W ith 2021 in full swing, what trends have emerged? Last year the industry saw record sales on everything — guns, ammunition, accessories — and a huge uptick in people seeking training. Consumer demand has continued to increase since then to truly unprecedented levels. With the current political regime promising new gun-control laws more draconian than we have ever seen in this country, the surge in purchases show no signs of slowing. All of these ingredients lead many to wonder if companies will spend any resources developing new products. Colion Noir, a Second Amendment advocate who’s well known for his YouTube channel believes these “new buyers will stifle innovation. Don’t expect a ton of new products from gun companies this year. They’re struggling to generate products, which has pushed any innovation we might have seen from them to the side.” WHAT THE MARKET IS ASKING This isn’t to say we won’t see anything new, however. Products nearing completion or ones funded partially by government contracts will most likely continue. Leupold took slide-mounted pistol optics to a new level with the DeltaPoint Micro, giving shooters the option to use a red dot on handguns that aren’t milled to mount a red dot. KelTec pushed out the new P50 — turning heads due to its unusual design — chambered in 5.7x28mm. (It’s another 5.7 entry to the ever-growing list that has gained popularity within the last year.) I suspect as the year progresses the firearms industry will finally give us more of what many of us have been asking for in two key areas of the personal defense market: easy-to-use handguns and high-capacity, ultra-compact handguns. In the past few years, Smith & Wesson’s M&P Shield 380/9mm EZ won over a vast 40 Shooting Industry April 2021
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