I’m pretty sure most of you are familiar with InRangeTV. If not, then you should be. It’s a very entertaining and informative show. It’s primarily a firearm focused program, but they cover other subjects as well - I particularly like Karl’s history vignettes.
The hosts of InRangeTV are regulars at SHOT Show, and manufacturers typically welcome them into their booths. Last year at SHOT Show Franklin Armory debuted the “Reformation” - their “non-rifled AR” - which Karl and Ian gave a critical review of. This year Franklin Armory debuted their new “Providence” non-semiautomatic AR, and they have barred InRangeTV from their booth and from reviewing the weapon.
Not a wise business decision in my opinion.
If you watch the original IRTV video, Karl and Ian didn’t try to trip the Franklin Armory spokesman up - he did that himself, just fine, tripping over his own toes.
Missed the reformation video, usually really like their stuff, but did catch the shockwave one and have to agree.
And the thing is, they do know why on the reformation and shockwave because in at least one of their bullpup vids they mentioned as being a way to sbr size without nfa.
While I am not a big shotgun fan in general and have never shot a pistol gripped 12 gauge, based on shooting .44 magnum Blackhawk and .44 Redhawk I have to assume shooting a 12 gauge with traditional versus the shockwave was not an apples to apples comparison either.
I think the InRange guys’ objection to the Reformation and the Shockwave were not that they exist, because I recall them saying they get the whole idea of giving a finger to the NFA, but that the manufacturers of those products were trying to pass them off as being something other than just simple NFA workarounds. As though their NFA-skirting quirks somehow made them superior to other, more conventional options for practical purposes. Mossberg was basically describing the Shockwave as like the “ultimate home defense weapon” for women or something. And Franklin Armory was practically portraying the Reformation and it’s Nerf bullets as the next great leap in kinetic energy projectile technology.
Something about the Shockwave did seem to rankle Ian (The milder mannered, long haired guy) in particular though. As I recall comments made by Karl (Who is usually the bigger jackass of the two) later that even he was caught off guard by the way the normally laid back Ian went after the Mossberg rep.
To be fair to the companies though, I suppose it’s probably a smart move to at least try and portray these products as having some kind of purpose beyond “Get bent, NFA” because while there’s nothing illegal about that, it is in their best interests to maintain good relations with the ATF.
Yeah I am not big on marketing buzzwords either, but not to the point of ragging on someone presenting a product and what seemed to be on the edge of pissed off.
That kind of reaction over gadgetry isn’t limited to those 2 either. There is a lot of stuff that makes me shake my head, but at the end of the day I think the more people getting an interest in firearms, and more so stuff that triggers statists, is a better thing for all of us. Things never got better by making them happy.
I do enjoy watching InRange TV and Forgotten Weapons. Anyhow, Franklin armory’s gimmicky products are just that… gimmicks to work around existing man made (not all wise) laws. Give it a few years and those non rifled non semiautomatic long guns will be featured on Forgotten Weapons…
I wonder if a rifled muzzle device could be screwed on to the Reformation…not permanently attached of course. Kind of like a rifled choke tube with the twist direction aligned to not unscrew it.
The reason why these guns are portrayed as legitimate self defense firearms is to get the leftist political machine off their back for exploiting a loophole in the law.
Everyone knows the shockwave isn’t an ideal defensive weapon. Every the Mossberg rep knows it. These two fools are too stupid to clue in on this. Like I said, cant read in between the lines.
Furthermore…
What happens when somebody makes a working and pratical sabot flechette firing gun similar to the reformation? Then what? That is the whole point of that thing. These two idiots missed that point.
I also take objection to the fact they act like dickheads at an industry show. Their industry credentials are dubious. Most of the guns they feature on YouTube they don’t own, they are loaned. This is a huge pet peave of mine when one of these YouTube “experts” comes along to tell some multimillionaire in the gun industry how shit is done.
The other side of that is (if my understanding is correct at least) is that things like the Shockwave and the SB Tactical brace were not the ideas of multimillionaires in the gun industry. For certain, the established industry had decades to come up with the idea, but were more concerned catering to their minority customer (1/4 to 1/3 of sales at any given time) which is also trying to delete the largest part of their customer base.
Mossberg was so unconvinced about the merits of the Shockwave as the ultimate defensive weapon that they didn’t get Clint Smith to demonstrate its usefulness as a defensive arm.
Oh wait.
:rolleyes:
ETA: It’s 2019 and people are still buying Taurus Judges because that little 410 shotgun shell they wouldn’t shoot a one pound bird with is a rill man-stoppah. A significant portion of the gun-buying public isn’t smart enough to, “read between the lines,” when it comes to buying a KSG or a Judge or a Shockwave, never mind when a company legitimately pushes for their latest and greatest FU-NFA toy as being the ultimate defensive arm - as Mossberg did with the Shockwave.
Hell, if Mossberg had started with the pistol-braced Shockwave, nobody would have batted an eye at it. (Except the guys who still insist that pistol braces are for mom’s basement dwelling neckbeards, but they were never going to be convinced, anyway.)
I think the companies involved might have been better served by just saying, “We did it because we could, because this is America, and why the hell not?” Instead of saying (as they have), “These are the most innovative tactical dynamic kinetic energy delivery systems since the invention of the fin-stabilized discarding-sabot. IT’S NERF OR NOTHING.”
I came across “in range” a few months ago on YouTube. I have a hard time getting through most of their videos. They seem like arogant dorks from the high school AV club.
This Ian character is especially off putting. He has a very obvious condescending tone and is clearly trying to make this guy look foolish.
The first video I ever saw with this guy was a Forgotten Weapons with Larry Vickers. I had never seen him before but my first thought was that Larry looked uncomfortable with him and kind of wanted to give him a wedgie.
Franklin Armory makes toys. Toys like bumpstocks bring a lot of negative attention our way. I like “braces” and they have actual, practical use but if companies keep promoting toys, braces will go away too. In Range and Forgotten Weapons have a wealth of knowledge, produce good content, and rightfully call out derp, which is about 50% of the crap marketed at SHOT show.
I don’t particularly give a rip how these guys come off on their U-Tube channel. They are using their time to promote firearms in a positive manner, which is good for all of us. Not only do you learn a bit about this history of firearms, you learn a bit about history in general.
Yet another example of people in this community eating their own. #doomed You don’t see the idiots on the left acting like some of ya’ll.
Lighten - the - frick -up Francine’s.
ETA: I really wish there were like buttons on posts. Would save me some typing sometimes.