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Celebrity endorsements are commonly used to sell everything from wristwatches to coffee pots, but for a variety of reasons (which I’ll discuss in a moment) famous faces rarely appear in promotional roles in the gun industry. A notable exception is R. Lee Ermey, the hard-bitten drill instructor from Full Metal Jacket better known to all of us as "The Gunny."
April 11, 2011
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‘Splain this to me, Lucy. Hunting license sales in the U.S. have increased slightly in the past two years while hunting rifle sales have plummeted. Hunters bought just shy of 15 million licenses in 2009 compared to just under 14.5 million in 2008, according to a 2011 Industry Report published by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). Less than 1 percent is not a big increase, but it’s still moving up.
April 06, 2011
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The shooting industry’s most consistent performer, Sturm, Ruger & Co., saw a slight downturn in sales for 2010, but earnings per share were up, according to its annual report.
April 01, 2011
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Wood. If you need one word to differentiate Europe’s shooting industry trade show from America’s counterpart, the SHOT Show, that word is wood. I don’t mean floors either. I refer to highly figured Turkish walnut, stunning pieces of marble-caked Circassian wood. The wood is not only sold in raw form, one- and two-piece blanks, but also adorns most of the higher-grade guns from the likes of Perazzi, Blaser and Krieghoff.
March 25, 2011
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Honoring a native son, the state legislature of Utah designated the M1911 pistol as the official state handgun. John M. Browning’s legendary design joins 24 other official Utah state symbols ranging from the blue spruce to the honeybee.
March 22, 2011
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German=based IWA show features unique mood, international flavor.
March 16, 2011
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Once again the world is conspiring to humiliate the Insider. No sooner had I opined that the shooting industry is lacking in market share data than two surveys surfaced, one dedicated to “modern sporting rifles” (MSR) and another to the overall industry.
March 14, 2011
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Bushmaster Firearms, part of the Freedom Group of companies (along with Remington, DPMS and others) holds a 12 percent market share of modern sporting rifles (MSRs), the largest single chunk of a fragmented market. The study is based on a comprehensive 2010 market research report issued by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).
March 08, 2011
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The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), a trade association for the firearms industry, has released a 2010 market research study about AR rifle buyers, revealing a treasure trove of information about the fastest growing segment of the gun business. The study was conducted by Sports Marketing Surveys, a company specializing in recreation and sports.
March 03, 2011
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How customizing the M1911 for a combative role led to a whole new breed of Browning's big slab-sided pistol.
March 01, 2011
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Some guns are born to greatness—and the new Browning 1911-22 is one of them. Two years ago at SHOT Show the industry was dazzled with Ruger’s announcement of its .380 LCP pistol. The Insider was among the first to get word in Ruger’s booth that sales of the little compact pistol had exceeded 40,000 units on the first day, blowing Ruger’s most optimistic sales projection out of the water. The show ended with over 70,000 orders in hand.
January 26, 2011
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Proctor & Gamble had just invented Crisco, King George V had just been crowned the new monarch of England and the United States Army had just adopted a new service pistol designed by a wiry, bald-headed genius. The year was 1911.
January 12, 2011
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The Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) show is mere weeks away, but the buzz about what might be unveiled is already ringing the Insider’s bell. One area that stands out is the centennial anniversary of the 1911 pistol.
January 07, 2011
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The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the non-profit industry organization that owns the SHOT (Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade) Show, is marking its 50th anniversary this year and the 2011 SHOT Show promises to spearhead the organization’s celebration with a strong show in a renovated Sands convention center.
January 04, 2011
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Handgun hunting pioneer and founder of Mag-na-port, Larry Kelly, dead at 75.
December 23, 2010
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