1.
Minnesota
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Minnesota is a state in the midwestern and northern regions of the United States. Minnesota was admitted as the 32nd U. S. state on May 11,1858, the state has a large number of lakes, and is known by the slogan Land of 10,000 Lakes. Its official motto is LÉtoile du Nord, Minnesota is the 12th largest in area and the 21st most populous of the U. S. Minnesota is known for its progressive political orientation and its high rate of civic participation and voter turnout. Until European settlement, Minnesota was inhabited by the Dakota and Ojibwe/Anishinaabe, in recent decades, immigration from Asia, the Horn of Africa, and Latin America has broadened its historic demographic and cultural composition. Minnesotas standard of living index is among the highest in the United States, Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers by dropping milk into water and calling it mnisota. Many places in the state have similar names, such as Minnehaha Falls, Minneiska, Minneota, Minnetonka, Minnetrista, and Minneapolis, a combination of mni and polis, Minnesota is the second northernmost U. S. state. Its isolated Northwest Angle in Lake of the Woods county is the part of the 48 contiguous states lying north of the 49th parallel. The state is part of the U. S. region known as the Upper Midwest and it shares a Lake Superior water border with Michigan and a land and water border with Wisconsin to the east. Iowa is to the south, North Dakota and South Dakota are to the west, with 86,943 square miles, or approximately 2.25 percent of the United States, Minnesota is the 12th-largest state. Minnesota has some of the Earths oldest rocks, gneisses that are about 3.6 billion years old. About 2.7 billion years ago, basaltic lava poured out of cracks in the floor of the primordial ocean, the roots of these volcanic mountains and the action of Precambrian seas formed the Iron Range of northern Minnesota. Following a period of volcanism 1, in more recent times, massive ice sheets at least one kilometer thick ravaged the landscape of the state and sculpted its terrain. The Wisconsin glaciation left 12,000 years ago and these glaciers covered all of Minnesota except the far southeast, an area characterized by steep hills and streams that cut into the bedrock. This area is known as the Driftless Zone for its absence of glacial drift, much of the remainder of the state outside the northeast has 50 feet or more of glacial till left behind as the last glaciers retreated. Gigantic Lake Agassiz formed in the northwest 13,000 years ago and its bed created the fertile Red River valley, and its outflow, glacial River Warren, carved the valley of the Minnesota River and the Upper Mississippi downstream from Fort Snelling. Minnesota is geologically quiet today, it experiences earthquakes infrequently, the states high point is Eagle Mountain at 2,301 feet, which is only 13 miles away from the low of 601 feet at the shore of Lake Superior. Notwithstanding dramatic local differences in elevation, much of the state is a rolling peneplain. Two major drainage divides meet in Minnesotas northeast in rural Hibbing, forming a triple watershed, precipitation can follow the Mississippi River south to the Gulf of Mexico, the Saint Lawrence Seaway east to the Atlantic Ocean, or the Hudson Bay watershed to the Arctic Ocean
2.
