I know that the AWB is a hot topic hear, and I am sure that many of you own AR15 rifles - I thought this was appropriate. I read this in todays paper and could not believe it. I called Allen Faraday, The VP of administration at Bushmaster (1-800-998-7928) to let him know how disappointed I was on this. You can read the article yourself on http://www.portland.com/. His quote, "From our point of view, extending the ban is probably OK." It appears that as long as Bushmaster can still make money selling their rifles, then us losing our gun rights is OK. I urge you all to look at the article, read it, call Allen Faraday, then post this information at as many sites as you can. As a customer, I feel really betrayed by Bushmaster.

NEWS FLASH - Gun companies, like most companies, are in business to MAKE MONEY.  And as long as further restrictions aren't preventing them from continuing to manufactuer rifles then they aren't going to raises eyebrows right now amidst all their already negetive press from the DC sniper shootings. Also, look on Bushmaster's website, they sell preban mags and accessories, which cost more BECAUSE of the ban.  The stand to loose money if it sunsets, and they stand to loose face just by supporting the sunset.

Hot link

[url]http://www.portland.com/[/url]

This was the lead story in the print version of the paper this AM.

Direct link here:

[url]http://www.pressherald.com/news/state/030514assault.shtml[/url]

So how many of you guys are going to call Bushmaster and tell them that they need to start supporting our rights if they want our business?

How many?

Think about it from their perspective. What percent of the AR market did companies like Bushmaster have BEFORE the ban as opposed to AFTER ??

Not that I agree with them, but the AWB is why they are in business.

Ed

Someone needs to post this in the General Discussion forum assuming that it has not already been done. Everyone call Bushmaster and let them know how you feel about this.

The Azalin

Barring a full retraction or unless that comment was taken out of context I will never buy a Bushmaster again.  I was going to buy a new Bushmaster this summer but if this is Bushmasters position I will not do that nor will I ever buy another Bushmaster part...

My preban Bushmaster was built off of all new Bushmaster parts this year.  Since I thought Bushmaster was the last gun company that actually supported gun owners I was willing to pay the extra money over a RRA or similar rifle.  This move will cost them business.

 

NEWS FLASH - Busmaster makes money buy selling rifles to us! I would say that an extremely large percantage of their customers are aware of the AWB and would like nothing more than for it to sunset. Pissing of the majority of your customer base is not smart.



There was another option, they could have just kept thier mouth shut about the AWB. Instead they say that it's OK because there still able to make money. I wonder how much money they would make if the anti's get their way and ban AR-15 like the did in California??



And they stand to lose customers by supporting the AWB. I for one wil be buyin RRA from now on.

And yes, I contacted Bushmaster and let them know how I felt.

Just sent this to Bushmaster via their feedback form.


Dear Sir:

I just purchased a Bushmaster carbine a couple of months ago. If Allen Faraday's remarks that were published today concerning the assault weapons ban had been made before my purchase, I would NOT have made it.

A company should be built on quality and reputation, NOT because a bad law caused  their main competitor (Colt) to drop out.

Now that Bushmaster has established itself as a premier vendor of AR style rifles, very little business would be lost in supporting the elimination of the assault weapons ban.

On the other hand, it is yet to be seen how Bushmaster's business will be effected by alienating customers in this manner.

Smith and Wesson thought they could make some extra money a few years ago in a similar way but gun owners who disagreed showed them with their pocketbooks.

Bushmaster makes a fine product that stands on its own. Hopefully Mr. Faraday will reconsider his remarks.

Regards,

Ed Ruddle

This is very frustrating news. Glock turned back on us, and now Bushmaster? This is way more serious than ballistic fingerprinting.

I just purchased a Gov't profiled 20" Bushmaster yesterday. I'm not cancelling it but they won't have any more of my business either.

Guess it is time to turn to ArmaLite, I was going to purchase another Bushy M4 profiled carbine for pure SHTF / training type but I guess I should go back to my original plan to buy an AR10A4.

Reality Check Time:

ALL the AR15 type manufacturers support the continuation of the AWB in their board rooms.

Bushmaster has the option of hopefully defeating civil suits that would force them out of business and enjoying the lion's share of the lucrative civilian market, perhaps for the next 10 years, or run the risk of a new, far more restrictve law forcing them (and the other manufacturers who rely on non-military sales) out of business completely.

If you ran the companies, had your business and employees jobs on the line, what would you do?
Salute the Good 'Ol Red, White and Blue, say FU to a continued "ban", and run the very real risk of closing shop?

