December 10, 2024 • 30 mins
Welcome to HeadHunters NW Podcast! I'm Shaylene Keiner, an executive recruiter with a passion for the global defense, small arms and shooting sectors. Join me as I sit down with top executives and industry leaders to dive deep into the world of global manufacturing, service companies, non-profits and more. Together, we explore the latest trends, innovations, and the inspiring stories behind the people who drive this dynamic industry forward. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just curious about what makes this world tick, you're in for engaging conversations that go beyond the surface. Let's uncover the fascinating stories and insights that shape the global defense, small arms and shooting sectors. Subscribe now and become a part of our community!
Join Shaylene in this episode of the HeadHunters NW podcast as she talks to "KB", co-owner of 51Fifty Rifles, about the unconventional start of his firearms business, his dedication to quality, American-made products, and his commitment to supporting veterans and first responders through charitable efforts. Hear about the deep family roots that got him started, and the strong industry relationships that have helped shape his company. Get insights into their innovative product designs, collaborations with industry influencers, and upcoming appearances at SHOT Show and Prairie Fire range day.
51Fifty/Optimum 2025 Gundies Nominee for Most Innovative Brand of the Year. Please vote for innovation over name recognition.
Here is the live voting link:
https://thegundies.com/nominee/51fifty/
Website: https://51fiftyrifles.com/
FIND US:
On the web: https://www.headhuntersnw.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Shaylene (00:00):
Hi everyone.
This is Shaylene Keinerwith HeadHunters NW podcast.
This is going to be afast 20 or 30 minutes.
I know because my guest KeithBarry, who goes by KB, who is one
of the owners of 51Fifty Rifles.
He is a pleasure to talk with and fun.
And I know when we were on thephone, I mean, we could have kept
(00:22):
talking, so I'm gonna have to get ona plane, I guess, and go out there.
So did I, did I say thename of your company, right?
Okay.
Yeah,
KB (00:30):
yeah.
Then our sister company is optimum.
So 51 50 is all the firearms,serialized firearms, whereas optimum
is our accessory lines like our scopemounts and sites and hand guards
and so brings that kind of thing.
Shaylene (00:44):
Now see, I've learned something new.
I don't even think I realized thatthat's what I love about these.
Well, it's such a pleasure to have youon and we We have you on today because
the podcast right before this with JoshuaBoomgaarden who who makes products and
accessories and They have a great companycalled Breek Arms He mentioned you several
(01:08):
times in the podcast and said Shaylene.
You have to talk to kb I meanasked to be on your podcast.
So how fun is it for methat I get to have you?
So thank you for doing this.
I want people to know aboutyou and know You Why Joshua
is so excited about you two.
I don't know if it's a formalmentor and mentee, but it should be.
KB (01:29):
No, I just let him play with our toys and he fell in love with them.
That's all.
Nothing big.
You know, you let someone playthe full auto and all of a
sudden you're their best buddy.
Just joking.
We use Josh's parts in our inour weapons and he's great.
They're great people over there at Breek.
Josh is a good guy andhe's done a great job.
We use his charging handles.
We use his muzzle devices, whichinteract with the suppressors.
(01:50):
that he actually introducedus to anechoic suppressors.
And so it's just a very symbioticyou know, friendship relationship
that it didn't require any effort.
It was very organic the way thatwe all kind of came together
and started working together.
And it's been awesome.
Shaylene (02:07):
That's great.
Well, he, he was so impressedbecause he said that you started your
business in a very unconventional way.
And we talked about that a little bit,but I would love for our audience to hear
about your dad and how you got into this.
I just think, you know, whatyou guys stand for, it's not
really about just making rifles.
It's actually much deeper than that.
KB (02:29):
Yeah.
So we, we the joke is thatwe ended up becoming a gun
manufacturer by one accident.
Yeah.
So what happened was my dad in 2015achieved a lifelong goal of becoming
a gunsmith, certified gunsmith.
And I get a call from him andhe's just like, I've done it.
You know, thinking he'd been married40 something years and what's great.
(02:49):
This would be an interesting phone call.
And, , he's like, I achieved my goal.
I'm a certified gunsmith.
That's awesome.
Anytime anybody achieves a goal,no matter what point in life.
The fact that they stuck with to achievesomething that was important to them.
It should always be commended.
But my dad is one of thosepeople that he doesn't really do.
Well, he didn't do a lot for himself.
(03:09):
He would help out someone else, evenif it meant that he went without, or,
or there's something he wanted to do,or him and my mom wanted to do that.
He would help someone if theywere in need of help himself.
And so I had a conversation withmy wife and I said, you know, I'd
really like to do something for dad.
That he would never do for himself.
And she's like, well then do it.
(03:29):
You don't need my permission.
My dad and her were veryclose also before he passed.
And so I designed thefirst rifle I ever built.
And I spent a few monthsbuilding and designing it.
And what I was doing was trickingmy dad into designing his dream gun.
And so I call him up like, Oh, yeah,I had a conversation at work today
(03:51):
with these guys and we're talkingabout barrels and fluted barrels.
And you go, Oh God, I've alwayswanted a gun with a fluted barrel.
All right, check.
And I just went through andbasically made him design his own
rifle for the purpose of hunting.
Cause that was, youknow, he's a big hunter.
And then I engraved it with allhis pertinent military service
information from Vietnam and thesilhouette of the ship he served on
(04:13):
during Vietnam and presented to himfor his birthday that year in 2015.
And first time I've seen my dad outsideof his his dad's funeral speeches.
And you know, John only got toshoot it, I think twice, maybe
three times before he passed.
But that set us on the path.
And my wife says, well, youknow, that turned out amazing.
(04:35):
Would you make me a rifle?
So then, you know, I made herher rifles name is Medusa.
Shaylene (04:42):
That's great.
KB (04:43):
It's yeah, it's four snakes wrapping around the suppressor.
And that led down to, you know what,you fast forward and what really kind
of started this, really truly startedthis was when those five officers
were ambushed in Dallas in 2016.
It was a bad day.
It was.
It was a horrible day.
And we have a lot of friendsand family in multiple states.
(05:07):
And my wife says, hey,can we do something?
Shaylene (05:10):
Cause you guys used to live in that area, right?
KB (05:12):
Yeah, at the time we lived in Dallas when all this happened.
And he would give me my dad,build me one for my dad.
And so I started making some callsand I got in touch with Trey Penny,
Sergeant Penny, at the time waswith the Dallas police department.
He was a sergeant there.
He's finally retired.
But he's the founder of, at the time itwas the Dallas Fallen Officers Foundation.
(05:32):
Which is now called the Texas FallenOfficers Foundation, and he's also
the president and founder of theNational Fallen Officers Foundation.
And we called him and said, hey, youknow, would you be interested in us
building a, a themed rifle, somethingcool looking, to pay tribute to those
officers that you can auction offfor proceeds to go to the family.
(05:53):
And he's like, absolutely.
So we built a rifle and weactually called it tribute.
Had the Dallas skyline right down the handguard with a thin blue line through it.
