How Cool Is My (Old) Tool?

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Check out my former duty gun, as re-imagined by the creative geniuses at Toner Machine and Tool (TMT). We officers were allowed to buy back our individual service weapons when the Police department changed guns and what started as my run-of-the-mill GLOCK 22 received the full makeover treatment courtesy of TMT boss Jim Toner. The pistol now sports a “Thin Blue Line” theme with all sorts of nifty flourishes: full grip reduction, complete stipple job, trigger guard reduction, “Bone Saw” front cocking serrations, machined pocket for optics, U.S. flag engraving, multi-cam Cerakote and several other fun things. The only problem now is my inner conflict: Do I shoot it, or let it freeload as a “safe queen?” Decisions, decisions …

Big Green In The Red

Things keep churning at Remington. The company filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2018, shortly after a Connecticut trial court found Sandy Hook parents could sue the company for manufacturing one of the guns used in the massacre. Fortunately, Remington then emerged from bankruptcy a few months later after shedding nearly a billion dollars in debt. Now, in May of this year, it was reported the company plans to furlough 500 employees and shutter production lines in Alabama and New York this summer in an effort to reduce excessive production. The company also just named Ken D’Arcy as its new CEO and made some rearrangements in the executive suite. You have to be a serious optimist to find much positive karma right now at America’s Oldest Gun Maker.

Big Distributor Sinking

United Sporting Companies (USC), a huge firearms distributor that began life as Ellett Brothers and also owns Simmons and Accusport (among other companies), recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection due to too much debt and excessive inventory. Anti-gunners are hailing this latest gun business snafu as proof the industry is in trouble but according to court filings, it primarily stems from USC betting on a huge demand spike if Hillary Clinton had been elected. However, there is another part of the story not being widely reported: primary USC creditor Prospect Capital Corp. also filed a suit against Ellett Brothers’ owner, Wellspring Capital Management, alleging investment funds were used for personal expenses by the owners rather than put into the business. As they say, there’s surely “more to come …”

Salesforce Forcing Gun Makers Out

Here’s one of those hidden but major assaults on the Second Amendment: Salesforce, the leading provider of back-end customer-management business software, started banning firearms businesses from using the company’s wares in April. Recently, Capstone Precision Group (manufacturer of Berger Bullets and distributor of Lapau and SK products among others) issued a press release noting it was going back to old school methods of dealing with customers “… before supporting software providers that grandstand in the name of political correctness.” It’s funny the press release doesn’t mention Salesforce by name.

Interesting Move

If you spend much time on the internet, there is a significant change you might want to note: 2nd Adventure Group, wholly owned by Pete and Frank Brownell, has purchased AR15.com. The website is a major force in the online gun world, boasting 5 million users. According to media reports, Brownells “sees the importance, now more than ever, for having a free, unfiltered forum for pro-Constitutional voices and ideas to be heard.” It is reported there are “big things ahead” for AR15.com and now with the backing of a group having serious business and media-savvy, along with impeccable 2nd Amendment credentials, this probably means the site will become a bigger player, especially in the Gun Rights movement. Good for Pete and Frank!

A Great Read

Don’t buy the 40th edition of the Blue Book of Gun Values. Just don’t do it, I’m warning you! The reason — you’ll probably never get any work done. I just got my very first copy of the venerable (and weighty) book and to say I was missing something is a gross understatement. Not only does the book offer over 500,000 gun values for 23,000 individual models in 2,500 pages, it gives brief histories for many, offers serialization charts to help determine age and even has an 80-page color spread to illustrate how to grade guns. Even if you’re not buying and selling firearms for a living, this one book is as close to a “Bible” as there is in the gun business. Check it out at
www.bluebookofgunvalues.com

New Cover Gun — Not!

Once in a while something comes across the transom that causes us to clap like a toddler and chuckle enough we have to share with our reader family. In this case, it was an email touting a “fully loaded” AR15 rifle. As you can see (we apologize for poor image quality, but hey, it’s the internet!), this super-duper uber-gun really is fully accessorized and has everything except a ground-pepper dispenser and a tactical beard-oil container. We suppose there is a trigger in there somewhere but couldn’t swear as such in a court of law. If you were hoping to see this on the cover of GUNS, you’ll probably be waiting a long time but I’d guess several of our esteemed competitors are trying to find the owner as we speak.

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