I am trying to find out what the market is for a new high end airgun manufacture.  I cant find any data on how many airguns are sold in a year, revenues, margins, etc...  I am curious if anyone can point me in a direction to gather some data or provide opinions here.

Hmm.  High end you say.  This tends to mean that the thing is well suited for a particular or group of competitions.  Currently, there is 10 meter, 100 yard (Extreme) Benchrest, 25 meter, and 50 yard Benchrest, Field Target, American Field Target, Slug Guns, and now NRL 22 has an airgun class. (I'm sure I've missed something, but these are the ones I've personally shot, or watched being shot.)

Ten meter is the Olympic game where the target 10 ring is just a dot, and is now scored electronically to .01 of a point.  A 10.9 is a perfectly centered shot.  Shooters must shoot from the offhand position.  There are very specific rules on dimensions, weights, and power that the rifles/pistols must meet. The caliber is .177 only.

One Hundred Yard Benchrest or Extreme Benchrest was the brain child of Robert Buchanan the owner of Airguns of Arizona.  It first started out a 75 yards, but due to too many close scores, the final was lengthened to 100 yards.  Only mass produced diabolo pellets in .30 caliber or smaller may be used.  The FX Crown, Impact, and Wildcat, the Daystate Red Wolf, and a couple of others are the top guns at this time.

Twenty Five Meter Benchrest is shot around the world. Due to various power restrictions in different counties means that there are multiple categories when matches are held in countries that allow more power.  The matches are quite formal and have fairly strict rules about rests, etc.  Fifty Yard is very similar, but is used because of the often perfect scores of the 25 meter.  One of the top rifles for the 25 meter is an unusual design called the Thomas.  It is somewhat a copy of a limited production (USFT) field target rifle produced by Tim McMurray (Mac 1), and another gentleman whose name escapes me at the moment.

Field Target originated in England were they use 12ft-lb of energy at the muzzle (or less) rifles to engage randomly placed targets from 10 to 55 yards.  The targets are a knock down type in which a paddle behind a hole must be struck cleanly.  An edge hit on the hole will lock the target and keep it from falling.  Here in the U.S., the muzzle energy is limited to 20 ft-lb.

American Field Target is another brainchild of Robert Buchanan of Ariguns of Arizona.  The first match was a side match alongside the hallmark Extreme Benchrest Match held Mesa AZ in 2015.  Like conventional Field Target the pellet must pass cleanly to hit the paddle.  But, the power restrictions are essentially gone (except for sniper class).  The same rules on ammo and caliber apply, however, for Extreme Benchrest.   The targets now can extend to 100 yards.  Oh, and the time limit is on a countdown in order to keep things moving.  One does not have the luxury of taking time to get into position, and often has to move to see other targets on the same lane.  It is in keeping with the Extreme theme.

Slug guns are another thing.  These things shoot cast bullets and are of larger caliber.  Generally, from .25 to .50 are the norm.  You can think of the power in terms of standard handgun velocities and bullet weights.  That is you are in the .38 special, to .45 Colt in terms of power. Now, being put into a capable rifle, there are competitions where 400 yard shots are not unthinkable. Some shooters have extended their shooting to 600 yard and beyond.

Now we enter the realm of precision rifle shooting with airguns.  The National Rifle League, as of this season, has a class for airguns.  Given that this organization is fairly new, and that the airgun class was added because of request (I was one of the instigators), the rules for airguns is not quite as specific as it should be.  It only states .30 caliber or less.  However, the intention is the same as the Extreme Benchrest where only diabolo pellets may be used. This will likely be clarified in the future. Like many precision rifle shooting, the guns must shot from various barricade positions, and moved during the string. Large bottle guns, though they give a lot of shots per fill, tend to give issues when trying to get the gun in between a smallish slot.  Tall scope heights (which tend to be common with the way airgun magazines usually fit into the rifles) can also give fits with these kinds of barricades.

Now,  other thoughts:

In a good part of the U.S.  filling an SCBA bottle to 4500 psi, cannot be done by the local SCUB dive shop.  There they are generally limited to 3000 psi, or maybe 3500 psi. Many of the current rifles are tuned and designed for 3000 to 3500 psi.  You do not get a full fill from a 3000 psi SCUBA tank.  So, you are then buying your own compressor to fill your gun, and or tank, or hand pumping.  Now when hand pumping you want to limit the number of strokes, for the pump heats up which then caused seals to fail.  Here, smaller air tubes on the guns makes some sense.  You fill, get your ten shots or so, and refill.  The pump stays cool, and your single 10 round magazine is sufficient.  However, you are not going to use a hand pump and a small tube on your gun to get your 25 scoring shots in 30 minutes in a benchrest match.

What I like in higher end PCPs:  The ability to tune the rifle, both in terms of velocity, and with respect to acceleration (which translates to barrel vibrations).  Being able to tune the barrel vibrations as a separate thing would be helpful.  Having the rifle accept match aperture iron sights both front and rear while being in the 20 ft-lb class for .177, 30 ft-lbs in .22, 40 ft-lbs in .25, etc.  Accepting scopes as well as irons is also desirable.

In order for a higher airgun to be competitive in the marketplace, it must be capable of one minute of angle precision at the least, while a quarter minute would be exceptional.  It must have appealing styling.  The less gaudy, or awkward looking the better IMO.  The Umerex Gauntlet is an example of something that holds promise, but for its awkwardness. The Daystate Red Wolf, appeals to some, but for the older purists, its stock design is just not appealing.  How it shoots, however, is its saving grace. When shooting it too, you are not looking at the lines, and it feels O.K.  The Gauntlet feels as awkward as it looks, to me.

... the name escapes me...  That is Larry Durham aka LD...

Thanks RegionRat.  I have met Larry on a couple of occasions, but his name escaped me as I was writing the above.

No worries. At least I’m still good for trivial details.

I won’t venture a guess for the OP’s main question. Life isn’t usually that easy when it comes to things like what he is asking.

Larry and Tim have my respect for their creativity and tenacity. I was active at the time when they went into the “production” of the USFT and I bought into that first run. I own USFT SN44 (he let is assign our own serial numbers and my other favorites were already taken).

I was also friends with John Whiscombe back in the UK when he was producing his springers and own one of those too.

One thing I can say for sure, all three of those folks were very accomplished prior to starting up with producing air guns. Larry was retired from the Bic plant, John was at BAE, and Tim was second generation at his store and had ramped into manufacturing and creating his own parts and designs long before USFT.

All I can offer is that it will take lots of tenacity and passion for your design. There isn’t a good way to predict the market depth for your design ahead of time, so there will be more risk than most folks would swallow. Believe in yourself and go make it happen.