Photo credit: Vocativ.com
Following the Newtown, Conn. elementary school shooting last December, Dick’s Sporting Goods suspended sales of modern sporting rifles and even refused to fill paid orders placed prior to the shooting. But it seems the sporting goods store has found a way around their public relations promise.
A new Field and Stream store, a spinoff of Dick’s, opened Friday in Cranberry Township, Penn., and will sell the guns that the parent company won’t.Dick’s bought the brand, according to Senior Brand Manager Shian-Li McGuire, which is not associated with the magazine of the same name.
“Field and Stream is a brand that holds a very special place in the hearts and minds of outdoor enthusiasts,” the brand manager told local TV station, CBS Pittsburgh . “And our goal with this store is really to build an experience that lives up to those expectations.”
Photo credit: Vocativ.com
But what about the expectations of those who purchased guns that were never delivered? Dick’s created a firestorm when it suspended sales of certain rifles in all stores, out of respect for the victims of the Connecticut massacre. Some customers were threatening lawsuits, according to a BizPac Review report .
Dick’s declined to answer questions from blog site Vocativ about whether AR-15 style rifles would be sold at the new store, but the blogger had this to report after visiting the store in person:
“[We] used our deep-web harvesting tools and learned that the first ever Field & Stream was opening on Friday in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, and decided to check out the big guns.
“We weren’t the only ones looking for an AR-15. The line to purchase these firearms was so long that customers were required to take numbers. And the selection was excellent! So excellent, in fact, that we decided to take pictures (see below). The guns for sale included the Remington AR-15s, S&W AR-15s as well as Stag and DPMS AR-15s.”
A spokesperson for Dick’s did not respond to The Blaze on Monday, but a sales representative confirmed the new store was stocked with AR-15 rifles, including the Bushmaster AR-15 rifle used in the Sandy Hook shooting, according to The Blaze .
