Have firearm related manufacturers been silent?

[urnoodle]

Maybe I have just missed the announcements but it seems to me that the many firearm, ammunition and firearm accessory manufacturers have been silent about the recent demand on all things firearm. The only things I've noticed are the shipping delay announcements that can be seen on the webpages of online retailers. I've read threads on other forums and one on this (can't remember which thread) that mention some manufacturers are a year behind on fulfilling existing orders. Has anyone seen press releases or statements from Magpul, Palmetto State Armory, Bravo Company, AimSurplus etc regarding their backlog? My memory isn't as good as it used to be but if I recall correctly the manufacturers seemed more vocal about their timelines the last time there was a high demand on ammo and firearm related gear. Anyone think they are remaining silent due to all of this gun control talk?

[RPB]

I'd bet every Firearms manufacturer employee is busy manufacturing and shipping, from Janitor to Window Washer to Secretary gettin' "IT" made and shipped before "IT" becomes outlawed and they go under and all their investment in tooling/machines/training for that model "IT" is gone

Like Calico with 50 and 100 round pistols and carbines ... had to relocate because States they moved to kept making possession of the product they manufacture illegal; so no possession and no sales in Cali, then another State, then another State ...

[urnoodle]

I assumed that they are running on full but typically there's one person, such as the CEO that doesn't involve him or herself in the manufacturing and handles the PR. Not that they need to make statements, it just seem this go-round they are quieter than I recall than they were in the past. I thought maybe they were flying below the radar because of all the gun control talk, less likely to make themselves a target of bad publicity if they keep quiet.

[baldeagle]

Well, you missed this for sure - viewtopic.php?f=94&t=61483" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - there may have been others that I missed.

[urnoodle]

I didn't miss that one, just forgot about it. I sent took advantage of Ruger's letter. Still waiting for my email from Biden.

[AlphaWhiskey]

Actually, with SHOT show wrapping up I have to agree with the OP that much of the industry is very quiet right now. You have seen a few new products revealed but this week in Vegas was the perfect time for the industry to communicate what is happening, and there wasn't much of that. I suppose that public announcements that your company has no way of keeping up with demand wouldn't really be helpful, and may very well drive the spiral we are in to tighten just a little more, but I would still like to know.

[Salty1]

I believe that the best thing we could do to the manufacturers is to ask them to leave any pro-ban States and bring their products to a State that supports firearm ownership, or start boycotting their products. Years ago Texas went after companies in the Telcom Industry and brought lots of jobs here which help the economy and many small businesses. The Telcom boom has subsided and basically has gone away, we now need new industries to help us grow. The firearms industry would be perfect here and send a loud message out to the States that do not want their products but want the jobs and tax revenues. I wonder what all the liberal mouth pieces will say to the citizens then..... if they are so much about principal then they should have no problems with these "evil" items being manufactured elsewhere.....

[urnoodle]

The longer we see this gun control fight go on, I think it's entirely probable that some will leave and re-open where they are appreciated.

[APynckel]

I'd like to see them all stand up, and hold the government to the same degree as they hold us. If they ban 11+ round mags for civs, stop selling them to gov't.

[jmra]

The manufacturers are probably keeping quite because this is one of the best things that has ever happened to them. They know the votes aren't there in congress to get a ban passed and they love when obummer opens his mouth because it results in even a greater backlog.
A friend was speaking with the owner of one of the larger dealers in the area. The dealer has done record business the last month but now is wondering how long they can stay in business because they are only able to get a fraction of the stock that they normally maintain.
Things are going to get real ugly for the mom and pop stores real quick as distributors send the majority of available stock to higher producers.

[C-dub]

Or they could be busy cranking out everything they possibly can before anything gets banned manufactured after a certain date like before and don't have time to answer any e-mails from the general public.

[C-dub]

I'd like to see them all stand up, and hold the government to the same degree as they hold us. If they ban 11+ round mags for civs, stop selling them to gov't.

I wonder what their ratio of sales to the public are compared to LE or military.

[FishInTx]

Keeping their nose to the grindstone? When the product is flying off the shelves you really don't need to say much? I could see them laying low and trying not to take unnecessary flack.

[The Annoyed Man]

Actually, with SHOT show wrapping up I have to agree with the OP that much of the industry is very quiet right now. You have seen a few new products revealed but this week in Vegas was the perfect time for the industry to communicate what is happening, and there wasn't much of that. I suppose that public announcements that your company has no way of keeping up with demand wouldn't really be helpful, and may very well drive the spiral we are in to tighten just a little more, but I would still like to know.

Got the following email from Gabe Suarez three days ago with his impression of the SHOT show:

So I just got back to HQ. I was at SHOT with the XO and GM since Monday. We usually don't go to the media shoot as I do not care for organized ranges unless I am running them so we did not go to that event. But the rest....

The state of the industry seems to be one of "getting ready for a big fight". SHOT attendees can be categorized into three groups. You have the "Gun Show Crowd" that gets in via some sort of skullduggery stretching of the truth. They are not really in the business of buying anything and either run some mom-and-pop shops or are in some volunteer church security gig and thus get in for the purpose of oogle things and clogging the aisles. Next you have the "Badass Crowd". They are there to show everyone how bad they are by wearing shirts two sizes too small and showing off their hard looks and cool-killer handling of guns on other people's exhibits. Finally, you have the business people. They tend to wear suits and expensive watches and move from one back room deal to another. It is in this last group that we move in, and it is in this last group that the real info flows.

On Monday there was palpable stress. We usually schedule most of our meeting then so we can allocate one day to follow up and one day to look for up and coming stuff. The feeling Monday was that there would be a big fight coming this year. The big guys were not worried about EOs (executive orders) they knew the limits of those having consulted with their attorneys beforehand. Perhaps someone should have shared that with that guy in Tennessee before he made that video, but back to the points.