I was just getting ready to post a link to my thoughts on this matter from my post in the "general discussion" board.

[url]www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=186429[/url]

For those of you who are short-sighted enough to think that the AWB is about "evil" features on an AR-15 type rifle, perhaps you need to read the 2nd Amendment.

Damn, am I ever glad I got rid of my Bushmaster a couple years ago. I would be ashamed to own it now,  just as I would be ashamed to own a GLOCK. Thankfully, I traded the Bushy for an Olympic rifle. I have found it to be more accurate and at least as  good quality as the Bushmaster. The really good news is Olympic Arms is a very strong supporter of our 2nd Ammendment rights. Vote with your wallet.

Everybody's getting carried away! Remember, the AWB was a COMPROMISE bill, that ALLOWED AR's to continue to be manufactured and sold to civilians! BM is under a serious lawsuit at the moment. The only real thing that galls most of us is the "cosmetic feature" and mag cap ban...though this is silly and wrong, in our current political environment, it is tough to stay in business without realistic postions on these matters. you can thank John Lee Malvo for this, don't totally blame BM.

Well, well !! [b]Bushmaster does NOT make a Mil-Spec AR-15 but does support continuance of the AWB.[/b]

Looks as if all you Bushmaster apologist will have work for some time.

Click the link and take the "poll".  So far we're way ahead.

Do you suppose we're skewing their poll results a bit? [ROFL]

And I will continue to buy ArmaLite.  (Alright, alright I did just buy a used RRA on the EE !!)

[b]Let's see S&W, Ruger and NOW "BUSHY" - all in the 'Hall of Shame' - and they elected themselves by not caring about the majority of their customer base nor caring about the Second Ammendment  !![/b]

[bounce][bounce][bounce]call off the dogs and check with[url=http://www.bushmaster.com/]bushmaster[/url].[bounce][bounce][bounce]

308 wood is right.  I went to bushmaster.com to drop them a note and saw the statement.  

I've been sucked in by the press before and thought I wouldn't again.  Moral of the story:  Always be sure of your target before you pull the trigger.

Stay watchful, all!

Updated - Here's my note to them:

Hello.  I know you're getting bombarded by letters about the article.  There's a discussion chain on AR15.com about your "supporting the AWB".

I hope you've learned your lesson:  NEVER TALK TO THE PRESS!!!!!!!!

What would you ever expect to gain by it?

Loyal customer and happy owner of shorty AK and Varmint Special,

I got a call back from Tom Tyler, the Retail Sales Manager at Bushmaster and he confirmed that Bushmaster is AGAINST renewal of the AWB. I told him I was releived and we had a good talk. They will/have posted a rebuttal at their website. I encouraged them to write a letter to the Portland Press Herald clarifying their postion. The PPH took everything they said out of context.

I am gald that this got the attention that it did and Bushmaster made their postion clear. Tom Tyler thanked me for calling in an posting my opinions on this site. He felt that it was good to get this out there and get people into action. In retrospect, I should have waited to hear back from Bushmaster first for their point of view. My mistake. I guess I am still programmed into thinking that there is accuracy in newsreporting.

I am satisfied with Bushmaster's statements and I hope all of you are also. We have to stay on this....anyone for this thing must be contacted.

Now I am going to contact the Portland Press Herald now and tear them a new one.

IF the reporter from the Portland Press Herald got it wrong surely they will print a retraction.  The New York Times, yes the Times, printed some LARGE retractions just yesterday.

Be interesting to see how the Portland paper feels about their reporter's story.

Called Portland Press Hearald and asked if they would comment on Bushmaster's statement on their website. Called Editor Jennine Guttman at 207-791-6310.

Please call her now to see if they will print a retraction to this.

Damn.

I was completely fooled.

What a moron I am. I will seldom trust a fucking news media again.

PEOPLE GO TO BUSHMASTER WEBSITE.

Contacted Matt Wickenheiser at PPH 1-800-442-6036(extension is 6316). He stands by the article as written and stated that there were no partial quotes at all. He was surprised that Bushmaster is stating otherwise on their website.

You guys better call him....keep the pressure on.

I think I'll take Bushmaster's word for what was and wasn't said over what any reporter claims to be fact.

Once again we'll fight amongst ourselves instead of the media and the antis!

