LodeStar Firearms wants to sell the Armatix iP1 pistol
courtesy nbcphiladelphia.com

Oh look, another wanna-be “smart gun” salesman. This one — for some reason — wants to sell the deeply flawed Armatix iP1 to the public . . . Guns Getting Smarter: Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Man’s Plan to Improve Firearm Safety

Gareth Glaser could be seen as an optimist. After all, he believes gun owners will pay more to implement strong safety mechanisms in firearms.

He even believes gun owners might be willing to have chips implanted in their hands.

I’m not sure “optimist” is the word we’d use, but whatever. Glaser, CEO of something called LodeStar Firearms, wants to begin selling the poorly designed, under-powered Armatix iP1 pistol. And yes, he’s fully aware that doing so would trigger New Jersey’s mandatory smart gun sales law, Loretta Weinberg’s infamous poison pill that has done more to impede the development of smart gun technology than anything bad design reluctant gun buyers could ever do.

But Glaser’s hoping that the impending exit of Chris Christie from the New Jersey governor’s mansion in favor of a newly elected Democrat, Phil Murphy, will mean Weinberg’s ill-conceived smart gun mandate will finally be thrown on the ash heap of legislative history where it belongs.

He said Lodestar plans to bring a smart gun to market by the summer of 2019. He expects the handgun to cost about 20 percent more than its common counterpart: roughly $750.

Good luck with that. Most gun owners don’t want anything to do with so-called smart guns, but don’t mind if others want to throw their money at them. No one — other than dedicated hoplophobes — wants them mandated, though, hence the vehement opposition to their being sold anywhere to date.

Then again, all marketing starts with a good product. And the iP1 ain’t that. Something Mr. Glaser will likely find out the hard way.

48 COMMENTS

  1. Hmm, Ruger Mk IV, Browning Buckmark, S&W Victory, homemade zip gun or Armatix iP1 I just can’t decide.

  2. They’re missing the mark.

    First it has to be the most accurate, well thought out handgun in the world. Then they can add the wizbang stuff.

    wait..

  3. So they’ve designed a pistol for the anti-gun customer who will will never buy it?
    Hell of a niche market…

    • But they’ll get a warm and tingly sensation in their nether regions when they buy it.

      The men will be engorged, and the women damp…

  4. Any chance that there’s a financial connection between this CEO and Bloomberg? No better way to usher in the mandated assimilation of these “smart” guns than to force law enforcement in NJ to adopt them. The anti gunners and perhaps congress will thereafter attempt to force others to adopt them, including federal LE agencies. It’s a dangerous road to embark down and I wouldn’t put it past Bloomberg to be involved on some level.

    • Well, an interesting argument could be made for that. Consider that this gun, along with the required watch, sold for nearly $2K before the company went bankrupt, one might infer that Bloomie is eating the difference between cost and suggested sales price just to get the guns to market. But then, Bloomie selling guns might undermine his whole image and desire to ban all guns in the hands of civilians.

      • It would actually add to bloomberg’s credibility that he doesn’t want to ban firearms, just make them safer, in the eyes of the most ignorant fence sitters. Incredibly cynical, If you ask me. IMO, he’s the most dangerous individual when it comes to the subversion of human rights, in the history of our country and should be prosecuted for the systemic attempting to undermine the US Constitution and executed if/when he’s found guilty. And yeah, I’m serious.

    • I believe all NJ cops should immediately be equipped with that piece of trash and not allowed any other firearm! Prove it in the field and then see if it works in the heat of combat! Wouldn’t it be ironic if that moron was killed by another armed assailant because his gun failed to operate? LOL!!!

  5. $750 is 20% more than the price of a full size .22 handgun? Yeah, OK, although I’m not surprised to see such aggressive innumeracy here. Anyone who thinks they can turn a profit selling this hunk of junk clearly isn’t terribly bright.

  6. Assuming the law gets tossed out like he hopes, I harbor no ill will. That’s the free market for you.

    If the law doesn’t get tossed and he does it anyway, that’s worth some ill will.

  7. “Smart” handguns like red-light cameras are answers to questions that nobody asked. And about as effective at accomplishing their purpose—which is to say not at all.

    • “Not at all”

      Have run a number of red lights, not on purpose.
      Waited for traffic ticket to come in the mail, never came.

      In 1969 lived in Dallas. Worked downtown. Jaywalk, until got a ticket. As an eighteen year old, blew it off until got a summons in the mail. Will never forget the State of Texas vs Kathryn Taylor on letter.
      What a wake up! The law was not playing. Made sure to get cashiers check for fine and penalties amount for ignoring summon.
      It was a good lesson for the brat I was at that time. No use for “Smart guns” much prefer the dumb handguns I have.
      BTW: haven’t run a Red light for years now

    • It’s a question we didn’t ask. But the government is always asking how it can squeeze more money out of everyone, and as TXGunGal’s experience indicates, those seem to be a fairly effective answer.

    • It figures.

