Profiting From The Cowpoke Factor

Shooting Industry, August, 2000 by Russ Thurman

Business is about increasing sales, boosting market shares, besting the competition and posting profits. No news, there. Accomplishing these benchmarks of business has not been easy in the industry, especially during the past five years.

While there have been glimmers of hope for a turn-around in several areas of the industry -- self-defense, varmint shooting, black powder, shotgunning -- none of these of these have posted sustained, attention-getting growth. One area has, however: cowboy action shooting.

Regarded with more than a bit of disdain when the sport began to garner attention a few years back, it's now viewed in wonderment over its continued, impressive growth. As evidence, consider the 19th Annual End of Trail World Championship of Cowboy Action Shooting and Wild West Jubilee held in April in California.

Presented by the Single Action Shooting Society, the five-day event attracted 1,100 shooters -- men, women, boys and girls. In all, more than 20,000 attended the event. That's impressive!

Why are so many people drawn to cowboy action shooting? In a word: fun. Just consider the title: Wild West Jubilee. It sounds like fun and it is. Part shooting events, part county fair, there's an abundance of smiles and laugher at cowboy events. Families are encouraged to take a part, something other shooting disciplines overtly discourage or only give cursory lip service. That's counterproductive, of course, especially when these same disciplines complain about the lack of new, young participants.

Seizing The Opportunity

One company, Sturm, Ruger, early on understood the potential of this growing market and responded. In 1993, Ruger added the Western-style Vaquero to its established stable of single-action revolvers. Patterned after revolvers of the 1800s, the Vaquero was an instant hit, especially with the cowboy action crowd. The revolver also received the 1993 Handgun of the Year Award from the Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence.

The Vaquero helped Ruger post an incredible 59 percent increase in revolver production in 1995, at a time when the industry was experiencing devastating losses. In 1997, Ruger again seized the opportunity, introducing the Bisley-Vaquero. It, too, received the Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence Handgun of Year Award.

Ruger's single-action offerings -- strongly anchored by the Vaqueros -- helped the company grab the top handgun manufacturer title for 1998, a spot perpetually held by Smith & Wesson. Cowboy action shooting makes a difference.

Serious Competition

A new company is betting big on the continued growth of cowboy action shooting. American Western Arms Inc. owns the former Italian gunmaker, Armi San Marco, now known as American Western Arms Italy. Th company's president and CEO is Robert J. Gangi.

"We've put new machinery in our Italian facility and instituted new quality control and design changes to make the best firearms in the industry," said Gangi.

American Western Arms' premier single action is the Peacekeeper, which offers, according to chief operating officer Jack Sweeney, exceptional out of the box accuracy.

"We are committed to manufacturing the finest quality, truly authentic first generation Colt reproduction that's available today," said Sweeney, a long-time industry veteran. "Our guns are so exacting their parts are interchangeable with first generation Colts. Plus, we offer an action so finely tuned, it's ready for the range right out of the box."

American Western Arms introduced the Peacekeeper and Longhorn during this year's End of Trail. The response, according to Gangi, was exceptional.

"They were a big hit," said Gangi. "Our booth was packed throughout the event. On Sunday, top shooters field tested our guns and the response was absolutely great. The guns performed flawlessly."

While the guns are manufactured in Italy, they are assembled and given a careful examination in the company's Florida facility, according to Sweeney.

"We go through every gun by hand to make sure they're perfect before they go out the door," said Sweeney.

The company is also preparing to open a custom operation, having recently added to their staff Jack Goodman, who headed Colts' Custom Shop.

For more information, contact: American Western Arms, 1450 S.W. 10th St., Suite 3B, Delray Beach, FL; 1-800-292-4867, Fax (561) 330-0881; www.awaguns.com.

Profit Center

While cowboy action may not be your "thing," it's a money maker. To get started, sign on to the web site of the Single Action Shooting Society (www.sassnet.com). There you'll find extensive information on cowboy action events throughout the United States.

Face it, there's nothing pokey about the cowpoke business.