Author Topic: The WAG THE DOG Manifesto!  (Read 109538 times)

Michael Bane

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The WAG THE DOG Manifesto!
« on: February 20, 2007, 12:41:59 PM »
The overriding question right now is where we go from here.

This weekend we "tipped." The on-going tensions between the hunting and the shooting sides of the overall firearms market, which I have been reporting on since I started this blog three years ago, boiled over, and for the very first time, the shooting side of the market flexed its muscles.

And suddenly the whole industry now understands what we have known for years — we are the tail wagging the dog.

There were hints of this at the SHOT Show this year. You couldn't walk the floor in Orlando without a sense that a profound change was underway. The "buzz" was all about black rifles, with the new military pistols and precision rifles following behind. It reminded me of the SHOT Shows in the early 1980s, when the tsunami of practical shooting swept the handgun industry. One year we couldn't even get an appointment with major handgun execs...the next, we're being fetted and the floor is awash in trick 1911s.

There were other market indicators that were consistently overlooked:

    • Ammo sales — In recent years, it's .223, 7.62 X 39, .308, with the "traditional" calibers falling behind.
    • Parts and accessories sales — In the last 12 months, AR-platform parts and accessories have swamped even the huge 1911 P&A market.
    • Major manufacturer participation — S&W successfully launches their M&P AR-15; SIGARMS successfully launches their 556; more announcements are scheduled for later this year.
    • Expanded competition opportunities — The explosive growth of 3-gun matches and carbine/rifle precision matches is on the way to recreating a "nation of riflemen (and women)."
    • The widespread acceptance of black rifles as a home self-defense tool — this is huge; I'm a convert myself.
    • Demand for carbine training courses — Through the ceiling across the country...the shooting academies are packin' 'em in for black rifle classes.
    • Expanded caliber offerings — Yes, it was obvious even before Sunday that black rifles were moving decisively into the game fields. From exotics like .30-06 tpo the various .458s, to the WSSM cartridges, the AR platform has proven to be amazingly adaptable.

One point I've made before and I want to make very strongly again is that Jim Zumbo didn't say a single thing I haven't heard before from other "hook and bullet" writers. Such writings and statements are, indeed, based on an ignorance of how the market is shifting.

That ignorance is dangerous. Take a look at USA Today's article this AM:
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070220/1a_lede20.art.htm

 
Quote
  Police needing heavier weapons
    Chiefs cite spread of assault rifles
    By Kevin Johnson
    USA TODAY

    WASHINGTON — Law enforcement agencies across the country have been upgrading their firepower to deal with what they say is the increasing presence of high-powered weapons on the streets.

    Scott Knight, chairman of the Firearms Committee of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, says an informal survey of about 20 departments revealed that since 2004 all of the agencies have either added weapons to officers' patrol units or have replaced existing weaponry with military-style arms.

    Knight, police chief in Chaska, Minn., says the upgrades have occurred since a national ban on certain assault weapons expired in September 2004. The ban, passed in 1994, in part prohibited domestic gunmakers from producing semi-automatic weapons and ammunition dispensers holding more than 10 rounds.

There is a new AWB being considered in Congress, and while this one will likely go nowhere, no one I've talked to believes this will be the last one floated out...especially if a Democrat is elected President in 2008.

Black rifles and their "kin" — .50 BMG guns, long-range precision rifles (aka "sniper" gun), "assault pistols," etc. — will be the RKBA battleground for the forseable future. It is also the primary area of growth, where the new shooters (and, honestly, the new hunters) will come from.

I believe — or maybe I hope — that the industry is now ready to step up to the facts and accord us both the respect and the equal funding our side of the market deserves. That's what I'm hearing.

That's the happy talk part; here's the ugly part. The reason hook and bullet writers have been able to get away with saying such things is through the tacit approval of the people who drive that side of the industry. That has to stop. Remington and Cabela's have taken a huge step in the right direction by disavowing the Jim Zumbo comments; the big boys, Mossy Oak, Realtree and the like, now need to step up and add their voices for unity. The hunting lobbying groups need to make it clear that an attack on one is an attack on all...that there is no difference between an AR-15 and a fine Perazzi shotgun when it comes to the firearms community; that the community will no longer tolerate a discussion on which baby should be thrown off the lifeboat.

I think we're at a watershed moment, and it's up to us to make that moment count. I am profoundly sorry that it was Jim Zumbo who fell under the bus, but every one of us who writes for a living understand that we live and die by those words we write. I was told that by my very first editor when I wrote my first newspaper article for publication in 1968; nothing has changed now except the speed at which we're all judged — and the absence of that "editor" who might caution moderation on our part.

It's scary to reach a tipping point and see how quickly things change. I believe we are now in the driver's seat...where are we going?



Michael Bane, Majordomo @ MichaelBane.TV

Pathfinder

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Re: The WAG THE DOG Manifesto!
« Reply #1 on: February 20, 2007, 01:03:46 PM »
Excellent, Michael, excellent.

People like you, in the know, personal relationships with a bunch of bigwigs at the name companies, need to work those relationships.

Mopes like me need to make our presence and interests known to the corporations through our purchases, and even our emails, letters, and even blogs like this.

The issue, which you touched on, is HOW to get us to all sing from the same hymnal. I think a lot of us shooters don't have a problem with that. I think the so-called "hook and bullet" people are the ones we have to reach.

