’t wait until the show is about to close on Friday and Saturday. Antlers dropped off near the closing hours of the show might not be available for pick up until the next day.

Turkey Calling Competitions: The Georgia State Turkey Calling Championships are coming to the Blast on Saturday. In addition, there’s an NWTF Grand National Qualifying Event on Friday, which means it’s sanctioned by the National Wild Turkey Federation. Qualifying events give callers the opportunity to earn a golden ticket to the Grand National Calling Championships. Hosted in Nashville at the annual NWTF Convention and Sport Show, this turkey-calling contest is widely known as the Super Bowl of all turkey-calling competitions.

For information on the turkey calling contests, contact Donald Jarrett at 706.473.8027.

An NWTF banquet will happen Saturday evening after Blast hours. Tickets for that banquet can be purchased through Kimberly Abernathy at [email protected].

Special Guests: We are thrilled to announce a lineup of outdoor experts and personalities: Macy Watkins will be at the Blast all weekend! Also, come meet Dave Owens with Pinhoti Project, Jay Maxwell of 46Ten Productions, Feathered Tine Productions, Southern Outdoorsmen Podcast, Michael Perry with 18 Outdoors and DGD Outdoors.

There’s more at the show than just what you read here. There’s the BBQ Village, Snake Shows with Jason Clark, dog demonstrations with Send Me Dog Ministries, Kids’ Zone activities, Blast Bingo and GON’s first-ever Art Contest. As always, it’s a hunting trade show with hundreds of outdoor vendors. Come see the latest in hunting gear.