Archive author
American Gunsmith Editors
248 indexed articles · 2003–2024
Published work
Articles by American Gunsmith Editors
Hunting License Sales
Families Afield is a joint program launched in 2004 by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, US Sportsmen’s Alliance and National Wild Turkey Federation to reduce regulatory barriers to youth hunting. Now established in 29 states that have passed legislation intended to increase…
Rich, Famous And Armed
I always find it amusing to see how non-gun owners view firearms. The New York Times ran an article about rich and famous people that <gasp!> actually own firearms. Here’s an excerpt from The Rich, the Famous, the Armed by Jo Craven…
Gallup Finds Most Americans Pro Gun
The Gallup Organization (gallup.com) is a performance management company and their Gallup Poll division regularly conducts public opinion polls that are frequently referenced as reliable and objective measurements of public opinion. Gallup Polls have measured the public’s opinions concerning a diverse range…
Hunting Guide Wisdom
How relevant is organized range training to the hunting field? Can matches and classes and other Hunter Shooter events really help you become a better hunter? The following was sent to me by a retired professional big game guide. “I was never…
Another Mixed Bag
In the August 2011 issue we ran “Trigger Work: How Good Is Yours, Really?” by Gerry Ritacco. The article referenced a chart that didn’t make it into print due to space limitations but is available as a PDF for free download at…
A Mixed Bag
Craig Constantine, Supervising Producer for Discovery Studios, is a producer working on a potential new series for the Discovery Channel that will show one-on-one competitions with machine teams building a variety devices. The show will document the building of the machines against…
MSR Owners Are Most Active Shooters
Or, so says a NSSF/Responsive Management Survey, the first comprehensive survey to look at ownership and use of modern sporting rifles. This study about MSRs, typifi ed by AR-15 platform rifles, reveals that 8.9 million Americans went target shooting with MSRs last…
Not Doing As They Say
The Du Pont corporation has conducted numerous studies of consumer buying habits over the decades. Typically, this type of research aims at tracking products purchased and attempts to correlate that to advertising and marketing efforts, customer demographics and other factors. The idea…
NSSF/Harris Poll: Target Shooting Top-Ranked
A recent National Shooting Sports Foundation poll conducted by Harris Interactive found that more Americans are target shooting now than six months ago, and that “home and personal defense” were the main reasons Americans recently purchased firearms. The poll also showed that 43…
“Target Shooting”
” Imagine walking into a sporting goods store and approaching a salesperson with this: “Hello, I’d like to buy a ball for playing sports.” After the inevitable strange look the salesperson would probably ask, “Which sport?” “I don’t know, but I’d like…
Sales To New Gun Owners
When asked about the state of gun sales in the United States Scott Blackwell, Chief Sales Officer at the Freedom Group said, “It’s about the long-term effect on the shooting sports as a whole, as well as our industry, and how we…
John M. Browning Day
In recognition of his lasting contributions to the development of firearm design and the military defense of the United States, the Utah State Legislature officially designated January 24, 2011 as John M. Browning Day. A native of Ogden, Utah, John M. Browning…
Unique Marketing
Marketing has been defined as the processes for creating, communicating, and delivering offerings that have value for customers and society at large. This is much more than mere advertising or sales. In the words of Harvard Business School’s emeritus professor of marketing…
New Year Plans
Happy New Year! So, how’s your business and where is it heading? What are your plans for taking your company into the next year? How about the next fi ve? These are times of great economic uncertainty but can you honestly remember…
Hunters Report They Are Hunting
Most hunters report they are going afield as much or more than they expected based on two surveys. HunterSurvey.com is run by Southwick Associates Inc., a research firm that founded the site in 2006 to help the outdoor equipment industry, government fisheries…
The EPA Relents, Shows Some Sense
Never underestimate the power a simple letter or email can wield. It has been said that a single letter from a constituent represents the voice of a thousand people because the other 999 folks just didn’t bother to voice their position. A…
The Filter
The only effective filters are those found engaged in and promoting real world, “offline” activity. Pete Brownell talks about this in a recent Web Bench article. “Bob Brownell used to say, ‘Show me a town without a gunsmith, and I’ll show you…
Tech Topics
In this feature we examine tools, tooling, tips, techniques and news of interest to the gunsmithing community.
Web Site Named Accessory of the Year
At the recent Shooting Industry Masters award ceremony, Brownells won the award for “Accessory of the Year.” This isn’t so surprising, except it wasn’t for anything available in their colossal catalog. Instead, Suzi Hun tington of FMG Publications presented the award for…
$27,846,304,300.00
That is the total influence the Firearms and Ammunition Industry had within the United States in 2009 according to a report commissioned by the National Shooting Sports Foundation detailing the significant, positive economic impact we have on our nation. In the midst…
Gun Sales Bubble
Ever since President Obama was elected certain segments of the firearms industry have been running at full capacity. While attending a writer’s conference at PASA Park every company representative there reported that, despite down turns in the overall economy, sales were up…
Violent Crime Declines
Preliminary statistics released by the FBI for the first half of 2009 show that violent crime continues a downward trend that began in 2006. The figures show crime falling in all categories — robbery, aggravated assault, motor vehicle thefts, etc. — with…
Gunsmiths Boost Business
“We receive numerous calls and walk-in customers daily requiring the services and knowledge of our gunsmith. Additionally, our existing customers greatly appreciate the convenience of having a gunsmith on site — at a business they frequent, are familiar with and trust.” Bruce…
Mass Media Shooting Sports
For the 2010 Winter Olympics, Time (Time.com) ran a series of “How They Train” segments interviewing athletes competing in the Games. Tim Burke (Tim Burke.us) of the US Biathlon team was interviewed by reporter Sean Gregory in a feature that discussed the…