Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Bicycling

When You Buy These Bike Brands, You’re Supporting the Gun Lobby

If you bought a cute little Copilot trailer to ferry your kid around town with your bike, we've got some bad news: Your purchase supported the gun industry.

Same goes if you paid for a Bell or Giro brand bike helmet, or a Razkulls child helmet or Camelbak water bottle. All of those bike brands are properties of Vista Outdoor, which is also the largest ammunition manufacturer in America and the maker of the MSR15, an AR15-style assault rifle.

The company is very politically active in the gun lobby, with strong ties to the NRA and its lesser-known but powerful industry cousin, the NSSF.

As Streetsblog founding editor Aaron Naparstek laid out in a Twitter thread, Vista Outdoor owns guns and ammo brands like Savage Arms, Federal Premium Ammunition, BLACKHAWK!, and Bushnell. In total, about 40 percent of the company's business is ammunition, according to industry analysts.

Savage Arms is the seventh largest gun maker in America, Mother Jones reports. After the Newtown massacre, the company ran "around-the-clock shifts to keep up with demand."

These days, with Obama-related paranoia on the wane among American gun owners, business isn't booming anymore for companies like Vista. That makes its lobbying efforts all the more important to its bottom line. Choke off the revenue from assault rifles and the ammunition they spit out, which is seeming like a distinct possibility in the wake of the Parkland High School shooting, and profits would be down even more for Vista.

In 2017, Vista directly spent more than $500,000 on federal lobbying, and it is deeply enmeshed in the gun industry's efforts to maintain sales of weapons capable of mass murder.

Vista hosts one of the largest booths at the NRA's annual gun show each year, and Federal Premium Ammunition is a featured sponsor of NRATV, which has recently been putting out videos that aim to work people into a lather of paranoid aggression.

Robert J. Keller, the president of Vista's "shooting sports" division, sits on the board of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which the Atlantic calls the "NRA's smaller, highly effective cousin." Vista CEO Mark DeYoung chairs the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, which "lobbies on behalf of 'America's hunters and anglers,'" Mother Jones reports. None other than Paul Ryan keynoted its annual banquet in 2015.

For people who bike, boycotting Vista brands would be like a form of divestment from the gun lobby. Bike advocacy organizations, which accept sponsorships from brands like Bell and Giro, have a role to play too. As Naparstek points out, cutting off the flow of money to Vista's bike brands would deal a serious blow to the company right now.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday Video: How to Gear Up For Your Fall Bike Commute

The only must-haves for a cycling commute are a bike and a place you feel safe riding — but a few accessories don't hurt, either.

August 8, 2025

Can You Tell Me How to Get to Friday’s Headlines?

"Sesame Street," which taught generations of children about life in the big city, might not be long for this world.

August 8, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: Technical Assistance for Equitable TOD

Emily LaFlamme on how the Elevated Works technical assistance program helps developers bring equitable transit-oriented development to life.

August 7, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Wonder if Ride-Sharing Is Good, Actually

It's been shown to replace walking, biking and transit trips, but two writers argue it's better than taxis, and at least lifts the burden of car ownership.

August 7, 2025

This Company Wants to Help More Americans Buy Used E-Bikes

Trade wars in Washington are having a chilling effect on the U.S. bike market. Could selling more used cycles fill the gap?

August 7, 2025

We Can’t Have Justice For All Without Public Transit For All

A Philadelphia lawyer makes the case for why public transit is crucial for a fair justice system.

August 7, 2025
See all posts