Posted on 01/03/2010 7:30:04 AM PST by Second Amendment First
There's a decent chance that if you walked up to a U.S. soldier fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan, some piece of equipment on his rifle would be stamped with the words, "Boulder, CO."
But Magpul Industries, a growing manufacturer of injection-molded plastic parts primarily for use on the AR-15 weapons platform, isn't actually located in Boulder -- rather it's a few hundred yards from the Boulder County border in Erie.
The company's head honchos know this geographical fact, but they like the bit of irony that comes from a weapon-gear manufacturer operating so close to the liberal stronghold of Boulder.
"We put Boulder, Colorado, on everything that we make, and really that's just a slap in the face to the hippies," said Drake Clark, senior director of sales and business development for Magpul.
Hippie-slapping aside, Clark is dead serious about what Magpul does.
The company was founded in 1999 by former Force Reconnaissance Marine Richard Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick moved to Colorado after leaving the military, taking from his experience as a soldier the idea for a piece of gear that many soldiers improvised using duct tape.
Fitzpatrick dumped his savings into patenting a piece of molded rubber that attaches at the base of rifle magazines and allows shooters to pull them from storage pouches more easily -- thus, the Magpul was born.
"The theory behind the products we come up with is basically that we find out what soldiers need to make their job easier," Clark said.
Skip ahead a decade, and the company has blossomed into a 100-employee operation that manufactures and assembles more than 60 plastic parts for various weapons, including state-of-the-art rifle stocks, grips, magazines and gun sights.
Headquartered in a nondescript warehouse off East County Line Road and Austin Avenue, Magpul is headed by a group of veterans representing every branch of the American military, a heritage they take seriously when designing their products.
"We build these products to put in the hands of the men and women who protect the freedom of our country," Clark said. "The money that we make coming from the sale of our products (to civilian markets) goes back into making better products for the warfighter, period."
Clark said the company has seen explosive growth in the past five years, though he declined to offer specific revenue figures.
The scope of the company's potential can be seen in its latest foray into firearm design. In a move away from making parts and pieces, Magpul recently completed the design of its Adaptive Combat Rifle -- the first fully functional assault rifle taken from concept to market by the company.
"We started out making this little rubberized grip for your magazine, and now we're developing full weapon systems," Clark said.
The rifle's design has been sold to Remington and Bushmaster Firearms International, which will each produce a version of the ACR; Remington for the military and Bushmaster for civilian and law-enforcement markets.
In early 2010, the ACR will be entered into trials for a new military standard-issue rifle to replace the longtime M4 and M16 rifle platforms. If the ACR is selected, it would have immense implications for the local startup.
"Every rifle they sell is going to need these plastic parts," Clark said, and Magpul would be the exclusive provider.
Clark said he sees the company's potential as nearly limitless, with possible expansions into other industries that require durable plastic parts.
"In 10 years I would foresee Magpul venturing way past the firearms realm and getting into other industries that get our feet wet," he said.
But for now, the company is content with stickin' it to the liberals.
"We're fairly proud that we can be amidst a whole bunch of hippies and we can build gun parts that say Boulder on them," Clark said.
I did see last summer one of my all time favorite bumper stickers there: Love my Country; Fear my Government.
While in Boulder, remember to say hi to “Soldier of Fortune” magazine.
I have it from a very good source that their 30 round mags were put to good use in Iraq!
Just does my heart a world of good reading the comments about the maggot infested, dope smoking, unwashed, clueless hippies!
I’ve got their ‘pulls’ on my AR mags...they are great....only they are a little bit on the expensive side..
Sooooo, is Mattel™ out of the gun stock business?
I've heard the same, that they're the best and practically indestructible.
For the longest time, you could hardly find them, and if you did, they were unbelievably expensive (I saw them for upwards of $60 each).
Now that things have calmed down, they're reasonably priced again.
Mark
Really cool website, magpul.com
I’m glad these guys are on our side.
There’s always been something a little goofy regarding the ‘People’s Republic of Boulder’. It is definitely a hippie-haven with more earth mothers per meter than any other place I could imagine. And yet, it is the home of Soldier of Fortune and, back in the early - mid 90’s, was home to Palladin Arms (they later moved to Longmont). Magpul is in the area and it seems I remember an early custom gun operation that was doing very early tactical bolt actions for law enforcement and nearly everyone else who wanted on (I think they also moved to Longmont, which is about 20 miles away.)
There was a very active shooting club in the area just north of town and one of the better general gun stores (was it Big Bear?) was right in the middle of town.
I met some old friends for dinner there last week and the smell of patchoulie was just as strong as ever.
Boulder, 32 square mile surrounded by REALITY!
Could’nt get the mags for some time but I see them in abundance at the gun shows I have attended. They are the best in my mind.
Live here and make parts for them here.
Go Magpul. We appreciate the jobs.
Good gear.
The PRS buttstock for the AR that they make is the next purchase on the list. I really appreciate the adjustable cheek plate. Might finally get good sight picture with the 6x24x50 I have on top of mine.
The fact that they enjoy giving it to the stinkin' hippies is just an added bonus.
I bought some Magpul rubber assists for my M14 magazines.
Maybe it’s kind of like Vermont. Liberal to a moonbattish degree, but they like guns enough to have some of the best gun laws in the nation. [shrug]
There was a very active shooting club in the area just north of town and one of the better general gun stores (was it Big Bear?) was right in the middle of town.
I met some old friends for dinner there last week and the smell of patchoulie was just as strong as ever.
You're thinking of Big Horn Trading Company at the corner of Arapahoe and 14th, which closed many years ago. I think there is a new, unrelated gun shop in the same building now called Gunsport.
I live near Boulder and worked there for 25 years, and as you know, while it is fun to think of Boulder filled with dope-smoking hippies, you really won't see much of that. Most people in Boulder look pretty much like people in most places in the U.S., though you'll notice that almost all of them drive either large SUVs or PCmobiles like Priuses.
However, Boulder is infested with something much worse than dope-smoking hippies, namely dope-smoking ultra-leftests. Smug, self-satisfied, know-it-all people who are so sure that their "progressive" world-view is so 100% correct that it is for all practical purposes a religion to them, given that it is all based on faith rather than facts.
I would far rather sit down for a chat with the random Rastafarian basking quietly in the sunshine on the Boulder Courthouse lawn in the summer time, than the average "progressive" Boulder citizen. It would be a much more pleasant and interesting chat.
That being said, like most any other U.S. community, Boulder is not a monolithic culture. Boulder is not really the San Francisco of Colorado, since Colorado state law overrides most local law, and at the state level Colorado has yet to succumb to the progressive disease. Thus Boulder is highly constrained as to the level of insanity it is permitted, much of it being limited to ridiculous "proclamations" periodically issued by its City Council.
In summary, there are plenty of fine, conservative, gun-toting citizens in Boulder, it's just that they are in the minority, and have learned long ago its pointless to engage the nutjob majority.
Yeah, I was thinking of Big Horn. Did a lot of business with them.
Yours is the more accurate assessment of the Boulder ‘culture’. Particularly apt is the distinction you draw between hippies and those smarmy, sanctimonious progressives. I lived north of there (about 5 mile up 36 from Lyons) from ‘91 - ‘00. And you’re right; there were a surprising number of conservatives there back then. Many have moved out. Seems they got tired of the left-wing BS.
I've got the poor man's version on some of my mags - a short piece of rubber inner tube, of a suitable size for the mag. Factory is obviously better (and Magpul is a great company to support)...
;>)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.