Some time back, Reader Mike S. sent me this pic, with the comment: “Marketing trumps Good Taste every time.”
My initial reaction is to agree with him. Clearly, this rifle is not aimed at Grumpy Ole Pharrttes like him (or me, for that matter), but at some new genre of gun owner — my guess, a Gen Z person who wants to look cool and doesn’t want to look like his grandpappy (again, like Mike or me) with our old WinMar wooden-stocked “cowboy” rifles.
And yes, while I think that the tacti-cool thing in the snow pic looks like dog’s balls on a Noritake dinner plate, there’s no denying that it would work just as well as its predecessor — I mean, a lever gun is a lever gun is a lever gun, regardless of its cladding.
Also, in places that Must Not Be Named — places that ban “assault rifles” — there is no question but that Snow Gun would escape the baleful scrutiny of said gun-haters because it is, after all, just a lever rifle.
Finally, the marketing executive in me says that we Grumpy Ole Pharrttes are entering the Twilight Years — i.e. we’re not long for the gun world, or any world — so we are, to put it crudely, a shrinking market. In that spirit, therefore, manufacturers should extend their product line to accommodate the tastes of a New Generation…
…as long as they continue to make traditional lever rifles, and not make it an “either/or” situation, because that would make me fucking enraged very sad.
But hey, considering that I had to change my sixty-year deodorant choice because the manufacturer decided to do the above, what the hell. Let’s just join the in-crowd and get some ghastly new thing instead of a rifle that has served its users perfectly well for over a hundred and fifty years.
Update: Panzer Arms has decided to get in on the faerie “white gun” trend, with its semi-auto 12ga:
I’m kinda interested how that thing is going to look after a thousand rounds has been put through it. My guess is that it’s going to look as worn out as a Kardashian’s pleasure pit. But I could be wrong.
Street cost is around $500.
What’s the purpose of that hook-like thing on the bottom of the forestock?
I dunno. It’s probably supposed to help one’s grip on the forestock, I guess. I’ve seen them on AR-15s as well, and never got the point.
If it looks taticool to the kids with money, does it need to have any other purpose?
I think it’s called a hand stop so your hand can find the comfortable spot to hold the rifle
The PC industry caught the white fad perhaps a decade ago; it’s interesting to see how it’s migrated.
Perhaps the Mad Ave types are looking at AR-15 ban states. The mall ninjas gotta have their manly (snicker) toys.
Think of it like Vodka coolers versus whisk(e)y. Different strokes, etc. And if it keeps the next generation interested in shooting who am I to whinge about their choice of firearm? If they can make nice tight groupings center-mass, I don’t care what kind of boomstick gets it done.
I would never *own* one of those, just as I prefer an 18 YO Macallan to hard lemonade, but what can I say. Kids these days….
I kind of want a pink gun so I can beat my brother in law with for accuracy and speed. Not only would he get beat but the muddy girl camo pattern would put salt in the would
Kim, I could see the utility of the thing in, say, Finland circa 1939. We’ve all seen the images (you’ve done it yourself) of a pristine forested snowscape with absolutely no one in it, asking, “Identify the Finnish snipers in this pic.”
The answer to the question was always obvious: “It’s a trick question. EVERYTHING in that picture is a Finnish sniper.”
Mark B.
I would think the “tacticool” aspects would put that ‘ol lever gun FIRMLY in the hoplophobe’s assault rifle category, just cause how it looks.
…which makes it all the funnier.
RE: The Panzer M-4. The Turks have come a LONG way in their weapons production. I saw a 1000 round torture test between the Benelli M-4 and the Panzer M-4 to see which was the better weapon.
Color me SHOCKED when the Benelli had 3 failures, one of which required a “return to manufacturer” for the repair.
The Panzer had NO ISSUES other than one failure/misfeed that was attributed to the ammo.
Needless to say I own 2x now as the Price Point can be as low as $400 at Palmetto State, if one forgoes the Tacticool Look and stick to the traditional wood on it (which IMO is better for buttstroking a MF’er if needed)