But that sold for a little over15 grand, I believe at auction.
Wow.
So that went to the five family members.
And that.
Just kind of started there from there.
People started, Hey, well, you know,we have a charity, would you help?
(06:16):
And, and I think we're involved with nineor 10 charities now total varying levels.
Not, we don't do, Oh, here's a gun.
Here's a gun.
Right.
Expensive and the ATF paperwork's no fun.
But you know, you know, we'll dowhat we can whether it's, it's, you
know, we've cut challenge coins andlike, Oh, we'll get, we'll throw a a
(06:37):
gift certificate on the, on the tablewith a custom made challenge coin.
And that gift certificate is goodfor a percentage off or for a
free scope mount or whatever, butit has to go a silent auction so
that the charity makes the money.
We have certain rules.
The charity has to be more than 90cents on the dollar has to go to
the, the first responders that are,they're trying to help or to the
(06:59):
veterans that they're trying to help.
It can't be going tosalaries and overhead.
It really has to go to the people.
Otherwise, what's the point?
I mean, there's a lot there with big,big names, but people would be unhappily
just blown away shocked by how muchactually goes to the people that claim
they're helping versus how much isgoing into the administrator's salaries.
(07:24):
Yeah, it's an
Shaylene (07:25):
important thing to look into and people, you know, most people
including me don't always think to dothat But that's very commendable that
you guys are setting the bar and sayingthis is what we're willing to do But
this has to move this minimum goal.
KB (07:39):
Yeah because unlike in this, and I may be wrong, so if I, if I
am wrong and anybody's watching thisfrom another company, I apologize.
I don't know it.
But through helping those peopleand our involvement in these
charities, I got to talk to veterans.
(08:00):
I got to talk to prior service lawenforcement or first responders
and find out what they feltshortcomings were in weapon design.
And that we actually listened.
And everything about our platform evenwhat we're, we're working on for debut at
our range day shop show 2025, everythingcomes from that real, real world input.
(08:24):
And even when we released our gun,we had a few more things come through
and we listened to it and we vettedit out and did some more research and
oh my God, this was great information.
And we made a change or adjustmentto incorporate that data to
make our platform even better.
Shaylene (08:39):
Real users, real users, actual users of the product.
KB (08:43):
Yes, the peacekeepers and the warriors that keep this country free and protected.
That's who I'm listening to.
Yeah.
At the end of the day, if it's what theyneed and want to do their job, well then,
the consumer buying it to go to the rangeto go hunting or to defend their house and
family, is going to be better off as well.
Shaylene (09:03):
Oh, yeah, yeah, and it's an interesting way to start a business.
I mean really it is by accident andhere you are You know making these
amazing rifles and anyone who'slistening right now I should have said
in the beginning you can look up theirwebsite while you're listening to this.
It's 5 1 50 spelled out f i f t y rifles.
(09:25):
com, correct?
KB (09:26):
And
Shaylene (09:27):
it is so five one F.
I.
F.
T.
Y.
Rifles.
com.
Boy, we're going to haveto test my spelling.
I should have writtenthat out in front of me
KB (09:36):
because
Shaylene (09:41):
it's a really neat website.
And you have some people imageson that website of real operators
who use your rifles and that youthat have had a part in making
input on who's what you're making.
KB (09:54):
Yeah.
And some of them are just relationshipswell known people that we're, we have
been lucky enough to cross paths withand have mutual, you know, similar
ideologies and thoughts on things.
And Larry's just getting a text fromJohn Tick Titan from Benghazi which
on our, right there on the mainpage is a limited edition rifle.
We're only gonna make 50 of them, youknow, sort of pre selling them before cut
(10:19):
them all because it's a lot of laser time.
Custom serial numbers.
So we got to, you know, have themall sold before I start serializing
because things have to be serializedas but you know, we've gotten to know
we've done four rifles now for Randycouture, the MMA legend actor in fact,
this one is actually his personalrifle that's being shipped out to him.
(10:41):
He's not auctioning off.
And then Sheriff Mark lamb isall on Fox news all the time.
He's a friend of ours aswell as his chief deputy.
They're both retired now are retiringnext month from law enforcement.
You know, Dana Lash,national radio show host.
She has one of our guns.
It's we've been very lucky to getto know a lot of famous people, well
(11:02):
known people and they're just normalpeople like the rest of us people and
they just like, they love shooting.
They love the second amendment andthey literally came our way because of
our start out with our charity work.
And now they just, they own our guns.
Shaylene (11:16):
That's really, really special.
Now, you mentioned that you'regoing to be at SHOT Show here in a
couple months, and you guys have,are going to be at Range Day.
KB (11:26):
We're going to be at our, so it's not going to be the SHOT Show
Industry Day at the Range, the typicalone everyone knows about it's it's
going to be held at Prairie Fire.
Okay,
Shaylene (11:34):
that's right.
KB (11:35):
Yeah, Prairie Fire is associated to Staccato, fantastic pistol brand, and and
actually quite a few large manufacturersare going to be out there with us.
The whole 550 acre facility is sold out.
Wow.
Yeah, so there's a lot of big, bigknown names like Colt and, and others.
They're gonna be out there with us.
And the cool thing about it that weliked is, you know, shot show doesn't
(11:55):
allow the public to attend, which,
Shaylene (11:57):
right, that's true.
KB (11:59):
Most of us don't like, because at the end of the day, the public's
the one who's gonna buy the guns or,or whatever's being shown at shots
show the knives, everything else.
Prairie Fire is doing it differentthan even if you're in the media
and you don't get a direct inviteto the shot day at the range, you
can't go to shot day at the range.
Well here, you can actuallystill attend even if you weren't
(12:20):
directly invited by a manufacturer.
And then Prairie Fire says, look,public wants to come, they can pay
admission at the door, they can come in.
Cause they're the end user, they'rethe people whose business we're
trying to earn ultimately anyways.
Right, right.
So, I honestly think that NRA and GunOwners of America have done a better
job with their shows in the sense thatthey'll do half, half of it, it's a
(12:42):
four day thing, they'll do half of itthat's industry only and they do the
other half that is the public can comein alongside the industry and maybe
they get to meet these influencersor whatever that, you know, emulator,
see, run into famous people see theguns that are about to hit the market.
That's it.
would be smart on shock s thenthose people go into like,
(13:04):
hey, you need to go shelf.
I want,
Shaylene (13:08):
it is, it i those two trade shows
your product managers alo feedbackright then from and that is a
different k that is direct from thec we don't know why you're have you
(13:29):
considered doing While it can be timeconsuming and exhausting, it is the
end consumer and it is very valuableat those shows for the consumer to go.
KB (13:40):
Yeah.
And, and the hard part is, is, youknow, we're not going to go to all
the, the, the, just because of timeand, and constraints of locate, locale
you know, cause they're so spread out,all the consumer shows, the consumer
shows get to be, you know, they're realsmall and last thing, at least me as
a manufacturer that I want to do is.
