Industry Notes

PIERRE, S.D. — Have gun, will travel -- even if the economy's shot.

Sales by firearm and ammunition manufacturers were up 5.1 percent in the second quarter of 2008, led by a 14.2 percent increase in ammunition sales and a 9 percent rise in handgun sales, according to the firearm industry's best economic indicator.

For the third quarter of 2008, the Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. reported net sales of $41.8 million and earnings per share of $0.02, compared with sales of $31.9 million and a loss per share of $(0.03) in the third quarter of 2007.

According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Section will be extending its hours of operation on the day after Thanksgiving. The NICS Section will be available on Nov. 28 at 6 a.m. EST. The NICS Section will return to its regular hours on Nov. 29.

DENVER — John Faulkner and his wife, Brenda, thought Wednesday was a good day to buy a handgun. 'I'm 37 years old, and this is the first time in my life that I am really scared for our future,' said Faulkner, an oil field worker, as he perused the collection of weaponry in A Pawn Shop.

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Salt Lake Tribune reports, 'As polls and pundits in recent weeks increasingly pointed to the election of Barack Obama as the next president, scores of Utahns flocked to gun stores.'

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 -- The following is from an Op-Ed article by Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, that was published in The Washington Times:In speech after speech, Barack Obama has claimed he would 'uphold the Second Amendment.' Mr. Obama, of course, is a polished speaker who says 'words matter.' But records matter more. And while Mr. Obama is short on experience on most issues, he's long on anti-gun votes and even longer on rhetoric. ...

MINNEAPOLIS — Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) has received a total of $88.5 million in new medium-caliber gun and ammunition orders. These orders are in addition to the previously announced $53 million contract to produce Mk19 Mod-3 Grenade Machine Guns. The orders were received from a variety of domestic and international customers.

Here's a brief synopsis of what the president-elect's www.Change.gov website says the Obama/Biden transition team is working on:

The National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers has named Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. the Firearms Manufacturer of the Year award for the second year in a row.

NEWTOWN, Conn. -- The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) - the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry - issued the following statement in response to study results from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), released by the North Dakota Department of Health, showing no evidence that lead or 'traditional' ammunition pose any health risk to those who consume game harvested meat:

Buckeye Firearms Association: Much has been said on www.buckeyefirearms.org about the shortcomings of John McCain on the gun issue, and it is clear that his weaknesses among this voting block had an effect on this election. Around 52% of American voters have selected a man the NRA has described as the most anti-gun candidate in history to be our next President.