      If you think your stomach can handle it, check out the Lodestar Firearms website. All the nauseating anti-gun feels, no actual info. Nothing about how they’d implement the technology or what their eventual product might be, other than “9mm handgun” and “RFID technology.”

      All it does is collect contact info for the inevitable “give money to our progressive cause” emails. I’d bet a million bucks these people never produce a single firearm, or even attempt to do so — meanwhile, they’ll be giving money to control/left politicians and crowing about how they’re the “responsible” part of the industry.

    • SO he’s a rich fart who isn’t going bankrupt any time soon, willing to put up his own money to crush gun ownership.

      • Who sells guns no People Of The Gun want and which will undoubtedly at some point fail to fire just when some hapless owner needs it the most? Selling guns that may or may not work is a perfect gun-controller’s solution to gun ownership: if you can’t ban or confiscate ’em, just make ’em so they don’t work right. Got it.

  8. I would reconsider smart guns ONLY after a 10 year trial period of ALL federal, state and local law enforcement agencies be REQUIRED to ONLY use smart guns on and off duty. This would also make mandatory that ALL politicians that voted in support of any smart gun legislation whatsoever, would be required to turn in all personal firearms without smart technology, and further require all of their governement security details be required to ONLY have access to smart gun technology. If after 10 years, law enforcement agencies are still in favor and statistics show no increase in crimes involving firearms can be proven, then law enforcement should consider smart gun technology going forward. But…..any attempt to legislate (which would include any written legislative proposals) that smart gun technology be made mandatory for ANY civilians ANYWHERE, must be met with felony prosecutions for any/all such legislators, with nothing less than either mandatory minimum life in prison without the possibility of appeal or parole, or…..the death penalty. Should any state refuse to fulfill their federal obligations under such laws, it would be left to individuals within the “Citizen Militia “ to administer justice as they see fit, and be held harmless with complete indemnification, to any/all judicial intervention. Only when treasonous politicians have skin in the game, and see that their subversion of the Constitution can and will lead to the forfeiture of their own lives, will these traitorous activities cease completely. The only way to preserve our rights is to start taking lives.

  9. Just another damn shit head liberal looking to make a quick buck! So F—-ing stupid he doesn’t even know his system was already hacked! And the market for his shit no longer exists! My sincere hope is he goes bankrupt immediately and is then terminated by a violent assault by a criminal using his gun that has been hacked!

  10. Hey, can I start a smart gun company with the intention of coming to market within say……. 80 years, and that be enough to satisfy the “in the business” part about owning new full auto weapons?

    • Of course. Just pay your half a million dollar “tax” to ATF and you can buy and sell (and manufacture, depending on which “taxes” you paid) any manner of gun you like.

      What a racket.

  11. Sell your soul to the devil to make a quick buck selling across state lines to Jersey residents who are forced into smart gun ownership.

    Wouldn’t be the first toilet tissue…..

  12. Did anyone watch the news video? Holy CRAP. Not even a “smart gun” will stop this idiot, Glaser, from shooting himself or an innocent bystander. Watch the video to see him finger the trigger while muzzling himself, the cameraman, and the reporter REPEATEDLY.

    • So, this “entrepreneur” unwittingly proved that a “smart gun” is no match for a moron holding it. It would not prevent people like him from negligently hurting or killing others.

  13. How long before one of these echo-chamber blue state legislatures requires their local Police to mandate smart guns for duty weapons. It does seem like a logical leap for some of the more moon-batty of that ilk. I can’t wait for that to happen. The one-hand-washes-the-other relationship won’t last forever and pretty soon they are going to have to put their money where their mouth is. Then it is popcorn time.

  14. Start selling them now. Force the local police departments to purchase such devices. Let the gun ban kick in.

    Then calmly sit back and listen to the reactions.

  15. “Poorly designed, underpowered”, will only work if you’re wearing a magic watch. What could possibly go wrong?

  16. Cops should carry them. They wrestle with bad guys a lot and get int ok situations where they can lose control of the gun.

    And that won’t happen ever.

  17. Armatix IS the anti gun lobby.
    They are the guys behind the scenes that lobby for laws mandating smart guns as they know no person with a sane mind would trust his life on them, let alone giving them a penny for their crap.
    Never support them, not even if they come out with a functional gun. They are 1000 times worse than Springfield could ever be.

  18. If I had the money, I would buy one and disable the electronics. I think it’s a pretty good-looking gun.

  19. I just saw this article and want to set the record straight. LodeStar Firearms is designing our own RFID smart handgun chambered in 9mm. It will be of the highest quality and reliability and priced at no more than 20% above the average price of a traditional handgun. We will offer our smart gun as a free market alternative for homeowners who wish to buy a safer gun for home and self defense. LodeStar will not mimic or sell the Armatix iP1 .22 caliber, which was proven to be overpriced and unwanted by gun buyers (regardless of the NJ Mandate — which we expect to be amended this year anyway). The iP1 pictured in the article is my own personal iP1 and was only shown for illustrative purposes. I made it quite clear to the author that it was NOT LodeStar’s gun. Gareth Glaser, CEO LodeStar Firearms.

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