Shotgun shell
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A shotgun shell is a self-contained cartridge typically loaded with multiple metallic shot, which are small, generally spherical projectiles. Traditionally lead was used, but increasingly steel, tungsten or bismuth shot has replaced lead, due to laws designed to protect the environment. An old non-lethal shotgun load consisted of a shell loaded with rock salt, which could inflict very painful, but rarely deadly, wounds. Most shotgun shells are designed to be fired from a smoothbore barrel, a rifled barrel will increase the accuracy of slugs, but makes it unsuitable for firing shot, as it imparts a spin to the shot cup, causing a centrifugal force that makes the shot cluster disperse. Specialty shotgun ammunition includes non-lethal rounds available in the form of slugs made of low-density material, early shotgun shells used brass cases, not unlike rifle and pistol cartridge cases of the same era. These brass shotgun hulls or cases closely resembled rifle cartridges, in terms of both the head and primer portions of the shell, as well as in their dimensions. Card wads, made of felt, leather, and cork, waterglass was commonly used to cement the top overshot wad into these brass shell casings. No roll crimp or fold crimp was used on these early brass cases, the primers on these early shotgun shells were identical to pistol primers of the same diameter. Starting in about 1877, paper hulls started to replace brass shotgun shells, paper hulls remained popular for nearly a century, until the late 1960s. These shotgun shells using paper hulls were nearly always roll crimped, although fold crimping also eventually became popular. Card wads, made of felt and cork, as well as paperboard, were all used at times, gradually giving way to plastic over powder wads, with card wads. Starting in the 1960s, plastic cases started to replace paper hulls for shotgun shells, by the 1980s, plastic cases had largely replaced nearly all paper hulls for shotgun shells. Today, modern shotgun shells typically consist of a plastic case, as noted previously, paper shells used to be common, and are still made, as are solid brass shells. Some companies have produced what appear to be all-plastic shells, although in these there is a metal ring cast into the rim of the shell to provide strength. Often the more powerful loads will use high brass shells, with the extended up further along the sides of the shell. The brass does not actually provide a significant amount of strength, the base of the shotshell is fairly thick to hold the large shotgun primer, which is longer than primers used for rifle and pistol ammunition. After the powder comes the wadding or wad, the primary purpose of a wad is to prevent the shot and powder from mixing, and to provide a seal that prevents gas from blowing through the shot rather than propelling it. The wad design may encompass a shock absorber and a cup that holds the shot together until it is out the barrel
3.
Centerfire ammunition
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A centerfire cartridge is a cartridge with a primer located in the center of the cartridge case head. Unlike rimfire cartridges, the primer is a separate and replaceable component, centerfire cartridges have supplanted the rimfire variety in all but the smallest cartridge sizes. The stronger base of a cartridge is able to withstand higher pressures which in turn give a bullet greater velocity. Larger caliber rimfire cartridges require greater volumes of priming explosive than centerfire cartridges, reducing the amount of priming explosive would reduce the reliability of rimfire cartridge ignition, and increase the probability of misfire or dud cartridges. Economies of scale are achieved through interchangeable primers for a variety of centerfire cartridge calibers. The expensive individual brass cases can be reused after replacing the primer, gunpowder, the forward portion of some empty cases can be reformed for use as obsolete or wildcat cartridges with similar base configuration. Modern cartridges larger than.22 caliber are mostly centerfire, actions suitable for larger caliber rimfire cartridges declined in popularity until the demand for them no longer exceeded manufacturing costs, and they became obsolete. An early form of ammunition, without a percussion cap, was invented between 1808 and 1812 by Jean Samuel Pauly. This was also the first fully integrated cartridge, true centerfire ammunition was invented by the Frenchman Clement Pottet in 1829. However, Pottet would not perfect his design until 1855, the centerfire cartridge was improved by Benjamin Houllier, Gastinne Renette, Charles Lancaster, George Morse, Francois Schneider, Hiram Berdan and Edward Mounier Boxer. The identifying feature of centerfire ammunition is the primer which is a cup containing a primary explosive inserted into a recess in the center of the base of the cartridge. The firearm firing pin crushes this explosive between the cup and an anvil to produce hot gas and a shower of incandescent particles to ignite the powder charge, Berdan priming is less expensive to manufacture and is much more common in military-surplus ammunition made outside the United States. Berdan primers are named after their American inventor, Hiram Berdan of New York who invented his first variation of the Berdan primer and patented it on March 20,1866, in U. S. A small copper cylinder formed the shell of the cartridge, and this system worked well, allowing the option of installing a cap just before use of the propellant-loaded cartridge as well as permitting reloading the cartridge for reuse. S. Berdan primers have remained essentially the same functionally to the present day, Berdan primers are similar to the caps used in the caplock system, being small metal cups with pressure-sensitive explosive in them. Modern Berdan primers are pressed into the pocket of a Berdan-type cartridge case. Inside the primer pocket is a bump, the anvil, that rests against the center of the cup. Berdan cases are reusable, although the process is rather involved, the used primer must be removed, usually by hydraulic pressure or a pincer or lever that pulls the primer out of the bottom
4.
