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Personalized Pitches. Or Not.

November 29, 2019 by 0 Comments

I often get news or press releases for new products related to either the firearms or outdoor industry. I also sometimes get an article pitch asking to either post or at least link an article.

I got one of the latter from “Drake” this week. It had to do with Thanksgiving which is somewhat topical. “Drake” at least knew my first name so I’ll give him that.

Then there was this paragraph:

I noticed on your website titled [XXXXwebsite nameXXXX] that you’ve talked about Thanksgiving in the past, [XXXreferring page URLXXXX] so I assume you’re still interested in the topic. It only comes once a year, so I wanted to talk about our history of Thanksgiving.

Ooops!

To protect the guilty I’m not going to post a link to the article or mention “Drake’s” website.

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Forgotten Weapons On The “Ballerina Molester”

November 27, 2019 by 1 Comment

The Argentine .45 ACP Ballester Molina was the first .45 that I ever bought. It was my first almost 1911. I couldn’t afford a 1927 Sistema or a real 1911 at the time.

I can’t forget who first called it the “Ballerina Molester” but I’ve always laughed at it.

Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons goes over the Ballester Molina and what makes it different and similar to the 1911.

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The NRA’s Famous Whiskers

November 27, 2019 by 0 Comments

November marks the time of year when many normally clean shaven men grow out a winter beard and or mustache. Additionally, the Movember foundation who’s goal is to “change the face of men’s health has also successfully promoted the growing of a mustache in November to bring awareness to several men’s health issues including cancer and suicide prevention.    


So before the month of Movember comes to a close let us take a moment to recognize the first president of the National Rifle Association, the mustachioed civil war general, U.S. Senator and governor of Rhode Island Ambrose Burnside.  


As significant as his accomplishments were, he became most famous for his outstanding and uniquely styled mustache and side whiskers which became known as  “sideburns” an anagram of his name Burnside.  As a Union general who experienced his fair share of defeats, he was known to say of the Union troops, “Out of ten soldiers who are perfect in drill and the manual of arms, only one knows the purpose of the sights on his gun or can hit the broad side of a barn”.   This statement reflected the recognition of the need for more modern rifle training leading to the opening of the first modern rifle range in Queens NY.  


How very very much has changed in a 150 years!  

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Shannon Tells A Whopper

November 26, 2019 by 1 Comment

The pantheon of lies include the check is in the mail, I’ll respect you in the morning, and I’m from the government and I’m here to help. Thanks to Shannon Watts, we can add another one to that list.

In an email to the Demanding Mommies as reported by Mother Jones, she wrote:

Watts said that Bloomberg’s entry into the race would “ensure gun safety remains front and center during the 2020 election season” but affirmed that nothing would be asked of its volunteers to support Bloomberg’s candidacy. “We are a single issue organization—but none of us live single issue lives,” Watts wrote. “I want to be clear that it is entirely your choice regarding how you spend your volunteer time in this election and which candidates you choose to support. Elevating the voices of all gun sense champions is part of what you do every day, and that should continue.”

Yeah, right. Tell me another one, Shannon. Without Bloomberg’s money backing you, Everytown, and the Demanding Mommies, you would be just another out of work PR executive who snagged a rich husband.

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TV Ad Execs And Political Consultants Are Saying Hallelujah!

November 24, 2019 by 2 Comments

Move over Tom Steyer. There is another narcissist Democrat billionaire who wants to be President.

From a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, said he would join the Democratic presidential race despite facing a tough path to the nomination in a crowded 2020 field.

Mr. Bloomberg’s advisers have been drawing up plans to build his campaign staff, intending to focus on the delegate-rich Super Tuesday states, which vote on March 3.

Many of the Democratic candidates have invested fewer resources in those states than in the first few nominating contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.

The primary beneficiaries of Bloomberg’s largess would seem to be advertising executives and political consultants as he plans to spend big.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg plans to spend over $100 million on his campaign.

Ahead of his announcement, Mr. Bloomberg said he would spend $100 million on digital ads against Mr. Trump and another $15 million to $20 million on registering new voters.

He had also begun assembling a big staff for his campaign-in-waiting that was working out of the offices of Bloomberg Philanthropies, which oversees the former mayor’s charitable giving, according to a person familiar with the matter.

