Innovators and Influencers
SHOT Business honors ten leaders in the shooting sports industry.
Profiles compiled by Slaton L. White
Melvin Forbes
From a small machine shop in rural West Virginia the late Melvin Forbes changed the industry. He was both an innovator and an influencer. A mold maker, part-time gunsmith, and shop teacher, he, by force of will and mechanical genius, became one of the most respected rifle builders of all time.
In the early 1980s Forbes decided he was going to build a bolt-action sporting rifle that would weigh about five pounds, but shoot like it weighed 10. As Richard Mann related in his SHOT Business profile of Forbes,
“Everyone he knew told him he was full of sheep dip, but Forbes quit his job and dove in with both feet. Within two years his Ultra Light Arms Model 20 set the bar high for synthetic-stocked, ultra-light, bolt-action sporting rifles. It’s a bar that has not been surpassed.”
In 2022, Wilson Combat acquired the rights to Forbes’ creation, assuring that another generation of hunters can experience the rifle’s supreme accuracy and performance. You could say, and you wouldn’t be wrong, that the recent trend for lightweight backcountry rifles that are now offered by mainstream rifle manufacturers had its genesis with him.
Steve Kramer
Steve Kramer, vice president of marketing at Springfield Armory, believes product is king and developing exciting new products is the locomotive engine of growth. But another linchpin of a successful product launch is getting the word out to consumers. Under his direction Springfield uses a multi-faceted marketing approach that the marketing team has developed internally and refined over a number of years. The result? Very successful new product launches.
Kramer says creating effective marketing programs for Springfield Armory’s new products and legacy lines requires a strategic approach that takes into account the unique features and target audience of each product. As the company grows and enters new product categories, he says it has opportunities to introduce the brand to new consumers.
A prime example of this was bringing Springfield Armory’s first dedicated hunting rifle to market with the Model 2020 Waypoint. This intro into that market segment opened up awareness of Springfield’s entire product line to a customer base that may have not been fully aware of the brand, namely the hunting community, and required a unique marketing approach.
He notes that customers today want a clear path to make informed decisions regarding their firearms purchases. As a result, the company strives to give the customer the knowledge to make that purchase decision before entering the store. To achieve this, Springfield starts by providing a fully featured website with detailed, media-rich product landing pages. A daily content website, TheArmoryLife.com, provides further support with articles and videos by the top content creators in the industry. Post-purchase support is also extremely important, and owners can now use the new Springfield Armory customer dashboard and mobile app as a centralized hub of resources and support for their purchases.
Jason Colosky
When Jason Colosky, CEO of Watchtower Firearms, left the corporate world, he did so with the idea of taking over a firearms company and turning it into a business that he could be proud of—a business that represents the way American manufacturing once was, and the way, Colosky believes, it can be again. When he initially considered buying F-1 Firearms, he didn’t think the company had the potential to live up to that vision. He kept an open mind, though, and decided to visit the manufacturing operation in Texas. What he saw changed his mind completely.
“What I found out was that they had a precision manufacturing operation that is incredibly efficient,” Colosky says. The other thing that struck him was the tolerance of F-1’s signature AR-platform rifle. As a former special operator, Colosky has carried his share of rifles and knows first-hand the dangers of having a weapon that rattles when you’re trying to move as silently as possible.
“The rifle they were making was so tight that you could shake it and it wouldn’t make a sound. From a pure quality standpoint, I really liked that,” he says.
Although the top-of-the-line AR platform that originally attracted Colosky to F-1 will evolve and improve in the coming years, it will continue to be a staple for the company, now known as Watchtower Firearms (the company's name honors Operation Watchtower, the codename for the WWII Guadalcanal Campaign). But the company is also committed to diversifying its offerings to cater to a much wider group of customers. So, it didn’t take the company long to develop high-quality suppressors. And earlier this year Watchtower launched the Apache Double Stack 1911 pistol.
The company is also amping up its marketing budget so small dealers don’t have to spend as much to get the word out about Watchtower’s firearms. It’s also pricing its products to make sure that gun stores can hit the margins they need to remain profitable.
Shawn Hostetter
As the number of people who carry a handgun daily continues to grow, holster manufacturers are working overtime to meet the historic demand and provide shooters with the latest technology. The changing, often complex, needs of today’s shooters are driving holster innovation. Alien Gear Holsters has been pushing the envelope with next-generation designs and engineering developed at their facility in Post Falls, Idaho. Its Photon Holster is a perfect example of how the company designed an all-in-one solution for both shooters and retailers.
