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Interesting Choice For Stag Arms – Houston or Myrtle Beach?

September 5, 2013 by 13 Comments

Mark Malkowski, President of Stag Arms, has an interesting choice to make. According to an announcement he made this past Friday, Malkowski has narrowed the choice for where Stag expands to either Houston, Texas or the Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina. The ultimate decision will be made by the end of this month.

“South Carolina is very competitive,” Mark Malkowski said of what the state has to offer his company versus that put forward by the Lone Star State. “At this point, we’re spending our time evaluating the offers.”

 Assuming both states come up with comparable financial incentives, what advantages would Houston offer over Horry County (the H is silent)?

Houston would offer two major airports, two major universities with engineering schools, a number of technically skilled workers available with the downsizing of NASA, and all the amenities of a major metropolitan area including world-class healthcare facilities. The downside is that property taxes are higher, real estate and rents are more expensive, and, most importantly, wages tend to be higher. The overall cost of living as calculated by numerous cost of living calculators is about the same.

What about Myrtle Beach and Horry County?

First and foremost, it is closer to Connecticut. That was one of the deciding factors for PTR Industries when they relocated to Horry County.Workers that relocated from Connecticut are still within a long day’s driving distance of their relatives up north. Horry County officials are hoping that works in their favor.

Brad Lofton, CEO of the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corp., agreed that Horry County compares favorably in most areas with Texas, but hoped that Horry’s proximity to Stag’s Connecticut plant, quality of life and short distance to customers in Columbia and elsewhere in the Southeast could be the points that will sell Malkowski.

Both states have supportive Republican governors, good gun laws, and a welcoming business climate. Ultimately, I think it will come down to the intangibles such as quality of life. In other words, do they want to live at the beach or live in a major metropolis?

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Ruger Finalizes Purchase Of NC Plant

September 4, 2013 by 2 Comments

Ruger announced yesterday that they had completed the purchase of the former Unifi plant in Mayodan, North Carolina.

September 03, 2013

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE-RGR) announced today that it has finalized the purchase of a 220,000 square foot facility in Mayodan, North Carolina. This is the Company’s first major expansion in over 25 years, and production at the new facility is expected to begin during the first quarter of 2014.

In conjunction with Ruger’s announcement, the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners approved their package of incentives for Ruger and the Mayodan Town Council is expected to do the same next Monday.

As part of their deal, the town of Mayodan and Rockingham County officials had to offer incentives to the company.

Rockingham County Commissioners approved incentives in the amount of $942,000, Tuesday night.

Mayodan has scheduled a public meeting for September 9 on their incentives offer to Ruger. Town officials are offering $823,000.

The company won’t receive any incentives until 2015 and it will be over a 14 year period.

The manager of the new Ruger plant, Mickey Wilson, said at the commissioners’ meeting that Ruger wanted to be in Rockingham County.

“We sought Rockingham County,” Wilson said. “It was all based on available real estate at the beginning and through our diligence process we found that the workforce was equally as good as the available real estate.”

“Plus we’re big on Second-Amendment rights,” said Vice Chariman Craig Travis.

 There is no word yet on exactly what firearms will be made at the Mayodan plant. However, some production will be shifted from the Newport, NH plant to Mayodan according to the plant manager.

Mickey Wilson, the plant manager, said the company will shift two production lines from Ruger’s New Hampshire plant, with the other lines being dedicated to new products and designs. The initial hiring will include production workers, tool makers and engineers for manufacturing and product design.

“We are planning for a soft opening in the first quarter, but we would like to go full force as quickly after that as we can,” Wilson said.

Just last week, Ruger announced their new Ruger American Rimfire rifle. This was the first new firearm introduced by Ruger since January at the SHOT Show. I’m sure they have more designs ready to go and are only waiting for the production lines to be set up in Mayodan.

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The Streak Had To Be Broken Sometime

September 3, 2013 by 6 Comments

After 38 straight months of increases in the NSSF-adjusted NICS checks when compared to the same month a year previously, the streak has ended. The NSSF-adjusted NICS checks for the month of August 2013 were 2.5% lower than August 2012.

The August 2013 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,016,559 is a decrease of 2.5 percent compared to the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,042,924 in August 2012. For comparison, the unadjusted August 2013 NICS figure of 1,408,468 reflects a 7.0 percent decrease from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,514,696 in August 2012.

This NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,016,559, while being a 2.5 percent decrease from the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,042,924 in August 2012, is an increase of 24.6 percent over checks in August 2011.

The streak of increases began in May 2010.

It should be noted that NICS checks are not a perfect correlation with firearm sales. This is because a number of states such as Connecticut and Utah use the NICS database to perform background checks on applicants for concealed carry permits as well as existing holders.

As to the streak being broken, we saw signs of the slowing last month. While ammo is still in relatively short supply, you can find a full gun case including AR-15s at most Walmarts.

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Well, It Does Have Rifles In It

September 2, 2013 by 3 Comments

The Halo 4 Global Championship Finals were held this weekend in Seattle in conjunction with PAX Prime 2013. The event was hosted by Microsoft in Benaroya Hall. Over 140 gamers from around the world who had qualified for the event were competing for $500,000 in prize money with $200,000 going to the winner.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, the Complementary Spouse’s nephews are big gamers and play Halo. Her 20-year old nephew Aaron – gamer name LX Ace XL – is a junior at the University of Kentucky majoring in chemical engineering.

We found out that “Ace” made it to the semi-finals earlier today. Then we found out that he made it to the finals and a chance to play for $200,000. At the very least, he would take home $75,000 for second place. “Ace” would be going up against “Pistola” who has been one of the top Halo players for the last few years and widely considered the favorite in the tournament.

The format of the finals was a head to head, one on one, match-up with the player getting the most kills in 10 minutes the winner. If it ended in a tie, then a second round would be played with the first player getting a kill declared the winner. It was the ultimate of sudden death playoffs in the gaming world.
 

So when all was said and done, “Ace” or Aaron won. He turned out to be the quicker and better shot at the end.

He goes home with $200,000.

He gets publicly congratulated by his older brother Kyle – a top player in his own right under the name Elamite Warrior.

And, he gets a nice hug from the hotty announcer Jessica Chobot.

Not a bad for an afternoon in Seattle. So congratulations to Aaron for a game well-played and for being an all-around nice guy.

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Hornady On Ammo Availability

August 31, 2013 by

Steve and Jason Hornady of ammo maker Hornady Manufacturing released a YouTube video this week discussing the ammo shortage. In their own humorous way, they showed that they really are working 24/7 on getting ammo out the door. Their parody intro is really good. It’s great to see a company that isn’t so stuck up on itself.

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Move Over Mark Harmon, Here Comes Andy Traver

August 31, 2013 by 3 Comments

Actor Mark Harmon, in this role as Agent Jethro Gibbs, is probably the name most associated with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service or NCIS. That may change with the selection of our old friend Andrew Traver to head NCIS.


Traver was selected by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus on Friday to become the Director of NCIS. Unlike promotions to admiral and other high civilian posts, the Director of NCIS does not need Senate confirmation.

“Andrew Traver is absolutely the right person to lead the NCIS,” said Mabus. “His strong law enforcement background and experience make him the ideal choice to guide NCIS in preventing and solving crimes and helping to counter those who would do us harm. As a former Naval officer, he understands the Navy and Marine Corps and the evolving security issues we face today.”

 Traver is currently the SAC of the BATFE’s Denver Field Division and was previously the SAC of the Chicago Field Division. We in the gun community know Mr. Traver as Obama’s failed nominee to head BATFE as well as being an anti-gunner.

The Obama Administration is famous for throwing people under the bus and Traver was one of those. After B. Todd Jones was named Acting Director of BATFE, it was clear that Traver would never get the post of Director. This post as Director of NCIS may be his consolation prize for being a loyalist and keeping his mouth shut during the whole time he was being considered for BATFE Director.

Since Secretary of the Navy Mabus is using Traver’s former service as a Naval officer as part of the rationale for appointing him to be head of NCIS, I think it is fair to ask more questions about his service. According to the questionnaire he submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee, he only served in the Navy from November 1985 until May 1987.

United
States
Navy
(Newport,
Rhode
Island;
Coronado,
California;
San
Diego,
California;
Pearl
Harbor,
Hawaii/USS
Benjamin
Stoddert;
Glenview,
Illinois),
Commissioned
Officer/O-l
Ensign
(November
1985-May
1987);

The questionnaire also reports that he left the Navy early as an Ensign with a “Hardship Discharge/Resignation”.  The normal service commitment is 3 to 5 years for Naval officers. As I said back in 2010, I wondered why he left a growing Navy that needed officers for its planned 600 ship Navy to join a local police department and then a backwater Treasury Department agency. It still would be interesting to know what the “hardship” was that allowed Traver to leave the Navy before fulfilling his normal service commitment. Given that he won’t be going through a confirmation hearing I doubt we’ll ever know.

