NRA Convention Series - American Handgunner Magazine Publisher Roy Huntington Talks about Ammo and Firearms Supply

Much has been said about the shortage of ammunition. Rumors (and some verified facts) have been abundant about DHS and other federal agencies stockpiling ammo. During the NRA Annual Meeting held in Houston earlier this month, I talked to several industry insiders to try to information about what is happening to our ammo. One such insider is Roy Huntington, publisher of the Firearms Marketing Groups (FMG) gun magazines like American Handgunner.

Roy told me, and I confirmed this with several ammo manufacturers, that the reason there is a shortfall of ammunition is because of one thing - consumer binge purchasing. Yes, it seems we are hoarding ammunition and buying it faster than companies can make it. Every company I spoke with told me the same thing. They are producing all they can and civilian consumers are purchasing it like it was bottled water three days before a hurricane strikes.

Huntington and I duscussed serveral aspects of the firearms industry, including the current buying spree of firearms and ammunition. Huntington said there is a big difference during this buying spree from previous scenarios. "This is the first time I have ever seen the industry unify, literally as one voice, almost instantly ."

He explained how the impact of firearms manufacturers and industry associations like the National Sports Shooting Foundation (NSSF) helped to portray the industry and gun owners in a positive light. "Shooters and manufacturers arent demons of darkness," Huntington said. "Theyre just the same as Suzy Homemaker. Were just people. We have professions and were in an industry that is very pro-American and were not criminals." Huntington quoted NSSF President Steve Sanetti saying, "Its the criminal. Its not us!"

FMG publishes several gun related magazines in addition to American Handgunner. Those include, Guns, American Cop and Shooting Industry Magazines. They also produce several special edition "annual" magazines in addition to several training DVDs.

Huntington discussed the nature of the firearms industry as mainstream American small business. "We are an industry of small businesses," Huntington explained. "The majority are small start-up companies. They are out there employing people, paying their bills, producing products and supplying their dealers and grow to a million dollars or so in sales." He went on to talk about how the small companies have joined forces with the big companies to take on the firearms control measures put forward by the Democrats.

FMG has built its reputation on staying close to its readers. Huntington says he reads every email he gets from readers and responds to as many as he can. "Ive gotten a lot of new readers in the past years," Huntington said. "Thats a lot of first time gun buyers. What theyre reaching out for is basic knowledge, instruction videos and things like that." Huntington said they all tell me the same thing. "I was amazed to meet so many nice people. This wasnt what I anticipated the gun culture to be."

Huntington concluded the interview explaining the various magazines they publish and the target markets they address. All of these magazines are available for subscription, on newsstands and are published in digital editions online.

We are grateful to Mr. Huntington for his look at the firearms industry from his unique perspective. Please follow this series for more interviews from the NRA Annual Meeting.