What ethos did you bring ? Were there any major changes you made ?
I think that whenever you have a company that ’ s a fifth-generation , familyowned company that ’ s had success for over 116 years , and that ’ s been making rifle scopes in Oregon for over 70 years , there ’ s a process to go through . The biggest thing that I could bring was developing a clear strategy for how we ’ re going to go into the marketplace with this great brand .
To do that , you really have to spend a lot of time and effort on new product development , and that takes the right people . And when you get down to it , you have to have a team that wants to compete every single day , because there ’ s 50 other optics companies out there , and they want what we ’ ve got .
One of those new products was the Custom Dial System ( CDS ). That was huge for shooters and hunters wanting greater accuracy at longer ranges .
It ’ s really great technology , which is great for hunters especially . It allows hunters to quickly take ethical shots with confidence at various distances , in real-life hunting situations and with more accuracy .
And it ’ s a great way to stay in contact with our consumers , too . Because if they ’ re using it one day on blacktails at sea level , and then they make a trip to the mountains of Colorado , we can burn a new dial so that they ’ ve got the right temperature , the right elevation and the right ballistics . If they want to switch the load because they ’ re running elk instead of deer , we can put a different load in .
Bruce Pettet ’ s passion for hunting includes a drive to educate others on conservation while working with advocacy groups in protecting our rights and heritage as sportsmen .
Let ’ s talk politics . Oregon is getting hammered with ballot initiatives . Initiative Petition 3 is threat while Ballot Measure 114 passed last year .
Look , I think Measure 114 was really disappointing . It never should have passed , and I think today , if it was on the ballot , it wouldn ’ t pass .
I think people got caught asleep , and I think hunters and shooters did , too , because I know there ’ s a lot of people out there thinking , Oh , this can never pass so I ’ m not going to worry about that . And the reality is , we got outspent 20 to 1 . The thing is , we ’ ve got to do a better job of getting our sportsmen to the ballot box . Hopefully we ’ ll wake up . Because the number of people that had hunting and fishing licenses , their voting percentage wasn ’ t even close to 50 percent . So , we have to do a better job making sure they understand what ’ s at stake .
What are the top issues you see needing to be addressed ?
Educating nonhunters . There ’ s a group of people that no matter what you do or say , you ’ re never going to change them , so I ’ m not going to waste time on them . The people in the middle may not be hunters , but they understand kind of what hunting is about , and they might also understand that maybe this is a better source of food than a cow standing in a feedlot .
Why is it so important to support organizations such as Sportsmen ’ s Alliance ?
I don ’ t think there ’ s another optics company that even gets close , as it relates to supporting conservation and the rights of hunters and shooters , to what we do . It ’ s part of our values , in terms of thoughtful stewardship . We ’ re going to be good stewards , and being good stewards is making sure that we support the organizations that help us accomplish that — it ’ s absolutely critical . I am very passionate about making sure we help .
I watch you guys , I really do . I think you ’ re on point . Keep getting all the companies in the industry on board , even our competitors — they should all be supporting you .
We have a great heritage and a great heritage of conservation in this country that no one else is going to replicate , and that heritage of ours is what makes us Americans .
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