A unique, fully adjustable design makes the Photon holster ideal for a variety of purposes. The ambidextrous Photon can be easily set up for multiple IWB and OWB configurations and fine-tuned with adjustable cant, retention, and ride height. It’s compatible with threaded barrels and high/co-witness sights, features an optic cut-out, and is side-car ready with the optional mag carrier. The Photon Light-Bearing version gets bonus points for working with most handgun lights.
“The Photon line is one of the first retail-focused holsters that allows for lights and optics, which reduces the number of SKUs a retailer needs to have on hand,” says Shawn Hostetter, CEO of Tedder Industries (owner of Alien Gear). “Retailers around the country have been extremely happy to finally have an answer to this massive problem in the holster category. Consumers are excited to have one holster that checks so many boxes, where they previously had to have many holsters for the same gun to accomplish what they needed.”
For gun stores, the Photon’s do-it-all capability can significantly reduce the volume of holsters they need to keep on hand. This space-saving dream can effectively replace six to eight holster SKUs with a single SKU. It’s no surprise then that the Photon is fast becoming a best seller.
Christoper DiCenso
Based in Knoxville, Tennessee, SDS Imports is a firearms importer that began operations in 2017. The technical and logistical support—including engineering initiatives, compliance expertise, and marketing efforts—the company offers its global partners helps them to successfully navigate the intricacies of the diverse American market. Brands under the SDS banner include Tisas USA, Tokarev USA, Military Armament Corporation, Spandau Arms, and Inglis Manufacturing.
Recently Christoper DiCenso came aboard as the company’s CEO. He brings more than 30 years of experience to SDS and was most recently a managing partner at Growth Strategy Partners, where he specialized in helping mostly firearm and related companies accelerate their revenue, profit, and organizational growth. He began his career as a manufacturing engineer at Sturm Ruger. In addition he is a former president of Camfour. DiCenso is an avid shooter and competes regularly in IDPA, USPSA, and 3-Gun matches.
Part of DiCenso’s mandate is to correct the erroneous impression that Turkish guns are cheaply made. “With us,” he says, “it’s really about getting the message out that we offer really good products at much more affordable and competitive prices than our competition. Turkish guns are well built, but we benefit from a lower cost structure that allows us to pass those savings on to the consumer.”
He’s not talking about 10 to 15 percent; he’s talking about 30 percent—and in some cases 50 percent—less expensive than the competition. That ought to get the attention of dealers nationwide.
Billy Angers
Bilson Arms, a Louisiana gun-making company born from oil and gas extraction technology, has made a significant mark on pistol caliber carbine design with their BA-9FC. Like many other PCCs, it’s gas-blowback operated. But unlike any other, its charging handle/bolt-opening device is on the forend. Think pump action shotgun to load the first round or unload before a mag runs dry. Otherwise, the handle does not reciprocate; the action runs in semi-auto mode thanks to the buffer spring. Designer and builder Billy Angers was inspired to innovate after seeing a friend who competes in matches with a PCC lose a high placing thanks to a double-feed malfunction. With the BA-9FC, double feeds can be cleared by racking the forend and not even breaking cheek weld/target focus.
Greg Cohen
When most shooters and retailers think of firearm performance, they consider barrel twist rate, quality optics, and a finely tuned trigger. They rarely think about cleaning products, but Greg Cohen, president of Tetra Gun Care, says that’s a serious oversight. He believes his products not only help keep a gun clean and lubricated, they also enhance its overall performance.
He knows what he’s talking about; for more than two decades he has been a force within the gun-care category.
Tetra is known for an extensive product line, ranging from lubricants and solvents to cleaning rods and other accessories.
Cohen notes that all of the Tetra Gun care lubricant-themed products feature the company’s fluoropolymer additive technology, based on the original 1985 synthetic gun lubricant patent, whether it is the well-known white grease, lubricant oil, Triple Action CLP liquid, lubricating wipes, or Gun Spray. The product line is updated on a regular basis to keep up with consumer demand and market trends. For example, the original formula for Action Blaster (a cleaner-degreaser aerosol that removes fouling from gunmetal) has been replaced with the synthetic Action Blaster II product. There is no lubricant in this mix. It is pure cleaner.
