Gun sales in 2025 may not eclipse records, but the firearm industry’s generosity just might. Here are just a few philanthropic efforts we ran across in December, some of them quiet and local, but each should make those of us who exercise our Second Amendment rights proud.
Vortex Optics announced the winner of an all-expenses-paid trip for a deserving U.S. military veteran and their guest to watch the 23rd Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas. The company accepted nominations from across the nation for the annual giveaway, which was free to enter, and gave the news to the deserving winner in December. The firm’s donation of a Razor HD Gen III 4-24x50 mm riflescope also helped raise money for the SEAL Future Foundation. Sales of its first ever Vortex Crafted Impact cap also brought in $17,000 for Folds of Honor.
Wiley X supported Boot Campaign’s Seasons of Service program through hands-on employee volunteerism and product donations. As part of the initiative, employees stepped away from their desks to help wrap Christmas gifts for veterans and military families in need. The company also donated premium protective eyewear so every participating family received a pair.
Team ERGO joined nearly 800 community members for the Albuquerque, N.M. Walk to End Alzheimer’s. They raised more than $2,100 during the walk, which is one of the nation’s largest events to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s research.
Hornady recently wrote a check for $35,625 to the GRACE Cancer Foundation in Grand Island, Neb., and a matching amount to the American Cancer Society. The company donates a portion of its Hornady Critical Defense Lite ammunition sales to the effort each year and has contributed a total of nearly $1.4 million to the organizations.
Mesa Tactical donated more than $1,000 in product to the Lake City Marksmanship Training Center in Lake City, Mich. The contribution supports the facility’s efforts to provide high-quality firearm training for law enforcement, security personnel, competitive shooters and responsible gun owners.
Derya Arms announced its partnership with MidwayUSA Foundation and Walk the Talk America in December. Through it the firm will be supporting youth shooting sports and suicide-prevention efforts, respectively.
A Few Others In 2025
The partial list of December’s generosity is not an anomaly. Throughout the year, for example, SK Guns helped raise more than $535,000 for a variety of worthwhile causes.
Thanks to the support of sustaining sponsor companies—which include industry legends Smith & Wesson, National Shooting Sports Foundation, SIG Sauer, Crimson Trace, Glock, Hornady, Leupold & Stevens, Mossberg, Ruger, Surefire, Taurus, Vista Outdoor/Federal, XS Sights and others—Honored American Veterans Afield (HAVA) hosted a number of for U.S. military veterans and their loved ones, all free.
The Hornady family was honored in October by the Greater Grand Island Community Foundation, in Nebraska, for the difference it has made locally, for decades.
The NRA, thanks to donors to the NRA Foundation, contributed $100,000 to cover the costs of processing, shipping and distribution of high-in-protein meat through NRA’s Hunters for the Hungry program.
Remington Ammunition’s single day of clays raised $20,000 for children’s hospitals near its manufacturing facility this year.
And who can forget Henry Repeating Rifle’s amazing Guns for Great Causes program?
Firearms sales may have been down, but it’s done nothing to dampen the industry’s spirit of giving. It’s a solid lesson in what the it considers an integral part of the mission, even in challenging economic conditions.
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