Rimfire ammunition
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Rimfire is a method of ignition for metallic firearm cartridges as well as the cartridges themselves. It is called rimfire because the pin of a gun strikes and crushes the bases rim to ignite the primer. Once the rim of the cartridge has been struck and the bullet discharged, while many other different cartridge priming methods have been tried since the 19th century, only rimfire technology and centerfire technology survive today in significant use. Frenchman Louis-Nicolas Flobert invented the first rimfire metallic cartridge in 1845 and his cartridge consisted of a percussion cap with a bullet attached to the top and the idea was to improve the safety of indoor shooting. In English-speaking countries, the Flobert cartridge corresponds to.22 BB, Rimfire cartridges are limited to low pressures because they require a thin case so that the firing pin can crush the rim and ignite the primer. Rimfire cartridges of.44 caliber up to.56 caliber were once common when black powder was used as a propellant, however, modern rimfire cartridges use smokeless powder which generates much higher pressures and tend to be of.22 caliber or smaller. Rimfire cartridges are typically inexpensive, primarily due to the inherent cost-efficiency of the ability to manufacture the cartridges in large lots, the price of metals used in the cartridges increased in 2002, the prices of the ammunition then further increased in 2012 possibly due to hoarding. The idea of placing a priming compound in the rim of the cartridge evolved from an 1831 patent, by 1845, this had evolved into the Flobert.22 BB Cap, in which the priming compound is distributed just inside the rim. The.22 BB Cap is essentially just a percussion cap with a round ball pressed in the front, intended for use in an indoor gallery target rifle, it used no gunpowder, but relied entirely on the priming compound for propulsion. Its velocities were very low, comparable to an airgun, the next rimfire cartridge was the.22 Short, developed for Smith & Wessons first revolver, in 1857, it used a longer rimfire case and 4 grains of black powder to fire a conical bullet. This led to the.22 Long, with the bullet weight as the short. This was followed by the.22 Extra Long with a longer than the.22 Long. The.22 Long Rifle is a.22 Long case loaded with the heavier Extra Long bullet intended for performance in the long barrel of a rifle. Larger rimfire calibers were used during the American Civil War in the Henry Repeater, the Spencer Repeater, the Ballard rifle and the Frank Wesson carbine. The early 21st century has seen a revival in interest in rimfire cartridges, a new and increasingly popular rimfire, the 17 HMR is based on a.22 WMR casing with a smaller formed neck which accepts a.17 bullet. The advantages of the 17 HMR over.22 WMR and other rimfire cartridges are its much flatter trajectory, the.17 HM2 is based on the.22 Long Rifle and offers similar performance advantages over its parent cartridge, at a significantly higher cost. While.17 HM2 sells for about four times the cost of.22 Long Rifle ammunition, it is significantly cheaper than most centerfire ammunition. A notable rimfire cartridge that is still in production in Europe and this cartridge can fire a small ball, but is primarily loaded with a small amount of shot, and used in smoothbore guns as a miniature shotgun, or garden gun
5.
Ammunition
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Ammunition is the general term used for the material fired, scattered, dropped or detonated from any weapon. The term ammunition can be traced back to the mid 17th century, broadly speaking, ammunition refers to both expendable weapons and the component parts of other weapons that create the effect on a target. Nearly all weapons will require some form of ammunition to operate, the word comes from the French la munition, which refers to the material used for war. The terms ammunition and munitions are used interchangeably, although the term munition now usually refers to both the actual weapons system alongside the ammunition required to operate it. The purpose of ammunition is to project a force against a target to have an effect. The most iconic example of ammunition is the cartridge, which all components required to deliver the weapon effect in a single package. Ammunition comes in a range of sizes and types and is often designed to work only in specific weapons systems. However, there are internationally recognized standards for certain types that enable their use across different weapons. There are also types of ammunition that are designed to have a specialized effect on a target, such as armor-piercing shells and tracer ammunition. Ammunition is commonly colored in a manner to assist in the identification. A round is a cartridge containing a projectile, propellant, primer. A shell is a form of ammunition that is fired by a large cannon or artillery piece. Before the mid-19th century, these shells were made of solid materials. However, since that time, they are often filled with high-explosives. A shot refers to a release of a weapons system. This may involve firing just one round or piece of ammunition, a dud refers to loaded ammunition that fails to function as intended, typically failing to detonate on landing. However, it can refer to ammunition that fails to fire inside the weapon, known as a misfire, or when the ammunition only partially functions. Dud ammunition, which is classified as an ordnance, is regarded as highly dangerous
6.