[:(]

My take on all of this is that this guy Faraday must be a jerk to have said even one thing which could possibly be misinterpreted, as regards Bushmaster's official position on the AWB. You'd think, especially in light of events of the past year, that he'd be a little more eloquent when discussing issues of such importance to his company. I think he should lose his job, and I think that Bushmaster is doing some frantic backpeddling with the message on their website. As an industry leader, Bushmaster should be spearheading the fight against any movement to deny us 2nd Amendment rights. "The AWB....is OK..." simply does not cut it, no matter how you mince words. I do not own a Bushmaster and I do not have any plans to own a Bushmaster.

What the hell are you smoking [booze] or drinking?   There was not any "misinterpretation".  Mr. Faraday's statements were intentionally skewed and misrepresented.  The writer of the article behaved in a manner that shows a lack of ethics.  Mr. Faraday's real statements clearly differentiate between business and freedom.  It appears that you have not fully informed yourself on the issue.  Please do so.

I see many of you never got the second part of the Glock story & that that boob was FIRED also.

Agreed.

Hey Guys, I know I'll catch some flack here but I've been out of the loop. What is going on with this AWB?? What are they wanting to do now.

Divide and con.... hows that go.
Think about it.

Whatever happened to the idea of "doing the right thing" no matter the cost?  Oh wait, this is America where making a buck is always the "right thing" no matter the cost.

My God, I think I have read maybe two or three sane comments on this whole thread. Who here of sound mind and body really thinks it's a good idea for Bushmaster to say publically they support the sunset? Do you like your Bushy? Do you like competition in the market place to keep prices down? WAKE UP!!! These guys are fighting this sniper crap and you want them to come out in the mainstream press and say this crap? Get real. I must believe that you don't all work at Wal-Mart and know what political and corporate spin is, God. I'm laughing while I'm writing this. Go ahead boys, boycott Bushmaster and lump them in with Glock who supports ballistic fingerprinting...go ahead be a liberal, lump two different gun issues into the same basket. I could care less what you do I'm not an idiot and would not preclude myself from buying a Bushmaster. I wouldn't buy one for other reasons but that has nothing to do with it. So go ahead be noble, fight like it was 1779.....and then lose. Wake up a little guys....use your heads.

Since the folks who want to ban "assault weapons" aren't likely to buy a Bushmaster . . .



In case you haven't noticed, we haven't won a big one since 1968 when the GCA was passed.  First they put silly regs on importation.  New full auto has gone away.  Armor piercing ammo has left the building.  Flash suppressors and bayonet lugs are history.  High cap mags are museum pieces.

The other side is winning.  Plain and simple.  Unless something big changes, they will eventually win because they have nothing else to do with their lives.  Most people on our side are shooters first, activists second and given a choice, we'd rather shoot.  The enemy are activists who have given their lives over to their cause.

What's this mean for us?  Well, we are going to lose eventually. The antis don't want 'reasonable controls' because they can't define reasonable controls.  So while we're going down, we need to kick, bite and scratch.  If that means boycotting companies who worry about sales rather than supporting us, so be it.  

Quoted earlier:
[center][b][u]Don't get me wrong here I think it was the wrong thing to do. I just do not see that it has really had as big of an effect on gun owners as the press would like you to believe.[/center][/b][/u]

VERY SHORT SITED!

Just 70 years ago there was no debate as to whether the government had the right to infringe upon the peoples right to keep & bear arms.  No debate at all...it was a given.  It was (is) written in black & white in the Bill of Rights.

Incrementally, our rights have eroded to the point that we are now debating just how much "we the people" will allow the government to degrade our God given right of self protection.  If you follow the historical trend line since 1934, full gun prohibition should take effect by around 2020 AD in the US.  [b]It is not OK to give in a little just because the net effect is "only cosmetic" or that it doesn't have a big effect on gun owners.[/b]

Don't believe me....take the words of a liberal on the other side of the debate!

From:
Ban Aid
The real point of the "assault weapon" law
[url]http://www.reason.com/sullum/050903.shtml[/url]
[i]In 1996 Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer, who favors banning gun possession by civilians, conceded that the arguments advanced by supporters of the "assault weapon" ban were "laughable." The "only real justification" for the law, he said, "is not to reduce crime but to desensitize the public to the regulation of weapons in preparation for their ultimate confiscation." [/i]

Faraday's thinking may have been good for his company's bottom line, but we shall see what effect his statements will have.  Probably, (unfortunately) not much.  Bushmaster is the largest military/police supplier in the US according the article.  I don't know this for sure, but I would guess that the consumer market is but a small percentage of total business.  A boycott from some of us consumers will likely have little effect.

