It’s not often the shooting industry is covered like Hollywood tabloids, but recent U.S. Bankruptcy Court documents regarding Remington Outdoor Company (ROC) assets left gun owners and industry insiders alike craving juicy updates like the latest celebrity gossip.

Founded in 1816, Remington has a storied history of manufacturing firearms and ammunition for more than 200 years, but its holding company — representing Remington Arms Company, Marlin Firearms, Barnes Bullets and others — has struggled the past decade from a revolving door of leadership and lenders.

Reported sales in 2019 totaled $437.5 million, leading the company to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late July for the second time since 2018.

Winning Bids Revealed

Public court documents revealed bids for various ROC assets, including both familiar and unfamiliar names. Among the latter is investment group Roundhill Group, successful bidder of Remington’s non-Marlin firearms operation. Paying $13 million for related Remington intellectual property, as well as factories in Ilion, N.Y., and Lenoir City, Tenn., the group of “staunch Remington brand loyalists” hopes to return the company to its former prominence, and soon.

“Our intent … is to return the company to its traditional place as an iconic American hunting brand,” said Jeff Edwards, Roundhill Group partner and spokesman. “It won’t be long. Just wait and see.”

With no major real estate holdings, Roundhill Group has already announced they will recall an initial 200 furloughed workers to the Ilion plant and anticipate additional growth, according to New York State Sen. James Seward.

Meanwhile, Vista Outdoor was approved as the successful bidder of Remington’s accessory and ammunition businesses, obtaining a factory in Lonoke, Ark., among other assets. Despite the $81.4 million deal being less than half of what the two Remington brands made in sales last year, Vista Outdoor has a portfolio of successful ammunition and shooting accessory brands to its name and sees a clear path ahead.

“With our deep expertise and resources, we can transform Remington’s ammunition and accessories businesses to create a more efficient, profitable and sustainable operation,” said Chris Metz, Vista Outdoor CEO. “The Remington brand is beloved by hunting and shooting sports enthusiasts everywhere and we look forward to restoring it to greatness.”

Vista Outdoor wasn’t the only bidder to commit to maintaining the history of its newly acquired asset. Sturm, Ruger & Co. was approved as the successful bidder of Marlin Firearms in a $30 million deal, including related intellectual property, woodworking equipment and machinery.

“The value of Marlin and its 150-year legacy was too great of an opportunity for us to pass up,” said Ruger President and CEO Chris Killoy. “The important thing for consumers, retailers and distributors to know at this point in time is the Marlin brand and its great products will live on. Long live the lever gun.”

Killoy also expressed the acquisition as an opportunity to “widen [Ruger’s] already diverse product offerings.”

“We look at this acquisition as a means of better serving millions of consumers with the products they love from one of the country’s original and best-known brands.”

Chris Metz, Vista Outdoor CEO
 
This opportunity is also likely a major driver behind the successful bids of Clarus Inc. (Sierra Bullets) for Barnes Bullets assets, JJE Capitol Holdings (Palmetto State Armory) for Advanced Armament Corporation, DPMS, Harrington & Richardson, Parker and StormLake brands and Franklin Armory Holdings for Bushmaster-related assets. Sportsman’s Warehouse was also named the successful bidder of TAPCO- branded gun parts and accessories.

“The opportunistic and strategic acquisition of Barnes represents an accretive, tuck-in asset that brings our bullet and ammunition business additional capacity in a period of great demand and improves our overall scale within our Sierra segment,” said Aaron Kuehne, Clarus CFO, of the $30.5 million deal.

A Turning Point?

While it’s unknown how each successful bidder will utilize and revitalize their new assets, reactions from consumers online reflect general excitement. If Roundhill Group, Vista Outdoor, Ruger and others can bring new ideas and products to market that compete for innovation, quality or affordability, the break-up of Remington Outdoor Company could be remembered as a turning point for not just the brands involved, but the shooting industry itself and all those who enjoy it.

As Metz concluded: “We look at this acquisition as a means of better serving millions of consumers with the products they love from one of the country’s original and best-known brands.”

