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Gun Industry News – 3

May 3, 2016 by 1 Comment

In the third bit of gun industry news, Remington Arms has announced a limited lifetime warranty for all Remington firearms produced after January 1, 2016.

In celebration of its 200th year in business, Remington Arms is introducing a new limited lifetime warranty for all Remington firearms purchased on or after Jan. 1, 2016.

“We take pride in crafting dependable, quality firearms designed to last a lifetime in the field or on the range,” said Leland Nichols, Senior Vice President/General Manager of Firearms & Accessories. “We’re proud of the Americans who manufacture our products and want to showcase their skill by offering a limited lifetime warranty on all of our firearms.”

The warranty covers the original purchaser of a new firearm from defects in materials and workmanship for the duration of their ownership of the firearm. It allows for repair or replacement of any part(s) of the firearm, or replacement of the firearm if un-repairable, so long as all other requirements of the warranty are fulfilled*.

All products purchased Jan. 1, 2016, or after are covered by the limited lifetime warranty offer.

Remington Arms was born in 1816 when Eliphalet Remington II turned his first rifle barrel in his father’s New York State forge. He soon began making his own flintlock rifle, selling thousands to American gunsmiths and creating a name for himself in the firearms business.

Twelve years later he and the factory were in Ilion, a city that has become synonymous with Eliphalet’s firearms. From there Remington won military contracts, armed the Federals in the Civil War, and saw his three sons join him in what became a family business.

In its 200 years Remington has introduced truly paradigm-shifting creations, from the Model 700 to the 870. With handgun designs providing an important piece of the company’s portfolio in its early years, Remington once again offers pistols with its 1911 and .380 ACP varieties.

For more information on the warranty and to learn more about Remington’s history, visit remington.com.

* Remington does not warrant against any type of defect to the firearm that Remington did not cause, including but not limited to:

  • Failure to provide proper care and maintenance
  • Accidents, abuse, or misuse
  • Barrel obstruction
  • Handloaded, reloaded, or improper ammunition
  • Unauthorized adjustments, repairs, or modifications
  • Normal wear and tear

Coming on the heels of Remington’s troubles regarding triggers in the Model 700 and the R-51 debacle, perhaps this is an effort to assure consumers that their troubles are in the past. I will be checking out their booth at the NRA Annual Meeting later this month.

Commentary on Facebook hasn’t been too generous. Grant Cunningham posted news of the new warranty with this comment, “Somehow I don’t think many R51 owners will be impressed.” The other comments were even less generous.

Speaking of the R-51, Richard Johnson of Guns, Holsters and Gear reports that he is hearing rumors that Remington will reintroduce the pistol at the NRA Annual Meeting. If so, that lifetime warranty was announced in the nick of time for potential buyers!

PS: I don’t think it is smart business for a company headquartered in Madison, North Carolina with their largest operations in Huntsville, Alabama to be bragging that they “armed the Federals in the Civil War.”  Are they trying to appease the anti-gun social justice warriors who want any vestige of the Confederacy erased by saying “we were for the other side”?

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Gun Industry News – 2

May 3, 2016 by 2 Comments

Continuing to talk about the gun industry, and more specifically the ammunition component of it, Orbital ATK announced a big order today.

Orbital ATK, Inc. (OA) (NYSE (NYX): OA), a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, announced today that it has received orders totaling $210 million to produce small caliber ammunition for the U.S. Army. Orders were placed for .50 caliber, 5.56mm and 7.62mm ammunition under Orbital ATK’s supply contract to produce a variety of small caliber ammunition for the U.S. government at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant (Lake City) in Independence, Missouri.

Orbital ATK was formed from the merger of ATK and Orbital Sciences in February 2015. At the same time, the consumer firearms, consumer ammunition, and sporting businesses were spun off into Vista Outdoors.

The Orbital ATK Annual Meeting will be held tomorrow. They have released this presentation which goes over what will be presented at the Annual Meeting.

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Gun Industry News – 1

May 3, 2016 by 5 Comments

We are going into what stock analysts call earnings season. This is when public companies announce their earnings for the quarter and either meet or surpass expectations or fail to meet the projections of analysts.

Olin Corporation announced their earnings yesterday. In addition to their chlor alkali and other chemical businesses, Olin owns Winchester ammunition. Olin lost $37.9 million or 23 cents per share mostly due to restructuring costs for their chlor alkali business. This loss was considered an $80 million miss on expectations.