In addition, if you carefully read the article in question, pay particular attention to the placement of the quotation marks.  I believe faraday was not misquoted, but the author/editor of the piece intentionally "cut up" his quote and added his own embelishment to change the meaning of the quote to fit the author's goals.  Then, at the end of the article, he makes reference to Bushmaster [b]supporting[/b] the legislation to end the junk law suits against gun manufacturers.  Very, Very slick, but none the less dishonest.

Bottom Line.  Bushmaster is not the enemy.
I don't own a Bushmaster and probably never will.  But, not because of some lame reporter trying to get us stirred up.

We don't have to lose. That really is totally up to us and will be decided by how hard we are willing to fight, politically or otherwise.

As for Bushmaster, well I was getting ready to pick up a few lowers from them. Guess I'll just wait and see. Maybe Armalite or RRA instead. Oh well.

Here is the response I got back from the Portland Press Herald.


Mr Dyer, Thank you for bringing your thoughts to our attention. I've
spoken with Mr. Faraday about his concerns and the issue boils down to this:
Bushmaster is not concerned about renewal of the federal law from a business
perspective. It is concerned about the renewal as a matter of principle.
>  Our story focused on the commercial success of Bushmaster during the last
> several years. However, to ensure that no confusion exists in readers'
> minds about the context of the company's comments, we published a
> clarification today to draw the distinction between Bushmaster's business
> concerns and its philosophical stance.

Blom, Eric [[email protected]]
>

Sounds like all of our griping at least forced the newspaper weenie to "clarify" the statements.

Given the current situation they are looking at with lawsuits, i find Bushmaster's response and explaination to be satisfactory.

This reporter is trying to back BM to the wall and say if they feel the AWB is an effective tool against crime. Something they really don't want to be doing with lawsuits of blame hanging over their heads and headhunters stirring the publics emotions for a ban of these murderous gun makers.

i'm not going to add my weight by forcing them to be any more clear than they have been.

They're on our side.

That is true in an ideal world but this is the real world.  I have other things to do.  I have a job to go to so I can feed my family.  Many of the antis don't.  They have the press on their side, grieving moms make much better copy than fat guys in BDUs talking about the constitution.  
Hollywood is also against us and 90% of the public believes what they see on TV.  So people believe that criminals frequent gun shows.  People believe that teflon makes a bullet magic and these magic bullets make a "zip" sound instead of "bang."  Peolple believe tha the .223 is a "high powered" round.

Yes, we could win.  If we gave up our jobs and stopped shooting to march and carry pickets.  If we stopped shooting and hunting to do nothing but lobby.  If we could get Hollywood on our side.  Until then, we are only fighting a delaying action.

While I'm ranting, let's look at the image that gun owners project, especially you guys that own those nasty assault weapons.

One fellows signature here is "Fuck 'em. We're the ones with the guns."   That's good for PR.

How about the silly screen names that some of you use like 62nd_Assassin, TequilaBob, and GunSlinger.  That projects such a good image.

How about when we get our pictures on TV?  We're cartoons.  Big guts floppying over the belt of too small BDU trousers, often there's a cigar clenched in the teeth and usually the shirt says something clever like, "Happiness is a warm AR."

Yep, gun owners are nothing but their own best enemies when it comes to PR.

So who do we trust here?  The Busmaster company that has provided excellent service and support for their products, or some left wing gun-hating rag?

I accept the explanation from Bushmaster.  I spoke with a Bushy representative a few minutes ago, and I am re-assured that Bushmaster is on the right side of this situation.

Join the NRA!

No, I disagree. We could impress the gov't with stone cold, unflinching resolve. Believe me, they WOULD understand. Everyone from a 9 month old up understands strength. And that is what we must do. Demonstrate unified strength.

Yeah, its not an ideal world but in your world we have already lost. I refuse to accept that. Just not in my nature.
I AM willing to fight and if necessary take the fight to them.

No flame intended. Just my hardcore, uncompromising jarhead response.

Sometimes the priorities of corporations and individuals are the same....

Hey, that'd be me. Sorry you don't approve. BFD.

I'm not here to give PR or a warm fuzzy feeling to anyone, including you. You want to hang with the girls...Well they're sitting together watching Oprah and Jerry Springer and I'm sure they'd love to have a nice sensitive momma's boy to hang with...or castrate...or something.
I'd say no flame intended but I think you already flicked your bic.