You know, you know, BobJohnson guns they're trying
(14:05):
to sell guns at a trade show.
And then we're coming in as amanufacturer saying, Hey, ignore them.
Buy directly from us.
Right.
Right.
Our whole business model is made so thatdealers make the margin and can, and
can actually be profitable, but offera superior platform that has actually
moving technology along and innovationalong and offer it to their consumers.
(14:27):
The other thing is.
100 percent of everything that goesinto our weapons is American made,
Shaylene (14:31):
period.
Fantastic.
KB (14:33):
And in, and then if we have a vendor we're going with because we
vetted them out, and they're Americanmade materials and process and
everything, and they're veteran now.
They're going to get preferenceover a non veteran owned supplier.
Shaylene (14:46):
Yep.
That's awesome.
That's incredible.
We didn't talk about that before.
That's really special.
And just to kind of go back to thedealers, they're really important to us.
And I know it's really hard as adealer, which when we use the term
dealer in the industry, it means Youknow, your local gun store, right?
It's someone that I go down here in Codyand I go to the gun store and I pick
(15:09):
up my rifle because I need an FFL toship it into or I go and pick one up.
You know, I've, I've done that with ourlocal gun store where it's, you know my
husband's birthday and we've been talkingabout, you know, maybe shooting some, some
competition pistols for fun or something.
And it's something we do together,a thing that we all share.
(15:29):
And those dealers.
Are really important to us in ourindustry and we do need to support them.
I think that's really very specialand good to note that because
without them, it would be reallyhard for us to be in business.
KB (15:43):
Yeah, I agree.
And, and the other aspectof that is the consumer.
And I think a lot of people inthis industry overlook that.
So, and as you know, in the industrythere's minimum advertised price map.
And, and after spending 20years in the car business, I
view anything like that as.
the race to the bottom.
When you start making theprice of anything fluid all
you do is devalue the product.
(16:05):
Yes.
But we also don't agree with people,Oh, the market's high right now on that.
Let's, let's run it up over.
So our policy is also with our dealersis the MSRP is the MSRP period.
You're not allowed to discount it.
You're not allowed tosell for a dollar more.
The price is the price.
That way the consumer knows nomatter what the economy is doing.
(16:25):
We are stable.
We are consistent.
We are not the cheapest out there,nor do I want to be the cheapest.
Good isn't cheap.
Cheap isn't good.
If I'm going to put our logo, our nameon it, my name on it, Steve's, David's
name on it it is going to be the bestproduct available period, even if there's
more expensive products out there.
Shaylene (16:43):
Yeah.
Right.
Well, it's important.
That's how I feel about my recruiting.
My name's on it.
I'm not the cheapest.
And I'm not the most expensive, but I,I do feel like it's really important
to know where your niche is in themarket and be true to yourself.
Don't, I just don't want us toever be like the pizza industry.
You know, does anyone ever buya pizza now without a coupon?
(17:06):
I mean, I don't, I don't want to be that.
KB (17:09):
Right now, people who come to me are going to come, come to me or my brand
and David's brand, our brand, because.
of our innovation because of our superiorquality, because of our commitment to
America, because that do we want to befinancially successful and be able to
provide a better life for our families?
Absolutely.
That's it.
(17:31):
We also want to be able to continueto give back and help those who
have helped our country or, orprotect us every day, you know,
firefighters, so on and so forth.
And the only way that we can do that isobviously selling our way plus another.
Shaylene (17:46):
Well, now you guys are going to be, people can reach you at SHOT Show.
I know you're not doing the industryday at the range, but you're
going to be walking the floor.
And I believe some of your productsare going to be in different booths.
KB (17:58):
Yeah, we're we're planning, I don't know, four or five booths, six booths.
Myself and Steve, or myself,Steve and David, I'm not sure yet.
What the arrangement is going tobe will be in Under Armour's booth
on Thursday of shot show with thecast of Surviving Man TV show.
And of course, American Sheriff SheriffMark Lamb will be there with us, a
(18:18):
friend of ours, because we just filmedSurviving Man, which our episodes will
start airing, I think, late February.
early March where our weaponswere used on the show.
Actually, this is, this is one ofthe ones that was used on the show.
Oh, how
Shaylene (18:32):
cool.
KB (18:33):
And and then otherwise, yeah, we'll be, we'll be moving around.
I think we're gonnahave some, some weapons.
We have a new hunting rifle line.
We're bullet action hunting rifleline and precision debuting.
Those will probably be in Hyperfire,our trigger company's booth.
There are probably some also we're ananechoic, our suppressor company's booth.
Okay.
I don't remember if Bri washaving a booth or not, but I'll,
(18:54):
I'll follow up with Josh, but
Shaylene (18:56):
I think they're gonna be on, their products are gonna be on a booth.
I can't remember right now, but Iknow they're gonna be there as well.
KB (19:04):
We just wanted to try something different, but we will have, we're to set
up our shooting lane at, at at PrairieFire, almost like a shot show booths.
So when they, the people come through.
And honestly, I'd encourage everybody,you're going to shot show, even if
you just go to shot show, shot showto go to the prairie fire range day,
you don't go to the main show amountof vendors are gonna be out there.
(19:24):
They're putting up a giant carnival tent.
They're gonna have non firingvendors are gonna be set up in there.
Josh is gonna be set up in there.
They're gonna have food trucks out there.
They're running shuttlesto and from the strip.
I'd encourage dealers who maybe arelike they're hesitant about spending
the money to be at the actual shot showbecause badges and everything for non
display vendors are quite expensive.
(19:47):
Fly in Sunday, do the prairie firerange day, come shoot some really
cool guns, meet some great people.
Write some orders for your, for yourbusiness for the year to get some products
that are going to be on the floor thatmaybe you otherwise couldn't afford to go
to the shop show to do or couldn't dealwith the credentials or just don't want
to deal with, you know, 60, 000 people.
I get that.
Some people don't want to deal with that.
And then you go home on Tuesday.
(20:08):
You know, you could do all ofthat for less than doing two days
at actual shop show, but stillget all the benefits of being
Shaylene (20:14):
a judge.
Well, there's a lot of choices inVegas and there's a lot of off event.
Things going on.
Yes.
So you could do a mix of both.
You could do, I mean,it's pick and choose.
Right.
But it's good to know people have choices.
Yeah.
Now, this, this Prairie fire thing,how do people find out about it?
Where, where's the information at?
KB (20:35):
So, Prairie Fire, I mean, it'll be on our social media, so, okay.
On Instagram, it's just at, andthen the number 51, the word 50.
So we will, once Prairie Fire makes thethe calendar, everything available, the
portal, they're supposed to have theportal live, I believe, early next week.
So, literally like the 1st, the 2ndof December, somewhere in there.
(20:55):
Okay.
You be able to go on thereand sign up for access.
Any, any media people,dealers, anybody watching this?
They, they want access.
They wanna come out and meet usand see what we're all about.
Shaylene (21:05):
Yeah.
KB (21:06):
They're more than welcome to reach out to us directly.
Obviously there's acontact on our website.
