Download or Read Below Duck Duck Duck Guns The family-owned business at the center of the hit TV show “Duck Dynasty” has launched its own line of firearms. Connecticut-based firearms manufacturer, Mossberg, has co-branded with the Robertson clan’s Duck Commander, the company owned by the family behind A&E’s “Duck Dynasty’s”, to release nine shotguns, two semiautomatic rimfire rifles and a semiautomatic pistol in 2014. Duck Commander was founded 40 years ago by Phil Robertson, the family patriarch who was recently suspended and subsequently rehired by A&E after making controversial remarks about gay people and African-Americans in an interview with GQ magazine.  “Duck Dynasty” is a wildly popular show that profiles the Robertson family business in Louisiana that sells duck calls as well as hunting DVDs and clothing through Cabela’s, Cracker Barrel, Target, Wal-Mart and other sportswear retailers. Consumers can purchase everything from clothing to bobble heads of the show’s stars and even books about cooking and religion. The leap to producing a line of firearms seemed natural for the Robertson family, but expect no high polish blued finishes or rich walnut in these designs. Mossberg says that the Duck Commander line of firearms will be hot dipped in the latest Realtree waterfowl camouflage pattern known as Max-5 and bear the Duck Commander logo of a duck in flight. All firearms will ship with an American flag bandana similar to the one worn by Willie Robertson on the show. The shotguns are straightforward versions of Mossberg’s typical line such as the pump-action Models 500, 535 and 835 and the semiautomatic Models 930, 935 and SA30. The rifles are the Mossberg semiautomatic Plinkster and 715T, chambered in 22lr. The pistol is the Model 715P, based on the 715T Modern Sporting Rifle, and also chambered in 22lr. Mossberg advertises the rifles and pistol as being designed for target shooting and in the spirit of the show, useful for “clearing cottonmouths out of your duck blind.” Some in the media have speculated that Mossberg is capitalizing on the recent controversial statement made by Phil Robertson and his equally controversial firing and subsequent reinstatement on the show. However, as anyone in the firearms industry knows, collaborations of this nature take months if not years of planning and development and this line of firearms seems to have been in development since early 2013. The firearms have been shipping to some retailers and distributors, but the official launch will be at next week’s annual SHOT (Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade) Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Orchid Top 10 Series #4 – Independent Bi-Directional Serial Number Inventory Orchid Advisors is transforming the Compliance Ecosystem™ with technical innovation. Each week, we’ll share a few operational best practices to reduce your ATF compliance risk. This week’s focus is on a concept that we call “Bi-Directional Independent Serial Number Inventory.” Conducting a Serial Number (SN) inventory is an integral component of any dealer or manufacturing operation. Regardless of what industry you take part in, a vital aspect of selling anything means knowing what products you have, how many of each that you have, and where they can be located. In the firearms industry, this is additionally important because the transfer of firearms is regulated. Proving the existence of firearms listed as open dispositions in your Book of A&D isn’t just a good business practice; it’s a fundamental requirement.  Despite your best efforts to process transactions accurately, something always sneaks through. Accidents happen and some small error could impact the accuracy of your record keeping. By conducting SN inventories, you reconcile these data errors, ensuring that your records properly reflect the status of acquired or disposed firearms. The frequency with which organizations conduct inventories varies widely. However, a best-in-class firearms compliance program might conduct their SN inventories on a quarterly basis. In addition, Orchid Advisors recommends that you conduct these inventories bi-directionally. How do bi-directional serial number inventories work? Well, although the true extent of benefit would take quite some time to relate, the essence of the process is relatively simple. It’s not too uncommon to find an FFL that conducts SN inventories unidirectionally. That means, employees are tracing firearms stored in the facility (retailer, distributor or manufacturer) to the A&D Book. Yes, you can quickly identify if any firearms were acquired without recording them as such, but what about the opposite? How do you identify those firearms stated as ‘in your possession’ per the A&D Book? Orchid recommends a more efficient and reliable, bi-directional inventory strategy. This strategy involves a reconciliation of inventory through both directions – Book to inventory and inventory to Book. You know how Book to inventory works.  With inventory to Book, the inventory should be organized by segmented areas of your factory to enhance the systemization and efficiency of the process. By establishing “counting zones” throughout your facility, you can count all of the serial numbers in each zone and help isolate the same information in a slightly different and cross-checked fashion. This process helps prevent mistakes in the inventory process, mistakes which can result in considerable expenditures of company time and resources down the road, not to mention ATF violation possibilities if you fail to identify firearms corresponding to open dispositions.  In our attempt to explain the essence of the process simply, there is danger in over-simplifying it – there’s an art to an efficient inventory process.  While we strongly encourage the use of a systemized, bi-directional serial number inventory, we recommend a discussion with an experienced Orchid team member prior to attempting this on your own. P.S. – Don’t forget to inventory those open dispositions on ‘temporary assignment’ with employees for bonafide business reasons per Ruling 2010-1! They count too. Orchid Advisors provides electronic newsletter (“Advisory and Alert”) and blogs for general informational purposes only. It should not be considered a formal or informal interpretation of law. It is not intended as professional counsel, should not be considered legal advice and should not be used as such.