While the many media stories on Bloomberg’s presidential run mention his wealth, none so far mention gun control. However, Bloomberg himself does list that as one of the issues he will address in his campaign. It is number three on the list on his campaign website.

With all the money that Bloomberg plans to spread around, perhaps the gaggle of corrupt MAIG mayors will seek some of it in return for campaign support. That way then they can stop indulging in public corruption like the former mayor of Baltimore.

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Another Illegal Bloomberg Mayor

November 23, 2019 by 1 Comment

Yet another member of Mayor Bloomberg’s Illegal Mayors has been arrested. Muncie, Indiana Mayor Dennis Tyler was arrested by the FBI on Monday for accepting a $5,000 bribe to steer a public works contract.

From the Muncie Star-Press:

The 76-year-old Tyler was indicted last Wednesday by a U.S. District Court grand jury on a count of theft of public funds. The indictment was then sealed, setting the stage for the mayor’s arrest by FBI agents Monday morning at his northside Muncie home.

“Public officials are entrusted to perform a public service and to legitimately conduct business in the best interest of the community that they represent,” U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler said Monday. “Tyler not only betrayed the trust of his community, but violated federal law, and all in an effort to serve his own personal interests.

“My office intends to prosecute Tyler to the full extent of the law.”

The FBI has been investigating corruption in the Muncie mayor’s office and the sanitation department since 2016. Seven others have been indicted since them for taking bribes, kickbacks, wire fraud, and other Federal charges.

As a side note, you would have had to wait until the 29th and final paragraph in the story to learn that Tyler was a Democrat.

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2018 NRA Executive Compensation

November 22, 2019 by 1 Comment

When looking at compensation, you have to look beyond mere salaries and bonuses. Total compensation includes both salaries and bonuses but it also includes things like deferred compensation, group life insurance, contributions to retirement plans, and taxable personal expenses.

I was finally able to get a copy of the 2018 Form 990 for the National Rifle Association. This is the tax report that all not-for-profits must file with the Internal Revenue Service. Both 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations are included in this category. The NRA itself is a 501(c)(4) which allows it to engage in political campaign activities while the NRA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) and is not allowed to engage in political campaign activities.

Below is a table of the 12 most highly compensated NRA officials ranging from Wayne LaPierre at the top to Director of Education and Training Eric Frohardt at the bottom. If you click on the icon on the bottom right of the embedded spreadsheet, it will open the full spreadsheet.

In the notes of page 3 of Schedule J of the Form 990 is this explanation of how compensation is determined.

Compensation of the NRA’s top management officials is established by methods including independent compensation consultants, compensation surveys and studies, and comparability data. In addition, under the NRA Bylaws compensation of certain elected officials (including the Executive Vice President) must be approved by the Board of Directors, based on recommendations by the compensation committee. All decisions are properly documented.

I have posted the 2018 Form 990 here for reference.

Since comparability data is one criterion used in establishing these officials compensation, I thought I’d look first at publicly traded firearms companies to see how they compensated their top managers. Their compensation is divided into two portions: cash compensation and equity (or stock) compensation. Equity compensation is used to align the interests of managers with that of stock holders.

At Sturm, Ruger and Company, CEO Chris Killoy had a 2018 salary of $500,000 with a profit sharing bonus of $60,324 and a performance bonus of $503,000. His total cash compensation was $1,063,324. Stock awards raised his total compensation to $2.1 million. Killoy manages a company with over 2,000 employees with plants in three states. By contrast, the NRA has somewhere between 500 and 1,000 employees. The base salaries of the other top managers at Ruger ranges from $240,000 to $325,000.

James Debney, CEO of American Outdoor Brands Corporation, had a higher salary in 2018 but no cash bonus. His cash compensation was his salary of $734,039. He did receive a substantial stock award which raised his total compensation to $2.2 million. He manages a workforce of 1,853 employees. Meanwhile, the base salaries of American Outdoor Brand executives range from a low of $283,000 to a high of $402,000 for the CFO.

When you look at other politically active 501(c)(4) organizations like the Sierra Club and Planned Parenthood, the compensation of their executives is substantially less than that of the NRA. For example, Cecile Richards who was the CEO of Planned Parenthood had a total compensation of $1,033,274 from all sources. Meanwhile, the Sierra Club paid Executive Director Michael Brune a total of $333,797 and their CFO about $250,000.

