How do you decide what products to use?

[FEENIX]

Hi all, my name is Samantha and Ive been working at Cutting Edge Bullets for about 10 years now. We are a small family owned company thats been in business since 2008, and being a small company, I have worn very many hats within the organization over the years. We have always made it a company policy to stay off of forums. There has certainly been some drama in the past, so we feel its best practice to just avoid it all together. However, I do have some burning questions for you, and I dont think it hurts to ask. Ive always enjoyed reading the threads on this forum because the community seems very open and helpful to one another. If i'm way out in left field here, feel free to let me know!

Samantha,

I sent you a PM, but I want to welcome you to LRH publicly; enjoy! My sincere apologies for being the bearer of bad news, but I want to be honest right off the bat, this site is not immune to drama. I hope you will never experience any negativity or uncivilized treatment. Having said that, we still have a lot of good people around.

I have a lot of questions for hunters and shooters alike in regards to the decision making process when it comes to purchasing new equipment/gear. Our goal as a company isn't to cram our product down peoples throats and sell to people who aren't truly our target market. Our goal is to provide hunters and shooters with all of the information needed in order for them to make a good choice. Unfortunately it seems we are not so great at getting our name and product out there, so we really need to figure that part out. Im hoping discussing some items with this community will help me better understand where we need to focus.

I appreciate your goals. A good product will sell itself. I think the word is getting out more than you think, perhaps not the numbers you are shooting for, but I do not know what those numbers are. As you already know, you have had plenty of competition since you started, which is excellent for the end-users. I have nothing against lead-free bullets (I have a pretty good inventory from various manufacturers, including CEB), but it is an option we can choose from. The great thing about America is we still have the freedom of choice and many choices. I do not wish for a mandatory lead-free bullet/ammunition in the US in my lifetime or any lifetime; sorry, CA.

Here are a few of my questions:
-What influences your decision to try a new product? Is it word of mouth, a google search, an ad, etc??
-What would be an incentive to push you over the edge to try a new product?
-Do you prefer to try new things or stick with tried and true?

I know a lot of these are very open ended and are probably dependent on the item. But any insight is greatly appreciated!
Thank you so much in advance.
-Samantha

Regardless of the product, I am a sucker for innovation, so what you noted are some of the instruments I have employed in my decision-making process.

I do not have or need the incentive to try new things, but I have things that will shy me away from trying new things, some of which are noted in your company's goals. I love supporting small businesses, esp. from my local economy. At this point, there is only one company that I will never support in my lifetime for many reasons. We all know there is no magic bullet. I know that you know that, and as far as I know, you have stayed true to your company goals. Stay true to yourself/goals, let end-users decide/respect their decisions, avoid the political agenda, and you will be fine.

I am a continuous learner, so keep old and new things. I am looking forward to healthy and civil discussions with you,

Again, welcome to LRH, and enjoy!

Ed

 

[338 dude]

Of course I ask anyone on this site but also I want to know what the pros use and for that information I go here.https://precisionrifleblog.com/category/what-the-pros-use/

 

[FEENIX]

A quick followup on this, what sort of trusted sources do you use for reviews?

My list is not long, but I have trusted, unbiased, uninfluenced, open-minded sources for, that I have the utmost respect for their opinions and real-world experiences.

Have you considered a forum as part of your resource section? This is an excellent means of establishing a knowledge base for your product from your end-users.

 

[FEENIX]

I know many like easy accessibility; this is a non-factor to me. I am never in a hurry, and I have no problem waiting. I deal with a small business/one-shop guy that does just-in-time manufacturing. My last order for 250 bullets took a week and a half because of others ahead of me.

Most like bullet X manufacturers because they are readily available. The longer an item sits on the shelves, the less profit is realized by a bullet X manufacturer, just like a vehicle on a parking lot losing profit each day it is not sold. I guess that is good for the receiver, not the supplier. If availability is high, it could mean they over-manufactured with the current demand, or the product is not selling commensurate with the current demand. - activity-based costing. When the market demand is high (i.e., Berger bullets), most do not last long on the shelves. This reminds me of the last Berger delivery at my local Scheel's; there was a like as they were being unboxed, but it never made it to the shelves. Yes, we are not Berger's primary customers; they have larger contracts to fulfill, esp. with the current world event/situation.

 

[terry 338rum]

i am looking for results because i spend a lot of money on guns and scopes and i buy what makes them shoot the best. i get most of my info from gun makers and fellow shooter and hunters.

 

[lancetkenyon]

I tend to stick with personally tested tried and true products. It takes a while for me to test "new to me" products.

Reviews from reliable sources tend to help a great deal. Luckily, I get to shoot a lot, and research a lot. It seems apparent fairly quickly if a new product works well or not.

To be honest, with the very limited information out there, I have heard positivie reviews about CEB, but I have not tried them myself in anything I have shot.

 

[xsn10s]

I tend to stick with personally tested tried and true products. It takes a while for me to test "new to me" products.

Reviews from reliable sources tend to help a great deal. Luckily, I get to shoot a lot, and research a lot. It seems apparent fairly quickly if a new product works well or not.

To be honest, with the very limited information out there, I have heard positivie reviews about CEB, but I have not tried them myself in anything I have shot.

