Test Target Scams - Accused Major Gun Mfr

[quatin]

ITHACA, NEW YORK — At first, neighbors were simply annoyed by the delivery trucks that kept coming and going at all hours of the day and night. Loud noises, “like firecrackers,” were often heard coming from inside the house. Then they noticed a strange, toxic smell. When Tompkin’s County Sheriff’s deputies raided the South Hills home last week, they expected to find meth amphetamines and paraphernalia for making the illicit drug. Instead, say court documents, police uncovered what appears to be a massive, test-target making operation that sources say involve America’s top firearms manufacturers.
“In every room, there were stacks and stacks of targets,” says Tompkins County Sheriff, Peter Meskill. “Some were brand new. Others were obviously shot at but we were unable to locate any firearms on the premises. At first we had no idea what we had stumbled into.”

What officers had discovered is largest scam ever perpetrated on the American gun buying public, says Peter Starkle, the owner of the house arrested on Monday who claims to be a private test-target making contractor working for no less than three of the U.S.’s top gun makers.

“Making sub-MOA [minute of angle] test targets is really a work of art,” he says. “But it has nothing to do with real world hunting and shooting. It has to do with selling guns.”

Currently being held on accessory to fraud charges at the Tompkins County jail, Starkle claims to be a member of the Test-Target Making Guild of America but says trade secrets prevent him from revealing just exactly how test targets are created.

“Let’s just say firearm makers definitely aren’t wasting real bullets anymore than they’re willing to trash a rifle that doesn’t shoot up to some arbitrary standard.”

Firearm makers contacted to refute Starkles claims said the charges where everything from “blatantly unfounded” to “patently insane.” Spokesmen from Beretta/Tikka, Jarrett Rifles, and Remington hung up without offering comment at all.

But Starkle says he’s been in the business of test-target making for years.

“The idea that test-targets found in the box with rifles made by Weatherby, Kimber, Remington, Howa—all the major players—were shot by the actual rifle purchased by the consumer—That’s a lie firearm manufacturers have been peddling for over a decade.”

Next to gushing “adver-torial” provided by gun writers who, Starkle insists, “would gladly give a kidney for free product or the free, exotic hunting trips often provided by gun makers” under the guise that they are stringently testing new products, the most important factor influencing the sale of a high-end production or semi-custom firearm is how the rifle or pistol can potentially perform on paper.

“Look at the sporting arms being produced nowadays,” says Starkle. “American rifles are as beautiful to behold as a turd. They are cheap looking because they are. You could easily make an argument that out-of-the-box accuracy at the cheapest possible price matters more to hunters and shooters than anything else. So you just put a test-target in the box with a three-shot group measuring less than an inch and, with the Internet, word gets around fast. All of a sudden there’s a legion of camo-clad doofuses willing to pay an extra five-hundred dollars for the rifle whether it really shoots that well or not.”

According to Starkle, with the increasing legal costs of defending themselves against liberal politicians and the anti-gun lobby—plus what Starkle calls the “Wal-Mart-a-lization” of our economy—gun makers are constantly thinking of new ways to shave production costs.

“The big manufacturers would secretly prefer not to put test targets in with rifles at all,” he says. “But it’s become a valuable marketing tool in recent years.”

Starkle asks hunters and shooters to consider how many rifles and pistols they’ve owned that shoot as well at their private gun club, let alone in real hunting situations, as the test-target in the boxes said they should.

“All the gun buyer sees are three holes in the paper. And when that person fails to consistently achieve the same level of accuracy at home, what happens,” asks Starkle. “Here come a legion of magazine editors and gun writing shills to tell you to buy more stuff.”

Starkle says he’s heard gun writers blame inconsistent groups on everything from cleaning products and simple human error to his personal favorite:

“They tell people to experiment with as many different kinds of ammo as they can afford, which in turn lines the pockets of the gun industry even further,” he says. “It’s all a scam and I’m happy to be out of it.”

When the leaders in the American gun industry are separated by a profit measured in pennies, Starkle says, test-target making will soon be going the way of hand-finished stocks, hand cut engraving and checkering.

“Some companies are already outsourcing the work to third world countries,” he says, “Now they have a bunch of underage Haitians burning clover-leafed holes in targets with a smoldering cigarette butt. I’m actually a little relieved the police caught me. It was time to get out.”

http://outdoorunderground.com/bones/44#more-44

 

[JWarren]

A good bet that your test target isn't legitimate is when you can see the powder residue/burns on the paper.

-- John

 

[quatin]

Oh...btw. This site is an equivalent of "The Onion" for outdoorsie type articles it's satire. Just makes you think though...did they really punch those holes for every rifle?

I also like the quote :

All of a sudden there’s a legion of camo-clad doofuses willing to pay an extra five-hundred dollars for the rifle whether it really shoots that well or not.”

Nope...never done that.......much

 

[mrsig]

I do not think I got a test target with my Tikka. The only gun I remember getting a target with was a Sig P-226 twenty years ago.

- Sig

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

I wouldn't put too much stock in this, especially a few stories down is:

Dad of Alabama Hogzilla Killer Planning Hunt for Lost Souls

It seems to be an attempt at satire or perhaps humor. It mostly just seems poorly written.

 

[barkingowl]

I'm glad its satire. But as I think back over the guns that I've bought over the years, I don't ever remember one coming with a pre-shot target.

