Tips for retailers

How to profit from air rifle scopes

South Africa has experienced a boom in air rifle sales since the Arms and Ammunition Act was amended at the beginning of 2002 to remove the necessity of acquiring a licence for the 0.177 inch (or 4,5mm) calibre air rifles.

Embattled firearm enthusiasts turned to air rifles to pursue their hobby. Retailers who sell air rifles also do not need to be licensed as firearms dealers and opportunities have therefore opened up for sport and outdoor retailers to add air rifles and accessories to the range of products they offer. Retailers who stock these products can attract a different type of customer and therefore additional feet through their stores.

Air rifle scopes is one of these accessory categories that general retailers can add to their stock ranges.

"For retailers venturing into air rifle scopes for the first time it is important to play safe and select a reputable distributor selling a reputable brand," advises Jo van Lierde of VLT Arms, distributor of the Burris and Turbo ranges.

"Find out whether there are guarantees, and exactly what is meant by the guarantee. How good is the quality control, not only of the factory, but also of the distributor?

"Determine whether there is any after sales service. Ask about the quality of the components such as lenses. Where are the scopes manufactured? In most cases one will find that new manufacturers needs quite a long time to build up the required expertise."

Low quality products could could result in customers returning faulty products. "Beware of buying a cheap product," concurs Rod Price of Ronden Arms, who are sole agents and distributors of BSA Scopes.

"Don’t overstock, because technology changes fast," cautions Van Lierde. "Your customers are also educating themselves quickly and are very knowledgeable. They can’t be fooled. Stay in touch with them. Listen and learn from their experience."

Spring action

Contrary to what the layman might expect, a traditional spring action air rifle should not be fitted with a small and cheap scope. Price cautions that the unique reverse recoil of these rifles put more strain on a scope than fairly large calibre hunting rifles. He says: "If the scopes are not sufficiently shock resistant, the sensitive recticle can easily be damaged".

Van Lierde agrees wholeheartedly and says that the method of construction as well as the materials used is of the utmost importance. "One should explain to consumers that they should not fit a cheap scope to this type of air rifle", he says. "It is important that scopes are properly constructed. For instance, I believe that it is a good investment to use a mono tube type of construction, wherever feasible, because it is more resistant to shock".

It is important that the mounts be of a good quality to ensure that the scope stays in position and does not shift in the grooves. According to Van Lierde, cheap mounts can also cause damage to a scope during the fitment process, especially if fitted by a person with a lack of experience. "When scopes are mounted, the length of the rifle and the scope and the build of the owner should be kept in mind to ensure that the scope is positioned on the correct place on the receiver."

Van Lierde says that the fierce recoil of the air rifle necessitates the use of scopes with longer eyerelief. "If users have to bring their eye very close to the scope they can experience a nasty blow to the eye during the recoil," he says.

Rod Price points out that scopes should have adjustable objectives that focus down to 10 meters or less. "Air rifles are often shot at very short distances compared to other rifles. A scope designed to be used by other rifles, often cannot focus close enough to be compatible with air rifles", he says. According to Van Lierde, the parallax is also an area of concern. " Parallax should be set for a short distance such as 25 metres.

The shorter the distance, the more important it is to be set correctly for parallax. Also keep in mind that the more powerful the magnification of the scope, the more noticeable parallax problems will be".

Air rifles sales present a wonderful opportunity for retailers to extend their business, but similar to selling most other products, retailers should have a love for firearms and the shooting sport. A retailer selling air rifles should be an enthusiast, or become one, and actively involve himself with the sport in his area. This will present him with the opportunity of getting to know the potential customers, and to help them to enjoy the sport. Customers prefer to buy from someone who has helped them or gave them good advice in the past. This will also create opportunities to ensure growth in the sport, and consequently growth in their businesses.