Hunters like stuff, and they like to spend money on stuff. According to a report from the National Sporting Goods Association (NGSA) hunting-related equipment saw the biggest jump in sales among all athletic gear. Now this might seem like an odd post given I just wrote about Winchester's downsizing, especially given this excerpt:

    Within the hunting-related equipment category, firearms saw a 9.5
    percent sales increase in 2004 to $1.9 billion, according to the report.
    Rifle sales ($722 million) showed a 16.5 percent increase, handgun sales
    ($524 million) increased 10.4 percent, shotgun sales ($534 million) were
    up 1.9 percent and air gun sales ($120 million) rose 3 percent.

But guns didn't lead the category in terms of percentage jump. That honor belonged to hunting footwear. Boots and the like topped all athletic footwear with a 21-percent leap. For you number hounds, here's the rest of the info:

    At $2.8 billion in total sales, hunting-related equipment ranked third
    among all athletic and sports equipment categories in 2004, with only
    golf ($3.1 billion) and exercise equipment ($5 billion) ranking higher,
    according to the report.