Shooting Industry June 2008

NOVEMBER 2005

ACADEMY OF EXCELLENCE SELECTS FINAL NOMINEES

(overline)

Academy Of Excellence Selects Final Nominees

Lethal ForceSell Non-Gun Self-Defense

JUNE 2008

OPTICS

ACADEMY OF EXCELLENCE SELECTS FINAL NOMINEES

MUZZLELOADING

Know The Trends

OPTICSFast-Focused Displays

HANDGUN

WHERE’STheMONEY?WHERE’STheMONEY?ACCESSORIESHANDGUNACCESSORIES

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Features

JUNE 2008 • VOLUME 53 • NUMBER 06

Page 24

Page 29

1

Page 16

24 Fast-Focused Displays Carolee Anita Boyles

Optimize Your Optic Presentations For Sharp Sales!

29 Handgun Accessory Sales John Morrison

In a Galaxy of Gizmos, Where’s The Money?

41 Selling Today’s Muzzleloading Mark Kayser

For Success, Know The Trends, Your Hunting Seasons.

Industry News 8 Academy Of Excellence Selects Final Nominees

10 Remington Announces Consolidation Plan

11 Industry Shooters Ready For Masters

14 Newsmakers

Columns

16 Lethal Force Massad Ayoob Selling Non-Gun Self-Defense Products.

18 Outdoor Marketplace Greg Staunton

Foundation Takes A STAND For Hunter Safety.

20 Arms And The Woman Lisa Parsons-Wraith Hosting Events Draws Women Into Your Store.

22 Back Blast & Other Hot Gases Commander Gilmore

Net-Bangers Tell Cops To “Come Get It!”

46 Industry Watch Russ Thurman

The Magic Of www.shootingindustry.com.

Departments 6 Letters 44 New Products

40 Reader Service 45 Classifieds

SHOOTING INDUSTRY® (ISSN 0037-4148) is published monthly by Publishers’ Development Corporation at 12345 World Trade Dr, San Diego, CA 92128. Periodical Class Postage paid at San Diego, CA 92128, and at additional mailing offices. Subscription $25 yearly in U.S.A. Single copies $3 (except for the December SHOT SHOW issue, $25). Change of address: Four weeks notice required on all changes. Send old address as well as new. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: SHOOTING INDUSTRY® 12345 World Trade Dr, San Diego, CA 92128. PRINTING SERVICES/PREPRESS: Democrat Printing Company. CONTRIBUTORS submitting manuscripts, photographs or drawings, do so at their own risk. Material cannot be returned unless accom-panied by sufficient postage. PAYMENT will be made at rates current at time of publication and will cover reproduction in any or all of the editions of SHOOTING INDUSTRY®. OPINIONS expressed in bylined articles or columns are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the magazine or its staff. Copyright© 2008 by Publishers' Development Corporation. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of any portion of this magazine without written permission is prohibited.

www.shootingindustry.com JUNE 2008 5

FMG Publications

Editor: Dave Douglas Advertising: Delano Amaguin americancopmagazine.com

Editor: Roy Huntington Advertising: Steve Evatt americanhandgunner.com

Editor: Jeff John Advertising: Jeff Morey gunsmagazine.com

Editor: Sammy Reese Advertising: Scott McGregor fmgpublications.com

SINCE 1955 — THE INDUSTRY’S BUSINESS MAGAZINE

PUBLISHER Thomas von Rosen EDITOR Russ Thurman EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Roxanne Smith ART DIRECTOR Eric Tse ART ASSISTANT Andy Loy PRODUCTION MANAGER Kimberly Thorne ADVERTISING ACCOUNT MANAGER Anita Carson ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Steve Evatt, Jeff Morey, Delano Amaguin, Scott McGregor PROMOTIONS DIRECTOR Randy Moldé PROMOTIONS COORDINATOR Lorinda Massey

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Massad Ayoob Carolee Anita Boyles Shari LeGate Ray Oeltjen John Morrison Lisa Parsons-Wraith

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Benchmade CollectionI am writing in hopes that you can

provide some information on the Acad-emy of Excellence, specifically regarding past Knives of the Year. I have recently seen pictures of a special set of knives, consisting of one each of the 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 Knives of the Year. All are Benchmades and all are individually num-bered “___ out of 100.” On the other side of the blade, all have the Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence logo, along with the year, the award won and the model number. They are packaged in what looks to be a gray-felt roll with both the academy and Benchmade logos on the front, along with the words “Special Collection.”

I am trying to find out if this is a set is-sued in conjunction with Benchmade, or if it was done by a third party. Any informa-tion you have would be helpful.

Wes Thompson Via: [email protected]

The Special Collection was manufac-

tured and issued by Benchmade. Greg Mooney, Benchmade’s president, said, “One of the deterrents to selling them was the set cost about $1,000 retail. The good news is that if one is found in the market, they should be worth quite a bit because of the limited number.”

Wes, if you’d like more information, call Benchmade at 1-800-800-7427 or e-mail: [email protected].

Benchmade has been honored eight times in the 10 years the academy has pre-sented the Knife of the Year award. The company is nominated for the 2008 award for the 950 SBK Rift Folding Knife.

For more information on the academy, visit www.shootingindustry.com and click on the academy’s logo.

What A ConceptI just read “Accelerated Business” (Feb-

ruary 2008). Gee, Ruger is actually going to have a gun or two in some of the dealers’ hands before they announce a new product? What a concept! Wonder how much money

they spent hiring some marketing specialist to tell them that it would make sense to ac-tually have a gun or two on hand to sell be-fore you start spending thousands of dollars advertising it, when any Joe off the street with a second-grade education could have told then the same thing for free.

Of course, just because some of the “top” dealers get a few of them doesn’t mean that the rest of us “normal” dealers still won’t have to wait two years.

Donald Lehman, ownerDon’s Snowmobile and ATV Repair

We agree, it would seem obvious that the concept “would make sense.” To Ruger’s credit, they are the first major firearm man-ufacturer to break the long-held tradition of announcing and advertising firearms that aren’t ready for delivery. Are they doing it perfectly? No, but they deserve a salute for starting — and being committed to — what we all hope will become the norm. 9

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The Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence has announced the fi nal nominations for its 2008 awards. The

academy considered 150 entries in 14 cate-gories before selecting 43 for the fi nal ballot.

The 500 members of the academy are now considering the nominees for the pres-tigious awards, which will be announced during a reception on July 25 in Windsor, Conn.

This year, a number of companies have a high num-ber of nominations, academy offi cials noted.

“It’s not unusual for a company to be nominated in more than one category, but this year, we have two companies, Leupold and Smith & Wesson, with three nominations, and an impressive four nominations for SureFire,” said Randy Moldé, academy director. “In addition, there is a signifi cant increase in

the quality of products in all categories. That’s good for the industry. It does, how-ever, make it more challenging for the vot-ing members of the academy. They have some tough choices to make.”

This is the second year the fi nal nominees were selected using stricter screening guide-

lines. After the academy members selected the top entries in each product category, dur-ing the fi rst round of voting, manufacturers had 10 days to submit their products for veri-fi cation to ensure they are “in production.”

“The objective is not to burden compa-

nies with another requirement, but to re-inforce the already strong integrity of the academy,” Moldé said. “And it works. The new requirement has eliminated the entry of ‘vaporware’ products.”

Established in 1992, the academy is sponsored by FMG Publications, pub-

lisher of Shooting Industry, GUNS, American Hand-gunner and American COP magazines. However, no one at the publisher is per-mitted to vote.

The voting power is held exclusively by the academy, which includes 500 industry

executives, gun dealers and outdoor writers. The awards presentation and reception

will be held in conjunction with the Shoot-ing Industry Masters.

For more information, visit www.shoot-ingindustry.com.

Academy Of Excellence Selects Final Nominees

The 2008 fi nal nominees are:Handgun of the Year

• Ruger: LCP .380• Smith & Wesson: Model 327 Night Guard Revolver .357 Mag.• Taurus International: The Judge .45 Colt/.410 Magnum

Rifl e of the Year• Browning: X-Bolt Rifl e• Sig Sauer: Sig 556 SWAT• Winchester: Model 70 Reintroduction

Shotgun of the Year• Benelli USA: Ultra Light 20 Gauge• Browning: Citori 625 Over/Under• Remington Arms: Model 870 SPS ShurShot Synthetic Turkey• Smith & Wesson: Elite Silver Over/Under

Accessory of the Year• Brownells: Professional Magna Tip Tool Set• RCBS: RASS Portable Shooting Bench• SureFire: X300 WeaponLight

Specialty Product of the Year• Birchwood Casey: Dirty Bird Multi-Color Splattering Targets• Leupold: MX Modular Flashlight System• SureFire: E1B Backup Flashlight

High-Tech Product of the Year• Crimson Trace: Model LG-660 Lasergrips• Hodgdon Powder: Reloading Data Center Web-Site• Leupold: RX-IV Boone & Crockett Edition Digital Rangefi nder

Ammunition of the Year• Federal: Black Cloud FS Steel Shotshell• Hornady: Ruger Compact Magnum Cartridge (RCMs)• Winchester: E-Tip Lead-Free Bullet

Optic of the Year• Aimpoint: Micro H-1 Red-Dot Sight

• Leupold: Prismatic Shotgun/Muzzleloader/Rifl e Scope• Trijicon: AccuPoint 3-9x40 Rifl escope

Knife of the Year• Benchmade: 950 SBK Rift Folding Knife• Leatherman: Skeletool Multi-Tool• SureFire: EW08 LEO Law Enforcement Utility Knife

Safety Product of the Year• BLACKHAWK!: Hawkhook Rescue Tool• SureFire: EP400 SWAT Ears Hearing Protection• Waffentechnik Borkott & Eickhorn: SARD (Search and Rescue Device)(The nomination details for the following service awardsappeared in Shooting Industry’s May issue. They may also be viewed at www.shootingindustry.com.)

Shooting Industry Award• F. Hewitt Grant, Ellett Brothers• Bob Hodgdon, Hodgdon Powder• Tom Taylor, Smith & Wesson

Manufacturer of the Year• BLACKHAWK! Products Group• Ruger• Smith & Wesson

Distributor of the Year• AcuSport• Ellett Brothers• RSR Group

Citizenship Award• Brownells• Ellett Brothers• Hodgdon Powder Co.

“This year, we have two companies, Leupold and Smith & Wesson, with three

nominations, and an impressive four nominations for SureFire.”

Selling Non-Gun Self-Defense — page 16


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B ig Rock Sports has announced its 2007 Vendor and Rep Agency of the Year Awards.

The Vendor Awards recognize operational excel-lence, marketing support, product innovation, top-line sales and operational achievements. Companies in the firearm industry honored with Vendor Awards were:

Winchester Ammunition: 2007 National Shooting Sports Vendor of the Year.

Springfield Armory: 2007 Western Region Vendor of the Year.

The Rep Agency of the Year Award honors excellence in two-step distribution, field sales-force excellence, ex-cellence in vendor partnering and professional excellence. Awards were presented to:

Wild West Marketing: 2007 Western Region Rep Award.

Sokol Associates: 2007 Central Region Rep Award.RDO Marketing: 2007 Eastern Region Rep Award.For more information, visit www.bigrocksports.com.

