A lot can happen in ten years

It was just a little over ten years ago the news was U.S. Handgun Production Dives 52%:

The American handgun market has dropped off so steeply that some industry experts worry that it may never fully recover.

Observers and critics cite a number of factors for the decline, including tougher rules for buying handguns, the revulsion caused by workplace and school shootings and the possibility that Americans already own all the guns they want.

The handgun business is “a dying industry,” said Cameron Hopkins, editor in chief of American Handgunner magazine.

Combined production for domestic and overseas handgun sales tumbled 52 percent between 1993 and 1999, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Industry experts foresee more rough going in the future for the country’s 50 handgun manufacturers.

Handgun imports also are way down, ATF figures indicate.

Of course a big share of the production “dive” was the boycott of Smith and Wesson the previous year. But still those were dark days for the industry and for gun rights.

We are “riding high” now but in ten years things could change again if we do not keep pushing as fast and as hard as we can in the proper direction. Liberty is always unfinished business.

See also Quote of the day—Tom Diaz from earlier today.

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2 thoughts on “A lot can happen in ten years

  1. I still haven’t forgiven Smith and Wesson for that little thing they did. I never actually saw an apology and what they did was down right despicable and was the equivalent of throwing private owners under the bus. Especially given all the other problems in the legislative arena at the time.

    Sure the company that bought them renounced it, but I’m one of those that believe in voting with my wallet. Trust once lost is very difficult to regain. The destroyed a lot of trust and I haven’t seen actions that cause me to believe they have earned it back

  2. Just be sure you boycott Colt and Ruger while you’re not forgiving the past sins.

    That dwindling handgun market hit a gun that is among my favorites; the Anaconda. The Mustang has returned, will the Cobra, Python and Anaconda? I hope so.

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