Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. (NYSE: RGR) has reported its fourth quarter earnings. If you have been to a gun store or sporting goods store which sells fire arms, it was obviously going to be a great quarter. Most gun and ammunition inventories around the country were sold out to the point that you couldn’t find what you wanted at the retail level and the supply chain was cleaned out top to bottom.

The gun-maker reported quarterly earnings of $1.00 per share on sales of $141.8 million. These represent gains of 85% on earnings and 52% on revenues. The consensus EPS estimate called for $0.94 on revenues of $124 million. In the after-hours session, shares are trading up 2.8% at $55.00.

Ruger shares closed up 0.7% at $53.51 in regular trading against a 52-week range of $34.22 to $60.11. This is against a near-term low of $40.00 on December 18 in the aftermath of the tragedy that acted as the catalyst for the gun control debate again. Shares of Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: SWHC) rose by 4.3% today to $9.34 against a 52-week range of $5.11 to $11.25.

Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. (NASDAQ: BGFV) blew past its earnings estimates as its hard goods segment was pumped up by a huge demand boost in guns and ammunition. Even Cabela’s Incorporated (NYSE: CAB) confessed that strong gun and ammo demand added a full point to its entire same-store sales gains when it gave earnings in mid-February.

Is it time to release that Gun ETF yet?

For starters, a Wall Street Journal poll showed that President Obama’s efforts (or Vice President Biden’s efforts) face a very tough road ahead in Congress. What if no ban at all passes through the House and Senate? Many democrats are said to be mixed on this issue, and Republicans are generally (and arguably) considered to oppose gun control efforts.

One thing that really stands out is that this is not formally gun control, at least that is how to think of it if you only listen to words rather than interpreting words and phrases. After all, Obama and Biden are more than careful in avoiding the phrase “gun control” in each and every speech and each and every statement. That is called spin, and is really no different from avoiding the term “global warming” in favor of the newer term “climate change.”

So what would a pure gun ETF actually look like? For starters, the stock ticker GUN is not taken. Other possible tickers that are not taken include NRA, SHOT, MOW, RIFL, ARAK, AKAR, KILL, SEMI and SNYP. There are three aerospace and defense sector ETFs: PowerShares Aerospace & Defense (NYSEMKT: PPA), iShares Dow Jones U.S. Aerospace & Defense (NYSEMKT: ITA) and SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense (NYSEMKT: XAR). This might sound a lot like being close enough to a gun ETF, but if you review the top 10 holdings of each ETF there are literally no companies that are deemed to be mostly “gun” companies.

Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: SWHC) is a pure-play gun stock. It was founded in 1852 and its brands and products are known as Smith & Wesson, the M&P, the Thompson/Center and Walther. Its fiscal 2012 sales were $412 million and net income from operations was $44.9 million, with a final net income of $16.1 million.

Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. (NYSE: RGR) was founded in 1948 and is based in Southport, Connecticut. This is another pure play in the gun industry with the Ruger name. Fiscal sales were almost $329 million in 2011, with income from operations and net income of $40 million.

Cabela’s Inc. (NYSE: CAB) has a much more focused approach on the outdoors in hunting and fishing. It dates back to 1961 and is based in Sidney, Nebraska. It calls itself a specialty retailer and direct marketer of hunting, fishing, camping and related outdoor merchandise. With only about 40 stores, its 2011 fiscal sales were $2.81 billion, with operating income from operations of $231 million.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) is truly a diversified sports store and comes from Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. Its 2012 sales were $5.2 billion. In 2011 its Hardlines unit, which includes guns, generated 52% of its sales. But we would caution that this unit includes sporting goods equipment, fitness equipment, hunting and fishing gear and golf equipment. That is not apparel or footwear sales. Hunting products include rifles, shotguns, ammunition, global positioning systems, hunting apparel, optics and more.