Big Rock Names Top Vendor, Rep

Rick Pappendick (second from left), Winchester Ammunition director of wholesale distribution, and Brett Flaugher (second from right), Winchester’s vice president of sales and marketing, accept the 2007 National Shooting Sports Vendor of the Year award from Dennis Spindler (left), Big Rock Sports senior vice president of purchasing, and Ed Small (right), Big Rock Sports CEO.

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Remington Arms Company an-nounced in April a strategic manu-

facturing consolidation move that will close its Gardner, Mass., facility. In the announcement, Remington officials not-ed, “This integration will be seamless and will not affect our customers or our product offerings.”

“While it was a difficult decision to close Gardner, we believe this consolida-tion will enhance our ability to more effi-ciently provide quality products at compet-itive prices in an increasingly demanding global marketplace,” said Tommy Millner, Remington’s CEO.

The closure, which Remington says is expected to be completed by the end of the year, will result in “centralized sales and marketing, streamlined operations, standardized information technology in-frastructure and common financial func-tionality while vigorously maintaining and promoting individual brand identity and products.”

Remington AnnouncesConsolidation Plan

Sightron has joined forces with the NRA to help the organization with its

major membership drive. Consumers who purchase any Sightron scope (excluding SI models) will receive a free one-year membership to the NRA. Current NRA members will receive a one-year renewal with a purchase.

“With 2008 being a critical election year, all of us at Sightron are concerned about attacks against our right to bear arms and about future generations having the same rights we have enjoyed,” said Sightron’s president, Scott Helmer. “We are proud to do our part to help the NRA defend our Second Amendment rights.”

For more information on Sightron, visit www.sightron.com. For more information on the NRA, visit www.nra.org.

Sightron Offers BuyersFree NRA Membership

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Achallenge is being sent to companies throughout the industry: “Join us

at the 2008 Shooting Industry Masters.” A number of companies that signed up early to compete in this year’s event are featured in “challenge ads” in this issue, beginning on page 34.

Sponsored and produced by FMG Pub-lications, the three-gun competition raises awareness of NSSF’s Step Outside program, along with money to expand the program’s introduction of newcomers to shooting.

This year, the event will be held at the Hartford Gun Club in East Granby, Conn., on July 26. A masters reception will be held July 25 in conjunction with the pre-sentation of the Shooting Industry Acad-emy of Excellence awards.

“The Shooting Industry Masters is a great way to have fun and support Step Outside,” said Steve Sanetti, NSSF president and CEO. “The event offers friendly competi-tion, friendly kid-ding and fantastic

raffl e prizes that raise money for a great cause. It’s just an unbeatable combina-tion. I urge everyone in the industry to come out to the Shooting Industry Mas-ters. I look forward to seeing you there.”

Sanetti, who become head of NSSF on May 1, has competed in every Shooting In-dustry Masters as the president of Ruger and has been a strong supporter of the event.

“This is something companies should support. We need to be visible and show the shooters of America that shooters populate gun companies. That benefits all the companies in the indus-try,” Sanetti said.

This year’s match sponsors are Aim-point, Benchmade, BLACKHAWK!, Black Hills Ammunition, Brownells, Cor-Bon, Gunsite, Howard Leight, Lansky, Midland, Remington, Ruger and Smith & Wesson.

To raise money for Step Outside, a raffl e is held during the event’s awards banquet. To donate products for the raffl e, enter a team or for additional informa-tion, call 1-800-537-3006, ext. 279. Ho-tel, airport and additional information is available on Shooting Industry’s Web site, www.shootingindustry.com.

Industry ShootersReady For Masters

Selling crossbows is an easy transition for a firearms-only dealer. If you are not selling them, you are missing out on one of the fastest growing categories in the hunting industry.

Most people don’t know that my competitive firearms shooting career developed out of my passion for hunting. I hunt all

seasons with all weapons, including compound bows and, yes, crossbows.

Like all of my equipment, I chose TenPoint because of its quality, durability, and accuracy. TenPoint is the best.

Doug KoenigWorld Champion Professional Shooter

To find out how to get started, Call Randy Wood, TenPoint’s National Sales Manager.

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Industry Masters is a great way to have fun and support Step Outside,” said Steve Sanetti, NSSF president and CEO. “The event offers friendly competi-tion, friendly kid-ding and fantastic

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Beretta USA has announced its 2007 Customer of the Year awards, which

are based on overall program support, in-novation and creativity in representing Beretta products and the overall growth of the Beretta product lines.

The 2007 Beretta USA winners are:Chain Store of the Year: Cabela’s, Sid-

ney, Neb.Distributor of the Year: Sports South,

Inc., Shreveport, La.Dealer of the Year: Shoot Straight,

Apopka, Fla. Retailer of the Year: The Orvis Com-

pany, Manchester, Vt.“We congratulate each of our award

recipients for their increased focus on Beretta products and the professional-ism they display in representing the Be-retta lifestyle to all of our end users,” said Patrick McDonald, vice president, sales and marketing.

For additional information, visit www.berettausa.com.

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NSSF Honored By USSA

The National Shooting Sports Foun-dation (NSSF) has received a

Lifetime Giving Award from the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA) for con-tributing more than $700,000 toward efforts to protect hunting and shooting in America.

Bud Pidgeon, president of the USSA, presented the award to NSSF at the SHOT Show.

“The NSSF has been a stal-wart defender of our hunting and shooting heritage for our entire ex-istence,” Pidgeon said. “We see them as an invaluable part-ner today and in the years to come.”

The NSSF has been a sponsor of the USSA since 1989, helping programs like the Families Afield initiative, Trailblazer Adventure Program and U.S. Sportsmen’s Legal Defense Fund.

For more information about the USSA, call (614) 888-4868 or visit www.ussportsmen.org.

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E llett Brothers, which marks its 75th anniversary this year, is also cel-

ebrating being named the top distributor by five companies.

Ellett Brothers was named Distribu-tor of the Year for 2007 by BLACK-HAWK!, Bulldog Cases, Dednutz Prod-ucts, Leupold & Stevens and Carl Zeiss Sports Optics.

The manufacturers honored Ellett Brothers for “outstanding sales contribu-tions and support of products received.”

For more information, visit www.ellett-brothers.com.

Ellett Brothers NamedTop Distributor

Buck Knives has honored its top sales reps for 2007.ICOBA, which manages international distribution, was

named Sales Rep Group of the Year. ICOBA principals are Tom Ritter and Mike Silverberg.

Rep of the Year was awarded to Jimmy Newman of the New-man Agency. The agency, which covers Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi, has expanded its Buck Knives territory to Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky.

For more information, visit www.buckknives.com.

Buck Knives Honors Sales Reps

Jimmy Newman (center), of the Newman Agency, is Buck Knives’ 2007 Rep of the Year. Presenting the award are Dave Duggin (left), Buck’s vice president of sales, and John Weaver, Buck’s vice president of business development.

Bushmaster, MagpulDevelop Combat RifleBushmaster Firearms has announced

it has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Magpul Industries Corp. for the production, future development and sales of Magpul’s prototype MASA-DA weapon system. The Bushmaster ACR (Adaptive Combat Rifle) will initially be

offered in 5.56 NATO, available for law en-forcement and civilian purchase in the second quarter of 2008. The release will be fol-lowed by military ACR

versions in the third quarter of 2008.“The opportunity to partner with such

an innovative company as Magpul is a very exciting step in the growth and evolution of Bushmaster’s product line,” said Chad Brooks, CEO of Bushmaster Firearms.

For more information, contact Bush-master Firearms at (207) 892-3594 or www.bushmaster.com.

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Callis & Associates Hires Designer

Callis & As-sociates has added graphic artist Adri-anne Fillinger to its staff to provide graphic design for the agency’s shoot-ing sports clients.

Fillinger most

recently was an advertising specialist at MidwayUSA. She has a bachelor’s degree in fine arts with an emphasis in illustration from the University of Central Missouri.

Hunter’s Specialties Hires Marketing Director

Hunter’s Specialties has named Brian Thomas director of marketing.

Thomas previously owned and oper-ated Thomas Consulting, a firm providing business, financial and consumer product marketing services. Prior to that, Thomas was with Pure Fishing for 26 years.

“Brian brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the position, and we feel he is the right person to help build recognition and sales throughout the Hunt-er’s Specialties prod-uct line,” said com-pany co-owners Dave and Carman Forbes.

Blaser USA Names President, CEO

Brian H. Turk has been named presi-dent and CEO of Blaser USA.

Turk was formerly global account man-ager for BASF Group and achieved record sales numbers with Akzo-Nobel and Dow Chemical. He graduated with a degree in chemical engineering in Istanbul, Turkey, before moving to North America in 1979.

Turk is tasked with dividing North America into smaller territories to establish an in-depth service network for Blaser.

“Outstanding customer service will play a vital part in Mr. Turk’s strategy and we look forward to his international and marketing expertise to play a key role in growing the Blaser brand in the United States,” said Bernhard Knöbel, CEO of Blaser Germany.

“Blaser account managers will never hide behind desks, but become active members of the hunting and shooting communities,” Turk said. “The message will remain as strong as ever: Safety is the number-one qual-ity feature of any of Blaser’s products.”

NASGW Appoints Director

The National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers (NASGW) has appoint-ed Jack Baumler, president and CEO of W.L. Baumler Co., to its board of directors.

“This is my first time serving on the board. I’m very happy to be able to do-nate my time to help out the industry and wholesalers alike,” Baumler said. “We (W.L. Baumler Co.) probably would not be here if not for the NASGW, as it’s played such an important role over the years in keeping the wholesale industry going.”

Baumler brings decades of experience in the wholesaling industry. His father founded W.L. Baumler Co. after World War II, and since its early days, Baumler helped the company transform from a “mom and pop” shop to a large business. 9


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Guns aren’t the be-all, end-all of defensive equipment. If they were, police duty belts would be

considerably lighter. It has been my ex-perience over the last three and a half de-cades that cop and citizen are more likely to have to restrain a criminal or fend him off than to shoot one.

Many of your customers have all the guns they need (though, hopefully, for the sake of your business and their content-ment, not all the guns they want). However, when they’re on that business trip to California or a family reunion in Chicago, they won’t be able to carry fi rearms. That’s when some sort of “less-lethal” option needs to be their next purchase.

In addition, there are customers who are new to the whole self-defense thing and are taking it in baby steps. They are not ready to recognize that they might have to end a human life to stop a particu-larly violent attack. That’s why it’s impor-

tant to know what level of self-defense the customer is ready to put into action.

If, when customers enter your store, you come across as a “gun shop com-mando” and attempt to sell them a higher-force level than

they’re ready for, you’re likely to not only lose them as customers for today, but also never see them again.

If, on the other hand, customers leave with some means of self-defense, some-thing that makes them feel safer, more se-cure and more confi dent with a “weapon”

of some sort, you’ve developed a new regular customer. You are the one

who purveyed the instrument of their newfound confi dence. You are the one who proved you un-derstood their needs, and therefore

you are the one they’ll come back to when they’re ready for the next

step, and the next.To encourage this sort of customer,

be sure to have books or DVDs on self-defense, weapons safety and things of that nature readily accessible and on display. The price will be small enough to make it a natural impulse sale. Books and DVDs aren’t just sales in themselves; they help draw the customer back for more of what you have to sell.

