$100k to invest, what firearms related activity might have positive returns?

The smart answer is a diversified mutual or index fund.
But I would like to look at activities other than the day-to-day job to garner income. My dream would be to open a marksmanship center. But that would need millions and would mean taking on many political challenges to reach fruition.
Limitations are that I'm in Canada, so cross-border issues would be a major hindrance to any sort of manufacturing or ITAR related business.
One import-export related thing I could think of was getting Canadian Buckmark Carbines over to the UK as Buckmark seems to have stopped exporting them there and they were source stock for long pistol conversions.

I suspect. Just suspect mind you that it would be a lot like commercial fishing. When a commercial fisherman was asked what he was going to do with his 100,000.00 lottery winnings he replied " well, I guess I will keep fishing for as long as I can before it's gone"

Len

LenV wrote:I suspect. Just suspect mind you that it would be a lot like commercial fishing. When a commercial fisherman was asked what he was going to do with his 100,000.00 lottery winnings he replied " well, I guess I will keep fishing for as long as I can before it's gone"

Len

Wise words.

That's what, 75K in US dollars?

Fill a climate controlled warehouse with primers in anticipation of the next panic buy.

You seem to believe that Buckmark, a business capable of mustering very large amounts of funds, with a track record of success, a strong brand, with many smart employees analyzing the costs and returns of any business ventures and expansions, somehow left all manner of profit laying around when they stopped exporting to the UK.

Crazy suggestion here, but they did all the paperwork and entered the market, saw the losses or microscopic profit and decided to stop throwing away money!

Yet with a limited budget, experience, and manpower you feel you can profit where they could not?

If your goal is to own the most Buckmark carbines on the planet, then I predict great success!

Get some firearm teaching credentials or go to gunsmithing school or develop a small gun accessory that folks will want.  Start small with 10% of your full budget at most.  There is a reason that 90% of all startups fail within 2 years and you will need nine more tries before you have the business acumen you need to make it work.

I have almost always been self employed and have started many small things which failed and a few which succeeded very well and still keep me fed and a kid in college.  

Desire and money are not enough to make it. Experience in a specialized area that you have great knowledge in is your biggest asset, not your wallet.  You also need to financially survive failing and rise from the ashes a few times, so you can learn what works.

  Business experience as an owner is very valuable.  Business experience as an employee is often not, as you rarely see the larger picture. I would expect the guy that owns the business that cleans the windows of my store may have a better shot at running my business than the cashier that has worked there five years.  One understands how to ring up a sale, the other understands how money flows through a successful business.

Just some thoughts on the matter.  The funny thing about being successful is looking back at how and where you got started and thinking “ I would never be crazy enough to start this business now!”.  So even being a bit naive is also an asset, but if you can’t overcome it WAY before you open the doors, kiss your money goodbye!

willnewton wrote:You seem to believe that Buckmark, a business capable of mustering very large amounts of funds, with a track record of success, a strong brand, with many smart employees analyzing the costs and returns of any business ventures and expansions, somehow left all manner of profit laying around when they stopped exporting to the UK.

Large companies drop profitable ventures all the time because they aren't profitable enough, or they simply aren't profitable because of the overhead involved in being a large company.
When Britain changed their firearms laws, more than a few companies simply stopped selling there.
Another importing venture I was thinking about was making Canadian legal handguns out of handguns that are prohibited here because their barrels are too short. Some companies have done limited runs of Canadian complaint firearms. In carbines, the CX4 is now available as a non-restircted long rifle because Beretta added a couple of inches to the barrel. The CZ Scorpion is also now available in a non-restricted long barrel version. In pistols, Beretta sells the PX4 with a 4.25 inch barrel for the Canadian market. In the case of the CZ, a small distributor here was making money converting the firearms until another importer convinced CZ to produce the carbine directly and did all the work to get the new firearm homologated in Canada.
BTW, researching last night I found that after abandoning the market, Buckmark Carbines and Carbine to long pistol conversions are now available again. The conversions to long pistols (of many brands) are still mostly done by speciality shops and not the OEMs.

Your continuing research and application of your specialized knowledge of Canadian gun laws is an asset.  Niches and loopholes are indeed places to find profits that larger companies leave behind.  This type of thinking is how you will succeed.

