UPDATED: Shooters, let's not go overboard on HS Precision

UPDATE: As of this time (6.47 p.m. Central) I'm not aware of any statement having been issued by HS Precision. I've been in both telephonic and e-mail communication with the company, and quite frankly I'm baffled by their silence. As I said in my last e-mail to a company representative:

... we really, REALLY need a statement from HS Precision's top management ASAP. If that doesn't come today, I don't know whether the damage will be repairable.

The silence of HS Precision's management forces me to conclude that one of three things must be true. Either:

1. They haven't a clue how to manage this situation.

OR

2. They're caught between a rock and a hard place. If they bow to public sentiment and repudiate Mr. Horiuchi, they risk offending their law enforcement customers, particularly Federal agencies; but if they don't repudiate him, they risk alienating retail customers, who are probably a significant proportion of their market. They haven't been able to find a 'middle way' that will satisfy both sides whilst minimizing the damage to their company.

OR

3. They regard the average firearm owner as outside their (expensive and fairly 'exclusive') target market, and therefore intend to treat our concerns with disdain.

I've no idea which of the above is true: but I can't see any other alternatives. Can you?

I believe that through their inaction and deafening silence today, HS Precision's management have done their company a grave disservice. I don't know if any belated reaction in coming days will be able to undo the damage it's already suffered. I'm very disappointed in them. Certainly, in the days when I was a senior manager and company director, if I'd behaved in such a dilatory and spineless fashion, I'd have been fired on the spot!

Anyway, that's the situation as of the time of writing. I guess we'll learn more in due course.

The original post continues below.

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I'm aware of the huge uproar in the firearms community about HS Precision's use of an endorsement for their tactical rifles by the FBI - specifically, by Mr. Lon Horiuchi. A letter from him appears on the rear cover of their 2008 catalog, shown below (click to enlarge).




Mr. Horiuchi is infamous in shooting circles (perhaps 'notorious' would be a better word - apart from the many less polite terms for him in circulation) for his involvement in the Ruby Ridge and Waco incidents, particularly his shooting of Mrs. Vicki Weaver through a door, resulting in her death. She was not armed at the time. Mr. Horiuchi's actions were later found to be unconstitutional by a Justice Department review (as were the instructions given to the FBI task force by the senior officer on the scene). He was charged with manslaughter in an Idaho court in 1997. The case was transferred to federal court, which dismissed the charge, citing the supremacy clause as grounds. An appeal court reversed this decision, but the local prosecutor then withdrew State charges.

I'm as outraged by Mr. Horiuchi's conduct at Ruby Ridge as anyone, and I certainly believe that he is guilty of at least a moral offense of the very worst kind. However, no court has ruled on the matter in terms of criminal law. In terms of the US justice system, he, like any of us, has the right to the presumption of innocence unless and until proved guilty.

Nevertheless, Mr. Horiuchi is certainly not someone with whom I'd care to associate. I believe that whoever's responsible for using his endorsement in HS Precision's 2008 catalog is guilty of a gross error of judgment, one that is likely to damage the company very severely, given the strength of feeling in the shooting community about Mr. Horiuchi's actions. However, I'm troubled by the immediate outcry among many shooters, and their threats to boycott the company and refuse to purchase its products. Some have called for HS Precision to be 'Zumboed', referring to the pillorying of columnist Jim Zumbo in 2007 for comments that the shooting community found unacceptable.

Let's face facts. HS Precision, in order to compete for (and eventually win) the FBI competition to select a new tactical rifle, had no choice but to deal with the individual appointed by that agency as the manager of the process. That person happened to be Mr. Horiuchi. It could just as easily have been anyone else. HS Precision won that competition, and are justly proud of the fact. They wanted to advertise their success, and used an endorsement from the competition manager to that effect - probably without anyone in senior management realizing whose name was involved. It's likely to have been a decision by someone in marketing or public relations, rather than a senior executive. I can imagine them saying to senior management that they'd use a letter from "the FBI program manager", without even mentioning his name. I've been a senior manager myself, so I can well imagine how this might have 'slipped through the cracks'.

Furthermore, a bad marketing or public relations decision doesn't affect the quality of HS Precision's rifles. I've handled a few, and they're uniformly excellent products. I wish I could afford one! Their Short Tactical Rifle is illustrated below.




There are many people involved in their manufacture, who take great pride in their work. I don't think these craftsmen, shooters all, should be punished for the indiscretion of someone outside their area. The same goes for the company as a whole. Do we want to condemn to oblivion the producer of some of the finest rifles in the country, for an error of judgment?

I hope and trust that HS Precision's senior management are taking steps to investigate this matter. I called the company to inquire, and was assured that something would be announced shortly (after all, this whole thing only blew up yesterday). I think we should give them time to investigate and take whatever steps they deem appropriate.

I'd hate to see a good company brought down because of one mistake. Let's by all means look to HS Precision to rectify that mistake, and administer any internal disciplinary measures that may be necessary and appropriate: but, at the same time, let's be fair. They made a mistake. I'm sure they're going to do their best to resolve it. Let's give them time to do so, and let's acknowledge their honest efforts in that regard.

Peter