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High Demand For Ammo Is Not Just In The US

August 30, 2013 by 1 Comment

I read a press release from the Swiss ammunition manufacturer RUAG this week announcing that they were increasing production. RUAG Ammotec produces ammo in plants in Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Hungary, and Tampa, Florida. While you might not recognize RUAG Ammotec, you’d probably recognize some of their brands. They include RWS, Dynamit Nobel, Norma, Rottweil, Hirtenberger, MFS, Swiss P, and GECO.

What made RUAG’s announcement interesting was that they said they were increasing production due to “the high level of capacity utilisation in Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Hungary and the USA.” This is bureaucratic-speak saying that not only are Americans buying more ammo, so are the Germans, Swiss, Swedes, and Hungarians.

From their announcement:

RUAG Ammotec was quick to recognize the signs and create additional production capacities. On the one hand, this increase in capacity is being achieved by taking on more staff and by intensifying shift operation, and on the other hand a major investment programme in the upper double-digit million range is to be implemented in the coming three years. It is the biggest project of its kind in the history of RUAG Ammotec.

“Expanding our production network across all our locations will ideally increase our current capacities. This is the only way for us to be able to meet the high international demand even better in future and reinforce our market position,” states Cyril Kubelka, who has been the CEO of RUAG Ammotec and member of the Executive Board of RUAG for many years.

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Win For Open Carry In Mississippi

August 30, 2013 by 3 Comments

The Mississippi Supreme Court overturned Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Winston Kidd’s injunction against House Bill 2 today. HB 2 defined what constituted concealed for the purposes of concealed carry. By defining concealed, the bill clarified that open carry is permitted under the Mississippi State Constitution.

Judge Kidd had found HB 2 to be “unconstitutionally vague” back in July and had issued a permanent injunction against the law. The parties seeking the injunction included Hinds County DA Robert Shuler Smith, Hinds County Sheriff Tyrone Lewis, and St. Senator John Horhn (D-Jackson). Backers of the the lawsuit included the Southern Poverty Law Center who helped draft the briefs.

In their 9-0 decision, the Mississippi Supreme Court found that Judge Kidd had erred as a matter of law.

This Court now finds that the Circuit Judge erred as a matter of law when he found House Bill 2 to be vague and, therefore, unconstitutional. He also erred when he stated that “a reasonable person reading the bill could not discern what the law allows and what it prohibits.” Therefore, the Petition for Interlocutory Appeal is granted and rendered, and the Order Granting Plaintiffs’ Motion for Injunctive Relief is vacated.

The Court also assessed the cost of the appeal to the Appellees.

Mississippi politicians were quick to praise the Supreme Court’s decision on open carry.

Gov. Phil Bryant (R-MS) released this statement:

JACKSON—The Mississippi Supreme Court today ruled 9-0 that House Bill 2, which clarifies the definition of “concealed” for purposes of Mississippi laws regarding the concealed carrying of firearms, is valid and constitutional. The court also vacated the injunction that a Hinds County judge had issued against the bill. As a result, it is now clear that House Bill 2 can take effect statewide.

“House Bill 2 is an important clarification of citizens’ right to keep and bear arms under the state and federal Constitutions. I am very pleased that the court has agreed that House Bill 2 is consistent with the Constitution so that law will now take effect statewide.”

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves (R-MS) issued a briefer statement praising the decision:

“I’m proud the Supreme Court confirmed our goal of protecting our right to bear arms. Today’s ruling is a win for our Constitution and a win for every Mississippian.”

Rep. Andy Gipson (R-Braxton), author of HB 2, said he knew his bill was constitutional and was happy that the Court agreed.

“When the lawsuit was first filed, I said I never seen a lawsuit filed over the constitutionality of a law in the Constitution,” Gipson said.

Gipson has said “If you carry a weapon concealed, you need a concealed carry permit. Otherwise, the Constitution of 1890 guarantees each citizen the right to keep and bear arms to defend himself/herself. No change to the constitution here; just defining concealed for the first time. Until now, individual law enforcement or courts could fabricate a definition which resulted in an illogical infringement on constitutional rights.”