Olin Corp. (NYSE: OLN) is a manufacturer concentrated in three business segments: Chlor Alkali Products, Chemical Distribution and Winchester. Winchester is listed on Olin’s site as being in its 146th year of operation and in its 82nd year as part of Olin. Winchester’s line of products include sporting ammunition, reloading components, small caliber military ammunition and components and industrial cartridges. U.S. Repeating Arms Company in New Haven, Connecticut, now produces Winchester brand rifles and shotguns under license from Olin Corp. Winchester segment income was $37.9 million in 2011, compared to $63.0 million in 2010, while 2011 net income for all of Olin was $242 million in 2011 and only $65 million in 2010.

There is also Alliant Techsystems Inc. (NYSE: ATK), an aerospace and defense player. Even by defense contractor and supplier terms it is small compared to larger peers, with $4.6 billion in its fiscal year 2012 sales. ATK was launched as an independent company in 1990, when Honeywell spun off its defense businesses to shareholders. It has three business units: ATK Aerospace Group, ATK Defense Group and ATK Sporting Group. That sporting group includes sporting and law enforcement ammunition, and tactical and shooting accessories. It also supplies all levels of military ammunition. ATK’s Armament Systems generated 34% of ATK’s external sales in fiscal 2012, and it develops and produces military small-, medium- and large-caliber ammunition, precision munitions, gun systems and propellant and energetic materials. Not all of those are “gun” sales and that is more military. In fiscal 2012, the company produced about 1.5 billion rounds of small caliber ammunition in the Lake City Army Ammunition plant and is under contract with the U.S. Army to operate it. The prime contract at Lake City accounted for approximately 15% of ATK’s total revenue in fiscal 2012. The Security and Sporting business line generated 22% of ATK’s external sales in fiscal 2012, and it is that unit that would be most tied to guns, if you took the domestic and consumer angle. Maybe the proposed gun ETF would apply much more than this to the weighting.

Would Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) have to be included in a gun ETF since it sells guns? If so, it would have to be a very small weighting, as Walmart is said to be the largest gun and ammo seller in America. Walmart’s fiscal 2012 sales in total were $447 billion a year ago. Even if a total and outright gun ban (imposed or elective by the company) occurred, it would be small potatoes for Walmart.

Would TASER International Inc. (NASDAQ: TASR) be included? It makes the famed or notorious TASER weapon used by law enforcement officials worldwide. While there have been wrongful death lawsuits from this, we always wonder why they do not just do a poll asking people who are prone to resisting arrest whether they want to be hit by a TASER, a hollow-point .45 slug from a pistol or those metal batons that police use. It would be logical that everyone would rather be subdued by a TASER rather than by getting shot or cracked over the head with a billy club.

The private equity giant Cerberus is not publicly traded, but it owns Freedom Group, which was created after it acquired Bushmaster in 2006. A Bushmaster semiautomatic rifle was used in the most recent school massacre. Cerberus is now planning on selling off its interest, in the aftermath of the December school massacre. What if Bushmaster is sold to another arms and munitions maker? Then it might become part of a gun ETF weighting.

What about video game companies? These have been mentioned year after year, as lawmakers and regulators target video games where children blow away people, creatures and structures in all the first-person shooter games. And what about the Vice Fund (VICEX)?

If a gun ETF sounds a bit odd because it is a narrow scope, it shouldn’t. There are many ETFs that exist with very narrow scopes that are arguable part of larger themes. These are just some of the other narrowly focused ETFs that could arguable be a part of a larger group:

• Market Vectors Rare Earth/Strategic Metals ETF (NYSEMKT: REMX) tracks only rare earth stocks investing globally.
• Global X Lithium ETF (NYSEMKT: LIT) tracks the global lithium related stocks.
• Global X Social Media Index ETF (NYSEMKT: SOCL) tracks global social media stocks.
• First Trust ISE Cloud Computing Index (NYSEMKT: SKYY) tracks the cloud computing sector, in theory.
• PowerShares Lux Nanotech (NYSEMKT: PXN) tracks companies involved in nanotech.
• iPath Global Carbon ETN (NYSEMKT: GRN) tracks the most liquid carbon-related credit plans.
• iShares S&P Global Nuclear Energy Index (NASDAQ: NUCL) tracks the largest globally public traded companies in nuclear energy related businesses.

