Suburban “Crop Damage”
Four-hooved Locusts. Rats with Antlers. Damnbi. Brown Traffic Cones. Insert your favorite derogatory term. One man’s trophy game is another man’s nuisance pest. Whitetail Deer fit all of these descriptions, depending upon your location.
This summer they were no better than rats in my yard. I was seething with anger and disappointment at times. I don’t normally care if the local deer herd eats from the apple tree in my yard – there’s enough for all of us, and I can only make so much apple sauce. But I tried growing green beans in containers outside this year for the first time, and also plum tomatoes. I awoke several mornings this summer to devastation of my crop. I would inspect the almost-ready veggies when I got home from work in the evening – intending to harvest them the next afternoon – only to find nothing left but chewed vines when I went back outside in the morning.
The deer didn’t just eat off the green beans, they ate virtually the entire plant – leaves and all! They also ate the cluster of pretty Roma tomatoes that I’d been watching with eager anticipation for several weeks. I get that this wasn’t expensive shrubbery, and admittedly it wasn’t a subsistence crop either, but I was still PO’d!
Like many of us, I live in suburbia not out on the back forty (although I wouldn’t mind that). But as we know, deer love edge areas. I may need to invest in fencing. And perimeter towers with automatic weapons and night vision.
In addition, I propose that there needs to be such a thing as a suburban crop damage permit.
I have upstairs windows from which I could take a perfectly ethical and safe-for-the-neighborhood crossbow shot into my yard. This would provide me at least some small meat recompense (and revenge) for the damage to my tomatoes and green beans that these four-hooved locusts have wrought. Not to mention the Lyme ticks they bring with them into my yard.
So the neighbor kids might be traumatized with gut piles occasionally. They need to grow a pair anyway.
My crossbow literally paces back and forth in front of the window and whines when the deer are out there. This would be a fair thing to do for both of us.
But nope. It will never happen. Every year I have to go somewhere ELSE to hunt, while I come home to hoof prints in my driveway, ravaged bird feeders, and devastated bean plants.
Nature and the DNR just aren’t fair.
REASONS TO RETIRE YOUR GLOCK?
I bought my first polymer-framed pistol (a Glock 17) in 1989. Between comparing the Glock’s 22 ounces in weight to my Browning Hi-Power’s 35 ounces, (the difference in capacity being 17 and 13 rounds, respectively) I figured the upgrade just made sense.
Fast forward 10 years and I’m looking to replace/upgrade from my full-sized 1911 in .45 ACP. I already had a Glock 30 as an “off duty” gun, so I figured I would get a pistol that would use the same full-sized mags interchangeably with a pistol I already owned.
I’ve had that Glock 21 for twenty years. Other than changing out the barrel for one that will shoot cast bullets and take a suppressor, I’ve been satisfied with it. That being said, the “suppressor-ready” XD-M .45 from Springfield Armory has made me reassess the Glock 21 I’ve had and recommended over the years.
Why the Change?
Two things have become apparent to me when recommending a pistol to the average person. First, most people like the more vertical grip angle of pistols like the 1911, XD and XD-M. Second, most people don’t like the grip size of the Glock 21 .45 ACP pistol because they’re larger than a typical semi-auto pistol.
Even with the largest grip insert (there are three included with the pistol) in place on the XD-M .45, its diameter feels obviously smaller than a G21. I have very large hands, so it’s not a big issue for me. However, this can be a big deal for the new shooter who is just getting used to their new gun. Being comfortable with your gun’s grip is important.
Murder by Fire
(from pakistantoday.com.pk)
[Ed: The little reported deaths of 8 children in a knife attack in China this week recall the horrendous 2016 Sagamahira stabbings in Japan that left 19 dead & 26 wounded. Both remind us that guns are not the (only) issue. Warren Lind shares another gruesome narrative.]
