Southwick Associates, a Fernandina Beach, Fla.–based market research and economics firm specializing in the hunting, shooting, sportfishing, and outdoor-recreation markets, released what it says are the top brands for many hunting- and shooting-product categories in 2015. This list was compiled from internet-based surveys completed in 2015 HunterSurvey.com and ShooterSurvey.com panels.
Midsouth Shooters Supply looked over Southwick’s product-category winners and assembled the 10-most-popular category winners for 2015:
Reloading Components
Top Reloading Bullet Brand: Hornady
Top Reloading Primer Brand: CCI
Top Reloading Powder Brand: Hodgdon
Ammunition
Top Shotgun Ammunition Brand: Winchester
Top Rifle Ammunition Brand: Federal
Top Handgun Ammunition Brand: Winchester
Top Blackpowder Brand: Pyrodex
Shooting Equipment
Top Scope: Leupold
Top Muzzleloader: CVA
Top Holster/Ammo Belt Brand: Blackhawk
In a previous survey of people who said they reloaded, 88 percent cited “saving money” as the key reason. The survey, conducted in September 2015, said that “improving accuracy” was the second largest interest of handloaders at 70 percent. “Obtaining rounds difficult to find in stores” came in third with 40 percent, and “reducing waste” was cited as a reason by only 30 percent. Survey participants could choose more than one reason.
Of the types of ammunition reloaded, 76 percent reload rifle ammo, 64 percent reload for their handguns, and 30 percent reload shells for their shotguns.
“Over time, ammunition can be the most expensive aspect of recreational shooting, so it makes sense that avid shooters see reloading as a way to cut costs without cutting time at the range,” said Rob Southwick, president of Southwick Associates. “Of course, a key byproduct of saving money through reloading is a person also becomes more knowledgeable about their firearm’s performance and can even potentially achieve better performance by fine-tuning a specific load to their firearm.”
You can participate in the surveys at HunterSurvey.com and ShooterSurvey.com.
How do these survey results stack up, in your opinion?
