The gathering of gun enthusiasts comes as Romney, the presumptive GOP nominee, is trying to woo conservative groups to consolidate his base after fending off challengers on his right. His relationship with gun owner groups is uneasy.

Running for the Senate in 1994, Romney said: "I don't line up with the NRA." A decade later he became a lifetime NRA member.

The NRA convention is a must-do for any Republican candidate. But this week it interrupted a new campaign narrative that Romney would like to extend: the view that top Democrats look down on stay-at-home moms.

Romney used the NRA setting, in the domed arena where the St. Louis Rams play football, to make his first public comments on the topic. He brought a central player and key supporter: his wife, Ann, who stayed home to raise their five sons.

Democratic activist Hilary Rosen set off the tempest Wednesday by telling CNN that Ann Romney never worked a day in her life. The ensuing uproar knocked Democrats off their message that Republicans are insufficiently concerned about women's rights, including access to birth control.