They contact us through good media accountand I have no problem putting 'em on
our list of guests to get acceptance in.
And even if they just show up, there'sgonna be a minimal admission at the gate.
Prairie Fire is an absolutelybeautiful facility.
(21:27):
They did an amazing job.
It's I've gone to several outdoorfacilities all over the country, and
it's if it's not the best, then it's damnclose to the best facility in the country.
Shaylene (21:38):
That's the one nice thing about Vegas.
You can get anything and doanything, and it's amazing.
Now, when you go, if you've notbeen to one of you decide I'm going
to g to bring a hat and a coat isvery cold in the morni have had some
(21:58):
years where and the wind's blowing.
S be miserable like me.
The and I went to media day a not knowany of that and I don't want that for any
KB (22:13):
no mountains breaking the is no trees breaking the w It
is wide open and, and windy.
It is absolutely worththe trip to come out.
You know, I'd love to meet everybodyespecially you, you dealers, law
enforcement, whatever, come on out.
We're, we, we're being lookedat by several law enforcement
(22:34):
agencies now for the versatilityand adaptability of our weapons.
We're debuting our new hunting rifles.
Oh,
Shaylene (22:39):
talk about the, talk about the left hand right hand thing.
KB (22:43):
Yep.
So everything in our new hunting line,all our bolt action guns are available in
our, our, our known, our ARs that we'reknown for, which we're debuting our AR 10.
This will look differentthan what you're seeing here.
This is not the new one.
We're not going to let anybodysee it before SHOT Show.
Yeah.
It will have our, our cam system.
That's what we're known for,eliminating the takedown pin system.
(23:03):
So this is a right handedgun, 14 and a half inch upper.
I can throw a lever, take thatoff, and if this was a left handed
upper, you can imagine that I justwent to a 10 and a half inch gun.
Shaylene (23:15):
Wow.
KB (23:15):
That quick.
But all your controlswill be ambidextrous.
They will fall to the same point onthe gun, on both sides of the gun,
both your bolt catch and mag release.
So they'll require the same pressure.
They'll be in the exact same location.
So it'll basically be mirroredon both sides of the gun.
They're
Shaylene (23:31):
truly ambidextrous.
They
KB (23:33):
literally go from, like I said, left handed upper to right
handed, with the controls beingthe same in a matter of seconds.
A big deal ar fifteens as well.
Shaylene (23:44):
Such a big deal.
And like you taught me on thephone, it's not just about
being left-handed, right-handed.
It's that some people are, theirone eye is different than the other.
And so you might be right-handed, but youmight need a different, different side
for your whatever is your dominant eye,
KB (24:01):
right?
So you either learn to shoot left, Imean, you can get around that if you shoot
with both eyes, if you're right-handedand shoot with both eyes open.
But a lot of people won'tshoot with both eyes open.
So yeah.
It is honestly a goodskill to have anyways.
A lot of our military practice that a lotof competitive shooters practice that,
you know, strong hand a weak, weak side,you know, you know, how to shoot with
your opposite hand is a good skill becauseif Lord knows something hits the fan,
Shaylene (24:27):
you
KB (24:28):
can't use your dominant hand.
You still want to be able to
Shaylene (24:31):
stay in the fight.
Yeah, exactly.
No, it's very important no matter what.
Now, a couple things I want tomention before we wrap up here.
Your Instagram, people shouldfollow you on Instagram.
That's your main place.
And it's at 5 1 F I F T Y.
com or no, that's your handle isthat your Instagram is 51Fifty.
(24:52):
That's it.
Okay.
All right.
And then the other thing I wantedto mention, I know we're getting to
the end of our time is that we weretalking about earlier when we weren't
recording about articles and writeups and you guys have gotten quite a
few write ups on digital journalism,write ups and articles and things.
(25:12):
And I just wanted to mention to allmy journalism friends, who I have many
this is just a really special tool andlots of options here to write about.
So this might be a good thing to,scoop up before other people do.
I would love to see you guysget more write ups in some
of our industry magazines.
(25:33):
There's a lot of them andthere's some really good
writers we have in our industry.
KB (25:38):
Absolutely.
We love love articles.
We can send out weapons for like atemporary transfer, you know, temporary
TV for those write ups or those articles.
We also just found out we were I haven'tdone out which categories, but I think
to we were nominated for Gundy award.
this is our second year in a row.
We were nominated last yearfor most innovative brand.
We didn't win, but that wasour first time being nominated.
(26:01):
We're not in again, I believe formost innovative brand, I think we're
also going to be nominated or possiblynominated for a merchant brand a year.
So anybody watching this December1st, the 15th you can vote every
once a day per email address.
And some people who are near anddear to us have also been nominated
like he shirts and she runs our sheruns a raffle similar to the one I
(26:21):
just showed you in tactical games.
She actually just finished a secondin nationals, only lost first place
by three and a half points, extremelyproud to be affiliated with her.
Our gun is run on a primaldivide hunting TV show.
He's actually our new boltaction hunting rifles replacing
Winchester's on his gun on his show.
Wow.
(26:42):
And then he runs our ARs as well.
He runs a gas gun.
And I believe he might be nominatedfor a Gundy for best outdoorsman.
A young man who went on thesurviving man show with us, probably
one of the most talented threegun shooters in the industry.
Nate Schmidt he was just nominated forbest shooter, which is a crowded category.
Yeah.
And then, and then a friend ofours, you may know Kevin Reese,
(27:04):
I heard he may be nominated forbest to a writer, top to a writer.
And then a friend who's realclose to us does reviews on he's
a, it's a, the range report FrankJohnson for best gun reviewer.
And then also he's got asecond amendments rights thing.
And so for voices of two way I knowI voted for a nomination for him
(27:26):
for, for voices of the two way.
So.
If you guys see those guys popup, please please vote for them.
It'd be nice to see someoneother than the typical big names.
Yeah.
Nothing against that.
Shaylene (27:37):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's fun to get you know, that'swhat I love about this industry.
We have new people coming in all thetime and people have been doing it for
years that we just haven't met yet.
Like, I don't know how you and I haven'tmet, but that's what I love about this
job because I don't know everybody.
I would love to, but it'salways something to learn.
(27:57):
Always someone you meet that youcan learn something from, and it's
the best industry in the world.
KB (28:02):
It really is.
I wish there was a little morepeople helping each other and there's
plenty of business to go around.
No one needs to begrudge anybody else.
We can all, you know,we all have our niche.
And even if we're in the sameniche, friendly competition,
it makes us all better.
You know, the winner at the end ofthe day is gonna be the consumer who,
(28:24):
whether they're buying my product ormy competitor's product, as long as my
competitor is doing what they can to movethe needle forward and deliver a, a better
product than maybe they have in the past,you know, then what ha what hap whatever.
But at the end of the day, we shouldall get along and, and yeah, and just
have a little friendly competition atthe end of the day, have a beer and,
and, you know, and laugh about it.
Shaylene (28:45):
Yep.
And you know, goodcompetition makes us better.
