Smith & Wesson Comes Out Against Custom Gun, Before Supporting It
Early this week, Smith & Wesson’s legal counsel, headed by the Ballard Spahr law firm, delivered poignant cease and desist letters to Apex Tactical, Brownells, Blowndeadline Custom, DP Custom Works, and SSvi instructing the brands to halt work on an upcoming project to be revealed at SHOT Show 2016. The project, known as the M&P Dream Gun, is a joint effort between the aforementioned companies and its development/sale has been headed by Brownells. The letter alleged that the offending groups failed to obtain Smith & Wesson’s approval prior to using the M&P brand name and that the unauthorized use of the name threatened the company’s image and reputation.
Brownells M&P Dream Gun
Unsurprisingly, the letter drew the ire of both the companies referenced and shooters alike. Less than a day after delivering the correspondence, Smith & Wesson quickly backed away from their aggressive position. According to Smith & Wesson President and CEO, James Debney, the company did not “fully understand the intent” of the project and he looks forward to seeing the M&P Dream Gun at SHOT Show. I’ve posted an excerpt from Debney’s letter below.
I would like to clarify that we fully support the Brownells Dream Guns® Project and we appreciate that it showcases the many ways in which our customers – loyal fans of our M&P brand – can choose to customize their M&P firearms.
Our decision to contact the companies that worked on the project was intended to protect the trademarks that support the M&P brand. When a product bears the Smith & Wesson and M&P trademarks and is purchased new with our lifetime service policy, we want to be sure that the consumer knows it has passed our demanding quality standards.
In our efforts to protect that promise and to preserve the brand that we and our customers cherish, we did not fully understand the intent of the Dream Guns® Project and we overlooked the opportunity to convey our enthusiasm for the creativity and innovation that Brownells and all of the companies involved have demonstrated. We look forward to seeing the firearm on display at the upcoming SHOT Show in January and at the NRA in May.
The toughest thing to grasp here is how Smith & Wesson could be aware of the companies involved in the effort, but totally in the dark about the Dream Gun project as a whole. The general consensus seems to be that Ballard Spahr went off half-cocked (so to speak) and issued the warnings without fully vetting the response. Even so, the M&P pistols are bested only by 1911s and Glocks in terms of aftermarket customization. That a few well established custom shops could get together for a tricked out M&P should not be all that surprising. My assumption is that the legal firm was less concerned with the gun itself and more worried about the use of Smith & Wesson’s M&P branding on its slide and frame.
Rugged Suppressors Unveils the Razor 762
In a somewhat surprising move, Rugged Suppressors has chosen to stay in the .30 caliber realm with its second release. Dubbed the Razor 762, Rugged’s new can is just 6.4 inches in length and weighs a mere 15.3 ounces. These specs make the Razor one of the lightest and shortest .30 caliber offerings on the market. Despite its light weight, the Razor is still constructed entirely of 17-4 stainless (tube and mounts) and Stellite (baffles). As a compact silencer, the Razor gives up some performance and shooters chasing low sound pressure levels will likely prefer Rugged’s high performance Surge over this new offering. That said, the Razor should be right at home on .300 BLK SBRs. MSRP on the Razor is $950, so most dealers should be selling it for quite a bit less than the larger Surge.
Walther Accidentally Announces the PPS M2
In a prematurely distributed press release, Walther “officially” confirmed this week that a new version of the popular PPS will be coming in 2016. Taking its ergonomics from the PPQ and other new Walther sidearms, the PPS M2 will feature a re-profiled grip and (much to my chagrin) an Americanized button magazine release. The trigger is expected to break at around 6 pounds and the company has removed the mostly useless accessory rail from the pistol’s front dust cover. The original PPS was a solid gun that really led the way in the ultra-compact 9mm market. This new version is likely intended to recapture market share that has been grabbed by competitors like Glock and Smith & Wesson.
PPS M2
Palmetto State Armory Drops a Slick New 9mm Lower
Enthusiasts have been begging for a lower receiver capable of accepting Glock magazines ever since PSA first announced their 9mm AR-15 parts several months ago. Whether as part of their original plans or in response to shooters’ desires, PSA has finally released this sought after receiver. Priced a bit more than standard AR-15 receivers, PSA’s Glock model is still quite a bit cheaper (and presumably more available) than alternatives. I’ve always liked the look of 9mm ARs with appropriately-sized magazine wells, so I am definitely a fan of these new lowers.
Lawsuit Alleges Foul Play by ATF in 7N6 Ammo Ban
On December 18, P.W. Arms of Redmond, WA filed suit against the ATF stating that the agency’s refusal to honor approved permits to import Russian 7N6 5.45mm ammunition cost the company $3 million. The complaint details the situation, but in short the ATF approved three separate requests from P.W. Arms to import the ammunition. Several months later in February 2014, P.W. Arms attempted to bring the approved shipments into the U.S., but the ATF blocked the shipment in customs. On February 17, 2014, P.W. Arms received notification that the first shipment had been intercepted en route and was seized by the ATF on the grounds that 7N6 constituted armor piercing ammunition. Still, days later on February 21, P.W. Arms received approval for a third shipment of 7N6. Thus, the ATF approved a future ammunition shipment despite having seized a prior order.
The ATF’s recklessness in this case is just part of the problem. Quite obviously, the seizures have cost P.W. Arms quite a lot of money, but the way that the ATF went about banning the imports was incredibly disconcerting. First, the firearm used to justify the ban, the Polish Onyx 89S, has never been commercially available in the United States. Moreover, that firearm carries a short barreled rifle classification from the ATF. Regulations would have required a pistol in 5.45mm be commercially available prior to banning the 7N6 ammunition. This was never the case.
Moreover, the ATF halted shipments of the ammunition prior to publishing the revised classification. P. W. Arms had no way of knowing that the shipments would be seized as no such publication existed and the company had received approval to bring the rounds into the U.S. All of this and 7N6’s bullet construction still does not meet the requirements to be considered armor piercing.
It will be interesting to see how this lawsuit unfolds. The ATF is quite clearly in the wrong, but whether or not this will end the import ban remains to be seen.
IWI Recalls Galil ACE Pistols on NFA Compliance Grounds
For many collectors, the release of the Galil ACE pistol was long awaited and much overdue. Unfortunately, it looks like the wait will have to continue as IWI USA has announced a recall for all existing pistols. Citing potential NFA concerns, IWI has instructed shooters and dealers to return all ACE firearms for full refunds.
At the crux of the issue is the fact that the ACE receivers feature the infamous third pin hole that the ATF has chosen as the definitive feature for machinegun classification. Seeing as how the pistols cleared ATF approval prior to import and sale, the whole situation is perplexing. The ATF’s stance against the third hole is well documented at this point and it is difficult to imagine that the agency missed the feature prior to approval. At the same time, IWI should have known that the current receivers would be a no-go. Hopefully, IWI will address the issue and bring the pistols back to the market quickly.
IWI Galil ACE with offending pin hole highlighted in red.
