S&W website - Modern Sporting Rifles

[cyphertext]

Has anyone else noticed that the S&W website is now referring to their rifles as "Modern Sporting Rifles" instead of "tactical rifles"? Is marketing about to go in a different direction with their lineup, or is this just some PC fallout from the Colorado shooting?

 

[GMC man]

Has anyone else noticed that the S&W website is now referring to their rifles as "Modern Sporting Rifles" instead of "tactical rifles"? Is marketing about to go in a different direction with their lineup, or is this just some PC fallout from the Colorado shooting?

I would venture a guess that the rifle industry wants to change the nomenclature of the ar's for the uninformed so they dont get scared by the evil names "assault or tactical" after all MSR sounds soooo less scary and military

 

[oneyeopn]

that is a good question cyphertext. there is so much confusion about what is or isn't an "assault rifle", we know the difference but to the uninformed masses anything that resembles an M16 or M4 is an "assault rifle". Maybe to get in front of any proposed legislation they started calling their rifles by a different name hoping it will sink in.

 

[storeyteller]

Seems like a good PR move. Although I think they shoulda went with 'Automatic Dispensers of Happiness' instead.

 

[oneyeopn]

Seems like a good PR move. Although I think they shoulda went with 'Automatic Dispensers of Happiness' instead.

Storyteller should that be "semi-automatic dispensers of happiness"?

 

[storeyteller]

You are correct. My apologies.

 

[Maddmax]

I would venture a guess that the rifle industry wants to change the nomenclature of the ar's for the uninformed so they dont get scared by the evil names "assault or tactical" after all MSR sounds soooo less scary and military

It'd be nice if the braindead news media would get there facts right in the difference between automatic and semi automatic too. About as bad as clips and mags. Wheel loaders are not bulldozers and excavators are not craines is another pet peeve.

 

[Maddmax]

Storyteller should that be "semi-automatic dispensers of happiness"?

How about "semi-automatc dispensers of our 2nd amendment rights".?

 

[oneyeopn]

I like that one also but when you mention the 2nd, the politocrats run like rats.

 

[rtquig]

If you get the chance to watch Yukon men, one of the younger guys uses an AR to hunt with all the time. I Can't tell what caliber it is though. Also the AR seems to be a hit with the hog hunting crowd so we can call it a sporting rifle.

 

[TangoFoxtrot]

Its all smoke and mirrors now in the firearms industry. They now have to watch their marketing tactics carefully due to Colorado shooting and the anti-gun lobby. I would too if I own a firearms co.

 

[oneyeopn]

I looked at the website and saw what you are talking about and I like it! I think I have it figured out. Being as it is a Modern Sporting Rifle, people can quit complaining about it not being milspec, it is not a military weapon and doesn't need to be milspec. It is a very accurate, dependable Modern Sporting Rifle which performs exceptionally for what its intended purposes are. Target shooting, varmint hunting, general plinking and certain models, competition. So now that we know what they really are we can be done with this milspec nonsense and get on with our modern sporting rifles....

 

[cyphertext]

You might be on to something Grover, because if you look at the rifles under Law Enforcement, the Sport isn't listed there. None of the new rifles with the 1:8 twist are on the law enforcement page, except the M&P 15 PC, and that is a modern sporting rifle if I ever saw one!

 

[smithnframe]

Trying to be politically correct!

 

[smithnframe]

Maybe S&W will put a lock on those too!

 

[CBR240]

The effort to call certain use AR15s "modern sporting rifles" has been going on for quite some time, and I have no issue with it. I think it represents the reality of the wide spectrum of uses the AR15 platform now serves. It is about trying to make known that AR15/M4 platform is now put to many uses other then killing people (when you say assault rifle or tactical rifle, that's what most people assume; not saying that makes sense, just it is what it is).

When you look at all the uses of the AR platform, it has become somewhat America's can do anything (most anything?) platform. Such as:
- Target competition - notice how many AR platform guns do quite well at Camp Perry each year. They are very significant in target shooting and it has been that way for many years.
- Hunting - lots of people hunt with ARs now.
- Recreation - ARs are fun to shoot, and fun to work on / customize.

It's really become a versatile, configurable modern rifle (even though it was designed ~50 years ago). It reaches well beyond the military/tactical use.

The "National Shooting Sports Foundation":
Modern Sporting Rifle | NSSF

From their site:

The National Shooting Sports Foundation has launched a national media campaign designed to correct widespread misperceptions among gun owners and non-gun owners alike about AR-15-style rifles, also known as Modern Sporting Rifles. It is essential to correct misunderstandings about the use and operation of these rifles because those who support legislation that would wrongly ban ownership of these and other types of semi-automatic firearms are aided by the confusion that exists.

The campaign's educational ads have been placed in major firearm and sporting magazines and on outdoor cable television networks. This Web site expands the educational messages delivered in the media campaign to promote an even better understanding of how civilian sporting rifles have evolved from military rifles over time.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the shooting, hunting and firearms industry. Formed in 1961, the National Shooting Sports Foundation is a not-for-profit organization with a membership of more than 4,000 manufacturers, distributors, retailers, sportsmen's organizations and publishers. NSSF's mission is "to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports."

 

[cyphertext]

CBR240, I had no idea that this has been a push for a couple of years. I had never seen the term before the day that I started this thread. Thanks for posting the NSSF link. They did a nice job on the videos outlining the history of how military arms technology has found its way into "sporting arms".

 

[Chubbs103]

Colt has been marketing a "Sporter" model all the way back to the SP-1. I think it makes for good marketing. Not just to make the rifles less threatening to the non-shooting public, but to make them more appealing to a wider variety of shooters. Just look at the rifles from Ambush Arms. Daniel Defense makes very fine tactical rifles, but they were looking for a different market.

Oh by the way, 99.9% of the AR-15s only see "sporting" use anyway.

Maybe we are finally getting past the much over-used "tactical" label.

Chubbs