Top Selling Handguns By State

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94045

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I noticed a top sellers list made by surveying the top dealers in my state.
Article was published 1/15/2020.

Alabama
15. Springfield XD Mod 2 9x19mm
14. Ruger LCP II
13. Springfield Hellcat
12. Glock G43
11. S&W Bodyguard .380
10. Glock G48
9. S&W Shield .380 EZ
8. Glock G45
7. Ruger LCP
6. S&W 642
5. S&W Shield M1.0 9x19mm
4. Sig P320 9x19mm
3. Glock G19X
2. Taurus G2C
1. Sig P365

I thought it was kind of interesting seeing how well the Shield 1.0 and LCP are holding up on the market against the newer generation. I've got to think price is playing a role in that. However people who prefer a less abrasive surface on a carry pistol or a heavier longer pull on a pocket pistol might figure into it as well.

I will say that when going to a Big Box Sports that the customers I see seem to only shop pistols $300 and down. Going to the Super High Volume LGS seems to give a much more diverse clientele. To be honest the people at the BBS routinely pay 20-50% more for the same item. Once in awhile they will have something on special that makes sense but it's rare. I think the guys that buy the more expensive items tend to be more informed shoppers.
 
Compact/carry handguns are the red hot market now. I swear, my latest issue of Handgunner had so many newly introduced poly-striker carry gun articles in a row I lost track of which was written about what.

I guess I shouldn’t read when I’m tired o_O.

:cuss:In Ca we have that retarded “safe gun approved list” the DOJ keeps up in Idiotville..uh, er Sacramento.. so guns not on the list can’t be sold to the general public. If the public can’t buy one, they (obviously) won’t sell well here at all.

Stay safe.
 
94045 said:
I noticed a top sellers list made by surveying the top dealers in my state.
Article was published 1/15/2020.

Alabama
15. Springfield XD Mod 2 9x19mm
14. Ruger LCP II
13. Springfield Hellcat
12. Glock G43
11. S&W Bodyguard .380
10. Glock G48
9. S&W Shield .380 EZ
8. Glock G45
7. Ruger LCP
6. S&W 642
5. S&W Shield M1.0 9x19mm
4. Sig P320 9x19mm
3. Glock G19X
2. Taurus G2C
1. Sig P365

I thought it was kind of interesting seeing how well the Shield 1.0 and LCP are holding up on the market against the newer generation. I've got to think price is playing a role in that. However people who prefer a less abrasive surface on a carry pistol or a heavier longer pull on a pocket pistol might figure into it as well.

I will say that when going to a Big Box Sports that the customers I see seem to only shop pistols $300 and down. Going to the Super High Volume LGS seems to give a much more diverse clientele. To be honest the people at the BBS routinely pay 20-50% more for the same item. Once in awhile they will have something on special that makes sense but it's rare. I think the guys that buy the more expensive items tend to be more informed shoppers.
Click to expand...
Where was this published? Does it show data for other states?
 
No surprise cheap and easy to carry sell,

I guess that old saying that carrying a gun shouldn't be Comfortable but comforting is being rejected nowadays.
 
Probably not so much rejected but the practical reality is that newer carriers might not carry at all if it were too uncomfortable. Everyone has their limits. Mine seems to be about 1" width, 26-28 ounces for comfort and concealment. If I want to go heavier I need perry suspenders :)
 
unclenunzie said:
Probably not so much rejected but the practical reality is that newer carriers might not carry at all if it were too uncomfortable. Everyone has their limits. Mine seems to be about 1" width, 26-28 ounces for comfort and concealment. If I want to go heavier I need perry suspenders :)
Click to expand...
May also have to do with the current hysteria of seeing a gun. Smaller and lighter = easier to conceal.
 
With lightweight polymers, you don’t have to choose between comfortable and comforting in the same way as 25 years ago. I didn’t grow up with Glocks, so my notion of comforting still makes me have to choose.
 
94045 said:
I thought it was kind of interesting seeing how well the Shield 1.0 and LCP are holding up on the market against the newer generation. I've got to think price is playing a role in that. However people who prefer a less abrasive surface on a carry pistol or a heavier longer pull on a pocket pistol might figure into it as well.
Click to expand...

Price matters but they're also good guns. I own both. I got my Shield before there was a 2.0 version or the newer tiny double stacks. I still like it well enough that I don't feel compelled to spend $400 or more just to add 3-4 rounds of magazine capacity that will almost surely never make any difference, and it's proven to be super reliable. My LCP was a more recent purchase and I chose it over the LCP II because it's a bit better size and I liked the trigger better.

The thing that surprises me on that list is the Taurus at #2.
 
unclenunzie said:
Mine seems to be about 1" width, 26-28 ounces for comfort and concealment. If I want to go heavier I need perry suspenders :)
Click to expand...

If you disregard the grip panels and controls I don't know that everyone was that much different 35 years ago. The .38 Super LW Commander certainly got more belt time than the .45 ACP Combat Commander.
 
That's a lot of little plastic guns. Puzzled how something like the Hellcat, out for only a couple of months last year, can be a "top seller."

Would like to know how many dealers were surveyed, and were they all dedicated gun shops, or big box sports/outdoor retailers.
 
IdaD said:
The thing that surprises me on that list is the Taurus at #2.
Click to expand...

Data is data, as corruptible as anything else.

If this data were truly generated by data from the largest dealers in AL, you should expect to see a lot of oddities which may not be 100% consistent with overall buying trends. The promotions and internal incentives bigger retailers offer, as well as their volume and margin ratios will quite often skew their sales compared to the overall market and the bulk of smaller dealers.