“KYOTO, Japan, July 19 — A man screaming “You die!” burst into an animation studio in Kyoto, doused it with a flammable liquid and set it on fire Thursday, killing 34 people in an attack that shocked the country and brought an outpouring of grief from anime fans. Thirty-six others were injured, some of them critically, in a blaze that sent people scrambling up the stairs toward the roof in a desperate – and futile – attempt to escape. Others emerged bleeding, blackened and barefoot.” [ABC News]
As readers know, Japan is a country with a low homicide rate and almost no firearms. Yet, the means for mass murder still exist. This was the country’s worst mass murder since 2001.
In doing some quick research on arson, I came across the following report from the National Fire Protection Association: “Each year between 2010 and 2014, an estimated 261,330 intentionally set fires were reported to fire departments in the United States. The fires included 196,480 outside or unclassified fires, 49,690 structure fires, and 13,160 vehicle fires. Losses resulting from these fires included: • 440 civilian deaths • 1,310 civilian injuries • $1 billion in direct property damage” [Author’s emphases.] And this is just in the United States!
Here is a list of the 5 deadliest fires in history [from Ranker.com]:
- 1990, Happy Land Nightclub Fire, The Bronx, NY – 87
- 1998, Gothenburg Discotheque Fire – Gothenburg, Sweden – 63
- 1972, Blue Bird Café Fire, Montreal, Quebec, Canada – 37
- 2019, Kyoto Animation Fire, Kyoto, Fire – 34
- 1973 – UpStairs Lounge Arson Attack, New Orleans, Louisiana – 32
It is significant to note that these arson attacks occurred all over the world.
If a country could magically eliminate all firearms, the following means of committing homicide would still exist and are readily available to everyone:
- Bladed weapons.
- Vehicles as weapons.
- Fire, i.e., arson
- Bludgeoning
The problem isn’t the means. It is people, when murder lies in the human heart. E.g., “And Cain slew Abel.” [Genesis 4:8].
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— Warren Lind is a retired licensed clinical social worker and former security officer who writes extensively about crime, survival, and self-defense. He is a member of too many pro-2A organizations to list.
All DRGO articles by Warren Lind
Byrna HD Sootch Review
Byrna HD Personal Security Device is a Launcher for OC & CS Pepper Balls. This is a Non-Lethal option for Self defense.
Byrna HD Features:
- Gas-fired handheld personal security device in 7 colors
- Shoots 68 cal chemical irritant rounds
- Exterior construction made of glass-filled nylon
- Fits comfortably within a side holster
- Easily concealable
- 60 feet operational range
- Small recoil, lightweight and easy to use
- NO federal license to carry required
Second Class Rights?
Suppose a candidate for the highest office in the land – a presidential hopeful – bluntly declared that he would strip everyone in the country of their Constitutional Right to Freedom of Religion.
Suppose that candidate declared that he was sick to death of religious strife, Islamic terrorism and the deaths they cause, and therefore as president, he would send armed men door-to-door to confiscate every single religious text, crucifix, mezuzah, prayer mat, incense burner and saintly icon in the country. The doors to houses of worship would be chained.
Further, suppose this candidate declared that thereafter no one would be permitted to practice a religion without official testing and licensing from the government, and even then, only IF the government determined that you could practice religion responsibly and not kill anyone. To be subject to revocation at the whim of the government of course.
Suppose that the other presidential candidates wanted the same thing – but were too smart to actually SAY so.
Do you think that ANY of those politicians would make it out of obscurity onto the national stage, let alone into an actual debate? Do you think ANY of those politicians would NOT be torn apart – figuratively if not literally?
If that’s the case with Freedom of Religion, why is is NOT the case with the Right to Keep and Bear Arms? You know – the one that is second out of ten on the list of the ten most important freedoms in America?
How in Blue Hades does a jackwagon like the Faux-Hispanic Irishman get away with arrogantly proclaiming that “we” will take away ANYone’s guns?
Does it say somewhere in the Constitution that there are second class rights? Is there a sub-clause somewhere that says,
SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED. *unless everybody gets all full of feels and stuff?