In a similar way, Tetra Gun’s original Tetra Gun Spray has been replaced with the Tetra Gun Spray II. This product is basically a CLP (cleaner, lubricant, protectant), combining cleaning performance, followed by surface lubrication and protection. A unique aspect of this lube spray is that it doesn’t have an oily finish, something Cohen says many people now prefer.
Essentially it boils down to this, he says. ”You get best results from a product that provides a barrier between two surfaces of gunmetal to minimize friction and prevent wear and operational failure so that you can maintain a firearm in fire-ready condition.”
Brice McCunn
In 2012 father-and-son team Kevin and Brice McCunn began operating out of a small shop in Massena, Iowa. Wanting to grow the business, they decided to build a state-of-the-art indoor shooting range and gun shop located just east of town. In March 2015, McCunn Specialty Firearms opened the doors of their new facility. The operation features a retail store, a six-lane 25-yard indoor shooting range, a classroom, and a gunsmithing area and now attracts customers from surrounding counties. Brice says their aim was to provide a fun and safe environment for new as well as seasoned shooters, all the while providing superior customer service.
As part of that desire to provide superior customer service, Brice was determined to make the process of purchasing a suppressor as painless as possible. This is a big ask; suppressers, as NFA-regulated products, require a substantial amount of paperwork. In order to streamline the process, the store invested in a fingerprint scanner with software, and the staff can now help its customers complete the forms in house, from start to finish.
Another aspect of this operation is their dedication to providing customers with a secure means of storing their firearms at home. After seeing the lack of focus on quality safes at other retail operations, McCunn jumped in with both feet by only offering top-drawer safes. Today McCunn’s is one of the largest, if not the largest, safe shop in the state. Their growth caught the attention of the two major buying groups, and they eventually joined Sports Inc., which has impacted the ever-growing product lines they carry with better pricing and availability.
Alain Desmeules
Alain Desmeules, founder and CEO of the premium heated-garment company eWool, grew up in Canada, a land where there is a different kind of frigid—one that’s difficult for many to comprehend. That intimate knowledge of what it feels like to be that cold is one of the reasons why Desmeules felt the need to break into the heated-garment industry after pursuing a successful career in engineering.
Desmeules founded eWool in 2013 and immediately started using his engineering background to improve the technology of the heated-garment industry. The idea was simple: create a product that works so well that when you push a button, it immediately starts generating heat. This concept was especially important because the customers eWool were targeting weren’t casual consumers on a weekend ski trip, but rather law enforcement and other professionals who spend hours in the bitter cold every day for six months or more of the year.
Although at first glance eWool might seem to be a garment company, Desmeules is very clear that eWool is something else entirely. “We are not a garment company. We are a technology company,” he says. “Our goal now is to take that technology of heated clothing that we’ve perfected and partner with established garment companies to make it easier to get that technology out to more people who can benefit from it. Instead of garment companies having to spend time and money trying to develop heated clothing technology on their own, they can take advantage of the countless hours of research and innovation we’ve done. We combine our strength with their strength and everyone benefits, especially the people who will use the product.”
Steve Hornady
A lifelong shooter and avid hunter, Steve Hornady entered the world in 1949—the same year that his father, Joyce, started the Hornady Manufacturing Company. During his youth, Steve and the pastimes of hunting and target shooting were never far apart, as he hunted prairie dogs and much more in the Cornhusker State.
He became head of the company under difficult circumstances in 1981 when his father died in a plane crash. Steve immediately assumed leadership, and despite the devastating loss of the company’s founder, Hornady Manufacturing never faltered. Under his leadership the company continues to deliver innovative product lines, thus assuring its long-term success.
More importantly, though, he has been a tireless advocate for his industry, hunting, and the shooting sports. Hornady is known for stepping up to the plate when a leader is needed, as he did by becoming Founding Chairman of the Hunting and Shooting Sports Heritage Fund, which was formed to help defend the firearm industry against politically motivated municipal lawsuits in the early 2000s.
Early this year at SHOT Show 2025, he was the recipient of the NSSF Ken Sedlecky Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognizes individuals who have distinguished themselves by their long-term commitment to the success of the industry and by their support of NSSF’s mission to promote, protect, and preserve hunting and the shooting sports.
Editor’s Note: Additional reporting by Christopher Cogley, Eve Flanigan, Miles Hall, Richard Mann, and Brian McCombie.