After 204 years, Remington is no more; a quick look at those who gathered up its body parts

 

“Only the rocks live forever.” - “Centennial” by James A. Mitchener

The Remington of September 29th is not the same Remington of September 27th.

In federal bankruptcy court the Remington Arms Company was dissolved into various parts, ending a 204-year stretch of American gun-making history. It is interesting to see who picked up the pieces, which we will examine in a moment.

Seen as being plagued by a number of factors from poor management decisions, to a lack of quality control, to absorption of firearms brands with troubles of their own (think Marlin and H&R), a rush to introduce new products before they were properly engineered (think Remington’s RM380), and Remington became a business model accident waiting to happen.

Coupled with lawsuits. More than a few, too. Not just the one involving the company’s ill-advised advertising campaign for its Bushmaster AR-platform rifle. The rifle that has become a symbol of the anti-Second Amendment crowd following the rampage in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School – a lawsuit series that is still active in the courts.

There also were suits brought against Remington for its fabled Model 700 rifle; that the firearm would discharge upon closing the bolt. More than a few gun magazine writers dismissed this charge as more anti-Second Amendment propaganda intended to make the entire firearms-associated community looked bad.

However, I had one of the Model 700s that would on occasion see the firing pin engage when the bolt was simply closed and the trigger not activated.

It now appears that Remington’s name likely will live on in various forms though not under one family.

It is reported that even with the growing interest in the sales of firearms and associated products, Remington had sales of only $437.5 million in 2019. That figure is about one-half the company’s sales just three years earlier, indicating the huge fall of the once-giant of the industry..

As reported September 28th in various general news sources the breakup goes like this, and according to “SGB Media,” which cited federal court documents (with this writer’s notes included):

●“Vista Outdoor will purchase Remington’s Lonoke ammunition business and certain IP assets for $81.4 million. SIG Sauer was listed as a backup bidder; (Writer’s note: This is the same Vista Outdoors which last year sold off its interest in Savage Arms and Stevens firearms for $170 million but which still owns Federal and CCI brands of ammunition, and Speer bullets);

●“Sierra Bullets, which is owned by Clarus Inc., won the bidding for Barnes Bullets, another part of Remington’s ammunition business, with a $30.5 million offer. Barnes Acquisition LLC was listed as a backup bidder (Writer’s note: Clarus official web site includes this background information - “Clarus' primary business is as a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of outdoor equipment and lifestyle products focused on the climb, ski, mountain, sport and skincare categories);

• “Sturm Ruger & Co. will acquire Remington’s Marlin firearms business, for $30 million. Long Range Acquisition LLC was listed as a backup bidder (Writer’s note: Ruger – of course – is one of the most respected and largest firearms makers, and with the acquisition of Marlin that includes its upgraded manufacturing capabilities will be able to enter the lever-action rifle market if it chooses to do so);

• “Roundhill Group LLC is paying $13 million for Remington’s non-Marlin firearms operation. Huntsman Holdings, LLC and Century Arms, Inc. were listed as the Backup Bidders (Writer’s note: Almost nothing on the Roundhill Group LLC was found in an Internet search);

• “JJE Capital Holdings LLC, a private-equity firm based in Columbia, SC, is buying the recently shuttered DPMS black rifle brand as well as the H&R, Stormlake, Parker and AAC brands for an undisclosed amount. JJE Capital also owns Palmetto Outdoors Shooting Facility and Lead Star Arm (Writer’s note – JJE Capital Holding LLC’s web site on itself reads - “Our focus is on pursuing customers ranging from new or established businesses with significant growth potential, to individual entrepreneurs with an innovative and vetted idea focused on keeping the American dream alive. We work with opportunist of all kinds. Our primary emphasis is to build diversity within our portfolio and provide longevity for all stakeholders.”)

• “Sportsman’s Warehouse is getting the Tapco black rifle accessory brand for an undisclosed amount (Writer’s note – Sportsman’s Warehouse itself had been the subject of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, this is 2009.)

• “Nevada’s Franklin Armory will acquire the Bushmaster brand and some related assets for an undisclosed amount. (Writer’s note – Franklin Armory’s web site says this about itself: “Franklin Armory is a Nevada Corporation that specializes in manufacturing quality firearms for sporting, military, and law enforcement applications.” Remington’s immediate previous owner, Cerberus, ceased production of the Bushmaster earlier this year.)

