Brownells Honors One-Millionth Customer

Brownells just honored their one-millionth customer, Mr. Jason Wright, by presenting him with a personalized Bushmaster AR-15 in Mr. Wright’s caliber choice, .450 Bushmaster, at their Montezuma, Iowa facility.

The Brownells IT Department had been keeping track as the company neared the significant milestone of one-million, unique customers since the company computerized in the early 1980s. They passed the word to company President, Pete Brownell the instant Mr. Wright’s order came in. “I really wanted to say thank you to our customers and show how much they mean to us. When I saw that Jason ordered AR-15 parts I knew right away what we had to do. A big thank you to Bushmaster for providing the gun, and Trinidad State Junior College for using their pantograph to personalize the gun for Jason.”

Jason Wright was obviously on the Santa’s list of good boys and girls.

Obama’s Election Sparks Gun Sales

I don’t think anyone is surprised by the rush to buy guns in the aftermath of Obama’s election on Tuesday. But it’s still staggering.

“One of the strangest things I’ve had happen in the past few weeks was that I’ve had people coming in here wearing Obama buttons and Obama T-shirts,” Glen Parshall, owner of a local Fort Worth gun shop. “[They] tell me they’re in here to buy them before he bans them.”

What? People who openly support the guy who’s been pretty straightforward about the fact that he intends to strengthen gun control (at the very, very least) want guns for themselves?

Watch the video report included with the story.

The Firearms Blog points out a recall on Ruger’s new Lightweight Compact Pistol.

Sebastian:

Dan has been asked by the board to resign from the company he himself founded. It’s sad that it has to come to things like this, but he’s supporting a candidate who would disarm us all if he could find a way.

No word yet on Cooper’s response.

From NSSF:

Data released by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) reported 973,003 checks in September 2008. This figure is a 2.96% increase from the 944,889 reported in September 2007. Adjusted state figures show background checks up 0.82%. Year-to-date reveals a total of 8,472,683 background checks reported by NICS. Background checks are a key economic indicator of firearms industry sales.

Also: Gun Sales Steady Despite Economy

Regardless of these continuing trends, I think it’s clear that gun sales will probably slump a bit for a while here. Though ammo purchases for guns already owned may surge depending upon the election results next month.

Sailors fire M16A3 rifles during small-arms qualifications aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). Stennis is conducting pre-deployment training off the coast of southern California. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dmitry Chepusov/Released)

That’s what it looked like yesterday at the range here at the 2009 Remington New Products Seminar. It was “Tactical Tuesday” with some great-looking tactical and carry clothing by EOTAC and presentations and range time with Bushmaster and DPMS.

Yes, Bushmaster and DPMS. On the same day. It’s almost like they’re friends or something.

Both being under the Cerberus umbrella, they are learning to get along. But I’ll bet employees in each organization refer to the other one as the “sister company.”

Murdoc has taken time out of his busy schedule to travel to South Carolina’s Buck Ridge Plantation for Remington’s 2009 New Products Seminar.

Three days of presentations and range activities. It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it.

I’ll have more on this in the next few days.

Corps Seeks SAW Replacement

US Marine Corps (USMC) Private First Class (PFC) Trisiri Klanplerchar, Combat Logistics Battalion 8 (CLB-8), 2nd Military Police Battalion (MP BN), sights in on a car with an FNMI 5.56 mm M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) while on a patrol along MSR (main supply road) Mobile. The Marines traveled the road back and forth for 12 hours in search of improvised explosive devices (IED) or suspicious individuals along the roadway during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. Photographer's Name: LCPL BRIAN A. JAQUES, USMC Date Shot: 8/26/2005

They’re apparently looking for something more like a heavy assault rifle than a light light machine gun.

Land Warfare Resources Corp. (formerly Leitner-Wise Rife Company), Colt, H&K, FN-USA and a team of General Dynamics and Ultimax [Chartered Industries of Singapore] reportedly have entered.

UPDATE: A little more research led me to this story in Marine Corps Times by Matthew Cox.

It includes this clarification to my original post:

Marine officials are adamant the SAW is not going away. The M249 will remain in use by the rest of the Corps and will be available to Marine infantry commanders if they feel they need more firepower, Cantwell said.

The plan is to buy 4,100 IARs and reduce the number of SAWs in the Corps from 10,000 to 8,000, Cantwell said.

“We are still going to maintain SAWs in the company,” he said. “Only 2,000 SAWs will be replaced. The reminder will be kept as an organizational weapon for when commanders need them.”

That clearly makes a bit more sense. But still, I’m not entirely sure where this is going. They’re calling for a weapon that uses the same magazines as M16s and M4s. The Army says it doesn’t want a SAW with a 30-round mag, and I don’t really blame them.

Also, the new weapon probably won’t have a quick-change barrel like the M249. Part of the way that the Marines think they can offset overheated barrels is with lower rates of fire. Again, the Army says “no thanks.”

I guess I’m not sure I’m seeing a lot of value in what is essentially going to be an open-bolt, heavy-barreled M16. Adding another weapon to the mix, especially when it doesn’t really seem to bring a lot more to the fight, just doesn’t seem worth it here.

The story also says that Patriot Ordnance Factory Inc. might be in the mix.

Crimson Trace has signed on as a sponsor of next month’s Gun Blogger Rendezvous. Cool.

Unfortunately, Murdoc will once again have to miss out on the GBR festivities. I keep trying to make it, and it keeps not working out.

Did we know that Bushmaster was supplying the Georgians?