Yup LRO, RS, and SH might be more accepting forums for CEB. Accurate Shooter or other long range/ ELR forums. CEB is local to me in the Treasure Valley. NF even has an office nearby and Spartan Precision Rifles is over here too. The area could become a LR hotspot.

 

[Rick Richard]

I call my most trusted GS ( you know who you are) and get his recommendations since he knows my style of hunting and shooting. Besides he is up on all things in the industry. Hasn't been wrong yet.

 

[comfisherman]

I used to use information from forums to decide on what to purchase, sadly that accounted for some of the worst Bullet performance and scopes I've ever used...

I believe fps figures from 99% of the forum content roughly as much as political promises. But that 1% is rock solid and worth sorting out and finding. My primary use of forums informing my purchasing decisions is locating products or getting early reviews on new products. I've found accuracy on product location to be much more accurate than say the average fps of a new wildcat.

Best example is this, my wife carries a rifle with your bullets in it. Decided on that combo based on all the testing that a fellow from the Carolinas did on dangerous game bullets over several years and animals on another forum. It was comprehensive information, so much so my purchasing decisions were influenced by that.

I'd like to see forums regain their place in new product launch and maybe surveys for new r&d. Places like tfb and other outlets now seem to get new product data out before they hit forums. Sadly the discussion in most of those comments sections is like YouTube in the early days (ferral teenagers basically). Places like lrh have much more civil discussion and at least the comments are more useful towards the stated common goal.

Second thing I'd like to see is companies use forums to sample more useful or credible product launch testers. I'd way rather see a company give some new product to a credible forum member to test than a perfectly crafted Instagram add campaign.

*figured I'd take the time and do an example. The current trend is more moderate overbore cartridges in shorter barrels to fit a suppressor. I started on that path more than a decade ago having moved from the high desert back to the island. Found out that a 29 inch plus brake easily carried in sage wasn't worth packing in alders. Started looking at forums and got all manner of conflicting information. Eventually stumbled on xphunter/ernie bishops posts. He had lots of short barreled specialty pistols that were overbore so it fit he might have a better islnside track than the rest of the others. A dozen cut down overbore rifles later and all his assertions turned out to be gospel from my real world builds and numbers.

If was a bullet company trying to get a bullet to market that has a b.c. that excites the lrh community, can survive high pressure overbore launch speeds and still perform on game.... He'd be my first choice. Lots of us would follow an approval from him. The industry is trending towards tactical flannel and silicone filled sketch pad women on Instagram. Truth be told that doesn't reslly move my needle, but credible testers giving a thumbs up help me part ways with my hard earned money.

 

[JTH]

When it comes to bullets, the forums on this site and a few others are great sources of info that often convince me to try a new product.

As a hand loader who's specifically interested in hunting and longer ranges, manufacturer specific threads on load development, and threads on terminal performance (with photos of autopsies) are of particular interest to me.

You tube videos of gel tests and other info can help, but I put more weight in the real world info I get here, on this site, specifically from a dozen (maybe more) regular contributors that provide detailed information, than any advertising.

 

[Samantha-CEB]

My list is not long, but I have trusted, unbiased, uninfluenced, open-minded sources for, that I have the utmost respect for their opinions and real-world experiences.

Have you considered a forum as part of your resource section? This is an excellent means of establishing a knowledge base for your product from your end-users.

Yes, this is actually one of the many things we have been discussing! I think if we could have a community on our website where people can share data, results, etc would really go a long ways.

 

[FEENIX]

Yes, this is actually one of the many things we have been discussing! I think if we could have a community on our website where people can share data, results, etc would really go a long ways.

I am looking forward to it. Cheers!

Ed

 

[comfisherman]

Like to take the time to point out just how vital privately owned forums like this one have become to a lot of us. Many have been gobbled up into cmg type Walmart forums, and it seems the industry has adapted to facilitate mainstream social media, at the loss to older platforms such as this. But many of us rejected those new mediums and the values in opposition to our hobby they represent.

Len runs this places with the ethos of his living room sitting around talking about hunting, that is stark contrast to all the mainstream platforms. For some reason the social media managers of many firearms related manufacturers have bent over backwards to facilitate those platforms ever changing whims, while it's cricketts on private owned platforms such as this. (Industry wide issue not singling out anyone).

As the culture in mainstream media shows its ugly head, places like this are safe havens for a large (and growing)swath of people. Manufacures choosing to take part in these forums may risk some exposure, my guess is the reward is better than the risk.

 

[FEENIX]

I know many like easy accessibility; this is a non-factor to me. I am never in a hurry, and I have no problem waiting. I deal with a small business/one-shop guy that does just-in-time manufacturing. My last order for 250 bullets took a week and a half because of others ahead of me.

Most like bullet X manufacturers because they are readily available. The longer an item sits on the shelves, the less profit is realized by a bullet X manufacturer, just like a vehicle on a parking lot losing profit each day it is not sold. I guess that is good for the receiver, not the supplier. If availability is high, it could mean they over-manufactured with the current demand, or the product is not selling commensurate with the current demand. - activity-based costing. When the market demand is high (i.e., Berger bullets), most do not last long on the shelves. This reminds me of the last Berger delivery at my local Scheel's; there was a like as they were being unboxed, but it never made it to the shelves. Yes, we are not Berger's primary customers; they have larger contracts to fulfill, esp. with the current world event/situation.

OOPS, sorry, my bad. It should have been a line instead of a like.