Selling Non-Gun Self-Defense Products

perience over the last three and a half de-cades that cop and citizen are more likely to have to restrain a criminal or fend him

Many of your customers have all the guns they need (though, hopefully, for the sake of your business and their content-ment, not all the guns they want). However, when they’re on that

In addition, there are customers who are new to the whole self-defense thing and are taking it in baby steps. They are not ready to recognize that they might

mando” and attempt to sell them a higher-force level than

thing that makes them feel safer, more se-cure and more confi dent with a “weapon”

of some sort, you’ve developed a new regular customer. You are the one

who purveyed the instrument of their newfound confi dence. You are the one who proved you un-derstood their needs, and therefore

you are the one they’ll come back to when they’re ready for the next

step, and the next.To encourage this sort of customer,

be sure to have books or DVDs on self-defense, weapons safety and things of that nature readily accessible and on display. The price will be small enough to make it a natural impulse sale. Books and DVDs aren’t just sales in themselves; they help

Explaining The Less-Lethal Concept

Self-defense sprays or ASRs (Aerosol Suspect Restraint) and stun guns, or ERDs (Electronic Restraining Devices) and the

like, used to be called “non-lethal.” That went by the board when attorneys began suing cops on behalf of folks who were killed or crippled after such force levels were applied. Just as X-number of people die from being punched or kicked (or falling on their head) in a fi stfi ght, X-number of people are going to die after in-haling substances to which they’re particularly sensitive, or after having been shocked — or just from falling on their head at the end of the fi ght.

However, in legal arenas, when someone dies from something that shouldn’t have killed them, the argument arises, “If it’s non-lethal, then you, the one who applied it, must have used it exces-sively or negligently to cause death!” That’s enough for a big-bucks, wrongful-death verdict in civil court, and enough to even sustain a possible manslaughter conviction in criminal court.

With this development, cops and the industry moved away from the term “non-lethal” and adopted the current term, “less-lethal.” Now, you’re going to have customers who scoff, “What the hell is ‘less-lethal’? Isn’t that kind of like ‘less-pregnant’ or ‘less dead’?”

Be able to explain the terminology. Basically, “less-lethal,” as used for these products, is a term that means “It’s less likely to be lethal” than, say, a per se deadly weapon, which is what a gun or an aggressively wielded knife is seen as in the eyes of the law.

Tear gas sprays go back to the mid-20th century and they’ve always had a very spotty record. Sometimes

they worked, sometimes they didn’t.Pepper spray has worked

much better. Oleoresin capsi-cum, or OC, is basically the ac-tive ingredient in cayenne pep-per. It doesn’t stop every bad guy in his tracks, but it stops them much better than the old CN and CS tear gas formulae did. A brand used by police, such as Curb, Fox Labs, Sabre, etc., will have more credibility with most of your customers. It won’t hurt to also have fogger, streamer and foam delivery systems for your

Kimber’s Guardian Angel contains two cylinders of concentrated, near pharmaceu-tical-grade OC (oleoresin capsicum).

Massad Ayoob

Modern Sprays, ElectronicRestraints Prove Effective

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Security Equipment Corporation’s SABRE RED formulation is used by many of the nation’s largest law enforcement agencies.


customers to choose from. Fogger is more likely to get into the at-

tacker’s eyes in a fast-breaking situation because of its wide dispersal, but it has a short range and doesn’t work well in high winds. Streamer is more accurate and has longer range, but needs to be aimed. Foam is the least likely to cross-contaminate the user, and sticks to the suspect’s skin for what seem to be longer-lasting effects.

Kimber offers two OC devices. Your fi rearms customers will feel right at home with the pistol-like JPX, which delivers two “shots” of OC as far as seven paces. The other Kimber OC product, the Guard-ian Angel, clips to the belt like a big pager, and has little more than half the range of the JPX, but may be more palatable to nervous, “non-gun people” customers.

Among the electronic restraint devices, there’s only one I could personally recom-mend in good conscience: the Taser. Taser International has been selling a compact, short-range “civilian model” for some time. Many gun shops have taken advan-tage of good manufacturer support with displays and report the units are selling well. When you go to Taser’s Web site, www.taser.com, click on the “Consumer” link and then the “Legality — State & Lo-cal Laws” link. There you’ll fi nd valuable information concerning how your state views Taser as a carry weapon.

Less-lethal weapons help your bot-tom line. Be able to point your customer to competent training for the device you sell them. If you don’t know an instruc-tor nearby, your local police department or sheriff’s offi ce can probably refer you to one. Training builds confi dence that will lead to more sales. It also leads to more satisfactory outcomes in life-threatening situations. It’s ethical profi t-making at its fi nest. 9

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Dealers who offer bowhunting products are already fine-tuning their inventory orders and plan-

ning their fall promotions and displays. The National Bowhunter Education Foun-dation (NBEF) is urging dealers and oth-ers in the industry to also present a strong message concerning the use of tree stands: “Hunt Smart — Hunt Safe.”

To help deliver this message, NBEF has launched Project STAND (Stop Tree Stand Accidents ’n Deaths). The pro-gram is designed to raise tree-stand safety awareness and significantly reduce the number of deaths and injuries caused by tree-stand accidents.

“Even though most hunter and bow-hunter education courses emphasize tree-stand safety, the problem persists,” said Marilyn Bentz, NBEF executive director. “Studies suggest that 10 to 30 percent of all tree-stand users will have an incident.”

New hunters and customers who pur-chase tree stands are receiving safety in-formation through hunter education cours-es and safety materials, “but, obviously, many are not,” Bentz said.

“We are going to get out there with a hard-hitting safety message that addresses this problem. The bottom line is there are millions of experienced hunters using tree stands incorrectly. They are at risk and they need to know it. It’s our job at the NBEF to lead this charge,” Bentz said.

Many injuries and deaths result from hunters not wearing the safety equip-ment supplied with their tree stands or because they are using the wrong kind

of safety equipment. Or, hunters are making mental mistakes.

“It’s not enough to wear any old ‘safety strap.’ We’ve learned a great deal about tree-stand safety in the past five years, which, for the most part, the public is not aware of. Obsolete fall-restraint systems are ticking time bombs,” Bentz said.

Tree-stand safety, however, is more complicated than reminding hunters to wear safety gear, Bentz emphasized.

“We need to get to the root of the en-tire problem and make tree-stand safety more than an afterthought. We have done a wonderful job of addressing firearms acci-dents; tree-stand safety deserves the same attention,” Bentz said.

Project STAND will deliver its safety message via mass media, magazines and Web sites. The NBEF is seeking the sup-

port of the outdoor community with this effort, including groups not necessarily focused on hunting, such as youth organi-zations and emergency responders.

“We are taking the lead with this initiative because hunter education is our responsibility. But, we can’t do it alone. We need the help of the hunting industry and safety community,” said Joel Klammer, NBEF board president. “It takes money to research the problem and develop solutions. It takes money to deliver the message. The NBEF is a non-

profit organization with limited resources. The more finan-

cial support we get from the hunting community,

the more effective we will be in attacking

the problem.” K l a m m e r

says the re-sponse NBEF has

received for Project STAND from the hunt-

ing community has been highly encouraging. “Virtually everyone we have

talked to has offered support of some kind. It seems as though everyone knows of someone injured in a tree-stand incident. It’s a very real issue, which strikes very close to home. The entire in-dustry appears to be rallying behind Proj-ect STAND,” Klammer said.

For more information, contact Marilyn Bentz at (479) 649-9036, e-mail: [email protected] or visit www.nbef.org.

Foundation Takes A STAND For Hunter Safety

Be Safe, Not SeenGorilla Treestands’ 2008 Deluxe Full Body Vest Harness in

Mossy Oak Treestand is reflective of the new generation of products that enhance hunter safety. The mating buckle system, made of high-strength steel, features secure male/female locking for easy attachment and removal.

“The mating buckle system really makes this vest unique. It’s simple for hunters to use and provides ultimate safety for an enjoy-able day in the field. The vest also features Mossy Oak Treestand camo, so not only does it keep you secure, it keeps you hidden as well,” said Stephen Graham, Gorilla’s director of marketing.

The Gorilla Deluxe Full Body Vest Harness can be used

with climbing tree stands, hang-on tree stands and ladder stands. It features a lineman’s climbing strap with mating buckle, and a mating buckle tether with pleated breakaways.

Visit Gorilla Treestand at www.gorillatreestands.com and Mossy Oak at www.mossyoak.com for more information. 9

Visit NBEF’s Web site, www.nbef.org, for details on Project STAND.

Greg Staunton

Gorilla Treestands’ Deluxe Full Body Vest Harness in Mossy Oak Treestand takes safety to a new level.

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Inventive ways to bring new customers into your store can really help boost your bottom line. You need to bring

new customers in to get your cash registers ringing, and where women are concerned, food and fun are serious draws.

Hosting or sponsoring events that intro-duce women to the outdoors and outdoor gear gets a dealer’s name out into the com-munity and increases a store’s customer base. One gun shop and range in Michigan has had great success in increasing their profile with women by partner-ing with the women’s outdoor group Camo & Lace.

Camo & Lace is a nonprofit group whose motto is “Putting the mother back in nature.” They accomplish their goal by introducing women to the out-doors through hunter education courses designed for women and taught by women. The courses include important hunter safety information, but to keep it fun, Camo & Lace always tries to incorporate door prizes, raffles and refreshments. The organiza-tion also offers classes in hand-gun shooting, shotgun shooting, birding, camping, fishing, hiking, archery and wild game cooking.

For the past six years, Camo & Lace has teamed up with Williams Gun Sight and Outfitters in Davison, Mich., to con-duct a Spring Expo for women. The event includes four classes, a one-year Camo & Lace membership, a continental breakfast and a wild game lunch and prizes — all for just $40 per person.

This event is unique in that the Expo doesn’t focus solely on shooting — the organizers try to offer a little something for everyone. Traditional outdoor semi-nars like Beginning Handgun, Shotgun and Archery; Fly Casting; Tanning and Skinning; and Clay Shooting share the bill with unusual classes such as Asset Management; Learning to Handle ATVs; Trailering and even Yoga.

“We try to incorporate something for everyone,” said Laura Charles, Camo &

Lace president. “We get them there and then — hopefully — get them to take an interest in the outdoors.”

Community SupportCamo & Lace is able to put together such

an incredible event at a low cost because the community supports them — especially Williams Gun Sight and Outfitters.

“Tom Wright, the owner of Williams, is always supportive of women,” Charles said. “He donates his facility and really helps us out.”

Dan Campeau, chief operating officer at Williams Gun Sight, said supporting the Expo and working with Camo & Lace is good business.

“Supporting women will hopefully help that segment grow,” Campeau said. “The more we get women involved, the more likely they are to buy. It definitely brings new people into hunting and shoot-ing, and that can do nothing but good for the whole industry.”

Campeau said supporting Camo & Lace events has been a very low-cost

way to introduce women to the store and range.

“It doesn’t cost us more than opening the facility and provid-ing a few donations,” Campeau said. “From our standpoint, they do a lot for us. They rep-resent us in a positive manner and do a lot of volunteer work. We help each other out.”

