AIRGUN INNOVATION AT THE RIGHT PRICE

Mat Manning catches up with Mike Hurney, owner of shooting gear distributer and retailer

The Shooting Party, to find out what sets this well-known business apart from the rest

MM Can you give us a brief history of how The Shooting Party came to be and who the key people in the business are?

MH I’ve been shooting for over 40 years—shotguns, live-firing rifles and airguns. During my time owning and running Webley in the early 2000s, I spent a lot of time researching and developing new products all around the world, in China, Taiwan, South Korea, Italy, Turkey and more. I realised there was a real opportunity to introduce novel shooting sports products into the UK market, at attractive price points, so I launched The Shooting Party in 2010 to do that.

My key colleagues are Peter Jackson, my number two, who is responsible for all the logistics and day-to-day operation of the business. Mat Hope runs our warehouse and despatching, whilst also handling the bulk of our warranty work

MM More and more shooting businesses are embracing the airgun market. How important is the airgun sector to The Shooting Party and why is that?

MH Ninety-nine per cent of our many hundreds of products are firmly aimed at the airgun sector. That is largely because it is, currently, less regulated than the live-firing sectors and much more accessible and inclusive.

MM Can you tell us about the main airgun brands you deal with and their key models?

MH We only supply our own brands, or ones where we have exclusivity and serious input into their development. Our own brands include AirForceOne, and the key model here is the Trophy MkII CO2 Pistol, which has been extraordinarily successful. We also have Lee Enfield (Guns) Ltd. The main products here are the line of Brothers in Arms CO2-powered steel BB replicas: the SMLE, AK74, Mosin-Nagant, M1911, M4 carbine, and the new M16. In PCP rifles we offer the Sentry and the incredibly well-reviewed Airacuda Max in conjunction with our US partners JTS.

MM You also supply a range of optics. Can you tell us about some of them?

MH Our PAO (Professional Airgun Optics) range features pistol and rifle scopes, as well as sights such as the multi-reticle reflex sight and red and green lasers. Prices range from around £30 to £300, and we are particularly proud of our F1 5-20x50 First Focal Plane model, described as having the best reticle of any FFP scope under £1,000, yet it costs only £299. All our scopes have a no-quibble, replace-not-repair, lifetime warranty, which gives consumers and retailers complete reassurance about their purchase.

MM The Shooting Party also distributes QYS and JTS Dead Centre airgun pellets. Can you tell us more about them?

MH We took on QYS in 2018 when they were unknown in the UK market. Today they are the number one premium .177 pellet brand, regularly referred to as “the best .177 pellets in the world”. They are super-clean, consistent and blisteringly accurate. We sell two weights

(8.48-grain and 9.56-grain) and in two formats, FT Domed and Streamlined. We have worked with JTS for around ten years and for the last two we have been closely involved in the development of the Dead Center range of pellets. Substantial research was undertaken over multiple airguns, from supercheap springers to top-of-the-range competition PCPs. JTS’s substantial investment in new proprietary technology has resulted in pellets that in recent tests proved to be between eight and ten times more weight-consistent than comparable models from the previous leading manufacturers. We are confident that within the next 12 months or so, they will emulate the success of QYS, but in the .22 calibre sector. We currently offer two weights: 16.05-grain and 18.1-grain. New .25 and .30 calibre versions will be available on our next shipment.

MM What attributes do you look for when choosing new products to add to the Shooting Party line-up?

MH Quality, value and innovation are our watchwords. It’s as simple as that.

MM What are your priorities when it comes to delivering a positive customer experience?

MH We have an unrivalled warranty, and we always deliver fast and proactive customer service, and true value.

MM You often attend shooting shows as a retailer. How do you decide which events you are going to attend? And how do you feel about the general state of shooting shows and game fairs these days?

MH We have reluctantly decided to give up on outdoor shows for two main reasons. Firstly, the ever-increasing unpredictability of the UK weather means that you can spend many thousands of pounds attending a fair and then it rains for two days and financially wipes you out. Secondly, organisers seem determined to attract ever more craft gin distillers and artisan food producers. I think fewer and fewer shooters are interested in paying to take their families to what is essentially an outdoor Fortnum & Mason.

We are still big supporters of the British Shooting Show at the NEC and the National Shooting Show in Harrogate. The weather is largely irrelevant at these events and the exhibitor profile is much more shooter-aligned.

MM What have been the biggest challenges to your business in the past few years and what changes have you made to overcome them?

MH Everything Covid-related seems to have presented big challenges. Firstly, the lockdown in Chinese factories led to product shortages. Then, because all the shipping containers were in LA or Felixstowe ports, there was a great lack of shipping capacity, which saw the cost of a 20ft container going to over $19,000 from $1,300 pre-pandemic. We lost a lot of money over a whole range of products and some lowcost, high-weight or bulk items became completely unviable. Only in the last month or so have prices returned to something closer to prepandemic levels.

China is a 30-day plus voyage from the UK, and they operate in a completely different time zone, so we have made the decision to move to more “near-shoring”. So our latest Trophy Mk II pistol is made in Turkey, not China, and we plan to transition more products there. Transit times are much shorter and Turkey is only two hours ahead of us, which also helps.

MM Can you give us any hints about new airgun-related products we may see coming through The Shooting Party and any future ambitions you have for the business?

MH We have a bullpup version of the JTS Airacuda, called the Brawn, arriving before the end of the year, about which we are very excited. It is super-accurate and has great looks.

We also have a multi-shot, full-powered CO2 rifle in development. That also should be here in time for Christmas. And there will be more, so watch this space.

Our ambition remains to be viewed by shooters and the trade alike as the go-to company for new innovative products available at great price points. GTN GTN