Firearm Sales Charted by Region — Southeastern and Mountain States Lead Rifle Purchases
The National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) has issued an interesting report charting gun sales by region. Southerners like handguns, and those in the Great Lakes states purchase the most shotguns by far. In 2008, southern Atlantic states led per capita in handgun purchases and also accounted for 31.4 % of all handguns bought in the United States. East north central states led per capita in shotgun purchases and accounted for 33.4 % of shotguns sold.
The Mountain states led per capita in rifle purchases and accounted for 10.7 percent of rifles sold. But the South Atlantic states’ residents buy the most rifles overall — 22% of the nationwide total. It is interesting that the Pacific states (California, Oregon, Washington) encompass 14.7% of the U.S. population, but that region accounts for only 10% of rifles and shotguns sold. On the other hand, Pacific states’ residents buy 14.2% of all handguns, the second highest figure among regions. Maybe all those crazy gun control laws in California haven’t made things any safer, and people feel the need to arm themselves.
What may be surprising is that there is a “new audience” of Americans who are buying firearms for the first time. Gun vendors are reporting a major increase in firearm purchases by novice shooters and first-time gun-owners. According to a recent article on the 
The National Shooting Sports Foundation’s SHOT Show wrapped up Sunday in Orlando with strong attendance and a cautiously optimistic outlook for the coming business year. Though many trade shows have seen a decline in attendance, SHOT Show attendance increased 3% when compared to its last visit to Orlando in 2007, and was down just 6% when compared to last year’s record-breaking show in Las Vegas. According to preliminary figures, this year’s show attracted 25,384 attendees, 22,098 exhibiting personnel and a record 1,425 members of the media for a total attendance of 48,907.
