Our Community Grows

There is good news and cause for celebration in the firearms industry. Our community has been significantly expanded.

According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, nearly seven million Americans became first-time gun owners in 2020. It’s a striking number and a new record that makes up a significant portion of the nearly 18 million total background checks conducted throughout the year.

Volquartsen fans know that owning a firearm goes beyond simply having or buying another possession. Firearms ownership takes responsibility, dedication, and respect. It also becomes part of who we are as individuals and a reflection of our values.

Firearms ownership in America is deeply rooted in the country’s founding. The shooting sports have long provided families with a place to celebrate their heritage and bring their communities together. Most importantly, it is a deeply seated freedom enshrined in the Bill of Rights, United States Constitution, and practiced through the Second Amendment.

A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

With every novice gun owner, the veterans of the sport are presented with a new opportunity to share and embrace this deeply important freedom.

As a kid, I was introduced to firearms by my father and became familiar with them before I was old enough to handle one on my own. Long before I looked down the barrel of a rifle for the first time, I accompanied him to the range and learned about the philosophy behind his favorite past-time, which eventually also became one of mine. The skills I developed on the range and in the field—focus, discipline, respect, and much more—have translated to every other aspect of my adult life. He also taught me the two most important rules of gun ownership. The first: You can never have too many. The second: Refer back to rule number one.

Sharing this tradition is a wonderful obligation, especially knowing introduction to the sport will eventually lead to it being taught and passed along to others.

President Ronald Reagan once said that “freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction” and that “it is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people.”

As advocates for the Second Amendment and a community that thrives on our sacred freedoms, we should be grateful for the millions of new Americans who have decided to join us.

-Katie Pavlich