Ideas anyone?
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do this to others and I require the same from them"

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Middle Man

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Re: The WAG THE DOG Manifesto!
« Reply #2 on: February 20, 2007, 04:00:28 PM »
Mossy Oak has repudiated itself from Zumbo, his comments, and has "ended all ties".

http://www.mossyoak.com/content.asp?id=1460&catID=153&section=hc
I don't want any part of your change.

McCarthy was right...

CDR

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Re: The WAG THE DOG Manifesto!
« Reply #3 on: February 20, 2007, 05:05:45 PM »
"Jim Zumbo Outdoors" was preempted today on the Outdoor Channel.  I tuned in just to see if there was going to be a statement, and some other hunting show was on.  They pulled the plug on the show already?
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Mercenary Farmer

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Re: The WAG THE DOG Manifesto!
« Reply #4 on: February 20, 2007, 05:50:45 PM »
Michael: Drop by the OWAA website and see what was put up on their blog about this situation.  Their writer is far more concerned about the 1st Amendment than the 2nd.  Obviously he didn't got the message that was sent this weekend.

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Frank W. James

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Re: The WAG THE DOG Manifesto!
« Reply #5 on: Today at 02:07:18 AM »

Lawrence Keeney

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Re: The WAG THE DOG Manifesto!
« Reply #5 on: February 20, 2007, 05:52:34 PM »
Jim

The sheriff's deputies in our small WV county have been toting Colt Commandos and Bushmaster M-4 selective fire rifles since 2001 when they were on the wrong end of a gunbattle with a barricaded idiot.

He didnt have battle rifles..he had a 30-30, a taurus 44 mag wheelgun and a 12 ga shotgun.

I really don't think it's so much that they are scared, as it is that there's all kinds of Homeland Security grants out there to be had for nice black rifles.

Pathfinder

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Re: The WAG THE DOG Manifesto!
« Reply #6 on: February 20, 2007, 06:24:30 PM »
The police have been heavily armed for years, more than a decade. Back in the 80's I think it was, when the police started to be militarized, the DoD dumped thousands of black rifles, mostly of the M-16A1 and A2 as I recall, into the hands of police agencies across the US. There was a report of one police dept. that had more black rifles than it had officers (small town in NE I think).

I'm not sure on all the details as I do not have access to my files. The USAToday article is just a step in the gun-grabbers bag of tricks to make gun confiscation and prohibition "reasonable". And wait, it will be all about protecting the children too. And all of this aided and abbetted by the likes of Zumbo. Moron.

Anyone else think that maybe alcohol was involved before he blogged?

We will be undoing his damage for years to come, if we can even get it undone. Very sad. Very unnecessary.

Michael's right, though, we have got to stand together on this, and make every damn politician aware of our wrath when they come to take our rights away.
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do this to others and I require the same from them"

J.B. Books

Lawrence Keeney

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Re: The WAG THE DOG Manifesto!
« Reply #7 on: February 20, 2007, 06:37:17 PM »
I remember back in the late 90s, the Jackson County WV sheriff's department got M-14 rifles, with ten mags and a cleaning kit with each rifle, for $45 each. >:(

Bidah

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Re: The WAG THE DOG Manifesto!
« Reply #8 on: February 20, 2007, 07:44:40 PM »
The article in USA Today is the start of the war on our guns again.  Okay, maybe not the start, but it is not good.  Here they are saying that these rifles have come into common use for criminals since the ban ended.  So draw a line, we should put the ban back in place, with extra measures.

Michael is right, we have to stand together, every last one.  I have had a similar 'fight' with my dad.  He prefers his traditional hunting rifles, and can't see why anyone would need an AR.  I still hunt with mine anyway, and he just stopped poking me about it.  He did get the message when I was able to convince him that after they come for mine, his sniper weapons would be next.

-Bidah
“The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. Instead of altering their views to fit the facts, they alter the facts to fit their views...which can be very uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering.”  The Doctor

ponyexpress

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Re: The WAG THE DOG Manifesto!
« Reply #9 on: February 20, 2007, 09:33:12 PM »
It does seem that we have reached a tipping point in the industry. The important thing is to make this a positive change for the better. Unfortunately, it's going to be difficult to do. Like any family, our interests are diverse and sometimes it's going to be like herding cats. This is true even for the shooting side of the sport. Look at the differences between IDPA, Cowboy Action and High Power shooting. I say this not to be pessimistic, but just to remind us that we need to keep pushing foward despite the minor set backs we may encounter.

In regards to making the industry listen, the only real way is to do it with money. The manufacturers are there to make a profit and stay in business, specially with publicly owned companies like Smith & Wesson. They aren't going to do anything unless it positively effects their bottom line.

We need to make them recognize how their companies are benefiting from the shooters and the volume of firearms, gear and ammunition that they buy. I also think that we need to be more assertive of what kind of products we would like to see them produce. It seems to me, that every year companies produce dozens of new firearms on a random basis and what sells they keep and what doesn't, they get rid of. (Maybe Michael can shed a little light on if there's any method to this madness.)  We should also let retailers like Cabela's know that there is room for both the hunters and shooters in their store and that often these people are one in the same or at least share common interests. This might even provide the opportunity for a little education of the hook and bullet crowd.




 

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