FMG Publications Relaunches American COP Brand

In steadfast support of the law enforcement community across America, FMG Publications relaunched one of its signature brands, American COP, in an online-only format. Industry veteran Denny Hansen serves as editor of the revived title that first debuted in 2005.

“Growing anti-police sentiment and misinformation spread by the mainstream media really made us feel it was time to show our support for the Thin Blue Line,” Hansen shares. “Our mission is to bring useful and practical information to our readers without the frill so often seen elsewhere. We have serious topics for serious readers.”

FMG VP of Business Development Randy Molde lends, “We noted an uptick in website activity earlier this year as pandemic frustrations and social unrest grew. The decision to restart the American COP brand was a no-brainer. We support the brave men and women who protect and serve our communities. Our goal is to make sure law enforcement professionals have easy access to current content and resources they need to survive their shifts and return home safely every day.”

American COP also speaks to an audience extending beyond those who wear the badge: It serves as a resource for engaged law-abiding citizens who take personal responsibility for their own and loved ones’ safety and security. Visitors to the American COP website will find sections dedicated to “Cop Stuff,” “Gear,” “Guns,” “EDC & Preparedness,” “Training,” “Experts,” “New Products” and “Videos.”
/ americancop.com

Insurance Consortium Aims To Serve Outdoor, Shooting Industry

Clear Blue Insurance Group, North American Risk Services Inc. (NARS), Preferred Reports and Great Southern Agency have partnered to provide innovative insurance solutions for businesses serving the outdoor sports and recreation communities.

The specialty program is an answer to the growing demand and shrinking availability of insurance markets for trap, skeet and sporting clays, indoor and outdoor ranges, hunt clubs and leases, firearm instructors and firearm retailers.

The Outdoor Sports and Recreation Program is championed by John Paulk Jr., widely known in the industry for developing more than 16 specialty insurance programs as head of Britt Paulk Insurance Agency.

The Outdoor Sports and Recreation Program product line provides a truly comprehensive suite of insurance coverage via a program designed from the ground up to serve the shooting sports industry. Insurance plans include Property and Inland Marine, General Liability, Professional Liability, Cyber Liability, EPLI, Employee Benefits Liability, Excess Liability and Umbrella.

The Clear Blue Insurance Group is a property and casualty group providing insurance programs in partnership with program administrators and reinsurers to produce commercial lines coverage nationwide. Clear Blue Insurance Company and Clear Blue Specialty Insurance Company have been rated A-Excellent by AM Best, with a Financial Size Category of VIII. The companies have a pooled surplus of more than $110 million.

NARS is the third-party claims administrator for the Outdoor Sports and Recreation Program. Recognized in the industry for its flexibility, strong customer service and depth of insurance claims knowledge, NARS has assembled a seasoned team of adjusters to manage claims.

Great Southern Agency, founded in 2009 by Paulk, is the working house for underwriting, with implementation services from Preferred Reports and North American Risk Services. Great Southern Agency will accept submissions through select retail agency partners who have a successful track record of placing insurance in this product line. Preferred Reports has developed a proprietary inspection protocol for the program.

The Outdoor Sports and Recreation Program is currently available in 43 states, with availability soon in the 48 continental states and the District of Columbia. The partnership with Clear Blue Insurance Group offers admitted carriers using the highly flexible ISO CAP as the core Property Form. / firearmsins.com

FN America Secures U.S. Army Contract

FN America has been awarded a firm-fixed-price contract to supply the U.S. Army with M249 Squad Automatic Weapons (M249 SAW). The contract is expected to be completed by 2025.

The FN M249 SAW has been a mainstay throughout the U.S. military since 1986, and is currently in service in more than 30 countries. FN has been the sole source manufacturer of the 5.56-chambered belt-fed lightweight machine gun.

Designed for front line applications delivering crucial support at the infantry squad/fire team level, the FN M249 SAW provides accurate fire from a maneuverable light machine gun. The ergonomic polymer buttstock contains a hydraulic buffer allowing SAW gunners to maintain a high rate of fire with accuracy and effect.