And who is this “we” anyway? In case Candidate Jackwagon hasn’t noticed, the vast majority of police and armed forces members are private firearms owners. County Sheriffs in upstate New York have been pointedly ignoring that SAFE Act abomination that Albany signed into law since like 2013. And that’s just registration. I’m sure they are going to get right on that when you tell them they have to go do a confiscation now.
Yeah, good luck with that, skippy. You have the 1st Amendment right to “say” almost anything you want, there Beto-boy. But if you think “we” are doing anything with OUR firearms except hold onto them right here where they are, you have a lot more thinking to do. “We” don’t care what kind of gun it is you think you want to take – the answer is NO.
Hornady® 2018 Precision Hunter
Hornady’s Precision Hunter line of ammunition is built to be the ideal load in ANY hunting situation. With its Heat Shield tip, it provides constant levels of accuracy regardless of temperature.
‘Hero’ Honored By White House For Walmart Shooting Arrested
And El Paso Police are saying he’s no hero, just was trying to survive.
Earnest Christopher Grant, who goes by Chris, wasn’t able to make it to the award ceremony held at the White House because he was detained by the U.S. Secret Service on an outstanding fugitive warrant when he showed up in Washington, ABC News reported.
You read that correctly. Chris Grant, 50, who told a harrowing tale that made it to the President and who was honored by the President in ceremony, gave an ‘exaggerated account’ shall we say.
No this is not the soldier with the concealed carry who was shepherding kids out of the line of fire. Grant supposedly held the gunman off for precious seconds to aid his fellow shoppers. According to El, Paso though…
“Nobody bothered to check with us,” El Paso Police Sergeant Enrique Carrillo told the Washington Examiner. “They would have been informed, as I am telling you now, that our detectives reviewed hours of video and his actions did not match his account.”
“The video evidence of the scene does not support his assertions,” Sgt. Carrillo told KFOX. “His actions were captured by surveillance cameras, but they amount to an act of self-preservation, nothing more, nothing less.”
Grant has a less than honest past, so why not take advantage of a little misplaced hero worship?
In 2016, he was sentenced to 18 days in jail for stealing televisions from a Sears store. He was also convicted of evading arrest that same year. In March, he was convicted of stealing a 2009 Mazda 6, and was sentenced to eight months in prison. It is unclear how many months of that sentence he actually served.
Grant began revving up and touting his supposedly heroic actions during a series of interviews in the wake of the mass shooting, he gave some of those interviews from his hospital bed which would undoubtedly lend emotional gravitas to his tale.
Petty exploitation of tragedy is nothing new, but I’m tickled he got to spend his award ceremony in Secret Service custody and had his name removed from the ledger.
Magazine Ban and Red Flag Laws Pass House Judiciary
Washington (CNN) – The House Judiciary Committee voted on Tuesday to approve gun violence prevention legislation as Congress faces pressure to take action in the wake of recent mass shootings.
A High Capacity Magazine Ban and Extreme Risk Protection Orders, colloquially called Red Flag laws, have passed the Democratic controlled House Judiciary Committee. This is the most forward progress we’ve seen on national gun control legislation in nearly a decade. Right beside the ERPO and Magazine bills, the former focused on incentivising states, a third bill amending background checks also advanced.
Incentivise States to pass ERPO
The red flag bill that the committee voted on Tuesday would establish a federal level grant program to incentivize states to establish red flag/ERPO laws. These enable a court to intervene and temporarily (allegedly) prevent someone who is in crisis (allegedly) from having access to a firearm. It would also create a federal extreme risk protection order program of unknown make up.
Democrats assure us that due process will be maintained in red flag legislation. In other news, if you like your healthcare plan you can keep your healthcare plan…
ERPOs, Red Flag Laws, are the crowd favorite gun control measure at the moment. They’re seen as the alternative, or perhaps an supplement to gun bans depending on the state. On the surface Extreme Risk Protection Orders sound perfect. Look at the name, “Extreme Risk”, it evokes the imagery of dire situations. “Protection Orders”, this is about safety and protection for everyone.
S.A.F.E Act, remember that one?
