You guys that honestly believe, that hunters, as a group actually have any REAL influence on the market, are living in a dream world.
ALL the major hunting related companies are owned by huge conglomerates and the guns, ammo, camo, etc, etc, are small pieces of their overall program. They support, promote, produce and participate, only as long as it remains profitable.....PROFIT.
When, or if, the whole hunting/gun thing falls apart, most of these corporations will not miss a step on the path to annual profit.
The best example that I know of right now is Federal, arguably Americas largest ammunition producer. They have several ammo companies under the "Federal" brand and yet, they are a subsidiary of a huge corporation called "Alliant Technologies Corp".
The entire Federal division amounts to 8% of that company's portfolio. If it ALL went south tomorrow, that 8% will be absorbed by their next nuclear submarine contract.
Almost all of the products produced and imported into the US, are from European companies with HUGE military contracts and while American sportsmen are part of their program, we are not going to bankrupt them with the loss of our business.
I am not saying that there aren't companies that absolutely need our business, but for the most part, the big guys don't have all their eggs in OUR daypacks.
If you REALLY only wanted to support those that need us, you aren't going to find most of the stuff you want or need.
If you think you have an argument for this post, check out which companies have a strong Customer Service program. It won't be Beretta or Remington, compared to Ruger and it won't be Nikon, compared to Leupold or Bushnell.
Leica, Zeiss and Swarovski, produce optics for medical, military and industrial use and their "birdwatcher" market far outsells what American hunters purchase.
The main reason most of these companies have such a good product is because their R&D divisions are funded by government military contracts.
The products we hunters end up with, are pretty much like the donut holes left over from a bakery.