• 06/11/2025
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The Trouble with Tariffs: How is the Shooting Industry Coping?

New U.S. tariffs are shaking up the shooting sports industry in 2025. How are manufacturers and dealers responding to rising costs and political uncertainty? Two global experts share insights on how businesses can act wisely and find opportunities amid the crisis.

Written by David Guest

A shipping yard full of containers
Changes to tariffs have left international trading on uncertain footing in the first half of 2025.

Nobody ever said that running a business was easy. However, it might seem like businesses in the hunting and target sports industries have faced more than their fair share of challenges in recent years.

We’re used to adversity in the firearms industry. Our work is conducted against a backdrop of near-constant external pressure from policymakers, the media, and anti-gun groups. In recent times, the manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers of shooting and hunting products have had to face up to more acute difficulties.

After a pandemic, supply chain issues, multiple consumer confidence crises and several significant global conflicts, many businesses in our trade were hoping for a quiet, stable, and more predictable start to 2025. That hypothetical world was rocked by the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump, as he began rolling out a series of global trade tariffs designed to help rebuild the country’s manufacturing industry and redress the balance of trade deals with other nations that he perceived to be unfair.

These metaphorical headwinds behaved much like the real thing in the first quarter of 2025, blowing one way then another with tariffs being imposed, then paused, then changed, then imposed again. Navigating this storm has been demanding for everyone, but as Albert Einstein once quipped: “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

The shooting, hunting, and outdoor industries are resilient by nature – so, how are we coping? To find out, we spoke to two well-positioned global experts to give us a unique insight into Trump’s tariffs and what they mean for hunting and shooting companies.

 

Keep Calm and Carry On

“[How tariffs are affecting the global shooting industry] is a wide-ranging question and difficult to answer in just a few sentences, but one thing is clear: an increase in tariffs between nations is certainly not conducive to good business,” says Rob Smith, Editor of global business-to-business magazine Gun Trade World.

A headshot of Gun Trade World Editor Rob Smith
Gun Trade World Editor Rob Smith believes companies shouldn’t make any rash decisions.

“We all know the consequences, higher costs throughout the supply chain mean manufacturers and distributors are left with two options: absorb the cost or pass it on to the consumer. Both have downsides. The former squeezes margins, the latter can dampen demand. In some cases, rising costs may also lead to compromises in product quality or reductions in availability, especially where niche or precision components are affected.

“What’s arguably more damaging than the tariffs themselves is the volatility. Constantly shifting trade policies, sometimes changing week to week, make long-term planning extremely difficult. Uncertainty paralyses investment. No manufacturer wants to commit to building or expanding a facility in the US, for example, if there’s a risk the tariff landscape will be completely reversed six months later. For many in the shooting industry, this lack of predictability is as disruptive as the cost increases.”

The term uncertainty is probably one most of us are tired of hearing in this industry. When it feels like the trading landscape is shifting beneath your feet, it can be difficult to know what to do, as Rob says. Should you make rapid changes in order to remain agile, or try to wait it out in the hope that a more long-term approach will benefit your company? When it seems like all is crashing down around you – which may be how some are feeling – the need for calm is more poignant than ever.

“Based on conversations I’ve had with senior industry figures in recent weeks, the overarching message is: don’t make any rash decisions,” explains Rob. “The temptation in uncertain times is to overcorrect – relocating production, restructuring partnerships or exiting markets entirely. That kind of reaction can create more problems than it solves. Where possible, companies should seek flexibility in their supply chains and maintain open lines of communication with trade associations, who should know the latest news. It’s also worth remembering that tariffs are political tools and politics can change quickly. A change in leadership or a new trade agreement could make today’s challenges obsolete tomorrow.”

While tariffs may not directly appear to create opportunities, there are always positives to come out of any perceived negatives – especially if you adopt the calm and measured approach as prescribed above. The general idea behind these tariffs is to reset the way global trade works, meaning they could present an opportunity for your business to re-evaluate its own international strategy, as Rob concludes:

“There may be scope to strengthen relationships in non-traditional markets. For example, some companies may begin to look east rather than west, diversifying supply chains or exploring more favourable trade environments in Asia and Eastern Europe. In a market that has long been anchored to Europe and North America, that shift could have long-term implications. But the key word is caution, these are not decisions to take lightly, and they carry their own risks.”

 

A View from America

Views on the tariffs and how best to adapt to them are wide-ranging around the world. But what do those on the American side of the Atlantic make of things? As you would expect, the picture is also complex.

“Being a global company makes tariffs an extremely sensitive topic,” explains James Sellers, CEO of American firm Sellmark, which owns brands such as Sightmark, Inforce, Firefield, and BulletSafe. “We care very deeply about our customers because they are friends and partners and sometimes government tensions and geopolitical issues can get in the way of business. So, first and foremost, we are going to do everything we can to support our partners, supply chains, and customers.”

James Sellers on the Sellmark stand at IWA OutdoorClassics 2025
Sellmark CEO James Sellers is doing everything he can to support his customers and partners around the world.

Sellmark manufactures products both in the United States and overseas, it also sources materials and components from around the world in a bid to find the best quality at the best price for its customers. This puts it right at the heart of any changes to global trade tariffs.

“I understand that the US has been slipping in terms of manufacturing since the 1960s, and the desire to have more US manufacturing is well founded and necessary to address, but we can’t pivot as fast as we have needed to in the last few months,” James continues.

“One of the things that’s hard as a manufacturer is that our timeframes to change production are significant. So, if a country is suddenly no longer viable for doing the production that we need, it takes time to adjust. We manufacture products in Asia, Europe, and the United States, so we are diversified in that sense. But not every country is well situated to make the type of products that we need at scale. Right now, in the US, a lot of our strain is going to be materials and components that are made in a very low volume or with special types of material. It’s difficult to sometimes even find them in the United States, much less have someone work at the volumes we need.”

One action Sellmark has taken in recent months is committing to partnering with a host of stakeholders in the US to build an innovation centre in Mansfield, Texas called Verdexium that aims to help entrepreneurs get products on the market quickly and cost-effectively. Construction has started and the project is estimated to be completed in 2026. Making long-term decisions like this in a chaotic landscape has not been easy, but James reiterates that every decision made has been made with the interests of both Sellmark and its international partners and customers in mind.

“While I continue to support the intent of strengthening domestic manufacturing and addressing unfair trade practices, it’s important that we apply policy that strengthens our long term competitiveness. For example, many of our trusted suppliers are in NATO-aligned countries like the UK and Lithuania, and they play an essential role in supporting US and allied defence capabilities as well as law enforcement, hunting, and shooting products.

“You can’t move production overnight, but my hope is that this reset of global trade works out to be fair for all. I think there is real justification for why the United States needs to do this, but I hope we do it in a way that addresses the needs and practicality of the matter and gives us means and time to establish more domestic capability.

“As always, we’re hopeful that trade policy evolves in a way that balances national interest while protecting private companies like ours in hypercompetitive global markets.”

 

Stay informed

As highlighted by the global experts who contributed to this article, the subject of tariffs is a fluid one. Changes have been happening on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis – at the time of writing a federal court is attempting to halt or alter many of the tariffs being imposed by the Trump administration. The best thing you can do as a business is stay on top of the news and stay in close contact with your customers, suppliers, and national industry association – many of which are producing regular information and advice for companies at all levels of the chain. 

Author

David Guest
David Guest
IWA OutdoorClassics