HS Precision Gets Endorsement by Lon Horiuchi

[mekender]

http://blogostuff.blogspot.com/2008/11/ ... y-lon.html

This should be enough to make every freedom loving American vomit. HS Precision, manufacturer of stocks and other parts for precsion rifles, is featuring an endorsement of their products by Lon Horiuchi on the back of their catalog. Here's a scan (click on the thumbnail for a full size image):

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c340/ ... kCover.jpg

For readers unfamiliar with Horiuchi, he is the FBI sniper who shot Vicki Weaver during the the standoff at Ruby Ridge 1992. He was also present at the 1993 Waco siege where he was again suspected of misconduct. He charged with manslaughter for Weaver's death but the charge was eventually dismissed in a Federal court, the basis for which was the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution. (Note that this ruling doesn't go to the merits of the case.) In gun owner circles, he is regarded as a murderer.

As pointed out by Arfcommer "dedfella," this is akin to having a fertilizer company get an endorsement by Timothy McVeigh. Poor taste, putting it mildly.

The owners of HS Precision would have to be living under a rock to not understand the revulsion this would incite among gunnies. Obviously, they don't give a shit about us and are only concerned with securing .gov contracts.

[FastRope71]

Never. EVER. again will anything from that company grace my weapons. If a gun comes with one of their stocks, it gets replaced, or it stays on the shelf at the store.

I didn't try to read the endorsement, perhaps it was for their 10 rd detachable magazines for the Rem 700. Something along the lines of "I love this kit, You can shoot a dog, pop a kid in the back, blow a guy's arm into hamburger, and pop a mommy in the head all while keeping enough ammo ready to go in the event that you can get a clear shot on dad! Sure made my job easier!"

Note: I know he didn't make all the shots listed in the fictitious blurb. I exaggerated for theatrical effect.

In gun owner circles, he is regarded as a murderer.

In any group of even mildly sentient beings he would be regarded as a murderer.

I hope he goes blind while suffering from a massive case of tinnitus. Then I hope he gets jock itch and scratches it so much that he gets an infection. Then I hope the infection turns gangrene and nobody notices and he has to get his heart amputated.

I suppose I could be happy with him slipping while building cabinets and having his heart chest split by a table saw (but only if the blade were adjusted to maximum height).

[The Quiet Man]

+1

I would never even consider spending my dough on any of their products regardless of price after they accepted and printed an endorsement by this particular bucket of shit. All I can hope is that the rest of his life is nothing short of endless misery and I take comfort in knowing that there is a special place in hell waiting just for him. <spit>

[Netpackrat]

That's just beyond stupid; dumber than Jim Zumbo, and Bill Ruger combined. As a gun company, if you wanted to intentionally alienate a large portion of your customer base, I'm not sure that you could do better. I nearly bought one of their rifle stocks once, now I'm really glad I did not. I will certainly do my part to ensure that as many people as possible learn of this.

[mekender]

http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2008/11/h ... irmed.html

H-S Precision and Horiuchi Confirmed
I just got off the phone with one of their employees about the report that they printed a Lon Horiuchi endorsement on the back of their catalog.

It is true.

We chatted for about 5 minutes, about the background, about the intent, about the ramifications, and about what's next. I scribbled notes as quickly as I could, but decided to hold back and await an official company statement.

I'm sending a link to this and to last night's post to my contact there, so I'm sure their management will see your comments.

Naturally, I'll follow this story as it develops.

[Steamforger]

I, for one, would like to thank HS Precision for making my decision to go McMillan for my next stock soooooo much easier. Perhaps one to replace the HS Precision stock I currently have would be most prudent...

Someone at HS clearly didn't do their research. I bet they never even looked past FBI HRT sinper.

[D5CAV]

You guys are sooo mean!

I'm sure Lon Horiuchi is your typical 'officer-friendly' type of LEO who was just [strike]following orders[/strike]performing his legal duties.

I'm a reasonable person and know sometimes mistakes are made by well-meaning employees. I'm willing to give HS Precision management a couple of weeks to figure out how badly they f#####-up and come out with a retraction and apology.