“We’re honored to continue our dedication as a critical partner to the U.S. military and pleased to announce this latest Army contract award for the FN M249 SAW, a flagship design for FN, in service more than 30 years. The proven design has served the U.S. military reliably and without fail,” said Mark Cherpes, FN America president and CEO. “We look forward to building these machine guns at our production facility in Columbia, South Carolina.”

In addition to the M249 and its variants, FN currently holds contracts for the FN M240 medium machine gun and its variants; the FN MK 46, MK 48, MK 17 and MK 20 SSR for USSOCOM and various other contracts. / fnamerica.com

Celerant Technology Partners With Gun StoreMaster

Celerant Technology, provider of innovative point-of-sale and e-commerce products for the firearms industry, announces a partnership with Gun StoreMaster, an ATF compliance software solution offering paperless bound books, Form 4473s, Form 3310s and more.

The integration enables FFL dealers to easily manage in-store and online transactions, improve regulatory risk management and simplify ATF compliance.

Celerant’s retail software automatically syncs firearm data with Gun StoreMaster’s eSAFE Bound Book, eliminating manual data entry and reducing data errors. From the bound book, dealers can easily look up firearms, including consignments and transfers. They can add notes and images to a firearm record, respond to FBI trace requests, generate and view reports and more.

“By teaming with Celerant, FFL retailers have a compelling choice for a comprehensive, yet simple-to-use, ATF compliance technology, combined with powerful retail technology. Existing GSM and Celerant customers can also benefit from this new product combination. Many of the largest firearm retailers in the country, as well as sole-proprietor businesses, rely on Gun StoreMaster to simplify ATF compliance,” said Steve Harris, Three Circle Software CEO.

Celerant also integrates with Gun StoreMaster’s “fast 4473,” enabling dealers to streamline the 4473 process. Leveraging transaction data from Celerant’s point of sale, buyers can complete their portion of the 4473 on mobile tablets or PCs, while FFLs simultaneously complete their sections of the form. This helps dealers reduce the time to complete a sale, and ensures each transaction complies with federal and state regulations. Gun StoreMaster’s A&D bound book and e4473 can be backed up daily.

“Celerant has supported the outdoor industry for years, and strives to provide dealers with flexible options to run their business, both through our core retail system, as well as through integrations with valuable industry partners, such as Gun StoreMaster,” said Michele Salerno, director of marketing at Celerant Technology.
Celerant’s two FFL retail solutions, Cumulus Retail and Stratus Enterprise, seamlessly integrate with Gun StoreMaster. / celerant.com / gunstoremaster.com

AG & AG Hosts “Back The Women In Blue” Range Event

The fourth annual “Back the Women in Blue,” hosted by A Girl & A Gun Women’s Shooting League (AG & AG) and sponsored by SIG SAUER, took place Sept. 9–11 at the Round Rock Public Safety Training Center in Round Rock, Texas.

Participants included female police officers, deputies and a trooper, altogether representing large municipalities, rural counties and state agencies from eight different states. All 12 officers who attended were nominated by someone in their community. Contributions from SIG SAUER, Round Rock PD and AG & AG chapters throughout the country covered all expenses.

“Our home is your home,” said Chief Allen Banks, in welcoming the officers to the City of Round Rock. “We want you to enjoy your time here and leave equipped to better serve your communities.”

The Round Rock Police (RRPD) Training Department put the “Back the Women in Blue” attendees through a cross-section of training modules designed to enhance the skill set required on the job.

Day one included pistol performance drills in light and low-light environments using ammunition from SIG SAUER, flashlights from SureFire and targets from Action Target. Day two involved defensive tactics and building tactics classes in the RRPD training village. Vehicle scenarios training using Simunitions, and rappelling off a five-story tower rounded out day three.

“The ladies who came together for this training are some of the best female officers I have ever met,” said attendee Sgt. Kat Silvia of the Dallas PD. “We often have a hard time in this male-dominated profession, but these women are great examples for female officers everywhere.”

AG & AG hosts “Back the Women in Blue” events for female law enforcement officers each September, as well as many competitive matches and civilian training events throughout the year. / agirlandagun.org / sigsauer.com

GLOCK Wins Patent Infringement Suit

A federal judge has decided in favor of GLOCK in the case of GLOCK INC. v. THE WUSTER INC., d/b/a AIRSPLAT.COM. The defendant had operated AirSplat retail locations and an internet retail store at AirSplat.com that sold airsoft guns and related products.

In February 2014, GLOCK filed a multi-count complaint against The Wuster Inc. for trademark infringement, trade dress infringement and related claims under federal and state law.

The defendant previously imported, marketed and sold GLOCK replicas, using GLOCK’s trade dress and trademarks. The court found the defendant “intended to, and did, create actual market confusion in the minds of the consumers as to whether they were genuine or licensed GLOCK products, in violation of Glock’s registered trade dress and legally protected rights.”

The court awarded monetary damages to GLOCK totaling $2,253,078.28. The court also handed down a permanent injunction prohibiting the defendant and various other persons from selling GLOCK replica pistols in the future or otherwise infringing on GLOCK’s trademarks or trade dress.

“This is a resounding victory for GLOCK against a seller of replica airsoft products,” said Carlos Guevara, VP and general counsel of GLOCK Inc. “This ruling puts potential infringers like Airsplat on notice that GLOCK will vigorously prosecute its intellectual property rights against those who would infringe.” / us.glock.com

MT2 Firing Range Services Celebrates 20 Years

MT2 Firing Range Services is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2020.

“At MT2, we’re deeply proud of the progress we’ve made to help gun ranges protect their shooters, employees and community from the dangers of lead,” said MT2 President James M. Barthel. “Our company is celebrating 20 years, but we also feel like we’re just getting started on the important work of empowering firing range managers and owners to properly manage their range lead with exclusive patented technologies no other gun range services contractor can perform.”

Based in Arvada, Colo., MT2 is an A+ BBB accredited business with a multi-year certification from Great Places to Work. MT2 specializes in safety and environmental assessment, consulting services, lead reclamation, range and bullet trap installations, maintenance cleaning, renovations and improvements, lead-waste management, construction and construction management of new ranges. / mt2.com

SSSF Awards $55,000 In Scholarships

In continuation of its scholarship program, Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) — a 501(c)(3) foundation — has awarded 150 graduating senior athletes with $500 scholarships for the 2019/2020 season. Since 2013, the SSSF has awarded over $500,000 in scholarship funds benefiting over 600 student-athletes, from nearly all 50 states in the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) and Scholastic Action Shooting Programs (SASP).

“Our scholarship program gives graduating senior shooting sports athletes additional support to pursue their educational goals and further serves our mission as a youth development program,” said Tom Davis, SSSF marketing and communications manager. “These student-athletes go on to do great things and often pave the way for the next generation of athletes by establishing new shooting sports teams at their respective colleges.”

The SCTP funded 100 graduating seniors from 22 states, while SASP honored 10 student-athletes through its program sponsors Taurus USA, Walker’s, TANDEMKROSS and Tippmann Arms.

Qualified graduating seniors were considered for academics, college registration, state, regional and national-level shooting sports participation and a personal essay. These statements described personal goals, educational ambitions, achievements, talents, and experiences in their shooting sports career. / mysasp.com / mysctp.com

White Flyer Targets Supports NSSF First Shots Shotgun Programs

NSSF announced White Flyer Targets has donated $5,000 in support of outdoor ranges hosting NSSF’s newly revamped First Shots “Introduction to Shotgun” events.

Headquartered in Ringoes, N.J., White Flyer Targets manufactures a wide variety of pitch and biodegradable targets for use in skeet, trap, sporting clays, five-stand and FITASC shotgun games.

“Indoor ranges across the country have seen how First Shots handgun introduction events provide an easy, safe and genuinely fun way to let people experience their first time shooting, while also serving as a lynchpin for customer engagement that encourages and produces returning clients,” said Zach Snow, NSSF director, retail and range business development. “We’re making a concerted effort this year to expand involvement by outdoor ranges with an identically modeled Introduction to Shotguns format, and this support from White Flyer will go a long way toward helping host ranges offset the costs associated with these events.”

“The clay-target sports are some of the fastest growing in our industry, in no small part because anyone can be successful in them, but also because they offer a great deal of excitement and entertainment,” said Robert Crow, White Flyer’s national sales manager/Northeast sales manager. “We’re proud to help outdoor ranges realize the benefits of NSSF’s First Shots program, and introduce an entirely new audience of shooters to all that the clay games have to offer.”

To support its First Shots host ranges, NSSF supplies eye and ear protection, classroom workbooks and other materials for each class.

Those hosting the updated Introduction to Shotguns events will receive a $100 credit from NSSF for every 15 participants who complete their training (up to $500), to help offset the cost of clay targets and any ammunition the range chooses to supply its class participants.

Those wanting to explore adding First Shots to a range’s training curriculum may contact Ann Gamauf, NSSF retail and range business development coordinator, at agamauf@nssf.org or (203) 426-1320, ext. 247. / nssf.org

Hodgdon Acquires Three Western Powder Brands

Hodgdon Powder Company has announced the acquisition of the Ramshot and Accurate smokeless powder brands and the Blackhorn 209 muzzleloader brand from Western Powders. This acquisition is effective Oct. 1, 2020, with the company set to immediately begin shipping these products to wholesale and retail customers.

“This acquisition of the Ramshot and Accurate brands further solidifies our portfolio of smokeless brands and products for our handloading end users,” said Steve Kehrwald, Hodgdon president and CEO. “And the addition of Blackhorn 209 to our world-class muzzleloading brands like Pyrodex and Triple Seven uniquely positions us to serve the muzzleloading consumer. With these brands, we also add the capabilities of an additional ballistics lab to continue developing the data our customers demand from our Reloading Data Center tool and publications like our Annual and Basic Manuals.”

“Hodgdon has always been a strong competitor in the reloading powders industry,” said Doug Phair of Western Powders. “The Hodgdon family has built a robust company. Ramshot, Accurate and Blackhorn 209 will make excellent additions to the Hodgdon family of powders.”

“For years, our friends have referred to the Hodgdon family and company as ‘The Gunpowder People’ and this acquisition is another example of our dedication to the handloader and muzzleloader hunter,” said J.B. and Bob Hodgdon, co-owners.
Hodgdon has previous experience integrating new brands, following its purchase of IMR Powder in 2003, the Winchester Powder brand in 2003 and GOEX brand in 2009. / hodgdon.com / ramshot.com / accuratepowder.com
/ blackhorn209.com

Sellmark Purchases Former Pier 1 Facility

Sellmark Corp. announced its acquisition of a 460,000 sq. ft. distribution facility in Mansfield, Texas, formerly used by Pier 1 Imports Inc. The building is located directly across the street from Sellmark’s international headquarters.

Pier 1, a longstanding pillar of the Mansfield community and a respected employer in Tarrant County, has filed for bankruptcy.

The former Pier 1 building has been rebranded as “Heritage Park,” and is turnkey-ready to begin operations with the next distribution company or manufacturer that occupies it. Ideally positioned in the heart of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, the building is easily accessible on Heritage Parkway from nearby major thoroughfares, State Highway 360 and Route 287.

“The property will make a great home for a great company. Mansfield is a wonderful community to operate a business, and it is a perfect place for your employees to work and live. I am looking forward to personally welcoming the next major employer to our community,” said James Sellers, founder and CEO of Sellmark Corp.

As a prominent local employer and manufacturer of popular brands such as Sightmark, Kopfjäger, Firefield and Pulsar, Sellmark has continuously grown through several difficult economic cycles by providing quality products that serve security agencies, law enforcement officers, hunters, target shooters and outdoor enthusiasts.

The company has continued to hire new employees, has donated masks to local organizations and provided work-from-home pay for its employees during the peak of the pandemic. Additionally, Sellmark pledged to fully pay any employee who was hospitalized due to COVID-19, and provided free lunches and preventative measures for workers who continued to come into the office during stay-at-home periods.
/ sellmark.net

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