Whipped Cream Difficulties

I got this from Mike the Musicologist, who got it from Twitter. For some reason, though, I can’t open tweets: I get a “something went wrong” message.

Anyway: Smith and Wesson is buying Savage Arms.

I’m not sure how I should react to this. I own exactly one Savage gun (my first Scout Rifle). I haven’t bought any other Savage rifles, but I’ve handled some at gun stores, and they felt like good products at a fair price.

Savage got back into the handgun market a few years back (they were big in the early part of the 20th century), but I kind of felt like their handguns were mostly “me too” products.

I’m speculating here, but my theory is: S&W will probably drop the handgun line, and keep the long gun line. S&W doesn’t currently have any bolt guns in their lineup (they imported bolt-action rifles from Husqvarna in the late 1960s – early 1970s, from Howa in the 1980s, and made the “i-Bolt” after purchasing Thompson Center), and only one shotgun. I think Savage’s long guns will fill a market gap for S&W.

Savage’s annual net sales hit roughly $160 million, with a skilled workforce of approximately 500 employees. Both companies already use the same dealers, distributors, and big-box retailers, a fact that should help both American-made brands maintain a relatively streamlined delivery process for customers.

I haven’t had much time to think deeper about this, so I may have more thoughts later.

Edited to add: more coverage from “Shooting News Weekly”.