Prime your ammo & reloading sales: tough competition marks this segment of the market, but savvy dealers are making money!

Shooting Industry, Jan, 2003 by Charles E. Petty

It's Always Available

In the ideal reloading gun shop, a cubicle off the main showroom would have some odd stuff like bullets for the .40-82 Winchester or brass for the 8mm Nambu. I know the odds are good that I might be the only one wanting that stuff. However, knowing what your customers want, even oddball stuff, is vital to reloading sales. It's one of Hyatt's key points: get to know your customer base.

If you have a lot of customers who are cowboy action shooters, it's important to have what they need. And cowboy shooters need a lot of reloading products. It isn't difficult to figure out what sort of stuff they're going to buy -- ask them -- and make sure you have it. Another key to sales is to offer members of local gun clubs a small discount. They'll appreciate it, and tell other shooters.

What do you do when a customer asks for a product you don't have?

"Say, 'I'll get it for you,"' Hyatt said.

The average dealer has better resources than the customer does when it comes to finding stuff. Even if the time spent finding something doesn't pay off in the short term, the customer won't forget you went out of your way to help him. You'll build customer loyalty.

More Reloaders

As someone who writes a lot about handloading, I'm often asked what is the best way to learn to reload. That's easy: Watch someone reload who is willing to explain as they work through the various steps.

That's the way many gun dealers attract new reloading customers.

In actual floor space, Hyatt's reloading section isn't that large, but there is a reloading bench with several different tools set up.

"If you teach someone how to reload, you've made a lifelong customer," Hyatt said. "They become real shooters, and expand their horizons with more guns and accessories as their interest grows."

During the teaching process, it is easy to explain how reloading can save a customer 30 to 50 percent in the cost of ammunition. It's one of the most effective selling tools for reloading. Better yet, the majority of reloaders don't put the savings in their pocket to spend elsewhere. Instead, they spend that money on more shooting products. For the dealer, and everyone in the industry, that's a good thing.

While there is plenty of tough competition in the reloading market, there are also many more powders and bullets available, along with unique pieces of reloading equipment. Just consider the products that have appeared in the last 20 years or so. It's impressive.

Yes, the consumer has more choices than ever before and that means someone has to sell it to him. The arrival of mail order changed the playing field, but it doesn't mean a dealer can't sell reloading supplies and equipment. The keys are knowing what products are available, buying in ways that save shipping fees and know what your customers need. Then, teach your customers how to reload.

That is the ideal reloading gun shop.