A gun ETF would undoubtedly not be a very popular idea with the noninvesting public in the current climate. That being said, there are dozens and dozens of ETF strategies out there for investors. We already showed that there are multiple aerospace and defense ETFs, but none of the top 10 holdings in any of those ETFs were geared specifically to guns. The old saying “There’s an ETF for that!” does not apply to the gun segment of the defense sector.

Vice President Biden was on stage with President Obama and today’s efforts do include Executive Orders. VP Biden said that some efforts will happen immediately and some will take some time. Obama said he is issuing 23 executive actions on this matter. We will update what these orders are and provide a link to them when available.

Obama’s directive is said to be giving law enforcement, schools, and others by strengthening background checks, helping mental help professionals, helping schools with resources, and more. Obama is also going to direct the CDC to study violence and he even mentioned violent video games in this speech. Here are some specifics while others were not immediately shown:

• universal background checks for all gun sales, even in the consumer-to-consumer
• restore a ban on manufacturing military style assault weapons and limit magazines to 10 bullets
• a ban on the sale and manufacture of armor-piercing bullets
• giving money to schools to hire guards and health counselors
• directing law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations
• punish people who buy guns to turn around and sell them to criminals
• put more police back on the job

Here is how the gun stocks fared so far on the news:

Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: SWHC) is up 3% at $8.70 and Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. (NYSE: RGR) is up 2.7% at $49.27.

Alliant Techsystems Inc. (NYSE: ATK) is a defense contractor but it is also the largest maker of bullets. Its shares are down 1% at $64.55. Olin Corp. (NYSE: OLN) is known for its Winchester ammunition sales but that is not the bulk of its business, and its shares are down 0.5% at $22.50.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) is up 0.8% at $48.72 and Cabela’s Inc. (NYSE: CAB) is up 6% at $49.80.

In a speech today based originally around the coming fight around the debt ceiling, President Obama said that lawful and responsible gun owners have little to fear. No specifics were given about what sort of legislation would be proposed but the tone was less strict and less pointed than in prior speeches.

Again, some form of gun control is coming. Likely it is around longer universal registrations, closing of gun-show loopholes, and limiting high-capacity magazine sales. That being said, what will be proposed remains to be seen and most of the public likely expects that whatever is proposed is something that has better than a decent chance of being passed in Congress.

The “gun stocks” have bounced during the Obama speech. These are the key moves we have tracked so far after 12 PM EST.

• Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: SWHC) is up $0.01 at $8.34 but the stock was around at $8.10 before the President’s comments. Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. (NYSE: RGR) is up almost 1% at $47.92 and these were closer to $47.50 earlier today.
• Alliant Techsystems Inc. (NYSE: ATK) is down $0.19 at $65.12.
• Dicks Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) is still down 1.4% at $46.60 on the day and Cabela’s Incorporated (NYSE: CAB) is up almost 2% at $44.88; both stocks are higher than at Noon EST.
• Olin Corp. (NYSE: OLN) has not budged despite its Winchester operations as one part of its larger business and shares are down $0.02 at $22.44 so far.

If you have been to a gun store in America, you probably could not have missed that the available supply of heavy arms like the assault weapons are out of stock completely. Also out of stock are the magazines for those guns and almost all of the ammunition for these guns.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) reportedly flip-flopped on whether or not it was going to send a representative, but it will be a part of the discussions. Wal-Mart is often referred to as the largest retailer of guns and its shares closed down only 2-cents at $68.57. Keep in mind that Wal-Mart could sell twice the guns and ammo or half the guns and ammo and it would not likely change its sales structure by much. Here is how the other gun stocks fared on Wednesday:

Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: SWHC) closed down 2.25 at $8.57 and Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. (NYSE: RGR) closed down 0.8% at $48.54.