The EOs did nothing and many guys were surprised that there was not some sort of import restriction on ammo or guns. The real fight will be in the legislature, but before anyone lights their victory cigar, the movers and shakers are not lighting anything. Let me restate that...the CEOs of companies that make the Suarez Group look like a lemonade stand are NOT CELEBRATING, they are doing as follows:

They have pared down their offerings to the easiest to makes/easiest to sell. SIG for example has pared down their rifle offerings in 2013 to the following: 516, 716, 556R, and M400. Period. We have some other stuff on order and will get it, but don't expect to see anything else. They really do not know if SHOT 2014 will have ANY military rifles. And that is from the guys that have access to info and people that few do.

Expect in the next few weeks....WEEKS NOT MONTHS...production to catch up on most rifles..and magazines. But do not expect prices to drop. Prices are not only set at the manufacturer level, but at the distributor and dealer levels. The closer one is to the manufacturer, the fewer people step on the price, which is why we have been able to offer SIGs at half the gun show prices. But eventually market forces change those things.

I saw M4s everywhere. Every other booth almsot. SI will by the requirements of market forces have to take a stronger look at the M4. Likes and dislikes do not have a place in this market. By the same token, AKs were rare. We saw them at Wolf, Arsenal, IO and Century, but nothing at all new and interesting. In fact, the ONLY new thing we saw was the VEPR 12, but it is heavy and long and with only magazines made by the "salvation army crowd" it will not prevail in a quality-seeking market. We did stop by Fabrika Broni...the Poles trying to sell their expensive old rifles last year. Few were taking a second look this year and the men in the booth looked bored. Sorry...but I predicted this mid last year.

The notable rifles of the show - The Tavor (God willing they will get here before the left manages to make anything happen), the Beretta ARX - this one was uber impressive and could make the SCAR system look antiquated by comparison. The Czech rifles...I forget the designation, but they are slated only for Mil-Pol uses. The SIG SMG...the MPX. Very nice. They have no plans to any pistols of any long barreled stuff, but there will be SBRs. As with most NFA things...not for those on a budget.

Optics - I spent some time looking at the Browe optics. Hmmmmm. Most everything else was the same as what we saw last year. Nothing new.

There were a few interesting products, but they all share hard challenges bringing them to market and I will not give the impression I approve or disapprove of them. I have seen in the past that my comments seem to affect things like the Fed's expressions affect the DOW, so I shall remain quiet until I see more.

As usual...lots of nylon, lots of flashlights, lots of clever-camo. Same pistols as last year. Only notable one was the S&W MP with the red dots. Incidentally, the only red dots that cowitnessed with this were the Delta Points and RMR. TSD will probably reposition to offer more guns and more red dots as well since we made some very good agreements at SHOT. I still like the RMR, but Leupold tells me they have been doing some testing, and well....more later.

Missing conspicuosly - militia type stuff...loud gun people...1776 stuff...take back America stuff...Ted Nugent (at least I didn't see him), "I'ma sturt killin peeple" type guys. Security was far more present than I recall last year. Not oppressive, but more present if you are used to looking for such things.

My suggestions based on what I saw. If you want something, get it now. I see many FFLs getting out of the business in the coming year. There was talk of "coming crackdowns", etc. Me, I believe it. That means fewer places to buy guns and more money to get them.

What to get? You cannot go wrong with a high end M4. I have said that an M4 is more reliable than the AK crowd says it is, just as a good AK is more accurate than the M4 crowd gives it credit for. Market forces demand I take a harder look at the M4. When we arrive at our conclusions, it will likely give the traditional M4-mafia-world a testicular rupture, but we will wait for that happy moment.

My own purchases in the past month have included four top tier M4s from Noveske, Knights, Daniel defense, and SIG. I already have plenty of 7.62x39s including two 556Rs. As well, M4 and AK-47 magazines will be like gold. I did set aside a handful of billet lowers for some special projects. I would not bother much with 5.45 as a GOTO any longer nor as an investment, but others may disagree. Whatever.

I committed deeply to M4 platform rifles, M4 receivers, M4 magazines and other rifles that accept them such as Tavors, and FS2000 (although they will be in limited numbers).

I spoke with several ammo makers and they are committed to taking over the 7.62x39 market in ammo. This could be the best thing that happens to this caliber by the way. Steyr had the AUG (I call it "AWG" like "dawg" and don't care if someone doesn't like it), but they had nobody there that wanted to touch it, nor knew anything about it. It was almsot as if they were apologetic for it being there in the first place...like a pedophile cousin that must sit at the Christmas table but nobody really wants him there.

I also saw many "tactical" focused companies begin to dabble in the sporting field...meaning they anticipate that "the tactical" will probably not be a viable market soon. When you see a multi-million dollar tactical company beging to focus on non-tactical, it is clear what they are seeing down the road.

Bottom lines - this [expletive] ain't over by a long shot and the forces of darkness have a great deal of capital...both financial and political. And my view...if the force of good were that organized and that powerful, how on earth did they allow him to get re-elected? After three days of in depth meetings and 16 hour days, I am not very optimistic about the future of the black rifle in America, but I could be totally wrong.

My son works for a company that designs, manufactures, and sells night vision related equipment, like zero lenses and such. His boss just got back from SHOT. He landed some large lucrative contracts while he was there, and they found a new civilian market—the maritime industry. Apparently maritime law requires that any boat/ship over a certain length MUST be equipped with a nigh-vision device.

So maybe everything is more guarded, particularly from the gun manufacturers, but other segments of the industry are going like a house afire.

[Wodathunkit]

That email is disparaging?