Personal Defense
Selling The .380...
Many of your customers’ experience and lifestyles will limit them to something very small and light, or no gun at all. In this case, you’re doing them a...
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Explain Revolver...
For many years, the double-action revolver was the standard recommendation for a new handgun owner. The reasons that were valid then remain so now.
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SHOT Show 2025:...
Hundreds of new defensive guns were on display at SHOT Show 2025. Here are some with great sales potential.
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Backup Gun...
In the world of armed self-defense, a “backup gun” is a second firearm that can supplement the first in a number of scenarios. Many of those scenarios...
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Trends Observed...
When I first walked into FITS, I noticed two things: Every single person behind the counter was female, and every single customer on the buying side of the...
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Selling Eye, Ear...
Surveys show more customers buy guns today for home and family protection than for hunting or target shooting. The gun is not the only protective element...
3
Promising...
The 2023 NRA Annual Meeting in Indianapolis served up a healthy dose of potential self-defense options. What stood out?
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Finding A Niche
In a world full of competitors, how does a business establish itself? Sometimes, the key is to offer the customer something different.
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Dispelling...
In our past couple of columns, we’ve touched on giving customers a shorthand education on when they can (and can’t) use the lethal force of a firearm...
4
Self-Defense...
Last month in this space we laid out the basic legal formula for the justifiable use of lethal force, focusing on the foundational elements of Ability,...
4
Explaining...
Since the beginning of the pandemic, and concurrent with civil disturbances around the nation, we now have 10 million or more first-time gun owners.
5
What Will Be...
Past is prologue. There may not be any startling changes in the world of the gun and personal-defense market in 2023, but we can extrapolate from what...
5
And The “F”...
The recent introduction of the Walther PDP-F pistol is seen largely on the gun-related internet as “a handgun for ladies.” Designed with a short reach...
5
Leading Your...
Personal illumination devices have probably advanced faster than firearms in terms of “lighter, handier and less bulk with more power.” Have your...
2
Selling The 1911...
The classic John Moses Browning design finalized in the year 1911 remains a steady seller, if not the best seller, in American gun shops today. There are...
3
Relics Or Rescue...
A few months ago, I witnessed an interesting dichotomy in a couple of gun shops I visited during the same week.
2
Global Events...
I come from the generation that grew up huddling under elementary school desks doing “atomic bomb drills.”
2
Hot Defensive...
It wasn’t a “perfect storm,” but it was still an ugly one.
3
New Tech...
It’s a given most defensive firearms have historically been designed by and for males. There have been recent developments which improve the situation....
1
A 10mm Resurgence?
When the 10mm pistol cartridge was introduced in the early ’80s, one of its godfathers was Col. Jeff Cooper, who predicted it would replace his beloved...
1
Selling Guns...
When a product strikes a certain chord and skyrockets in popularity, it sells itself. Why should someone selling that kind of product even think about how...
2
Perspectives On...
Noone who reads Shooting Industry needs me to tell them prices on guns — and particularly ammunition — seem to have gone through the roof, nor that...
1
When The...
For going on two years now, we’ve been seeing a lot more first-time buyers in gun shops. How many of them will become return customers?
1
Follow Current...
In any retail enterprise, it’s obvious the seller has to stay on top of buying trends to maximize product movement and profits. It follows that...
1
Supplement...
The public seems to think gun shops are going through boom times, disregarding the fact many stores can get few guns, and less ammunition, to sell. A dealer...
1
Customers’ Pet...
If you’ve been reading Shooting Industry for a very long time, you may remember when this magazine had a monthly feature on dumb things customers did and...
4
Defy Stereotypes...
You’ve probably heard (and experienced firsthand): The previous 15 months have resulted in record gun sales. A significant driver of this trend is a rise...
4
Cordially...
In the January 2021 issue, Shooting Industry kicked off its useful Best Practices column with an excellent article by Doug VanderWoude titled “Best...
5
Joining Business...
Many a gun-shop owner chose to enter the firearms industry because guns and shooting were his or her hobby. Let’s examine a case of such an enthusiast who...
6
Continued Unrest?
We all know the record-breaking sales of 2020 — driven by COVID-19, the summer’s unrest and presidential election — won’t last forever.
4
Serving The...
In serving the lawful self-defense market, we’re helping people from becoming prey by successfully warding off predators. It’s a biological truth:
4
Handling Q&As...
In the past year, several million first-time gun buyers came to stores like yours. They found out firsthand they had been lied to about purchasing guns,...
5
Budget Guns For...
Not every customer has the budget to walk into your shop and drop thousands of dollars on a premium-quality firearm. You didn’t need me to tell you that,...
4
Carry Optics: A...
Carry optics — a compact non-magnifying red dot sight on a handgun, usually a semiautomatic — has become an extremely hot trend. It hasn’t taken over the
4
After The Gun &...
With this issue landing in your inbox prior to Election Day, the outcome is obviously unknown at press time. If Joe Biden becomes president-elect we can
5
Sales & Safety:...
Pocket guns are incredibly popular, especially these days. If you follow online gun forums, you would easily gain the impression pockets just might be the...
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