XS Category Report: January - February 2018

Last year was a rollercoaster of a year for the firearms industry. Thank you all for your commitment to the NRA during the ever changing condition of the industry and political atmosphere.  In 2017, our XS Recruiters sold over 17,500 memberships, several thousand more than 2015!  We are experiencing long term growth, thanks to all the members you recruited.

Thank you to our top 5 Recruiters. Turner’s Outdoorsman recruited the most members with 11,201 members! Shoot Straight was second with 3,056, followed by Chuck's Gun Shop with 1,458, GAT Guns with 606, and Target World of Pennsylvania with 457.

It is vital that Recruiters continue to share successful methods of member recruitment. John Riggio of Chuck's Gun Shop is always willing to share what he is doing to bring in more members. He uses the NRA magazine as a conversation starter. While a customer is waiting for his or her background check, John hands them a magazine to pass the time. This often leads to a conversation about NRA membership. Events are also a great way to sign up new members. Green Top Sporting Goods had their 70^th anniversary this year and used this opportunity to sign up members at their big anniversary event.

Now that we have endured the sharp change to the industry, we are better suited to succeed in this new environment. Our focus is on long term growth and we are continuing to see our membership swell. In 2017, we saw encouraging signs in regards to legislation and we look forward to seeing beneficial results in 2018. These legislative and judicial victories won in 2017 and the battles to come in 2018 are direct examples of what the NRA is doing to restore the Second Amendment. As you know, midterm elections are this year. As conversations about politics may arise, remember to stress the importance of the NRA in these elections and use these moments to sign up new members. Thank you again for all you do, I am grateful to be working with each one of you. 2017 was a year of learning and a year of growth. Let’s build on 2017 and continue to restore the second amendment as we go into 2018.