The title design is about trust. Trust that, granted the power to infringe upon several constitutionally protected liberties prior to any criminal charge or conviction, that the government will stop at that much infringement and never wrongly, whether deliberate or not, misuse this power.
Outlaw High Capacity Magazines
I cannot find the text on this bill, I will keep looking as it advances to the full House floor where Democratic control will likely see it passed to the Senate. Word is that the bill grandfathers current high capacity magazines, rendering it useless as all but an extreme annoyance and infringement upon the gun owners of the nation.
If this goes to the Senate we could see a run on high caps very quickly. The President has been nebulous about what he will be willing to support, some word is expected this week but what is a mystery.
Republicans in the Senate have made supportive noises about background check changes.
Mitch McConnell, Senate majority leader, has publicly stated he won’t bring any gun control out that the President won’t sign. The proverbial ball is in Trump’s court on what we could see become law.
The final passed item was an amendment to NICS adding misdemeanor hate crime convictions into the same disqualifying bracket as misdemeanor domestic violence. On the surface this looks fine. The question becomes what are the misdemeanor hate crimes? Are there any crimes on that list that, removed of the ‘hate crime’ descriptor should not result in temporary or permanent 2nd Amendment rights revocation?
We are people, a society, that holds too much faith in titles and headlines to convey the information we need. If the title of a bill sounds good and makes us feel good, it’s good. SAFE Act. Extreme Risk Protection Order. Titles that sound good, the procedures are written down for anyone to see and find the weaknesses of the rules and the potential for abuse. We are counted on not to look.
Is The Tavor 7 Accurate?
With the release of the Israeli Weapon Industries Tavor 7, their newest bullpup battle rifle, there has been an ongoing question on the rifle’s accuracy. This speculation has come from a couple of sources and was, in part, caused by of some of the perfectionists that IWI has on staff here in the U.S.
The Tavor 7 was a fully fleshed concept in IWI circles when inquiring parties made serious inroads into the prototypes for a mission profile. After those inquiries, the IWI team went back to the shop with a goal to tighten down the Tavor 7’s accuracy to a much greater degree than the original design had conceived. Comments were made about the GOAL of a 1 minute of angle gun.
Corners of the internet took this as the accuracy gospel according to IWI and when the truth emerged, they raged. This is the internet, what can you do?
Tavor 7 Comparative Accuracy
[TL:DR Version – It’s accurate and will have an effective range on man sized and medium game targets out to 600 yards or so. HINT: Don’t disrespect trigger control]
Testing criteria: Comparative grouping on 3 platforms to establish standards and information on the Tavor 7 using a 3x10rd format. Ammunition is M80 Ball, Federal.
Platform 1: M110 SASS, Operation Parts SR25 Conversion
– The M110 is the control, it has an established accuracy standard of 1.1 MOA with M118LR 175gr ammunition.
Platform 2: FN SCAR17s (Upgraded)
– The SCAR is a modern tech competitor in certain respects to the Tavor 7. Namely the barrels used in both rifles are just over 16″ with 1:12 twist rates, cold hammer forged and chrome lined.
Platform 3: IWI Tavor 7
Course of fire: From prone, supported, fire a 10rd group into the designated box. Switch weapons after each group to allow some cooling and not ‘dial in’ or fatigue on one platform. 3 groups were fired from each rifle total. Rifles had been fired and effective zero’s confirmed prior to the test.
Optics: Each rifle was wearing a different class of optic but all were shot at 4x to match the SCAR’s TA31 ECOS.
Stabilizers: Both the M110 and SCAR were fired from bipods. The Tavor 7 was braced on a bag.
Results:
All 9 groups plus a quick string of 3 headshots I did to confirm zero. The results tell the tale of the Tavor 7 and the accuracy finally achieved out of the box without sacrificing the rifle’s function (Note: It is known that the T7 hates TULA due to the crap consistency of primer depth and hardness)
The individual strings of fire varied as I switched off weapons. M110.. SCAR17.. Tavor 7.. Repeat next line down.
