Blog

Seasons come and go. You know this to be true just by virtue of living in a temperate zone on this earth, assuming, of course, that you are reading this from either North America or Europe... Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and back around again. But the metaphor is not a perfect one, as in our lives we transition from one season to another never to return to the previous season. Having kids is a good example of this. They are babies, then toddlers, the school-aged… and so on. Once that season is done, the kids move on and we parents do too, into the next thing that is coming around the bend.

Playas, the Elite Force crew wants to thank you for being there for us. Sincerely, you are the reason we exist, and are very grateful for your support. Furthermore, know that we are working hard at getting the warehouse stocked back up-- it just seems like it’s taking forever. That’s one of the reasons this email is so important. When we get restocked we can let you know here, first. Share this email with your friends-- after you’ve picked up what you need! Thank you, again! Team EF.

Hey Umarex Fans, we’ve got an October Surprise for you and we think you will love it. No, this is an off-year so we don’t have any political dirt to dump, but we do have a limited number of the nittiest and grittiest airgun magazine out there, Airgun Hobbyist’s October Issue. The surprise is that we are stuffing a copy of this issue in every order made from our website while supplies last.

This isn’t just marketing fluff-- don’t wait around this year to get your holiday shopping started. For one, there is a decent chance you have a few extra clams in the pocketbook, but the real reason is there are still on-going issues in the retail shopping space. Inventories are for some things are fine, but for other things it is bad. Some items are in stock, but only in limited quantities. And then there is the unknown factor: will a lock-down shut shipping down completely? Will manufacturing shut down? Will demand spike unexpectedly? Will inflation kick into overdrive?

Late summer is generally a slow and boring time for the outdoors industry. The ramp-up for the holiday shopping season has not yet begun and shoppers are getting their children outfitted for the just-days-away start of school. While it may be slow, we’ve typically got a full plate as we are continually looking ahead to the challenges the coming months will bring. Nevertheless, it’s never a good time to “blink” or miss a day because you never know just who might show up.

It’s currently hotter than ol’ Lucifer’s musty armpit outside as I write this. Never in my life did I think it would be pertinent to advise folks to begin getting their holiday shopping tasks started at such a warm time of the year, yet here I am. While perusing our website this afternoon, product after product is still out of stock. We are expecting stuff to come in… but some products are in such high demand that they are almost guaranteed to be sold out within days of their arrival. So the purpose of this blog entry is to help you get a sound shopping strategy in place for this year’s crazy holiday shopping season.

This past June JB, our marketing director, and myself headed eastward on I40 to the neighboring state of Tennessee for the 2021 POMA (Professional Outdoor Media Association) annual conference. The whole purpose of this conference is to join manufacturers directly with writers and other content creators face to face for some good old-fashioned networking. It is a busy few days where we learn from each other and can gain crucial trusting relationships with content creators who can help spread the word on our products. Yes, even in this seemingly all-digital world, face-to-face interaction is still the best way to do business.

The joy of shooting is something that anyone can enjoy. Does everyone enjoy it? No, but that’s their own fault. While that is a subject matter all on its own, target shooting is the theme of today’s missive. Target shooting isn’t necessarily about delivering lots of power to a target. The last time I checked, paper is very easy to puncture and the name of the game in target shooting is precision. Now let's not get carried away. I don’t want anyone thinking that I’m some sort of precision marksman. Far from it, actually. But, I do have a number of interests that I seek to improve my performance in as my interest grows in those areas. Whether I am talking about photography, being a father, or shooting, I want to be better today than I was yesterday.

Simplicity reigns supreme. Yep, in this ever more complicated world we live in, simplicity is still a desirable characteristic for products to have. If not a simple device, a simple interface will suffice, but at the end of the day, the simple tool has fewer failure points and will stand to do its job another day. Using the venerable hammer (the tool, not the PCP air rifle) as an example, contractors rarely actually frame out a house with 16 penny nails and 24 oz framing hammers anymore, but when the pneumatic hammer and rolls of nails run out, you can better believe that the tool belt will be filled with regular old nails and a regular old hammer in the carpenter’s hand.

Round BBs are the dominant ammo format for air-powered pistols. While BB pistols, especially licensed replica designs are seemingly sucking up all the air in the room, pellet pistols have always been a popular choice for shooters looking to take care of garden pests or for some friendly backyard or basement target shooting. Can you do this with a CO2-powered BB pistol? Yes and no. Or rather no, and yes. BB pistols are not ideal for taking care of small game. Yes, they can dispatch some small game, but the humane thing to do is use a harder-hitting pellet for that job. Plinking, yes, BBs are good for that, but pellets can deliver a much finer degree of accuracy when it comes to punching out the X on a target.