When Tactical Really Means Tactical
When strategizing sales, something that must not be overlooked is the group of gun buyers who are tactical by profession. When law enforcement officers, security contractors, or military personnel talk about ‘tactical’ guns
and accessories, they are not playing around. They’re not out in tree stands waiting
for a big buck, they’re not in Multi-Gun tournaments hoping for a good score, and
they’re not in the backyard with the guys shooting cans.
While many military accessories have spilled over into the civilian market, those
who depend on the guns and gear to save lives (and take lives, if necessary) remain
a significant buying force and will demand only the best that money can buy. They
don’t have the luxury of stopping back at the store if something breaks or isn’t quite
what they need. They have a job to do, and, in their workplace, lives are always on
the line.
There is a split in the tactical market that has been slowly widening. It can be
seen best at the SHOT Show, where the Tactical/LE section of the show, always full
of new and exciting product, seems to be drifting back toward catering to the tactical
professional while civilian shooters are seeing tactical-based guns and gear show up
in the main firearms and hunting sections of the show floor.
Both sides of the tactical market remain strong, but be prepared to see
the gap between them widen over the next few years.
Hilariously, she finally mum-
bled that it was “a shoulder
thing that goes up.”
“No,” the host replied. “It’s
not.”
Tactical Strikes Back
Demand for tactical rifles remained high during the
AWB, went through the roof
when the ban expired in 2004,
and then spiked yet again in
2008 when
it became
apparent
that Barrack Obama
would be the next
president. Various threats to
renew the AWB
keep demand
strong, though for a while it
looked like the biggest obstacle to their acceptance
within the shooting community was going to
be other shooters
Circle 018 on Reader Service Card
FNH SCAR 16S — Available in black and
desert tan, this modular carbine is equally
at home with US Special Forces (in full
auto) or with civilian competitive and rec-
reational shooters.
who insisted that military-based guns had
no place in the gun cabinets of civilian gun
owners. (Most of these critics then turned
back to their bolt-action 30-06s and semi-auto .308s and never realized the irony…)
Even as sales of all things tactical
have taken off, though, the question of exactly what to call them has come up again
and again. In 2007, the highly regarded Jim
Zumbo wrote about tactical hunting rifles
on his blog, calling them “assault rifles” and
“terrorist rifles” and pointing out “to most
of the public, an assault rifle is a terrifying
thing.” He concluded by calling for them to
be banned from hunting. His comments
cost him dearly, as the backlash against his
position was immediate and overwhelming.
Even while many traditionalists continue to look down their noses at the new
breed of tactical guns, that new breed has
spread beyond the relatively small circle of
collectors and competitors who formed the
core of the early adopters and has exploded into the mainstream. There are many
factors driving this expansion, but one of
them is the same thing that propelled bolt-actions and semi-autos into the mainstream
years ago.
“The military has a huge influence on
what we hunt and compete with,” says Larry
Weeks of Brownells. “Much like the custom
bolt-action boom after the First World War,
