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In what we admit is an excellent business move, a major U.S. firearms manufacturer has exploited an event occurring earlier this year to promote a limited edition handgun that’s sure to generate loads of news coverage and sales.
And when it comes to smart marketing, creating a buzz is what it’s all about.
In April, Texas Governor Rick Perry publicly announced that he shot and killed a coyote that threatened his daughter’s Labrador retriever as he jogged in an undeveloped area near Austin. The firearm he used to do the deed was a laser-equipped .380 LCP made by Sturm, Ruger & Co.
On the morning in question, Perry was jogging without his security detail shortly after sunrise.
“I’m enjoying the run when something catches my eye and it’s this coyote. I know he knows I’m there. He never looks at me, he is laser-locked on that dog,” the governor said.
Perry, a longtime sportsman, avid hunter and accomplished archer, didn’t hesitate–drawing, aiming and squeezing off a single shot.
“It pretty much went down at that particular juncture,” said the Governor. “I did the appropriate thing and sent it to where coyotes go.”
Fast forward to a few weeks ago, when selected Texas gun dealers began receiving the first of a limited edition “Coyote Special” Ruger .380. Around 1,000 of the specially engraved models are presently being sold only in The Lone Star State and feature the image of a howling coyote and a Texas Star on top of the slide. One side of the pistol is engraved with the words, “Coyote Special,” and the other side reads, “A True Texan.”
And so far, according to a report in The Austin American Statesman, demand for the commemorative gun has been brisk.
Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger told the newspaper that the governor received a complimentary engraved slide for his pistol from Ruger.
“I’m just shooting from the hip here, but I’d say he thinks it’s a pretty good little gun,” Cesinger said.
MSRP for the Ruger Texas Coyote Special is $339, slightly more than a regular model.