Alliant Techsystems
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Alliant Techsystems Inc. was an American aerospace, defense, and sporting goods company with its headquarters in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. The company operated in 22 states, Puerto Rico, and other countries, ATKs revenue in the 2014 fiscal year was about US$4.78 billion. On April 29,2014, ATK announced that it would spin off its Sporting Group and merge its Aerospace, ATK was launched as an independent company in 1990, when Honeywell spun off its defense businesses to shareholders. In 1995, ATK entered the market with the acquisition of the aerospace division of Hercules Inc. Since then ATK has become a supplier of aerospace and defense products to the U. S. government and its allies, in 2001, ATK acquired Thiokol, renaming it ATK Launch Systems in 2006, though it is still known within the industry by its original name. Thiokol was the manufacturer of the reusable Solid Rocket Motor used to launch the NASA Space Shuttle. Also in 2001, ATK entered the sporting and law enforcement ammunition market with the acquisition of the businesses of Blount International. This acquisition made ATK the nations largest manufacturer of ammunition, in 2009, ATK acquired Eagle Industries and in 2010 ATK acquired Blackhawk Industries Products Group Unlimited, LLC, diversifying into the security and law enforcement market. On 29 April 2014, ATK announced that its board unanimously approved a plan to create two independent, public companies composed of ATKs current businesses and Orbital Sciences Corporation, ATK is spinning off its Sporting Group to ATK shareholders on a tax-free basis. The spinoff will be followed by an all-stock merger of ATKs Aerospace and Defense Groups with Orbital Sciences. The combined company will be named Orbital ATK Inc, on October 28,2014, ATK announced that it would be seeking approval of issuance of shares to Orbital stockholders on December 9. ATK responded to news of the explosion of a built by Orbital in an earnings call. ATK stated it would conduct an evaluation of any potential implications resulting from the incident, including current operating plans, long-term strategies, and the proposed transaction. ”ATK also said that it was taking a careful look at its Castor 30XL motor. ATK further noted that the explosion occurred before ignition of the second stage, both firms rescheduled shareholder votes on the merger from December 9,2014 to January 27,2015. ATK’s Aerospace Group covered space, defense and commercial aerospace products, the group offered propulsion for space exploration, commercial launch vehicles and strategic and missile defense. ATK Aerospace was headquartered in Magna, Utah, in 2012, NASA awarded the company a $50 million contract to complete engineering development and risk reduction tests as part of the Advanced Concept Booster Development for the Space Launch System. In April 2014, ATK received a contract from the United Launch Alliance worth $178 million to produce structures for the United States Air Forces Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program. ATK will deliver parts for the Atlas V and Delta IV starting in 2014, there is an option for additional deliveries in 2017 and 2018
7.
