An Open Letter to Remington's Tommy Millner by Russ Howard Dear Mr. Millner,
I was a long-time customer of Remington, but I won't be again until you dump H-S Precision. Your unconvincing statement below criticizes H-S, not for flaunting the endorsement of an unrepentant and unpunished murderer who shot a mother's face off, but rather for choosing a "controversial spokesman" contrary to "business common sense". Contrary to your statement, H-S is all over Remington's website. Why you would keep doing business with a company that bragged about an endorsement from a murderer of innocents is beyond me. I posted my two cents below at The War on Guns.
Russ Howard NRA Board Member 1995-97
December 02, 2008 Statement from Remington/Tommy Millner on HS-Precision http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2008/12/statement-from-remington-on-hs.html From AR15.com:
... HS makes a great product and we are a large customer of theirs. Why they would pick a super controversial spokesperson is beyond me. Doing this violates pure business common sense. Early next week we will use whatever persuasive powers at our disposal to get HS to do the right thing... Remington and I are now fully aware of the issue, in full agreement with the outrage, and will do what we can to exert pressure on HS to reverse course. Thanks Tommy
December 05, 2008 Statement of HS-Precision
http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2008/12/statement-of-hs-precision.html
To Our Valued Customers: H-S Precision has received comments relating to individual testimonials in our 2008 catalog. All of the testimonials focused on the quality, accuracy and customer service provided by H-S Precision. The management of H-S Precision did not intend to offend anyone or create any type of controversy. We are revising our 2009 catalog and removing all product testimonials. Sincerely, The Management of H-S Precision
So much for Remington's influence on H-S Precision. H-S's "sincere" statement doesn't even qualify as a mealy mouthed Jane Fonda "apology", and they even took that down. The arrogant H-S statement even refers to testimonials about HS product accuracy. You bet, whether it's a trophy caribou hunt in Alaska, or Lon Horiuchi blowing Vicki Weaver's jaw off from a few dozen yards while she was holding her baby in Ruby Ridge, Idaho... Whatever you're shooting, H-S helps you bag it!
The email from Remington, a major H-S customer, refers to making H-S "reverse course"? What's that mean? "We won't crow about Horiuchi's testimonial again" ? BFD. Anyone with a cow pattie IQ knew they wouldn't print it again anyway. That's hardly justice for the crime of honoring a murderer. Besides, it's not about punishing H-S. It's about whether gun owners are stupid enough to patronize gun industry companies that subvert constitutional rights.
Letting H-S off the hook tells the industry that we're suckers; that subversive whores can betray our Constitution and poop on the graves of victims of police state criminals but we'll still give them our money. HS should be boycotted as was done with Ruger, and driven under or into new ownership as was done to Smith & Wesson.
Don't forget who gave us California's assault weapon ban in 1989, which led to the NJ & national bans. Bill Ruger was the father of those bans, with help from the Sporting Arms & Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI). Ruger began pushing magazine size limits in the mid 1980s and lobbying legislators to ban "military style" guns. But he worked to exempt his own "legitimate" guns such as the Mini 14 .223 semi automatic "ranch rifle"; supposedly a "sporting rifle" because it had a wooden stock and "ranch" in the name. By exempting "legitimate sporting guns", Ruger and other corporate elitists like Bill Coors divided and reduced the opposition to the ban -- with help from Ed Feulner of The Heritage Foundation and RINO President GHW Bush. "Legitimate sportsmen" went along with it once their favorite guns were exempted; it passed by ONE vote and was signed by a liberal police state "Republican" governor. Ruger was traitor who more than anyone else was instrumental in reviving gun control in America, which had been dead after the gun community crushed California's Proposition 15 handgun ban initiative in 1982.
Enough people boycotted Ruger to motivate him to make a million dollar "donation" to the NRA. NRA sold him medals and awards and put him on the cover of its magazines as a "true second amendment hero". Partly because NRA sold him "honor", many people still buy Ruger guns. Others who see themselves as "legitimate sportsmen" still sneer at the "fringy" activists who sacrifice time, energy and money to defend the rights of all Americans.
Had the gun rights community stuck together and continued the Ruger boycott, it would've sent a stronger warning to other manufacturers tempted to betray the 2A. S&W might not have been tempted to push "smart guns", trigger locks, etc. Unlike Ruger, S&W was so heavily damaged by a boycott, its British owners sold them back to new American owners for a song. Gun owners have more power than they realize.
H-S thinks they can dismiss our Constitution and the ghosts of the innocent victims of their police state pals, without consequence. They assume that people who care about our Constitution have no market power or influence with other customers. Yet many times I have spent more than $1000 for hunting rifles, even more than $5000, not counting scopes, stocks and other accessories. And I know many gun rights activists whose spending makes mine look puny. I see Remington is a major client of H-S. I've purchased perhaps a dozen Remingtons over the years, and a ton of Remington ammo. But as long as they do business with H-S, I won't buy more Remington products.
Flaunting Horiuchi's endorsement as an honor, toadying up a guy who murdered innocents, is an outrage. The statement that H-S is reviewing endorsements doesn't change that. The gun rights community needs to adopt a simple goal of boycotting HS directly and through their business partners until HS is bankrupt or sold like S&W. Otherwise, we will end up getting nothing from HS and thanking them for it, like fools.
It took years to punish S&W's treason. So keep up the boycott and help it percolate. Every one should remind their list once in a while so folks don't forget, so it gets critical mass and longevity as the S&W boycott did.
Russ Howard
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Poster Comment:
I don't need anything from Remington either. Fuck 'em.