How are your long-gun sales? Lackluster? Okay? Could be better?

According to top gun dealers, they should be robust.

"Our long gun sales are as strong as ever," said Lee Schmidt, co-owner of Midwestern Shooters Supply in Lomira, Wis. "There are always dips and plateaus in the market but the customers are still out there. They still have money. The trick is to get them into your store to spend it!"

While rifle and shotgun manufacturing has had its ups and downs over the past few years, the picture is not all doom and gloom. In 1999, there were 1,569,685 rifles made. You have to go back to 1982 when 1,622,890 were manufactured to find a higher number. In shotguns, 1,106,995 were made in 1999, down from a high of 1,254,926 in 1994. Yet the 1999 number still outdistances all other years going back to 1980.

That's a lot of rifles and shotguns. And someone is buying them.

"We sold 500 or 600 Leupold scopes last year, so that tells you the market is still there," said Schmidt, who has been in business for 30 years. "Here in the Midwest, hunting is natural and our customers participate to the fullest. Like anything, though, if you don't encourage it, your customer base can get stale. By keeping interest high with new products, on-going sales and a knowledgeable staff, customers stay excited and tend to return, again and again, to see what's new."

Gary Williams, product development manager for Leupold, offers an interesting fact about Leupold's products that provides a reading on the current market.

"We've been averaging over 1,000 catalog downloads a month from our Website. Not only does that tell us there is a high level of interest in our products, but it says the market is still strong. We're having a very good year and last year was also memorable," Williams said.

Package deals, such as Remington's Model 710 rifle and scope combo, which retails at about $400, offer price-point shopping and value for customers. Leupold is offering their VX-I series, Vari-XII scope at about $200 retail! These aggressively priced new products get solid play in the popular firearms press, and are heavily advertised by manufacturers.

After reading about them, many customers who are not heavily into the shooting sports are more comfortable spending this kind of money on simple products that will get them into the "game."

Market Trends

"One of my responsibilities is to monitor customer service inquiries," said Williams, of Leupold. "I'm constantly amazed at how quickly we get requests for information about the correct scope to mount on new rifles and shotguns, especially after the introduction of new calibers, like the (Winchester) .270 and 7mm Short Magnums."

The wave of new calibers has sparked a corresponding demand by the public. The short-action calibers demanded a new generation of lightweight, powerful rifles. Together, they seem to be irresistible to the shooters and hunters.

The introduction of a legion of new rifles and shotguns, such as Adco's Diamond Brand Shotguns; Henry's Golden Boy .22; Beretta's Model 391 Xtrema; Ruger's Gold Label Side-by-Side; Weatherby's Mark V Super Big Game Master; Charles Daly's Field-Grade rifles; Remington's Model Seven Short Action Magnum; Dan Wesson's Coyote Classic bolt gun; and Marlin's CBC (Cowboy Competition) in .38 Special, are all keeping dealers' doors swinging.

"The new rifles and calibers are definitely hot and buyers are very well "informed about them," Schmidt said. "We often have customers walk into the store with a printout under their arm with information from a manufacturer's Website. Along with being informed, our customers are not afraid to spend money on quality. From Kolpin, Browning and Boyt cases to other products, they want quality."

More and more dealers are limiting their long-gun inventories, often specializing in one or two brands. This makes it easier to have the product on hand when the customer walks in the door. Dealers also are realizing they are not in competition with the big-box marts. They're building inventories and offering services not available at the marts. This trend is growing and, to the surprise of many dealers, their businesses are flourishing because the limited selection and lack of knowledgeable customer service at the marts frustrates customers.

Turkey hunting continues to grow, and the'' guns and gear associated with it are more varied then ever.

"Turkey 'packages' are a good idea. Take a shotgun, add a quality scope or red dot sight, and display them with a call, camo and quality turkey ammo. It gets customers thinking, and can easily lead to questions -- and sales," said Matt Moxness, dealer services manager for ATK (formerly Blount SEG).

Accessories, Accessories

"Don't ask a customer if he needs ammo for that new rifle or shotgun. Ask him, 'How many boxes do you need?'" said Mike Jordan of Howard Communications, and former media relations manager for Winchester Ammunition. "When your customer buys a shotgun, take a moment to show what's new in shotgun ammunition. They may not realize some of the performance available with today's loads.

"Winchester's Partition Gold Sabot shotgun slugs are very hot sellers. We virtually tripled our manufacturing of them and still can't keep up with demand. At 1,900 fps, they offer .45-70 performance and trajectory, but in a shotgun!"

It's also important what you ask.

"Sure enough, if you ask a customer if they need help, they'll say, 'No, I'm just looking.' That was always my opening to hand them a manufacturer's brochure and say, 'Here, look at this,'" said Moxness.

Do you offer special orders on items not normally stacked on your shelf? If so, they can lead to other sales. Say you offer to order a single box of .338 ammo. When it comes in, the customer must return to your shop to pick it up. Now's the time to offer Mag-na-porting for that bruiser of a rifle, new mounts -- like those from B-Square -- or even a new stock from Boyd's Gunstocks. Regardless of the sale, most customers are comfortable if the add-ons don't total more than 25 percent of the cost of the main item.

"Think about offering a 10-percent discount on accessories purchased with a rifle or shotgun," says Moxness. "A trigger lock, like Outers' Gunlock, is an inexpensive natural. Look at rifle rests, new scopes, and reloading gear."

Ask. If you don't ask, you can't get the sale!

Get The Word Out

"My best advice, bar none, is to advertise," Schmidt said. "Don't be afraid to spend the money. We ran an ad for the new Beretta Xtrema and sold eight of them right off the bat. If you don't advertise, the public doesn't know you're there, doesn't know what you have, and can't spend money at your store!"

Weekly ads featuring just a handful of products can bring customers in the door. Accessories, such as Hogue after-market stocks, Ashley Outdoor sights, new mounts for lever actions, Integrated Marketing Solutions' Gun Gloves, and scope mounts such as Custom Quality Scope Mounts, can augment the main feature of the ad.

Direct mail flyers can work wonders and are a good way to update your customer mailing list. Flyers returned as "undeliverable" clears out the customers who have moved or changed their address, and frees-up room for new customers.

Use The Internet

"Every dealer should have their teenage kid tell them how new technology could help around the store," Williams said. "For instance, many of our dealers don't have Internet access in their shops. That can really hurt. For one thing, they can't easily access manufacturers' Websites for the most current product information and can't avail themselves of customer services available on-line. Leupold's Website offers current fit info on scopes and mounts. You simply select your customer's gun and scope combination and it gives you current info on mount fits."

Many dealers keep manufacturers' Websites on a "favorites" list on their store computer. This helps the sales staff quickly access a manufacturer's Website to answer a customer's questions, printout info, and send and receive questions and answers. In addition, they can receive consumer information on factory recalls, rebate forms and more.

Don't let a customer "one-up you" about a product line you carry. Few things are worse than a customer asking about a new product from one of the brands you stock, and you haven't even heard about it yet! Internet access can keep you up to date.

Gunsmithing Service

Many of today's customers need the services of a good gunsmith. From parts replacements to more complicated work, a top-quality, full-service gunshop can really make a name for itself by offering gunsmithing services. Word spreads quickly.