I know I can say that for me inrecruiting, you know, I'd love
to say I'm the only recruiter,but that's not really the case.
And nor could I be, I couldn'tserve that many people.
It's good that there's other recruitersand I'm glad there's other recruiters.
And I want my competition to be reallygood quality because it makes me better.
(29:06):
So that's the part of being in America.
That's what makes us so great.
A great country to live in.
KB (29:13):
I agree.
Shaylene (29:14):
Well, thank you very much for being on the podcast, KB.
I, I encourage everyone totake a look at 51Fifty rifles.
And until next time, this isShaylene Keiner with HeadHunters NW.
I look forward to servingyou on the next podcast.
Thank you.
KB (29:31):
Thank y'all.
Hi everyone.
This is Shaylene Keinerwith HeadHunters NW podcast.
This is going to be afast 20 or 30 minutes.
I know because my guest KeithBarry, who goes by KB, who is one
of the owners of 51Fifty Rifles.
He is a pleasure to talk with and fun.
And I know when we were on thephone, I mean, we could have kept
(00:22):
talking, so I'm gonna have to get ona plane, I guess, and go out there.
So did I, did I say thename of your company, right?
Okay.
Yeah,
KB (00:30):
yeah.
Then our sister company is optimum.
So 51 50 is all the firearms,serialized firearms, whereas optimum
is our accessory lines like our scopemounts and sites and hand guards
and so brings that kind of thing.
Shaylene (00:44):
Now see, I've learned something new.
I don't even think I realized thatthat's what I love about these.
Well, it's such a pleasure to have youon and we We have you on today because
the podcast right before this with JoshuaBoomgaarden who who makes products and
accessories and They have a great companycalled Breek Arms He mentioned you several
(01:08):
times in the podcast and said Shaylene.
You have to talk to kb I meanasked to be on your podcast.
So how fun is it for methat I get to have you?
So thank you for doing this.
I want people to know aboutyou and know You Why Joshua
is so excited about you two.
I don't know if it's a formalmentor and mentee, but it should be.
KB (01:29):
No, I just let him play with our toys and he fell in love with them.
That's all.
Nothing big.
You know, you let someone playthe full auto and all of a
sudden you're their best buddy.
Just joking.
We use Josh's parts in our inour weapons and he's great.
They're great people over there at Breek.
Josh is a good guy andhe's done a great job.
We use his charging handles.
We use his muzzle devices, whichinteract with the suppressors.
(01:50):
that he actually introducedus to anechoic suppressors.
And so it's just a very symbioticyou know, friendship relationship
that it didn't require any effort.
It was very organic the way thatwe all kind of came together
and started working together.
And it's been awesome.
Shaylene (02:07):
That's great.
Well, he, he was so impressedbecause he said that you started your
business in a very unconventional way.
And we talked about that a little bit,but I would love for our audience to hear
about your dad and how you got into this.
I just think, you know, whatyou guys stand for, it's not
really about just making rifles.
It's actually much deeper than that.
KB (02:29):
Yeah.
So we, we the joke is thatwe ended up becoming a gun
manufacturer by one accident.
Yeah.
So what happened was my dad in 2015achieved a lifelong goal of becoming
a gunsmith, certified gunsmith.
And I get a call from him andhe's just like, I've done it.
You know, thinking he'd been married40 something years and what's great.
(02:49):
This would be an interesting phone call.
And, , he's like, I achieved my goal.
I'm a certified gunsmith.
That's awesome.
Anytime anybody achieves a goal,no matter what point in life.
The fact that they stuck with to achievesomething that was important to them.
It should always be commended.
But my dad is one of thosepeople that he doesn't really do.
Well, he didn't do a lot for himself.
(03:09):
He would help out someone else, evenif it meant that he went without, or,
or there's something he wanted to do,or him and my mom wanted to do that.
He would help someone if theywere in need of help himself.
And so I had a conversation withmy wife and I said, you know, I'd
really like to do something for dad.
That he would never do for himself.
And she's like, well then do it.
(03:29):
You don't need my permission.
My dad and her were veryclose also before he passed.
And so I designed thefirst rifle I ever built.
And I spent a few monthsbuilding and designing it.
And what I was doing was trickingmy dad into designing his dream gun.
And so I call him up like, Oh, yeah,I had a conversation at work today
(03:51):
with these guys and we're talkingabout barrels and fluted barrels.
And you go, Oh God, I've alwayswanted a gun with a fluted barrel.
All right, check.
And I just went through andbasically made him design his own
rifle for the purpose of hunting.
Cause that was, youknow, he's a big hunter.
And then I engraved it with allhis pertinent military service
information from Vietnam and thesilhouette of the ship he served on
(04:13):
during Vietnam and presented to himfor his birthday that year in 2015.
And first time I've seen my dad outsideof his his dad's funeral speeches.
And you know, John only got toshoot it, I think twice, maybe
three times before he passed.
But that set us on the path.
And my wife says, well, youknow, that turned out amazing.
(04:35):
Would you make me a rifle?
So then, you know, I made herher rifles name is Medusa.
Shaylene (04:42):
That's great.
KB (04:43):
It's yeah, it's four snakes wrapping around the suppressor.
And that led down to, you know what,you fast forward and what really kind
of started this, really truly startedthis was when those five officers
were ambushed in Dallas in 2016.
It was a bad day.
It was.
It was a horrible day.
And we have a lot of friendsand family in multiple states.
(05:07):
And my wife says, hey,can we do something?
Shaylene (05:10):
Cause you guys used to live in that area, right?
KB (05:12):
Yeah, at the time we lived in Dallas when all this happened.
And he would give me my dad,build me one for my dad.
And so I started making some callsand I got in touch with Trey Penny,
Sergeant Penny, at the time waswith the Dallas police department.
He was a sergeant there.
He's finally retired.
But he's the founder of, at the time itwas the Dallas Fallen Officers Foundation.
(05:32):
Which is now called the Texas FallenOfficers Foundation, and he's also
the president and founder of theNational Fallen Officers Foundation.
And we called him and said, hey, youknow, would you be interested in us
building a, a themed rifle, somethingcool looking, to pay tribute to those
officers that you can auction offfor proceeds to go to the family.
(05:53):
And he's like, absolutely.
So we built a rifle and weactually called it tribute.
Had the Dallas skyline right down the handguard with a thin blue line through it.
But that sold for a little over15 grand, I believe at auction.
Wow.
So that went to the five family members.
And that.
Just kind of started there from there.
People started, Hey, well, you know,we have a charity, would you help?
(06:16):
And, and I think we're involved with nineor 10 charities now total varying levels.
Not, we don't do, Oh, here's a gun.
Here's a gun.
Right.
Expensive and the ATF paperwork's no fun.
But you know, you know, we'll dowhat we can whether it's, it's, you
know, we've cut challenge coins andlike, Oh, we'll get, we'll throw a a
(06:37):
gift certificate on the, on the tablewith a custom made challenge coin.
