Airgun trade veteran Tony Belas offers a forthright assessment of the sector’s current health, identifying opportunities for growth and areas where the industry must improve.
Gun Trade Insider (GTI): How would you rate the health of the airgun industry right now versus when you started at Daystate?
Tony Belas (TB): The industry is certainly smaller than it was when I joined Daystate, but in many ways it’s healthier and more focused. Years ago, airguns were often treated as a sideline by many of the larger gun shops. Today, the market is more specialist, with manufacturers, dealers and customers who are genuinely passionate about airguns. It’s a smaller industry, but a much more knowledgeable and dedicated one.
GTI: What are the biggest challenges the sport is facing from without and within?
TB: There are several, but from a UK perspective I’d say the biggest challenge is the economy. Rising taxes and the increasing cost of living leave people with less disposable income, and airgunning is a leisure pursuit that depends on ordinary working people being able to afford to participate. Thankfully, it’s never really been a pastime reserved for the wealthy.
You were probably expecting me to say legislation! The truth is, if you’d asked me this question 40 years ago, I’d have confidently predicted that airguns would require licensing by now. In reality, apart from relatively minor changes to the law, we’ve remained remarkably close to the legal framework established decades ago.
That’s not to say we should become complacent—legislation is always a possibility—but at the moment, I don’t see it as the most immediate threat. Economic
pressures are having a far greater impact on the market today.
GTI: Are there any looming challenges that brands would be wise not to put off preparing for or dealing with?
TB: Yes, manufacturers need to take product security and responsible design much more seriously.
A few years ago, the Home Office worked with the British airgun industry to encourage manufacturers to make sub-12 ft/lb rifles more resistant to unauthorised power increases. Companies such as Daystate, BRK, Air Arms, Webley and BSA all invested time and effort into improving tamper resistance, particularly on PCP rifles where poorly executed modifications can push power levels well beyond the legal limit.
This isn’t just about protecting a brand - it’s about protecting the future of the sport. If a rifle can be easily converted into something that falls outside the law, everyone loses. The individual risks prosecution, the dealer may face serious legal consequences if it’s argued the rifle was “capable of” becoming an especially dangerous air weapon, and the resulting publicity damages the reputation of the whole industry.
Responsible manufacturers should be designing products that are both innovative and difficult to abuse. That’s in the interests of shooters, retailers, manufacturers and, ultimately, the long-term health of the sport itself.
GTI: What modern developments are giving you great cause for optimism right now?
TB: For me, it’s the acceptance of electronic firing systems. After more than 25 years of developing the technology, electronic systems are finally being recognised as offering genuine advantages over purely mechanical designs. I also think the widespread adoption of affordable digital scopes has helped change perceptions, making shooters far more comfortable with electronics in general.
GTI: With social media algorithms increasingly hostile toward shooting content, how big of a threat is digital censorship to the long-term growth of the sport?
TB: To be honest, it’s been a challenge ever since Facebook and Instagram became dominant platforms, so in many ways we’re used to working around it. YouTube is a little more accommodating, although there is an obvious double standard, with content that’s acceptable in the US often being restricted elsewhere.
That said, airgunning has always been something of a close-knit community. Most enthusiasts actively seek out information rather than simply stumbling across it, so the impact isn’t quite as severe as it might be for other hobbies. We still use social media because it’s an important way of reaching shooters, but we’ve never believed it’s wise to rely on any single platform for the future.
GTI: What’s the one business decision you wish you’d taken - or taken much earlier?
TB: Hindsight is a wonderful thing! Every decision is made in good faith with the information available at the time, so it’s difficult to point to one and say, “I should have known better.”
I do remember Derek Barnes, the original sales director at Airgun World, upon being shown the prototype of our first camouflage rifle back in 2001 and saying, “You know Tony, camo guns don’t sell.” As it turned out, Derek was absolutely right!
GTI: What’s the one decision you’re glad you didn’t take?
TB: Trying to compete at the budget end of the market. Before I joined Daystate, the company experimented with entry-level rifles such as the early Harriers, but it simply wasn’t profitable. One of my first decisions was to reverse that strategy.
As a British manufacturer, we can never compete with imported products that retail for little more than our production costs. Instead, we’ve concentrated on building premium rifles that justify their price through innovation, quality and performance. I genuinely don’t think Daystate would be here today if we’d tried to fight on price.
GTI: What is the single biggest issue that currently holds airgunning back from reaching its full potential?
TB: The biggest challenge is probably the size of the market compared with the sheer number of products available. We saw strong growth in the US for a while, but the pandemic and subsequent economic pressures slowed that momentum.
In the UK, there’s also the demographic challenge that many airgun shooters are now men aged 55 and over. That’s not unique to airguns, it’s something affecting shooting sports generally. We need to encourage younger people into the sport if it’s to continue thriving.
That said, these trends do move in cycles. In many overseas markets the average shooter is noticeably younger, which is encouraging. From Daystate’s perspective, I think we’re well placed. Between Daystate and BRK we offer eight distinct rifle platforms, giving shooters a wide choice while remaining focused on quality rather than quantity.
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