As a result, Campeau has seen a lot of new shooters come to the range.

“They bring new people and new customers to us and those people are buying guns and accessories,” Campeau said. “Women are a segment of the market with buying power.”

The Expo is also a chance for manufacturers to reach a target audience. Charles said

representatives from scope, ATV and trailer companies have all taught classes at the Expo and have had a chance to share their products with female attend-ees. Bringing in a representative from one of the big firearm manufacturers can really provide great feedback as to what women want from their guns.

Hosting Events Draws Women Into Your Store

With Camo & Lace, women teach women, adding to ladies’ comfort level.

Lisa Parsons-Wraith

Dealer Advantages Teaming up with a local shooting club

to hold a fashion show is sure to gen-erate interest in the line and bring more women into your store. Dealers have a greater advantage over the Internet be-cause in a store, women are able to feel the fabrics and try on the clothing, making a sale much more likely.

Hosting events for women can be as big

as a shooting expo or as simple as a fash-ion show or gear demonstration. By work-ing with a local shooting club, you share some of the responsibilities and guarantee a motivated base of attendees. It’s a great way to test interest in new products and get feedback on what women need from your gun store, as well.

The real benefit, though, is solidifying your female customer base while drawing in new customers.


If your store isn’t equipped to handle a full-scale firearms expo, consider host-

ing a women’s hunting-wear fashion show. Several companies are testing the waters in women’s hunting clothes, and while most of the offerings are found online, some compa-nies offer dealer and wholesale pricing.

One newcomer in the women’s hunting clothing market is Próis Hunting Apparel. This line of clothing is for the serious fe-male hunter who has been looking for the perfect combination of technical hunting components and functional fabrics engi-neered to fit the female form.

Founder Kirstie Pike said the line con-sists of eight functional pieces that are “pretty tricked out and technical.” Pike put a lot of thought into what women really need in the field and her clothing line has a lot of unique details women want.

“This is high-performance techni-cal gear,” Pike said. “We want to sepa-rate ourselves from entry-level products. Those are out there. Our product is for the serious hunter.”

Pike said she searched for just the right fabric for her clothing. The fabric had to provide strength, warmth and be breathable and low bulk. Pike went with a triple-bonded fabric so she could incorpo-rate fleece, Windstopper fabric and poly-wicking fabrics.

All of the clothing is designed to fit a woman’s body, which is its greatest selling point. When she showed her line at SHOT

Próis apparel is for serious female hunters.

Próis Hunting Apparel For Serious Hunters

Show, Pike said women were constantly coming up to her saying, “Do you know how long we’ve waited for this?”

Women at the show were “excited to have something built for their form. I had women hugging me they were so happy,” Pike said.

Since the Próis line was just recently launched, Pike said most of their sales

have been through the Internet. She does have a two-tiered dealer pricing plan and the minimum order for Level One pricing is $500. This low minimum makes it very easy for gun dealers to test the waters and see if their female customers are ready for serious hunting gear.

For more information, call (970) 641-3355 or visit www.proishunting.com. 9


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Inexpensive, simple-to-operate digital video cameras are plentiful, and posting your own videos on Web sites like YouTube is so easy that even three-times-convicted gang-

sters can make their own cinematic masterpieces — and then go to prison for being idiots.

“Net-banging” is a new pastime for crimi-nal gangs — posting videos essentially braggin’ about what bad boys they are. Rudy Villanueva, the reputed leader of the Bird Road Boys and his sidekick, Tony Logan, really enjoyed their 15 minutes of fame on YouTube, where they danced and postured with a variety of firearms while making death threats against Miami PD’s Metro Dade Gang Unit.

“Here I am, baby,” Rudy challenged the cops. “Come get it!” he leered, pulling the trigger on an AK-47.

The Gang Unit saw it, all right — and then they went and got it. Somebody should have reminded Villanueva that as a thrice-convicted felon on pa-role, he is prohibited from even touching guns, or hangin’ out with fellow felons like Tony. The Dan-gerous Duo were prob’ly hitting “replay” on their video when the doors and windows of their hideout came crashing in, filling the place with black ninja-

Net-Bangers Tell Cops To “Come Get It!”

Commander Gilmore

Now You’ve Done It!Seventy-two year old Long Island resi-

dent Reinaldo Herrera was plumb tuck-ered out last December when he finally finished putting up his outdoor Christmas lights and shuffled into his house. He was so tired he didn’t notice he was being fol-lowed — by wannabe crook Santos Zela-ya, 21. Suddenly Herrera was confronted in his living room by an angry, violent, threatening young man brandishing what turned out to be a pellet pistol, which Her-rera thought was quite real. Zelaya blus-tered, demanding jewelry and money, and Herrera was inclined to give in. Then Zelaya gratuitously kicked over Herrera’s Christmas tree and nativity scene — and the fight was on!

“Jesus, Mary and the wise men all fell to the ground,” Herrera later explained to officers. That’s when Zelaya went down under a barrage of punches. “I don’t know where I got the power. I punched him many, many times, and he got afraid,” said the five-foot six-inch supermarket worker.

Zelaya finally fought his way out of

Herrera’s house, but police picked him up quickly. In the chill December night, he was the only idiot running around without a coat on. Zelaya’s coat was still clenched in one of Herrera’s fists.

One Hard HeadSmokey Taylor, an 80-year old retired

U.S. Army Special Forces sergeant, is the oldest member of Chapter XXXIII of the Special Forces Association. Widely re-spected by all, he never dreamed he would be brought up on charges in a special tri-bunal of that organization. Following an incident with a knife-wielding burglar, his fellow association members charged him with “failing to use a weapon of sufficient caliber” to get the job done right, as he had been trained to do.

Smokey’s “trial” was all in fun. He had been awakened by an intruder breaking into his Brevard, N.C., home. Smokey grabbed the closest weapon at hand — a .22-caliber pistol — and investigated. He found him-self face to face with a knife-wielding thug. When the burglar refused to submit or back

off, Smokey popped him with one round right in the forehead — and was almost hit by the slug as it bounced off!

“That boy had the hardest head I’ve ever seen,” Taylor said after his “trial.” The burglar sorta stumbled and fell, re-covered enough to crawl, and then ran out Taylor’s door and into the street, where he was arrested a short time later suffer-ing from a bad bruise, a splitting headache and “aromatic trousers.” He had involun-tarily — and explosively — evacuated his bowels during the incident.

Witnesses against Smokey complained that he could have saved the county and taxpayers the expense of a trial, postulat-ing that he should have used a .45 or at least a .38 Special to assure “mission success.” His “defense counsel,” another retired Special Forces weapons expert, argued that Smokey’s choice was sound, assuring low penetration and precise con-trol, but the ammo was probably old and defective. Smokey was cleared of charges and congratulated. He reported that he had also purchased some new ammunition. 9

uniforms and guys with big guns. We don’t think they’ll be getting any awards for cinematogra-

phy — or for brains, either.

Illustration by Nick Petrosino

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Optics sales are icing on a cake. Firearms form the foundation of your business, but the sweet prof-

its are spread on top. And, manufacturers offer a vast number of riflescopes, spot-ting scopes and binoculars for hunters —

and anglers and birdwatchers. “You don’t make money on guns,”

said Ron Wright, owner of Wright’s Sport Shop in Newport, Vt. “But you can make money on optics.”

You can’t sell optics if your custom-

ers don’t know you have them. And they won’t know you have them if you don’t display them in a way that makes them say, “Come pick me up and see what I can do for you!”

“There are some dealers who do a very good job of presenting and selling optics,” said Arnd Abraham, director of sales and marketing for Minox USA. “But at most stores, there’s room to improve. If optics aren’t displayed in the right place and the right way, they won’t get customers’ atten-tion, and they won’t be sold in the quantity they could be sold.”

At his shop in Vermont, Wright said the most important part of selling optics is to have them where customers can’t miss seeing them.

“That’s 99 percent of selling them,” he said. “I display my optics where custom-ers walk in the door. I have nice glass and mahogany showcases with curved glass. All the optics sit on glass shelves and are laid out so you can see them well.”

And Wright keeps them absolutely spotless.

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“Everything is cleaned and dusted every day,” he said.

Abraham suggests placing some op-tics at eye level.

“Display optics in a place where the customer can comfortably have a look at them,” Abraham said. “A very com-mon, but not perfect place, for example, is under the counter. Then the customer has to kneel down to have a look at them, or the items are only put on the counter on request. This doesn’t create additional sales.”

Abraham says dealers should have at least one well-placed showcase where they really present the mer-chandise to their customers.

“Even better is having an open display so the customer can touch and test the optics. Place that display in a good location near a window, and people will start trying the items. This will create additional sales,” Abraham said.

One thing customers can find very confusing, said Pat Mundy, marketing commu-nications supervisor at Leupold, is the number of products in a given display.

“Many bigger stores have a lot of products,” Mundy said. “It’s easy to get those products mixed together so the customer gets overwhelmed at the counter. Because smaller stores often have less to display, they sometimes do a better job of both dis-playing optics and of explaining one-on-one to the customer what a particular product does.”

One role of a good display, Mundy said, is to separate products into categories and brands so customers can see very clearly what you have available for them.

“If you don’t have a good display, or a display that stands out, you run the risk of your store losing ground to retailers who do good displays,” Mundy said. “A good display really separates your products out, and is particularly helpful when a customer comes in with a preconceived idea of what he wants to buy — it’s much easier for him to find what he’s looking for.”

To improve optics displays, Mundy said, one of the best things you can do is utilize manufacturers’ point-of-sale displays.

“All optics manufacturers try to supply good displays to help retailers do their jobs,” Mundy said. “But sometimes that’s hard to do because some of the displays are large and take up too much room.”

If you don’t have room for some of those larger displays, Mundy said, finding a way to keep the brands separated in a smaller display area can reduce the customer’s confusion and make it easier for him to find what he wants.

FOCUSED

Ron Wright, owner of Wright’s Sport Shop, says displaying optics properly is 99 percent of the sale.

FOCUSED

Reduce Customer Confusion


Increasing your optic sales goes beyond good displays. Selling optics effectively

also means qualifying your customer and going through the sales process.

“The first thing I ask every customer is what kind of money he wants to put into his purchase,” Wright said.

He also makes sure his frontliners are educated.

“Education is a big thing in optics,” Wright said. “My whole crew knows what they’re selling, and are very familiar with the details of the products.”

Abraham agrees that education is vital.“Good training of salespeople is just

as important as good displays,” Abraham said. “This not only will improve sales on sport optics, it also gives the customer bet-ter service because the salesperson can an-alyze what the customer is going to use the item for and can sell him the right product. The customer will enjoy the product much more because it perfectly fits his needs.”

Being sure frontliners are well trained is not only in the retailer’s interest, Abra-ham said, but in the manufacturer’s inter-est as well; as a result, many manufactur-ers provide information and training for retailers.

“Education is huge,” Mundy said. “Our sales reps are excellent at educating retail-

ers, and as a company we back that up with training initiatives. We have someone who provides training to retail sales force peo-ple, and he also provides training to our sales reps to help them do a better job. All of that allows the sales force at the point of purchase to be better informed, and to do a better job of separating features and benefits between brands and between lines within a brand.”