St. Paul Pioneer Press
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The St. Paul Pioneer Press is a newspaper based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, primarily serving the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Circulation is heaviest in the metro region, including Ramsey, Dakota. The papers main rival is the Star Tribune, based in neighboring Minneapolis, the Pioneer Press has been owned by MediaNews Group since April 2006. The Pioneer Press traces its history to both the Minnesota Pioneer, Minnesotas first daily newspaper, and the Saint Paul Dispatch, Ridder Publications acquired the Pioneer and the Dispatch in 1927. Ridder merged with Knight Publications to form Knight Ridder in 1974, the paper is sometimes called the Pi Press, just as Strib is used for the Star Tribune. From 1947 to 1949, the newspaper printed the comic strip Lil Folks and this comic introduced a number of characters who would later return in 1950 in the syndicated comic strip Peanuts, including Charlie Brown and a dog strongly resembling Snoopy. In 1952, the Dispatch began sponsoring a treasure hunt as part of the Saint Paul Winter Carnival. Clues to finding a medallion are printed in the paper, and the first person to find and return it with the clues, the prize started off at $1,000 and as of 2004 rose to $10,000. The paper has won three Pulitzer Prizes, in 1986,1988, and 2000, Dohrmann would win a Pulitzer Prize for beat reporting in 2000 for his reports on the scandal. Dohrmann and his editor prepared for hostile reactions to the newspaper from the local community, the McClatchy Company acquired the paper in June 2006 when it bought Knight Ridder. As owner of the Star Tribune, McClatchy had to sell the Pioneer Press because of antitrust concerns, the Pioneer Press was subsequently sold by McClatchy to MediaNews Group later in the year. Joseph H. Ball, who was a columnist for the Pioneer Press before becoming a Republican U. S, senator for Minnesota Jim Caple Nick Coleman Carole Nelson Douglas, author of a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and 62 other novels. George Dohrmann, winner of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for beat reporting, dick Gordon Herb Greenberg Mark Kellogg, the first Associated Press correspondent to die in the line of duty when he was killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Bob Sansevere, sports columnist and member of the KQRS-FM morning show with Tom Barnard, joe Soucheray, general columnist and host of the KSTP afternoon program, Garage Logic. Charley Walters, sports columnist Jacqui Banaszynski, writer, editor, bruce Orwall, writer and current editor at The Wall Street Journal. Deborah Howell, executive editor and vice president who died in 2010, city Pages Minnesota Daily Star Tribune Villager Official website Mobile
8.
The New York Times
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The New York Times is an American daily newspaper, founded and continuously published in New York City since September 18,1851, by The New York Times Company. The New York Times has won 119 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper, the papers print version in 2013 had the second-largest circulation, behind The Wall Street Journal, and the largest circulation among the metropolitan newspapers in the US. The New York Times is ranked 18th in the world by circulation, following industry trends, its weekday circulation had fallen in 2009 to fewer than one million. Nicknamed The Gray Lady, The New York Times has long been regarded within the industry as a newspaper of record. The New York Times international version, formerly the International Herald Tribune, is now called the New York Times International Edition, the papers motto, All the News Thats Fit to Print, appears in the upper left-hand corner of the front page. On Sunday, The New York Times is supplemented by the Sunday Review, The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times Magazine and T, some other early investors of the company were Edwin B. Morgan and Edward B. We do not believe that everything in Society is either right or exactly wrong, —what is good we desire to preserve and improve, —what is evil, to exterminate. In 1852, the started a western division, The Times of California that arrived whenever a mail boat got to California. However, when local California newspapers came into prominence, the effort failed, the newspaper shortened its name to The New-York Times in 1857. It dropped the hyphen in the city name in the 1890s, One of the earliest public controversies it was involved with was the Mortara Affair, the subject of twenty editorials it published alone. At Newspaper Row, across from City Hall, Henry Raymond, owner and editor of The New York Times, averted the rioters with Gatling guns, in 1869, Raymond died, and George Jones took over as publisher. Tweed offered The New York Times five million dollars to not publish the story, in the 1880s, The New York Times transitioned gradually from editorially supporting Republican Party candidates to becoming more politically independent and analytical. In 1884, the paper supported Democrat Grover Cleveland in his first presidential campaign, while this move cost The New York Times readership among its more progressive and Republican readers, the paper eventually regained most of its lost ground within a few years. However, the newspaper was financially crippled by the Panic of 1893, the paper slowly acquired a reputation for even-handedness and accurate modern reporting, especially by the 1890s under the guidance of Ochs. Under Ochs guidance, continuing and expanding upon the Henry Raymond tradition, The New York Times achieved international scope, circulation, in 1910, the first air delivery of The New York Times to Philadelphia began. The New York Times first trans-Atlantic delivery by air to London occurred in 1919 by dirigible, airplane Edition was sent by plane to Chicago so it could be in the hands of Republican convention delegates by evening. In the 1940s, the extended its breadth and reach. The crossword began appearing regularly in 1942, and the section in 1946
9.
