Coming from a military career back into the world of ‘regular’ work can be a challenge for many people. But for some, the lessons learned from military service can actually help improve the companies they go on to work for.
A fine example of that is the Executive Vice President of Magpul, Duane Liptak. Duane’s career in the Marines included infantry, flying F-18 Super Hornets, as well as serving as a forward air controller in special operations – a background he believes helps bring him and his company success today.
Duane joins Gun Trade World podcast host David Guest and co-host Brian Aitken from Topple on this action-packed episode.
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This episode is brought to you by Topple — the world’s first digital advertising platform built specifically for brands that face restrictions on mainstream ad networks. Whether you're in firearms, hunting, outdoor gear, or defense, Topple helps you reach your audience across a premium network of content-rich, enthusiast-driven publishers like GunBroker, AR15.com, Gun Digest, RECOIL, Ammoland, Sniper Country, Major League Fishing, and more.
Topple is a one-stop solution that lets you reach your target customer, access real-time performance data, build rich retargeting audiences of high-intent site visitors, and track sales, revenue, and ROI with precision.
Listeners to today’s podcast can receive a free Strategy Session and a Dedicated Account Manager with any Ad Spend Plan — just mention the Gun Trade World Podcast during your intro call or email.
Sometimes, the most influential people in the industry are the ones who don’t hog the limelight.
The guys and girls who go about their work diligently and believe in fighting the good fight for the firearms industry. One such man is Larry Keane.
Larry is the Senior Vice President for Government and Public Affairs, Assistant Secretary, and General Counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) in the United States.
For the last quarter of a century, Larry has been putting his legal skills to work alongside an expanding team to help defend the interests of the shooting industry and give it the best opportunities possible to be prosperous.
In this fascinating interview, Larry gives us his highlights from 25 years at the NSSF and talks about some of the issues facing the shooting industry today and how we combat them.
We also briefly preview the 2026 edition of SHOT Show, which is fast-approaching. While it remains an essential B2B show for the industry, it's also a vital fundraiser for the NSSF and the great work it does for the firearms trade in the United States.
In our latest episode of the Gun Trade World podcast, we are joined by mountaineering-mad Rob Gearing – a Brit whose passion for hunting and the outdoors led him to build one of the industry's biggest cult brands.
Spartan Precision is an expert in shooting bipods, tripods, and other accessories with humble origins, and Rob takes us through the company's story from its formation on mountain tops to its present-day expansive product range.
“I can’t take much credit for what you see now at Spartan,” says Rob. “I have surrounded myself with my cleverer people than me who make things happen in terms of design and product. But the whole ethos behind the company has always been about finding you a support system that gives you an opportunity to shoot things well.”
Listen to this enthralling chat with Rob, regular GTW podcast host David Guest, and co-host Brian Aitken, the CEO of Topple.
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This episode is sponsored by Topple — the world’s first digital advertising platform built specifically for brands that face restrictions on mainstream ad networks. Whether you're in firearms, hunting, outdoor gear, or defense, Topple helps you reach your audience across a premium network of content-rich, enthusiast-driven publishers like GunBroker, AR15.com, Gun Digest, RECOIL, Ammoland, Sniper Central, Major League Fishing, and more.
Topple is a one-stop solution that lets you reach your target customer, access real-time performance data, build rich retargeting audiences of high-intent site visitors, and track sales, revenue, and ROI with precision.
Listeners to today’s podcast can receive a free Strategy Session and a Dedicated Account Manager with any Ad Spend Plan — just mention the Gun Trade World Podcast during your intro call or email.
With more than 100 years of gun manufacturing under its belt, Mossberg is a name that needs little introduction.
We go behind the scenes of one of America's most prestigious hunting and shooting brands with the company’s senior director of marketing, Richard Kirk, and international sales manager, Erica Basile, in our latest podcast.
Richard and Erica give fascinating insights on how to innovate without alienating your customers, strategies for international growth, monitoring and maximising market trends, and what the future holds for Mossberg and the industry as a whole.
"When looking at market trends, it’s about figuring out what the customer wants and trying to give that to them without changing the product platform too much.” – Richard Kirk, senior director of marketing at Mossberg.