Knowledge is power, Mundy said.“That’s never more true than at the

point of sale, no matter what you’re sell-ing,” Mundy said. “The more the sales-person knows, the better job he or she will be able to do explaining the product to the customer, and making customers feel more comfortable.”

Wright makes a point of letting his customers handle optics, and encourages them to take optics outside and see how they perform in “real-light” situations.

“It’s hard to look through binoculars or a scope inside the store and see how they’re going to perform,” he said.

Wright always goes outside with the customer and takes that opportunity to discuss the features and benefits of the particular item the customer is holding.

If you’re selling optics, you also need to stock all the bases, mounts and rings

that go with them.“Dealers should take every opportunity

to sell add-on products, such as mounts for riflescopes and products such as cleaning accessories for optics,” Abraham said.

Wright makes sure he has whatever the customer needs when he purchases a gun/scope combination.

“I have every mount for every rifle,”

Wright said. “I have probably $7,000 to $8,000 just in mounts on display.”

Mundy agrees that a good selection of these smaller items is important.

“There are myriad firearms out there and often one firearm can take a number of rings and bases,” Mundy said. “Knowing the best application of mounts and rings for the caliber and the type of firearm, and for the type of shooting the person is doing, is just as important as picking the

right type of scope.”You can take this concept a little

further, Mundy said, and include oth-er scope accessories, such as flip-up covers to protect lenses, retractable ballistics charts that can be attached to the tube of the scope and lens-cleaning equipment.

“And mounting tools are really great for the guy who wants to mount his own scope,” Mundy said.

Knowledge Is Power Among a variety of in-store displays offered by Minox to its dealers, the tall, vertical display is the most popular.

Don’t Forget Add-Ons

Leupold’s display presents its riflescopes in an inviting manner.


Good displays and attentive customer service get results.

“I sell a scope with every gun I sell,” Wright said. “I sell binoculars to bird watchers. I sell everything.”

Displays take you only so far to help increase sales, Mundy said, and then it’s up to the salesperson’s expertise.

“When you have a well-trained sales-person, that helps reinforce everything that’s on a good display,” he said.

To learn what displays your optics manufacturers offer, contact your distribu-tors or sales reps. 9

ADCO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248Aimpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249Alpen Outdoors Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . .250Barska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .251Brunton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252BSA Optics Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .253B-Square Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .254Burris Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .255Bushnell Outdoor Products . . . . . . . .256Butler Creek Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .257Canon USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .258Carson Optical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259CenterPoint Precision Optics . . . . . . .260Conetrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .261Dynamit Nobel RWS . . . . . . . . . . . .262Elcan Optical Technologies . . . . . . . .263Fujinon Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .264Horus Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .265Kahles N .A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .266Kowa Optimed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .267Kruger Optical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .268Leica USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .269Leupold & Stevens . . . . . . . . . . . . .270Meopta Sports Optics . . . . . . . . . . . .271Meprolight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .272

Get Results

Vortex Optics offers a variety of sales tools, including a Binocular Riser and counter mats that highlight product features.

OPTICS SALES

Millett Sights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .273Minox USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .274Nikon Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275Pentax Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .276Quake Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .277Redfield Optics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .278Schmidt & Bender . . . . . . . . . . . . . .279Sightron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .280Simmons Outdoor . . . . . . . . . . . . . .281Smith Abrasives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .282Springfield Armory . . . . . . . . . . . . .283Steiner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .284

Swarovski Optik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .285Swift Instruments Inc . . . . . . . . . . . .286Tasco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .410Thompson/Center Arms . . . . . . . . . .287Trijicon Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .288U .S . Optics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .289Vortex Optics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .290Warne Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . .291Weaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .292Winchester Optics . . . . . . . . . . . . . .293Yukon Advanced Optics . . . . . . . . . .294Zeiss Sports Optics . . . . . . . . . . . . . .295

16131 Gothard Street • Huntington Beach, CA 92647(714) 842-5575 • FAX (714) 843-5707 • www.millettsights.com

1 (800) 645-5388

With Millett Precision Hunting Optics and Mounting SystemMillett windage adjustable scope mount systems are the most significant improvement to the traditional Weaver-Style mount in many years. All components are made of heat treated nickel steel for rocksolid durability. When compared to others, Millett scopes & scope mountscan’t be beat!

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& scope mountscan’t be beat!

MillettNew GenerationSide Focus Scope Series

4 - 16 X 56 Side FocusAvailable in three reticles

With Millett Precision Hunting Optics and Mounting SystemMillett windage adjustable scope mount systems are the most significant improvement to the traditional Weaver-Style

many years. All components are made of heat treated nickel steel for rocksolid durability. When

to others, 3 - 12 X 44 AO

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SALES



SALES

HANDGUNACCESSORY

John Morrison


HANDGUNACCESSORY

JJ ust keeping track of all the new handgun models is tough enough for a busy retailer, but along with

every new gun brochure seems to come an encyclopedia of accessories. Individual items can be dazzling, but the sheer num-

bers can be dizzying. To find out what’s hot, what’s not

and which stars shine in a galaxy of gizmos, Shooting Industry asked sev-eral industry experts and savvy deal-ers for input. Their advice? Focus on

the carefully chosen few rather than the confusing many, look for high-vis-ibility products with broad appeal and specific advantages for buyers — and, of course, look for the best margins to increase your profits.

Ed Santos (left), owner of Center Target Sports, doesn’t let a handgun purchase go out the door without an accessory sale — in this case, an appropriate holster.

30 JUNE 2008 www.shootingindustry.com30 JUNE 2008 www.shootingindustry.com

“Handgun grips are by far the most popular add-on accessory,” said

Raj Singh, owner of Eagle Grips. “And they can also be your easiest accessory sale.”

Singh is the second-generation owner of family-operated Eagle Grips, with 35 years of retail and wholesale experience.

“Grips enhance both the appearance and ergonomics of a handgun, and they’re one of the few accessories a buyer can install at home with a screwdriver in two minutes. But they won’t sell themselves,” Singh warned.

“Grips have great visual appeal, espe-cially the exotics like sambar stag, buffalo horn and mother of pearl. To maximize that appeal, display them right alongside your handguns where buyers can easily visual-ize them on their own guns,” Singh said.

“Also, knowing your customers is key. Cowboy-action shooters are very en-thusiastic grip buyers, sometimes own-ing multiple sets of grips for the same gun. They’ll change them to comple-ment their colorful period costumes. That’s why we offer our CASS- and CMSA-approved gunfighter and cow-boy-action grips in so many materials and colors,” Singh said.

“When a handgunner comes in wearing a cap or other garment indi-cating they’re a veteran, a patriotic citizen or a Second Amendment sup-porter, all it may take is saying, ‘Let me show you these Patriot grips,’ to pick up a quick sale,” Singh said.

Steve Hines, president of Ergo Grips, says grips can help you move used guns.

“Tactical and defensive pistols tend to have flat, non-reflective finishes — not very eye-catching. With hard use,

they’re even less attractive, and cracked or worn original grips almost guarantee a gun will gather dust, not make you money,” Hines said. “Put a new set of contrasting Ergo XTRs and a GRIPITS frontstrap in coyote brown or foliage green on that vet-eran Beretta, and you’ve renewed about 50 percent of the pistol, given it a great new feel, and increased its perceived value far beyond your investment.”

Hines recommends another add-on.“About the only thing you could add to

make it look even better is a new set of sights,” Hines said.

“That’s true,” said Richard Nasef, presi-dent of WrenTech Industries and the inven-tor of Advantage Tactical Sights. “Dingy, banged-up sights are a major turn-off for buy-ers. Highly visible new sights coupled with

new grips make for terrific appeal.”Nasef says that one of the best

things a dealer can do to sell sights is to create a small area dedicated to af-termarket sights.

“Call it ‘Sight Central’ or whatever you like, but clearly state ‘Competition — Tactical — Self-Defense: We Have Your Sights!’ or something similar,” Nasef said. “On four handguns, you could mount one set of quality micro-adjustable target sights, like LPAs from Precision Sights International, two guns with popular tritium-lit sights like Triji-con or Meprolight, and how about a set of my Advantage Tactical Sights?”

Nasef has one final sales tip.“The best sights won’t sell just

sitting in a box. Invite customers to pick up those guns and sight in! Noth-ing beats having a customer actually sighting down them,” Nasef said.

Get a Grip, And Keep Sights In Sight!

It’s almost unbelievable that Lone Wolf Distributors, the world’s largest source

of Glock aftermarket parts and accessories, carries over 1,500 SKUs for a pistol with only 32 parts. Lone Wolf’s founder, J.R. Shepard, surveyed his dealer sales sheets and told us what the top performers are.

“Sights are always strong,” Shepard said, naming AmeriGlo and XS 24/7 sights as frontrunners, with Advantage Tactical Sights coming on fast. “Stainless steel replacements for OEM plastic guide rods and our drop-in improved trigger and spring systems are hot. But the real siz-zlers — and best moneymakers — are our drop-in caliber conversion sets!”

Shepard emphasized that these are true drop-ins.

“No gunsmithing required, and they’re spreading like wild-fire with competitive shooters, hunters and plinkers — .40 Smith & Wesson to 9mm and .357 SIG, .357 SIG to the hot rod 9x25 Dillon,” Shepard said. “And the top dog is the 10mm Glock 20, which converts to any of those four calibers. These have enormous appeal and nice margins. Dealers should look at every Glock pistol out there as a source of potential accessory profits. Those who do are mak-ing good money.”

Eagle Grips’ Buffalo Horn grips are popular with single-action customers.

Accessorizing Glocks

New sights, such as these from Advantage Tactical, are best sold when mounted on a handgun.

Lone Wolf Distributors offers hot-selling Glock drop-in caliber conversion sets.

www.shootingindustry.com JUNE 2008 31 www.shootingindustry.com JUNE 2008 31

Family Indoor Shooting Range in India-napolis, Ind., is a full-spectrum gun shop

as well as a booming recreational shooting and training facility. Mike Hilton says hav-ing a range is a great aid to accessory sales.

“When conducting basic or advanced handgun training, students get to see and use lots of the products we carry, and that really boosts sales,” Hilton said. “For example, we’ve carried LaserMax laser sights for years. We keep several lasers on range guns and use them when teach-ing trigger control. Not only can students clearly see the effects

of jerking the trigger, they’re immediately impressed with the value of a laser in rapid target acquisition.”

Of course, Hilton offers the sights and other accessories in the retail section of his operation.

“In displays in the shop, we’ll place a LaserMax box next to a Glock,” Hilton said. “We also have a monitor showing a video of LaserMax lasers in use, and keep laser-equipped blue guns on the counter. They’re a visually oriented product, so you have to keep them visible.”

Ed Santos, owner of Center Target Sports, in Post Falls, Idaho, also capital-izes on his range and extensive training programs to expose shooters to avail-able accessories.

“Our students frequently purchase the same holsters, lights and other acces-

sories we use in training,” Santos said. “The real practical value of

these products is demonstrated by our instructors and then underscored by personal use on the range.” Santos named First Light’s

Liberator and Tomahawk tactical lights as top sellers, as well as SureFire’s L-7 and E-Gear PDL-2. Fast movers in hol-sters at Center Target Sports include the Holsters Plus Sure-Lock 3-10 retention holster and the cost-effective Master line from JBP Holsters.

