ATK is buying Savage for 315 million

[longrangehunter]

So ATK, Alliant Tech Systems, is buying Savage for an all cash offer of $315 Million. The big Companies are getting bigger, and another gun company gets swallowed up in this deal. Savage had been making strides in Long Range Rifles that shot well, and that filled a niche. Oh well, ATK makes a lot of other great products.... Federal, CCI, etc., but I can't say much about Speer! They would have done better by buying NOSLER and have a real bullet company! But they now have a long gun and shot gun company to add to their Sporting department. Personally, I would have bought Nolser, better bullets and better guns!

 

[Wincheringen]

Here is the link

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/atk-to ... 2013-05-13

 

[FOTIS]

Nosler is great as is IMO. Look what happened when Cerberus bought Rem and Marlin.

 

[Wincheringen]

ATK bought Savage from a holding company like Cerberus, so I would think this is a better option by far.

 

[Dr. Vette]

Note that their new CEO, appointed 2 months ago, came from ATK. I suspect this has been in the works for a while.

Does this mean that they bought Bowtech too, since Savage bought Bowtech a few years ago? I assume so but don't see that anywhere.

$315M seems cheap to me, but what do I know.

 

[DrMike]

May turn out well, as ATK is fairly invested in the shooting sports.

 

[gerry]

I hope they do a better job with Savage than they have done with Speer, they have run that bullet company into the ground IMO. There has been a long list of blunders in recent times. I like Savage and wish them well.

 

[taylorce1]

I guess I haven't been paying attention to Speer, what is going on there? I don't use there bullets much I'm a Sierra and Nosler kind of guy, and starting to dabble in Barnes when I need a LWT tough bullet for my daughter to shoot. The only Speer bullet I've really used is the TNT in .22 calibers, which I think is still a great varmint bullet. I did try some Hot-Cor 270 grain .375 cal BTSP out of a JDJ but settled on the 260 grain AccuBond.

 

[Guest]

Not being contrary here, but Speers Gold Dot bullets seem to be darn good in CCW handguns. Their DeepCurl also intrigues me.
I, too, prefer Noslers, Sierra, and Barnes in that order but the new offering may work for certain applications.
JMO.
Dewey

 

[DrMike]

The only real problem I can see about Speer is marketing. They make a good product, but marketing appears to be weak--at least here in Canada.

 

[Guest]

When ATK took over Speer, they made some very bad marketing/PR decisions. I can no longer purchase Speer bullets at any of the five or six handloading supply stores near my home (near is a euphemism for within 2-3hrs). Every one of them stopped carrying the line within a few months of ATK's taking over. Not sure why, but it was evident ATK was disinterested in small shops. Additionally a number of online retailers stopped carrying them for a while, too, though that's slowly remedying itself. Only places I can buy them now are online or at gander, but for what gander charges, I can buy Partitions straight from Nosler (firsts, even) and never have to leave my house.

I love Speer bullets, though. They're just about the best bargain in bullets out there. Losing the Hot-Cor was not cool for me, as I like them a lot in several of my rifles. But I hear great things about the Deep Curl, from folks I trust, so I'll likely try them out when I run out of my current stock of Hot-Cors.

 

[SJB358]

Not being contrary here, but Speers Gold Dot bullets seem to be darn good in CCW handguns. Their DeepCurl also intrigues me.
I, too, prefer Noslers, Sierra, and Barnes in that order but the new offering may work for certain applications.
JMO.
Dewey

Same here Dewey, they make some excellent 45-70 bullets, along with their Deep Curls and Gold Dot's. Just wished they were more available. Hard to get sometimes.

Their old Hot Cor's and Grand Slams were pretty good bullets as well.

 

[taylorce1]

I've been interested in the Deep Curl 80 grain .243 caliber and been waiting for it to show up so I can try some. I haven't looked lately but they haven't been available locally at the Sportsman's Warehouse in COS. I've just been looking for a better constructed 6mm bullet to run in my little 6X47 since I can't convince NOSLER to build me an AccuBond in a 70 grain (HINT, HINT, , !). So it is good to hear the problems aren't the bullet line being discontinued.







Although in Noslers defense I can't imagine there being a huge demand for a 70 grain premium hunting bullet.

 

[SJB358]

I dig the Deep Curls. Wanna give them a try in something else soon. Alot of bullet for the money.

 

[gerry]

Since I brought up Speer I should explain a bit better. I like Speer, they were my favorite bullet company and I killed a lot of game with them. I doesn`t help that they discontinued some of my go to bullets, and then turned the Grand Slam into an expensive cup and core bullet. They introduced the Deep Shock and then quickly discontinued it then phased out the Hot Cors only to bring them back, there have been a bunch of curious decisions in recent years. I really like Speer still and want to use some of their bullets but they can be hard to find. I like the 180 gr RN in 303 British, the 250 gr Hor Cor in 35 Whelen (going to test it out in my new gun after bear season) and the 140 gr Deep Curl is looking very good in my 260 Rem. ATK needs to do a better job, and I hope they do.

 

[JD338]

I think this is a good thing..........could be much worse.

JD338

 

[Wincheringen]

When ATK took over Speer, they made some very bad marketing/PR decisions. I can no longer purchase Speer bullets at any of the five or six handloading supply stores near my home (near is a euphemism for within 2-3hrs). Every one of them stopped carrying the line within a few months of ATK's taking over. Not sure why, but it was evident ATK was disinterested in small shops. Additionally a number of online retailers stopped carrying them for a while, too, though that's slowly remedying itself. Only places I can buy them now are online or at gander, but for what gander charges, I can buy Partitions straight from Nosler (firsts, even) and never have to leave my house.

I love Speer bullets, though. They're just about the best bargain in bullets out there. Losing the Hot-Cor was not cool for me, as I like them a lot in several of my rifles. But I hear great things about the Deep Curl, from folks I trust, so I'll likely try them out when I run out of my current stock of Hot-Cors.

ATK has nothing to do with what your local shops choose to carry. They sell to distributors who in turn sell to shops. The reloading market is all about new and shiny, and while the Hot Cor was a great bullet, it was old and dull and newer designs were beating it out in sales. All the other brands of ATK have happily jumped on the fast, shiny, & new bandwagon.

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

Darn. If I won powerball this weekend I could of bought Savage.

 

[Polaris]

I'm guessing you will see ATK-Savage roll out some military contract bids in the Sniper and SDMR field. Should be a match made in heaven in that regard. ATK has a lot of clout in that area, and Savage rifles are certainly up to the task accuracy-wise. Wouldn't be surprised to see a proprietary ammo line under the Savage or Alliant logo either. I think ATK brand military /match/tactical style ammo in 5.56, .308 and 338 Lapua in a sporty box and an ATK line of tactical handgun ammo would be a good seller if the performance was up to snuff.

Yeah, Speer has done some funny things. I still think their hot-cores are the best cup and core bullet out there in terms of accuracy. The BCs are pretty darn good for flat bases. Wish they hadn't dropped the "mag tip.", that was my favorite woods bullet in the .280 and .308.

 

[gerry]

I still think their hot-cores are the best cup and core bullet out there in terms of accuracy. The BCs are pretty darn good for flat bases. Wish they hadn't dropped the "mag tip.", that was my favorite woods bullet in the .280 and .308.

I agree, the Hot Cors are tougher than they should be, great bullets when used correctly. I was fond of the Mag Tips too they were kind of an intermediate bullet, almost as good as the Grand Slam but 60% of the cost. They were my go to bullet in the 308 Norma Mag I used to have, a couple of moose at least didn't like them. Interestingly they still make the 150 gr 308 plus a 416 and 458 I think.