However, for what concerns us, the Winchester division had improved results.

Winchester sales for the first quarter 2016 were $183.7 million compared to $156.7 million in the seasonally weaker fourth quarter 2015, with growth driven primarily by increased shipments to commercial customers. First quarter 2016 segment earnings were $28.7 million compared to $21.8 million in the fourth quarter 2015. The increase in segment earnings reflects higher commercial shipments and lower commodity and material costs. Winchester first quarter 2016 results included depreciation and amortization expense of $4.6 million compared to $4.9 million in fourth quarter 2015.

Olin stock closed up 33 cents for the day with a final closing price of $22.17. This is up about $10 from the low earlier this year.

Olin had their earnings call with stock analysts today. You can see their Powerpoint presentation here. President and CEO John Fischer had this to say about their Winchester division:

I’d like now to turn to the performance of our Winchester segment, which we summarize on slide eight. Winchester sales in the first quarter were $183.7 million, a 17.2% increase over the seasonally weaker fourth quarter of 2015. This growth was driven primarily by increased shipments to commercial customers. We’ve seen improvement in commercial demand in selected handgun calibers and steady strength in rimfire demand.

First quarter 2016 adjusted EBITDA was $33.3 million, a 24.7% increase over the fourth quarter of 2015. The improved results reflect higher commercial shipments and lower commodity and material costs. We are forecasting sequential adjusted EBITDA improvement in the second quarter for Winchester with continued strong commercial demand, especially in pistol and rimfire ammunition, and lower operating cost.

Winchester continues to focus on cost reduction and we remain on track to complete the final equipment relocation during the second quarter of 2016. We anticipate that the annual cost savings from this project will reach $40 million.

As a result, we believe full year 2016 Winchester earnings will improve compared to 2015, primarily because of incremental savings from the Oxford relocation, lower commodity and material costs, and improvement in volumes, partially offset by lower prices.

Improved commercial demand for handgun and rimfire ammo sounds like Gun Culture version 2.0 is making an impact. An editorial today by Jim Shepherd in The Outdoor Wire speculates version 2.0 may be giving way to version 3.0. Either way, the improved sales of ammo by the Winchester Division certainly benefits from it.

Note: In full disclosure, I own shares in Olin Corporation. Nothing here should be taken as investment advice to either buy or sell the stock.

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“Christ or a Glock?’

May 2, 2016 by 12 Comments

We caught a brief bit of CBS Sunday Morning today as we were getting ready to return home from the 1st Annual East Tennessee Blogger Shoot put on by Dennis Badurina of Dragon Leatherworks. More on the blogger shoot in another post.

One of the stories featured was about the Rev. Rob Schenk, an evangelical minister, who is asserting that you can’t be both pro-life and pro-gun. His “conversion” to the anti-gun side came after the Navy Yard shootings near his home in DC.

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When Mo Rocca, the CBS correspondent, asked how it was un-Christian for a man or woman to want to defend his or her family with a firearm in case of a home invader. The response floored me.

“Well, first of all you’re making an immediate decision that if someone invades your home, they are going to die,” Rev. Schenck replied. “So you are ready to kill another human being in your home. That brings about a big ethical question for the Christian. And we’re told in the Bible, we’re even to love our enemies.”

(Rocca)”Even a potential intruder? Someone who’s been coming into your home to hurt you?”

“Absolutely. Is it always God’s will that I survive a violent confrontation with another human being? I’m not sure that’s always God’s will.“

I do not pretend to be a Bible scholar. If you asked me to produce a Bible verse to refute Rev. Schenk I would be hard-pressed to do so. That said, I firmly believe that under God’s law as well as under natural law I have the right, nay the obligation, to defend both myself and my family. Protecting the innocent against the depredations of violent criminals is a moral duty. If I have to use a weapon such as a firearm to do that, so be it.

I think we are seeing a concerted effort by both the mainstream media and the gun prohibitionists to use people like Rev. Schenk to “shame” us into accepting more and more gun control. I refuse to be shamed for wanting to protect my family, for wanting to enjoy the sport of shooting, and for any other in my mind legitimate use for firearms.