Otherwise I will soon have a rifle for sale.

[Netpackrat]

I sent the following email to Larry Potterfield, president and CEO of MidwayUSA:

To: LarryPotterfield@MidwayUSA.com
From: #######
Subject: HS Precision

Dear Mr. Potterfield;

I want to begin by thanking you for the excellent service that MidwayUSA has provided to me over the years. I have always felt your prices to be fair, and your willingness to use shipping methods which work for customers in Alaska has been in stark contrast to so many other companies, which have little regard for consumers in the 49th state. Your commitment to the NRA is second to none, and it is for these reasons that Midway has received most of my mail order business for general shooting related goods for the last few years. Therefore, it is with some regret that I have to contact you today, and the following should not be taken as a reflection of any dissatisfaction over my dealings with Midway.

It has come to my attention that one of your vendors, HS Precision, has undertaken marketing practices which are abhorrent to myself, and many others in the shooting community. On the back of their 2008 catalog, is a full page endorsement by Lon Horiuchi, a retired FBI sniper. As you may be aware, during the 1992 Ruby Ridge incident in Idaho, Mr. Horiuchi fired the bullet that killed Vicki Weaver, as she held her infant daughter in her arms. Within the gun culture, he is widely regarded as a murderer, who was never prosecuted for political reasons. HS Precision's acceptance of his endorsement is viewed as something akin to Ryder Truck Rentals accepting the endorsement of Timothy McVeigh, or a seller of surplus Carcano rifles publishing an ad featuring Lee Harvey Oswald.

I find HS Precision's use of this endorsement to be sickening, and an affront to the millions of shooters and other Americans who believe that justice was not served in the aftermath of Ruby Ridge. Because of this, I will not purchase any products manufactured by HS Precision, nor will I continue to do business with companies which sell their products. I am certainly NOT singling out Midway in this regard, although as mentioned, you have traditionally received the bulk of my mail order business for shooting related merchandise. I hope that you will reevaluate the inclusion of HS Precision products in your catalog and inventory, and that one day soon we may do business again.

Sincerely,
###########
Anchorage, Alaska

[Netpackrat]

Actually, Boundary county Idaho prosecuted him.

The indicted him, and brought him to trial; however the trial was ended and charges were ordered dismissed by a federal judge who ruled that Boundary county couldn't try Horiuchi because he was a federal agent acting in the scope of his duties as an FBI agent; and that any prosecution would have to be at a federal level (the supremacy doctrine).

The 9th circuit later ruled that Boundary county could prosecute him, but by then they had a different prosecutor, who dropped the charges.

[SeekHer]

OK, HS goes and reprints their front/rear cover page and excludes the offensive endorsement will you then deal with them? I mean they see the error of their ways and went out and corrected it…

As mentioned, they probably couldn't have known the C.V. of their FBI HRT sniper or they thought, wrongly, that the people had forgotten about it...Truthfully, I didn’t know his name until it was mentioned here or if I had heard it during the aftermath of the incident I paid it no mind…

As to the shot he made, sure it's a shame that she died but so effen what...If you put yourself in a situation where the FBI HRT or a local LE SWAT team is, legitimately, deployed and you're the target then you deserve everything that you get (excluding small children of course) including a bullet in the brain...How many miscreants have used women, children, the elderly as shields with no regard for the people’s lives and in many cases their own loved ones; their children or other family members have been used…

Sorry, but she wasn’t there as a hostage but as a willing and active participant in a standoff with local and federal LEOs and thusly became a target as well…If she didn’t want to die, if she was concerned for the safety of her/their children then she should have given herself up otherwise suffers the consequences…She had many opportunities to “escape” if indeed she was held hostage by her husband but never availed herself of them…

Was it a bad shot by the shooter? Yes! For lack of target acquisition and identification...Did he have Green light or Red light command from a superior? There were more then one person involved in this incident and from what I've read and remembered they also were reprimanded etc.