Bushnell Corporation
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Bushnell Corporation, also known as Bushnell and Bushnell Outdoor Products, is an American company specializing in optics and imaging. The company also sells Bollé Performance Eyewear ski goggles and sunglasses, Bushnell was founded in 1948 by David P. Bushnell during his time in Allied-occupied Japan. In 1999, Bushnell was acquired by private equity firm Wind Point Partners through a recapitalization of Bushnells then parent company, in 2001, Bushnell acquired the Bollé and Serengeti eyewear brands and the Moonlight line of night vision products. In 2002, Bushnell bought Tasco, a sports optics company, Tasco is a major international distributor of telescopes. The companys line of products mainly target amateur astronomers but has grown to many products besides telescopes. Tascos other products include terrestrial spotting scopes, microscopes, binoculars, Tasco sells through specialty outlets, catalogues, and online vendors. In 2005, Bushnell acquired Michael’s of Oregon, Michaels sold holsters, scope covers, cleaning kits, and other gun accessories under and along the brands Hoppe’s, Butler Creek, Stoney Point, and Uncle Mike’s Law Enforcement. At the time of its purchase by Bushnell, Michaels earned about $60 million per year in profit, Michaels of Oregon was based in Oregon City. The deal was closed with debt and cash, in 2007, Bushnell was acquired by MidOcean Partners, another private equity firm, which acquired it in a leveraged recapitalization. The same year, Bushnell acquired the Final Approach and Kolpin Hunting brands from Facilitator Capital Funds, both brands are well known among duck hunters. In June 2008, Bushnell acquired the assets of Simmons Outdoor Corporation from Meade Instruments, Simmons manufactured optical goods such as binoculars and riflescopes. Simmons was Bushnells seventh acquisition since 2001, on Sept.5,2013, Alliant Techsystems announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Bushnell. Under the terms of the transaction, ATK paid $985 million in cash, microscopes Telescopes Spotting scopes Game cameras Night vision Simmons Optics, a line of rifle scopes, binoculars, and other optical products. Rangefinder The company also has Holosight, a holographic weapon sight. It produces an illuminated crosshair that appears to be in front of the gun in perfect alignment, Bushnell produces WeatherFX personal weather stations for hikers, campers, and others who can use it to keep informed of potentially hazardous weather issues while away from home. Bushnell created two GPS products in 2006 that are the first such devices to integrate aerial and satellite imagery into the display and they also have integrated XM radio to provide real-time weather data and can overlay weather maps and weather radar info. In 2007 the Onix 400 GPS unit won the Best of the Best award from Field & Stream magazine, Bushnell also has a line of simple GPS devices called Backtrack. They allow users to set up to five locations and forget about the device until they have to return, the device then uses a digital compass and basic GPS technology to return to the set location
10.
