We had a great IWA Show. Thanks to all of you who came to see us there, and most especially to those of you who made the commitment to start dealing with us or to increase the business that you are doing with us.

The new gun catalogue, description sheet, and parts flyer are now available. They went over very well at the show. Some nice new pictures, some are unchanged. Remember, three of the new pistols will not be available until 3rd quarter. RangeMaster, TargetMaster, Duty One. Due to their volume, Waffen Schumacher has asked for, and received, exclusive rights to market the first two in a tri-top configuration.

I had only forecast an approximate 11% growth rate for 2003. We ran a little over 14% for the first quarter. Coupled with last years 23% increase, the number of guns that we have in the safe has dwindled considerably. Additionally, our normal 3-5 week lead times are now at 6-8 weeks. Don’t despair! We are taking appropriate actions to reverse the trend, but it may take a little while. We don’t intend to sacrifice our reputation for quality and service during the recovery period.

Due to the number of guns currently on order, we are going to suspend order acceptance on the “LS” and “BLS” models (and maybe a couple more) for a few months in order to catch up and rebuild an inventory position. If your order is currently on our books, you’ll get delivery. We are only suspending the entry of new orders.

We’ve gotten quite a number of requests to sell our standard 1911 frame and the new “Master” series of 1911 frame, separately. I don’t think that we are ready to do that yet, but we are considering alternatives that may help you. What do you guys think that the market is for “Slide to Frame Fits” and “Short Blocks” in these configurations? How about a “Bucket of Parts”? (Frame, slide, barrel. All unfit?)

Pauletta and I will be back in Europe for the “2nd Annual STI European Open Championship” and the French Level III in May. We are basically available in Germany, France, and Italy from May 20th-June 1st. If there is some way that we can help you, please let us know.

For all of the obvious (behind) reasons, we still do not plan to introduce any additional products this year. If you can think of any that we should pursue for the future, please let us know.

Have fun. Sell a bunch. Do good. Not necessarily in that order!