Alliant Techsystems Inc. (NYSE: ATK) has more demand than it can handle for bullets now and the defense contractor is the largest maker of ammunition for sport shooting and law enforcement in America. Its shares closed up 2.6% at $64.98.

Olin Corp. (NYSE: OLN) is known for its Winchester ammunition sales but that is not the bulk of its business; its shares closed up 0.8% at $22.41.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) closed down 2.1% at $46.41 and Cabela’s Inc. (NYSE: CAB) closed down 1% at $44.01 today.

Whatever is coming, gun enthusiasts, the public, and investors all know that “something” is coming down the pipe. As far as how wide the net will be cast is still up for debate. Our take is that whatever is proposed as far as the actual bill it is what Vice President Biden and President Obama feel that they can get passed through Congress.

While President Obama has said that the Second Amendment will remain intact, and while the words “gun control” and “bans” are craftily being avoided, it is important to remember that Joe Biden was effectively the author of the assault weapons ban that went into effect in the 1990s. After Obama’s speech on Wednesday, the writing on the wall is very clear as he called for a serious proposal no later than the end of January.

As far as gun sales and ammunition sales being elevated or higher, let’s call it a massive understatement. We showed that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) was out of certain guns online if you type in a ZIP code. The reality is much more extreme, and there is a bit of personal experience here that will show just how much the sales went up — EVERYWHERE is sold out! If you want to purchase a shotgun or a handgun, these are still available. If you are wanting a rifle that would be classified as an assault rifle, an AR, you missed your chance.

Gun buyers in Houston have bought up the entire inventory of AR guns. It is not just the guns. The ammunition is sold out. The magazines are sold out, and not just the magazines that hold 30 or more rounds. Even finding a 10-round magazine is elusive. And ammunition? The smaller boxes of ammunition in the 223-556 calibers may be found, but not the larger boxes. Try calling Top Gun, Academy, Carter Country and other stores and you will get more or less the same answer: “We are sold out entirely, we have no idea when we are getting new stock in, and we have no idea what the pricing will be.” Even the online sites that deal in guns and ammo are now low on inventory as sales have spiked.

To go even further to show how much the demand spiked, the FBI background check system was overloaded. Customers have had to leave guns at the stores because the electronic system kept crashing on Wednesday.

This is not just a local issue either. One email went out from a licensed retailer that most of the suppliers are now cleaned out entirely in their “military style” weapons, ammo, magazines and accessories. The email also said that they have no idea when new shipments will be available.

At issue here is when bans go into effect. Bans drive purchasing, whether it is right or wrong. It seems that a ban of any sort drives people to decide that they better get the banned product before the ban goes into effect. Whether this is smart or rational is something we’ll leave up to the readers to decide. After all, assault weapons and guns of any sort are very heated topics on both sides of the argument and this often transcends party lines.

Wednesday saw interesting trading in the gun makers and retailers. Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: SWHC) rose by 7.2% to $8.35 after having seen shares slammed very hard since last Friday’s Newtown massacre. Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. (NYSE: RGR) rose 7.5% to $43.63. Dicks Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) has announced some changes to gun sales policies, but its stock was down by 1% at $45.87 on Wednesday. Cabela’s Inc. (NYSE: CAB) is a large seller of hunting, fishing and camping equipment, which includes guns and ammunition, and its shares rose by 5.7% to $41.00 on Wednesday.

Alliant Techsystems Inc. (NYSE: ATK) is classified as a defense and aerospace company, but it is the largest maker of gun and sporting ammunition in America with brands such as Federal Premium, Alliant Powder, RCBS, CCI, Fusion, Speer Ammo, Speer Bullets, Estate Cartridge and Blazer. Its shares were basically flat on Wednesday, or at least down one cent to $62.70 on Wednesday.

