— Jim Curcuruto
Curcuruto is a noted Hunting and firearm industry consultant. He also happens to be a senior member of The Hunting Wire’s Voice of Leadership Panel.
With a record setting year for the firearm industry behind us, many industry professionals are starting to ask; “Now what?” Before answering that question, let’s take a look at some statistics that made 2020 a record year.
The boom in gun sales emptied racks in gun shops across the country. What can we do to turn the new owners into enthusiastic shooters?
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Using adjusted FBI NICS data as a proxy for firearm sales, 2020 recorded a massive 60 percent increase over 2019. The record 21+ million adjusted background checks in 2020 bested the previous record high of 15.7 million set in 2016 by 34 percent. Recent survey data shows that approximately 40 percent of firearm purchasers in 2020 were buying their first gun, which equates to more than 8 million first-time gun owners.
Record growth was also realized in hunting license sales as double-digit gains have been reported during the first three quarters of 2020 over 2019. To put that in perspective, data from the most recent USFWS National Survey showed a 16 percent decline in hunting participation from 2011 to 2016. Should the 2020 increases hold through the 4th quarter, it will equate to more than one million additional hunters that went afield in 2020 over 2019. All these additional hunters will need plenty of gear, which means plenty of new sales. The lifetime retail sales value for a million new hunters, on just their primary hunting related equipment purchases, is more than $20 billion.
So “Now what?”.
With the lingering pandemic and the new political administration there is no shortage of uncertainties for 2021. One thing that is for certain, is the fact that if the firearm industry does not engage with, and recruit the millions of people that purchased their first gun in 2020, a major opportunity will be lost. Read more