Tatonka has been making high-quality outdoor gear since the 1980s and has built up a strong reputation in the industry since then.
The German company’s growth has come about due to a dedication to products that people can rely on to help them in tough environments.
It was this very notion that led the company to found a brand specifically for the military market. Tasmanian Tiger was that brand – founded in 1999 – with Tatonka’s owners deciding that they had the capabilities and know-how to make high-quality gear for the requirements of soldiers, police, and defence professionals.
In this episode, we speak with Lukas Treffer who handles marketing at Tasmanian Tiger.
Lukas explains how the brand markets its products in a specialist sector, how it’s benefitting from growing demand among civilian shooters, and what the future holds.
How important are human connections in our industry?
Are we doing enough to welcome newcomers?
What responsibility do we have to the wider world?
We attempt to answer these questions and more with our latest podcast guest, Sellmark founder and CEO James Sellers.
As well as speaking about his company's 25th anniversary, which it celebrates this year, James also talks about his business ethos, the importance of brick-and-mortar dealers to the hunting and shooting industry, and how we should all be doing our bit to work together and safeguard the future of our sports.
Don't forget to head online to www.guntradeworld.com for the latest global industry news.
Digital advertising has become a thorny issue for hunting and shooting, but our latest podcast guest believes that doesn’t need to be the case.
Brian Aitken is the founder of Topple Ad Network – a platform that aims to help our sector reach the right audiences online.
“Think of us like Google advertising, but we’re firearms friendly and we’re free-speech friendly. Companies can advertise anything they want with us provided that it’s legal to do so in the country that the ad is being served in.”
Visit www.guntradeworld.com for all the latest global hunting and shooting industry news.
In this episode of the Gun Trade World podcast, we speak with Gerald Missbach who is the CEO of Austrian archery manufacturer Steambow.
Gerald recounts how a fascination with crossbows lead him to creating a company and product range with a unique place in the market. He also details what he thinks the bow industry could and should be doing better, and what the biggest opportunities are in this fast-moving market.
“I think that it’s very important for us in the bow industry to stop trying to distance ourselves from the firearm sector. We should all stand together. We should all try to defend our rights to have weapons in some capacity.” Gerald Missbach, CEO of Steambow.
Don't forget to visit guntradeworld.com for all the latest B2B news in the international shooting and hunting industries.
“Being a pioneer is in our DNA.” It’s a bold statement by Laurynas Pranckus, head of digital marketing at thermal imaging and night vision expert Pulsar.
The brand is part of the Yukon Group and over the years it has done nothing but pioneer in the industries in which it operates.
The first company to release a digital night vision riflescope Check. The first to release a thermal imaging device for civilian use? Double check.
But the road to get here has not always been easy...
Listen to our full interview with Laurynas to hear more about Pulsar, Yukon, and the group's mission to deliver premium products while also seeking to leave the industry in a better place than when it found it.
It sounds like something from a Hollywood blockbuster. A newly formed company that combines the talents and experience of leading experts from around an industry – an ‘a team’ of staff, ready to do things differently and shake up the market.
That is roughly the story behind German Precision Optics (GPO), a manufacturer of high quality scopes, binoculars and more based near Munich in southern Germany.
After being founded by former Carl Zeiss Sports Optics CEO Richard Schmidt in 2015, GPO absorbed talented people from other leading names in the sports optics business including Schmidt Bender, Leica, RUAG, and Meopta – the latter of those is where our most recent podcast guest, Surujh Roopnarine, came from.
Surujh gives us the insight into what makes GPO tick, its philosophies as a relatively new company with plenty of experience, and its plans for the future.
Don't forget to head over the www.guntradeworld.com for all the latest industry news.
Achieving success in a new territory relies on a complicated recipe of different things. Your products must be of good quality and right for the market you are targeting, your shipping and availability need to be on point, and your communication must be first class. Thankfully, many of these attributes can be achieved by working with the right distributor in your chosen country.
