Smith & Wesson Corp. to Acquire Gemini Technologies
Asset Acquisition Will Add Leading Suppressor Brand to Smith & Wesson Firearms Platform
American Outdoor Brands Corporation (NASDAQ Global Select: AOBC), a leading manufacturer of firearms and a provider of quality accessory products for the shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor enthusiast, today announced that its firearms business, Smith & Wesson Corp., has agreed to acquire substantially all of the assets of Gemini Technologies, Incorporated (“Gemtech”), a provider of high quality suppressors and accessories for the consumer, law enforcement, and military markets.
James Debney, President and CEO of American Outdoor Brands, said, “Gemtech is widely recognized for producing some of the finest rifle and pistol suppressors in the market. Gemtech’s strong product development capabilities, combined with our experience in brand management and our manufacturing expertise, will help us to efficiently develop both firearms and suppressors, minimizing our time to market for both product categories. We view this acquisition as opportunistic, allowing us to enter the suppressor category, which resonates strongly with our core firearm consumer, at a time when the market is particularly soft. These elements combine to make Gemtech an excellent fit with our long term strategy.”
The company intends to complete the acquisition of Gemtech utilizing cash on hand and expects the transaction to close this summer. Ron Martinez, President of Gemtech, will continue in his leadership role as General Manager, heading up the company’s strong team located in Eagle, Idaho.
Sanctions Related to Ukraine Conflict Hit Firearms Manufacturer Molot and Their VEPR
The US Treasury Department today released the latest round of sanctions going into effect surrounding the conflict in Ukraine. These sanctions, which the department says underscore the U.S. commitment to a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Ukraine, are hitting close to home for fans of certain imported firearms.
The Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) reinforced existing sanctions on Russia by designating a range of individuals and entities involved in the ongoing conflict under four Executive orders (E.O.s) related to Russia and Ukraine. The sanctions, according to the release, will remain in effect “until Russia fully honors its obligations under the Minsk Agreements.”
Along with 37 other entities, the list names Molot-Oruzhie, manufacturer of the popular VEPR series of firearms, including the AK-47-style VEPR-12 semi-auto shotgun, similar in appearance and function to the Kalashnikov Concern’s Saiga.
Molot Oruzhie, OOO is designated by the Treasury Department’s sanction list under the section of Designations Related to Officials of the Russian Government and Sanctions Evasion, which also targets five other entities pursuant to the previous White House’s 2014 Executive Order 13661, which authorizes sanctions on any individual or entity that has provided material or other support to persons operating in the arms or related materiel sector in the Russian Federation.
Specifically, the release reads: Continue reading
NSSF and Manufacturers Try to Help Inform Media of Suppressor Facts
Shockingly, news media remains willfully ignorant and sticks with agenda
A few weeks ago, the National Shooting Sports Foundation and representatives from Daniel Defense and Sig Sauer hosted Washington DC-based media for a suppressor demo day at a range in Manassas, Virginia.
Media members, including those from the Associated Press as shown in the video, had the opportunity to fire suppressed rifles and pistols for themselves and to get an education on suppressor (a.k.a. silencer) basics. Company reps explained how suppressors are not assassin’s tools that enable gun-ninjas to perpetrate undetectable crime but, rather, reduce the report of a firearm from louder-than-a-jet-engine to about-like-a-jack-hammer – helping to get it closer to OSHA hearing-safe levels.
As the Hearing Protection Act gains support from both House and Senate lawmakers (148 in the House and 16 in the Senate), as well as from Second Amendment supporters, we won’t be holding our breath waiting for fact-based reporting from the mainstream media.
Keep pushing, keep writing your reps to support the bill, keep calling out the media and anti-gun politicians on their misunderstandings (or outright lies).
North Dakota Highway Patrol Adopts Sig Sauer P320
Agency Transitions from SIG P226 to Striker-Fired P320
SIG SAUER, Inc. is proud to announce the selection of the striker-fired P320 as the sidearm of choice for the North Dakota Highway Patrol (NDHP).
The NDHP was organized in 1935 with just five patrolmen. Their duty was to enforce state laws pertaining to the protection and use of highways in North Dakota, the 19th largest state with the highest number of roads per capita.
Today, the NDHP boasts over 150 sworn officers who are assigned a wide array of tasks, ranging from driver examinations to protecting the northern border. Before selecting the SIG P320 in 9mm, the NDHP utilized P226 pistols chambered in .357 SIG.
“The North Dakota Highway Patrol looks forward to the transition to the SIG SAUER P320,” said Captain Thomas Iverson. “After a thorough testing process, we are confident the new weapon will serve our agency well.”
Since its introduction in January 2014, the revolutionary P320 has gained tremendous momentum in the firearm world. Earlier this year, the U.S. Army selected a variant of the P320 as its next service pistol. With unprecedented modularity and a clean, crisp trigger pull, the P320 sets a new standard for striker-fired performance. The serialized trigger group is interchangeable, allowing the shooter to transform the size and caliber of the pistol. Full size, Carry, Compact and Subcompact frames are available. Grip frames are further divided into small, medium and large to accommodate any hand size.
“From scorching summers to brutal winters, the North Dakota Highway Patrol works in some of the country’s most extreme weather. We are honored that the agency continues to trust the reliability of the SIG SAUER firearms in this harsh environment,” said Tom Jankiewicz, Executive Vice President, Law Enforcement Sales. “We have a long history of providing only the best firearms for law enforcement use, and we are humbled that officers trust their lives to our products.”
Branco: Out of Left Field
Notice a trend? It reminds me of a conversation from the series Justified where Chief Deputy Mullen tells US Marshall Raylan Givens “You see, ten days ago you shot a man in Miami. Put it like this: you were in the first grade; bit a kid every week? They’d start to think of you as a biter.”
A.F. Branco – A Radical Liberal Terrorist “James Hodgkinson, a radical liberal terrorist and Bernie sanders supporter, shoots Republicans during baseball practice.”
F Stands for Fail: Washington Post Flip-Flops on Suppressors
The Washington Post — in one of its rare reversions to journalism – recently issued a fact check that handed Americans for Responsible Solutions and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) three Pinocchios for overstating the noise-canceling properties of firearm suppressors. “There is little that’s quiet about a firearm with a silencer, unless one also thinks a jackhammer is quiet,” the report concluded.
The context was the debate over the Hearing Protection Act (HPA). This bill would treat suppressors as if they were ordinary firearms for federal regulatory purposes, rather than the current practice of treating their sales as if they were machine guns, which are subject to much more cumbersome rules designed to discourage ownership.
Suppressors’ popularity has increased exponentially in recent years, as firearm owners have embraced the health-promoting and experience-enhancing benefits of their use.
And while they do decrease the report of firearms, they do not, as the Post fact check accurately reported, render them anywhere near “silent.”
Who could possibly argue with technology that can reduce hearing loss associated with firearm use? Certainly not the Washington Post, which in its March 20 fact check stated, “We obviously take no position on whether this proposed law would be good or bad …. “
Obviously. Continue reading
