The floor of the exhibit hall at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center was a nearly completed construction site yesterday afternoon as 360 manufacturers of firearms, accessories and related items scrambled to finish erecting exhibits before today's opening of the annual National Rifle Association convention.

	Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette An oversized bullet dominated Winchester Ammunition's booth, one of hundreds being set up yesterday as part of the National Rifle Association's annual convention at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Click photo for larger image.

The NRA has been hyping the exhibits with billboards promising "4 acres of guns and gear" and it appeared there won't be an inch of the massive exhibit hall not utilized. Exhibits, which run from plain and simple to wood-paneled and decoratively lit, were in every state of readiness, some already completed and others just being erected.

The beep-beep-beeping of high lifts merged with static from workers' hand-held radios. Large wooden crates marked "para-ordnance" were everywhere. Underfoot, soft blue carpeting was protected by a plastic cover.

John Robbins, NRA communications department manager, said everything would be ready for this morning when the exhibit hall opens and the three-day convention commences.

Titled "NRA04 -- Freedom's Steel," the convention marks the first time the organization has chosen Pittsburgh as the site since it began holding annual conclaves in 1948.

The convention promises to be the biggest in the NRA's history, with more than 50,000 pre-registered and as many as 60,000 expected, officials said. Among the reasons for choosing Pittsburgh is that roughly one-fourth of the organization's 4 million members live within 300 miles of here.

Among the events planned are the annual member meeting; an indoor air-gun range; sessions on carrying concealed weapons, gun collecting, women's wilderness wear and hunting in Africa; a three-day game-calling competition with $50,000 in cash prizes; and "God, Guns & Rock 'n' Roll" with rocker and NRA board member Ted Nugent.

Vice President Dick Cheney will deliver the keynote address Saturday at 7:15 p.m. before the members' banquet, a highlight of the convention. Those attending will be screened with metal detectors.

The NRA's arrival here hasn't met with universal welcome. Confluence Against Gun Violence, a coalition of Pittsburgh organizations formed in response to the convention, staged a teach-in last night at the William Pitt Union at the University of Pittsburgh.

Tonight at 7:30 the group will hold a candlelight vigil outside the convention center to remember victims of gun violence and tomorrow there will be feeder marches to a rally and concert at 10th Street and Penn Avenue to stop gun violence.

Other reaction came from the city's competing weekly news, arts and entertainment tabloids, City Paper and Pulp, both of which had NRA themes on this week's covers. City Paper showed a clown holding a handgun and the headline "Welcome NRA Members!" while Pulp featured a cowboy doll holding six-shooters under the headline "Welcome, Gunslingers!"

Also getting into the act is the Harris Theatre on Liberty Avenue, which will hold a "Happiness is a Warm Gun" film festival. The films chosen as being "our favorite films that celebrate the use of firearms" include the weekend double feature "Dirty Harry" and "Taxi Driver" and single features "The Wild Bunch" and "Joe" on Monday and Tuesday, the days the NRA board of directors will meet here.

Conventioneers with proper ID "can cut to the front of the ticket line -- no waiting period required," the theater promised.

The convention will officially kick off today at 1 p.m. with the "Opening Celebration," which the program described as "an afternoon of patriotic celebration, fun and live music by the Oak Ridge Boys."

The exhibit hall will open at 10 a.m. Admission is free to NRA members and open to anyone buying an NRA associate membership for $10. All weapons being displayed are inoperable, most tethered to displays by cables.

For Alfred D. Russo Jr., marketing communications manager for Remington Arms Co. Inc. of Madison, N.C., being at the NRA convention is a must. While no sales take place at the exhibit, the gathering provides a time to interact with consumers -- as opposed to dealers at trade shows -- and to show them the 40 or so new products his company is offering.

"Guns, ammunition and accessories -- this is our business and this is our audience," he said, standing in the midst of Remington's nearly completed 150-square-foot exhibit.

Kim A. Calhoun, marketing communications manager for Winchester Ammunition, of East Alton, Ill., agreed, as he stood beside a 4-foot-long model of the company's new AccuBond CT bonded core bullet. The product, promising hunters "deeper penetration and extreme accuracy at long distances," is so new the company hasn't advertised it yet.

Michael B. Kassner, president of Charles Daly, importers of handguns, shotguns and rifles, said that in addition to interacting with consumers "the political aspect is also important. ... It's important that this industry put the right foot forward and get the message out to the public to help ensure that people who keep us in business get re-elected.

"A Democratic administration is very bad for the future of our industry."

He said that he hopes for a great convention but fears attendance may be affected tomorrow with the beginning of trout season.

"But it should be great," he said of the gathering. "Especially in an election year, it should be exceptional."