Pictured here, the middle sting of fire, is probably the most illustrative. It felt the best on all platforms and the groupings reflect that. I was fully warmed up to shooting all 3 and not fatiguing yet. Shooter fatigue is real, anyone who has shot a slow repetitive test like this will understand. It’s one of the reasons you don’t spend a long time chasing a rifle zero.
Conclusions based on results:
The Tavor 7 grouped the worst of the 3 rifles, yes. The T7 is not going to win your PRS match. Not it’s job and not its design.
But it didn’t lose by much nor was “winning” the shoot off the point of the test. The reason for the test was to gather shareable data so that an average of comparative performance can be established. I didn’t expect a $2,099 7.62x51mm stock bullpup carbine to beat $6,000 and $10,000 dollar systems, one of which was built from the ground up as a precision rifle.
The largest contributing factor to this accuracy, in my opinion, is the trigger. Once aftermarket 2-Stage triggers for the T7 become a reality we can see the accuracy gap close further. It’s never going to beat the M110 or SCAR, those rifles both have mechanical advantages that lend accuracy the Tavor can’t match as a bullpup and in how the system itself is put together and serviced.
Another illustration I included, the barrel/sight offset of the Tavor 7. Shots were at 10 yards with a zero for 50, done quickly while standing. (Yes, I like to pull shots left while shooting quickly. Thomas can roll his eyes at me later when I see him at the next Tavor Operator course.)
The Tavor rifles have a significant optic over bore offset 
Rounds fired close will impact low, low left if you pull.
The T7’s trigger feels like an old roller delayed H&K trigger, like the G3 and MP5, it’s a trigger you have to ‘roll through’. The trigger on both the other rifles in the test are 2-Stage triggers meant for very predictable and accurate breaks, something infinitely easier to accomplish in a standard trigger group without a long transfer bar. While the Tavor 7 trigger is good, the best of any bullpup I’ve shot stock, it isn’t a Geissele or Knight’s 2-Stage and when shooting for pure accuracy trigger break does matter. Minimizing sympathetic motion transfer to the gun is easier when the trigger is helping you out.
The 7 is a practically accurate rifle that can take advantage of the effective range on a .308. Rumors of its inaccuracy are exaggerated. Kind of a strange reversal of the M14‘s legendary status actually.
It will work well as a battle rifle, especially in any environmental parameter where being compact gets you those mobility bonus points, precisely as intended.
Remember to keep it fed once you find one too.
Widener’s is the place to do it.
Kimber EVO SP Custom Shop
Some follow the established code – others break the mold. The Custom Shop model of the Kimber EVO SP is the best you can get. Stiplex-inspired slide serrations cover the slide, front strap, and G10 grips. Upgraded sights and Kimber’s patented KimPro II finish ensure a long life for your firearm. It’s the ultimate choice for concealed carry.
Gun Confiscation? “Hell yes,”
“Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47,” O’Rourke said, on the Democratic Party debate stage, for all to hear and see. “We’re not going to allow them to be used against fellow Americans anymore.”
Robert “Beto” O’Rourke, popular Democratic candidate (but far from front runner, Biden “Ban Multiple Bullet Magazines” is currently), stopped pretending at the latest debate in the attempt to secure the presidential nomination. Gun confiscation is the name of the game.
Whether they call it a “buy back” or continue the blunt honesty streak is yet to be determined. They are going to “take” your rifle.
“We’re not going to allow them to be used against fellow Americans anymore.”
Okay, Beto… just where are we allowing these to be used against fellow Americans? Point out this ‘Purge’ arena where anyone can bring their AR or AK and fire indiscriminately upon their fellow citizens? No? It doesn’t exist? You were just obfuscating the topic so much as to imply that murder was somehow allowed because of the ownership of firearms, but just the firearms that account for the smallest percentage of national homicides.