And that gift certificate is goodfor a percentage off or for a
free scope mount or whatever, butit has to go a silent auction so
that the charity makes the money.
We have certain rules.
The charity has to be more than 90cents on the dollar has to go to
the, the first responders that are,they're trying to help or to the
(06:59):
veterans that they're trying to help.
It can't be going tosalaries and overhead.
It really has to go to the people.
Otherwise, what's the point?
I mean, there's a lot there with big,big names, but people would be unhappily
just blown away shocked by how muchactually goes to the people that claim
they're helping versus how much isgoing into the administrator's salaries.
(07:24):
Yeah, it's an
Shaylene (07:25):
important thing to look into and people, you know, most people
including me don't always think to dothat But that's very commendable that
you guys are setting the bar and sayingthis is what we're willing to do But
this has to move this minimum goal.
KB (07:39):
Yeah because unlike in this, and I may be wrong, so if I, if I
am wrong and anybody's watching thisfrom another company, I apologize.
I don't know it.
But through helping those peopleand our involvement in these
charities, I got to talk to veterans.
(08:00):
I got to talk to prior service lawenforcement or first responders
and find out what they feltshortcomings were in weapon design.
And that we actually listened.
And everything about our platform evenwhat we're, we're working on for debut at
our range day shop show 2025, everythingcomes from that real, real world input.
(08:24):
And even when we released our gun,we had a few more things come through
and we listened to it and we vettedit out and did some more research and
oh my God, this was great information.
And we made a change or adjustmentto incorporate that data to
make our platform even better.
Shaylene (08:39):
Real users, real users, actual users of the product.
KB (08:43):
Yes, the peacekeepers and the warriors that keep this country free and protected.
That's who I'm listening to.
Yeah.
At the end of the day, if it's what theyneed and want to do their job, well then,
the consumer buying it to go to the rangeto go hunting or to defend their house and
family, is going to be better off as well.
Shaylene (09:03):
Oh, yeah, yeah, and it's an interesting way to start a business.
I mean really it is by accident andhere you are You know making these
amazing rifles and anyone who'slistening right now I should have said
in the beginning you can look up theirwebsite while you're listening to this.
It's 5 1 50 spelled out f i f t y rifles.
(09:25):
com, correct?
KB (09:26):
And
Shaylene (09:27):
it is so five one F.
I.
F.
T.
Y.
Rifles.
com.
Boy, we're going to haveto test my spelling.
I should have writtenthat out in front of me
KB (09:36):
because
Shaylene (09:41):
it's a really neat website.
And you have some people imageson that website of real operators
who use your rifles and that youthat have had a part in making
input on who's what you're making.
KB (09:54):
Yeah.
And some of them are just relationshipswell known people that we're, we have
been lucky enough to cross paths withand have mutual, you know, similar
ideologies and thoughts on things.
And Larry's just getting a text fromJohn Tick Titan from Benghazi which
on our, right there on the mainpage is a limited edition rifle.
We're only gonna make 50 of them, youknow, sort of pre selling them before cut
(10:19):
them all because it's a lot of laser time.
Custom serial numbers.
So we got to, you know, have themall sold before I start serializing
because things have to be serializedas but you know, we've gotten to know
we've done four rifles now for Randycouture, the MMA legend actor in fact,
this one is actually his personalrifle that's being shipped out to him.
(10:41):
He's not auctioning off.
And then Sheriff Mark lamb isall on Fox news all the time.
He's a friend of ours aswell as his chief deputy.
They're both retired now are retiringnext month from law enforcement.
You know, Dana Lash,national radio show host.
She has one of our guns.
It's we've been very lucky to getto know a lot of famous people, well
(11:02):
known people and they're just normalpeople like the rest of us people and
they just like, they love shooting.
They love the second amendment andthey literally came our way because of
our start out with our charity work.
And now they just, they own our guns.
Shaylene (11:16):
That's really, really special.
Now, you mentioned that you'regoing to be at SHOT Show here in a
couple months, and you guys have,are going to be at Range Day.
KB (11:26):
We're going to be at our, so it's not going to be the SHOT Show
Industry Day at the Range, the typicalone everyone knows about it's it's
going to be held at Prairie Fire.
Okay,
Shaylene (11:34):
that's right.
KB (11:35):
Yeah, Prairie Fire is associated to Staccato, fantastic pistol brand, and and
actually quite a few large manufacturersare going to be out there with us.
The whole 550 acre facility is sold out.
Wow.
Yeah, so there's a lot of big, bigknown names like Colt and, and others.
They're gonna be out there with us.
And the cool thing about it that weliked is, you know, shot show doesn't
(11:55):
allow the public to attend, which,
Shaylene (11:57):
right, that's true.
KB (11:59):
Most of us don't like, because at the end of the day, the public's
the one who's gonna buy the guns or,or whatever's being shown at shots
show the knives, everything else.
Prairie Fire is doing it differentthan even if you're in the media
and you don't get a direct inviteto the shot day at the range, you
can't go to shot day at the range.
Well here, you can actuallystill attend even if you weren't
(12:20):
directly invited by a manufacturer.
And then Prairie Fire says, look,public wants to come, they can pay
admission at the door, they can come in.
Cause they're the end user, they'rethe people whose business we're
trying to earn ultimately anyways.
Right, right.
So, I honestly think that NRA and GunOwners of America have done a better
job with their shows in the sense thatthey'll do half, half of it, it's a
(12:42):
four day thing, they'll do half of itthat's industry only and they do the
other half that is the public can comein alongside the industry and maybe
they get to meet these influencersor whatever that, you know, emulator,
see, run into famous people see theguns that are about to hit the market.
That's it.
would be smart on shock s thenthose people go into like,
(13:04):
hey, you need to go shelf.
I want,
Shaylene (13:08):
it is, it i those two trade shows
your product managers alo feedbackright then from and that is a
different k that is direct from thec we don't know why you're have you
(13:29):
considered doing While it can be timeconsuming and exhausting, it is the
end consumer and it is very valuableat those shows for the consumer to go.
KB (13:40):
Yeah.
And, and the hard part is, is, youknow, we're not going to go to all
the, the, the, just because of timeand, and constraints of locate, locale
you know, cause they're so spread out,all the consumer shows, the consumer
shows get to be, you know, they're realsmall and last thing, at least me as
a manufacturer that I want to do is.
You know, you know, BobJohnson guns they're trying
(14:05):
to sell guns at a trade show.
And then we're coming in as amanufacturer saying, Hey, ignore them.
Buy directly from us.
Right.
Right.
Our whole business model is made so thatdealers make the margin and can, and
can actually be profitable, but offera superior platform that has actually
moving technology along and innovationalong and offer it to their consumers.
(14:27):
The other thing is.
100 percent of everything that goesinto our weapons is American made,
Shaylene (14:31):
period.
Fantastic.
KB (14:33):
And in, and then if we have a vendor we're going with because we
vetted them out, and they're Americanmade materials and process and
everything, and they're veteran now.
They're going to get preferenceover a non veteran owned supplier.
Shaylene (14:46):
Yep.