Equally, there’s a certain type of buyer which makes their firearm purchase at a bigger dealer rather than a smaller shop - most typically the less familiar, less knowledgeable folk. So they walk in because they want a gun, there’s a promotion on a model which looks just like the others and the clerk pushes it to them because it’s lower priced and “just as good,” because he’s fighting for a monthly sales incentive, and bango, we see disproportionately bloated sales of less popular models.

“Cheap” does always sell, but it also sells much faster at big firearms dealers than smaller ones. When the Cabela’s opened in KC, they couldn’t keep Kel-Tec’s on the shelves, but a G19 would collect dust for months.
 
94045 said:
If you disregard the grip panels and controls I don't know that everyone was that much different 35 years ago.
Click to expand...

The boom of the 380 micro pistol and the pocket 9mm’s weren’t a thing 35 years ago, but they’re driving forces in most firearms companies today. Equally, concealed carry was far, far less common in the US, with less than 25% of the current states allowing CC even 20yrs ago. You might not have changed what YOU carry, the fact you do carry, or how you carry, but most of the US has.
 
IdaD said:
The thing that surprises me on that list is the Taurus at #2.
Click to expand...

Varminterror said:
Data is data, as corruptible as anything else.

If this data were truly generated by data from the largest dealers in AL, you should expect to see a lot of oddities which may not be 100% consistent with overall buying trends. The promotions and internal incentives bigger retailers offer, as well as their volume and margin ratios will quite often skew their sales compared to the overall market and the bulk of smaller dealers.

Equally, there’s a certain type of buyer which makes their firearm purchase at a bigger dealer rather than a smaller shop - most typically the less familiar, less knowledgeable folk. So they walk in because they want a gun, there’s a promotion on a model which looks just like the others and the clerk pushes it to them because it’s lower priced and “just as good,” because he’s fighting for a monthly sales incentive, and bango, we see disproportionately bloated sales of less popular models.

“Cheap” does always sell, but it also sells much faster at big firearms dealers than smaller ones. When the Cabela’s opened in KC, they couldn’t keep Kel-Tec’s on the shelves, but a G19 would collect dust for months.
Click to expand...
The PT111/G2C is affordable and has built a decent reputation for itself over the years. Many gun owners on this board and others have owned one despite owning more expensive firearms. I've owned 3 throughout the years. They're inexpensive and work, so yea, most income restricted and experienced gun owners alike are buying them up...

I believe that Bud's and GunBroker had them as top sellers in the past. Me and my wife went to the range today, and I seen 3 unaffiliated people shooting them. One was a woman who had one with a purple frame and stainless slide... My wife owned the single stack version before we met. It was the first firearm she purchased on her own. She wanted to purchase another, but I unwisely talked her out of it. I wouldn't have a problem with her picking up another for self defense. Anyway, I'm not surprised by the results.
 
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Varminterror said:
Yeah, you’re probably right, Taurus has obviously developed a far better reputation than Glock and S&W........
Click to expand...
They developed a reputation for working and being reliable at an affordable price point which is why they're selling like hotcakes over Blocks and S&Ws. Some who clearly can afford S&Ws, Caniks, XD's, Czs, etc which can be had for less than $400 new are still choosing he G2C. They feel as if it serves the same function as more expensive firearms.... To each their own.
 
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sequins said:
G26 is as large as I can conceal.
Click to expand...
Shhh... Someone who is 6'11, 300lb, and wears a trench coat everyday who has concealed an AR pistol for years will argue that you can conceal larger because they have.
 
I cc'd a P226 for about 6 months but man it was hard to conceal it was always printing. I got the G26 to be a little more realistic and now I carry an LCP.
 
I've been reading for years that the Airweight .38's were big sellers, but I was still surprised to see the 642 at #6 on the list. A revolver is still that popular? Good to know that there are still stodgy old traditionalists out there in the world. (Carried one myself for a long while, before I found small 1911s that actually work.)
 
Varminterror said:
If this data were truly generated by data from the largest dealers in AL, you should expect to see a lot of oddities which may not be 100% consistent with overall buying trends. The promotions and internal incentives bigger retailers offer, as well as their volume and margin ratios will quite often skew their sales compared to the overall market and the bulk of smaller dealers.

Equally, there’s a certain type of buyer which makes their firearm purchase at a bigger dealer rather than a smaller shop - most typically the less familiar, less knowledgeable folk. So they walk in because they want a gun, there’s a promotion on a model which looks just like the others and the clerk pushes it to them because it’s lower priced and “just as good,” because he’s fighting for a monthly sales incentive, and bango, we see disproportionately bloated sales of less popular models.

“Cheap” does always sell, but it also sells much faster at big firearms dealers than smaller ones. When the Cabela’s opened in KC, they couldn’t keep Kel-Tec’s on the shelves, but a G19 would collect dust for months.
Click to expand...

I'm sure they sent a survey to an Academy, Cabela's and Bass Pro but they are not large gun dealers in Alabama. The largest LGS near me sold literally thousands of guns on Black Friday. Cabela's had maybe 10 people at the counter. The LGS had twelve clerks and people were six deep at the counter.

The LGS doesn't sell a lot of new Glocks. When he has unissued Police Trade G22-4 with Night Sights, Lone Wolf 9mm Conv Barrel, 3 G17 Mags and 3 G22 Mags for $499.99 it makes new ones with plastic sights and 2 mags at MAP a tough sell.

I will note the large LGS I referenced did return the survey I can't say who else did or did not.
 
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