My friend, Ben Langlotz, is an intellectual property attorney and self-described “gun nut”. His practice is almost wholly focused on guns and ammo and other shooting sports products. His clients read like a Who’s Who of the industry, including North American Arms.
Ben publishes a monthly newsletter, typically lengthier and always better-written than my own modest Soapbox. Ben is very thoughtful, professional and is more disciplined than I am and never “goes fishin’”.
Ben’s newsletters are found on his blog http://gunpatent.com/blog/ While most of them address somewhat esoteric IP issues (how to protect your trademark, your new idea, etc.), he has recently expounded on wider industry issues. His 05/15 edition was entitled “How to Fix the NRA”. His last (05/29) was “Save the NRA: D-Wayne the Swamp”.
I think Ben’s insights and remedies are spot-on and I agree enthusiastically with most of what Ben says. I recommend that you read them.
I suspect many/most of you are at least somewhat aware of some of the difficult circumstances currently surrounding the NRA. I expect you will become increasingly more so as the shitstorm continues to grow. And it will. And it’s serious
In a capsule (volumes of news stories in exhausting detail have been written of late which you can easily find), it began late last month when the NRA announced that it was suing its longtime advertising partner, Ackerman McQueen, claiming fraudulent billing practices and gross overcharges (AMcQ was paid in excess of $40 million last year by the NRA). This claim additionally appeared to strain the relationship between NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and titular NRA President Oliver North, who is paid $0 by NRA but reportedly in excess of $1 million by Ackerman McQueen. Charges of self-aggrandizement by several NRA executives were leveled with North reportedly threatening to extort LaPierre unless he resigned. In this struggle, LaPierre survived (momentarily) and North is gone.
The NRA also launched suit against the State of New York, claiming it was unfairly attempting to destroy the NRA’s recently created insurance product, CarryGuard, by unfairly using the State’s leverage with the insurance commission and other financial institutions. Perhaps in response, the Attorney General of the State of New York (who recently branded the NRA a “terrorist organization”) announced a new investigation into the organization with an eye towards revoking the its non-profit status, the effect of which would literally destroy the organization.
All of the recent reporting – which has been voluminous – has been very damning indeed and paints a very dark picture of the future of the NRA. I’m sure you can imagine how the likes of former Mayor Blumberg, Gabby Giffords and the rest of the anti-gun crowd are salivating over the prospect of the extinction of the NRA, which appears to be a very real possibility. I expect we’ll be reading about this story for months to come.
The threat that the NRA is facing is real and the possible/likely consequences cannot be overstated. Unfortunately, most of the wounds the NRA is suffering are self-inflicted. Unlike the hyperbole the NRA typically spouts, this time – I believe – their future is in real doubt. Stay tuned.
Breaktop barrel lengths: I believe we’re still on track to begin delivery of the 2.5” models in early April and will then work on the 4” models.
I believe that the polished/blued and case hardened guns are the highlight of our product line and are an extraordinary value, considering the additional time and effort required for their manufacture. Because we use different materials for these (carbon steel), I don’t expect to offer these finishes on other models.
I’ll admit that I don’t have much enthusiasm for the challenge coin idea.
Our coating vendor is Richter Precision http://www.richterprecision.com/. Both coatings are done by Physical Vapor Deposition and while they are very durable (the vendor quotes Micro-Harness > 80 Rc), they canbe scarred. As for all firearms, they should be handled “thoughtfully”.
Something super secret to raise your eyebrows? Not from me!
So, another SHOT Show has concluded and, notwithstanding the continued softness in the market, this one was “almost” bigger and “nearly“ better than ever before, approx. 700,000 sq.ft. of display space and 60,000 in attendance. Curiously, the Show will expend next year beyond the confines of the Sands Convention Center to include floor space at the MGM Grand, and then to include still more space at Caesar’s the following year. The logistics for managing the foot traffic are still not clear to me, but we don’t intend to budge from the location we’ve enjoyed for the past several years.
You’ll read that there was very little “new” introduced by NAA. A 2.5” barrel Ranger II (set for production in April, with a 4” model before year’s end, I hope), a truly black (coated) Black Widow http://naaminis.com/smf/index.php?topic=19005.0 , a “rainbow” mini for TALO http://naaminis.com/smf/index.php?topic=17974.msg170765#msg170765 come to mind. While not innovating very much, we continue to try to “do things” better and make better guns. While sometimes the progress seems glacial, I feel we’re making progress none the same.
I’ve noted some recent remarks on our Message Board regarding main spring tension. It’s very annoying that we (and you) continue to suffer from inconsistent heat treating of different batches of springs which is typically the culprit here. We would rather they be too stiff than too light, which typically results in misfires. We’ll be happy to send a replacement spring if yours is problematic.
I send loads of thanks to my team that travelled to Vegas to present NAA at the recent Show. While it can be lots of fun, it certainly is lots of work and frequently entails the risk of post-Show illness: “crud”, flu, cold and other assorted ailments which go hand-in-hand with large crowds, close spaces and lots of personal contact. As usual, I’m suffering as I’ve learned is much of my team. My apologies for their discomfort and my great thanks to them for another job well done.
It troubles me to share with you my very strong belief that the relatively brief respite from the threat of additional “gun control” legislation we’ve all enjoyed will soon come to a very abrupt end – probably early in the new year when the new congress begins its work.
Notwithstanding that the Republicans still control the Senate and the Presidency, the flip of the House of Representatives to Democratic control will be very problematic indeed. It doesn’t take much prescience to imagine what some of the first anti-gun initiatives are likely to be: those that have been discussed (and, in some cases/jurisdictions already enacted): magazine capacity restrictions, “assault weapons” bans and universal background checks.
It’s the House where most legislation begins and, with the ability to set the legislative agenda that their majority position entitles them, Ms. Pelosi and her crew are assuredly smacking their lips over what they doubtless see as such an easy target and certain success. While there are certainly some pro-gun Ds, I think they are, in most instances, offset by anti-gun Rs, and so the bills will likely pass and then be forwarded to the Senate. Can the Senate simply ignore these bills? I don’t think so. Do the necessary number of members (50) have the political will to fend-off these efforts? Again, I don’t think so. And if this legislation is presented to the President for his signature, does he have the will to veto the bill(s)? Again, I don’t think so. The outcry against any effort to oppose these “common-sense” measures “to do something” would be deafening, I believe.
The good news, if there is any, is that such threatening activity will probably give a sharp boost to the firearms industry that has been in the doldrums for the past two years. I wish this forecasted recovery didn’t come at such a high price.
I hope time proves me wrong but, again, I don’t think so.
Please enjoy the attached video highlighting several operations in the manufacture of mini-revolvers.
Here at North American Arms, we are very pleased to announce that we will now have NAA apparel for sell in our online store. We have had countless requests to add apparel to our collection, and we have answered that call! We have t-shirts, sporting some of our personal favorite mini-revolvers, hats, pins, polos, denim shirts, patches, trinkets, you name it! You can find all merchandise here.
And just for our Soapbox readers, we want to offer you, our most loyal customers, for the entire month of October, 10% off your order from our apparel store. Use coupon code APPAREL10 at checkout.
That is our story, and we are sticking to it!
Your NAA Team
P.S. And if you were looking for an XL and 2XL, don’t worry. We have them up on the site now.
