IMPORTS AND EXPORTS
The USA is one of the biggest gun manufacturers and exporters in the world. Although, interestingly, the numbers of guns it sells overseas have fl uctuated wildly over the years. According to the ATF, in 1986 the USA exported almost 217,500 firearms. It
reached a peak in 1993 (431,204) before a steady decline to just 141,912 in 2003. By 2012, though, it had clawed its way back to 287,554 guns sold that year. The import figures tell a similar story in terms of fl uctuating fortunes but
overseas gunmakers will have been celebrating in recent years. In 1986 the USA imported just 701,000 firearms, split pret y equally between
rifl es, shotguns and handguns. But by 1993 that had risen to more than three million, with the vast majority of these being rifl es and handguns. The mid to late 1990s saw a decline in imports once more, before the highest
figures to date in 2013, at more than 5.5 million. This can be broken down into 936,000 shotguns, 1.5 million rifl es and a
staggering 3.1 million handguns. The top countries importing into the USA that year were Brazil (975,489
firearms, mainly handguns and rifl es), Austria (954,388, almost all handguns), Germany (654,901, mainly handguns), Italy (503,590, split between handguns and shotguns), Croatia (451,657, all handguns) and Turkey (412,069, three-quarters of which were shotguns). Finding good distribution is key in the USA because, by and large, Americans
like to buy off other Americans. Thankfully, there are some really strong regional distributors, covering pret y much every sector, including the growing airgun market.
For any further information on the US gun industry, the trade body the NSSF should be your fi rst port of call and you should add SHOT Show each January to your diary. Formed in 1961, the NSSF exists to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. It currently boasts a membership of more than 12,000 manufacturers, distributors, fi rearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organisations and publishers. T e organisation’s annual SHOT Show (Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show and Conference) is the largest and most comprehensive trade show for all professionals involved with the shooting sports, hunting and law enforcement industries. It is described as the world’s premier exposition of combined fi rearms, ammunition,
law enforcement, cutlery, outdoor apparel, optics and related products and services, attracting more than 64,000 visitors, from all 50 US states and more than 100 countries. GTW
National Shooting Sports Foundation T: +1 203 426 1320 W:
www.nssf.org
SHOT Show (Convexx) T: +1 855 355 7468 W:
www.shotshow.org
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