Click here to download the catalog as a PDF file. To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. Carolee Anita Boyles During the summer, your store doesn’t have to be deserted. You can draw crowds, like this one at Sprague Sports in Yuma, Ariz., by carefully timing your promotions. These dove hunters are lined up to make purchases at a July promotion, even though dove season doesn’t start until Sept. 1 in Arizona. DUMP THE SUMMER SLUMP SUMMER SLUMP your friends, Halls says. “When you buy ads on TV stations, they’re no longer vehemently anti-gun because they’re getting paid by us,” Hall said. Think you can’t create a television ad? Fortunately, you don’t have to. “The NSSF has a wonderful TV spot we use for long-gun sales,” Hall said. “It features Doug Koenig — who is a real talented shooter — and it shows the energy and the excitement of deer hunting. It’s a great commercial to promote long guns.” Here Are Six Tips To Keep Your Long Guns And Accessories Moving! I n the gun business, summer often means a slump. Hunters generally aren’t making many purchases, long-gun and accessory sales are in the pits and your bottom line looks like it’s six feet under. “For us, summer is when sales are really at a low point for long guns and accessories,” said Miles Hall, owner of H&H Gun Range in Oklahoma City, Okla. What can you do to make the most of long-gun and accessory sales during slow periods? Different retailers take different approaches, but they all have the same goal: To promote long guns and accessories in their stores to create sales. Tip #1: Television Is Your Friend. “You’d be amazed how inexpensive television advertising can be,” Hall said. “And if you have a consistent presence on the tube, it brings a lot of legitimacy to what you do. There are a lot of TV stations that are pretty negative about guns. But they have to pay for their high-dollar anchors, so they need advertisers.” Buy TV ads and you make the stations www.shootingindustry.com MARCH 2008 29