 

[kungfuhippie]

Being held on accessory to fraud and he's happy he was caught cause he wanted to get out of the business

Yeah-right

 

[ArmedBear]

If they ARE doing this, it's fraud.

My Weatherby target was signed by some dude in Japan, where the action was made, with the serial number of the rifle on the target.

It's not just that I thought it was actually a test target; it's that the company said it was, in writing. If I was defrauded, it wasn't because I somehow misunderstood.

So, my question is this: why would they do this?

The rifle comes with a written 1.5 MOA guarantee. It's not in the interest of the company to sell rifles that are not tested. I'll find out when I shoot it, if it doesn't meet the spec, and I'll return it. This kills any profit the company made on my rifle.

If they do test the rifle, then why not pass on the test target to the consumer? It's good PR, and they have the target anyway.

Furthermore, while the guarantee -- and the reputation of Howa rifles for accuracy -- did influence my purchase, the target didn't. I didn't even see it until I brought the rifle home and unwrapped it. It would be silly to expose a company to a massive fraud charge for something that doesn't lure buyers.

 

[Dravur]

In a follow-up Story

A man named Fred Webermeyer was found in his home dead from an apparent self inflicted kitten wound. One spokesperson said that the man, who was, until recently, creating the stories used to help the animal shelter sell their dogs and cats, was working with Law enforcement.

Fred, or "That Scary Guy" was often employed by The local animal shelter to provide a nice sounding essay on a new stray dog or cat, thereby giving the animal some legitimacy and to make it more "Adoptable".

Jerry Weaselspit, the Acting Undersherrif to the adjunct Obermarshall of the Animal and Weasel control system of Upper Block 32 said..."It looks like MR.Webermeyer took his own life by using a kitten give himself 4500 small puncture wounds. No kittens were found at the site however."

The case is under investigation.

 

[Art Eatman]

Gahhhhhlleeeee. And all the time I've been thinking the gun-guys had a machine in the back room that went "punchitty, punchitty, punchitty" all day long, churning out test targets.

But, hey, if it's on the Internet, it's gotta be fact, right?



Art

 

[Notch]

I wouldnt ask that site for the time of day let alone news based on reality. By the time you see the target, you have already bought the gun. Besides, most modern firearms are far more acurate than the average shooter.

 

[SaMx]

http://outdoorunderground.com/satire/
seriously guys

 

[igorts]

i have two Tikkas, both came without test targets and both shoot subMOA.
Sig Trailside came with one, and i'm sure it shoots that group from good bench, not from my hands.

 

[RNB65]

White guys outnumber black sportsmen. SHOCKING!

Patterson Study: Black Sportsman Outnumbered!

WASHINGTON, D.C.- When it comes to hunting and fishing, a recent study shows that Caucasians dominate the America’s fields and streams. African Americans comprise only 4% of the total sporting population, according to Georgetown University graduate researcher Roger Patterson, while “white guys” make up an incredible 92% of the demographic.

The research, dubbed “The Patterson Study”, is the first of its kind and is already prompting new way of thinking when it comes to hunting and fishing in the United States. Patterson’s three-year study was both exhaustive and scientific. White males make up 92% of the total, blacks 4%, Hispanics 2%, and 1.5% other with a standard deviation of .5%.

“In addition to personal observation and anecdotal evidence, I sampled the memberships of organizations such as the NRA,The North American Hunting Club, The Sierra Club, and Bass Masters to examine various demographics”, explained Patterson. “Then it was a matter of crunching the numbers to determine the breakdown.”

Following on the heels of the racially slanderous comments from “shock jock” Don Imus, The Patterson Study could mean trouble for the outdoors community since no group or organization wants to be seen as totally dominated by whites these days.

Reverend Al Sharpton, Host of “The Al Sharpton Show” already challenged The Patterson Study and demanded that Patterson appear on his radio talk show to apologize. Patterson has so far declined, which prompted Sharpton to call him a “lab-suit wearing cracker” on air. Sharpton went on to rail against “gun-toting tobacco chewing honkeys” who seek to keep “his ebony brothers and sisters.”

“There’s whites-only signs hanging in the trees and over the streams of America,” Sharpton said. “You can’t see them. But they’re there.”

Patterson says the science speaks for itself and that he was as surprised as anyone by the results.

“I always had the perception that hunting and fishing had no racial component. I mean, who would have thought that most sportsmen are white? I’ve spent my fair share of time in a bass boat and a treestand and never had a clue.”

The ramifications from The Patterson Study could be huge. Marketing experts from firms such as Cabela’s, L.L. Bean, and Bass Pro are already in a race to gear their efforts in order to garner sales from what appears to be a new demographic: White guys.

A Cabela’s representive who declined to be named due to the sensitive nature of this story, revealed that products such as Cabela’s Flannel-Lined Flat-Front Chinos will need to be targeted for the new market. Other products such as “The Bull Stool”, an all-terrain adjustable seat, may actually need to be completely redesigned.

http://outdoorunderground.com/bones/28

 

[ozwyn]

I want to know how the hell Fred Webermeyer got access to my cat....

 

[Kruzr]

Test-Target Making Guild of America..............

I'm a member of the Bridge Owners Guild of America and am accepting offers on one of my holdings that spans the East River in NY. Only serious offers accepted.