Just How Big Is The Shooting Industry Anyway?

By Tom Knighton

The firearm industry isn’t considered to be as big a factor in American economics as, say, the auto industry or Silicon Valley. It’s thought of as a niche market with little influence on the economy.

While it’s not likely to become a driving force in the American business world, we now have a glimpse as to just how important shooting is to the economy.

A just-released “Target Shooting in America: An Economic Force for Conservation” report [PDF] from Southwick Associates estimates U.S. target shooters pay $14 million a day in taxes—enough in state and local levies throughout the year to fully underwrite the employment of 46,000 firefighters. “The total $16.9 billion spent on target shooting adds $19.5 billion to our country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). These expenditures provide for 329,000 jobs and generate $2.9 billion in federal tax revenues and $2.3 billion in state and local taxes,” it explains. Total daily economic impact is $46 million.

The study found participation in the sport is up 28 percent since 2001, with more than 50 million taking aim at a target at least once a year. Twenty million of those enthusiasts spend an average of 20 days annually …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms