Posted on 11/28/2011 5:17:43 PM PST by marktwain
On Black Friday, several stores of outdoor sports outfitter Cabela's gave away guns. And have you heard the one about the gun club offering photos with Santa and ammo?
Guns, always popular in the US, have become even more so in a slumping, anxious economy. No wonder, as a new report exposes, a New York City-based capital management form has been buying up as many gun brands as it can get its hands on.
The gun-loving conglomerate, Freedom Group, now sells more than 1.2 million guns a year, notching $40 billion in yearly revenue. (That's more than Coca-Cola, by the way.)
Benefitting from the rise in gun sales are the gun accessories industry. But one such brand faces a huge uphill marketing challenge, burdened with severely tight regulations, even for the gun industry. The brand's answer? An education campaign called "Silencers are Legal."
The Silencers are Legal campaign aims to inform as many consumers as possible that "Yes, silencers are legal in beautiful, constitution-upholding states, just not in Minnesota."
For starters, this is something that many people probably do not actually know. While it's understandable that one would assume a silencer was illegal based on general logic about its applications, it turns out the device is legal in almost every state. (See above.) Indeed, as the site announces: "Over 27,000 silencers a year are purchased by civilians, but most U.S. citizens don't know that silencers are legal."
But buying a silencer is also not as simple as buying, say, a, AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle or an extended 33-round magazine for a Glock. There is paperwork. The site's FAQ section takes users through the ins and outs of silencer ownership including state-to-state transport and the "tax stamp."
The site also serves as an advocacy vehicle, teaching visitors that not only is owning a silencer your right under the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, but also how to contact their respective Congressional representative "to tell them you would like the laws to change."
The site is a project of Silencerco, a Utah brand founded in 2008 "with the intent to create the best silencers by thinking outside the box and by solving problems in unconventional ways." Silencerco's first product was a silencer called the 22Sparrow, which won the brand great dealer attention.
The Silencers are Legal marketing push is just another marketing angle for Silencerco, which has already cornered social media with a Twitter feed and a YouTube channel that demonstrates a little humor with programs like "How Loud Is It?" The latest episode compared "a SS 22Sparrow Suppressor with a slap in the face."
The brand now offers more than one silencer, including the Osprey. And while the brand's core product may seem wildly different from most consumer offerings, the challenges facing the brand (educating consumers) are exactly the same.
But as you've found out, some people are still at risk even doubling up with plugs under muffs. Best of luck to you.
If there has to be regulation of suppressors, it should be to make them *mandatory* in certain circumstances.
Thanks for doing the math. I wrote the story off as soon as I saw the forty billion dollar figure.
Depends on what’s being suppressed. Muzzle blast can be mitigated to negligible. Velocity, for some, can be viable subsonic - eliminating sonic crack. A suppressed AR15 is still loud as a full-speed .22LR thanks to viable velocity. A suppressed subsonic .22LR bolt is barely a pfft.
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Actually not funny; my tinnitus is almost disabling at times...
Don’t you mean the movie Shooter? If so, try filling the bottle with about 1/2” of water before you shoot. I haven’t tried it yet but that’s the only way I think it could work.
See http://www.advanced-armament.com for the best in suppressed.
Visit http://www.silencertalk.com too.
Very. Really stupid hugely. On the federal spectrum of crimes, it's somewhere above general murder.
I don’t remember that scene. I usually miss the first fifteen minutes of that movie though.
I’ve been told it’s illegal to build your own silencer. The tax to get one is exorbitant. Something like $900. I have thought about building a silencer of my own so I could shoot in my back yard. If I get caught though, LE would be more than happy to put me in front of a judge. A .22 air rifle would allow me to do the same thing, is cheaper and legal.
The tax stamp is only $200, though unfortunately you need a separate stamp for each device. I have two that should be available for pickup soon. It’s been 4 months... should be getting the call any day.
BTW - If Santa is a Freeper, I’d really like the .50 caliber Dragon Slayer Air gun this Christmas.
http://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Career_Dragon_Slayer_50_Combo/772
Yeah, I think he’s referring to the movie “Shooter”. Good movie, BTW.
www.silencerco.com Product line ‘Sparrow’
Verrrrry interesting.
Ha! You've never had to shoot to protect your life then. Trust me, you'll probably never hear the shot. Adrenaline does funny things to you when you are scared shitless.....Oh, and if you pee in your pants and have a large turd in your shorts...don't worry...thats normal also (and means that you are not stupid).
I can build you one, but I'll be the first to admit that John Norrell (www.johnnorrellarms.com) and Dr. Phil Dater's (www.gem-tech.com), Oh, and AWC's are ALOT quieter than mine.
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