 I don’t want to be all gloom and doom in my previous post, but the realities of startup ownership are harsh.   When someone proclaims how much they wish they could have my job, I always replied that I wish I could get paid every Friday like they do.

I went for a walk after that posting and thought about starting over and what would be appropriate funding for any startup.  I decided that the amount of $100 bills you could shove into a roaring fireplace without divorce or regret is the amount you should start with.

  If successful, you can always add more funds, if not, you can’t pull that money back out of the fire.  

How to make a small fortune in the firearms business is easy.




Start with a large one

I have a fairly significant investment in bullseye guns. The good news is most of them don’t depreciate much, and some seem to appreciate. The trouble from an investment view is the costs involved to sell. FFL and transfer fees, changing laws, etc. Difficult to justify economically, but definitely more fun the playing with my 401(k)

gregbenner wrote:I have a fairly significant investment in bullseye guns. The good news is most of them don’t depreciate much, and some seem to appreciate. The trouble from an investment view is the costs involved to sell. FFL and transfer fees, changing laws, etc. Difficult to justify economically, but definitely more fun the playing with my 401(k)

Truth is, my immediate plans are also to perhaps acquire 10k in firearms and pay off all my debts. MG2, MG5, small bore rifle, service rifle, and a boatload of ammo.
The 100k is in addition to all that.
It's going to be mighty fun to get the albatross of a rental property off my back.
Honestly, if my previous club wasn't so questionably run from a legal standpoint and the president (for life) not such a self sure jerk I'd have looked into helping the club out with a large sum of money.
There is a distinct lack of clubs in the area as far as I can tell. And particularly target competition focused. But beyond the red tape doing it well opening one has astronomical costs involved. The aforementioned club has taken more than a year and countless dollars and many hours of volunteer labour. Still not open as an active range.

If you could import 32 H&N wadcutters, in a reliable way, you'd probably have a very small money maker. No one wants to do the paperwork.

A boutique barrel shop. Different twist barrels for 52's, different calibers for 952's (38 super, 32acp, 32long) different barrels for 1911's (38 special, 32 etc etc) Ok, I may be projecting what I would like to do.

Len

Joe Morgan wrote:If you could import 32 H&N wadcutters, in a reliable way, you'd probably have a very small money maker. No one wants to do the paperwork.

Might have to try and find out the details from someone but I think the Canadian H&N importer gave up because it was too complicated.
I'm guessing I'd be limited to the Canadian market because exporting them again to the USA would be more headaches.

If I was going to drop something gun related, ammunition and shooting accessories. Maybe reloading supplies,.

Ammo is a tight market currently, it's a buyers market. That's subject to change with the next election cycle.

Slartybartfast wrote:

Joe Morgan wrote:If you could import 32 H&N wadcutters, in a reliable way, you'd probably have a very small money maker. No one wants to do the paperwork.

Might have to try and find out the details from someone but I think the Canadian H&N importer gave up because it was too complicated.
I'm guessing I'd be limited to the Canadian market because exporting them again to the USA would be more headaches.

 I seemed to have purchased them without too much difficulty.

But how much is on the other side of the border, can't say. There is only one gray market vendor in the states, as I understand it now.

If you really want to "invest", buy stock in a flourishing gun manufacturer, like Sig or Glock. Otherwise, you are just playing fast and loose with money.

remember as a retailer of firearms and ammo, profit margin will be slim

lyman1903 wrote:remember as a retailer of firearms and ammo, profit margin will be slim

+1, back in the late 70's I worked for a Sporting Goods business while working on my degree.  Firearms & ammo profits were non-existent and often used as a loss leader.  Where we made the money was on accessories.

There is always money in oil and there is always room for more oil options!!  .  
Come up with a great name (protect it) & marketing plan and you will make money.  You don't even need to come up with your own formula, just buy yourself 55gal drums of an industrial synthetic oil with the right properties ($500-1,500/55gal drum).  The oil supplier will test several existing oils to determine the best match.  Contract or set up your own small bottling operation and sell the oil direct online for $8-12 a 4oz bottle.  The oil supplier would know Contract bottlers to contact.

It doesn't have to be oil, think "Black Rifle Coffee", like we needed another coffee company, but it appears they are doing well.
- Dave