When looking at the compensation of the top managers of the NRA, it is critical to look beyond Wayne LaPierre and Chris Cox. Those two are (or were in Cox’s case) very highly compensated as you might expect. However, it is the salaries of next level down that are really concerning.

Who in their right mind could justify paying Josh Powell over $900,000 with a base salary greater than the CEO’s of either Ruger or American Outdoor Brands? Powell is the guy responsible for the debacle of NRA Carry Guard, the guy the NRA spent money on to settle his sexual harassment problems, and the guy who has run multiple companies into the ground. It is ridiculous!

When you compare the salaries of the managers one level down from Wayne to that of virtually any comparable manager in a publicly traded small cap company, there is no comparison. The NRA managers are compensated beyond the level of their position and responsibility. If I had to hazard a guess, they are being compensated as much for their loyalty to their master – Wayne – as for the work that they actually do. This is just not right and sadly I see no change coming in the near to mid future.

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NRA’s 2018 Form 990 For Reference

November 22, 2019 by 0 Comments

I have embedded the NRA’s most recent Form 990 below for reference. I received a copy of it today. It also has the New York State CHAR500 and other financial tables appended. It totals a bit over 100 pages.

I will be referring back to this page over the next few days as I dig into the Form 990.

NRA-2018-990 by jpr9954 on Scribd

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A 5.56 FAL?

November 20, 2019 by 2 Comments

Yes, there really was a FAL in 5.56×45. It was the SAR-4800 made by Imbel in Brazil and imported by Springfield Armory. According to Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons, only about 700 were imported into the United States and these came with those ugly post-ban thumbhole stocks.

He discusses the history of it while examining one that was converted to the FAL Para configuration. While it probably is a bit heavy, it is still pretty cool.

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Stag Arms: Goodbye Connecticut, Hello Wyoming.

November 18, 2019 by 3 Comments

Stag Arms announced two big changes today. Chad Larsen has been selected to be the new President of Stag effective immediately. On top of that, the company is relocating from New Britain, CT to Cheyenne, WY. The relocation will be completed by the end of 2019.

Stag Arms had announced in June their intention to leave Connecticut. They had previously thought about moving in 2013. However, due to family and supplier ties, Mark Malkowski, then president, decided to remain in New Britain. This time they were serious and began a national search.

In making today’s announcement, Elie Azar, Founder and CEO of White Wolf Capital, LLC, which owns a controlling interest in Stag
Arms, said: “We decided it was time to do a complete refresh of the Company. We needed to solve for three things: visionary
customer-centric leadership, a business-friendly, pro-growth economic environment, and a cultural climate that reflects Stag’s brand
image of independence and free spiritedness. I am pleased to report that we have found a solution that hits all these points.”


To find a new location for the Company, Stag’s Board of Directors conducted a rigorous process comparing dozens of potential sites
against a stringent set of criteria. “Cheyenne came out on top on most of the individual criteria,” said Azar, “and considering our
requirements as a whole, it was by far the superior site. Not only is Wyoming an incredibly hospitable place to do business, it is also a
top destination for outdoor recreation, including hunting and shooting sports, which reflects its citizens’ unwavering support for the
Second Amendment.”

Gov. Mark Gordon (R-WY) was understandably pleased.

I am pleased to welcome Stag Arms to Wyoming and to know that our state came out on top of a broad look at potential new homes for the sought-after company. We have a deep-seated commitment to the Second Amendment that I will continue to uphold.

When Stag Arms announced their intention to leave Connecticut, business development officials for Cheyenne and the State of Wyoming didn’t waste any time reaching out to them. They helped with site location, workforce evaluation, and introduction to the community.

New president Chad Larsen comes to Stag from Aero-Precision where he headed new product development. This is not that surprising given that White Wolf Capital also owns Aero-Precision and Ballistic Advantage.

Azar noted, “Chad’s innovative genius with the Modern Sporting Rifle
platform stems from his personal emersion (sic) in the shooting and hunting community. He knows what customers want—and what they
don’t—because he is one of them.” Mr. Larsen is both an avid hunter and a registered 3-Gun, Multi-gun and USPSA competitor.

As yet another firearms company leaves “Gun Valley” thanks to high taxes, a poor business climate, and antipathy to firearms, what had been the center of the firearms industry is slowly becoming a shadow of its former self.