Recent Visit with Indiana Outdoors Radio: Phone Sacrifice and 2026 SHOT Report

One preventable disaster, one massive trade show, and a few hard-earned lessons.

Last Saturday, February 7th, I joined host Bryan Poynter on Indiana Outdoors radio to test out a few lies and recap what I saw at the 2026 SHOT Show. What I did not expect, at least when I agreed to talk, was that the conversation would open with a confession — one involving frigid temperatures, a dark fishing hole, and the sudden, irreversible surrender of my cellphone to the depths.

Yes, it finally happened.

We all know the phone is no longer just a phone. It’s a calendar, camera, notebook, contact list, authentication device, banking portal, and for many of us, the nervous system of daily life. Lose your wallet and you’re annoyed. Lose your phone and you briefly consider opening a vein.

I had managed to avoid this fate for years. Phones have survived range days, travel, weather, and the occasional gravity test from tailgates and truck seats. But ice fishing? Apparently it was my technological Waterloo.

One small miscalculation. One smooth piece of ice. One silent plunk.

Gone.

There is a unique stillness that follows watching a thousand dollars — and an alarming percentage of your digital existence — vanish into clear, cold water. You stare for a moment, as if the lake might reconsider and give it back.

It will not.

Bryan, of course, appreciated the story. Nothing bonds people faster than preventable misfortune.

Once we finished mourning loss of my “The Precious,” we turned to brighter topics — namely my report from SHOT Show 2026.

For those unfamiliar, SHOT Show remains the industry’s annual glimpse into the near future. It’s where manufacturers show their hand, trends begin to reveal themselves, and you quickly learn two things: comfortable shoes are non-negotiable, and you will still fail to see everything.

If you would like to listen to the full report— both the aquatic burial of my cellphone and a deeper dive into SHOT Show — give the episode a listen with Bryan Poynter.

And if you’re heading onto the ice anytime soon, consider this your friendly public service announcement:

Secure the phone.

The lake is always waiting.

Link to episode: https://1075thefan.com/712832/indiana-outdoors-2-7-26-a-shot-show-update/