Savage Arms
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The Savage Arms Company is a firearms manufacturing company based in Westfield, Massachusetts, with a division located in Canada. The company makes a variety of rimfire and centerfire rifles, as well as marketing the Stevens single-shot rifles, Arthur Savage founded Savage Arms in 1894, Utica, New York. Within 20 years, they were producing rifles, handguns, the Model 1895 won a New York National Guard contract, but the contract was cancelled due to political controversy. The Model 1895 was developed into the more successful Model 1899, later renamed Model 99. Savage marketed a series of.32 and.380 caliber pocket pistols, the Models 1907,1915, Savage merged with the Driggs-Seabury Ordnance Company during World War I and produced Lewis machine guns at Driggs-Seaburys former plant in Sharon, Pennsylvania. Savage also produced Model 1899 muskets for the Montreal Home Guard during World War I, the Indian Head Logo, in 1919, Chief Lame Deer approached Arthur to purchase lever-action rifles for the Indian reservation and the two men struck a deal. The tribe would get discounted rifles and Savage would get their support and it was at this time in the companys history, that Arthur Savage added the Indian head logo--a direct gift from the Chief--to the company name. In 1920, Savage bought Stevens Arms, in 1939, Savage introduced the Model 24 combination gun, which sold over a million copies as of 1983. Savage was one of the few U. S. makers of affordable double barrel shotguns, including the Fox Model B and Model 311, the notes were due in 1927. During World War II, Savage turned again to military production, Savage made most of the Thompson submachine guns used in World War II. As quality wood was earmarked for military gun stock production, Savage produced some Model 24. 22/.410 combo guns, after the war, it produced the first motorized lawnmower. From the 1960s to the 1980s, the company had a variety of owners, Savage eventually ran into financial trouble in 1988 and filed for bankruptcy protection. Production was then reduced to the basic Model 110 bolt-action rifle, a turn-around began in 1995 with the company returning to private ownership, led by Ronald Coburn, previously of Smith & Wesson. In 2002, the company started selling a factory-installed, safe, user-adjustable trigger, the AccuStock, an aluminum stock embedded rail system to further enhance action stability and accuracy, was introduced by Savage in 2009. This new technology is now available on several of their models, in 2003, the Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence awarded Savage the Manufacturer of the Year. On February 5,2013, Coburn announced that he was stepping down after a 25-year tenure as chairman, on February 6,2013, Savage Sports announced the appointment of Ron Johnson as its new Chief Executive Officer. Johnson most recently served as President of the Sporting Group within Alliant Techsystems, aTKs Sporting Group markets firearm accessories and ammunition under brands that include Weaver Optics, Federal Premium, Speer Ammo and Blazer. ATK announced the purchase of Savage for $315 million on May 13,2013, with the purchase, Johnson remained with Bowtech, who was not part of the sale, and Al Kasper began tenure as CEO
11.
Stevens Arms
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Stevens Arms was an American firearms manufacturer founded by Joshua Stevens in 1864 in Chicopee Falls, MA. The company introduced the.22 Long Rifle round and made a number of rifle, shotgun, by 1902 they were advertising themselves as the largest producers of sporting arms in the world. They were purchased by New England Westinghouse on 28 May 1915, as a division of Savage, Stevens continued to produce firearms at their Chicopee Falls facility until 1960 when the plant was torn down and Stevens production was moved into other Savage facilities. Savage dropped the Stevens name in 1991 but revived it in 1999 and still uses it today for a number of its low cost rifles and shotguns. Stevens Arms was founded by Joshua Stevens with help from backers W. B. Fay and James Taylor in Chicopee Falls, MA and their earliest product was a tip-up action single shot pistol. Business was slow into 1870, when Stevens occupied a converted grist mill and had just sixty employees, the 1873 Panic had a further negative impact on sales. By 1876 the company had recovered to the extent that it was then manufacturing twice the number of shotguns as it had prior to that year. In 1883 they purchased the Massachusetts Arms Company which Joshua Stevens had helped found in 1850, in 1886, the company was reorganized and incorporated as J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co. The business was able to grow steadily with tool manufacturing and sales now accounting for the bulk of the business output, Stevens and Taylor were bought out in 1896 by I. H. Page, who was one of the new partners and the bookkeeper, page led the company to significant growth, such that by 1902 Stevens had 900 employees and was considered one of the top sporting firearms manufacturers in the world. In 1901, Stevens entered into a partnership with J. Frank Duryea to produce the Stevens-Duryea automobile manufactured at a facility also in Chicopee Falls. In 1915, Stevens led the U. S. arms business in target, on 28 May 1915 Stevens was purchased by New England Westinghouse, a division of Westinghouse Electric. New England Westinghouse was created specifically to fulfill a contract to produce 1.8 million Mosin-Nagant rifles for Czar Nicholas II of Russia for use in World War I and they needed a firearms manufacturing facility in order to accomplish this and chose Stevens. After the purchase they sold off the tool making division, halted production of Stevens-Duryea automobiles, when the Czar was deposed by the communists in 1917, New England Westinghouse was never paid and they fell into financial distress. Stevens was purchased by the Savage Arms Company on 1 April 1920 with Stevens operating as a subsidiary of Savage and this merger made Savage the largest producer of arms in the United States at the time. After World War II they were renamed as Stevens Arms and sometimes identified as Savage-Stevens after 1948, in 1960 Savage closed the Stevens Arms facilities in Chicopee Falls and moved Stevens production to various Savage manufacturing sites. The. 22LR cartridge was available beginning in 1888, in the #1, #2, #9, and #10 break-top rifles, as several manufacturers would later do with other wildcats, Stevens adopted the. 25-20, developed by Francis J. Rabbeth in 1882. The unpopularity of the case led Stevens to develop the. 25-21 in 1897
12.
