LAS VEGAS—Record sales made the first year of the second Trump administration a profitable one for the nation’s $92 billion firearms industry, but the potential for federal regulatory rollbacks in its second year could provide manufacturers and retailers with long-term assurances they need to thrive.
That is why state lawmakers need to act fast, South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden said, calling on Republicans in state capitols nationwide to “seize the opportunity ... right now with [President Donald] Trump” in the White House to adopt bills that protect gun owners’ rights.
He said South Dakota has “taken the lead” by adopting a bill that bans “coding firearms.”
According to him, there is an opportunity right now, before the midterm elections, to “move the needle” on such issues as deregulating suppressors and interstate firearms commerce.
The Trump administration has not been as aggressive in addressing firearms reform as it has been in other realms, but White House counsel David Warrington said that that is about to change.
He noted that U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is at the annual show, which is projected to draw more than 55,000 industry executives and sales staff from all 50 states and more than 126 countries to tour 2,800 vendors offering wares on “13.9 miles of aisles” sprawled across 19 acres on the Las Vegas Strip.
Among changes expected to be forwarded by the administration in 2026 include proposals to ease private gun sales, ship firearms interstate via mail, export firearms overseas, trim fees for licensed retailers, and change the 4473 Form used when purchasing a firearm by simplifying it and requiring applicants to list their biological sex at birth.
President Donald Trump recognizes that gun owners are among his most ardent supporters, Warrington said, noting that the president checks with him and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, who leads the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division’s Second Amendment group, to ensure that gun owners’ rights are secure and to ask about initiatives to further strengthen them.
Industry in Demand
There are more than 10,000 U.S. companies that manufacture, distribute, and sell firearms, ammunition, and hunting equipment. They directly employ nearly 151,000 people and generate an additional 232,327 supplier/ancillary jobs, earning more than $26 billion in wages while contributing $91.65 billion in activity to the nation’s economy in 2024, the National Shooting Sports Foundation documents in its Firearm and Ammunition Industry Economic Impact Report for 2025.That is more than four times as much as the $19.1 billion it generated in 2008, the foundation stated, noting that the industry’s average $68,300 annual salary is above median workforce ranges and that the industry and its employees paid nearly $11 billion in local and state taxes and $941.8 million in excise taxes to the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Fund in 2024.
The industry has been boosted by millions of new gun owners over the past five years who have undergone review on the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, although the number of background checks—which are indicators, but not verified documentation, of sales—declined by 4 percent to 14.6 million in 2025 from 15.38 million in 2004, the foundation documents.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said her state has targeted firearms manufacturers because they produce quality products and pay employees well with benefits. She offered advice to companies unhappy with the regulatory environment they are now in, such as those in leading firearms manufacturer states such as California.
“First thing, operate in a red state,“ she said. ”One of the reasons is blue states make so many regulations.”
She said manufacturers are “looking for a new place to go” where development codes are manageable, energy is available, and the industry is appreciated.
“Arkansas is a red state,“ Sanders said, noting that it is third in the nation in per capita industry impact. ”It is the best red state. The only reason we aren’t number one is so many people in Arkansas are buying these products and keeping them in-state.”
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said his state’s economic development agency receives “three to six” calls per week from firearms manufacturers about relocating to Montana. He said he recently heard about a company having issues with Colorado regulations that “cold-called” the agency.
“I have a simple pitch: ‘Come back to America,’” he said, noting that Montana has used this line in a marketing video.
The biggest obstacle to the industry’s growth, the governors agreed, is the lack of an available workforce with skills in needed crafts such as Computerized Machining Center operators, welders, and gunsmiths. All the governors touted state programs that link companies with high school and community college vocational education programs.
