Taurus “Here to Play”
Taurus
Both myself and American Handgunner Editorial Director Michael Humphries just returned from a short trip to the new Taurus factory in Bainbridge, Georgia. The company is moving all U.S. production from Miami to south Georgia where the local folks are simply ecstatic about the project.
Aside from the building tour, we also got to meet many of the folks from both the executive and engineering side of the U.S. house of the Brazilian gunmaker. The thing that struck me was the openness of the entire team in acknowledging Taurus has had some quality issues in the past, but they want to overcome them.
As Taurus President David Blenker told me, “We’re here to play,” meaning the company wants to become known for innovative, quality guns rather than just inexpensive ones. Speaking as someone who is pretty good at shoveling through bull excrement, it seems like there really is a sense of both family and mission in the Taurus team.
While there, we also got to shoot some new guns that will soon be unveiled. I’ve promised to keep them under wraps until a future date, but I will say one in particular is going to be a real eye-opener. As they say on television, “Stay tuned …”
House Logo
No House Calls!
You want to know how not to win friends and influence people when discussing Second Amendment issues? Try showing up at their house!
This recently happened in Texas where a furious Republican House Speaker Dennis Bonnen killed a proposed “constitutional carry” bill after gun-rights activist Chris McNutt showed up at Bonnen’s house to press the speaker about the law.
According to stories from Fox News Network and the Dallas Morning News, Bonnen was at the state capital in Austin but his wife and sons were inside the home when McNutt arrived. The legislator later said McNutt’s actions were a demonstration of “insanity” and called him an “overzealous advocate for criminals to get a gun.” McNutt also visited the homes of Representatives Dustin Burrows and Four Price.
While I’m not sure about the accuracy of Bonnen’s comment regarding Mr. McNutt “wanting criminals to own firearms,” I completely sympathize with his concerns about people showing up on his doorstep to rant about their pet causes (even if the cause is one I support).
Just stop and think: if Sarah Brady would smile when she heard of your plans to “demonstrate your rights,” it’s probably a bad idea.
X
Down And Dirty, That’s Us!
We recently got an email from a reader commenting on the fact that GUNS, unlike most other magazines, will occasionally show a dirty firearm in our photos.
I’m not referring to mud, blood or crud, but rather the normal powder, lead and range gunk that accumulates from hours on the firing line. While you’ll never see dirt or fingerprints on our professionally shot, showcase cover guns (kudos to lensman extraordinaire Rob Jones), it’s quite common for a story to include “real world” gun photos!
The idea here is you can see where powder or fouling accumulates, fingerprints come to rest or muck collects in crevices. This allows eagle-eyed readers to get a better sense of how the gun performs and how much cleaning/maintenance it will require at home.
Therefore — if you like your prose clean (well, kinda) and your guns dirty — we’re your magazine!
Brownells
Anybody Else Fall For It?
On April 1, aka “April Fools Day,” our friends from Brownells sent out a press release touting their BRN-134D semi-automatic minigun. The “six-barreled, belt-fed beast is backwards compatible with the Dillon Aero M-134D Minigun” and has a capacity of 3,000 rounds of 7.62x51mm NATO ammo. It also includes six chamber flags, all for the low, low price of $125,000.
For those who don’t get the joke, a semi-auto minigun would be like taking your kids to soccer practice in an Indy car — a real waste of potential!
On the same day, body armor maker BulletSafe sent out a press release on their “Ear Tuffs Bulletproof Ear Muffs.”
The release starts with standard glowing “sell copy” regarding the muffs, until you reach the paragraph where it discusses construction. Instead of lightweight aramid fibers or polyethylene panels, BulletSafe decided to keep it simple by using AR500 steel plates. As the release says, “For this reason Ear Tuffs give you 19.8 lbs. of protection!”
Both are pretty funny — unless you are a harried magazine editor sorting through the daily deluge of emails and press releases, and decided to save the media releases for possible articles.
Yeah, I bought it. Totally and completely — but, come to think of it, either item would be really cool!
Weatherby
Weatherby To Wyoming
Taurus isn’t the only gun manufacturer packing up and moving to greener pastures! Family-owned Weatherby has turned on the lights in their new Sheridan, Wyoming, manufacturing plant.
The first guns out of the new facility will be the Wyoming Commemorative rifles. Available in a gold or silver version, the rifle will be chambered for the .300 Weatherby Magnum and feature fine checkering of the Exhibition- or AAA- grade walnut stocks along with the state’s “Bucking Horse and Rider” engraved on the floor plate.
Weatherby will be holding a grand opening of the new plant this summer and FMG Publications will be there!
