From another site:

https://montanarifleco.com/wp-...C-Closure-Letter.pdf

Montana Rifle Company3178 MT Hwy 35Kalispell, MT 55901EMAIL: contact@montanaoutdoorgroup.comFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMontana Outdoor Group Announces Shutdown of Montana Rifle CompanyThe Montana Outdoor Group’s subsidiary “Montana Rifle Company” will seek fiscal restructuring.Kalispell, Montana (February 2020) – Montana Outdoor Group, a private investor group, acquired Montana Rifle Company in early 2019, has announced its immediate closure pending fiscal restructuring.“While sales of our popular calibers have been outstanding, production levels have not risen to a profitable level to continue, without additional investments,” CEO Calvin Bontrager explained. “New equipment would be required to reach a service level demanded by our dealers and conservation groups.”Montana Rifle has been producing custom-grade rifles for nearly 25-years and has been awarded “NRA’s Gun of the Year” in 2016 and “NRA’s Gun of the Year” in 2018. Montana Rifle has also produced limited editions for California Waterfowl, SCI, RMEF, and many other conservation organizations. “With sales of the popular M1999 control feed actions nearly doubling in 2019, Montana Outdoor Group, is actively searching for restructuring opportunities,” Bontrager continued.For updates on Montana Rifle Company, please visit www.montanarifleco.com/developments

Hopefully they will retool and come back. Getting hard to buy a CRF rifle at a reasonable price, unless you want a 458 Win, 416 Rem, or 375 H&H. Unless you want a 375 R, or 416 R. Choices are even worse if you are a southpaw.

At the $1700 level or less Winchester 70, Zastava 70, and the Rugers. Anything else, once current supplies of the CZ 550 and Montanas dry up???

Sad news
We should support these smaller companies more it seems

The way that letter reads it sounds like they can't supply the demand for the M1999 due to inadequate production
though sales nearly doubled in 2019 but still not profitable.
Hopefully the financing for expanding the production capability, plant & personnel, will be worked out.
That M1999 is too good to die young.
I do own two of them and have no complaints,
except for the barrel marking on one of them says "26 Nolser" in beautiful laser engraving by MRC.
I have seen rifles since then from the MRC factory
in same chambering spelled correctly.

Rip ...

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
Sad news
We should support these smaller companies more it seems

Agree! Sad to see any business, never mind a rifle making business close in Montana. Hope they reopen soon.

First time I've heard of a company going out of business because they had to many orders.

quote:

Originally posted by Labman:
First time I've heard of a company going out of business because they had to many orders.

Happens in tech and luxury companies all the time. Too much loss for buying market share.

I bet the company would still be in business with no trouble if it was not sold.

I have established companies and sold them making profit.

They were all sold to multi national companies.

Not long after they started making a loss.

One was losing so much I offered to buy it back.

They agreed.

9 months later it is in profit again!

quote:

Originally posted by Labman:
First time I've heard of a company going out of business because they had to many orders.

You can't make it up in volume if you are selling at a loss.

When I ordered my 6.5 PRC, the wait period was to be 3 months. I waited nearly nine months, and that was after constant communications with the retailer, and with Montana Rifle Company. Something not right was going on up in Montana.

I agree with Saeed, as usual.

The death knell (or at best the temporary bankruptcy and reorganization) of many a successful company is sounded as soon as it is sold to a soulless conglomerate.

Sadly, it happens all the time.

This is sad news and I expect that with the corona-virus economic panic there will be more to come. Hopefully, this one is not some kind of phoenixing, where the firm closes to dud employees, opening later with reduced pay for those who keep or get a job there.

Hunting and target shooting tend to be relatively solitary sports - with no need to queue and sit right next to each other. Therefore, let us not join the stampede.

Investment groups are interested in one thing making a certain about of return.

It that means taking a profitable company and stripping it.

That is what they do.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
Investment groups are interested in one thing making a certain about of return.

yes, this is the normal major role, with about 10 other reasons behind it - such as market share control, grossly undervalued stocks (trading under book value) patent/IP acquisition, segment harmonization, taking out a competitor, etc etc etc

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:

It that means taking a profitable company and stripping it.

That is what they do.

that is one way they do it -- but not even close to the only way -- injecting new management, stripping cash, improving flow, shared leverage with suppliers, better and new market penetration, and good ole "sell it for scrap" ... but the normal thing is to take a cash heavy company, load it with debt from other owned companies, and make it either pay those off, turning the other companies profitable, or letting it run down .. with the ultimate being taking a cash heavy company, load it with debt via "mergers" with sister companies, letting it sink into bankruptcy, paying pennies on the dollar for the debt, emerging as viable, refloat the stock, and get out!

i was an investment banker CIO and have an mba.. these are typical case studies