“Your staff should be skilled and smooth at using and explaining the fea-tures of these accessories and guiding buyers in trying them out. That,” Santos emphasized, “is your fast track to sales.”

No Range? Try Blue Guns!“The value of blue guns simply can’t be

overstated,” said Lane Tobiassen, director of marketing for Crimson Trace. “Our La-serGrips are far more easily demonstrated than explained. The basics — use of the master on/off and activation switches, windage and elevation adjustment and battery replacement — can be quickly followed by a demonstration of using the laser to shoot from awkward or concealed positions, and speed of target acquisition. When the user feels the intuitive activation — and sees how much it adds in speed and accuracy — the product sells itself.”

Tobiassen pointed out that blue guns

Ranges Rule When Selling Lights, Lasers

The Holsters Plus Sure-Lock 3-10 is a hot seller at Center Target Sports. An innovative retention feature makes it both fast and secure.

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also provide a “comfort factor” for novice shoot-ers and are irresistible to browsers who may not have been in the market for a laser sight.

“Since it’s not an ac-tual fi rearm, many cus-tomers will be more comfortable handling it, pointing it and try-ing out the controls,” Tobiassen said. “Too, simply having a laser-equipped blue gun dis-play on your counter draws curious customers like a magnet.

“Our displays are user-friendly and in-viting,” he said. “They say ‘Try Me!’ and ‘Aim Here!’ And, it’s fun for the customers, as well as a great introduction for a sale.”

Echoing the advice of others, Tobias-sen said training your staff is important, not just in a product’s features and use, but in determining who is a likely buyer.

“Have they purchased a handgun for concealed carry?” Tobaissen said. “Have they purchased or asked about other self-

defense or home-defense needs, like specialized ammunition, lights, less-lethal products? These clues tell you the custom-er’s interests and willing-ness to buy.”

The bottom line? Train yourself and your staff to always keep accessory sales in mind, no matter what the customer is in your shop for.

• Watch and listen for clues that will tip you to

show off specifi c products appealing to the customer’s individual tastes, affi lia-tions and interests.

• Be smooth and practiced in demon-strating operating features and advantages.

• Place the most visually appealing products in your customers’ line of sight and eagerly offer “hands-on” experience with grips, sights, lights, lasers and more.

• Remember, a low price-point doesn’t mean a low margin — a pile of fast nickels beats a slow dime every time! 9

also provide a “comfort factor” for novice shoot-ers and are irresistible to browsers who may not have been in the market

“Since it’s not an ac-tual fi rearm, many cus-tomers will be more comfortable handling it, pointing it and try-ing out the controls,” Tobiassen said. “Too, simply having a laser-equipped blue gun dis-play on your counter draws curious customers like a magnet.

defense or home-defense needs, like specialized ammunition, lights, less-lethal products? These clues tell you the custom-er’s interests and willing-ness to buy.”

The bottom line? Train yourself and your staff to always keep accessory sales in mind, no matter what the customer is in your shop for.

• Watch and listen for clues that will tip you to

show off specifi c products appealing to

Blue guns help sell accessories, like Crimson Trace’s LaserGrips.

Ajax Custom Grips . . . . . . . . . . . . .296AmeriGlo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297Beretta USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .298Bianchi International . . . . . . . . . . .299Birchwood Casey . . . . . . . . . . . . . .300BLACKHAWK! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301Blade-Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .302Break-Free . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .303Brownells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .304Browning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .305B-Square Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .306Butler Creek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .307Chip McCormick Corp . . . . . . . . . . .308Crimson Trace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .309Decal Grip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .310DeSantis Holsters . . . . . . . . . . . . .311Eagle Grips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .312Ed Brown Products . . . . . . . . . . . .313ERGO Grips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .314First Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .315Fobus U .S .A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .316Galco International . . . . . . . . . . . .317Glock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318Gould & Goodrich . . . . . . . . . . . . .319Gunslick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .320HiViz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .321HKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .322Hogue Grips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .323Holsters Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .324Hoppe’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .325Insight Technology . . . . . . . . . . . .326Laser Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .327

LaserLyte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .328LaserMax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .329Lone Wolf Distributors . . . . . . . . . .330Lyman Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . .331Mag-na-port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .332Mec-Gar USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .333Meprolight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .334MidwayUSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .335Millett Sights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .336Milt Sparks Holsters . . . . . . . . . . .337Mitch Rosen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .338MMC Sights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .339Novak’s Sights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .340Otis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .341Outers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .342Pachmayr Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .343Pearce Grip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .344Precision Sights International . . . . .345ProMag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .346Ranch Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .347Safariland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .348Scherer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .349Sig Sauer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .350Silencio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .351Speer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .352Springfield Armory . . . . . . . . . . . . .353SureFire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .354The Hunter Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .355Trijicon Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .356Triple K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .357TruGlo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .358Uncle Mike’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .359Wiley-X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .360Williams Gun Sight . . . . . . . . . . . .361Wilson Combat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .362WrenTech Industries . . . . . . . . . . . .363XS Sight Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . .364

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We’re Calling You Out!TIME TO STEP OUTSIDE

AND SHOOT!Limber up your trigger fi nger, practice your steely eyed stare and plan to join teams from inside the industry for

the Sixth Annual Shooting Industry Masters.

July 25-26, 2008Hartford Gun Club • East Granby, Conn.

This three-gun shooting match features handgun, rifl eand skeet/trap events. Shooters will be able to shoot in one of two

classes: the Open Class for those who want to compete against pro-fessional shooters, and the Industry Class for everyday shooters who just want to have fun without the stress. A raffl e of incredible items donat-ed by companies throughout the shooting industry will be held during

the event to raise funds for the NSSF’s Step Outside® Program.

SIGN UP YOUR TEAM TODAY!

BENEFITTING:National Shooting Sports Foundation’s

SPONSORED BY:Mail or FAX with payment to:

FMG Publications12345 World Trade Dr.San Diego, CA 92128

FAX (858) 605-0247

To download team entry form, go to:http://shootingindustry.com/08SIMstrs.html

Match Ammunition, Shooter’s Goody Bag, Match Lunch and Awards Dinner

ALL Included with your Entry Fee!

No Gun? No Excuse. Loaner guns will be available for each event.

2008 Sponsors:

Friday, July 25, 2008Masters Team Check-In at the Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence Awards presentation

Saturday, July 26, 2008Handgun, Rifl e & Trap/Skeet team events & lunch

Saturday EveningMasters Awards Banquet with Raffl e to benefi t the

National Shooting Sports Foundation’s Step Outside® Program

For additional information, including donating raffl e prizes, raffl e tickets, area airport and hotel information, please visit www.shootingindustry.com or contact

Elizabeth Jarrell at (800) 537-3006 ext. 279. E-mail: [email protected]

EVENT SCHEDULE:

SHOWDOWN IN GUN VALLEYWe’re Calling You Out!


Open Class Champions ’07: Team Smith & Wesson

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AND SHOOT!Limber up your trigger fi nger, practice your steely eyed stare and plan to join teams from inside the industry for

the Sixth Annual Shooting Industry Masters.

July 25-26, 2008Hartford Gun Club • East Granby, Conn.

This three-gun shooting match features handgun, rifl eand skeet/trap events. Shooters will be able to shoot in one of two

classes: the Open Class for those who want to compete against pro-fessional shooters, and the Industry Class for everyday shooters who just want to have fun without the stress. A raffl e of incredible items donat-ed by companies throughout the shooting industry will be held during

the event to raise funds for the NSSF’s Step Outside® Program.

SIGN UP YOUR TEAM TODAY!

BENEFITTING:National Shooting Sports Foundation’s

SPONSORED BY:Mail or FAX with payment to:

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ADVERTISERS2008 Shooting Industry Masters ---- 33Amchar Wholesale 201 21Armalite 202 31ATK/Shooters Ridge 203 28ATK/Weaver 204 48Barska 205 13Bianchi 206 14Brownells 207 21DKG Trading 208 10Fobus Holsters 209 6Gametamers 210 19Insight Technology 211 5Kinsey’s Archery 212 10Kwik-Site 213 43Lewis Machine & Tool 214 44Lone Wolf Knives 215 32Lyman 216 12Mec-Gar USA 217 12Millett 218 27Minox USA 219 9Pelican Products 220 17Remington 221 23Savage Arms 222 2Scherer Supplies 223 5Sightron 224 7Smith & Wesson 225 1Springfield 226 47Ten Point Crossbow 227 17Traditions Performance 228 15Trijicon 229 3

SI MASTERSAimpont 230 36Benchmade 231 38Brownells 232 38Bull Dog Barrel, LLC. 233 37Corbon-Glaser 234 35Crimson Trace 235 38DPMS/Panther Arms 236 36Ellett Brothers 237 35Galco Gunleather 238 37Gunsite Academy 239 39Howard Leight by Sperian 240 39LaserMax, Inc. 241 39Marlin 242 39Mayville Engineering Company 243 36NSSF 244 34Remington Arms Co. 245 38RSR Group 246 35Sturm, Ruger & Co. 247 37

OPTICS SALESADCO 248 24Aimpoint 249 24Alpen Outdoors Corp. 250 24Barska 251 24Brunton 252 24BSA Optics Inc. 253 24B-Square Co. 254 24Burris Co. 255 24Bushnell Outdoor Products 256 24Butler Creek Corp. 257 24Canon USA 258 24Carson Optical 259 24CenterPoint Precision Optics 260 24Conetrol 261 24Dynamit Nobel RWS 262 24Elcan Optical Technologies 263 24Fujinon Inc. 264 24Horus Vision 265 24Kahles N.A. 266 24Kowa Optimed 267 24Kruger Optical 268 24Leica USA 269 24Leupold & Stevens 270 24Meopta Sports Optics 271 24Meprolight 272 24

Millett Sights 273 24Minox USA 274 24Nikon Inc. 275 24Pentax Corp. 276 24Quake Industries 277 24Redfield Optics 278 24Schmidt & Bender 279 24Sightron 280 24Simmons Outdoor 281 24Smith Abrasives 282 24Springfield Armory 283 24Steiner 284 24Swarovski Optik 285 24Swift Instruments Inc. 286 24Tasco 410 24Thompson/Center Arms 287 24Trijicon Inc. 288 24U.S. Optics 289 24Vortex Optics 290 24Warne Manufacturing 291 24Weaver 292 24Winchester Optics 293 24Yukon Advanced Optics 294 24Zeiss Sports Optics 295 24