German optoelectronics brand Noblex E-Optics is ready to take on America, and it believes it has found just the right partner to help it do that in NEID LLC. We speak with the company's Greg Clark to find out how this relatively new partnership is set to blossom.
Don't forget to check out www.guntradeworld.com for the latest B2B news and insight from the global shooting and hunting industries.
Loved by enthusiasts, dedicated to hand-made quality, and combining the best of both old and new, Davide Pedersoli is a company with few peers.
The Italian family business was founded in 1957 and has forged an excellent reputation as one of the market leaders when it comes to the modern manufacturing of replicas of historical firearms.
In this episode, we speak with Davide Pedersoli's grandson Stefano, who is now a key part of running the company. He talks us through its history, its ethos, and why it focusses on tradition in an age of modernity.
Visit www.guntradeworld.com for more of the latest news from the global hunting and shooting industries.
We welcome back David Ding to the Gun Trade World podcast.
David is the founder and owner of optics expert Leapers, including its brands UTG and Integrix and has been in the business for more than 30 years.
We hear from David how the last 12 months was for Leapers and look forward together to SHOT Show in Las Vegas where the company will have one of its biggest ever presences.
In our latest podcast we speak to IWA’s Georg Loichinger and Polenar Tactical’s Samo Sterger about why the build-up to the 2024 edition of Europe’s biggest trade show in our industry will lead to a special event.
Part of the build-up to what will be IWA's 50th anniversary event in 2024 includes the IWA Campfire programme, where the show will be getting closer to the industry by attending events at the grassroots level throughout the summer.
Trulock Chokes president Scott Trulock gives us his views on the values required to be a successful family business, why the company has almost 3,000 SKUs, and what the future holds for the shooting industry as a whole.
“We believe that our customers are buying a part of the Trulock brand reputation when they buy from us. We stand behind that 100 per cent. If you’re going to spend your money on our product, we want you to be satisfied.”
For more, head online to www.guntradeworld.com
In this episode we speak with a true industry legend – David Ding. David is the founder and owner of optics expert Leapers, including its brands UTG and Integrix. David has been in the industry more than 30 years and built his company up from nothing to become a global player in shooting, so it’s really worth listening to his thoughts and insights on running a business.
For more, head online to www.guntradeworld.com
We’re getting on the hype train for one of the biggest events in the hunting, shooting and outdoor industries: IWA Outdoor Classics 2023. The show will take place from the 2nd to the 5th of March next year and we wanted to find out what’s new, and why everyone should attend. So who better to speak to than Georg Loichinger – the marketing coordinator for IWA’s organisers Nurnberg Messe. Georg gives us the lowdown on what should be one of the most exciting and successful editions of this trade show yet.
If you do want to visit IWA, then the ticket shop is now open online, simply head over to www.iwa.info
For all the latest hunting and shooting industry news head over to www.guntradeworld.com
With a history that began by creating products for NASA, high-performance lighting provider Steamlight has a very interesting tale to tell. VP of sales, Allen Lance, takes us on the journey from those beginnings to becoming and international brand with customers in multiple markets.
“We have a close bond with our distributors all over the world, especially in Europe. We work to cover as many markets with as many distributors as possible, and we have great working relationships with them.” – Allen Lance.
To see more news and insight from the global shooting and hunting industry, visit www.guntradeworld.com
With a focus on quality and an ambition to grow its product range and its network of global partners, Armament Technology Incorporated has quite the story to tell. The company’s VP of sales, Trevor Publicover, gives us an insight into life at the high-end of performance optics and how being an entrepreneurial company at its core has helped it more easily navigate challenges and grow its global distribution network.
Visit www.guntradeworld.com for the latest hunting and shooting B2B news.
With a history stretching back more than 100 years, a family-run and owned model, and a core product that hasn’t changed since the early 1900s – Ballistol is a name you can trust in the world of gun care and maintenance. The company's managing director Andreas Zettler and marketing and PR manager Leif Jacobsen tell us about Ballistol's past, present and future and how its wide range of products has helped it stay on top of the market during difficult times.
Learn more about Ballistol at: www.ballistol.eu
For more on the global hunting and shooting industry, visit: www.guntradeworld.com