Broadsword Saga – 1

Out in Utah there are some folks that I have started a small custom weapons shop call Crusader Weaponry.  Now, these folks have taken their skills, interests, and experience pooled it all together and created a start up company.  Think about it for a minute, a start up company in this economy focused on creating custom weapons, and training.  It takes a huge pair to embark on something like this with all of the risk involved.

Needless to say, I have been keeping an eye on these folks, the products that they are producing, and results of their efforts.  In doing so, my admiration for them has grown.  The community that they have built, and the ups and downs that they have reported in the business.

Having lived through the trials and tribulations of a start up manufacturing company, I guess I have a bit of an empathetic bond with Crusader.  I’ve gone through “manufacturing” products in the garage, and hauling the marketing displays across country to the trade shows.  Seeing some success, and some things not work out quite the way they were designed.

Crusader has begun to see some success in the market place.  Between the development of a synthetic lubricant (Slipstream), their training operations run by the Mad Ogre, and their fantastic marketing theme of weapon names they are making a name for themselves in the gun community.

All of this “watching” has resulted in something new for me.  I took the plunge, and worked with “Gundoctor” to spec out a custom precision rifle.  Over the past couple of weeks Gundoctor and I have gone back and forth on how to best build out my Broadsword.  Over the weekend, we finally got this thing nailed down and I sent the order off on Monday.

Over the next few weeks, I am planning on providing you a peak into the process, or at least my experiences, with spec’ing out a weapon, getting it manufactured, and ultimately it’s use.  With luck, the supply chain will cooperate and I will have this rifle in hand to exercise at Boomershoot this year.

The next planned entry in the series… spec’ing the rifle.  Stay tuned.