Right? That’s what we we’re doing. Taking out the source of epidemic violence responsible for 0.7% of the deaths the flu causes each year. (Sources CDC and FBI)
Yet no one is claiming we allow the flu to ravage our fellow Americans. It kills 138:1 compared to rifles and yet we praise the efforts each year to vaccinate and prevent the rapidly mutating strain from causing as much harm as we are able to (except anti-vaxxers, but they’re kind of self selecting into the 138 part). Simultaneously politicos and news heads are decrying the existence of rifles.
So now it is in the open, gun confiscation. They will take them. “Hell yes,” they will take them… at gunpoint with their own ARs is the only method that remotely pushes a percentage of compliance.
Gun owners here are tired of it. We’re sick of the double speak. Thank you, Beto, for at least being an honest idiot.
Good luck at your 1-5% depending on polls.
Walther Launches New Website Targeting Innovative Customer Experience and Education.
Walther launched a new innovative website that helps customers educate themselves on Walther history, products, shooting techniques, and where to buy.
One of the most significant changes is the integration of Walther Defense and Competition products. Customers can now go to one destination for info on the Walther Defense line of products (PPQ, PPS, P22, PK380, Q5 Match, and PPK) and the Walther Competition line (KK500, LG400, FP500, GSP Expert, SSP, and LP500).
Customers can experience a unique interaction with Walther products with new videos, articles, and augmented reality. Choose any of the Walther models by narrowing down products through the new Usage section of the website.
Experience the new Walther Campus by learning comprehensive cleaning and disassembly strategies for all Walther models and shooting techniques ranging from basics to competition shooting.
“We are very excited to launch this new website. As the performance leader in the industry, we wanted our website to reflect the performance that our products provide. Owning a Walther is an experience, and we want our customers to feel like they are part of our team. The Walther Campus allows our customers to learn from our employees, shooting team, pro-staff, and industry professionals. This overall experience helps new and existing shooters to have a better understanding of who Walther is.” Said Cody Osborn, Marketing Manager of Walther Arms, Inc.
About Walther
Walther is the performance leader in the firearms industry. Renowned throughout the world for its innovation since Carl Walther and his son, Fritz, created the first blow-back semi-automatic pistol in 1908. Today, the innovative spirit builds off the invention of the concealed carry gun with the PPK series by creating the PPQ, PPS and Q5 Match Steel Frame series. Military, Police, and other government security groups in every country of the world have relied on the high-quality craftsmanship and rugged durability of Walther products. Excellent service and superior quality will continue to be benchmarks of Walther success. In the future Walther will continue its long tradition of technical expertise and innovation in design and production of firearms. https://waltherarms.com
Zilis-Sacred Mountain Retreat: Sometimes you don’t know what you need until it’s presented to you…
Guest Post from a good friend of ours, Rob Winner. His son, Jase, is a writer here
Back in June I was invited to spend time with fellow Military, Veterans and First Responders at the Zilis-Sacred Mountain Retreat Center (Z-SMRC) in Deadwood, South Dakota. I can honestly say this proved to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
For years I’ve had a really good handle on my demons, both the good and bad ones. Enough so that others sought out my counsel in dealing with their own chaos. Well, this weekend at Z-SMRC was a pinnacle moment for me.
I spent time with, shared stories, laughed and cried with x8 amazing heroes. I watched strangers from different backgrounds with different stories and different scars come together to become friends and inevitably become a new family. Over the course of the retreat: Combat Vets laughed and cried about the excitement and chaos or war, LEOs laughed and cried about the dregs of society and EMS personnel laughed and cried about the whims of fate and the evil of the human spirit. Our group of x4 women and x4 men included: retired Dallas cop, retired USAF cop, an Army Trauma Nurse, an Army Infantryman, an Army Engineer, EMTs and a Fire Fighter/ Paramedic. We had a broad spectrum in our class which although from different paths had very similar scars of service.
The weight of the world is that of demons left unchecked and unsupervised. Through our peer-to-peer support and teamwork everyone walked away a week later stronger and wiser and more capable of quelling the noise. There are good and bad to every story, but this story ends with strangers building bonds that transcend friendship and created a lasting family. Different clans coming together as one tribe, a tribe of amazing people who believe in a higher calling, service before self and a dedication to this country that runs deeper than blood.
