I worked in the industry for years. Your question has a bit of confliction in it?? I will try to clear it up.

There are two types of sales representatives. There are manufacturer's rep's, and then there are distributor rep's. The two word's should easily differentiate the two.

Mfr. rep's usually have larger territories, and sell to wholesaler's and large retailer's. And then obviously the wholesaler rep's have smaller territories and sell to all the retailer's, and no distrtibutor's.

The SHOT show is a manufacting show, not a wholesaler show. There are some wholesaler's there, but the show is mostly for mfrs.

Actually the best way to get a job is to get a good resume put together, and send it to all the mfrs. and distributor's you can find. The most important factor for you is to be transient.

Going to the shows can work. But normally any of the good rep's are too busy at the show's to fool with you. Try to find a job in the off season. Fishing rep's in the winter and hunting rep's in the summer. IF you have any specific questions send me a message, I will try to answer them as well as I can. Tom.