Shellback Tactical has been teasing us with several great looking product releases lately. The teasing is now over. The Warfighter Padded Patrol Belt, Banshee (QD) Quick Deployment Rifle Plate Carrier, and redesigned Banshee Shoulder Pads are now available from Tactical Assault Gear.
Magpul continues to fight the good fight against the proposed 2nd Amendment encroachments in Colorado. HB1224, a Colorado House Bill to limit magazine capacity, is still on its way to becoming law, and, as many of you know, Magpul has stated that they will leave Colorado if it does.
From Magpul:
MAGPUL INDUSTRIES ANNOUNCES IT WILL LEAVE COLORADO IF GUN BILL PASSES
MOVE WOULD COST STATE 600 JOBS, $85 MILLION
Denver, Colorado – February 15th, 2013 – Magpul Industries, an Erie, Colorado, based manufacturer of firearms accessories, announced today that it will be forced to leave the state if House Bill 1224, which would ban standard capacity magazines, becomes law. The announcement was made to Governor Hickenlooper, state legislators, members of the media, and in a full-page advertisement to appear in the Denver Post on Sunday.
Richard Fitzpatrick, Founder, President, and CEO of Magpul Industries, said that regardless of any amendments that may be worked into the bill, he will no longer be able to continue to do business in Colorado if his core product is made illegal.
“Our company could not, in good conscience, continue to manufacture our products in a state where law-abiding citizens are prohibited from purchasing and owning them. ” Fitzpatrick said. “The passage of this bill will do nothing to enhance public safety, but will force us to immediately begin taking our business to another state.”
A proponent of the bill argued that with the amendment language, the choice to stay or leave was up to Magpul. Fitzpatrick responded, “Our relationship with our customers across the country would be severely damaged if this bill passes and we stay. We’ve already heard word of potential boycotts if that happens. They (legislators) really need to understand that our customer base is as passionate about freedoms as we are, and staying here if this bill passes would cripple the company. Make no doubt about it…we have no choice, and would be forced to leave in order to save the business.”
Magpul cited the example of the Eastern Sports and Outdoors Show, which was canceled earlier this year after the organizers announced that it would not permit a popular category of firearm, like the ones Magpul makes accessories for, in the show. Public outcry from the customer base forced exhibitors to withdraw from participation, causing the cancellation of the show, and an estimated loss of $70 million of show revenue for hotels, restaurants, merchants, and other businesses in Pennsylvania, where the show was to be held.
Magpul Industries directly employs 200 people, supports another 400 supply-chain jobs, and contributes over $85 million annually to Colorado’s economy. Doug Smith, Chief Operating Officer for Magpul, says that it is a difficult position to be in. “We could choose to stay in a state that wants our jobs and revenue, but not our products, and lose half the jobs we are fighting to save, or potentially the entire business, when our customers stop buying. Or, we can take the company and those 600 jobs out of Colorado to continue our growth and the growth of American manufacturing in a state that shares our values. This is not really a choice. It’s an unfortunate and inevitable result of the actions of the Legislature if this bill passes.”
Magpul was started over a decade ago by Fitzpatrick, a former U.S. Marine. It has become one of Colorado’s fastest growing businesses, successfully marketing its products to American and allied military forces, police departments, sporting goods stores, and thousands of responsible private citizens. Fitzpatrick says that the rich western culture and strong values of individual freedom and responsibility, traditionally found in Colorado, were one of the reasons the company chose to remain in the state.
“It is heartbreaking to me, my employees, and their families, to think that we will be forced to leave,” Fitzpatrick said. “But if HB13-1224 passes, we will simply have no choice.”
They even took out a full page ad in the Denver Post.
This has become a national story. Do what you can to oppose the passage of HB1224. If you are a resident of CO, you must contact your representatives now!
UPDATE:
HB1224 has passed in Colorado State House. It still has to pass the CO State Senate and be signed by their Governor.
TacStrike values training and they understand that professional training costs you a lot of your hard earned cash. Their entire product line is dedicated to making your training more effective and more efficient. Now, they are putting their money where their mouth is. If you can produce a training certificate from any shooting school or professional industry instructor, they will give you a coupon code for TacStrike products. Email your certificates of training to info”at”tacstrike.com (replace the “at” with @).
They are also working COMBAT-Swag to produce a PVC patch version of their famous Crusader logo. This is going to be a ridiculously cool patch.
B5 Systems is working on the release of their stocks with various hydro-coatings. They won’t release them until they are perfectly happy with the end product. In the mean time, they will sometimes gives us a peak at their coating projects which is the case with these two Enhanced SOPMOD Stocks. I have really had more than enough of all the zombie stuff but I have to admit that these look pretty sharp.
The new ATS Tactical SOF Bleeder Pouch Rip Away is purpose built to be mounted on a warbelt. It features a compact horizontal form factor and rip away functionality that make it ideal for belt mounting.
The SOF Bleeder Pouch Rip Away can be removed from the PALS mounting platform by releasing a retaining strap with side-release buckle and then pulling a tear away handle. This seems simple enough that the pouch could be mounted on the rear portion of the warbelt but still allow access for thewearer.
ATS Tactical kept the weight to a fairly scant 6 3/8 ounces by constructing the SOF Bleeder Pouch Rip Away from 500D nylon.
Check out the SOF Bleeder Pouch Rip Away at ATSTactical.com.