The new efforts might not be called “gun control” and the word “ban” may continue to be avoided. Still, the situation and outcome are both very obvious.

JON C. OGG

Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: SWHC) and Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. (NYSE: RGR)have seen their stocks hit hard since the massacre. Private equity giant Cerberus has even gone as far as saying that it plans to sell off its gun-making units. We would note that this massacre has created a rush to buy guns, ammo, and other products, so it possible that these companies will raise guidance. The problem is that if gun control efforts are successful then it does not matter what the demand is today because they will face more regulation and more restricted sales ahead.

Here is a summary of President Obama’s speech on gun control:

More Americans have died from gun violence since the massacre last Friday… Challenging old assumptions and this needs to lead to action… There is no law that can protect against all violence… Medical care efforts need to be pursued… The fact that the issue is complex cannot be an excuse… Obama asked VP Biden to come up with a set of concrete proposals no later than January… Not a study that is a report in 6 months… Biden wrote the 1994 crime bill that included an assault weapons ban… there is a growing consensus to build from to support banning sales of assault rifles and high-capacity ammo clips and background checks… the ATF is also bein encouraged to participate… the Second Amendment protects the right to bear arms… the vast majority of gun ownership is responsible, but the vast majority is likely to support law-breakers from buying a weapon of war and for people to get military-style weapons so easily… I will use all the power of this office to help prevent tragedies of this sort even if not all can be prevented… This effort requires the help of the American people… need to stand up and say “enough!” on behalf of our kids…

The Q&A from reporters has been focused on the fiscal cliff rather than on the issues around gun control.

Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: SWHC) was up 6% at $8.26 and Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. (NYSE: RGR) was up 4.5% at $42.41 before the President’s speech today. Sturm, Ruger shares are down from a recent peak of $60 and Smith & Wesson shares are down from a recent peak above $11.00.

Dicks Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) has announced some changes to gun sales policies and Cabela’s Incorporated (NYSE: CAB) is a large seller of hunting, fishing and camping equipment which includes guns and ammunition.

As a reminder, Alliant Techsystems Inc. (NYSE: ATK) is evaluated as a defense and aerospace company but it is the largest maker of gun and sporting ammunition in America with brands such as Federal Premium, Alliant Powder, RCBS, CCI, Fusion, Speer Ammo, Speer Bullets, Estate Cartridge and Blazer.

This article has been posted without comment about the tragedy in Newtown and other massacres that have taken place. Our thoughts are with the families and victims impacted by these tragedies.

UPDATE at 12:55 PM EST ON SHARE PRICE CHANGES:

Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: SWHC) is up 8.8% at $8.48; was up 8.4% at $8.45 (12:30)

Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. (NYSE: RGR) is up 6.7% at $43.32; was 6.1% at $43.08 (12:30)

Alliant Techsystems Inc. (NYSE: ATK) is up 9-cents at $62.80; was up 1-cent at $62.72 (12:30)

Dicks Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) is down by 8-cents at $46.27; was up 3-cents at $46.38 (12:30)

Cabela’s Incorporated (NYSE: CAB) is up 3.4% at $40.08; was up 3.4% at $40.10 (12:30)

JON C. OGG

If you do a search under the term “gun control” on Google, there are some 7.7 million search results. If you narrow that down to the last week that figure is some 202,000. In Google Trends, the term “Sandy Hook victims” generated 200,000+ searches and the term “Fashion Island shooting” on Google generated 100,000+ searches this last Saturday alone. The term “Adam Lanza” generated 10,000,000+ search results on Friday. While the term “NRA” generated 100,000+ searches on Google last Friday, so did the term “Columbine.”

With Mayor Bloomberg and others calling for much more action against the sale of firearms, the fight for and against gun control probably will only become louder and louder in the coming weeks. President Obama was very careful in his speech in Newtown on Sunday evening not to use directly inflammatory words, but the writing is on the wall when you consider how access to buying guns is such a divisive topic that often transcends lines typically labeled as Democrat or Republican.

