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Economic impact surveys by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Agencies (Southwick Associates), The National Shooting Sports Foundation and others indicate that the hunting and shooting sports market generates in excess of $30.9 billion of economic activity annually. This activity supports more than 986,000 jobs. These 986,000 jobs account for less than 1 percent of all U.S. Employment, but represent more people than are employed in Wyoming and West Virginia combined. More people are "employed by the shooting sports" than work in cities such as San Francisco, Kansas City, Portland, Orlando, or Fort Worth. |
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According to the National Sporting Goods Association, there are 31.9 million hunters and recreational target shooters in the nation. These sportsmen and women spend some $5.5 billion annually on equipment, including firearms, ammunition, bows, arrows, clothing, reloading equipment, optics, and accessories. Hunters and target shooters spend an additional $5.2 billion on trip related expenses annually. |
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There are more than 1,100 manufacturers, 100 distributors and 14,000 retailers in the United States whose business is totally or largely dependent on the hunting or recreational shooting market, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation. |
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The following comparisons are provided to help put in perspective the economic significance of the sporting firearms and ammunition industries and related activities. |
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In the few minutes it takes to review this report, the nation's hunters and shooters will generate enough economic activity to support eight jobs. |
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Each day, the firearms and ammunition industry, and related hunting and shooting activities, generate enough economic activity to support 1,640 jobs. |
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Hunting and shooting related industries employ more people than all Sears stores. |
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The $30.9 billion in economic activity generated by the hunting and shooting sports industries exceeds the annual sales of companies such as Coca-Cola, Anhueser Busch, Mcdonalds, Home Depot, Johnson & Johnson, Caterpillar Tractor, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Hewlett Packard, RJR Nabisco and scores of other highly recognizable "Fortune 500" companies. |
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The blockbuster movie Titannic grossed $376 million in 9 weeks. The hunting and shooting sports generate that much in just 4 days. |
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The entire motion picture industry gross revenue from theater admissions is about $5 billion, annually-the firearms and ammunition industry and related activities generate that much in two months. |
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More than 21 million Americans participated in shotgun, handgun and rifle target shooting activities in 1996. That's over three times as many people who played racquetball during the same period, more than twice as many who take part in water skiing, and is roughly the same number of people who played golf. |
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Hunting and target shooting activities employ more people than Chrysler, Phillip Morris, United Parcel Service, and Ford combined. |
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The sporting and firearms ammunition industry proposed, and actively supported, enactment of an 11 percent excise tax on sporting long arms and ammunition to fund wildlife conservation programs. These taxes currently raise in excess of $155 million annually for wildlife management and habitat acquisition and improvement programs. More than $3 billion has been raised for conservation since these taxes were enacted. |
| *Source: SAAMI (Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute 1998 Report) | |
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