Who would have thought that a walk through a South Dakota pheasant field would turn into what is the largest shotgun shell at a retailer in the United States?

While many business deals and great ideas happen on a golf courses, this one came together amongst great business partners while hunting. Fitting, right? When you put Jim Bruno, Senior Vice President at Vista Outdoor, Bart Biedinger of Trade Marketing at Vista Outdoor, and Blaine Altaffer, the President/CEO of Green Top Sporting Goods together you can bet the discussion is wide and ranging. In this case the discussion was in the shape of a 30-foot-tall Remington shotgun shell. You may have seen it in your travels or during one of many visits to Green Top in Ashland, Virginia.

So how did this idea come to be? The mission in mind was to create something with buzz and fanfare to drive memorable photo ops for the 75-year-old retailer, Green Top, while embracing the iconic hunting brand, Remington Ammunition. The decision to do something with the Remington brand was obvious given its rich 200-year history that has touched generations of hunters and shooters around the world.  It took only 11 months for this to all happen and now this iconic reminder of our hunting heritage sits in front of the Green Top Sporting Goods store. It may very well be the largest shotshell in the world.

Pictured: A work in progress

“It’s so rewarding to watch customers (and dogs) line up to take a picture in front of it coming and going. It was such a special project to see how Bart and the team at Vista Outdoor and Remington Ammunition so quickly bought into the vision and opportunity”, says Altaffer. 

Pictured: An aerial view of the Big Green Shell being installed

The launch of the Big Green Shell was October 1-2, 2022 at the the Grand Opening for the Green Top Expo. For more information on the annual Green Top Expo, visit https://www.greentophuntfish.com/outdoor-expo/.