Vista Outdoor
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Vista Outdoor Operations LLC is an American publicly traded designer, manufacturer, and marketer of outdoor sports and recreation products. The company operates in two segments, shooting sports and outdoor products and it is a house of brands with more than 30 labels and subsidiaries that produce ammunition, firearms, and outdoor accessories. The company trades under VSTO on the New York Stock Exchange, Alliant Techsystems, entered the ammunition and outdoor products business in 2001. ATK grew through acquisitions and a surge in demand for ammunition for police, hunting, in December 2014, regulators were informed that Vista Outdoor had signed an agreement for a $350 million secured loan with a term of five years and a $400 million revolving line of credit. Proceeds were partially used to pay down debt, ATK and Orbital filed a joint proxy statement and prospectus describing the share issuance with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 17,2014. The same month, the Department of Justice granted approval to the merger, ATK spun-off Vista Outdoor upon closing its merger with Orbital Sciences and became Orbital ATK on February 9,2015. Anyone holding ATK common stock at the end of the day on February 2,2015 received two shares of Vista Outdoor common stock. Eligible shareholders had their brokerage account credited or received a book-entry account statement reflecting their ownership, Vista Outdoor was thus initially 100% owned by ATK shareholders. Vista Outdoor stock traded on a basis from January 29,2015 to February 9,2015. It began regular way trading on the New York Stock Exchange on February 10,2015 under the ticker symbol VSTO, no payment or action of any kind was required of shareholders. This transaction was conducted on a tax-free basis, U. S. shareholders generally did not have to recognize a gain or loss for federal tax purposes. On February 25th,2016, BRG Sports announced its acceptance of a $400-million cash, Vista gained control of the Bell Sports, Giro, Blackburn, and C-Preme brands. For fiscal year 2015, Vista Outdoor reported earnings of $79.5 million or $1.25 per share on $2.08 billion in revenue, Vista reported that the Companys preliminary analysis indicates the impairment charge will be in the range of $400 million to $450 million. Most of Vistas brands are associated with shooting and hunting, the company also makes gear for camping, hiking, skiing, and biking such as flashlights, headlamps, lanterns, helmets, goggles, GPS locators, etc. Also knowns as Bushnell Outdoor Products, Bushnell specializes in optics and it also sells Bollé Performance Eyewear ski goggles and sunglasses and Serengeti Eyewear all-purpose sunglasses. David P. Bushnell founded Bushnell Corporation in 1948 during his service in the Allied-occupied Japan, in 1999, Bushnell was acquired by private equity firm Wind Point Partners. In 2007, Bushnell was acquired by MidOcean Partners, another private equity firm, in 2008, Bushnell acquired the assets of Simmons Outdoor Corporation from Meade Instruments. ATK announced its acquisition of Bushnell on September 5,2013 for $985 million in cash, cascade Cartridge, usually called CCI Ammunition, is based in Lewiston, Idaho