HANDGUN ACCESSORIESAjax Custom Grips 296 29AmeriGlo 297 29Beretta USA 298 29Bianchi International 299 29Birchwood Casey 300 29BlackHawk 301 29Blade-Tech 302 29Break-Free 303 29Brownells 304 29Browning 305 29B-Square Co. 306 29Butler Creek 307 29Chip McCormick Corp. 308 29Crimson Trace 309 29Decal Grip 310 29DeSantis Holsters 311 29Eagle Grips 312 29Ed Brown Products 313 29ERGO Grips 314 29First Light USA 315 29Fobus U.S.A. 316 29Galco International 317 29Glock 318 29Gould & Goodrich 319 29Gunslick 320 29HiViz 321 29HKS 322 29Hogue Grips 323 29Holsters Plus 324 29Hoppe’s 325 29Insight Technology 326 29Laser Devices 327 29LaserLyte 328 29LaserMax 329 29Lone Wolf Distributors 330 29Lyman Products 331 29Mag-na-port 332 29Mec-Gar USA 333 29Meprolight 334 29MidwayUSA 335 29Millett Sights 336 29Milt Sparks Holsters 337 29Mitch Rosen 338 29MMC Sights 339 29Novak’s Sights 340 29Otis 341 29Outers 342 29Pachmayr Ltd. 343 29Pearce Grip 344 29Precision Sights International 345 29ProMag 346 29Ranch Products 347 29

Safariland 348 29Scherer 349 29Sig Sauer 350 29Silencio 351 29Speer 352 29Springfield Armory 353 29SureFire 354 29The Hunter Co. 355 29Trijicon Inc. 356 29Triple K 357 29TruGlo 358 29Uncle Mike’s 359 29Wiley-X 360 29Williams Gun Sight 361 29Wilson Combat 362 29WrenTech Industries 363 29XS Sight Systems 364 29

MUZZLELOADINGAccurate Arms Co. 365 41American Pioneer Powder 366 41Barnes Bullets 367 41Bushnell Outdoor Products 368 41CCI 369 41Cheyenne Cartridge Box Co. 370 41Circle Fly Wads 371 41Connecticut Valley Arms (CVA) 372 41Dixie Gun Works 373 41E.M.F. Co. 374 41Federal Premium 375 41Goex 376 41Hodgdon Powder Co. 377 41Hornady Mfg. Co. 378 41Knight Rifles 379 41Leupold & Stevens 380 41Lyman Muzzleloaders 381 41Mountain State Muzzleloading 411 41MTM Case-Gard Co. 382 41Navy Arms 383 41New England Firearms 384 41Nikon 385 41Nosler Inc. 386 41PowerBelt Bullets 387 41RCBS 388 41Redding 389 41Remington Arms Co. 390 41Savage Arms 391 41Shiloh Rifle Mfg. 392 41Taylor’s & Co. 393 41Tennessee Valley Mfg. 394 41Thompson/Center Arms 395 41Traditions Performance Firearms 396 41Triple K Mfg. 397 41United States Fire Arms 398 41Vihtavuori 399 41Walters Wads 400 41White Rifles 401 41Winchester Ammunition 402 41

NEW PRODUCTSHallmark Cutlery 403 44FMG Publications 404 44Minox USA 405 44Down Wind Scents 406 45Lansky Sharpeners 407 45Winchester Ammunition 408 45Steiner Binoculars 409 45

The companies listed have featured advertisements or products in this issue. Look to them first when you are ready to make a purchase.

Companies Circle # Page Companies Circle # Page Companies Circle # Page

To request FREE information and materials from these companies, use the Reader Service Card. Or, just send us a postcard, indicating the issue’s date, company’s number and include your business address. Send to: Reader Service, SHOOTING INDUSTRY, P.O. Box 502794, San Diego, CA 92150-9833. If the company doesn't have a number, write them directly and say you saw their ad, product or name in SHOOTING INDUSTRY. You can also download the Reader Service page and Reader Service Card from our Web Site and fax, (858) 605-0247, or mail it to our office. Go to www.shootingindustry.com and click on Reader Service.


surveys, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2006 National Sur-vey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife Associated Recreation.

Sporting-goods stores and gun shops still have a base of more than 10 million deer hunters and more than 12 million big-game hunters to sell to — folks who are serious spenders. Overall, U.S. hunt-ers spent $23.5 billion in 2006 on hunt-ing-related pursuits, the bulk of which was for big game. That’s a 24-percent increase from 1991 to 2006.

What does that mean to you, the dealer? Times are changing, and in order for your profits to increase, your knowledge and attitude about muzzeloading must mature as well.

SELLINGFor Success, Know The Trends, Your Hunting Seasons

MUZZLELOADING

Traditions’ Yukon inline muzzleloader features a unique drop-breech action.

TODAY’S

Mark Kayser

Hornady’s Lock-N-Load Speed Sabot allows preloading pellets onto Hornady’s SST-ML bullet.

TT o be a successful, safe black-powder enthusiast, muzzleloaders constantly adopt new trends and

upgrade their current setups — which is exactly how dealers should approach their black-powder sales. Embracing what’s been selling in the past will result in lack-luster sales. To keep your black-powder sales strong, learn the current muzzleload-er trends and what’s driving sales.

Nearly every state offers special muz-zleloader hunting seasons or, at the very least, the use of muzzleloaders during big-game seasons. Hunters living in states with shotgun-only zones also embrace the new class of muzzleloaders, because of their increased accuracy and range over conventional shotguns.

This is good news for dealers. Un-like many hunting and sporting pur-suits, big-game hunting has not lost participants in more than 10 years of

SELLINGMUZZLELOADING

For Success, Know The Trends, Your Hunting Seasons

TODAY’S


G.A.T. Guns, a full-service dealer with more than 1,500 firearms on display

at any given time, understands the im-portance of keeping up with trends in the muzzleloader market. Located 45 minutes west of Chicago in Dundee, G.A.T. has served Illinois gun owners since 1979.

Store Manager Randy Potter says his sales have increased because of the state’s longer hunting seasons.

“One of the biggest changes I’ve wit-nessed in the last 10 years or so is the guy who came in and bought the cheap-est muzzleloader he could because he was only going to hunt with it for three or four days,” Potter said. “Now he has the op-portunity to hunt with it more throughout the entire season and he’s spending more to ensure success.”

Potter recalls when most hunters would spend $400 for everything, from the muz-zleloader to accessories. Today it’s a dif-ferent story. Now customers spend $500 to $800 on a muzzleloader. Then they shop for a riflescope, spending $300 to $400, and complete their shopping spree with $100 in accessories.

“They are investing more because it’s

something they are not afraid of; they have more opportunities to hunt and it’s a great way to kill a big buck in Illinois,” Potter said.

The store dedicates 70 square feet solely to muzzleloader accessories. G.A.T. Guns has at least 25 muzzleloaders on display and they handle custom-order requests.

Longer Seasons Create More Sales

Randy Potter, G.A.T. Guns store manager, ensures solid sales by offering a wide variety of muzzle-loaders and accessories.

Current Trends Draw CustomersHow often do hunters update their

muzzleloader setup? Potter believes modern enhancements have increased updates from a one-time purchase 10 years ago to a purchase every three to five years.

“Even though great updates hit the mar-ket each year, most of our customers are sticking with their current muzzleloader setup for three to five years,” Potter said.

“We are seeing hunters who bought their equipment six to eight years ago coming in and updating, but the guy who purchased a T/C Omega or Encore is still pretty satis-fied with its performance, and it will take a major change for them to change.”

According to Potter, the traditional market accounts for approximately 10 per-cent of muzzleloader sales, if that. His re-maining sales fall to modern in-lines with

Thompson/Center topping G.A.T. Guns’ best-seller list.

Customers who walk in and ask to see the T/C brand first are “an everyday occur-rence,” Potter said. He also stocks Tradi-tions, Knight and CVA brands.

Potter says T/C’s marketing plan and their technology, which makes cleaning easier, are the two components that drive customers to T/C models. His strong sell-ers are the Encore Endeavor, which comes with Speed Breech XT, and the Triumph, T/C’s new magnum muzzleloader.

Even though 99 out of every 100 muz-zleloaders sold go to the hunting crowd, Potter sees a small burst of traditional sales around Christmas, particularly with kit guns and Hawken-style muzzleload-ers. From Thanksgiving until Christmas, nearly 50 percent of all muzzleloader sales at G.A.T. Guns are for traditional black-powder rifles or kits, including muzzle-loader pistol kits.

“They are small, easy to assemble and relatively cheap with a price of less than $120. It’s the perfect gift for the muzzle-loader enthusiast who has everything,” Potter said. Thompson/Center models are the top-selling muzzleloaders at G.A.T. Guns.


Cash In On Accessories

For years, muzzleloader wannabes com-plained about the time it took to keep a

traditional muzzleloader clean and the time it took to work up an accurate load. Those days are gone. Modern muzzle-loaders clean easily, don’t need to be cleaned as often and shoot more accurately.

Potter sees this as both a positive and a negative. Easier care means less sales in cleaning products, but it also means more overall sales in muzzle-loaders and other products.

“Cleaning products and the tools required to main-tain a muzzleloader are pret-ty important to us,” Potter said. “Even so, accessories aren’t as big as they used to be a decade or so ago. You don’t need as many tools to run a modern in-line as compared to a traditional muzzleloader. That said, we still carry an extended line of accessories including T/C, Traditions and CVA clean-ing products. Muzzleloaders still require cleaning — just not as often.”

Potter doesn’t see as many “must-have” muzzle-loader accessories as he did before the mass intro-duction of in-lines. The in-creased number of hunters now drives his strong sales.

“There are not as many

hot-ticket items these days in muzzleloader sales, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have products in stock. You just need to realize what sells the best, and stock what custom-

ers demand,” Potter said. In powder, Potter

says Pyrodex is his sales leader with Jim Shock-ey’s Gold from Ameri-can Pioneer Powder gaining market share.

“(Shockey’s) Gold ac-counts for 25 percent of powder sales with Pyro-dex pellets making up 65 percent. Loose powder rounds out the rest of pow-der sales,” Potter said.

As for muzzleloader bullets, Potter stocks a wide selection of Power-belt bullets, but says he sells more sabots, with T/C’s line making up the majority of the sales.

In optics, Potter sells riflescopes with 60 to 70 percent of all muz-zleloaders purchased at G.A.T. Guns.

“Leupold and Nikon are the biggest sellers in muzzleloading scopes. Customers are big into the Omega scope by Nikon with its BDC reticle. It allows them to hold over, with exact aiming for lon-ger shots, and that’s today’s trend,” Potter said. 9

Outers’ Black Powder Cleaning Kit includes an aluminum rod, bore cleaner concentrate and other cleaning accessories.

Accurate Arms Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365American Pioneer Powder . . . . . . . . 366Barnes Bullets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367Bushnell Outdoor Products . . . . . . . . 368CCI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369Cheyenne Cartridge Box Co . . . . . . . . 370Circle Fly Wads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371Connecticut Valley Arms (CVA) . . . . . 372Dixie Gun Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373E .M .F . Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374Federal Premium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375Goex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376Hodgdon Powder Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377Hornady Mfg . Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378Knight Rifles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379Leupold & Stevens . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380Lyman Muzzleloaders . . . . . . . . . . . 381Mountain State Muzzleloading . . . . . 411

MTM Case-Gard Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382Navy Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383New England Firearms . . . . . . . . . . . 384Nikon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385Nosler Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386PowerBelt Bullets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387RCBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388Redding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389Remington Arms Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390Savage Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391Shiloh Rifle Mfg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392Taylor’s & Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393Tennessee Valley Mfg . . . . . . . . . . . . 394Thompson/Center Arms . . . . . . . . . . 395Traditions Performance Firearms . . . 396Triple K Mfg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397United States Fire Arms . . . . . . . . . . 398Vihtavuori . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399Walters Wads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400White Rifles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401Winchester Ammunition . . . . . . . . . . 402

MUZZLELOADING SALES


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Circle # 403

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See Your Product Here!

