The country's oldest gun maker cites lagging sales in announcing intentions to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Sales at Remington Arms dropped 27 percent in the first nine months of last year.
Gun industry experts say it might not be a coincidence that the gun sale dropoff coincided with the Donald Trump presidency.
In Denton, the gun business has been good to Bill Anderson, who opened his mom-and-pop gun store eight years ago.
"It became real obvious, real quick that this was going to become my primary source of income in a short amount of time," Anderson said.
It's part location and part loyal Denton customer base.
"And of course, great personal service," Anderson chuckled.
Anderson sells a lot of guns made by Remington. He says the company — which has been around for more than two centuries — makes a quality product which his customers like.
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But America's oldest gun maker says it will file for bankruptcy, citing a big drop in gun sales. Industry experts say Remington was also hurt in recent years by a class-action suit over defective rifles and was sued after the Sandy Hook school massacre in Connecticut.
Remington manufactures the Bushmaster rifle, which was used in the December 2012 school shooting.
Anderson believes politics also play a part. He says sales skyrocketed as gun owners feared tougher gun restrictions under President Barack Obama and the candidacy of Hillary Clinton.
"The fear of something like that generates a lot of sales," Anderson said. "I think the previous administration learned over the course of the years that they were accomplishing just the opposite of what they wanted to accomplish."
Anderson says gun shop owners like himself celebrated the Trump presidency, but were left with big gun inventories.
"It was a happy day," he said. "But it was also a sad day because there wasn't going to be any mad dash to the gun store."
Anderson says Remington pistols remain among his biggest sellers. He hopes the gun maker pulls through.
"They have good product," Anderson said. "It would be a shame if Remington went away."