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameitech.net

JFrischk4@gmail.com

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COVID-19 not keel-hauling Ohioans' access to mandatory safe boating program

 

Ohio’s would-be boaters are shipping out via on-line education much more than they are in-person training.

Once again, credit COVID-19 for the use of home computers to study and take the test for first-time boaters in Ohio.

Under Ohio law, persons born on or after January 1, 1982 and who operate a boat in Ohio powered by more than 10 horsepower must provide proof of boater education.

A person can meet Ohio's boater education requirement by taking and passing an approved boating education course - classroom, online, or home study- or by taking and passing a proficiency exam, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ web site says.

“Despite the challenges of boating education classes being canceled due to the coronavirus, the Division of Parks and Watercraft has seen an increase in the number of Ohioans taking the Ohio Boater Education Course,” said Natural Resources Department’s chief of communications Sarah Wickham in a prepared statement on behalf of the Parks-Watercraft Division.

Wickham said that as of September 15th, a total of 15,701 Ohioans took the Ohio Boater Education Course. That compares to 13,928 persons during the same time frame in 2019.

In all, says Wickham, new boaters have five approved online course providers: They are Boat Ed, Boater Exam, Boat US, Boat Smart, and Ace Boater.

Similarly, says, Wickham, several well-known boating agencies were granted approval for virtual classes. And some still provide for in-person training.

In terms of popularity, not all are equal, though. The same goes for expense, as these commercial operations do charge a fee, none of which goes to the Natural Resources Department.

By far the most popular on-line boater education course is the one offered by Boat Ed. As of September 15th, this program had enrolled 6,906 students – up from the 4,559 students for the same period in 2019. The cost for this program is $34.95.

Another popular course is offered by Boat US which as of September 15th had enrolled 3,125 students, up from the 2,943 students enrolled for the same period in 2019. Boat US does not charge a fee.

Of the five approved commercial operations only Boater Exam ($29.95) has seen a decline in enrollment: from 1,983 students in 2019 to 1,909 students for the same period this year.

In-person education is offered by such organizations as the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, the U.S. Power Squadron, and the Ohio Division of Parks and Watercraft.

However, due to COVID-19 all of the classes offered by these groups have experienced plummeted attendance. In the case of the Parks-Watercraft course, attendance has fallen by 1,854 students, as prospective first-time boaters switch gears and throttle up with on-line courses.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net

JFrischk4@gmail.com

Plea deal made with one defendant in death of woman at Hocking Hills State Park last September

 

A September 16th plea agreement with one of the defendants in the death of Victoria Schafer at Hocking Hills State Park September 2^nd, 2019 will likely result in a several-year confinement of 17-year-old Jordan W. Churchheus.

However, Churchheus’s guilty plea of to a single count of involuntary manslaughter - a first-degree felony – spares him from the potential of either the more serious, original, charges of murder and reckless homicide. As part of the plea agreement both of those charges were dropped.

Under the plea agreement, Hocking County Common Pleas Court Judge John T. Wallace recommended that Churchhaus serve from three to 4.5 years in an Ohio juvenile detention facility.

Press reports say the case’s other co-defendant in the case, Jordan Buckley, also 17, is scheduled to appear Sept. 25th before Judge Wallace and say the youth also is expected to enter a plea under a similar agreement.

Some of alleged details of the September 2nd incident say the two youths caused a 74-pound, six-foot long log to strike and kill Shafer.

Shafer was said to be at the park in order to take graduation photographs of several area students, none of whom were injured during the alleged incident.

Investigators with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Hocking County Sheriffs Office previously stated that Schafer was standing about 75 feet below and on a staircase at Old Man’s Cave, located within the 2,356-acre Hocking Hills State Park, when she was killed instantly by the log.

Investigators said also the log was removed from a pile about 40 feet from the ledge, which was above a second ledge before the final drop to where Shafer is said to have been, a Hocking County assistant prosecutor later said.

The Hocking County assistant prosecutor also said later that a video of testimony taken by investigators said that Churchhouse flipped the log over a downed tree while Buckley is alleged to have pushed the log.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources declined to speak on the specifics of the Churchheus matter, noting that “With Jordan Buckley ’s case still pending, we are going to reserve comment at this time.”

The Hocking County Prosecutor did not respond to inquiries regarding this case, though Judge Wallace had issued a gag order earlier in the process.

By Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net

JFrischk4@gmail.com

Ohio Wildlife Division strikes back after wildlife area signage vandalized with graphic graffiti

 

Hit with an onslaught of personally directed vulgar graffiti spray-painted on two of the signs stationed at the Ohio Division of Wildlife’s Eagle Creek Wildlife Area in Brown County, the agency is striking back with a power-washing machine.

The graffiti appeared sometime around September 5^th at the 2,300-acre wildlife area. It includes several four-letter word expletives against law enforcement in general and the state wildlife officer assigned to Brown County, Eric Lamb, in particular.

Among the tamer spray-painted epitaphs was “OUTLAW 4 LIFE.”

Defaced as well was a sign’s notation of how the wildlife area was dedicated in honor of Charles Perin Sr. Perin was the principle force behind preserving the property in what became the wildlife area.

And a pair of the signage’s synthetic planking shows damage from what appears to be a blast from the striking of shotgun pellets, too.

Brian Banbury, the Wildlife Division’s executive administrator for information and education, said the attack has to be thought of as personal but that Lamb “is a good officer.”

“Eric is out there, enforcing the law, and like all of our officers he has to deal with some people who don’t like you; they don’t respect what you represent,” Banbury said. “We get that, but in some regard you can say this sort of thing is a badge of honor. It shows you are doing your job.”

Banbury said the major sign would cost about $2,500 to replace – a point that likely will not be necessary, in fact.

“The spray-painting often can actually by overcome,” Banbury says.

Indeed, several years ago the Wildlife Division began updating its wildlife area signage, the new material making the product “vandalism resistant,” said Banbury.

“I wouldn’t call it vandalism-proof but the synthetic material used today is intended not to allow paint to adhere to the surface,” Banbury said.

The signs are actually a sandwich of high-tech synthetic materials, laminated together with the front surface having the lettering and logos inscribed with a router, the cutouts then highlighting the green interior layer, Banbury says.

“The newer signs also absorb being shot better than the old wooden signs did, and they are much more durable in the long run,” Banbury said. “That they are also vandal-resistant is a bonus.”

Even so, says Banbury, the agency will have some maintenance and repair costs to deal with, and that is something the Wildlife Division would like to bill to whoever committed this unlawful act.

To that end, Banbury says the Wildlife Division would appreciate anyone with information about this criminal act to call the agency’s Turn-In-A-Poacher hotline at toll-free 1-800-POACHER (1-800-762-2437).

“We’d love to catch this guy,” Banbury said. “These are sportsmen’s dollars he’s stolen.”

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net

JFrischk4@gmail.com

UPDATED: Ohio's Natural Resources Department and Wildlife Division should do better; must do better. But aren't

 

Addendum September 10th: Shortly after this blog appeared September 6th, the archery shooting platform was rebuilt

With political skill that is universal within any administration, the current cadre of Ohio Department of Natural Resources officials working for Ohio Governor Mike DeWine are no less obdurate than were the previous officials under previous-governor John Kasich.

Not surprising given that all Ohio saw was a chessmaster’s game of reshuffling deck chairs; with more than a few previous Kasich-appointed employees now collecting their paychecks while working within another department of office, or else advancing within the ranks. Meanwhile, employees under other state agencies found continued employment when DeWine took the helm.

Consequently, these politically appointed functionaries brought with them their bureaucratic baggage. We saw this several months ago when the Natural Resources Department’s Ohio Division of Wildlife proposed a bobcat trapping season.

However, the agency withdrew the proposal only after issuing a soft-touch explanation how it listened to constituents and that the matter wasn’t really cast in stone. In truth, the Natural Resources Department was taken to the woodshed and told in no uncertain terms that the proposal was DOA.

All of which is a round-about way of saying “same old/same old.”

Several days ago Brown County’s Troy Conley and some of his kin wanted to fine-tune their archery skills. So Conley – a self-admitted critic of the Natural Resources Department – paid a visit to the latter’s handicapped-accessible archery range at the 1,799-acre Indian Creek Wildlife Area near the one traffic-light stop of Fayetteville.

When Conley arrived he found the range’s elevated shooting stand unusable. Equally upsetting to Conley was that the platform had a new set of steps, but that the old set of steps was cast aside about 20 yards away.

Photos that Conley took of the platform and cast-aside steps showed how the former was damaged beyond use and the latter simply jettisoned.

And all just a few weeks before the start of Ohio’s archery-deer hunting season when Conley is most eager to practice shooting his compound bow from an elevated position.

When alerted to the matter by Conley, I electronically reached out to both Natural Resources Department Director Mary Mertz and Wildlife Division chief Kenrda Wecker.

