The estimated revenue brought in by the US gun and ammunition manufacturing industry in 2012, according to a financial report by the research firm D&B First Research based in Austin, Texas. The major manufacturers include Browning Arms, Freedom Group, Olin, Aliant Tech Systems, Sturm, Ruger & Company, and Smith & Wesson. The biggest companies are Ruger and Smith & Wesson, which represent about 30 percent of the industry.
Obama’s presidency has been a boon for gun makers, prompting industry analyst Jim Barrett to call the President “the best thing that ever happened to the firearms industry,” in an Associated Press interview. According to an October analysis from AP, Ruger’s sales have increased 86 percent since Obama took office; Smith & Wesson’s have gone up 41 percent.