So, if you are wanting to know if the gun industry is scared, all you have to do is look at the stocks in the sector. Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. (NYSE: RGR) shares are down by more than 1% on Monday to $44.98 so far, but that is after a 4.5% drop on Friday when the tragedy actually took place. Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: SWHC) is down more than 3% at $8.84 so far on Monday, and that is after a 4.3% decline on Friday. If you back these off of the 52-week highs, Sturm Ruger is down just over 25% and Smith & Wesson is now down more than 21%.

We recently called a peak in the stocks around the gun trade, or at least the peak of the rush to chase those stocks. Jim Oberweis of the Oberweis Funds also recently told Fortune that his Sell candidate was none other than Smith & Wesson. He said that it and Strum Ruger soared in 2012 based on tougher Obama gun legislation and sales, and the report said that the gun trade (in stocks) has run its course.

The carnage does not stop there. Cabela’s Inc. (NYSE: CAB) is well known for its hunting, fishing and camping retail efforts. This is down almost 3% at $42.71 so far on Monday after a 1% drop on Friday.

Alliant Techsystems Inc. (NYSE: ATK) has so far been insulated from the trading patterns seen elsewhere. This may be one to consider as well with some risks, even if it is generally considered a defense contractor. It is the largest maker of bullets for law enforcement, defense and for sport-shooting with ammunition brands such as Federal Premium, Alliant Powder, RCBS, CCI, Fusion, Speer Ammo, Speer Bullets, Estate Cartridge and Blazer.

This topic of gun control is highly controversial and tends to inflame the people who are on both sides of the case. Either way, our job is not to preach to one side or the other. That being said, we can only expect that both sides for and against gun control are going to get more vocal.

JON C. OGG

PetSmart, currently included in the S&P Midcap 400 index, will be replaced on that list by Cabela’s Inc. (NYSE: CAB), a specialty retailer of hunting and outdoor goods. PetSmart’s market cap is about $7.3 billion, while Cabela’s is about $3.8 billion.

The final change to the S&P Dow Jones indexes moves Acorda Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ACOR) into the S&P Smallcap 600 Index, replacing Cabela’s. Acorda is a commercial stage biopharmaceutical firm and its market cap is about $1 billion.

Shares of PetSmart are up 3% in premarket trading this morning at $69.60 in a 52-week range of $39.53 to $72.75.

Cabela’s shares are up about 0.8% at $55.41 in a 52-week range of $19.12 to $55.65.

Acorda’s shares are inactive in the premarket, having closed at $25.55 last night, in a 52-week range of $18.36 to $27.74.

Paul Ausick

Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Cabela’s Inc. (NYSE: CAB) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ: CRUS) reiterated Buy and raised target to $48 at Canaccord Genuity.

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ: CTSH) started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Equinix Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX) reiterated Buy and raised target to $250 at Jefferies and reiterated Buy and raised target to $225 at Canaccord Genuity.

Lab Corporation of America (NYSE: LH) started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Level 3 Communications Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) cut to Underperform at Raymond James.

3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) started as Buy at BofA/ML.

Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR) maintained Hold but raised estimates at Argus.

Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX) started as Neutral and removed from U.S. Focus List at Credit Suisse.

SkyWest Inc. (NASDAQ: SKYW) named value stock of the day at Zacks and raised to Strong Buy at Raymond James.

State Auto Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: STFC) reiterated Buy with $18 target at Argus.

Triumph Group Inc. (NYSE: TGI) added to U.S. Focus List and raised target to $79 at Credit Suisse.

Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) cut to Underperform at Raymond James.

Werner Enterprises Inc. (NASDAQ: WERN) has seen downgrades after its warning: cut to Neutral at Citigroup, to Market Perform at Wells Fargo, to Market Perform at Raymond James and to Neutral at JPMorgan.

JON C. OGG