Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Gun sales expected to drop with Trump in charge, dealers at L.V. show say

Shot Show 2017 at Sands Expo

L.E. Baskow

Jon Scott is the director of sales for B&T and offers his thoughts on guns and the new presidential administration during the Shot Show at the Sands Expo on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017.

SHOT Show 2017 at Sands Expo

Matt Hunt as a national account manager with Daniel Defense offers his insights on guns and the new presidential administration during the Shot Show at the Sands Expo on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017. Launch slideshow »

On the heels of a record year of firearm sales in the United States, gun dealers at this week’s Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade show in Las Vegas credited a combined fear of gun restrictions by President Barack Obama and growing public participation in shooting for sport as reason for the sales explosion.

Exhibitors at this week’s annual SHOT Show also said a conservative, pro-Second Amendment Donald Trump administration would level off handgun sales as fewer Americans rush into stores fearing they won’t be able to purchase them in the future.

“2016 was huge, eclipsing even 2013 for sales,” said Mike Bazinet, the SHOT Show’s public affairs director. “There’s no question political concerns on the part on gun owners and their access to the product might be limited. But our retailers also have noticed heavy media coverage of local crime and heavy participation in shooting sports is a part of that growth.”

The annual trade-only show at the Sands Expo Convention Center featured more than 1,700 exhibitors and 45,000 participants from 35 countries. The show runs through Saturday.

Most of the talk Wednesday centered on Trump’s upcoming administration and its potential effects on firearm sales. Trump has expressed opposition to gun and magazine bans, and, on his campaign website, said the Second Amendment is “under threat like never before.”

Having a conservative president and Republican Congress in favor of the gun industry will cause the market to slow down, said Daniel Defense brand representative Matt Hurt. Hurt called the Republican effect “normal,” and said it would allow firearm and ammo inventory to catch up with last year’s skyrocketing demand.

“It just levels things out for everybody,” Hurt said. “It’s a very healthy thing, especially for large brands that are established. We recapture market share in years like these.”

For smaller brands, like Switzerland-based Brügger & Thomet (B&T), the quality of a firearm or accessory is “vital” to surviving the anticipated plateau.

“You have to make something pretty cool for people to buy it now because so many competing companies are essentially making the same thing,” said Tampa, Fla.-based B&T representative Jon Scott, a 30-year gun salesman. “There will be a bigger market for higher-end items.”

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