True to form, the Natural Resources Department response was long on excuses but short on practical problem-solving.

“Our staff were quick to act when a dead ash tree fell on the platform this summer and closed it to use,” said Sarah Wickham, chief of the Natural Resources Department’s Office of Communications.

“The supporting posts and stairs are in good shape and we plan to soon replace the platform. Hazard tape was used to mark the platform and it has been torn away. We will barricade the steps until repairs can be made.”

Not taking “no” for an answer, more specific questions were asked. Among them were when did it happen, why wasn’t the structure torn down immediately, why was the old set of steps simply cast aside and not removed, and most importantly of all: when will the structure be rebuilt.

Also true to form, the response from the Natural Resources Department was greasily elusive.

“Our outdoor spaces are vast and natural so we appreciate any time an issue is brought to our attention,” Wickham responded the second time around as well.

“In this case, the area manager was aware of the issue and acted quickly to address it. The area is marked with caution tape as the area manager works to source materials for the repairs (pressure treated lumber and associated building materials are hard to come by). Repairs will be made as soon as possible. Thanks for your interest.”

Lost in this translation, of course, is that Conley had found no warning-against-trespassing tape nor other, similar, cautionary signage. At least not until after the matter was brought to the attention of the Natural Resources Department’s higher-ups

As for Wickham’s line that “...pressure treated lumber and associated building materials are hard to come by…,” well, the facts do not entirely fit that alternate reality.

“(I) just called Kibler Lumber Company in Mr. Orb, which is 10 miles south of the archery range,” Conley said in a September 5th electronic text.

“(I) asked for 2x4s and 2x6s and there’s no shortage of any treated lumber. They stock 200 boards, (and this) was the lowest inventory of anything they stock.”

To double-check on the availability of pressure-treated lumber within Wildlife District Five (Southwest) Ohio and near the Indian Creek Wildlife Area, on September 6th I called the Lowe’s Home Improvement Store in Hillsboro. This lumber-supply business is less than 20 miles from the archery range.

I requested information about the availability of pressure treated lumber; specifically mentioning the intention of building an elevated archery platform. A member of that store’s lumber department said the store had an ample supply of such lumber and even had received a fresh shipment.

“I’m disappointed the shooting platform’s been in that condition for so long, and no attempt has been made to get it ready so we could use it to practice for the up-coming archery season,” Conley said.

Conley even offered a suggestion to speed things up, given that a functional shooting platform is vastly preferable to any “Unsafe To Use” signage.

“They could have asked the Ohio Bowhunters or any number of local archery clubs for help,” Conley said. “I’m positive they would have supplied the manpower – and very possibly the material – to fix the platform or replace it. But they don’t care; all they want to do is keeping kicking the can down the road.”

Clearly the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio Division of Wildlife not only should do better, they can do better.

Indeed, they must do better.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net

JFrischk4@gmail.com

August firearms background checks continue months-long blistering pace

 

On-going social unrest, uncertainties of the outcome of the up-coming November 3rd election and a general unease regarding personal and family safety all are being credited with the continued record-setting pace of firearms sales.

Mark Oliva, Director of Public Affairs for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, says that August’s adjusted figures of nearly 1.7 million federally conducted background checks associated with the sale of a firearm “are in line with the months-long trend we’ve witnessed since March, when figures topped an all-time one-month record of 2.3 million.”

“Each month since April, adjusted NICS figures averaged between 1.6 and 1.8 million. August’s figures are a record-high for the month over all previous years,” said Oliva.

Oliva said as well that the Foundation – the lobbying and research arm of the nation’s firearms industry - estimates that “nearly five million of these firearm purchases were made by people who never previously owned a firearm.”

Likewise, the Foundation says that for the period January through July a record 12.1 million background checks were conducted, which is up 71.7 percent from the 7.1 million NSSF-adjusted NICS January through July 2019.

The figures come from the federal government’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or “NICS” system. It is a component of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

And while one cannot assume that each background check results in a firearms sale, it is a good metric for gauging such activity.

Such checks are required only between interstate sale of firearms. In a number of states – Ohio included – persons who possess a concealed carry permit are exempt from undergoing a NICS check though they still must fill out the required federal firearms declaration form.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net

JFrischk4@gmail.com

Possible 2020 Fish Ohio pins may not see the light of day until 2021

 

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) can claim another victim with the People’s Republic of China thrown in for good measure.