If you are a manufacturer, importer, distributor or entrepreneur with a newsworthy, new or revised

product available to dealers or distributors,let us know!

We have room for about 80 words. Pictures should be color, if possible. Electronic images,

transparencies and glossy prints are acceptable. Product releases are printed on a space-available

basis at the discretion of the editorial staff.

Address all releases to:

New Products EditorSHOOTING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE

12345 World Trade Dr.San Diego, CA 92128

SHOOTING INDUSTRY MAGAZINEwww.shootingindustry.com

Hallmark Cutlery1-866-583-3912

FMG Publications1-800-628-9818www.americanhandgunner.com

Minox USA1-866-469-3080www.minox.com

FMG PublicationsDefensive Tactics DVD

Learn important defensive tactics from fi rearm training expert Clint Smith including Room Clearance, Proper Technique and Application and Flash-light Use and Technique. The two-disc set, which was fi lmed at Thunder Ranch in Oregon, includes a Terminator Live Fire Demonstration.

Minox USADigital Camera Module

Minox’s DCM (Digital Camera Module) combines a digital camera, video recorder, monitor and eyepiece into a compact unit. The DCM attaches to a spotting scope’s eyepiece bayonet, and features a 2-3/8" high-resolution monitor. The 5-megapixel camera is multi-compatible, with fi ve bay-onet fi ttings now available for scopes from Zeiss, Leica, Swarovski, Kowa and the Mi-nox MD 62 series. Watertight and shock-proof, the DCM has an internal memory of 128 MB, and a port for SD memory cards with up to 4 GB capacity.

WaffentechnikSearch and Rescue Device

The SARD (Search and Rescue Device) by Waffentechnik is designed for military, police, fi refi ghters and special forces. Blade options in-clude: drop tanto, wave, tanto and rescue. Con-structed of the new layered material plakarta, the SARD has fewer parts for reliability and easy maintenance. The knife features a patented “blade lock” safety pivot, with integrated lubricate reservoir and polished hardened axle; awl, with either plastic handcuff or seat belt cutter; wire cutter; crimper; window breaker and integrated belt clip. Available through Hallmark Cutlery.


• Hot-Selling Long Guns

• Increase Your Flashlight Sales

• Your Hunting Season Profi ts LOOKING TO THE FUTURE!

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Circle # 408 Circle # 409

Circle # 406 Circle # 407

Down Wind Scents1-877-647-8451www.DownWindScents.com

Lansky Sharpeners(702) 361-7511www.lansky.com

Down Wind ScentsInferno Buck Foam

Down Wind Scents’ Inferno attractant uses natural deer essence combined with modern technology to create an alluring 100-percent natural blend of urine from does in estrus. The scent attracts mature bucks, while masking a hunter’s scent. The innovative nozzle permits proper dispersal of the foam, and Inferno is formulated not to dissipate into soil, but to remain on the surface to prolong its usefulness. It can be applied to mock scrapes, deer trails and around tree stands.

Lansky SharpenersPro Grade Industrial MultiTool

Lansky Sharpeners launches a new product line with the Professional Grade Industrial MultiTool (LMT 100). Con-structed of 420 HC stainless steel, the tool measures 6 1/4" open and folds to 4 1/8", weighing 9.6 oz. The tool offers 20 functions, including spring-loaded, needle-nose pliers; wire cutter; clip blade; serrated clip blade; small and medium screwdrivers; fi le and ruler; awl; mag-netic bit holder; can/bottle opener; plus a 1/4" socket drive with nine assorted bits. Included is a reinforced, ballistic nylon sheath with snap closure.

Winchester Ammunition(618) 258-3242www.winchester.com

Winchester AmmunitionReduced Recoil .460 S&W

The Winchester Super-X .460 S&W Reduced Recoil round features a 250-grain jacketed hollowpoint bullet, a muzzle ve-locity of 1,450 fps and 1,517 foot-pounds of muzzle energy.

Steiner Binoculars1-800-257-7742www.steiner-binoculars.com

Steiner BinocularsNight Hunter

Steiner introduces the XP Night Hunt-er binoculars, with NANO Protection on extra-large objective and ocular lenses and Steiner HD Optic coating technology. Binoculars include roof prisms, dialectic mirror coatings and HD-XP lens technol-ogy, and the bodies of the binoculars are pressure-sealed and shock- and water-proof. The Night Hunter XP 10x50 has a fi eld-of-view of 315' at 1,000 yards and weighs 35 oz.; and the Night Hunter XP 12x56 has a fi eld-of-view of 258' at 1,000 yards, with a weight of 41 oz.

ACCESSORIES

COLLECTORS

Classified ads are: $2.00 per word per insertion with a 20-word mini-mum OR $1.50 per word per insertion for three or more issues with a 25-word minimum. No charge for CAPS. Bold words add $1.00 per word. Copy and rerun orders must be accompanied by PAYMENT IN ADVANCE. NO AGENCY OR CASH DISCOUNTS ON LISTING OR DISPLAY CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING. All ads must be received with advance payment BY NO LATER THAN THE 15th of each month. EX-AMPLE: Closing for NOVEMBER 2008 issue is September 15th. Ads received after closing will appear in the following issue. Please type or print clearly. PLEASE NOTE: NO PROOFS WILL BE FURNISHED. Include name, address, post office box, city, state and zip code as counted words. Abbreviations count as one word each. Mail to SHOOTING INDUSTRY CLASSIFIEDS, 12345 World Trade Dr, San Diego, California 92128. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS REGARD-ING YOUR CLASSIFIED AD IN SHOOTING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE, CALL OUR SALES REPRESENTATIVE AT (858)605-0235.

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One of the most unintended best-kept secrets of Shooting Industrymagazine is its Web site: www.

shootingindustry.com. It’s magical. At fi rst glance, it may not seem so, but it is. Really.

Yes, like many other Web sites, it has a lot of information of interest to everyone in the industry, but it has one major differ-ence: It’s a great tool for dealers.

All the articles in the printed version of Shooting Industry are posted on the site every month. What so special about that? Well, all the Web site addresses we pub-lish in the magazine are “active” in the on-line version. Meaning, when you click on, say “www.ruger-fi rearms.com,” the Ruger Web site opens on your computer. Magic!

In addition to being a great timesaver, the “active” links save you a lot frustra-tion. You can move quickly through doz-ens of Web sites and avoid the invari-able outbursts of “%4#9++#!” when you continuously mistype the Web addresses you’ve noted in the printed magazine.

For example, in May’s Industry Newssection, there’s a story “ATK Honors 2007 Dealer Of The Year.” At the end of the story, there are Web addresses for ATK’s Premium Partner program and to Mike

Goschinski’s Fin Feather Fur Outfi tters. You read the story and say, “let me check these sites out,” and you type: “www.premiumpartners.atk.com” or “www.fi n-featherfuroutfi tters.com” into your Web browser. Likely, just like me, you get an error message because you mistyped

the address. You try again. “%4#9++#!” Again. Finally, you give up.

Instead of creating new and interesting words, read Shooting Industry magazine, place paperclips on the pages with Web sites you want to examine, sign onto www.shootingindustry.com and click on the “Ta-ble Of Contents” in the upper right-hand corner. There you’ll fi nd links to all the features and columns in the month’s issue. In addition, at the bottom of the “Table Of Contents” page, there are links to all the is-sues for this year. So if you missed, say the “2008 New Products Showcases and Gal-leries” in our December, January, April and May issues, they’re still available.

The person who creates all this magic is Lorinda Massey, our promotions coor-dinator. It takes a tremendous amount of work and patience to maintain the SI Web site. There are more than 75 “active” Web-site links in May’s online edition. For our mega December and January Web editions, there were more than 100 each. I thank her for all she does. You should, also.

So, read Shooting Industry magazine, ear-mark the pages with Web sites you want to visit, then sign onto www.shootingindustry.com and experience the magic.

The Magic Of www.shootingindustry.com

ble Of Contents” in the upper right-hand corner. There you’ll fi nd links to all the features and columns in the month’s issue. In addition, at the bottom of the “Table Of Contents” page, there are links to all the is-sues for this year. So if you missed, say the “2008 New Products Showcases and Gal-leries” in our December, January, April and May issues, they’re still available.

is Lorinda Massey, our promotions coor-dinator. It takes a tremendous amount of work and patience to maintain the site. There are more than 75 “active” Web-site links in May’s online edition. For our mega December and January Web editions, there were more than 100 each. I thank her for all she does. You should, also.

We Have The NumbersWhat 2008 new products did dealers select as the best on

our April blog? What were the 2007 top-selling brands in fi rearms, ammunition and accessories? Who was the top U.S. fi rearm manufacturer in 2006?

We know and we’ll present all the data in next month’s is-sue. In addition to our unique “U.S. Firearm Business Report,” we’ll present a look at trends and concerns facing the industry.

In addition to examining data from the ATF, NSSF, For-eign Trade Division and others, we’ve partnered with South-wick Associates ([email protected]). Here is their latest report on top-selling brands.

Remember the $1 million Lansky Sharpening Systems dis-played at its 2008 SHOT Show booth?

“We want dealers to know they can make a lot of money selling our sharpeners,” said Arthur Lansky, company founder and president.

To help dealers make that million, Lansky is offering re-tailers new point-of-purchase displays, which allow custom-ers to try a variety of Lansky Sharpeners before making a purchase. In addition, a new seven-minute DVD is avail-able to retailers and consum-ers. It demonstrates the ease and effectiveness of Lansky Sharpening Systems. You also can view the video online at www.lanskysharpeners.com.

To begin making your million, contact Lansky at (702) 361-7511, e-mail: [email protected] or visit www.lansky.com. 9

Sign onto www.shootingindustry.com and click on “Click for More” under the “Table Of Contents” heading in the upper right-hand corner.

Russ Thurman

March Category Brand MS*

Rifl es Marlin 16.9%

Shotguns Remington 23.2%

Handguns S&W 28.0%

Rifl e Ammo Remington 31.9%

Rifl escopes Bushnell 26.1%

Game Calls Primos 33.3%* Marketshare

Top-Selling Brands

Making That Million

To begin making your million, contact Lansky at (702)

http://www.shootingindustry.com

WORTH EVERY PENNYOur full line of rimfires ranges from youth and entry-level rifles to competition-worthy models — each delivering legendary

Savage accuracy you can bank on.

savage-rimfire.com

SARM035 Shooting Industry Full 61 1 4/22/08 4:39:14 PM


http://www.the-m-factor.com

THE PERFECT PAIR

When it comes to rugged performance, hunters have always relied on the trusted name of Weaver®. From legendary optics to the rings and bases that all others strive to imitate, Weaver has been keeping outdoorsmen in the hunt since 1930. Keep the tradition alive. Stock your shelves with the brand that symbolizes hunting optics in the minds of millions of hunters—Weaver.

©2008 ATK WE330

For more information on the entire line of Weaver products—including optics, rings and bases—contact ATK Dealer Services at (866) 223-9388.

Since 1930


Shooting Industry June 2008

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