An Unironic, Open Love Letter to the Shooting Industry

One thing he said in that conversation stood out, “All this stuff is pretty much the same, there hasn’t really been any innovation in the firearms industry since the first Glock pistols” (calm down, it was one man’s opinion in roughly 2015). Back then, I may not have even agreed with him fully, but I would have been hard-pressed to come up with any evidence to the contrary. The shooting industry was definitely in a comfortable niche, and we were all pushing the same products that we had been for decades.

Actually the speed it all happened floors me the more I think about it. That might be why I still have conversations with people who haven’t noticed it at all, still talking about how they wish things would go back to some previous time in the gun industry’s history. People who still pine after the 1920s when there were only maybe four guns that even existed, but you could “buy a Thompson from a catalogue.” Giving them the benefit of the doubt, maybe it’s different for me as an industry insider. Maybe my wide and varied interests in everything related to shooting and gun culture clues me in more across the board, as opposed to someone who’s only looking into their chosen discipline. BUT, I would argue (and I think, correctly) that our industry has absolutely exploded in the past decade, and especially since the gun run of 2020. I’m not sure if it was due solely to the catalyst of that time, all the new shooters, new buyers, new interest, etc. driving the industry to new heights, but I don’t imagine that it hurt.

Bolt action rifles? The idea that any basic bolt action rifle off the shelf 10 years ago would have a sub MOA accuracy guarantee with factory ammo wasn’t necessarily impossible, but it would have raised an eyebrow with most healthy skeptics. It’s almost overnight that we’ve been spoiled with dozens of rifles from all the major manufacturers that not only promise that, but are presented to us in futuristic chassis and chassis/stock hybrids that eliminate the need for factory bedding and adjustment. They provide a product and leave all the tweaking and customization up to you, the end user, to be able to do it TOOLLESSLY, in the field, to adjust for a change in use. I’m not saying there’s no more merit to the classic method of: ordering a custom action, waiting 4-6 months for that order to be filled, ordering a barrel blank and sending it off to a rifle builder with a reputation for another 6 months to finally have that sweet bolt gun in your hand that you dreamed up during the previous presidency (I still, in fact, do this very thing from time to time), but what I am saying is that all of the sudden, you have off the shelf options that meet the same end goal. The barrels can be carbon-fiber wrapped, the rifles can weigh as many as 30 pounds, or less than seven, and oftentimes offer sub HALF MOA accuracy guarantees at either end of that scale.

Speaking of suppressors, it seems like every time I get a submitted form 4 back, 2 or 3 more cans have come out that I want. All of the sudden, we’re machining these things out of pure titanium, we’re giving them HUGE reflex style expansion chambers, we’re 3D printing them, and they’re getting lighter and quieter by the day. Most recently, and time will tell how this will play out, it would seem that the suppressor industry has generated enough business to actually drive the NFA division to promise increase their turnaround time for stamp applications (taking that promise for what it is).

The cartridges that these rifles are chambered in are unbelievable. They recoil like a .223 and hit like a .308. They fire comfortably out of featherweight rifles, they’re 1000+ yard capable in accuracy, and carry enough energy for an ethical hunting shot way beyond my own limits. The bullets perform at both under 100 and over 1000 yards exactly like they’re supposed to. They’re SAMMI spec, they’re sold on shelves and warrantied rather than coming from a benchrest shooters wildcat reload room. 

The way we assemble and use these cartridges is pure insanity in 2024, I’ve set up a new reload room this year and it looks less like a hobby room and more like a medical-grade laboratory. I’m a hunter first, and a long range shooter second, and the tech and toys that I have helping me in those pursuits is LEAGUES ahead of where we were at just a few years ago. You may have seen my article about the Garmin Xero chronograph earlier this year, a replacement for the labs radar system that’s the size of a deck of cards and half the price. My guns have ARCA rails now that mount to tripods, that give me a support for standing shots that are more steady than some of my older bench rests and allow for quick fine adjustment. 

Red dots? Well… red dots are… fine. Maybe red dot optics are the only thing I can think of right now that are doing the exact same thing they were doing ten years ago. In fact, there’s some truth that the same red dots and holo sights that were popular back then are still the most popular now. But at least ten more years of production and use of those same optics have created an environment where the sheer amount of used options out there keep the price low. I’m compelled to say that I am aware there are more red dot options now than ever before, as lower cost manufacturers have put out competitive options with a lower price tag. HOWEVER, I also have some theories about how the proliferation of high-end gear on the market that’s readily available to civilian shooters now is driving the high end red dots and holographic optics from a decade ago, to be the new standard. I absolutely will elaborate on that at some point, but this is particular rant is already entirely too long and not the place, so if you’re still reading… thank you.

Pistols? Well, you might know that to me, a handgun is a handgun. I picked one I liked more than the others over fifteen years ago and haven’t deviated from it since, but even an unenthusiastic handgun shooter like me can see the sheer amount more variety on the shelves than there were back then. They’re lighter, they’re faster, they’re optics ready as a standard, and they all work as well as the next one. Even some of the higher-end designs are being cloned fairly well and coming down in price. Want a 2011 style gun? You don’t necessarily need to shell out $2000+ anymore (although you can still shop your way well beyond that). Want to carry it literally anywhere on your person? There’s about two dozen well respected holster makers that offer you enough options to keep you busy trying to decide where to put your gun on your person for years to come.

Do I wish it would slow down? Absolutely not. I might say that jokingly every once in while, but what I actually feel is a deep appreciation of how my chosen hobby is being handled. At the end of the day, several social and political situations in the world have driven more people towards firearms. Some of these folks came and went again as soon as things calmed down, but a lot of them stayed with the hobby. The industry hit a huge growth spurt, and it’s handling it extremely well. We can all nitpick and groan about certain practices and business dealings that are being done within the industry, but it’s obvious to me that we have a good thing going here. The creative minds that are driving this thing forward are obviously still avid participants in the culture, and we can connect with them in ways you don’t see in many other industries. They listen to us, and often times optimize their products for what we want to do with them.

So we can dream back about the days that may or may not have even existed when 9mm ammo was… free, I think. At least that’s how everyone talks about it. But that makes about as much sense as getting hung up on a time when gas was less than a dollar per gallon. The overall economy, material costs, relationships between superpowers, and backroom deals between billionaires that would make Lex Luthor and Dr. Evil feel bad for the populace have always and will always decide the final price of goods for you and I. One thing that we can appreciate though, is how the shooting industry has taken the recent interest and catalyst for growth, separated through the politics and social elements, and given us more in the past 5 or 10 years, than the last several decades. All while remaining largely American-based.

So I DO believe this to be the golden age of firearms. I DO believe that we have more access, support, and innovation in our culture than ever before. And I DO look forward to seeing where it’s going. I work so many hours in the back of a gun shop. I see it all, and despite that, when payday comes around, I STILL have a crisis about which of my many projects to put my money towards. Despite my complete consumer ADHD, the industry is still outpacing me, putting out more things that I want, quicker than I can pick them up. 

Nothing is without it’s flaws, and I definitely come across the same frustrations with some aspects of gun culture as everyone else, but for today, I’ve personified the industry as a whole into a singular being, and these were my overall thoughts. The world has definitely changed in the past several years, but for my small lane as part of the gun industry, good times, good training, good conversations, and new gadgets are never in short supply, at least for the moment.

Do you agree? Disagree? How long have you been active in the firearms culture? Let me know how you feel in the comments below, or email me at cj@fuquaygun.com