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Forget Barbie, how about a pink rifle for your little girl? (Courtesy of The Daily / December 13, 2011) |
This Christmas, stockings should be hung by the chimney with extra care, because there might be an assault weapon inside.
Holiday gun sales are setting records this year, according to national indicators and firearm dealers, with shoppers snapping up Colts and AR-15s with a fever usually reserved for Elmo and Transformers.
Industry watchers say the spike is due in part to better marketing by gun shop owners jumping on the Black Friday and Cyber Monday marketing bandwagon.
The goal, they say, is simple: Entice shoppers to drop the fruit basket and grab a Glock.
"Basically, the idea is to get the ladies out of the mall and into my shop," said Randy Glauber, owner of Glauber’s Sports in Carrollton, Ky.
In November, licensed gun dealers requested 1.53 million federal background checks for prospective gun buyers, breaking the record for the month set in 2008.
According to Federal Bureau of Investigation data, the number of such checks done on this year's Black Friday, the traditional kick-off of the holiday shopping frenzy, went from the previous high in 2008 of 97,848 to 129,166 — a whopping 32 percent increase.
Another hot stocking stuffer: Personal defense items like pepper sprays and stun guns, with one of the country's biggest manufacturers saying sales are up significantly over last year.
Such numbers have put a lot of extra bang in cash registers at firearm retailers like Kentucky Gun Company in Bardstown, Ky., where crowds of gun shoppers contributed to the state's 203,683 gun background checks last month, the highest in the nation.
"Our phones have been jammed. We've had so many cars in the parking lot, they’re overflowing into one of my neighbor’s lots," said owner Patrick Hayden. "I'm going to have to go over and give them a holiday ham."
Hayden said strong sales through the year have spiked in recent weeks, with a 50 to 60 percent jump in store and Internet holiday season sales over last year. For the first time, the business gambled on coast-to-coast marketing, buying two one-page ads in a national gun magazine timed for the Christmas season.
Like many local retailers, Hayden said he’s also spending more time this holiday season than ever to find items attractive to shoppers who wouldn't normally consider high-velocity cartridges an appropriate gift on Jesus' birthday.
A sale for a basic Russian-made rifle — priced to move at $79.99, bayonet included — was targeted at bargain shoppers buying gifts for a first-time shooter.
"I've had little old ladies come in... and buy them by the crate for gifts for all the men in the family," he said. "Across the board, we used to sell to men, adult men, ages 18 to 45. Now we're advertising to everybody."
According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, handgun production and imports more than doubled between 2005 and 2009 to 4.6 million, as changes in many laws have relaxed restrictions on carrying such weapons. Gallup’s annual crime poll in October showed record low support for a handgun ban for civilians. It was also the first time the poll found greater opposition to a ban on semiautomatic guns or assault rifles than support for such a restriction.
Riding that national wave, firearms marketing experts say local shops have increasingly moved beyond bare-bones holiday ads.
"As a trend, I'd say that it’s significantly increased over the last couple of years, with the smaller mom-and-pops being more sophisticated in their use of database marketing and segmenting," said Ryan Muety, director of marketing at Beretta USA. "They're not just saying purchase this gun, they're saying 'Here's an entire package for that pheasant hunter in your family'." Company sales are up 10 percent in the fourth quarter compared to last year, he said.
At Cope Distributing in Greenville, Ohio, which caters to the "black gun" market for assault-type weapons, owner Roger Cope said this year’s holiday push included an additional $2,000 for Internet "Black Friday" ads, online and store markdowns, and a wider selection of basic handguns. He called November a "monster month."
Holiday gun sales are setting records this year, according to national indicators and firearm dealers, with shoppers snapping up Colts and AR-15s with a fever usually reserved for Elmo and Transformers.
Industry watchers say the spike is due in part to better marketing by gun shop owners jumping on the Black Friday and Cyber Monday marketing bandwagon.
The goal, they say, is simple: Entice shoppers to drop the fruit basket and grab a Glock.
"Basically, the idea is to get the ladies out of the mall and into my shop," said Randy Glauber, owner of Glauber’s Sports in Carrollton, Ky.
In November, licensed gun dealers requested 1.53 million federal background checks for prospective gun buyers, breaking the record for the month set in 2008.
According to Federal Bureau of Investigation data, the number of such checks done on this year's Black Friday, the traditional kick-off of the holiday shopping frenzy, went from the previous high in 2008 of 97,848 to 129,166 — a whopping 32 percent increase.
Another hot stocking stuffer: Personal defense items like pepper sprays and stun guns, with one of the country's biggest manufacturers saying sales are up significantly over last year.
Such numbers have put a lot of extra bang in cash registers at firearm retailers like Kentucky Gun Company in Bardstown, Ky., where crowds of gun shoppers contributed to the state's 203,683 gun background checks last month, the highest in the nation.
"Our phones have been jammed. We've had so many cars in the parking lot, they’re overflowing into one of my neighbor’s lots," said owner Patrick Hayden. "I'm going to have to go over and give them a holiday ham."
Hayden said strong sales through the year have spiked in recent weeks, with a 50 to 60 percent jump in store and Internet holiday season sales over last year. For the first time, the business gambled on coast-to-coast marketing, buying two one-page ads in a national gun magazine timed for the Christmas season.
Like many local retailers, Hayden said he’s also spending more time this holiday season than ever to find items attractive to shoppers who wouldn't normally consider high-velocity cartridges an appropriate gift on Jesus' birthday.
A sale for a basic Russian-made rifle — priced to move at $79.99, bayonet included — was targeted at bargain shoppers buying gifts for a first-time shooter.
"I've had little old ladies come in... and buy them by the crate for gifts for all the men in the family," he said. "Across the board, we used to sell to men, adult men, ages 18 to 45. Now we're advertising to everybody."
According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, handgun production and imports more than doubled between 2005 and 2009 to 4.6 million, as changes in many laws have relaxed restrictions on carrying such weapons. Gallup’s annual crime poll in October showed record low support for a handgun ban for civilians. It was also the first time the poll found greater opposition to a ban on semiautomatic guns or assault rifles than support for such a restriction.
Riding that national wave, firearms marketing experts say local shops have increasingly moved beyond bare-bones holiday ads.
"As a trend, I'd say that it’s significantly increased over the last couple of years, with the smaller mom-and-pops being more sophisticated in their use of database marketing and segmenting," said Ryan Muety, director of marketing at Beretta USA. "They're not just saying purchase this gun, they're saying 'Here's an entire package for that pheasant hunter in your family'." Company sales are up 10 percent in the fourth quarter compared to last year, he said.
At Cope Distributing in Greenville, Ohio, which caters to the "black gun" market for assault-type weapons, owner Roger Cope said this year’s holiday push included an additional $2,000 for Internet "Black Friday" ads, online and store markdowns, and a wider selection of basic handguns. He called November a "monster month."