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A “Mental Health” Initiative That Discourages Seeking Treatment

April 28, 2016 by 5 Comments

From my conversations with mental health professionals such as Dr. Robert Young, a psychiatrist who is a member of Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, treatment is the key to allowing those suffering mental health issues to lead a full and productive life. A life that doesn’t involve seemingly random acts of unspeakable violence.

There is a bill before the California Assembly that may be voted on as early as today (AB 2607) that would greatly expand the list of people who may secretly petition a court to restrain your rights to possess a firearm. The list includes employers, coworkers, mental health workers, and employees of a high school or college. Could you imagine having the police arrive on your doorstep to confiscate your firearms due to a petition from a school janitor? Under this bill it could happen as the bill just says “employees”.

The bill is being opposed by a diverse coalition of groups including the Firearms Policy Coalition as well it should be. Their news release on the bill is below and it goes into more detail.

Sacramento,CA—Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) is proud to stand with mental health professionals and other civil rights organizations in opposition to Assembly Bill 2607, and is asking its members and supporters to contact the legislature to oppose this measure.


Authored by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), the bill massively expands a controversial law that has only been in place for 4 months. At present, current law permits family members and peace officers to petition a court, in secret, in order to restrain an individual from possessing firearms. AB 2607 compounds this measure by adding, to the list of qualified petitioners, employers, coworkers, mental health workers, and employees of a secondary or postsecondary school.


This would add thousands of people (including complete strangers) to the list of people who could petition a court to restrain a person from possessing firearms, triggering a warrant and armed law enforcement raids—without trial, conviction, or opportunity to defend oneself before a court. The secretive nature of this process, as well as the broad expansions in the measure, lead the American Civil Liberties Union to call it a
“significant threat to civil liberties” in a letter to the bill’s author.


Craig DeLuz, Director of Legislative & Public Affairs for the Firearms Policy Coalition commented, “Gun owners are being targeted for harassment in AB 2607 by virtually anyone they are connected to; disgruntled former colleagues or anti-gun college professors–but what is truly disturbing is that AB 2607 goes so far as to discourage gun-owners from seeking counseling or therapy–for fear of being raided by police and losing their gun rights. This bill causes a serious breach of trust between patients and healthcare professionals as well as students and instructors.”


Not only does this bill discourage free thought and free speech in places, such as University campuses, it actually discourages gun-owners from pursuing counseling due to fear of losing their gun rights in an unconstitutional surprise warrant service. “It’s irresponsible, it’s inexcusable, and it’s a shameless attack on the millions of responsible Californians who choose to exercise their civil rights while also being a responsible citizen and taking care of their physical and mental health,” said DeLuz.


The earliest AB 2607 can be voted on is Thursday, April 28, as it will be heard on the floor of the California State Assembly. It is opposed by mental health professionals such as the California Psychological Association, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) , Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) , National Rifle Association (NRA), and Gun Owners (GOC) of California. It is also opposed by the Public Defenders Association.


DeLuz concluded, “You know your bill is bad when FPC, NRA, ACLU and Public Defenders are all opposed. All of these organizations look out for the public good in their own way, and I’m proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with them in opposition to AB 2607.”

If you live in California and haven’t contact your Assembly member, do it now!

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Colorado Bill To Repeal Standard Cap Mag Ban Fails

April 26, 2016 by 158 Comments

Earlier this month, the Colorado State Senate passed SB16-113 which would have repealed the ban on standard capacity magazines and would have repealed the requirement that standard capacity magazines manufactured in Colorado have a date stamp on them.

The vote to pass the bill in the Senate was 20 aye and 12 nay with two excused. It had previously passed out of committee on a 3-2 party line vote.

While the Senate is controlled by the Republicans, the House is the domain of the Democrats. While there was some hope that the Democrats might allow the bill out of committee, that hope was dashed last night.

The House State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee voted on the bill last night. The first vote was on a motion to send the bill to the House floor for consideration by the full House. This was defeated on a party line 4-5 vote. Then the committee voted 5-4 to postpone consideration of the bill indefinitely. This means the bill is dead for all practical purposes.

Coloradans can thank Committee Chair and House Majority Whip Su Ryden (D-Arapahoe), Rep. Mike Foote (D-Boulder), Rep. Dianne Primavera (D-Boulder/Broomfield), Rep. Max Tyler (D-Jefferson), and Rep. Susan Lontine (D-Denver) for this bill’s defeat. These five were good little minions for Mike Bloomberg and did as they were told. I’m sure the criminal element, especially home invasion specialists, were pleased with this result. As to your average, law-abiding, tax-paying Colorado gun owner, that is another story.