The statement from Secretary of State Delbert Hoseman (R-MS) noted he was a NRA Life Member and he was pleased the Supreme Court “has protected this fundamental right.”

Of course, the plaintiffs who brought the case were none too happy. St. Sen. John Horhn (D-Jackson) plans to introduce legislation to require permits for both open and concealed carry. He has also called on Jackson and Hinds County leaders to ban open carry. It should be noted that Sen. Horhn, like every other member of the Mississippi legislature, voted for HB 2.

There is no word of any public reaction from Hinds County DA Robert Shuler Smith or his attorney Lisa Ross.

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Good Advice From Doug Koenig On New Shooters

August 28, 2013 by 1 Comment

The National Shooting Sports Foundation released another of their training videos featuring Doug Koenig. Unlike the others which dealt with improving your shooting, this one was dedicated to the proper ways to introduce new shooters to the sport. The video features both Doug and his son Trevor.

Doug suggests starting out with air rifles for absolute new comers and with rimfire for those slightly more experienced. Above all else, you don’t want to overwhelm the new shooter with a “hand cannon”. He makes good points about the use of reactive targets as a way to keep things interesting.

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Beretta Reported To Be Looking At Central Georgia

August 28, 2013 by 3 Comments

The Thomaston (GA) Times is reporting that Beretta was scouting central Georgia as a potential spot for relocation. The Thomaston-Upson Industrial Development Authority had reported last week that a prospect codenamed Project Clover had toured the area and the Central Georgia Business and Technology Park. They confirmed it was a firearms company.

Later in a joint meeting between the Upson County commissioners and town councils for Thomaston and Yatesville, the head of the county commission said the Project Clover was actually Beretta.

During a joint meeting of the Upson County Board of Commissioners (BOC) and the Thomaston and Yatesville city councils Tuesday night, Commission Chairman Rusty Blackston and Mayor Hays Arnold, both members of TUIDA, told the crowd the potential industry is Beretta Firearms.

“We had a very good prospect that, in my impression, is very interested in Upson County,” said Blackston. “They said we could go ahead and make it known to the public who they are. Beretta Firearms is looking to move to Upson County, which would be an impact of approximately 400 to 450 jobs on startup. That would put us on the global market.”

“Let’s make it clear, they have not decided on Thomaston-Upson County,” cautioned Arnold. “But, we are extremely high-ranking on their list at this point in time.”

The executive director of the TUIDA, Kyle Fletcher, said that Beretta was given an overview of the community on everything ranging from healthcare to the new fine arts auditorium. She especially emphasized the employee training opportunities offered through Southern Crescent Technical College’s Training Facility. According to their website, the college does offer programs in CNC Technology and Machine Tool Technology.

Thomaston and Upson County are located almost in the middle of a triangle formed by Atlanta to the north, Macon to the east, and Columbus to the west.

It should be pointed out that even if Beretta does open operations in Georgia they are not likely to stop production for the foreseeable future in Maryland despite that state’s laws. Jeff Reh has stated many times that Beretta has certain obligations to the US military for production of the M9 pistol that would be disrupted if they moved that plant. Beretta has also stated that with the passage of Maryland’s new gun laws that they shelved any plans for expansion of the Accokeek plant.

It was long thought that Beretta would probably do any expansion near their existing operations in Spotsylvania, Virginia. However, plans for a Virginia Railway Express station and a mixed-use development which are adjacent to the Spotsylvania operation have caused Beretta to look elsewhere.

(Jeff) Reh said he understands why Spotsylvania officials chose that site for the VRE station, and why they approved the mixed-use development. But he said Beretta doesn’t want to expand in an area that will be densely populated.

He said the company doesn’t plan to close its existing distribution center but is looking elsewhere for an expansion that could mean a $10 million investment and 50 new jobs.

Reh didn’t offer specifics about the expansion, but according to a letter he wrote to Spotsylvania officials in 2011, the company has plans for a new facility for “the manufacturing of industrial components and testing, either below ground or above ground, of firearms manufactured by Beretta U.S.A. Corp.”

Reh said the company is looking for about 100 acres for the expansion and is considering sites in seven states with laws friendly to firearms manufacturers and the Second Amendment: Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Texas. He said he was looking at sites in the Warrenton area this week and has met previously with Caroline County officials.

West Virginia would have been on the list except for Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV).