Second City Suit Against Industry Dismissed

The city of Bridgeport, Connecticut’s lawsuit against the firearms industry, part of the recent wave of suits by municipalities, has been thrown out of court. The decision follows the October 1999 dismissal of a similar suit brought by the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. Legal experts are predicting a growing trend against efforts by politicians to hold legitimate industry liable for the criminal actions of third parties.

The National Rifle Association hailed the Connecticut Superior Court decision. The ruling follows last October’s ruling to dismiss with prejudice a similar suit filed by the municipality of Cincinnati.

“All those mayors who jumped on the lawsuit bandwagon in order to get their names in the papers ought to buckle their seatbelts, because the bandwagon is starting to come to a screeching, judicial halt,” said James J. Baker, executive director of NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “Once again, just as in the Cincinnati case, the court has employed sound judgment and common sense. These reckless lawsuits have no place in our judicial system.”

In his written opinion, Judge Robert McWeeny dismissed the case and ruled that Bridgeport and other cities “…lack any statutory authorization to initiate such claims” of liability against the firearms industry.

Baker applauded the decision, noting a December 12, 1999 Houston (TX) Chronicle report of a Tarrance Group poll finding 84% of Americans feel those who illegally misuse firearms should be held responsible, while only 5% believe manufacturers or retailers should be held responsible for the criminal misuse of firearms.

“The idea of holding a lawful industry responsible for the criminal acts of third parties flies in the face of common sense and our system of jurisprudence,” Baker said. “Americans want to see the laws already on the books enforced to hold armed criminals directly responsible for their actions. They don’t support these suits, nor the greedy lawyers and mayors behind them.”

During the past year, fourteen states have adopted legislation to prevent municipalities from filing similar lawsuits against the firearms industry. Baker predicted more states would adopt such measures in coming months.

Clinton Administration To Sue

But the Clinton Administration is not getting the message. In an action intended to force changes in the way firearms are manufactured and marketed, but with no foundation in case law, The Clinton Administration has announced it is preparing to file a class action lawsuit on behalf of the nation’s 3,191 public housing authorities. The plaintiffs want gunmakers to distribute only to dealers who won’t sell at gun shows, to require dealers to sell only one-gun-a-month to each buyer, to cut off those dealers who sell a disproportionate number of guns later linked to crimes, and to make the industry develop “smart” guns that only authorized users (such as the gun’s owner) can operate.

The public housing authorities spend about $1 billion a year trying to keep their 3. million residents safe from gun violence, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Author’s Note: Much of the violence, however, is committed by the authorities’ own residents. The department hasn’t yet decided how much to ask for in damages. The attack on the gunmakers is patterned closely on the tobacco campaign, and even involves some of the same lawyers.

Some manufacturers, such as Glock, Inc., were quoted as saying they would consider meeting with the Clinton Administration, while others, such as Sturm, Ruger & Co., indicated they plan to fight the matter out in court.

The problem with this latest ploy from the Clinton Administration is that it has no legal standing. Its requirement that firearms manufacturers build only “smart” guns, those only owners can fire, cannot be done as a reliable “smart” technology has never been developed. The idea of cutting off the source of supply of merchandise to legitimate licensed dealers who sell at gun shows would constitute a violation of federal restraint-of-trade regulations.

Using the court system to require dealers to sell only one-gun-a-month to each buyer is an abuse of the role of the courts. The courts do not exist to create laws, and lawsuits attempting to impose gun control through the judicial system have all been soundly rejected by the courts in the past.

Requiring wholesalers to refuse to supply firearms to otherwise legitimate dealers who sell a disproportionate number of firearms later linked to crimes cannot be done as the Dealers involved have done nothing wrong and thus committed no crime. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms has publicly stated the number of firearm trace requests can be influenced by many factors, including the store’s location. Stores in predominately African-American and often urban low income areas tend to sell more guns that are later linked to crime. Does this mean the federal government intends to prohibit the sale of firearms to African-Americans?

The final demand, change gun industry advertising so it appeals less to criminals is rather curious. This author, an avid reader of firearms publications for more years than he cares to recount, has never seen a gun advertisement specifically directed to criminals. This proposal also smacks of a violation of the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights guarantee of freedom of speech.

ATF NICS Warning

The industry’s regulator, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) advises some retailers are not complying with the recordkeeping requirements mandated by the gun Control Act of 1968 by destroying Form 4473 in situations where a NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System) check has been initiated, but the transfer of the firearm is not completed. This practice is in violation of the Gun Control Act, the agency warns.

In general, regulations require licensees to retain each Form 4473 for a period of not less than 20 years after the date of sale or disposition. However, if a NICS check has been initiated, but the transfer of the firearm was not completed, the licensee must record any state or NICS transaction number on the Form 4473, and retain the form for a period of not less than 5 years from the date of the NICS inquiry.

This requirement includes denied transactions, as well as transactions that are approved by NICS, but where the firearm was never transferred to the prospective purchaser.

Forms 4473 for proposed transfers that were not completed should be retained in the licensee’s records separate from the Forms 4473 for completed transactions and should be organized alphabetically (by the name of the transferee) or chronologically (by the date of the transferee’s certification).

Gun Buyer Denials

From January 1, 1998 through November 29, 1998, approximately 70,000 rejections occurred among 2,384,000 NICS/state applications to acquire a firearm. About 63% of the rejections were for a prior felony conviction or a current felony indictment. Domestic violence misdemeanor convictions accounted for 10% of the rejections, and domestic violence protection orders caused 3% of the rejections.

Among the 18 states reporting complete data for the first 11 months of 1998, Georgia had the highest rejection rate at 8.4% of 74,977 applications. Connecticut had the lowest rejection rate at just 0.6% of its 26,981 applications. From March 1994 to November 1998, there have been 12,740,000 background checks with a 2.4% rejection rate, according to ATF.

Company News

Sturm, Ruger & Co., the nation’s largest overall producer of firearms, has reported second quarter net sales of $63 million compared to $60 million in the second quarter of 1998. Net income for the quarter ended June 30, 1999 totaled $7.5 million or 28 cents per share versus $8.4 million or 31 cents per share in the comparable quarter of 1998.

For the six months ended June 30, 1999, net sales were $125.9 million and net income was $15.9 million or 59 cents per share. For the corresponding period in 1998, net sales were $118.5 million and net income was $15.6 million or 58 cents per share.

Commenting on the quarter, Chairman William B. Ruger noted strong demand for firearms has continued. “Firearms sales, which increased by 23% during the first half of 1999, have shown improvement for five consecutive quarters. It is especially gratifying to note high demand for new products, like our Fiftieth Anniversary commemorative .22 caliber target pistol.

“Seven municipalities served the company with lawsuits during the quarter, alleging various theories which we believe to be ill-conceived and completely unfounded in both law and fact. The company intends to continue contesting such suits vigorously, and has filed motions to dismiss several of these cases. Suing the very companies providing the cities with quality firearms used by law enforcement needlessly diverts valuable resources away from fighting criminals into the pockets of trial lawyers, and is simply wrong,” Ruger concluded.

Sturm, Ruger was founded in 1949. Since 1950, it has never failed to show an annual profit and has never required financing from outside sources.

Hodgdon Powder Co. (Dept. SAR, P.O. Box 2932, Shawnee Mission, KS 66201) introduces the second version of the Blast Electronic Manual. It is loaded with features, including: Updated information from Hodgdon’s #27 Data Manual for rifle and pistol; Hodgdon, Alliant, IMR and Winchester powder data are includded with an in-depth selection of bullet weights; shotshell data for all gauges including bushing charts for the most popular loading presses; and, a Barnes external ballistic program including printable ballistic tables and loading data.

QuickLOAD and QuickTARGET for Windows are two new software programs for handloaders and commercial reloaders from U.S. International Defence Technologies, L.L.C. (Dept SAR, 5005 Chapman Highway, Knoxville, TN 37920). QuickLOAD is a computer program allowing the user to calculate loading data and the user can adjust for specific barrel length, rate of twist, chamber dimensions and case volumes. The QuickTARGET program can calculate graphs or simulate recoil influences for a specific rifle or pistol, canting influences, wind or sight adjustments, and the effect of atmospheric conditions.

Sierra Bullets (Dept. SAR, P.O. Box 818, Sedalia, MO 65301) introduces the INFINITY exterior ballistics computer software offering multiple trajectory charts and graphics. The bullet library includes many major bullet manufacturers as well as ammunition companies and allows for addition of new and custom bullets.

Shooters of the .50 Browning Machine Gun cartridge can begin handloading the big cartridge without searching for hard-to-find loading tools individually with the new .50 BMG Pack from RCBS (Dept. SAR, 605 Oro Dam Blvd., Oroville, CA 95965). The Pack includes the press, dies, and accessory items needed, all in one box. It not only offers convenience, but the shooter saves money over buying the parts separately.

The furnished press is the powerful AmmoMaster single stage rigged for 1 1/2 inch dies. It has a massive solid steel ram and plenty of height for the big .50. Also included is a set of RCBS .50 BMG reloading dies, including both full-length sizer and seater. Other parts of the kit are a shell holder, ram priming unit, and a trim die.

Michaels of Oregon (Dept. SAR, P.O. Box 1690, Oregon City, OR 97045) has added a new gloss finish to its Sidekick Professional Mirage nylon duty gear. Mirage Gloss duty gear is designed to provide the formal appearance preferred by many state patrols and police departments, yet deliver long-term durability and high performance in both street and dress situations.

Mirage Gloss is the latest Sidekick Professional pattern in Nytek, a non-woven material made of nylon microfibers 1,000 times finer than silk. It is extremely strong and abrasion resistant, will not rot, mildew or fade, and requires virtually no maintenance. The new finish features a mirror-polished sheen providing a classy appearance to complement the material’s proven durability. A full selection of duty gear, including holsters, belts and accessories are available in the new finish.

Michael’s of Oregon has acquired the “World’s Fastest Gun Bore Cleaner” product line from National Tech labs, Inc. of Boise, Idaho. Under the agreement, Michael’s acquires the patents, manufacturing and marketing rights to the line of flexible bore cleaners. Manufacturing of the bore cleaner line will be at the Michael’s’ Oregon City, Oregon headquarters plant.

The product will have its name changed to the Bore Snake™, World’s Fastest Gun Bore Cleaner, and marketed under Michaels GunMate family of products. The product is a flexible cleaning tool combining all cleaning steps into one. It has built-in bore brushes and a woven cord with 160 times more floss than a typical cleaning patch. It is available in sizes to fit most firearms.

Colt’s Cuts Handgun Line, City Suit Fails – UPS Rates Up

In a flurry of activity during the early autumn, a trio of developments occurred greatly affecting the sale of firearms in the future.

First, Colt’s Manufacturing Co., one of the oldest names in American gundom, announced in early October it will discontinue the major portion of its handgun product line. Second, one of the suits in the recent wave of municipal lawsuits against the shooting sports industry has been dismissed, giving a resounding victory to the industry. And third, United Parcel Service, the major land common carrier for the firearms industry, has announced all handgun shipments must now be delivered by air, greatly increasing shipping costs of handgun makers and distributors.

Let’s begin with Colt’s. In an October 5, 1999 dated letter to the company’s distributors obtained by Small Arms Review, Thomas H. Kilby, vp/marketing & sales, announced Colt’s “will accept no new orders” for the following products:

•Magnum Carry .357 Mag. snub nose revolver

•DS II .38 Special snub nose revolver

•Python Elite .357 Magnum revolver

•Anaconda .44 Magnum revolver

•.380 ACP pistols (models 06891 and DS6891)

•The new Pocket Nine 9mm compact pistol

•The 1991 family of 1911A1 style auto pistols (models 01991, 04691, 09091, 01091, 0409IU, and 09191U). A Colt’s spokesman notes this entry is in error, and that in fact the 1991 series will be continued.

•All standard model variations within the above listed products are also Discontinued.

Colt’s will continue to manufacture the following handgun models:

•Single Action Army series

•Cowboy single action revolvers

•Model O series, including the new model XS, Defender and Custom .45’s

Despite the product discontinuances, Colt will still have 35 separate models within its handgun lineup, keeping it as a viable manufacturer within the handgun arena.

Kilby’s letter takes note of the rumors circulating in recent months, regarding Colt’s possible withdrawal from the civilian handgun market. In explaining the reasoning behind the consolidation, the letter reads, “In developing our 2000 business plans and identifying strategic needs beyond 2000, we have had to face the harsh reality of the significant impact our litigation defense costs are having on our ability to operate competitively in the marketplace. Accordingly, we have made the decision to consolidate our product lines.”

While instantly creating collector’s items of the discontinued models sure to rise in value as word of Colt’s decision reaches the public, prices of those handguns still in production are being raised by the factory as well.

“Due to the continued escalation of our litigation costs, coupled with our strong desire to maintain a meaningful presence in the handgun segment of the business, the prices of (existing) products will be increased by 6%, effective immediately.

“Our marketing objective,” Kilby’s letter continues, “is to streamline our handgun product line into a smaller, but higher value collection of real Colt ‘Classics,’ which best represent our brand, with much more emphasis on providing custom features and custom appearance for serious gun enthusiasts. We are committed to taking a ‘Classic’ approach to the future development of our product lines and plan to focus more on what we have been best known for and done best for the past 164 years.”

Colt’s Match Target rifles, its new Colt Light Rifle bolt action line and its military products are unaffected by the streamlining decision.

A Colt’s spokesman (who requested anonymity) said the firm is, “rationalizing our product line based on sales expectations and demand. Part of the decision was based on the poor sales projections for some models, more than concerns over litigation.” The spokesman would not comment on whether any of Colt’s approximately 800 employees would be laid off as a result of the line consolidation.

New Colt CEO

In a related development, Steve Sliwa, appointed chief executive at Colt’s only about a year ago, is stepping down from his position. Sliwa will head up a new venture, to be known as “iColt,” which will work on developing and marketing Colt’s user-recognition handgun technology often called a “Smart Gun.” By spinning off iColt as a separate entity, Colt’s may be able to distance itself from the “Smart Gun” controversy, which has generated ill-feelings against the gunmaker by some firearms rights activists, who fear the firearm user-recognition technology may be legislatively mandated for use on all guns.

The problem is there are numerous firms developing such devices. Many of the prototypes developed thus far are based on the technology employed in the keyless entry systems built into better automobiles. So the technology itself is already here, it is the reliable application of it to firearms that has not yet been perfected. If Colt’s gets there first with a viable system, it will have a leg up on the competition.

As this issue of Small Arms Review goes to press, SIG Arms, Inc. has announced it has developed and is ready to market a workable electro-mechanical user-recognition system for one of its handgun models. However, the technology employed in the SIG product appears to be different from that used by Colt’s.

Retired US Army General William Keys, a Colt’s board member, has taken over the helm of Colt’s Manufacturing’s daily operations as the new chief executive.

Handguns reportedly account for about 30% of Colt’s revenues, but a much larger share of the profit. In December 1998, Colt’s completed the acquisition of Saco Defense Corp., of Saco, ME, a producer of military arms and bolt action hunting rifles. During 1998, Colt’s and Saco Defense reportedly had a combined revenue of $136 million and an operating profit of $13.4 million.

“While some firearms firms will see slight increases in their insurance premiums as well as higher deductibles in their policy proposals next year. Overall liability premiums are not expected to rise significantly next year,” says Bob Chiarello of Joseph Chiarello & Co., Inc. of Elizabeth, New Jersey, a broker of much of the insurance for the firearms industry. “The insurance companies overall feel the industry is being defended in the suits by competent attorneys and recognize the suits are a reach for the municipalities involved. Defense costs, in most cases, will continue to be paid for by the insurance companies,” he detailed.

Unfounded Rumors

There have been industry rumors circulating to the effect that other handgun makers, particularly Smith & Wesson and Glock, Inc. are planning to get out of the civilian handgun market or will curtail production for sale to consumers.

Glock, Inc.’s corporate legal counsel, Paul Januzzo, denied any move by his company to curtail consumer sales. He noted his company was actually experiencing lower liability insurance costs at present than it had faced several years ago.

“There is no truth to the rumors to that we are getting out of the civilian handgun market. Such sales are our bread and butter,” declared Chris Killoy, Smith & Wesson’s vp/consumer products. “While we are looking at a possible increase in our liability costs, we are definitely not backing away from the consumer market.”

UPS’ New Handgun Rules

In an unrelated move, but one having wide impact on the marketing of handguns, United Parcel Service (UPS) the firearms industry’s common carrier of choice, announced in early October that all handgun shipments will no longer go through the company’s ground transport network, but will have to be shipped by air. The decision will raise handgun manufacturer and distributor handling costs significantly.

In a statement distributed to the media, UPS says, “As a responsible corporate citizen, UPS wants to ensure handguns are transported as safely as possible by restricting handguns to designated handling channels. Effective October 11, handguns may only be shipped via UPS Next Day Air. We will continue to accept handgun shipments but all packages containing handguns must be segregated from other packages.”

Industry Seeks Alternative

Reaction from the firearms industry was swift. Richard Lipsey, owner of Lipsey’s, Inc., a major shooting sports wholesaler located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, minced no words when he commented, “Their (UPS’) decision stinks and is a very poor excuse for them in not being able to control theft by their own employees. They ought to clean up their own act first before trying to shift the blame to someone else. They said their decision is ‘part of their social responsibility,’ but it just irks me that they are just not taking responsibility for their own actions. Consumers should be aggravated as hell about this.”

Not all manufacturers will be adversely affected by UPS’ move. For instance, Smith & Wesson’s Chris Killoy said his firm does little business with UPS as it usually ships out product in large quantities to its wholesalers via land freight companies. By contrast, Glock, Inc., which uses UPS heavily, is apparently not that upset by the UPS decision. “They cannot get a handle on their employee theft problem, so you really can’t blame them for their decision,” says corporate counsel Januzzo.

Brian Tucker, president of Davidson’s, Inc. another major firearms wholesaler headquartered in Prescott, Arizona, said he is in favor of anything that, “helps to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.” On the other hand, he admitted paying overnight air shipping rates is likely to have a detrimental effect on gun sales and said RPS, Inc. is emerging as the most viable alternative carrier for the firearms industry, in place of UPS.

A call to RPS confirmed the company is considering becoming a rival to UPS for the firearms industry’s business. “We currently handle very few handgun shipments, but in light of UPS’ change in policy and the potential increase in demand for alternative services, we are taking a very close look at the firearms market,” revealed Betsy Momich, the company’s public relations coordinator.

“About 95% of our shipments are transported to their destinations by ground in 2 to 5 days. If the package is traveling within the same region, it is usually delivered overnight. We have 369 facilities in all 50 states and Canada and are UPS’ primary competitor,” Momich disclosed.

Cincinnati Suit Dismissed

In a decision of wide import, a suit brought by the City of Cincinnati, Ohio against the firearms industry has been dismissed. The suit was part of the recent wave of lawsuits by states and municipalities alleging negligent firearms marketing and distribution practices.

The suit, City Of Cincinnati vs. Beretta U.S.A. Corp., et al, in which 11 other manufacturers, one distributor and three firearms industry trade associations were named as co-defendants, was “dismissed with prejudice” (meaning it will be very difficult for the city to file a future action).

Cincinnati (in a manner similar to the other suits which are still pending) sought to recover for “costs incurred in providing police, emergency, court, prison and other related services in connection with shootings which occur in Cincinnati, regardless of whether those shootings were homicidal, suicidal or accidental.” The city further sought damages for alleged “diminution of property value and loss of tax payer revenue, punitive damages and preliminary and permanent injunctive relief” which would have required the defendants to change the methods by which they design, distribute and advertise their products.

In the view of the court, the city’s complaint was, “An improper attempt to have the court substitute its judgment for that of the legislature.” Something the court said it was “not inclined, nor empowered to do. Only the legislature has the power to engage in this type of regulation.”

In regard to the city’s claim that the firearms industry’s activities are a “public nuisance,” the court said nuisance laws, “do not apply to the design, manufacture and distribution of a lawful product.”

The court also quashed the city’s contention that firearms had no value in self-defense. The complaint had alleged the gun industry had committed fraud by asserting that keeping a firearm in the home increases home safety and security. Such an assertion, the court found, “is merely a statement of opinion of future events which does not constitute fraud under Ohio law. Indeed, the statement can be simply construed to reflect that which is set forth under the Ohio Constitution and the laws of the state of Ohio, which recognize the legitimate use of firearms for self-defense.”

As to one of the city’s more outrageous claims, for recovery of costs related to police, emergency, court and prison services, the court said these expenses arose out of the city’s “duties to its citizens,” and could not be recovered.

H&K Launches New High-Tech Rifle

German gunmaker Heckler & Koch, a firm particularly hard-hit by the federal import bans of recent years, as well as various federal and local laws designed to restrict access to semi-auto rifles under the guise of controlling so-called “assault weapons,” has nonetheless developed a highly innovative new semi-auto rifle.

Called the SL8-1, it is a high-performance .223 caliber product constructed almost entirely of a tough, carbon fiber-reinforced polymer material. Departing from the roller-locked bolt system design traditionally used in HK long guns, the new SL8-1 utilizes a short stroke, piston actuated gas operating system.

“HK has been absent from the commercial rifle market for several years,” commented Boin Stafford, the company’s president. “The SL8-1 delivers a distinctive product that is exceptionally clean-shooting.”

Designed and engineered to deliver the highest standard of shooting performance, the ergonomic and clean lines of the rifle are functional and modern, imparting the look and feel of a 21st century firearm. Several modular systems are available, including extended and short Picatinny rails with open sights, a 1.5x scope with an integral carry handle and a dual optical system that will combine a 3X scope with an electronic red dot sight. Additional accessories include a HK Universal Tactical Light, cleaning kit and carry sling.

Other features include a cold hammer-forged heavy barrel for precision accuracy, fully-adjustable open sights, removable cheek-piece, ambidextrous safety/selector lever and a detachable 10-round magazine. Rifling is 6X right hand twist with one turn in seven inches. Overall length is just under 39-inches, barrel length is just under 21-inches and sight radius is just shy of 20-inches. Width is 2.36-inches, height is 9.84-inches and weight is 8.6-pounds.

HK is now making available its UMP45 submachine gun in .45 ACP chambering. Designed for law enforcement and military organizations desiring ammunition compatibility between their submachine gun and sidearms as well as carbines, the UMP45 has a 25-round magazine and has an effective accuracy range to 100 yards or more. Its small size (less than 18-inches with the buttstock folded) and 4-1/2 pound unloaded weight, make it a good choice for use in and around vehicles and for use by small statured officers who find use of a full-size rifle or shotgun difficult.

The HK UMP45 is designed to fire all types of .45 ACP ammo-including subsonic and supersonic loads, as well as ball, hollow point and enhanced velocity +P offerings. It can also fire nontoxic and frangible training rounds without modification. Ambidextrous operating controls and sling attachment points are similarly configured to other HK rifles and submachine guns. A bolt hold-open feature comes into play when the last round is fired and there are hard points molded into the polymer receiver to allow attachment of optional mounting rails and accessories, such as sights, tactical lights and a vertical foregrip.

Adjustable iron sights with a dual flip-up rear aperture are provided, as is a tactical carry sling and a detachable vertical handstop. Optional tritium sights are available. The UMP45 can be operated in the semi-auto, two round burst, or full-auto modes. The polymer magazine has a transparent ammunition viewing strip allowing the user to see the ammo remaining inside. The folding buttstock has a rubber cheek piece and buttpad which reduces the length of the arm by nearly 10-inches when folded.

Having just recently awarded an $8.5 million contract for development of a prototype, high-tech combat rifle to Alliant Techsystems, Inc., the U.S. Army and Marines are already seeking a lighter version. Alliant was chosen to continue development of the Objective Individual Combat Weapon (OICW) , one of five major subsystems in the Army’s futuristic Land Warrior program. Efforts will continue the reduce the arm’s weight to less than 14 pounds and to incorporate a device to track moving targets.

The engineering, manufacturing and development phase is expected to begin in the year 2000, and the arm should be fielded in 2006. The Army and Marines have budgeted $43 million for the arm and plan to buy about 20,000 examples.

Alliant’s OICW project manager, Michael Moore, said the company hopes the new rifle will be as successful and lucrative as the M16, which is used in some 52 countries. “If you look at the life cycle of the M16, we think the OICW is going to be around for a long, long time,” Moore commented. “Over the years, we think it will be improved, modified and rebuilt. If the M16 is used as a model, we think it might be successful in foreign sales as well.”

The OICW system contains a rifle, video camera, electronic fire control with laser rangefinder, and a dual ammunition capability allowing the firing of either 5.56mm ammo or 20mm high-explosive, air-burst munitions. In addition to replacing the M16, the OICW is planned to phase out the M203 grenade launcher. The revolutionary system will allow soldiers to virtually shoot around obstacles. Using its laser rangefinder to determine an obstacle’s distance, the OICW can fire an air-burst round, hurtling shrapnel behind the obstacle. With its 1,000-meter range, it is claimed to be more effective at twice the range of the M16.

The OICW project involves collaborative efforts from several firms. The team includes: Contraves Brasher Systems, Inc. of Pittsburgh, PA; Heckler & Koch GmbH of Germany; HK, Inc. of Sterling, VA; and Dynamit Nobel AG of Germany.

Firearms Training Systems, Inc. (FATS) says it has been selected by the Danish police to provide small arms simulators for the training of their forces, awarding a contract valued at $500,000 with options for additional system and component orders. The company also has been selected to provide small arms simulators to support the Kenya Army training program with an initial contract valued at over $600,000 and opportunity to expand the program.

“Both of these contracts represent new market penetrations for FATS,” said Peter Marino, the company’s president and chief executive officer. “These awards also demonstrate the continued success in open competition of our new digital systems for police and military training programs throughout the world.”

Other News

The industry’s regulator, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) advises those licensees who are permitted to maintain required records on a computer to ensure their systems are Y2K compliant. to avoid any potential loss of data. The agency suggests the following actions be taken:
•-Review the computer system to ensure it is Y2K compliant by contacting the manufacturer of the hardware and software used.
•-If it is felt the computer system is compliant, perform tests to ensure this while documenting the steps taken to ensure compliance.
•-Develop a contingency plan should the system fail, such as the creation of a backup system. For those granted variances to use computer recordkeeping systems, the variance may require the licensee to print out in document form those records stored on a computer system on a periodic basis. The agency recommends a hard copy printout of such records be made shortly before and prior to December 31, 1999.

A licensee’s responsibility to maintain proper records continues regardless of any potential Y2K problems.

As one of its first official efforts, the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s (NSSF) newly created National Association of Shooting Ranges (NASR) division has produced a handbook to help shooting ranges develop community relations programs designed to help head off potential problems. The Guide to Community Relations for Shooting Ranges spells out the “nuts and bolts” of making a community relations program work.

“This program can have a powerful positive impact on almost every aspect of a shooting range’s prosperity,” explains Rick Patterson, director of NSSF’s facility development division. “Implementing this program can help a range recruit new customers or members, protect the range from ‘nuisance’ lawsuits, make friends in the media and send a positive image of the shooting sports to thousands of non-shooters. It can make the difference between survival and closure.”

Established earlier this year, NSSF’s National Association of Shooting Ranges was formed to promote the development of state-of-the-art shooting facilities and entertainment centers as well as to assist all target shooting facilities by providing leadership information and promoting communications and partnerships between ranges, industry and community. In addition to firearms, sales of camp stoves are now on the rise as consumers prepare for a possible worst case Y2K scenario. SportsTrend Info, a trade publication, notes people are buying camp stoves over concerns that Y2K problems may arise with utility companies.

“People are looking at outdoor preparedness in a different way this year, and we’re benefitting with increased stove sales,” said Bill Ortiz, shooting sports and accessories buyer for Turner’s Outdoorsman, a major retailer headquartered in Chino, CA.

Products

The new Hoppe’s Gun Cleaning Pads should be welcomed enthusiastically in shooters’ homes as they’ll protect both furniture and firearms from spills and scratches. They are made of soft acrylic material that absorbs up to eight times their weight in fluids. The pads are in hunter green, offering good contrast when working with small parts. They are available in two formats: 12”x12” square for pistols and 12”x36” for long guns.

Michaels of Oregon has added a double Butt Stock Magazine Pouch for popular 9mm and .40 caliber carbines to its extensive SIDEKICK PROFESSIONAL product line. It allows shooters to carry two extra magazines in the specially-designed pouch which is constructed with an elastic sleeve that stretches over the butt stock. A nylon web strap passes under the recoil pad or butt plate to anchor the sleeve in place.

Michaels of Oregon has also added a new gloss finish to its SIDEKICK PROFESSIONAL MIRAGE nylon duty gear. The new finish is designed to provide the formal appearance preferred by many state patrols and police departments, yet deliver long-term durability and high performance in both street and dress situations. A full selection of duty gear, including holsters, belts and accessories is available in the new finish. A compact, but high-capacity range bag constructed of black 600-denier woven material is available as well from Michaels of Oregon. The bag’s bottom has two hard polymer “feet” to raise the bag off wet surfaces, while the floor is cushioned with closed cell foam padding and reinforced with a removable hard plastic bulkhead to prevent punctures. The bag’s internal storage space is comprised of four zippered compartments.

Sierra Bullets has released the new INFINITY Suite computer software exterior ballistic program containing multiple trajectory charts and graphics. The Point Blank Range feature allows users to calculate zero, allow for uphill and downhill shooting scenarios and to determine maximum range. The bullet library section includes major bullet manufacturers as well as ammunition company data. Also included are Sierra’s 4th edition Rifle and Handgun Manuals.

Lowrance Electronics has released one of the most comprehensive hand-held mapping Global Positioning Systems available-the GlobalMap 100. It contains a built-in background map of the world with enhanced detail of lakes, rivers, streams and highways in North America, including Northern Mexico, the Southern Bahamas, Hawaii and Canada. Featuring a memory capacity of up to 1,750 total position points, the unit can store up to 750 waypoints, 1,000 graphic event markers and offers 28 different icon symbols to choose from, to allow on-screen customization.

Para-Ordnance is now offering their custom-featured Limited Series pistols in bright stainless steel finish, in addition to matte black. The models involved are the P10, P12, P13, P14 and the P16. All Limited Series pistols, except for the 10 plus 1 round capacity P10, come with an original, pre-ban high-capacity magazine as standard equipment.

Hunting has resumed on New Mexico’s White Sands Missile Range after the facility was closed to hunting about a year ago following an accident involving an airman who was killed by unexploded ordnance. The range was reopened after an Army safety inspection.

Guidelines For NFA Transfers In Decedents’ Estates

Since licensed dealers are often involved in assisting executors in disposing of National Firearms Act (NFA) firearms (i.e. machine guns and destructive devices), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) has issued guidelines to help dealers in these situations.

While the registration information ATF maintains on such firearms is classified as tax data and thus severely restricted on who it may be released to, the agency can provide such information to the executor of an estate. So, if there is any question regarding the registration status of the firearms in the estate for which a dealer is assisting the executor, the executor can contact ATF directly for the information.

If there are unregistered NFA firearms in the estate, such firearms are considered contraband and cannot be registered by the estate. The executor should contact the local ATF office to arrange for abandonment of the unregistered firearms.

For registered NFA firearms in the estate, the executor should take action as soon as possible to arrange for the proper re-registration of the firearms. Possession of an NFA firearm not registered to the possessor is a violation of federal law and the firearm is subject to seizure and forfeiture. ATF allows the executor a “reasonable time” to arrange for the transfer of the registered firearms in a decedent’s estate. This generally should be done before probate is closed.

It is the responsibility of the executor of the estate to maintain custody and control of the firearms and to transfer the firearms registered to the decedent. The firearms may not be provided to another party, such as a licensed dealer for consignment sale. Such an action would constitute a “transfer” under federal law, requiring the filing of federal paperwork and the payment of a transfer tax. The dealer may, however, assist the executor by identifying purchasers and acting as a broker.

The firearms may be transferred on a tax-exempt basis to any beneficiary (heir) of the estate. To do this, the executor would apply on ATF Form 5, Application for Tax- Exempt Transfer and Registration of a Firearm, for a tax-exempt transfer to a lawful heir. A beneficiary for this purpose is anyone named in the decedent’s will or, in the absence of a will, anyone entitled to inherit under the laws of the state in which the decedent last resided.

NFA firearms may be transferred directly interstate to a beneficiary of the estate. When a firearm is being transferred to an individual heir, his or her fingerprints on FBI Forms FD-258 must accompany the transfer application. However, if any federal, state or local law prohibits the heir from receiving or possessing the firearm, ATF will not approve the application.

ATF Form 4 is used to apply for the tax paid transfer of a serviceable NFA firearm to a person outside the estate (not a beneficiary). ATF Form 5 (mentioned above) is also used to apply for the tax-exempt transfer of an unserviceable NFA firearm to a person outside the estate. As noted previously, all requirements, such as fingerprint cards for transfers to individuals and compliance with state or local law, must be met before an application can be approved.

If an NFA firearm in the estate was imported for use as a “sales sample,” this restriction on the firearm’s possession remains. The NFA firearm may only be transferred to a federal firearms licensee who has paid the special (occupational) tax to deal in NFA firearms, or to a government agency.

For more information, contact: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, National Firearms Act Branch, 650 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20226. Telephone: (202) 927-8330.

Shotgun Registration Holdouts

Apparently there are still owners of revolver cylinder and one type of semi-auto shotgun that are not aware these firearms must be federally registered. ATF Rulings 94-1 and 94-2 classified three shotguns as destructive devices pursuant to 26 USC, Chapter 53, the National Firearms Act (NFA), on March 1, 1994. These shotguns are the USAS-12, Striker-12, and the Streetsweeper.

The NFA requires registration of certain types of firearms, such as machine guns, sawed-off rifles and shotguns, and destructive devices. The NFA defines destructive devices to include shotguns with a bore of more than one-half inch in diameter which are not generally recognized as particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes. ATF has determined these shotguns fall within this definition.

Classifying these guns as destructive devices under the NFA requires the current possessor to file an ATF Form 1, fingerprint cards, and a current photograph to effect the registration of the firearm. It is not necessary to complete the law enforcement certification on the reverse side of the form. The initial registration is tax-exempt. Any subsequent transfer must be approved in advance and would result in transfer tax liability of $200.

The possessor must register the gun as soon as possible after learning of the registration requirement, e.g., within thirty days. Firearms not registered within the allowable time frame are subject to seizure and forfeiture, and the possessor is subject to a criminal fine of up to $250,000 or up to 10 years in prison, or both. Any questions regarding these shotguns should be directed to ATF’s NFA branch at the telephone number and address provided above.

Company News

The hottest set-up for carry handle AR-15/M-16s is SSK Industries’ T’ SOB red dot sight. The product mounts between the iron sights and can be used over the peep sight. The iron sights can still be used by sighting through the sight tube while the dot sight is turned off. When sighted in one to two inches above the top of the 4-minute dot at 100 yards, the bullet strikes at the bottom of the dot at 300-400 yards. To install, the carry handle must be cut by a qualified machinist.

Sierra has unveiled a new 77-grain MatchKing bullet. Over the last five years, AR-15/M16A2 rifles have come to dominate the service rifle category of HighPower rifle competition. In response to requests for a magazine length bullet of higher ballistic coefficient for this type of shooting, Sierra offers this latest Matchking manufactured with a small meplat, elongated boattail and an ogive compatible with the magazine feed requirements. With a ballistic coefficient of .372, the new bullet is designed to give long-range, wind-bucking ability for the 300 yard line, and even for the longer range Infantry Trophy match. A 1×7 inch or 1×8 inch twist is required in the rifle used with this bullet.

ArmaLite Inc.’s July production levels of AR-15 type rifles were substantially below planned levels due to continued late vendor deliveries. With supplies of parts tight throughout the industry, ArmaLite’s supplies on hand at the beginning of August were substantially above July’s levels and a stronger shipping record was anticipated. The armsmaker reports it has reviewed vendor capacities and has reduced its 1999 production plan until new suppliers can be added during the fourth quarter of the year.

With orders continuing to pour into the factory, April, 2000 delivery dates are currently being quoted for new orders. Capacity is being added to production lines but prices for some key components have risen and the production capacity increases are resulting in the incurring of expenses that must be covered by the end of the first quarter of the year 2000. Increased gun prices are a likely result of the supplier and production problems.

Michaels of Oregon, the world’s largest manufacturer of nylon holsters, has
introduced Duty Suspenders, designed for both uniformed officers and special units. The black nylon web suspenders join the extensive selection of SIDEKICK PROFESSIONAL duty gear currently offered for law enforcement and security officers.

The 1-1/4 inch wide straps transfer the weight of a duty rig from the hips to the shoulders for greater long-term comfort and, in tactical situations, for greater load-bearing capabilities. An innovative breakaway snap design helps defeat attempts at snatching or grabbing, while the fully adjustable front and rear hardware, coupled with a unique cross piece in the back allow the user to tailor the suspenders to fit any situation.

Other News

In the not too distant future, it may be possible for law enforcement officers to ride down the street in a vehicle equipped with a device able to detect firearms and explosives within buildings in three-dimensional real-time video.

Sound far fetched? InVision Technologies, Inc. of Newark, California has announced its wholly-owned subsidiary, Quantum Magnetics, has received three research grants totaling $1.05 million to develop a new passive magnetic sensor technology capable of detecting the presence of metallic objects, locating their positions in three dimensions, and tracking their movements in real time.

Under these contracts, Quantum will develop prototype systems to detect and track concealed weapons, locate underground structures such as bunkers and hidden arms emplacements, and to detect buried mines and unexploded ordnance. Future commercial applications of the sensors and software may include passive detection of guns in public places such as banks, airports and train stations.

An Arlington, Virginia gun owner has successfully challenged a local police chief’s policy requiring a home inspection for county residents who want to obtain a permit to own fully-automatic firearms. Chief Edward Flynn instituted the home inspection policy to ensure county residents who apply for the transfer of Class 3 firearms have a safe and secure place to keep their arms.

Jim Kadison, a member of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a state gun rights group, intentionally challenged the policy by purchasing a submachine gun and refusing to allow Arlington police to inspect his home as required by Flynn. Kadison asserted Flynn had no statutory authority to enact the policy. Kadison wrote of his concerns to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms and reportedly got the purchase approved without Flynn’s signature. “The very idea that this was an excuse to enter a home without a warrant infuriated me,” Kadison was quoted in the local press as saying.

Polish authorities have exposed a smuggling operation responsible for illegally shipping nearly US $6 million worth of light weapons and ammunition, some to countries under United Nations arms embargoes. Five former and current directors of two Warsaw- based arms export companies were arrested in connection with the case and sources say the case is only the tip of the iceberg.

The case raises questions about the ties between the accused companies and Polish officials. Cenzin, a state-run arms trading company, owns 80 percent of Cenrex, a major arms exporter and the largest of the Polish companies involved in the illegal deals. Steo, the other company implicated in the scandal, belongs to a private owner. A Polish newspaper reported Steo has links to Polish intelligence.

The illegal activities are reported as growing out of legal transfers of surplus Polish stocks to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in the early 1990s. Some arms intended for the newly independent Baltic states were diverted by middlemen and never reached their intended destinations. In Poland, Cenrex and Steo filed the appropriate paperwork and secured official approval to transfer the weapons to a Latvian company. While an official in the Latvian Ministry of Defense confirmed receipt of the shipments, the arm never in fact reached Latvia. Instead, while at sea, the arms were off-loaded to other vessels and transported to Somalia and Croatia, both subject to UN arms embargoes at the time, while others were shipped to the Sudan.

From 1992 to 1994, Cenrex allegedly exported 1,000 AK-47 rifles, 14,000 TT handguns, 160 grenade launchers, 100 Taurus revolvers, and millions of rounds of ammunition. During 1995 and 1996, the Steo company allegedly smuggled 2,000 rifles, 10,000 TT handguns, and one million rounds of ammunition through Latvia into Estonia. From there, the arms were reportedly sold on the black market to mafia-type groups. Some of the handguns have since been recovered in Russia, Germany, Poland and Japan.

Authorities were first alerted to the trafficking in May 1996, when two men who claimed to be transporting food were stopped at a border crossing between Estonia and Latvia. They were arrested after border officials discovered their Volvo van in fact contained 1,600 handguns.

J.D. Farmer, Jr. co-owner of Hard Times Armory of Kennesaw, Georgia, a Class 2 manufacturer, died in late August at the age of 52 from complications of diabetes. Known for his full-auto conversions of a wide range of semi-automatic firearms, he may be best remembered from his suit Farmer v. Higgins, wherein he sued the federal government over the 1986 freeze on new machine gun registrations.

The ban effectively created a sellers’ market for existing registered guns, but spelled doom for Farmer’s activities, which depended upon the government’s willingness to accept new machine guns into the federal registration pool. He initially won in district court, but the ruling was overturned at the appellate level. The U.S. Supreme Court later declined to hear the case, thus allowing the ban to stand.

Farmer, who did not have a first name other than the initials “J.D.,” died at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Decatur, Georgia. A graveside service was held at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Newnan, Georgia. Survivors include his wife, Linda, and his son, Jeremiah. The 1986 federal “Firearms Owners Protection Act,” prohibiting the further manufacture of fully-automatic firing firearms intended for sale to private individuals, greatly diminished most of the business Farmer and his wife Linda, had started in 1980, Hard Times Armory, Inc., on Bank Street in Smyrna, Georgia.

In 1997, Farmer lost a leg to adult diabetes after having been diagnosed with the disease in 1995. At that point, Farmer, who had always used his phenomenal mechanical ability to earn a living, told doctors he just wanted to drive his Jeep and go fishing. His health continued to deteriorate in the ensuing years.

“He was something else,” commented Cobb County, Georgia attorney John D’Orazio, a friend for 15 years. “Farmer was soft-spoken, unassuming and thoughtful-a great person to spend an afternoon with. His customers learned about him through his reputation. He did not promote himself. The customers were law enforcement officers, foreign governments, licensed gun dealers and the television and movie industries, which used guns he converted to fire blanks.”

His blank-firing guns were featured in such films as “The Swamp Thing”, “Return of the Swamp Thing,” and “Reno Williams”. In addition, Farmer’s guns appeared in the television series, “Miami Vice,” several Chuck Norris productions and the mini-series “Amerika,” featuring Kris Kristoferson.

After he lost his suit against the federal government, Farmer continued to honor warranties and make repairs on earlier sales, but the bulk of his work was outlawed. Standing 6-feet tall, and weighing 250 pounds, he was barrel-chested with wide shoulders and huge arms-physical traits which served him well when he played football for North Clayton High School, graduating in the class of 1965. He passed up a college scholarship to work for Georgia Power Company, interrupted by a stint in the military.

The U.S. Army sent him to Key Largo, Florida as a nuclear missile technician when he was only 18 since he scored high on technical exams with his IQ of 136. He served in the military from 1966 to 1968, then returned to Georgia Power, investigating and helping to prosecute those who stole power. Co-workers recognized his mechanical abilities and brought guns for him to repair.

With that expertise, Farmer left Georgia Power to work for Wayne Daniels, owner of RPB Industries, a producer of MAC-style machine pistols. When that firm closed in 1980, Farmer and his wife went into business for themselves opening Hard Times Armory.

The business name was derived from the Farmer’s experiences in trying to obtain an initial bank loan to finance their new business venture. Bankers repeatedly turned down their loan applications, stating it was not good to start a business, “in these hard times.” While not stating it outright, the Farmers believed the bankers turned down their initial loan requests due to the nature of their business in working with machine guns. Financing was obtained later on when the business became more established.

After the city of Smyrna forced them to sell their business property through the law of eminent domain to make way for the building of a community center, Farmer set up shop in the basement of his home. He also later worked for Southern Tea Co., Superior Optics, and Ball Corp. “I had planned to buy J.D. an M60 machine gun for Christmas back then, but due to the federal manufacturing ban we just could not afford it,” Linda laments.

Business Start-Up

“When we first started Hard Times Armory, it was with just a $500 investment,” recalls Linda. “We entered a virgin market as the average firearms enthusiast didn’t know they could legally own a fully-automatic arm. J.D. did not offer new designs, but rather worked with existing firearms designed by others. He was a conversion expert. We offered high-quality conversion at a reasonable price, with an education on the legal aspects of owning such arms.

“We spent very little on advertising, probably not more than $2,000 in the years we offered the conversions, and built up our trade through word of mouth. An intensely loyal customer base soon developed, and the average client bought six guns. At our peak, we were probably offering conversions on 35 different semi-auto firearms and while there were a few employees, J.D. personally worked on each gun before it left the shop. This practice slowed production so that we usually had a one-year backlog of orders to fill. The commitment to quality, usually meant he had to work 18-hours a day, 7 days a week,” Linda explained.

To help build the business, Hard Times Armory offered to repair any non-functioning gun that had been converted to full-auto by competitors for a flat fee of $35 plus shipping costs. “Sometimes this took 20 minutes, other times it took weeks,” Linda says. “When the dealer, after testing the gun, would call us back and ask how much he owed us for the repair, we would say ‘just $35, but there is one catch-if we can do this to guns converted by others, think what we could do on converting new guns to full-auto for you.’ Before they hung up the phone, I could hear them pulling guns off the shelves and packing them into boxes,” Linda chuckled. Perhaps as many as 5,000 firearms were converted to full-auto by J.D. Farmer during Hard Times Armory’s active years.

Farmer’s wife, Linda, was not a firearms enthusiast at the outset. “We were married back in 1970, after an introduction by my roommate. I was a typical mousey little girl from Florida and knew nothing about guns. I was actually shocked by the 30 or so hunting guns J.D. stored under our bed in our first apartment. But, in time, after he took me out shooting, I came to know and understand firearms and later worked side-by-side with him in the gun business. While he had great mechanical ability, he did not have much business acumen and I assumed the role of interfacing with customers while he worked on guns in the back room.”

The Lawsuit

Linda describes the period when the suit, Farmer v. Higgins (Higgins was the name of the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms [ATF] at the time) was brought and litigated against the federal government as a “five-year odyssey of intense pain and suffering,” but worth the effort to attempt to preserve citizens’ firearms rights. “If Americans do not have access to owning fully-automatic firearms, then they are not really in a position to serve their country,” she says.

The suit began in 1989 by Farmer making an application to ATF as an individual to convert a semi-automatic Heckler & Koch Model 94 rifle into a fully-automatic firearm. The agency turned down the application on the ground that the Firearms Owners Protection Act banned private possession of newly-made machine guns. Farmer responded by challenging ATF’s decision in district court, alleging ATF had misinterpreted the law, which provides an exemption for arms transferred or possessed “under the authority” of a government agency.

He argued this exemption included machine guns registered with ATF. Further, Farmer alleged that a machine gun ban is unconstitutional, since it would violate the Second Amendment’s guarantee of a right to keep and bear arms. Further, he argued, the U.S. Constitution does not give Congress a blanket power to prohibit possession of things it does not like. Previous federal gun control legislation had been based on the Constitution’s granting of the power to Congress to regulate interstate commerce or the congressional taxing power, neither of which seemed to apply in Farmer’s case.

U.S. District Judge J. Owen Forrester agreed that the ATF’s interpretation of the law was unreasonable and therefore an abuse of discretion. He noted that “defendant’s proferred interpretation presents the particularly unattractive possibility of constitutional infirmity” on both Second Amendment and Commerce Clause grounds. Forrester ordered the agency to process Farmer’s application.

The government appealed, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit took a narrow view after hearing the arguments from both sides when it declared, “the sole issue is whether section 922(o) of the Firearms Owners Protection Act prohibits the private possession of machine guns not lawfully possessed prior to May 19, 1986,” and found that the statute had indeed banned private ownership of automatic firearms. “We have considered Farmer’s remaining arguments and find them to be without merit,” the court asserted in reversing Forrester’s order.

The landmark case, handled by noted firearms civil right attorney, Stephen P. Halbrook, saw anti-gunners picketing the Supreme Court before the justices decided not to hear the case in January 1994. Only about one in one hundred requests for review are granted by the Supreme Court. “This case would have been a golden opportunity for the court to address the black sheep of the Bill of Rights-the one amendment that they don’t want to talk about,” Halbrook commented.

“J.D. honestly believed the Supreme Court would hear the case and see it his way as he had great faith in the judicial system. Had the case been heard by the Supreme Court and decided in favor of the plaintiff, my husband would have been the most revered man in the pro-firearms community.” Linda says. “Had the justices ruled against him, saying in effect there is no constitutional right to keep and bear arms, he would have been the most hated man in the gun community. But J.D. was willing to take such risks.”

Although the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear the case was fatal to Hard Times Armory’s conversion business, the firm continued on by manufacturing a variety of silencers and doing a lot of brokering. It still is active today, primarily in the brokering end of the business.

HTA’s AK-22

In a review of Hard Times Armory’s AK-22 conversion, appearing in the November 1993 issue of the now defunct publication, Machine Gun News, the author reviewed one of the approximately thirty Mitchell Arms AK-22’s that Hard Times Armory had converted to full-auto.

While the stock AK-22 fires from a closed bolt, Farmer added a moving “anti-bounce” weight on the bolt, similar to John Norrell’s Ruger 10/22 full-auto conversion. To enhance reliability, Farmer lengthened the bolt’s travel by 1/2-inch and slowed the timing of the hammer’s release until the bolt bounced once and returned to the fully closed position.

During test-fire, feeding failures involving bullets striking the face of the breech just above the chamber occurred. These were traced to the location of the magazine lock notches on some of the magazines tested. The problem was easily corrected with a few judicious file strokes. There were also stoppages caused by a light firing pin blow. Exchanging the hammer spring cured the problem.

The gun was found to be very controllable. So much so that a long burst could easily be held on a bowling pin-sized target. With high velocity ammo, the AK-22’s average rate of fire was 790 rounds-per-minute, slow enough to allow firing a single shot on full-auto when desired.

HTA’s Future

J.D.’s 23-year old son, Jeremiah, was fully apprenticed into the gunsmithing trade although he is no longer active in the business, preferring instead to work as an automotive technician specializing in the Dodge Viper. Linda hopes that someday her son will take up his father’s gunsmithing trade.

Linda is writing a book to be entitled, “Confession’s of a Gun Nut’s Wife.” The book will take a humorous look at her marriage to J.D. and the many talented people they met in the gun business. She notes J.D.’s extensive collection of MAC and RPB full-auto firearms, including many one-of-a-kind pieces, may be offered for sale in the early part of the year 2000.

Both J.D. and Linda have served on the board of directors of the National Firearms Association, the governing organization for the national machine gun matches. Linda asks that those desiring to make donations in J.D.’s memory send such contributions to the NFA at 2891 Indiana Street, West Melbourne, Florida 32904, or, in the alternative, the National Rifle Association’s Firearms Civil Defense fund.

Machine Gun Production Rises

Machine gun production rose to 67,844 units in 1997, a significant rise from the 22,020 such guns produced during 1996. Exports on the other hand, showed a decline to 20,857 machine guns exported in 1997, as compared to 33,875 in 1996. These latest available figures are contained in the 1997 Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Export Report, produced by the Treasury Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF). Manufacturers and exporters are required to maintain records of all firearm production and sales, and to report the figures to ATF annually. Looking further back, the 67,844 machine guns produced in 1997, is far ahead of the 9,185 made in 1995, and the 10,248 produced in 1994. The 20,857 machine guns exported by U.S. manufacturers in 1997, compares favorably with earlier results as well, since only 19,259 machine guns were exported in 1995, and just 16,729 in 1994. Looking at the “any other weapon” category (composed of such items as short-barreled long guns, penguns, disguised firearms, and the like), just 118 were produced in 1997, compared to 410 in 1996, 110 in 1995, and a whopping 572 in 1994. Exportation of “any other weapons” showed mixed results over the last several years. None were exported in 1997, while 223 were sent overseas in 1996, just 27 were exported in 1995, and 56 in 1994.

Other Figures

Reviewing production of other firearms, there was a total of 1,036,077 pistols made in 1997, a jump up from the 985,533 made in 1996, but down from the 1,195,266 produced in 1995 and the 2,014,336 made in 1994. Pistol production in 1997, was broken down as follows: 250,983 pistols were produced in calibers up to .22 (up from the 204,819 made in 1996); 43,103 pistols in calibers up to .25 (a rise from the 41,156 made the year before); 43,623 in calibers up to .32 (versus 20,709 the year before); 154,046 pistols in calibers up to .380 (down from the 165,789 made in 1996); 303,212 pistols were made in calibers up to 9mm in 1997 (a drop from the 319,696 produced in 1996); and 241,110 pistols were produced in calibers up to .50 in 1997 (up from the 233,364 manufactured in 1996. A total of 33,182 pistols were exported in 1997, compared to 64,126 in 1996, an exportation total of 97,969 in 1995 and 95,036 in 1994. A total of 370,428 revolvers were produced in 1997, down from the 498,944 made in 1996, the 527,664 produced in 1995, and the 586,450 manufactured in 1994. The 1997 revolver production breaks down into: 109,296 in calibers up to .22 (compared to 127,119 in 1996); 3,876 in up to .32 caliber (as opposed to 3,083 the year before); 85,935 in calibers up to .38 Special (versus 115,432 in 1996); 70,792 up to .357 Magnum (compared to 134,910 in 1996); 61,324 up to .44 Magnum (80,456 were produced in 1996); and 39,205 wheelguns chambered for calibers up to .50 (up from 37,944 in 1996). A total of 63,656 revolvers were exported in 1997, versus 90,058 in 1996, 131,634 in 1995, and 78,935 in 1994. A grand total of 1,251,341 rifles were manufactured in 1997, compared to 1,424,319 in 1996, 1,331,780 in 1995, and 1,349,116 in 1994. The number of rifles exported in 1997, came to 76,626, up from the 74,555 in 1996, but down from the 89,053 exported in 1995 and the 82,226 exported in 1994. In the shotgun category, a total of 915,978 were made in 1997, compared to 925,732 in 1996, and down from the 1,173,645 made in 1995, and the 1,254,926 made in 1994. A sum total of 86,263 shotguns were exported in 1997, some 97,173 in 1996, a healthier 100,894 in 1995, and a more robust 146,524 in 1994.

Top Makers

Smith & Wesson Corp., took the honors for being the top pistol producer in 1997 with 220,780 examples, up from the company’s production of 179,899 the year before. Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc., followed at a close second in 1997, with production of 174,627 examples. This compared to the company’s 1996 production of 134,791 pistols. Smith & Wesson Corp. also emerged as the top revolver maker in 1997, with 159,433 wheelguns, versus 225,491 the year before. Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. came in second again with 118,736. Ruger produced 166,123 revolvers in 1996. Sturm, Ruger was America’s largest rifle maker in 1997, producing 317,116, compared to 166,123 in 1996. The Marlin Firearms Co. finished in second place in 1997 with 302,545. Marlin produced 350,897 the year before. In reviewing production of other rifle makers of note, Colt’s Manufacturing Co., Inc. made 28,100 rifles in 1997, and 15,903 in 1996. Knights Manufacturing Co. produced 203 rifles in 1997, versus 150 in 1996. Armalite, Inc. manufactured 5,469 rifles in 1997 and 2,722 in 1996. D.S. Arms, Inc. made 581 rifles in 1997. Springfield, Inc. produced 10,124 rifles in 1997, and 9,742 the year before. Bushmaster Firearms produced 10,976 rifles in 1997, and 8,240 in 1996. Calico Light Weapons made just 154 rifles in 1997, and 546 in 1996. Auto-Ordnance Corp. manufactured 1,350 rifles in 1997, and 1,265 in 1996. Beemiller, Inc. made 25,100 rifles in 1997, and 8,700 in 1996. Robert I. Landies made 352 rifles in 1997, versus 212 in 1996. Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, Inc. made 60 rifles in 1997, and 227 in 1996. In the shotgun arena, O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc. emerged as the number one shotgun maker in 1997 with production of 331,998 units. The firm produced 332,388 in 1996, when it also finished the year as the top maker. Other top shotgun makers in 1997 included: H&R 1871, Inc. with production of 183,884 guns (compared to 167,584 in 1996); Remington Arms Co. with 284,294 units (compared to 307,803 the year before); and U.S. Repeating Arms with 79,343 shotguns in 1997 (versus 84,229 in 1996).

Top Exporters

The number one pistol exporter in 1997 was Smith & Wesson, which sent out 17,83 units. In 1996, Smith & Wesson exported 45,462 pistols, more than any other firm. Other major pistol exporters in 1997 included: Sturm, Ruger with 5,097 (compared to 3,935 the year before); Colt’s Manufacturing with 2,270 (compared to 4,078 in 1996); and, SIG Arms, Inc. with 6,648 (compared to 1,100 the year before). The top revolver exporter in 1997 was Smith & Wesson with exportation of 49,359 wheelguns, compared to 74,851 in 1996 when it also occupied the number one position. Other top revolver exporters in 1997 were North American Arms, Inc. with shipment of 3,680 units (compared to 2,830 the year before) and Sturm, Ruger with 7,282 being sent abroad in 1997 (versus 7,268 in 1996). The highest volume rifle exporter in 1997 was Sturm, Ruger with 22,329 units exported (compared to 18,226 the year before). Other major rifle exporters during 1997 included: The Marlin Firearms Co. with 20,307 units (versus 18,181 in 1996); Remington Arms Co. with exportation of 17,026 rifles (compared to 19,452 in 1996); and, Colt’s Manufacturing with 7,176 rifles exported in 1997 (in comparison to 2,020 the year before).

News Shorts

In other news, all three of the bidders in the recent competition to run the U.S. Army’s Holston Army Ammunition plant at Kingsport, Tennessee, are foreign explosive makers. Few firms within the U.S. have the specialized expertise need to manufacture the RDX and HMX explosives handled at the facility, according to U.S. Army officials. The bidders are: Royal Ordnance of Great Britain (the only maker of such types of explosives in that country); a joint venture group composed of Day & Zimmerman, a Philadelphia-based engineering firm, IMR of Plattsburg, New York, and Expo Chemicals, a Montreal-based company; and Alliant Techsystems, Inc., which manages four Army facilities, has formed a team including Dyno Defense Products, a Norwegian explosives manufacturer. The winner will be given a contract to supply the Army with RDX and HMX explosives for five years. Imperial Chemical Industries, plc, of London, already operates some U.S. government-owned facilities. Noted firearm manufacturer, Heckler & Koch, U.K., Nottingham, England recently won an $18 million contract to transfer technology for the local production of some 200,000 5.56mm infantry rifles for the Turkish Army. The guns will be made during the next 10 years at a plant operated near Ankara by Turkey’s state-run artillery, small arms and ammunition maker Makima ve Kimya Endustrisi Kurumu. The rifles will replace the Army’s current 7.62mm infantry rifles. A new robotic mortar, capable of being operated by remote control, is in development. Standing 18-inches tall, the system, called Dragon Fire, can load, aim and fire automatically. The 120mm gun, intended for use by the U.S. Marine Corps, is being developed by a joint venture between Paris-based Thomson-CSF and Daimler-Benz Aerospace AG, Munich, Germany. In operation, once having received targeting information from a forward observer-either human or via remote sensors- Dragon Fire can erect its gun, load and fire, all within three seconds. With conventional munitions, its range is nine kilometers. With rocket- assisted munitions the range can be increased to 13 kilometers. Dragon Fire’s benefits are reduced personal risk to troops, improve support fire response time and reduced logistical support. The system can operate autonomously or be remotely controlled using transmissions from the Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System located on a vehicle, ship or command post. AlliedSignal Aerospace of Torrance, California produced the system’s automatic fire-control and communications package, and Picatinny Arsenal of New Jersey is performing system integration work. The system was tested during the U.S. Marine Corps Urban Warrior exercise. Dragon Fire was funded at a cost of $3 million for its concept demonstration phase. Each unit will likely cost between $400,000 and $600,000 when in production, possibly by the year 2003. The Marines are considering the purchase of 154 systems. Once fully developed, Dragon Fire will be capable of using a variety of ammunition, including smart munitions with Global Positioning System guidance, and will load from a 32-round magazine. In use, the system might be teamed with an unmanned ground or air vehicle loaded with sensors. The drone would sense a target and send targeting information to the mortar system, enabling it to open fire. Last April, a new world record for accuracy was set in the 1,000 yard shooting competition using the .50 Browning Machine Gun cartridge. The event was the Fifty Caliber Shooters Association sanctioned match at the Washoe County shooting facility in Reno, Nevada. The 5-shot group measured 2.6002” using Barnes 750-grain LRS bullets. The record-breaking group was shot by Skip Talbot of Fallon, NV, breaking the previous record of 3.2395” shot with a Barnes 800-grain LRS bullet. The Barnes LRS (for long range solid) bullet incorporates a low drag design with tight ballistic tolerances, Special care is taken in the packaging of the bullets to prevent any cosmetic flaws from appearing on the surface of the projectiles by keeping the bullet separate within the package. Meanwhile, Nosler, Inc., has introduced a new line of target-grade bullets especially for competition shooters, law enforcement personnel and military applications. The Nosler J4TM Competition bullet is available in a .308” 168-grain hollow boattail configuration, popular with long range target and silhouette shooters. A hollow point, boattail design, the new bullet is built on the concentric and uniform J4 bullet jacket of benchrest fame. SPEER has published an authoritative new reloader’s reference, the Speer Reloading Manual No. 13, containing the latest technical information and reloading trends. Included are 13 new data sections for cartridges and/or applications not included in earlier editions. The manual’s heart are the data sections for each cartridge, presented in a user-friendly format containing header information for each cartridge showing the maximum length, trim length, and RCBS shellholder number. More than 9,300 loads are listed, including many of the most recently introduced powders. The 736-page manual is bound in a heavy-duty laminate binding. New England Firearms has added a heavy-barrel .308 Winchester-chambered model to its Survivor rifle line. This cartridge is one of the most popular military rounds in the free world and is usually available even in the most remote areas. The matte blue finished rifle has a 22-inch barrel factory-fitted with a Weaver-style scope base and includes a hammer extension, for cocking when the scope is mounted. The stock and forend are high- density polymer with a thumbhole design. Sling swivels and a nylon sling are standard equipment and the stock has a large storage compartment. The forend is removable and allows ammo storage as well. The new .308 Survivor can also accept a wide range of additional rifle and shotgun barrels through the company’s accessory barrel program. Agents from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) recently arrested Byron Wade Sumner, a Sacramento (California) County Sheriff’s Deputy, for a violation of federal firearm laws. After several months of investigation, ATF served three federal search warrants and arrested Sumner at his residence in the Sacramento County area. Sumner was arrested for possession of a short barrel rifle, a violation of U.S. Code, Title 26, section 5861(d). If convicted, Sumner faces a possible 10 years in federal prison and up to a $10,000 fine. “Although ATF is not happy to have arrested a fellow law enforcement officer, we are charged with the responsibility of enforcing federal firearms laws without regard to the identity or the occupation of the subject,” commented special agent in charge John P. Malone. A recent government audit of the Pentagon shows the defense organization cannot manage its financial records. The audit showed “significant financial system weaknesses, problems with fundamental recordkeeping, incomplete documentation, and weak internal controls,” according to a report issued by the General Accounting Office. The report has advocates of higher defense spending worried that Congress will not take the Defense Department seriously in regard to future financial matters.

The roots of today’s heavy interest in full-auto firearms go back a little over 40 years to the mid to late 1950’s, when a young New Jersey engineer (who had been collecting guns since the tender age of 8), decided to turn his life-long interest in firearms into a vocation.

Valmore J. Forgett decided to go into the machine gun field while stationed at Aberdeen Proving Ground as a U.S. Army technical writer. The friendships he had forged with small arms experts, his access to all of the arms records at Aberdeen, and his enthusiasm for gun collecting, all came together to give him the necessary background to enter the business. The large numbers of sub- and machine guns brought back into the country by World War Two and Korean conflict veterans also gave an added incentive.

Forgett began in business in November 1956 by offering Deactivated War Trophies, or DEWATS, as they were classified by the U.S. Treasury Department. Large numbers of veterans who had brought back full-auto arms from overseas were able to avoid paying the steep $200 registration and transfer tax required for a live machine gun, by rendering the guns into a deactivated condition.

Under the terms of the DEWAT classification in those years, any machine gun which had its chamber welded closed so a live round could not be inserted, and had the barrel steel-welded to the frame, under the supervision of a Treasury Dept. revenue agent, thus fell into the DEWAT category which meant there was no tax and the Treasury Department did not have to be notified when a sale was made. The firearm receivers did not have to be registered, as they are today.

Forgett was initially offered a large lot of imported automatic weapons. Realizing their sales potential, the necessary dealer’s licenses were obtained and Forgett’s first ad appeared in The Shotgun News titled simply “Machine Guns.”

The advertisement offered such prized arms as the Thompson submachine gun, the seldom seen United Defense submachine gun, the famous Johnson Light Machine Gun, and several others. While all were DEWAT’s, the triggers would still click and the guns’ bolts could still be moved back and forth. The response was phenomenal! Phone calls, letters and telegrams started to pour in. One dealer called and offered to buy all of the Thompsons but quickly backed off when he heard several thousand were for sale.

Though it is not generally known in the trade, these early shipments of machine guns were actually imported by Sam Cummings, an ex-CIA operative and founder of Interarms (formerly known as Interarmco), of Alexandria, Virginia. Cummings would do the importing (mainly from South and Central America) and Forgett would do the deactivation welding on the guns so he could easily sell the guns in quantity without the buyers having to undergo the rigorous federal approval and tax payment process.

“Ma Hunter”

The next ad Forgett placed in the gun paper appeared under the trade name of, “Ma Hunter, the sweet, lovable old lady who buys and sells machine guns.” Subsequent ads became entertaining as well as informative, and the amount of orders coming in continued to grow. Forgett had turned the DEWAT machine gun business upside down, shattering previous high market prices and offering, in quantity, machine guns that had formerly been very rare. His activities helped machine gun collecting become an established and respected branch of the gun collecting world as the numbers of automatic weapons collectors around the country grew dramatically.

The first edition of the catalog, of which only 100 copies were printed, was produced with a typewriter and contained line drawings of the guns. The cover contained an illustration of the bespectacled “Ma Hunter” herself, with a corn cob pipe in her mouth, big, bright eyes and appealing long eyelashes. The machine guns available were: M1 Thompsons selling for $80; “garden variety” Thompson M1A1’s $75; Johnson Light Machine Guns complete with bipod and magazine at $50; MII air-cooled Browning Light Machine Guns without mount for $60; British .303 caliber Bren Guns, described as the “most popular light machine gun in the world” at $75 for a specimen in “Grade I” condition, and $60 for one in “Grade II” shape.

In the heavy machine gun area, the catalog claimed to offer the world’s only supply of .50 caliber, water-cooled Brownings complete with spade grips. Manufactured by Colt, the guns sold for $50!; a limited number of field mounts for heavy machine guns were available for just $85; and, “nice condition” Vickers .303 caliber water-cooled machine guns complete with mount were sold for only $100. The offerings also included 2-inch Dutch and U.S. 81mm mortars, as well as a variety of surplus ammunition, and miniature black powder cannons.

Forgett’s associate in the machine gun business, Sam Cummings, also operated a mail order firearms firm (in those pre-1968 Gun Control Act days when firearms could still be sold across state lines without federal paperwork) known as Hunter’s Lodge. The firm’s ads, which featured a variety of surplus arms but apparently no full-auto’s, carried a cartoon illustration of “Ye Old Hunter,” a bearded old man wearing a plaid shirt and a wide-brimmed hat with a huge feather stuck in its brim. “Ye Old Hunter,” the reputed proprietor of Hunter’s Lodge, was usually humorously depicted in the process of firing a revolver with a severely bent barrel.

Forgett soon expanded his business by promoting the idea of artillery collecting. Operating with the premise that there were many Americans who would love to have a cannon of their own, he printed up 2,000 copies of his first artillery catalog, betting correctly that many people would at least send in 25 cents to receive the catalog in the mail.

As early as 1957, the then 27-year old Forgett came to the attention of local newspapers for his arms collecting efforts. The September 15, 1957 edition of the Newark, New Jersey Sunday News carried a news item entitled, “Arms Collection Keeps Police Department Alert,” and contained an image of Forgett holding a Thompson submachine gun. The article noted Forgett’s “harmless-looking little warehouse” in Bogota, New Jersey contained: “six anti-tank guns, 30 field cannons, 175 submachine guns, hundreds of rifles and handguns, as well as thousands of live cartridges and shells.

“New York and New Jersey State Police check at the store-house frequently,” Forgett was quoted as saying and added “local police check the premises every 20 minutes, all night long.” Forgett said he was more interested in the history of the weapons than the arms themselves and noted most of his collection was made up of arms used by both sides in World Wars One and Two. The paper noted half of the submachine gun collection at that time was deactivated. Forgett was then employed as a sales representative for his father’s sheet metal firm, Service Welding Co., in Ridgefield, New Jersey and operated his gun business part-time.

In December 1957, Guns and Hunting Goods Merchandiser, a trade publication, profiled Forgett, describing him as, “a fast-rising young machine gun salesman.” About one-third of the guns would be sold to dealers who would sell them to collectors, display them in their store windows as attention-getters or be used as decorations for the gun cabinets of “millionaire gun cranks, by flanking a rich mahogany cabinet with Thompsons. And somewhere in the U.S. there is at least one barbershop sporting a machine gun chained to the back wall,” the magazine said.

Industry Advocacy

In the same trade article, Forgett called for a lowering of the $200 transfer tax on live guns. “In the law under which I do business, the 1954 version of the 1934 National Firearms Act, there are both realistic and unrealistic elements,” he began. “Realistic is the basic fact that an unregulated promiscuous distribution of machine guns is not a good idea. The high tax is one of the most unrealistic things about the law. The average machine gun years ago sold for $200. The tax of $200 was designed to curb trade in these arms completely, by imposing a 100 percent tax on each sale.

“Today, machine guns cost much less, as so many are government surplus stocks of no military value. Sten guns sell for as little as $13 to $17, while Johnson LMGs, Brens, and many varieties of light, medium and heavy Brownings sell for $50 to $75. A tax of $200 on these in working condition does not accomplish the desired end of obtaining registration and payment of tax. Instead, it is so high that the small collector who obtains one from, say, a returned serviceman, simply ignores the law and fails to pay the tax.”

To add some perspective to what $200 could buy during the period, a new Volkswagen “Beetle” automobile could be purchased for about $800, so the federal transfer tax was actually one-quarter the cost of a new car in the 1950’

Noting that at the time, between 40 and 60 percent of the unregistered machine guns in the country were brought in by soldiers returning from World War Two and the Korean conflict, Forgett said, “The effect of the tax is to drive guns underground, rather than get them registered. Despite the Treasury Department’s proclamations encouraging voluntary registration and deactivation, the average GI and collector remains unconvinced they won’t be confronted with a grilling as if he were a mass murderer if he attempts to comply with the law.

“For the average honest citizen to have this fear of the authorities suggests abuses by individual agents in the field, added to inconsistent rulings from the (Treasury’s) central office, plus the originally obscure and vague or inaccurate wording of the law itself, have given the honest citizen something to fear.

“If the Treasury Dept. would settle for a realistic tax figure, retaining the severe penalties for failure to register, an effective firearms control could be established in the machine gun field,” he continued. “And if the Treasury agents would stop acting as if every person with a machine gun was a hopped-up juvenile delinquent spoiling for a gang rumble, or a baby Dillinger lurking by a bank, I think they could count on the assistance of gun collectors and dealers across the nation, rather than their opposition. By dropping the high tax of the machine gun law, the authorities could enlist the help of collectors who are vitally concerned with getting rid of the ‘bad apples’ and keeping shooting and gun collecting, from muzzle loaders to machine guns, a clean sport and a clean business.”

In the late 1950’s, America was a kinder, gentler place for gun owners. Upon learning of a person in possession of an unregistered, live machine gun, Treasury agents would go to the gun owner’s home, and instead of coming in shooting with fully automatic weapons of their own accompanied by flame-throwing tanks, as is sometimes done today, the agents would simply induce the subject to have the live machine gun welded to render it inoperable. Forgett recounted one such incident of the day.

“I’ve known a few such collectors (who kept unregistered fully-automatic arms),” Forgett recalled, “but they’re not gangsters by any means. Among the few I have known were arms factory mechanics and gun designers, including some of the most famous in the business. One collector was a successful grocer, a businessman respected in his community. Then one day, the Treasury came into his house and made him weld up every gun. Resulting publicity was so damaging he ultimately sold his business and moved to another state.”

Forgett soon opened a retail store known as Service Armament Co., the forerunner of today’s Navy Arms Co. operation. It was initially open only in the evenings. The store’s merchandise displays often shocked customers who came in, as it did not have the usual
“sporting” type of merchandise on display.

Unconventional Store

The trade magazine described the shop as follows: “Upon entering the building, instead of the usual array of hunting rifles and shotguns, you see walls lined from floor to ceiling with light machine guns, submachine guns, anti-tank rifles, an occasional bolt action military rifle, and maybe even a .22 rifle or two.”

“On the floor beside the office desk are mortars, .50 caliber machine guns, and other odds and ends too heavy for the wall. Moving through the store you come to a small room containing nothing but ammunition and odd parts. You will not find standard ammo here. Perhaps you need some canister shells for your 37mm cannon. Do you hand load your own
20mm automatic cannon cases? Well, ‘Ma’ has new, primed 20mm cases for sale.

“In the rear of the store, ‘sweet old Ma Hunter’ keeps the field artillery. There were about 25 cannons scattered about the back room. These are genuine obsolete cannon purchased from the Guatemalan government, from revolving 37mm Hotchkiss cannon or a small 2-inch mountain gun to full-size Krupp field artillery. And ‘Ma Hunter’s’ is probably the only place in the world where one can purchase ‘Do It Yourself’ cannon kits. Each kit contains all the external parts needed to assemble a full-size 57mm anti-tank cannon. The 3,000 pound kit is guaranteed to keep you busy on long winter nights,” the magazine predicted.

Castro’s Machine Guns

A major source of machine guns in the late 1950’s was Raritan Arsenal. This government facility released large numbers of fully-automatic arms including Thompsons, M3 “Grease Guns,” Johnson Light Machine Guns and .30 and .50 caliber Brownings. Once the guns had their chambers welded shut under the supervision of a U.S. Treasury agent, all government records on the guns were destroyed as they were now classified as DEWATS, or non-guns.

Some of these deactivated guns from Raritan Arsenal, according to Forgett, wound up in the hands of Fidel Castro’s forces for use in the Cuban Revolution. The deactivated machine guns were reportedly purchased by a New York City-based Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) front organization with funds supplied by the CIA. An upstate New York arms merchant reportedly supplied the CIA with the necessary parts for reactivation. The guns were then shipped to a location in Florida where they were reactivated and shipped to Castro’s forces in Cuba by the CIA, according to Forgett.

Service Armament Co. inadvertently shipped some thirty-three deactivated Browning M2 machine guns on March 24, 1958 to an unnamed individual at Regent International Limited, at 507 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York. Forgett now maintains Regent was operating under the direction of the CIA and the ultimate end users of the guns were actually Fidel Castro’s military forces, after the guns were illegally reactivated by the CIA in Florida and then shipped to Cuba.

In November 1959, Forgett was in the news again when a shipment of arms to his warehouse came under police scrutiny. Forgett bought the entire stock of a firm called Datel Industries in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, consisting of machine guns, handguns, rifles, bayonets, ammunition, cartridge belts, rifle slings, rifle scopes and cans of powder. The 10-ton shipment by truck to his New Jersey warehouse came to the notice of officials during a routine truck weight inspection in East Cleveland, Ohio, when inspectors found the truck to be two tons overweight. Federal authorities became involved when it was found the truck’s driver had no bill of lading for the goods. The matter was later resolved.

Similarly, in March 1961, a truck carrying Service Armament Co. goods intended for use in Maryland and Virginia celebrations commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Civil War, was stopped by officers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for an unlit tail light. When the two policemen approached the vehicle, they noticed the mouth of a cannon sticking out from the cargo area. Upon inspection, they found 50 Mauser rifles, 25 Civil War cannon charges, a box of machine gun parts, a hand grenade, and other armament. The driver was booked on charges of violating Philadelphia’s gun law as he did not have a permit to carry arms and for “failing to have at least two cops escorting him through the city,” according to a newspaper report.

In 1958, learning of the availability of a quantity of Gatling Guns overseas, Forgett announced plans to engage in a Gatling gun match with three other shooters. Each was issued 500 rounds and used Forgett’s vintage 10-barreled hand-cranked piece to take turns firing at a 6-by-6-inch wooden post at 1,000 yards. The gunner who cut the post in half with the least number of rounds won. The idea was to build interest amongst the shooting public in the old crank-operated guns, which Forgett knew he could supply. Forget’s efforts at instilling the shooting of Gatling guns proved successful and in 1959 he traveled to Europe to search arsenals for some of the 1,200 to 1,500 Gatlings that had been manufactured.

In an article appearing in the trade publication, Sporting Goods Retailer, in that year, it was noted only modern Winchester or Remington .45-70 ammo should be used in the Gatling, as the older black powder shells had a tendency to break bolts. One of the Gatling’s virtues was that if one chamber became inoperable, the gun would still fire from its nine other barrels. The magazine noted Remington 405-grain soft point ammo functioned perfectly during tests of a Gatling with Accles drum feed. The gun was invented by Dr. Richard Jordan Gatling, a medical man who is also credited with devising the flush toilet.

River Castle

In September 1958, another business coup came when Forgett was given the opportunity to purchase all of the ammunition stored on the legendary Bannerman’s Island. In an article entitled, “Castle On The River,” the Bergen (New Jersey) Evening Record carried an article on Forgett’s efforts to remove the surpluses of warfare from the former island castle on the Hudson River reached by boat from Putnam County, New York (the castle burned down soon after Forgett removed the materials).

The building, once owned by noted arms merchant Francis Bannerman, had been built on the island to keep its explosive inventory away from population centers. The newspaper described the building as being decorated with cannon balls and pieces of armament, with an over-all appearance like the house visited by Pip in Charles Dickens’ book, Great Expectations, with weeds and vines growing over everything and stretching into the windows.

On the south side of the castle was an irregular red brick path leading to a dry moat, under a portcullis, and to the structure’s upper floors. One section was dubbed the “dungeon.” Pointing north up the river on the 5-1/2 acre island was the cannon from Union Admiral David Farragut’s flagship, the Hartford. Farragut was best known for his command: “Damn the torpedoes. Full steam ahead,” during the Civil War battle of Mobile Bay.

Forgett, and several aides, spent 40 working days deactivating Civil War and other ammunition which was later brought to his New Jersey store and warehouse. To aid in the deactivation, he devised a hand operated machine that pulled apart the shells. The horde included such oddities as Civil War rockets nicknamed, “Whistling Dixie,” for the audible sounds their hollow ends made when propelled through the air.

Muzzleloading Arms

Forgett, who received a degree in mechanical engineering at Clemson University in South Carolina, also became involved in the target matches held by the North-South Skirmish Association, conducted by participants wearing Civil War uniforms. This instilled in him a great interest in muzzleloading firearms. Noting that match participants were using original period firearms, destroying the arms collector’s value by firing them, he hit upon the idea of producing muzzleloading replicas.

In 1957 he visited the major arms factories of Europe. He found the environment in Italy to be ideal for production of replica firearms made by the investment casting method, a cost-effective procedure compared to machining. The investment casting method of firearm production was used very successfully to build Sturm, Ruger & Co.’s business, allowing it to offer quality arms at very reasonable prices.

The first replicas Forgett produced were of the Colt 1851 Navy revolver and thus he named his new company, “Navy Arms,” after his first imported revolver. The seal of the Confederate navy (depicting crossed cannons and a ship’s anchor) was chosen as his company’s logo.

The increasingly restrictive legislative environment for the sale of machine guns and artillery pieces later led Forgett to get out of that end of the business. He focused his concentration on the sales of semi-auto and bolt action military rifles and handguns, as well as muzzleloaders and other historical replicas. Thus, the earlier company names, “Ma Hunter” and “Service Armament Co.” were dropped in favor of the new, Navy Arms Co.

While out of the machine gun business, today Navy Arms still carries a wide variety of surplus and newly manufactured ammo for military firearms. A good selection of surplus military handguns and long guns are also available, as are gun parts, magazines and accessories. The 2,000 square-foot store and a warehouse in Union City, New Jersey employ 29 persons.

Asked what advice he would give aspiring arms merchants of today, the 69-year old Forgett said, “You never get hurt by making a profit.” Known for his easygoing business style and fair dealing, he further added, “The bulls make money, the bears make money, but the pigs get slaughtered.”

Forgett is one of the lucky ones, who was able to live the life he wanted by fulfilling his early boyhood dream. His high school year book listed his life ambition to “import, export guns,” and he has done so on a grand scale.

Navy Arms Co., 689 Bergen Boulevard, Ridgefield, N.J. 07657 Phone (201) 945-2500.

Gun Dealers Urged To Counter Y2K Thieves

Concerns about possible civil disorder on January 1, 2000 when the power and lights may go out, are being raised not only by firearms consumers who are purchasing guns for self-protection at a steady clip these days, but also by firearms dealers who fear looters.

As the Clinton Administration increased controls on civilian access to firearms during the 1990’s, government statistics show there has been a corresponding increase in thefts of firearms from the premises of licensed dealers. Some criminals apparently feel if they can’t buy the guns, they will just steal them.

Recognizing these factors, the Maryland Licensed Firearms Dealers Association recently issued a warning in its members’ newsletter to plan for a worst case Y2K scenario by heading off the thieves with extra security measures. Criminals across the nation may be planning to burglarize gun shops after midnight on December 31, 1999, reasoning the police will be too busy to respond to store burglar alarms as they will concentrate on handling more serious emergencies brought on by Y2K, the Association says.

If there is no police response to the alarms, “thieves will have time to penetrate gun shops’ physical defenses and remove the firearms inventory. Remember, there is no lock that can’t be broken, no door that can’t be smashed, no bars that can’t be removed, if criminals have enough time,” the newsletter warns.

Dealers are advised to place all of their firearms in a secure safe. “At the very least, all firearms should be removed from view of the store’s front window. Place a sign on the store’s door stating, that all firearms have been removed.”

ATF News

In remarks made in early May before the International Association of Chiefs of Police meeting in Dublin, Ireland, John W. Magaw, director of the gun industry’s regulator, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) noted his agency’s investigations into firearms trafficking have found there is an increasing frequency for international organized criminals to be involved.

“The major areas for trafficking of US -sourced firearms in Europe are the Baltic States, the former Soviet Union, and the Balkan States. To a lesser degree, Great Britain, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Finland, and Germany have all been impacted by illegal international firearms trafficking,” Magaw explained.

Offering to provide technical assistance to interested agencies in combating illegal firearms trafficking, Magaw said the ATF National Tracing Center (NTC), which traces the origins and ownership of recovered US -sourced firearms at the request of American police is available for use by law enforcement agencies worldwide. “Tracing is often a vital step in identifying trafficking organizations,” Magaw stated.

“In 1996 the NTC had 15,000 international firearm trace requests, and 60,000 such requests in 1998. We anticipate 100,000 plus international trace requests for 1999. ATF, with our international counterparts, has initiated more than 1,500 international firearms trafficking cases, based in part, from information received from these traces,” Magaw disclosed.

The National Integrated Ballistics Information Network, an ATF/FBI partnership venture, was also mentioned as available to law enforcement agencies around the world. The Network employs a firearms identification technology system that captures a digitized image of the unique markings imprinted on a projectile and on shell casings and compares those markings with all other images of shell casings and projectiles previously entered into a database to produce potential matches. In this way, cartridges can be traced as having been fired from particular firearms. The system is being deployed not only in the US, but in countries such as Venezuela, Israel, Turkey, Taiwan, People’s Republic of China, Greece, South Africa, Thailand, and Canada.

Pawn Shop Raided

A federal search warrant culminating a three-month undercover investigation was executed May 20, at the 27th Avenue Pawn & Gun shop at 2045 NW 27th Ave., Miami, FL, as well as upon the store’s owner, Roman Hernz, by ATF and Miami police for alleged illegal firearm trafficking and sales.

Hernz, who had been in business since early 1992, and previously ran other pawnshops during the 1980’s, is suspected of conspiring and engaging in numerous illegal firearms transactions known as “straw purchases,” according to ATF. A “straw purchase” involves an individual who acts at the behest of the true purchaser to acquire the firearms. Specifically, the actual buyer uses the straw purchaser to execute the federally mandated firearms acquisition form (ATF Form 4473) purporting to show that the straw purchaser is the actual purchaser of the firearms.

In many instances, the actual buyers may be prohibited from legally purchasing firearms, or may simply want to hide their involvement in the procurement of the firearms. The licensee selling the firearm under these circumstances also violates federal law if the licensee is aware of the false statement on the form.

ATF’s National Tracing Center has determined that numerous firearms sold by 27th Ave. Pawn & Gun have been recovered by law enforcement authorities throughout the Caribbean and Central America. Foreign police officials initiated many traces after recovering the firearms at crime scenes in their respective countries.

This dealer, ATF says, though a medium sized pawnshop, has for the last six months been responsible for the multiple sales of more handguns than any other gun dealer in the metropolitan Miami area. A multiple sale refers to the sale or purchase of two or more handguns within a five consecutive day time frame. The store was also said to be a leading source of inexpensive ($100 to $150 price range) low quality pistols illegally trafficked to Haiti, Puerto Rico, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic.

Hernz could face multiple federal counts of selling firearms in violation of state laws, selling firearms without recording the identity of the purchaser, and maintaining false firearms records. If convicted, Hernz could potentially be sentenced to five years and/or fined on each count.

Alleged Traffickers Nabbed

On March 10, Jamal Hyden of West Philadelphia, PA and Dominic Howard of Greensboro, NC, were arrested by the Philadelphia Firearms Trafficking Task Force (composed of ATF special agents and Philadelphia police detectives) for federal firearms violations. The arrests followed an indictment by a federal grand jury of the pair for conspiring to engage in the business of dealing firearms without a license, aiding and abetting, and (in the case of Hyden) receiving firearms while under indictment. The government further alleged the two agreed to have Howard purchase firearms in North Carolina at various licensed dealers, and Hyden was to sell these firearms for profit in Philadelphia.

During the course of the investigation, an ATF operative was able to infiltrate the conspiracy and purchase about 24 firearms. The types of guns purchased included: 15 Lorcin 9mm pistols; three Intratec 9mm pistols; one Glock .357 pistol; one Llama .45; one Jennings/Bryco 9mm; one HiPoint 9mm rifle; and two Norinco 7.62x39mm rifles. The total number of firearms trafficked by these individuals is still being investigated. All of the undercover purchases took place in Philadelphia. All of the purchased firearms, with the exception of two, had the serial numbers obliterated at the time of purchase.

The investigation initiated at the request of the Philadelphia School Board Investigation Unit for the tracing of two firearms recovered on school grounds. Philadelphia police offices early one morning had arrested two 18-year-old males for discharging firearms in the schoolyard of William Penn High School. Both firearms had their serial numbers obliterated.

The Philadelphia Police Firearms Identification Unit was able to restore the serial numbers. ATF then initiated a trace of the firearms and determined that both guns were purchased by Howard in Greensboro, NC just 48 hours prior to their recovery.

If found guilty, Hyden could receive up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $1 million. Howard could receive up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $500,000.

Defendant Pleads Guilty

Gerald Lowrance of Stockton, CA, was recently sentenced to serve 18 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised probation for violating federal firearms laws. As part of a plea bargain, Lowrance pled guilty to a violation of United States Code, Title 18, Section 922(k), possession and transfer of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

New ATF Chief Counsel

John J. Manfreda, formerly ATF’s deputy chief counsel, has been appointed chief counsel. In his new position, Manfreda is responsible for all legal services related to firearms, explosives, tobacco, arson, alcohol, and administrative law. He also is responsible for overseeing the preparation and review of proposed legislation, regulations, and executive orders relating to the laws affecting and enforced by ATF.

Military Developments

In other news, the U.S. Army is reported as testing a remotely-controlled robotic platform that can aim and fire arms such as the M-16 rifle and .50 caliber machine guns. Known as the Telepresent Rapid Aiming Platform (TRAP) T-2, the device enables troops to aim and fire their guns from positions out of harm’s way.

Developed by Precision Remotes, Inc. of Point Richmond, California, the $50,000 system allows the soldier to remain hidden while observing an area through a video camera and sighting in on targets through a high-powered, automatic focus sight. The system consists of a weapons mounting platform, a video camera, a sight and a control box with a viewfinder. The camera can be used for an overview of the target area, or to zoom in with the high-powered sight. The control box contains buttons for adjusting aim. TRAP also contains two lasers to warn intruders coming into guarded territory that they are being targeted in a high-tech version of the old, “Halt, or I’ll shoot” command.

When the control box is connected to the platform with electrical cables, the arm can be controlled from as great a distance as 1,000 meters. The control distance can be extended infinitely if connected via a radio frequency link. Weighing 38 pounds, the system is intended to be issued to squads or platoons and possibly mounted on vehicles.

Have identified reflections from the objective lenses and laser protective filters of its optics as an issue, the U.S. Army has awarded Tenebraex Corp. of Boston, Massachusetts, a contract for over 35,000 anti-reflection devices (ARDs) for five fire control and observation optics. The firm’s killFlashTM ARD filters will be used for the Army’s M24 Sniper Weapon System’s optics including the Leupold day rifle sight, the AN-PVS-10 Day/Night Sight, and the M144 spotting scope, as well as the M22 (Steiner and Corion) Binoculars and the M24 Miniature Binoculars.

killFlashTM ARDs use a honeycomb material and patented geometry to provide a retrofittable solution to glint and glare from optical surfaces with minimal light loss and no loss in resolution. In addition to hiding glint, the product is claimed to allow users to see the target better in conditions of high glare, such as when looking into morning or afternoon sun or when shooting across snow.

Glint is a serious threat to operational security, yet it is often not considered by military commanders. Glint, however, has played a crucial role in military history. For example, the Japanese Army’s second attack on Henderson Air Force base in World War Two’s Battle of Guadalcanal was turned when a U.S. Marine patrol saw reflections from a Japanese officer’s binoculars on a hilltop, in what had been thought to be unoccupied, impenetrable jungle. Because of that sighting, the U.S. commander was able to shift forces to his previously unprotected flank and defeat the enemy attack.

Moshe Dayan, the Israeli general, got his famous eye patch when a sniper saw reflections of the sun from Dayan’s binoculars. In the Battle of Stalingrad, the top Soviet sniper, Vasili Zaitsev, won his famous three-day duel with the top Nazi sniper, Major Koning, by looking for and targeting the reflection from the German’s scope.

Glint even played a decisive part in the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War. As the Confederates prepared to attack, Union General Gouverneur Warren arrived on the top of Little Round Top hill, where his men had reported seeing movement in the trees below. The General asked that a shell be fired into the area and as the shot went whistling through the air, the sound caused the enemy troops to look in its direction.

“This motion revealed to me the glistening of gun barrels and bayonets of the enemy’s line of battle, already formed and far outflanking the position of any of our troops. I immediately sent a hastily written dispatch requesting an additional division,” General Warren later said. Those reinforcements, turned the Confederate attack and preserved the Union’s possession of the hill.

KillFlash technology. in addition to sights, is also available for laser-protective goggles, vehicle headlights and windshields.

Strong Sales Mark ’99 SHOT SHOW

Against an ominous backdrop of challenging legal and political issues, the 21st SHOT SHOW experienced strong attendance and buying activity. Four days of enthusiasm took place at the show’s venue, the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, February 1 – 4, although the city did not make attendees feel welcome after announcing its intention to sue many of the industry’s leading manufacturers.

Despite the negative environment created by the host city, many exhibitors said sales of firearms and related products exceeded their expectations, and they took that as a sign that their industry is in good shape for the year ahead.

In Atlanta for the first time in 14 years, the event was within easy driving distance of thousands of retailers who live in the East-one reason that on-site registration proved to be surprisingly strong.

Overall attendance was 25,800, which included 13,300 buyers, 11,400 exhibitors and 1,100 journalists. Having strong international appeal as the biggest show of its kind, exhibitors and attendees came to Atlanta from 75 different countries. The show saw its largest gathering ever of the general and outdoor press, including national television crews.

Both the overall total and buyer attendance figures were lower than that of last year, but show organizers said the falloff was within expected limits. “We always have our best attendance in Las Vegas,” commented Bob Delfay, president and CEO of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), which owns the SHOTSHOW.

“We did not expect Atlanta attendance to break the records established in Las Vegas in 1997 or 1998. However, considering some of the negative publicity and negative attitudes resulting from an announced lawsuit against our industry by the mayor of Atlanta, I think our attendance was very good,” Delfay said.

Business was so good that many exhibitors did not notice the difference in attendance, while others said sales made to dealers who came to the show because it was held in the East more than compensated for the drop-off in buyer attendance.

Cecil Cahill, vice president of marketing for Sports, Inc., said, “It’s not a matter of where the SHOT SHOW is held. It’s the most upbeat show out there today.”

Exhibitors appreciated the spaciousness and wide aisles of the World Congress Center, where 466,000-square-feet of booth space was used, making the1999 SHOT SHOW the largest ever in terms of floor space. Some visitors and buyers complained of the large amount of walking they had to do to get to the exhibitors they needed to see. The show was set up in two main exhibition halls connected by a concourse where new products were displayed.

“People were in a buying mood and in a positive frame of mind,” said Paul Clarence, director marketing administration at Winchester.

Bob Morrison, vice president at Taurus International, said, “This was the best SHOT SHOW we’ve ever had and the pinnacle of Taurus’s career so far.” Taurus took the occasion to unveil its new all-titanium handguns, which quickly became one of the show’s most-talked-about new products. “As a result of the show, our orders are coming in and they are big,” said Morrison.

Art Wheaton, vice president of marketing for Remington Arms Co., said business was good. “Remington has had a very, very successful show here,” he observed. “It’s definitely been as successful as Las Vegas for us.”

Echoing Wheaton’s sentiments, Steve Hornady, of Hornady Manufacturing, Inc., said, “It’s been a good show. We have a good, solid base of business for1999.” In fact, it was hard to find an exhibitor who was not pleased with sales. “This has been a positive show and we’ve had a great response to our new products,” noted John Sullivan, director of marketing for W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co.

A visit to the floor reservation selling space area for next year’s show found exhibitors engaged in heavy buying activity, with nearly all of the floor space for next year already sold, one year in advance.

While the year 2000 SHOT SHOW had originally been planned to be held in New Orleans, LA, that city’s announced decision to sue the firearms industry has caused the show to be rescheduled for Las Vegas, NV, next January 17 – 20.

The big city suits being filed against the industry could have the effect of ending private firearm ownership without the need for passage of new laws. In the first suit filed by the city of New Orleans, the municipality seeks unspecified “millions of dollars” against 15 gun makers, three firearms industry trade associations (American Shooting Sports Council, National Shooting Sports Foundation, and the Sporting Arms & Ammunition Manufacturer’s Institute), several gun dealers and pawnbrokers. The suit alleges manufacturers have refused to employ user-recognition technology that would allow only an authorized user to fire an individual gun.

While such technology, such as is being developed by Colt’s Manufacturing Co. is far from perfected, the suits can have the effect of spurring anti-gun zealots in state and local legislatures, to introduce bills that would prohibit the sale of firearms not containing additional safety devices. Such an effort recently came to pass in New Jersey, but it has since been tabled, although it is reported Governor Christine Whitman still speaks favorably about the bill.

In Chicago, which since the early 1980’s has effectively banned the acquisition of handguns by law-abiding citizens through its refusal to grant ownership permits to prospective handgun purchasers, lawyers for the city are suing 38 gun manufacturers, distributors and dealers for $433 million under a novel “public nuisance” theory claiming the industry over-saturated the market with more firearms than can reasonably be expected to be sold to holders of Illinois firearms owner’s ID cards.

Last June, the anti-gun MacArthur Justice Center at the University of Chicago filed a lawsuit accusing gun companies of knowingly aiding criminals in the commission of crimes by, among other things, making their products “affordable. If the plaintiffs were to prevail in this suit, lower-priced firearms would disappear from the market, effectively precluding sales of guns at the retail level to those with limited economic means.

The cumulative effect of the wave of suits against the gun industry overall, even if the suits are all eventually dismissed, could result in higher gun prices due to the industry’s need to recoup its legal expenses in defending itself against the suits. The recent tobacco settlement has resulted in an average $1 price hike in the price of a pack of cigarettes nationwide.

This author is of the opinion that if the city of Chicago wants to recover money from an industry truly pandering to criminals, it should sue the sneaker manufacturers. The February 19, 1999 edition of The Wall Street Journal, contains a page one article on a Chicago-area Athlete’s Foot franchise owner who operates several stores in high crime areas of the city. He has found his best salesman are current and former street gang members who advise him on what styles to keep in stock at the stores to appeal to the current fashion tastes of the various criminal street gangs in the city. The article even went on to relate how a shoe designer flew in from New York to visit the Chicago stores to gain insight into the latest street fashions from the store’s part-time gangster salesmen.

Special Meeting

In response to the gun industry suits, a special meeting and press conference was hosted by the American Shooting Sports Council (ASSC) during the SHOT SHOW. Held on the show’s opening day, it was well-attended by industry executives, ATF and FBI officials, attorneys, and various print and broadcast journalists.

Bill Pryor, attorney general of Alabama, and an early critic of the lawsuits filed by state attorney generals against the tobacco industry, called the tobacco suits (and the suits against the gun industry) “threats against the entire business community.”

“This dangerous marriage of tort (injuries to persons and property) lawyers and governments must be severed soon before it further weakens what remains of limited government, the rule of law and respect for individual responsibility,” Pryor stated. “Trial lawyers, richly rewarded for providing financial support for the tobacco suits, have even more resources as they now undertake the gun suits.”

Pryor provided some insight into the legal strategies employed against the gun industry. “When filing these cases, trial lawyers select judges known to be susceptible to ignoring legal doctrines. The judges pander to their trial-lawyer friends, who, in turn, contribute to judicial election campaigns, and the judges bask in the media attention accompanying their ‘landmark’ rulings.

Against this corrosive backdrop, a high-profile public relations campaign can be mounted by political clients such as mayors and attorneys general who extol the virtues of their ‘public interest’ litigation. When framed as a crusade to protect innocent children, the campaign can attract a host of liberal interest groups, Pryor pointed out.

“When the gun industry correctly argues,” Pryor warned, “it provides legal products for law-abiding citizens to defend themselves against crime, the trial lawyers will say that this benefit is irrelevant as the industry created the crime problem that required citizens to defend themselves.”

The lawsuits threaten the notion of limited government as they shift political disputes from legislatures to the judiciary and confuse citizens about the tenets of American government, such as the separation of powers, he asserted. Pointing out such suits are handled on a contingency basis by the trial lawyers (meaning the plaintiff’s lawyers only get paid if the suit is successful), he added that for many years it was considered unethical for an attorney to have a financial interest in the outcome of a lawsuit.

The contingency fee concept was developed to allow greater access to the court system by plaintiffs of limited economic means. The contingency concept is now being abused by the wealthy government clients suing the tobacco and firearms industries, Pryor said.

“While the mayors claim they are acting to fight crime, they are actually playing a blame game,” Pryor theorized. “They are unwilling to take responsibility for the crime problem. As a law enforcement official, I know crimes are caused by criminals, not by the gun industry. Indeed, by providing good-quality firearms at reasonable prices to law-abiding citizens and lawmen, the gun industry helps reduce crime.”

Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA) appeared at the meeting and noted the firearms industry makes a positive impact on America’s economy by contributing $24 – $25 billion annually in revenues. He added the suits against the industry are designed to put gun manufacturers out-of-business and vowed that the big city mayors bringing the suits would not find a “scapegoat” in the shooting industry.

In closing, Barr said Congress is considering adopting remedial legislation to prevent such suits in the future. On another note, Barr added the FBI’s administration of the permanent provisions of the Brady Act is also being looked at by Congress, as there is evidence the FBI has violated at least two federal laws in its method of operation of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System of gun buyers. “This is a matter of concern to those of us interested in upholding the law,” Barr emphasized.

Mayor Mary Ross Augusta of Miami Shores, Florida, a village of about 10,000 persons in Miami’s Dade County, said several recent incidents involving firearms misuse have prompted her to institute a firearms safety awareness program, rather than following the lead taken by the city of Miami in threatening to sue the industry. Augusta recently declared the month of November as “Children’s Safety Month,” and began a program of handing out gun locks to firearms owners interested in securing their firearms so that unsupervised children would not be able to operate the guns if encountered. The locks were provided free-of-charge by the non-profit educational arm of the ASSC, the American Firearms council, as part of its “Gun Lock Giveaway Project.”

NICS Problems

Conversations with firearm dealers reveal a widespread dissatisfaction with administration of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which went into effect November 30. Nationwide, there have been reports of large numbers of firearm consumers leaving gun stores in disgust, unable to purchase firearms due to delays and wrongful denials by the system. Some dealers were left holding special orders they had purchased, but were unable to transfer, due to system glitches that caused customers to give up on completing their firearms purchases.

Gun Owners of America reports there have been several examples of official abuse, including: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials telling gun dealers that a buyer can only purchase one handgun in a month’s time (in a state that does not have a one-gun-a-month purchase restriction law); state officials admitting they use the background checks to deny people with unpaid traffic fines; officials requesting copies of the 4473 forms (which all gun buyers are required to fill out) without any statutory authority to do so; and, FBI officials asking for gun serial numbers before approving background checks.

Sanford Abrams, owner of Valley Gun in Baltimore, Maryland, says 30 – 35% of the background checks conducted on his customers result in a “delayed” response from the NICS. Most often, delays occur when the background check is conducted on a person of African-American or Asian descent, Abrams added.

An increasing amount of employee time is being spent on trace requests (on who purchased a particular firearm) for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) Abrams says. While the agency formerly checked only firearms directly involved in a crime, “now every gun found at a crime scene, for example all firearms found in a raid on a crack house, are checked as to who purchased them at the wholesale and retail levels,” Abrams explained.

Bill Carter, owner of five Carter’s Country stores in the Houston, Texas area says, “The NICS seems to go down regularly during mid-day, when there are a lot of customers in the stores during their lunch breaks. The sales lost during the massive delays experienced during the onset of the system during the hunting and Christmas selling seasons late last year are really having an impact on our bottom line now that sales have slowed down.”

Carter is finding that 25 – 30% of the NICS checks on his customers are resulting in “delayed” responses. Most often, those delayed are people with common names. “This is causing a great deal of consumer frustration, resulting in their leaving the store with no intention of ever returning. Some uninformed consumers, who do not often read newspapers or watch television news, are still totally surprised that the background check applies to long guns, as well as handguns. Some have walked out of my stores and gone to other gun stores in town, thinking the check only applied at my locations. Others have said they intend to buy a firearm from a gun show,” Carter said, or from a seller advertising in a newspaper classified advertisement, where no background check would be needed to complete the sale.

Carter has spoken to FBI officials, as well as to the top NICS executive, Emmet Rathbun, to let them know of his concerns. “They have indicated to me that the NICS operators who take the initial calls from dealers are not trained to process the background check when the prospective buyer’s social security number is voluntarily supplied. If the check results in a delayed response, then the operator turns over the supplied information, including the social security number, if available, to FBI personnel who conduct a more thorough check. What it all comes down to is that the consumer’s expectations of the system as being an ‘instant’ verification of their honesty is not being fulfilled,” Carter points out.

“On the positive side, whenever the FBI gets involved, they have worked diligently to get delayed responses processed. We only wish we could get them more involved before the check goes into a delayed status. FBI officials have also indicated they are moving closer to bringing to reality the promised electronic access to the NICS through in-store computer terminals, as an alternative to telephone voice access,” Carter concludes.

Amish Denied Guns

When an Amish customer attempted to buy a new $500 hunting rifle at the Lewiston Fishing and Hunting store in Lewiston, Pennsylvania, last November 30, the opening day of the state’s deer hunting season, he passed the just- implemented check of his background through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) with flying colors. However, the store’s owner, Robert Mort, still could not transfer the firearm to the prospective purchaser as he could not fulfill the new additional requirement of the Brady Act mandating the production of a photo-identification card.

The customer’s Amish faith contains a prohibition on the faithful of having their photographs taken. While a state-run handgun buyer background check system has been in place in Pennsylvania for about the last 40 years, a religious exemption written into the law allowed members of the state’s large Amish population to show other, non-photo identification, such as a social security card, birth certificate, or state-issued non-photo ID card when purchasing a handgun.

But, with the federal government setting the rules for gun buyers, individual states now have no say over the photo identification requirement.

The Amish, Mort says, represent 10 – 15% of the total sales at his three Pennsylvania stores and the loss of their business is being felt. “The Amish, being pious and hard-working folk, engage in little recreation – except for fishing and hunting, which are a way of life for them,” Mort says.

“When an Amish boy becomes old enough to go hunting, it’s a rite of passage. It’s somewhat akin to a Bar Mitzvah for a Jewish boy. Yet, the Amish community will not rally against oppressive legislation, or even write letters to their congressmen. They just go with the flow,” Mort explains, adding he has spoken with other local gun dealers who are also losing sales to the Amish over the photo- ID requirement.

“I have contacted the state police about this, but they say their hands are tied by federal law. I have also contacted my state and local elected representatives, the National Rifle Association and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). I have yet to hear back from any of them with a definitive answer on the Amish issue,” Mort concluded.

SHOT SHOW 1999 coverage continues next month…

Colt’s Manufacturing Acquires Saco Defense

New Colt Holding, the parent corporation of Colt’s Manufacturing Co. and Duchosso Industries, announced in early December that it had executed a definitive purchase agreement to acquire the assets of Saco Defense.

The acquisition was widely viewed within the arms trade as yet another sign that the newly reinvigorated 162-year old Colt’s was well on its way towards reestablishing itself in a premier position within the industry.

The Saco acquisition was primarily intended to strengthen Colt’s light military weapons line. In addition, the acquisition of Saco’s sporting arms capability (Saco produces a bolt action hunting rifle for Weatherby, Inc.) means Colt’s now has the capability of entering the hunting rifle arena by producing a line of Colt-brand bolt-action rifles from the Saco plant in Maine.

Saco is chiefly a military arms manufacturer whose product line of MK19 and Striker grenade launchers, as well as light machine guns, complements Colt’s M-4 military carbine and M-16 rifle line.

Both firms’ manufacturing and engineering operations will remain independent, and all current products will continue to be manufactured in their respective current locations. There are no planned workforce reductions, according to management. Colt’s international sales network will help market Saco’s products.

More Deals Pending

“This is the first of what I expect will be several acquisitions,” said Steven Sliwa, Colt’s recently named president and CEO. “The finalization of this merger positions Colt’s to be a premier supplier of military small arms. I am looking forward to the future profitability and strengthening of both organizations as we move forward with technological advancements.”

“This merger ensures the integrity of the quality weapons and weapons systems produced at Saco Defense,” added Bruce Makas, Saco’s president. “We are excited to be part of this growing organization.”

Donald Zilkha of New York, co-organizer of the investment partnership which owns New Colt Holding, commented, “The acquisition of Saco’s assets, combined with Colt’s new 1999 product which specifically addresses needs in the marketplace, and the continued development of ‘smart gun’ technology, makes us feel well-positioned to take advantage of growing market opportunities.”

Among the new products coming from Colt’s are .40 S&W and 9mm versions of the recently introduced Colt Defender, a compact M1911-style pistol that is selling above expectations. Another product is the Pocket Nine, an ultra-compact 9mm pistol. The long-awaited Colt Cowboy, an affordably-priced version of the firm’s legendary Single Action Army, is shortly expected to become available.

In the rifle category, expect to see the new “Colt Tactical Elite,” a highly accurate .223 rifle with a floating bull barrel, Choate stock, flat top receiver, and a tuned trigger. The rifle is said to be capable of producing 1-inch groups at 100 yards, out-of-the-box.

For the military, a new M-16 bayonet as well as a gravity knife for paratroopers are among the products in development.

Acquired through bankruptcy reorganization in September 1994, Colt’s Manufacturing has been restored to profitability, ending a decline begun under past owners that had led the company into strikes, boycotts and bankruptcy.

Colt’s President Profiled

“My role is to position the company for growth while gaining greater market share through the development of new products, innovation and technology,” Sliwa said during a recent interview.

Sliwa, who came on board in mid-August, replaced Ronald L. Stewart, who had announced his decision to retire from the company effective September 17. Stewart had been with Colt’s for about two years and had concentrated his efforts on the completion of a restructuring of the company’s business and manufacturing operations. Stewart had also become embroiled in the gun control controversy by calling for national gunowner licensing and other measures that upset and enraged many firearms rights activists.

Sliwa spent the past seven years as president of Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach, Florida, which specializes in teaching aviation and aerospace disciplines. Prior to that, he was vice president of product development for Integrated Systems, Inc. of Mountain View, California, an embedded software company. He was a research manager at NASA earlier in his career and also founded an educational software company known for its products for the blind and for college board exam preparation.

Sliwa holds bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees in engineering from Princeton, George Washington and Stanford Universities, respectively, and a master’s degree in management from Stanford.

A Shooter

“One of the best things about being at Colt’s is being involved with the firearms industry and to be able to go to the company range and blast away with M-16’s, M-4’s and Anacondas,” he continued. “I am a life member of the NRA and did a lot of target shooting with my father when I was growing up in western New York state. My wife is also a shooter. When this opportunity at Colt’s came up, it gave both of us a chance to get back into something we both enjoy,” Sliwa exclaimed.

“When Donald Zilkha (Colt’s chairman contacted me about this position and said he needed someone who felt comfortable dealing with government folks in Washington, D.C., as well as working with the press, and someone who is high-tech oriented, is a shooter and prepared to fight for firearms rights, I responded that I fit all the categories and it seemed to be a job made in heaven for me.”

Ask for his main mission at the company, Sliwa explained, “Overall, it is in strategies and relationships. We have a great team here and have been adding to our engineering talent. What I intend to do is build relationships not only with our consumers, retailers and distributors, but also in Washington, D.C., and within the firearms industry itself.”

Colt’s has scored a couple of victories recently in that it has won back all the M-16 contracts and is now the exclusive M-16 and M-4 carbine manufacturer for the federal government. The company has also recently won its first research and development contract in over a decade from the US military. The contract is for development of an under barrel-mounted shotgun for the M-16 rifle.

The highly-publicized Bank of America shoot-out in Los Angeles in 1997 involving two head-to-toe body armor-clad individuals who sprayed the street with an illegally converted full-auto rifle, equipped with a 100-round Beta C-Mag drum magazine, has prompted many police departments to trade-in their pump action shotguns and purchase the semi-auto version of the Colt’s M-4 carbine (this product can only be sold to government agencies under federal law).

‘Smart Guns’

Since Colt’s is the only company with a research grant from the federal government to develop so-called smart gun user recognition firearm technology, Sliwa reports he has been appearing on television frequently to testify against legislatively-mandated use of such user recognition technology on firearms, as has been proposed in Maryland and New Jersey. “Reporters have been shocked to discover Colts opposes ‘smart gun’ mandates as we know most of our customers are totally content with the current safety standards of firearms,” Sliwa said. “Though there are some firearms users who would like to have the option of experimenting with such technology, they are totally against any sort of government mandate requiring the use of ‘smart guns,’ and so is Colts. Going on the news shows also gives us an opportunity to talk about the Second Amendment and the value of firearms rights in general.”

Firearms user recognition technology is at least several years away from the completion stage, and Colt’s is working on a version for use by law enforcement personnel in which the authorized user must wear an electronic bracelet.

If, and when the police technology is perfected, the gunmaker may pursue developing a version that could be offered for sale to the public as an optional firearms feature. Experiments on the consumer version are ongoing and involve fingerprint and voice recognition methods as well as skin conductivity technologies.

As mentioned, Sliwa was with an embedded software company earlier in his career, and such technology may have an application in firearm user recognition systems. “We think it is a viable concept to wed electronics and guns and we will try to find ways to make that happen in a way that works reliably,” he said. “In the meantime, we have a lot of work to do with our core offerings, and that’s where we will be focused.”

In a related matter, the recent trademark dispute between Colt’s, O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc. and Fulton Arms (manufacturer of another user recognizing firearms system) over the right to use of the name “smart gun,” ended up with a decision that the name had been used so much that it had become a generic term that no one owned. If Colt does eventually market a firearm incorporating user recognition technology, it will likely use a name other than “smart gun” for the product, due to that name’s prior extensive use.

In conclusion, Sliwa said Colt’s greatest asset is its name. “This company has such a great name and that has allowed it to survive good, bad and mediocre company presidents. I hope to do more than just help Colt’s survive, I want it to achieve its full potential as it moves into the 21st century.”

Saco Products

Saco’s Striker 40mm Advanced Lightweight Grenade Launcher was developed in partnership with Computing Devices Canada and BOFORS Carl Gustaf of Sweden and is said to be the first major advance in crew served weapon systems since the end of World War Two.

The Striker is a highly portable 40mm machine gun usable by the combat soldier in small, mobile tactical units. It can provide a decisive technological advantage over an enemy equipped with older crew served weapons. The gun’s sophisticated fire control system utilizes video image processing and ballistic computer technology to assist soldiers in detecting and recognizing targets. New high performance ammunition has been developed for the piece. Programmed air-bursting fuse technology ensures that each round detonates at the intended range, scattering lethal fragments onto the intended target.

Weighing just 38.6 lbs., the Striker (marketed in Europe by BOFORS Carl Gustaf as the CG40) first at the rate of 250-300 rpm, is 34.65-inches in length, 7.72-inches wide, and 7.48-inches high. A built-in round counter aids in establishing regular maintenance.

Saco’s Mk19 Mod3 40mm machine gun system, whether employed in either offensive or defensive operations, is designed to provide a heavy volume of accurate, lethal 40mm anti-personnel/anti-armor grenade fire to a range of 2,200 meters. When firing M430 High Explosive Dual Purpose grenades, the MK19 provides lethal fire against lightly armored vehicles and dismounted infantry. It will penetrate 50mm of rolled homogeneous armor and dismounted personnel within a radius of 15 meters from impact, will be killed or seriously injured by blast and fragmentation.

The MK19 features sustained automatic or single shot firing, with dual spade grips for controllability and a removable barrel with no headspacing or timing adjustments needed. Its open bolt firing system works to eliminate cookoff of rounds, enhances cooling between shots and facilitates sustained firing at 3 to 5 round bursts. Its mean rounds between failure exceeds 20,000 rounds. A full range of day and night sights, laser range finders and laser aiming devices are available and many of these fire control systems can be used with the M60 and M2HB .50 caliber machine gun series. Obtaining a muzzle velocity of 790 fps, the MK19 has a 325-385 rpm rate of fire, weighs 72.5 lbs., length 43.1-inches, and width is 13.4-inches.

Several mounts are available to increase the MK19’s versatility. The MK64 Carriage & Cradle is for vehicle, boat and ground-mounted applications. The M3 Tripod mount is best suited for ground use, and the MSGH19 Stainless Steel mount is best suited for vehicle or boat use and an optional armor shield is available.

The MK19 Mod3 Daylight Optic & Adjustable Sight/Bracket improves the gunner’s ability to acquire and accurately attack targets. It replaces the existing MK19 iron sight and non-adjustable M2 weapons bracket. The bracket contains an iron sight (consisting of a hooded post front and an rear aperture peep sight) and two mounting points for day and night optics, infrared aiming lights indirect fire module and other accessories. In use, the gunner determines the range to the target, sets the sight/bracket for the proper range using the adjustment lever, activates the range lock, overlays the reticle or infrared aiming light on the target, then fires.

The M2HB Series (heavy barrel) .50 caliber machine gun manufactured by Saco Defense provides a heavy volume of accurate, lethal fire using NATO standard 12.7mm ammunition. It is a recoil-operated, alternate-feed, link belt-fed, air-cooled , crew-served gun designed to fill the gap between 7.62mm machine guns and heavier, more-costly arms. It is in use by over 30 countries and provides sustained automatic or single shot firing, Its closed bolt operation in the single shot mode provides increased accuracy when used in a sniper role.

The range of ammunition available for the M2HB includes M33 Ball for soft-skinned targets and personnel, Slap for lightly armored targets, M8API giving an incendiary effect on lightly armored targets, M17 Tracer allowing observation of fire, M1A1 Blank and M2 Dummy rounds for training.

The applications for the M2HB include: firing on dismounted infantry, bunkers, weapon emplacements and lightly, armored vehicles and boats; fire suppression; defense against aircraft; protecting convoys, assembly areas and supply trains; reconnaissance by fire; and drug enforcement.

Accessories include the M2HB Quick Change Barrel Kit which offers fixed headspace, barrels with interrupted threads, removable barrel changing handle and alignment retention slots to facilitate quick barrel changes.

Saco’s M60 machine gun series (including the M60E3, M60D, and M60E2) using NATO standard 7.62mm ammunition, are air-cooled, gas-operated, belt fed designs that have proven to be one of the most widely-used general purpose machine gun series in their caliber.

The M60E3 Lightweight Assault Machine Gun (illustrated in these pages) is about 20% lighter in weight (at 19.5 lbs. with a standard barrel) compared to a standard M60 (at 24.5 lbs.). The M60E3’s three Stellite-lined, chrome plated interchangeable barrels (available in lightweight, lightweight/short length and heavy) give the soldier employment flexibility and the barrel mounted carrying handle aids in the removal of a hot barrel. A gas cylinder locknut enables easy disassembly/assembly and cleaning while a reversible piston prevents improper assembly.

Specifications for the M60E3 are as follows: maximum effective range 1,100 meters (1,200 yards); maximum range 3,725 meters (4,075 yards); muzzle velocity 2,800 fps; rate of fire 500-650 rpm; weight 19.2 – 20.8 lbs. (depending on barrel used); length 37-inches – 42.4 inches (depending on barrel); width 120mm (4.8-inches).

Saco’s products nicely complement existing Colt military products such as the M203 Grenade Launcher which turns any Colt M16A1 or M16A2 5.56mm rifle into a versatile double threat system. A complete self-cocking mechanism in the receiver (including striker, trigger and positive safety lever), allows the M203 to operate completely independently from the host firearm. Low recoil enhances accuracy up to 400 meters. A lightweight, single-shot, breech-loaded arm, it is designed to be installed with only two screws using a standard screwdriver, and without barrel modification.

In operation, the M203’s barrel slides forward in the receiver to accept a round, and slides backward to automatically cock and lock in the closed position, ready to fire. The sight system consists of a battle sight mounted on the handguard adjustable for ranges of 50 to 250 meters. A quadrant sight furnished with each launcher mounts on the carry handle and is adjustable for 50 to 400 meters. Firing the most commonly used CN/CS gas and various signal rounds, the M203 is constructed of high-strength aluminum alloy, making it extremely rugged, yet light in weight.

Colt’s submachine guns combine the M16A2’s straight line construction with the low recoil of 9mm ammo to provide highly accurate fire with less muzzle climb, especially in the full automatic mode. Firing from a closed bolt with a last round hold-open feature, models are available with fire control configurations of safe/semi/full, safe/semi/3-shot burst and safe/semi. All have telescoping buttstocks and are offered with barrel lengths of 7 or 10.5-inches. The 9mm NATO round yields 1,200 fps muzzle velocity versus 3,150 fps for the 5.56mm round, giving reduced penetration for certain combat situations.

Crossfire

Colt’s is also expected to be soon marketing the Crossfire rifle/shotgun system. The Double-barrelled long arm fires .223 Remington or any 12 gauge shells, including less-than-lethal rubber pellets, bean bags, CS-CN gas or OO Buck and slugs. The rifle section is designed with a 1-9 twist to optimize the use of .223 ammunition. Manufactured under ISO-9001 quality control standards, the Crossfire utilizes a pump action for both firing systems, optional Meprolight Tritium adjustable night sights, Invector-style choke tubes, single trigger and fire control selector, Picatinny-style optical rail on the receiver and under the forearm, 4-round removable shotgun magazine, AR-15 type 5-round rifle magazine, composite stock and forearm. The piece is available in black oxide or camo finishes. Length overall is 38-inches and weight is 8.6 lbs.