I want to thank my friend Laura Carno as well as attorney David Kopel for taking the time to testify in favor of the bill before the Senate State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee when it held hearings.

H/T Jenna Meek

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Sure To Drive Shannon, Mike, And Hillary Insane

April 26, 2016 by 27 Comments

I just saw this video on Facebook of a young girl getting I presume a birthday present. Obviously by the case it is a firearm.

A pink tiger-striped AR-15 with matching magazines!

That wailing and gnashing of teeth that you hear combined with sputtering indignation is the gun prohibitionists saying “how could they?!” meaning the parents of the young girl.

All I can say is good on the parents as a pink tiger-striped AR-15 is way better than a pink Cricket .22 rifle.

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Good News On Ranges In North Carolina

April 25, 2016 by 13 Comments

To start out your work week, I want to highlight two positive mainstream media stories on new shooting ranges in North Carolina. One of these ranges is even in a high school!

The first story comes down east in Johnston County where Smithfield-Selma High School just installed an air gun range for their NJROTC program. Part of the money to develop this range came from the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the NC Wildlife Resources Commission.

The second story comes from Shelby where the Foothills Public Shooting Complex had its grand opening last week. The range was developed as a joint project between Cleveland County and the NC Wildlife Resources Commission.

The range features three 50-yard pistol ranges, two skeet/trap/pistol ranges, a 250-yard rifle range, and a 3-D archery range. The range can handle 60 shooters at one time.

500 people showed up on Tuesday for the grand opening.

Johnny Hutchins, a Cleveland County commissioner who came up with the idea for a shooting range seven years ago, believes it will become an economic driver for the county.


“I’m hoping we can attract a national archery and a national pistol match in the next 12 months,” he said. “We will see start seeing local matches coming up pretty quick.”


All told, 60 people can shoot at once from multiple stands. Safety officers oversee the ranges. The complex has an office and classroom, concession building and restrooms. Cost is $10 a day for adults; $5 for children 17 and under; seniors, veterans and law enforcement officers also pay $5. The public on Wednesday began bringing their own firearms for shooting.


“Man, this is nice,” said Larry Harrington of Claremont in Catawba County, waiting to shoot at the skeet range. Visitors shot for free Tuesday with provided firearms. “It would be a good place for new shooters to learn to shoot.”

Given the range is little more than an hour’s drive away, I can see me taking more than a few day trips down there. It is hard to imagine a 250-yard rifle range available where you don’t have to be a member of a club to use it.

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Wasn’t Brad Pitt Supposed To Be “Good” On Guns?

April 23, 2016 by 12 Comments

There is a myth going around that Brad Pitt is “good” on guns. He and Angelina Jolie own guns for self-protection.

Pitt tells British magazine Live, “I absolutely don’t believe you can put sanctions or shackles on what is made. Nor do I want to pretend the world is different than what we witnessed that night…

“America is a country founded on guns. It’s in our DNA. It’s very strange but I feel better having a gun. I really do. I don’t feel safe, I don’t feel the house is completely safe, if I don’t have one hidden somewhere. That’s my thinking, right or wrong.

Given this, I was a bit surprised and disgusted when I received an email from the Brady Campaign announcing that Brad Pitt and some guy I’ve heard of were inviting me to the 2016 Brady Bear Awards Gala to be held in Los Angeles.

Dear (fill in the blank),

Co-Chairs Adam McKay and Brad Pitt invite you to join us in saying #ENOUGH to gun violence. If you are near Los Angeles, join us for the 2016 Los Angeles Brady Bear Awards Gala on May 4th. We will gather with supporters, advocates and celebrities for an inspiring evening honoring co-president of Plan B Productions, Dede Gardner, and philanthropist and technology entrepreneur David Bohnett. Limited tickets and tables are available for purchase today.

If you can’t be with us in person, join all of us in saying #ENOUGH with your special donation or by placing a tribute ad honoring an advocate, community leader, or victim of gun violence in our digital journal that will be displayed at the event.

Ticket prices for this gala start at $500.

Brad Pitt – just another Hollywood hypocrite on guns.