With little more than three months left in 2020, the state’s Fish Ohio program is still without its signature and collectible pin for awarding to qualifying recipients. And possibly may not be issued until 2021 when a new year will usher in another Fish Ohio pin design.

“We hope to have the pins still ready for this year,” said Brian Plasters, spokesman for the Ohio Division of Wildlife. “We’re working on it.”

This year’s pin again will feature a smallmouth bass, just as it did the first year a Fish Ohio pin was awarded 40 years ago and subsequently every 10 years since that inaugural presentation.

Plasters says the delay in sending out the pins is the result of the extended delay in the Wildlife Division even receiving the pins from its vendor.

And the reason for that hang-up, said Plasters, is because the pins – which cost the agency about 40 cents each – came from China, the focal point of the COVID-19’s origins.

China, of course, saw a near complete shutdown of its economy which thus impacted the manufacturing and exporting of nearby everything. From essential surgical masks to not-quite-so-essential Fish Ohio pins.

Calling the dynamics of the problem “fluid” with many “moving parts,” Plasters says the agency is fast-tracking the design and moving personnel around to expedite the pins’ delivery to deserving recipients.

These recipients typically would have begun receiving their pins beginning as early as late winter or early spring. As of August 26^th, the Wildlife Division had received 12,778 Fish Ohio applications verses 13,237 applications for the same period in 2019.

Yet since anglers often submit more than one application for representatives from the program’s list of 25 eligible species, pins are issued only for the first submission. On August 25th that figure would have been 7,921 pins.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) can claim another victim with the People’s Republic of China thrown in for good measure.

With little more than three months left in 2020, the state’s Fish Ohio program is still without its signature and collectible pin for awarding to qualifying recipients. And possibly may not be issued until 2021 when a new year will usher in another Fish Ohio pin design.

“We hope to have the pins still ready for this year,” said Brian Plasters, spokesman for the Ohio Division of Wildlife. “We’re working on it.”

This year’s pin again will feature a smallmouth bass, just as it did the first year a Fish Ohio pin was awarded 40 years ago and subsequently every 10 years since that inaugural presentation.

Plasters says the delay in sending out the pins is the result of the extended delay in the Wildlife Division even receiving the pins from its vendor.

And the reason for that hang-up, said Plasters, is because the pins – which cost the agency about 40 cents each – came from China, the focal point of the COVID-19’s origins.

China, of course, saw a near complete shutdown of its economy which thus impacted the manufacturing and exporting of nearby everything. From essential surgical masks to not-quite-so-essential Fish Ohio pins.

Calling the dynamics of the problem “fluid” with many “moving parts,” Plasters says the agency is fast-tracking the design and moving personnel around to expedite the pins’ delivery to deserving recipients.

These recipients typically would have begun receiving their pins beginning as early as late winter or early spring. As of August 26^th, the Wildlife Division had received 12,778 Fish Ohio applications verses 13,237 applications for the same period in 2019.

Yet since anglers often submit more than one application for representatives from the program’s list of 25 eligible species, pins are issued only for the first submission. On August 25th that figure would have been 7,921 pins.

In terms of previous years, the number of Fish Ohio pins issued were 6,544 in 2015; 7,504 in 2016; 8,106 in 2017; 7,817 in 2018; and 8,784 in 2019.

Part of the hang-up is that obtaining bids to firms that could make and/or supply the pins requires the Wildlife Division to work within the labyrinth of state governmental bureaucracy.

Such bidding demands the attention of the Ohio’s Department of Administrative Services. This unit of the Ohio’s Executive Branch provides “quality centralized services, specialized support and innovative solutions” to state government and other governmental-associated entities.

Plasters says that while vendors do change and the Government Services has its fingers in the pie, the Wildlife Division “still controls the pins’ design.”

“It’s an important program for anglers and it’s an important program for us as an agency,” Plasters says.

Part of the hang-up is that obtaining bids to firms that could make and/or supply the pins requires the Wildlife Division to work within the labyrinth of state governmental bureaucracy.

Such bidding demands the attention of the Ohio’s Department of Administrative Services. This unit of the Ohio’s Executive Branch provides “quality centralized services, specialized support and innovative solutions” to state government and other governmental-associated entities.

Plasters says that while vendors do change and the Government Services has its fingers in the pie, the Wildlife Division “still controls the pins’ design.”

“It’s an important program for anglers and it’s an important program for us as an agency,” Plasters says.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net

JFrischk4@gmail.com