First, it was a rifle-toting Santa. Then came the Easter Bunny cuddling a semi-automatic.
Now, a firearms seller and shooting range in Chico known for its provocative advertising is giving away an AR-15 for Independence Day.
Steve Dyke is vice president and owner of Down Range Indoor Training Center.
“It’s easy to shoot,” Dyke said. “Younger people can shoot it. People with not a whole lot of upper body strength can shoot it. Overall, they’re a pretty light gun. They have a very light recoil, and they’re fun to shoot.”
A semi-automatic rifle, the AR-15 resembles the military’s M-16 and M-4 automatics. The key difference: armed forces’ versions can unload either multiple round bursts or an entire 30-round magazine with one squeeze of the trigger. With the AR-15: one squeeze, one round.
Dyke says the weapon has gained popularity for being easy to customize and its versatility. It’s also affordable enough to offer up in a contest.
The AR-15 has also gained notoriety. It’s the same weapon used in San Bernardino, Orlando and Sandy Hook Elementary School. The three massacres claimed 90 lives.
I asked Dyke if the giveaway, and its promotional billboard featuring an American flag and a rifle pointing at exploding fireworks, might be considered in poor taste in light of recent events.
“Oh absolutely not, absolutely not,” he said. “I don’t know that Boeing stopped selling airplanes after the 9/11 attack.”
Dyke said the eye-catching promotion is aimed at drawing customers over a weekend many spend outdoors. The contest, which requires no purchase, runs July 2–4.