For the firearms experts at PROOF Research, the proof is in the grouping – as in the tight grouping of bullet holes on a shooting-range target located more than 500 yards away.
And if people want to see more proof of the accuracy of the company’s rifles, they can refer to a photo of a different target with three clean shots in the middle. That target was located 1,124 yards away from the shooter – well over a half mile.
By demonstrating the rifles’ accuracy on targets, marketing specialist Tom Suiter said the “proof is in the pudding, pardon the pun.”
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CEO of PROOF Research KK Jense answers questions from the media about his business. |
“A lot of the guys in the industry say they can do it; these guys prove it,” Suiter said.
PROOF Research, a new company headquartered in Columbia Falls, describes itself in promotional material as a “science-driven, precision rifle manufacturer that is re-inventing the future of firearms.”
The company brings together a team of experienced gun manufacturers, business development strategists and marketing specialists with the goal of creating rifles that are accurate, perfectly balanced, durable and lightweight.
“Our goal is to revolutionize the firearms industry with our experienced, high-tech team under one roof in Montana,” CEO and President KK Jense said.
Jense formerly operated Jense Precision, a firearms manufacturer based out of Missoula. To start PROOF, Jense has partnered with firearms expert Greg Hamilton and purchased Columbia Falls’ Lone Wolf Riflestocks, a respected stock manufacturer that has been in the valley for more than 30 years. Hamilton is PROOF’s stock division manager.
“Lone Wolf is probably one of the most well-known stock manufacturers in the world,” Sean Averill, PROOF’s business development manager, said.
Lone Wolf Riflestocks are constructed with multiple laminations of Kevlar and carbon fiber, which makes them both sturdy and lightweight with strong recoil absorbing characteristics. Lone Wolf also has a specialty line using exotic materials such as basalt and Vectran.
“We’re taking their awesome technology and taking it to the next level,” Jense said.
Jense and his business partners were on hand last week to demonstrate their rifles at a private shooting range. Their central facility is being built off of U.S. Highway 2 just north of Glacier Park International Airport and will not officially open until around the beginning of 2012. In the meantime, PROOF is manufacturing at a limited scale at two temporary locations.
When completed, the main facility will be roughly 27,000 square feet and cost millions of dollars. Technology will include a million-frame-per-second, high-speed ballistic camera, a ballistic lab, and a FLIR thermal-imaging infrared camera.
“Everything will be state of the art,” Jense said.
PROOF Research, a privately funded enterprise, currently employs about a dozen people and Jense is hoping to add 10 more next year. Hamilton, the stock division manager, said the rifles will be primarily geared toward private hunters, though the company will also work with law enforcement and military.
The lightweight yet durable and accurate nature of the so-called “sheep gun” is ideal for hunters who spend time on rugged mountain peaks pursuing bighorn sheep, Hamilton said. Such a rifle would cost $4,900 before factoring in optics.
The lightweight barrels are a result of a proprietary and patented carbon-fiber wrap process, invented by Chief Technical Officer Mike Degerness. It’s similar to processes found in aerospace applications.
Suiter is impressed by the collected expertise on staff at PROOF Research.
“I keep referring to them as the dream team,” he said. “It’s amazing what they’ve put together.”
For more information, go to www.proofresearch.com.