Big money in airguns! today's airguns have come a long way and so has the profit potential for gun dealers

Shooting Industry, Nov, 2003 by Tom Gaylord

"The 1894 was designed for kids, but that's not who is buying it," said Joe Murfin, Daisy's marketing vice president. "Every Winchester collector has to own one, and many adults buy them because they are so very cool in wood and steel."

Yes, you can sell low-priced airguns, but choose the models you stock carefully. If you don't, you'll be dusting off boxes at tax time.

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Selling Mid-Range--$300 To $1,000--Airguns

Airguns in the mid-range-price category are where the big money is to be made in airgun sales. These airguns are primarily sold through the mail, and in a few savvy gun stores. When one of these airguns is sold, a lot of high-margin accessories go with it.

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The big names here are Gamo, RWS and Beeman. Gamo sells in the big chains and their top models are considered to be entry-level precision adult airguns. Their huge advertising budget gives them brand recognition over the other two brands.

RWS is a German firm with a large presence in airguns in this country. They are the second largest advertiser of airguns. Their brand recognition is very good, and their lower-priced guns will sometimes be found in large chain stores.

Beeman is based in California and does not advertise as much as the other two, but they still have very broad recognition from the efforts of founder Robert Beeman. They sell German, British and a few Spanish brand guns--the Spanish models are sold by the marts.

Then there are the numerous brands you may never have heard of, yet some of your customers know them well. Among these are Webley & Scott, Air Arms, BSA, Daystate, Falcon, Shin Sung and AirForce.

Crosman distributes the Logun, a precharged pneumatic (compressed-air) line of British rifles starting at $1,000. AirForce, the maker of the Talon and Talon SS precharged rifles, is the only U.S. company making precision adult airguns.

Spring guns are being overtaken by precharged pneumatics--rifles that are charged from scuba tanks. These airguns will put a customized Ruger 10/22 to the test at 50 yards. Precharged rifles are very easy to shoot accurately, while spring guns require a lot more shooter technique.

Airgun Accessories

Airgunners who buy guns costing more than $300 also buy a lot of accessories. A scope is almost mandatory for an air rifle, and airgun scopes can have great profit margins. B-Square, reports a 100-percent increase in airgun business in the past year to their dealers, alone.

"Airguns are the fastest growing segment of our business, by far," said Duane Sorenson, B-Square's product manager. "And we see more firearms dealers than ever before buying airgun products."

Airgunners want the higher magnifications in their scopes--the typical field target scope magnifies 30X or more--and parallax correction down to 10 yards. It is not unusual to sell a $600 scope for a $400 air rifle.

Airgun scopes from BSA, Burris, Bushnell and Leupold are always favorites. Also, the Leaper's brand from Pyramyd Air offers top features and superb quality for a great price. There are also red dot sights for airguns from Crosman, Walther and ADCO.