Guns
A man holds a gun in the exhibit hall of the George R. Brown Convention Center, the site of the NRA's annual meeting in Houston. Reuters

Top U.S. gun maker Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:SWHC) reported record sales in 2013, with sales of $588 million representing a 43 percent boost over its fiscal 2012.

In a company press release, the Springfield, Mass.-based corporation also noted that preliminary sales for the latest quarter rose 38 percent compared to the same period last year.

The firm ended the fiscal year with a cash surplus of about $100 million. It plans to buy back $100 million worth of its own shares.

The company will discuss its earnings with investors on June 25.

Smith & Wesson, which manufactures the magnum, says it is concerned about gun safety, calling itself a “leading advocate of the development and use of firearms safety devices.”

The firm also issued a recall of certain Thompson/Center rifles on Thursday, saying the safety lever on some of the rifles may be compromised, which means the safety lock might not work. The earnings take into account expenses related to the recall.