*Gun sales: The Obama Effect* *By New Hampshire Union Leader (NH)* October 26, 2015
[image: Description: (File Photo)] <http://www.gopusa.com/news/files/2014/11/gun_dealer.jpg> (File Photo) In 2009, the first year of Barack Obama's presidency, the number of civilian firearms in the U.S. hit 310 million, according to the Congressional Research Service, exceeding the U.S. population for the first time. Gun sales have not slowed since. In 2013, the last year of official data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, there were about 357 million civilian firearms in the U.S. Responding to consumer demand, gun manufacturers have doubled their annual production, from 5.6 million in 2009 to nearly 11 million in 2013. Gun manufacturer stocks have given investors 300 percent gains in the past five years, according to Reuters. That's four times better than the S&P 500 over the same period. Gary Kleck, a criminologist at Florida State University, called it "the Obama effect" in an Oct. 4 interview with the Washington Post: "High-profile shootings and talk of changing gun laws motivates gun owners to get more guns, and perhaps some non-owners to get one 'while the getting is good,'" he said. Whatever the reason, there are a lot more guns in circulation, and a lot more people who are first-time gun owners. That shift has been accompanied by a surging interest in firearms training, according to the operators of training programs and firing ranges in the Granite State. The options range from one-man operators offering one-on-one instruction akin to personal training, to the full-scale classroom and field operations of the Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, and everything in between. Instructors at Sig Sauer, one of the largest firearms training centers in the country, have branched out to launch their own businesses. New firing ranges are opening up and classes are booked weeks in advance in many cases. Well-established sportsmen's clubs, like Pioneer Sportsmen in Concord, are seeing a surge in interest. Booked solid "We're booked solid," says Michael Briggs, a former president of Pioneer and a current director. "I remember when we were begging people to join, and now we have 50 on a waiting list." Briggs, a former instructor at Sig Sauer, started New England Tactical Firearms Training and Accessories, headquartered in Hopkinton, about 10 years ago and business has never been better. "There has been more interest lately," he said, as more people start to realize that some degree of training is an essential part of responsible gun ownership. "I've taught other things, like tennis," says Briggs, "and it seems that people who want to take up tennis instinctively know they need lessons, but with shooting, I found that people are mostly self-taught, or it was something that was handed down, especially with men." Ross Begnaud, one of the most qualified instructors at Sig Sauer (see related story, Page A9), likes to tell his students that, on average, the 300 million or more guns in circulation have only been fired eight times. That suggests a lot of guns are basically collectibles, but it also points out that a lot of people own guns who have never had shooting-range practice or even the most basic training in safe use and storage. Judging from the experience of shooting range operators in New Hampshire, the tide is turning. "The traffic has been very good," said Robert Boilard, owner of Defensive Strategies, which offers classes at Londonderry Fish and Game. "We have a class this weekend with 25 and it's full. It was full about a week ahead of time." Boilard sees the trend emerging from a growing number of gun owners and a growing awareness of the need for training if a gun is purchased for self-defense. "A lot of people who take these classes, especially basic pistol that we are offering this weekend, don't even own a gun yet," he said. "Some of them are taking it to get over their fears, and some to get information about what they should buy." New kind of ownership Boilard echoed the observation of many in the firearms business that self-defense has replaced hunting as the primary motivation for acquiring a weapon. While the state watches its revenue from hunting licenses decline, the self-defense industry is taking off. "The firearms market has changed over the past 20 years," said Boilard. "Twenty years ago, they were primarily for sport and hunting. Now they are being bought more for self-defense -- home and personal protection. The whole industry has switched." Defensive Strategies, launched with a couple classes a month, has grown from a one-man operation to five instructors and two training counselors who teach new instructors. "The largest growing sector of students is women," Boilard said. "Half our classes and in some cases more than half, are women -- women who want to learn how to protect themselves. We're also seeing people 80-, some 90-years-old, taking classes. The way the country is going is very unsettling. Nobody knows what's going to happen in the future and people are scared." Boilard and other firearms instructors agree that men are much harder to teach. "Guys think they were built for guns. 'I don't need a class, I've been shooting all my life.' We hear that all the time," he said. "If you've been shooting your whole life and haven't had any training, we have a lot of bad habits to break." Newest neighbor One of the newest entrants into the market, Granite State Indoor Range and Gun Shop in Hudson, celebrates its first anniversary in November. "There are quite a lot of new people to firearms," said Operations Manager Jack Leuchtner, also a former teacher at Sig Sauer. "We're finding that a lot of our weekend classes fill up quickly and that people will take a day off work for a Friday or Monday class. We are booked out two or three weeks right now." While some instructors and firing range owners cite an increasing interest among women, couples and seniors, Al Painchaud, director of the Sig Sauer Academy, sees the demographic changes in classrooms once dominated by men 25 to 45 as a matter of math. "The general population is more interested in the defensive use of handguns," he said. "So by pure statistics, there are going to be more women and elderly couples. There are a lot more students coming through here, that's for sure. We offer a lot more classes, so by default we see a lot of different people." Another shift has taken place, according to Painchaud, as handgun ownership has gone more mainstream. "It's become more socially acceptable to enjoy shooting and to talk about it, or to carry a concealed firearm," he said. That's not to say tension surrounding the debate on gun control has dissipated. The owners of the Manchester Firing Line on Brown Avenue, one of the most popular ranges in the region, declined to discuss their classes or customers. "We don't talk about guns outside this building," said the man answering the phone, who declined to be identified. __._,_.___ ------------------------------ Posted by: "Beowulf" <[email protected]> ------------------------------ Visit Your Group <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmazY2aGMwBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzE0NDU4ODE5Nzc-> [image: Yahoo! 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