That's awesome.
That's incredible.
We didn't talk about that before.
That's really special.
And just to kind of go back to thedealers, they're really important to us.
And I know it's really hard as adealer, which when we use the term
dealer in the industry, it means Youknow, your local gun store, right?
It's someone that I go down here in Codyand I go to the gun store and I pick
(15:09):
up my rifle because I need an FFL toship it into or I go and pick one up.
You know, I've, I've done that with ourlocal gun store where it's, you know my
husband's birthday and we've been talkingabout, you know, maybe shooting some, some
competition pistols for fun or something.
And it's something we do together,a thing that we all share.
(15:29):
And those dealers.
Are really important to us in ourindustry and we do need to support them.
I think that's really very specialand good to note that because
without them, it would be reallyhard for us to be in business.
KB (15:43):
Yeah, I agree.
And, and the other aspectof that is the consumer.
And I think a lot of people inthis industry overlook that.
So, and as you know, in the industrythere's minimum advertised price map.
And, and after spending 20years in the car business, I
view anything like that as.
the race to the bottom.
When you start making theprice of anything fluid all
you do is devalue the product.
(16:05):
Yes.
But we also don't agree with people,Oh, the market's high right now on that.
Let's, let's run it up over.
So our policy is also with our dealersis the MSRP is the MSRP period.
You're not allowed to discount it.
You're not allowed tosell for a dollar more.
The price is the price.
That way the consumer knows nomatter what the economy is doing.
(16:25):
We are stable.
We are consistent.
We are not the cheapest out there,nor do I want to be the cheapest.
Good isn't cheap.
Cheap isn't good.
If I'm going to put our logo, our nameon it, my name on it, Steve's, David's
name on it it is going to be the bestproduct available period, even if there's
more expensive products out there.
Shaylene (16:43):
Yeah.
Right.
Well, it's important.
That's how I feel about my recruiting.
My name's on it.
I'm not the cheapest.
And I'm not the most expensive, but I,I do feel like it's really important
to know where your niche is in themarket and be true to yourself.
Don't, I just don't want us toever be like the pizza industry.
You know, does anyone ever buya pizza now without a coupon?
(17:06):
I mean, I don't, I don't want to be that.
KB (17:09):
Right now, people who come to me are going to come, come to me or my brand
and David's brand, our brand, because.
of our innovation because of our superiorquality, because of our commitment to
America, because that do we want to befinancially successful and be able to
provide a better life for our families?
Absolutely.
That's it.
(17:31):
We also want to be able to continueto give back and help those who
have helped our country or, orprotect us every day, you know,
firefighters, so on and so forth.
And the only way that we can do that isobviously selling our way plus another.
Shaylene (17:46):
Well, now you guys are going to be, people can reach you at SHOT Show.
I know you're not doing the industryday at the range, but you're
going to be walking the floor.
And I believe some of your productsare going to be in different booths.
KB (17:58):
Yeah, we're we're planning, I don't know, four or five booths, six booths.
Myself and Steve, or myself,Steve and David, I'm not sure yet.
What the arrangement is going tobe will be in Under Armour's booth
on Thursday of shot show with thecast of Surviving Man TV show.
And of course, American Sheriff SheriffMark Lamb will be there with us, a
(18:18):
friend of ours, because we just filmedSurviving Man, which our episodes will
start airing, I think, late February.
early March where our weaponswere used on the show.
Actually, this is, this is one ofthe ones that was used on the show.
Oh, how
Shaylene (18:32):
cool.
KB (18:33):
And and then otherwise, yeah, we'll be, we'll be moving around.
I think we're gonnahave some, some weapons.
We have a new hunting rifle line.
We're bullet action hunting rifleline and precision debuting.
Those will probably be in Hyperfire,our trigger company's booth.
There are probably some also we're ananechoic, our suppressor company's booth.
Okay.
I don't remember if Bri washaving a booth or not, but I'll,
(18:54):
I'll follow up with Josh, but
Shaylene (18:56):
I think they're gonna be on, their products are gonna be on a booth.
I can't remember right now, but Iknow they're gonna be there as well.
KB (19:04):
We just wanted to try something different, but we will have, we're to set
up our shooting lane at, at at PrairieFire, almost like a shot show booths.
So when they, the people come through.
And honestly, I'd encourage everybody,you're going to shot show, even if
you just go to shot show, shot showto go to the prairie fire range day,
you don't go to the main show amountof vendors are gonna be out there.
(19:24):
They're putting up a giant carnival tent.
They're gonna have non firingvendors are gonna be set up in there.
Josh is gonna be set up in there.
They're gonna have food trucks out there.
They're running shuttlesto and from the strip.
I'd encourage dealers who maybe arelike they're hesitant about spending
the money to be at the actual shot showbecause badges and everything for non
display vendors are quite expensive.
(19:47):
Fly in Sunday, do the prairie firerange day, come shoot some really
cool guns, meet some great people.
Write some orders for your, for yourbusiness for the year to get some products
that are going to be on the floor thatmaybe you otherwise couldn't afford to go
to the shop show to do or couldn't dealwith the credentials or just don't want
to deal with, you know, 60, 000 people.
I get that.
Some people don't want to deal with that.
And then you go home on Tuesday.
(20:08):
You know, you could do all ofthat for less than doing two days
at actual shop show, but stillget all the benefits of being
Shaylene (20:14):
a judge.
Well, there's a lot of choices inVegas and there's a lot of off event.
Things going on.
Yes.
So you could do a mix of both.
You could do, I mean,it's pick and choose.
Right.
But it's good to know people have choices.
Yeah.
Now, this, this Prairie fire thing,how do people find out about it?
Where, where's the information at?
KB (20:35):
So, Prairie Fire, I mean, it'll be on our social media, so, okay.
On Instagram, it's just at, andthen the number 51, the word 50.
So we will, once Prairie Fire makes thethe calendar, everything available, the
portal, they're supposed to have theportal live, I believe, early next week.
So, literally like the 1st, the 2ndof December, somewhere in there.
(20:55):
Okay.
You be able to go on thereand sign up for access.
Any, any media people,dealers, anybody watching this?
They, they want access.
They wanna come out and meet usand see what we're all about.
Shaylene (21:05):
Yeah.
KB (21:06):
They're more than welcome to reach out to us directly.
Obviously there's acontact on our website.
They contact us through good media accountand I have no problem putting 'em on
our list of guests to get acceptance in.
And even if they just show up, there'sgonna be a minimal admission at the gate.
Prairie Fire is an absolutelybeautiful facility.
(21:27):
They did an amazing job.
It's I've gone to several outdoorfacilities all over the country, and
it's if it's not the best, then it's damnclose to the best facility in the country.
Shaylene (21:38):
That's the one nice thing about Vegas.
You can get anything and doanything, and it's amazing.
Now, when you go, if you've notbeen to one of you decide I'm going
to g to bring a hat and a coat isvery cold in the morni have had some
(21:58):
years where and the wind's blowing.
S be miserable like me.
