Confidential sources tell TTAG that the Freedom Group is about to eliminate the Advanced Armament suppressor brand. [Note: we’ve put in a call to Remington.] According to our informant, TFG will merge AAC and TAPCO to create a new, as-yet-unnamed firearms accessory brand. If so, it’s a bold, not-to-say reckless move; both Tapco and AAC have considerable brand recognition. That said, Freedom’s shown itself to be a die-hard cost-cutter (e.g., their decision to move Marlin and Bushmaster’s manufacturing to Remington’s New York factory). Watch this space. Meanwhile, we’ve heard that the Model 700 and Seven recall will cost Remington . . .
some $20m. Given the long-running lawsuits over Big Green’s trigger trouble, that sounds low. Methinks a class action lawsuit on behalf of thousands of gun owners will liberate at least that much from The Freedom Group’s coffers.
Not to mention the fact that the company is going to have fix tens of thousands of rifles from individual customers. Does Big Green have anywhere near enough personnel to git ‘er done in an effective timely fashion? If not, the recall will damage the Remington brand even more than mere cash outlay would indicate.
Freedom Group is privately held, so we may never know how much the recall will run – until and unless they break up or flip Freedom.
Hum…I wonder how this is going to bone customer warranty’s on AAC suppressors.
TFG really enjoys screwing up a good thing……….
@ steve – I own several, and was wondering the same thing.
Yes they are garbage , ruin everything they touch
So what, they’re killing the name, not the product…
Because why keep the only brand whose name is still worth a damn? Their march to destruction continues apace.
Sigh. I guess I’ll just get a halo.
This makes other recent developments make much more sense. Also, AAC and Tapco couldn’t be more different of firearm accessory brands. Single word association of them would seem to be AAC = Suppressors/300 blackout and Tapco = AK(mostly) AR-15 “bolt on” mods
The more I read about this company, the less inclined I am to do business with them.
Remington 870? Maybe a Mossberg or a Benelli instead… Remington 700? I think I’d rather have a Savage Model 10… R51? Huh, never heard of it.
This probably has as much validity to it as the story of them giving the axe to the entire R&D department awhile back. You know, right before they released new cans and rifles…
I get the sense a lot of petty, small minded people run FG.
Given their embarrassing loss in court regarding misbehavior regarding AACs founder, I can see some offended twit at FG HQ pulling the plug on AAC just to make a point.
Which, on balance, might be for the best. Better AAC shut down then end up joining Remington and Jennings on the “Do Not Buy, Ever” list
….because laying off a bunch of talented people who previously worked with the guy you’re pissed at is a smart thing to do!
With his new association, I bet there is room for more employees….he can pick up the best of the bunch.
I think we will have to wait and see, maybe blending Tapco and AAC will allow a conglomerate to emerge more powerful than before and finally restore order to the galaxy.
we’ve heard that the Model 700 and Seven recall will cost Remington some $20m
Look on the bright side…. the R51 recall should be significantly less since It’s only been shipping for a couple months or so.
Patently untrue. TTAG Strikes again…..
You know this for a fact? [email protected]
“You know this for a fact, jack?”
FIFY.
Damn son. You got called out twice.
Tapco = not so good/inexpensive
+
AAC = good/expensive
= Decent/medium priced?
Maybe we will luck out and the ACR will be sold to a company that actually will build it the right way and sell the conversion kits. Daniel Defense? Colt? Who could buy it and make it right?
Right?? How many of us were excited about a company like Magpul working on this rifle?
If FG sold a semi version of the remington acr to the public with factory SBRs and all the enhancements they’ve made to it that aren’t on the bushcrapster version it would sell like crazy.
Keep in mind the root of it all isn’t always Freedom Group… it’s Cerberus Capital Management. That’s who the middle finger should ultimately point to.
FG may be responsible for the small stuff (like the AAC and KB fiascos), but you can be sure the bigger overarching decisions go through CCM first. And that includes the rampant cost-cutting measures across FG.
Oh Kevin…why’d you have to sell out?
You know, thats a really good question?
If AAC was really his pride and joy, why did he sell out to a bunch of conglomerate dbags anyway?
Oh wait, maybe he saw the dollar signs and said “oh well, I’ll be rich, screw it”
When you sell out, you lose any control. Isn’t the first brand name to die shortly after selling out.
I won’t but anything that’s put out by freedom group. When I wanted a bolt action precision rifle I picked up a savage. When I need a .30 cal suppressor I bought a silencer co. When I needed a shotgun I picked up a Winchester. I just don’t see any sense in buying anything freedom group puts out, the red flags were raised sometime ago.
I think I am done with TFG and anything under their umbrella, even ammo. They just make such terrible decisions and it all ends up affecting us at the end of the day. Their QC has dropped sharply and now they’re trying to merge AAC and Tapco? What a terrible combination. One makes high quality suppressors and AR parts (among other things) and the other makes cheap AK furniture (among other cheap things).
What a way to flush something down the shitter. Not to mention their treatment of the AAC founder, I just can’t stand them anymore.
I bought 4 AAC cans a couple months ago. *sigh*
Freedom Group headquarters is obviously an environment rich in fail. I wonder if the person at the helm is even a “gun person” or not. I don’t know, but I suspect not.
This is a fools decision. AAC are (were) innovators and considered top shelf. Tapco is far from that.
To paraphrase Tapco chatter on the webz:
“That SKS was great, now its tapcofucked”
“I Iike AKs.To0 bad that one got tapcofucked.”
“What is that?”
“A 10-22.”
“I couldn’t tell… Tapcofucked?”
“Yep”
Given Remington / TFG issues, my new 300 AAC upper isn’t even made by AAC. Thankfully SAAMI stepped in and standardized / saved the 300 AAC caliber so Remington can’t destroy it like they almost did to the 6.8 SPC. I’m not buying any more Remington products, and am avoiding TFG as much as possible.
I also fully expect a recall to follow for the R51. What a piece of junk.
SAAMI didn’t “step in” and “save” 300BLK.
300BLK was submitted to SAAMI BY AAC specifically for standardization.
Tapco = inexpensive & crap
AAC = expensive & top shelf
CC/FG= expensive & crap
Facts or it didn’t happen. Online rumor strikes again. Is there a source for this rumor or is this a fact like Alex Jones facts about aliens.
I stand corrected. I’m glad AAC submitted the specs to SAAMI so that TFG can drive it into the ground.
The more I read about this, the more glad I am that I purchased a Savage bolt gun recently. Savage was bought by ATK recently. But seems to be doing ok.
What a bunch of garbage by haters of TFG. Why would they kill off a solid performer like AAC. As much truth as the stupid post about AAC firing all of R&D. This is what you get from a “news” site that is personal friends with the previous owner of a company. All of you sheep that believe anything you read on TTAG are just as stupid.
I can’t wait for the retraction on this. It isn’t hard to figure out your “source” is pulling the strings here.