Enough good cannot be said for the amazing work that Jerrid Geving and Emily Kruger have done in putting together the Zilis-Sacred Mountain Retreat Center and this program. Hands on work to build up a team, Equine therapy because horses heal souls, blacksmithing knives from RR nails, Leather working to make sheaths, Yoga, group trips, etc. The ebb and flow of the Z-SMRC was spot on perfect and the cast/ crew was amazing. We had some pretty great folks pass through while we were on deck, fellow graduates of the program, supporters who brought their craft and trade with them for us to experience and a Gold Star family stopping by to say hello.
To be honest I feel humbled and honored to have been a part of it. The transformation of folks involved was truly phenomenal. In a case or two we literally helped each other snatch a soul back from the edge. I’ll be returning to the Black Hills to help as often as I’m invited because I believe in their mission and goals 110%. The beauty of the Zilis-Sacred Mountain Retreat Center is that it is a No Cost program for the attendees. Airfare (or gas reimbursement), lodging, food, activities… all covered by the Z-SMRC program. Not all wounds can be healed, not all the screams can be silenced and yet it is the helping hands of family, friends and strangers that help guide the path forward through the darkness of uncertainty. Not all demons can be snuffed out but it is possible to control the demons and turn down the volume on the chaos. Contact the Zilis-Sacred Mountain Retreat Center if you, a loved one or a coworker/ friend are in need of these services. If you have questions or wish to recommend someone to attend the program, please reach out to Emily: SACREDMTN18@GMAIL.COM or Rob: ROBERT.WINNER.ZSMRC@GMAIL.COM
Colt is out… No more open market long guns
First spotted at TTAG
RSR Group, a major firearm distributor, is reporting that Colt’s Manufacturing LLC is ceasing production of long guns for the civilian market. Once the recognized standard for AR-15’s, the M16 and M4 were their babies. They were the recognized and respected leader for law enforcement patrol rifles.
If it wasn’t a Colt it wasn’t up to standards and it would probably fail.
The firearm industry giant has had a rough road in the last decade and a half. Poor decisions have led to bankruptcies (yes, multiple) and the old pony has lost ground and lost face in a market that has required rapid adapting since the late 2000’s.
Colt developed the reputation of not caring about it’s civilian customer base. This would prove cancerous to the brand as a whole, regardless of their quality. That quality was also surpassed and undercut by competing companies as Colt sat there… basically saying, “Oh, well we still build the M4… so suck it.”
Until…
…Colt didn’t build the M4 anymore, not exclusively. FN struck a devastating blow to Colt’s elitist pillar when they won a production contract for the M4, what they already had for the M16A4 but the Marine Corps was the buyer their. The Marines, being the little branch at only around 200,000 personnel, didn’t command the gravitas of buying power that the U.S. Army does. The buying of the cooler ‘more operator’ M4’s was seen as their claim to fame… still. Until it wasn’t. Remington Defense also received an M4 contract.
Colt was no longer exclusive. Colt hadn’t produced guns the civilian market really wanted in awhile either. Their last major product on the market for citizens was the 6940 model… and that was around 2010. Colt was no longer the name of the high end market. They didn’t own the entry level market either, low buget purchasers felt Colt saw them as too plebeian to purchase their products.
Ruger, Smith & Wesson, Springfield Armory, and many others ate up those eagerly waiting AR dollars. The build your own market exploded… and Colt took no notice. Others did, Aero Precision is the titan of the build market… no pony in sight.
Is Colt done?
No. The company still holds hefty .Gov contracts for the M4A1 but those are fleeting things and far from exclusive. But after having tanked their civilian market appeal it’s a wildcard on how long Colt’s Pony can keep limping along. They didn’t adapt. They didn’t diversify. Colt didn’t listen to the people who wanted to give them money. The result is the DoD could retire them with the stroke of a pen… a new small arms contract.