The and I went to media day a not knowany of that and I don't want that for any
KB (22:13):
no mountains breaking the is no trees breaking the w It
is wide open and, and windy.
It is absolutely worththe trip to come out.
You know, I'd love to meet everybodyespecially you, you dealers, law
enforcement, whatever, come on out.
We're, we, we're being lookedat by several law enforcement
(22:34):
agencies now for the versatilityand adaptability of our weapons.
We're debuting our new hunting rifles.
Oh,
Shaylene (22:39):
talk about the, talk about the left hand right hand thing.
KB (22:43):
Yep.
So everything in our new hunting line,all our bolt action guns are available in
our, our, our known, our ARs that we'reknown for, which we're debuting our AR 10.
This will look differentthan what you're seeing here.
This is not the new one.
We're not going to let anybodysee it before SHOT Show.
Yeah.
It will have our, our cam system.
That's what we're known for,eliminating the takedown pin system.
(23:03):
So this is a right handedgun, 14 and a half inch upper.
I can throw a lever, take thatoff, and if this was a left handed
upper, you can imagine that I justwent to a 10 and a half inch gun.
Shaylene (23:15):
Wow.
KB (23:15):
That quick.
But all your controlswill be ambidextrous.
They will fall to the same point onthe gun, on both sides of the gun,
both your bolt catch and mag release.
So they'll require the same pressure.
They'll be in the exact same location.
So it'll basically be mirroredon both sides of the gun.
They're
Shaylene (23:31):
truly ambidextrous.
They
KB (23:33):
literally go from, like I said, left handed upper to right
handed, with the controls beingthe same in a matter of seconds.
A big deal ar fifteens as well.
Shaylene (23:44):
Such a big deal.
And like you taught me on thephone, it's not just about
being left-handed, right-handed.
It's that some people are, theirone eye is different than the other.
And so you might be right-handed, but youmight need a different, different side
for your whatever is your dominant eye,
KB (24:01):
right?
So you either learn to shoot left, Imean, you can get around that if you shoot
with both eyes, if you're right-handedand shoot with both eyes open.
But a lot of people won'tshoot with both eyes open.
So yeah.
It is honestly a goodskill to have anyways.
A lot of our military practice that a lotof competitive shooters practice that,
you know, strong hand a weak, weak side,you know, you know, how to shoot with
your opposite hand is a good skill becauseif Lord knows something hits the fan,
Shaylene (24:27):
you
KB (24:28):
can't use your dominant hand.
You still want to be able to
Shaylene (24:31):
stay in the fight.
Yeah, exactly.
No, it's very important no matter what.
Now, a couple things I want tomention before we wrap up here.
Your Instagram, people shouldfollow you on Instagram.
That's your main place.
And it's at 5 1 F I F T Y.
com or no, that's your handle isthat your Instagram is 51Fifty.
(24:52):
That's it.
Okay.
All right.
And then the other thing I wantedto mention, I know we're getting to
the end of our time is that we weretalking about earlier when we weren't
recording about articles and writeups and you guys have gotten quite a
few write ups on digital journalism,write ups and articles and things.
(25:12):
And I just wanted to mention to allmy journalism friends, who I have many
this is just a really special tool andlots of options here to write about.
So this might be a good thing to,scoop up before other people do.
I would love to see you guysget more write ups in some
of our industry magazines.
(25:33):
There's a lot of them andthere's some really good
writers we have in our industry.
KB (25:38):
Absolutely.
We love love articles.
We can send out weapons for like atemporary transfer, you know, temporary
TV for those write ups or those articles.
We also just found out we were I haven'tdone out which categories, but I think
to we were nominated for Gundy award.
this is our second year in a row.
We were nominated last yearfor most innovative brand.
We didn't win, but that wasour first time being nominated.
(26:01):
We're not in again, I believe formost innovative brand, I think we're
also going to be nominated or possiblynominated for a merchant brand a year.
So anybody watching this December1st, the 15th you can vote every
once a day per email address.
And some people who are near anddear to us have also been nominated
like he shirts and she runs our sheruns a raffle similar to the one I
(26:21):
just showed you in tactical games.
She actually just finished a secondin nationals, only lost first place
by three and a half points, extremelyproud to be affiliated with her.
Our gun is run on a primaldivide hunting TV show.
He's actually our new boltaction hunting rifles replacing
Winchester's on his gun on his show.
Wow.
(26:42):
And then he runs our ARs as well.
He runs a gas gun.
And I believe he might be nominatedfor a Gundy for best outdoorsman.
A young man who went on thesurviving man show with us, probably
one of the most talented threegun shooters in the industry.
Nate Schmidt he was just nominated forbest shooter, which is a crowded category.
Yeah.
And then, and then a friend ofours, you may know Kevin Reese,
(27:04):
I heard he may be nominated forbest to a writer, top to a writer.
And then a friend who's realclose to us does reviews on he's
a, it's a, the range report FrankJohnson for best gun reviewer.
And then also he's got asecond amendments rights thing.
And so for voices of two way I knowI voted for a nomination for him
(27:26):
for, for voices of the two way.
So.
If you guys see those guys popup, please please vote for them.
It'd be nice to see someoneother than the typical big names.
Yeah.
Nothing against that.
Shaylene (27:37):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's fun to get you know, that'swhat I love about this industry.
We have new people coming in all thetime and people have been doing it for
years that we just haven't met yet.
Like, I don't know how you and I haven'tmet, but that's what I love about this
job because I don't know everybody.
I would love to, but it'salways something to learn.
(27:57):
Always someone you meet that youcan learn something from, and it's
the best industry in the world.
KB (28:02):
It really is.
I wish there was a little morepeople helping each other and there's
plenty of business to go around.
No one needs to begrudge anybody else.
We can all, you know,we all have our niche.
And even if we're in the sameniche, friendly competition,
it makes us all better.
You know, the winner at the end ofthe day is gonna be the consumer who,
(28:24):
whether they're buying my product ormy competitor's product, as long as my
competitor is doing what they can to movethe needle forward and deliver a, a better
product than maybe they have in the past,you know, then what ha what hap whatever.
But at the end of the day, we shouldall get along and, and yeah, and just
have a little friendly competition atthe end of the day, have a beer and,
and, you know, and laugh about it.
Shaylene (28:45):
Yep.
And you know, goodcompetition makes us better.
I know I can say that for me inrecruiting, you know, I'd love
to say I'm the only recruiter,but that's not really the case.
And nor could I be, I couldn'tserve that many people.
It's good that there's other recruitersand I'm glad there's other recruiters.
And I want my competition to be reallygood quality because it makes me better.
(29:06):
So that's the part of being in America.
That's what makes us so great.
A great country to live in.
KB (29:13):
I agree.
Shaylene (29:14):
Well, thank you very much for being on the podcast, KB.
I, I encourage everyone totake a look at 51Fifty rifles.
And until next time, this isShaylene Keiner with HeadHunters NW.
I look forward to servingyou on the next podcast.
Thank you.
KB (29:31):
Thank y'all.
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