A seriously impressive collection of Colt Navies!

While SHOW OF SHOWS is just three weeks away the Michigan Antique Arms Collectors Show was a welcome warm up. The 500 table show offered a variety of firearms from around the world. Here is a view of just a few notable must-see items from the show. (Click images for a closer view)

An early post-Civil War Cold revolver. In a word "Wow!"

More Colts from the collection of Johnny Bassett

A collection of Civil War era rifles from Dave Taylor's Civil War Antiques

A few more Civil War long guns

A collection of rare Remington rifles, including (second from top) a Remington Mosin Nagent

Some more impressive Remingtons

Cannonballs! Need we say more?

A collection of World War II sidearms from the various powers

Some American cavalry helmets (top) and a mix of headgear including a British Royal Artillery helmet (bottom left)

An American World War II USN Gas Mask Helmet

A collection of post-WWII American M1 helmets

“For the last several years a company called ‘The Freedom Group’ has been buying up American gun and ammunition manufacturers. Some people worry that Freedom Group is going to control most of the firearms companies in the United States. Of course, If you control the manufacturers you can decide not to sell to civilians, or, you can raise the prices to ridiculous levels or you can make the supply of guns and ammo scarce – all sorts of logjams. What a perfect way to control America’s guns!”

The National Shooting Sports Foundation and the NRA have been responded and say that the rumors aren’t true. The NRA’s Response:

Internet Rumors About Cerberus & Freedom Group Are Patently False

Recently, an old rumor regarding Cerberus–the private equity firm that owns Freedom group, a holding company that in turn owns a number of firearms manufacturers, including Remington, Marlin, Bushmaster, and DPMS–was in some way tied to George Soros.

This rumor is completely false and baseless.

NRA has had contact with officials from Cerberus and Freedom Group for some time. The owners and investors involved are strong supporters of the Second Amendment and are avid hunters and shooters.

In reality, at no time has George Soros ever been a part of the ownership group of Freedom Group or Cerberus, and as a privately traded corporation, there is no possibility that he will be in the future.

This unsubstantiated rumor has caused a great deal of unnecessary concern for gun owners. NRA-ILA urges our members to take great care before repeating baseless rumors found on the Internet.

FirearmsTruth will continue to follow this story, and let’s hope this “rumor” didn’t give Soros any smart ideas!

The book has listings for handguns, shotguns and rifles, from popular brands such as Remington, Colt, Browning, Winchester and Berretta. The information is concise and easy to read, yet informative enough to aid the experienced as well as novice buyer. The book is well-organized for quick checks of prices and other relevant information.

Carpenteri further has provided other factoids including lists of gun shows around the country, as well as gun show etiquette and how to “work the crowd” even.

$29.95
592 pages
Paperback
B&W and Color Illustrations
Published: October 15, 2010
ISBN: 9781616080884

Where to Buy:

Gun Trader’s Guide 32^nd Edition at Amazon.com

This year’s edition includes new production information, as well as updated specifications and current prices on thousands of firearms and related equipment. The book is a must-own for hunters, sportsman and gun collectors, as it offers up-to-date handgun and rifle ballistic tables, extensive charts of bullets and projectiles for handloading.

The new products catalog further is worthy of a Christmas Wish Book with the latest items including firearms, ammunition and optics manufactured in 2010 or planned for 2011 from companies including Winchester, Cooper, Howa, Ruger, Benelli, Remington, Kimber, Smith & Wesson, Bushnell, Nightforce and Swarovski. The book isn’t light on photos either, and includes a good mix of color and back and white photos. Happy reading!

$29.95
608 pages
Paperback
B&W and Color Illustrations
Published: October 15, 2010
ISBN: 9781916080877

Where to Buy:

Shooter’s Bible: 102^nd Edition at Amazon.com

So what does this have to do with firearm IPO’s? GM’s pending IPO could be another signal of economic recovery and stability in a two-year stock market roller coaster.  Generally, companies don’t initiate IPO’s in a rocky market because it tends to undervalue the IPO and generate less financing for the company.  Thus a successful GM offering could be a strong signal for other company’s considering an IPO.

Cerberus Capital, one of the world’s leading private investment firms, is one such company that’s loaded and ready for an IPO. Starting in 2006 Cerberus began a strategic plan of grabbing up firearms companies and placing them in their Freedom Group holding company. Freedom Group consists of a number of firearms and related companies that include Remington, Bushmaster, DPMS Panther Arms, Marlin and Advanced Armament Corporation.

Cerberus holds a 94.3 percent stake in the Freedom Group. Producing sales of $848.7 million in 2009, the Freedom Group has become the largest firearms maker in the U.S. Cerberus filed with the SEC to take the Freedom Group public in October of 2009 but almost a year later they haven’t pulled the trigger yet on an IPO. The Freedom group further saw its sales rise some 17 percent after the election of President Barack Obama sparked increased gun sales as consumers feared possible legislative restrictions.

Gun sales have since slowed into 2010 as the Freedom Group’s first quarter 2010 earnings fell 58 percent compared to the same period in 2009. Slowed sales along with a recent downturn in the stock market are likely the main reasons for the delayed IPO. 

However, a strong IPO by GM along with more signs of economic recovery could make the next 12 months an opportunistic time for a Freedom Group IPO. The offering could raise as much as $200 million in capital. Cerberus is likely eager to raise fresh capital after seeing an 80 percent stake in Chrysler wiped out in 2009 by bankruptcy and its GMAC stake cut to less than 15 percent during the government bailout.

Investors seeking some exposure to the firearms industry would be wise to keep a close eye on this potential offering.  Recent market share reports showed the Freedom Group was number one in the U.S. in shotguns, traditional rifles, modern military-style rifles and ammunition. With 13 brand offerings, a potential of cross selling and potentially more acquisitions the Freedom Group could represent a windfall for investors looking to take a shot.

Freedom Group Family of Companies

“On Monday, the US Department of Education began soliciting bids, not for books or laptops, but for guns, Remington shotguns decked out with all the combat trimmings, such as short barrels for concealment and modified sights.”

So are schools locking and loading? According to the investigation, this isn’t exactly the case:

“In an e-mail, a spokesperson told the I-Team that their special agents work waste and fraud cases involving education funds and programs, and they have full law enforcement authority and training, and they sometimes conduct search warrants and make arrests.”

While we agree that law enforcement should have adequate arms, it isn’t interesting that the Department of Education spent $35,000 on guns that are described by some as being fitted with “combat trimmings.” The shotguns in question are high quality as well as powerful:

“According to the bid solicitation, the department is purchasing 27 Remington Model 870 pump-action shotguns with 14-inch modified choke barrels. They are custom-made for law enforcement and have shorter barrels than required for purchase by private citizens.”

Let’s hope none of those guns aren’t mentioned in a future “Who Guards the Guards” post by us.