5 Members of the Firearms Industry who started on Social Media

Social media is a great place to get your brand name out to the public and to gain a following. This is especially prevalent with the social media site YouTube. Here is a list of five prominent figures in the firearm industry who have gained their status through social media.

Tim Harmsen (Military Arms Channel)

Tim Harmsen, more commonly known as Tim from Military Arms Channel has grown to become a very prominent voice in the firearms community thanks to his great followings on social media, specifically YouTube, where he has 680 thousand subscribers; however he has a very prominent following on both Facebook and Instagram. Tim has used his following on social media to become politically involved, using his pages to push for and promote movements to repeal the NFA (National Firearms Act), which prohibited the sale of SBRs (Short Barreled Rifles), SBS’ (Short Barreled Shotguns), suppressors, and fully automatics; the Hughes Amendment, which prohibited sale and import of fully automatics, and many other movements. Tim has most recently been rallying his following against censorship of right wing and conservative channels on YouTube; as well as rallying against the NRA (National Rifle Association) for supporting backdoor gun legislation. Tim has also used his success to promote the business Copper Custom Armament of which he is a partner, and has partnered with Forged From Freedom to create apparel in support of his YouTube channel and the movements he is involved in.

Collins Idehen (Colion Noir)

Collins Idehen, or better known as Colion Noir, started his career in the firearms industry as YouTuber who would post firearm related content on his YouTube channel Colion Noir, which has a subscriber count of 626 thousand. Today, Colion is a gun rights activist, lawyer, and an NRA commenter. Colion has his own show on NRATV, titled NOIR, which currently has 6 seasons, with more to come. On his show, Colion reviews different firearms, has conversations with those on the anti-gun side of the isle, competes in shooting competitions with others in the firearms industry, and much, much more. Colion is a very charismatic speaker, and when you listen to him talk, there is no doubt that he is a lawyer; strictly based on how he speaks. Colion has used his social media following to promote his apparel brand The Pew Pew Life. Colion has gained a great following over social media, and uses it to promote the fight for gun rights and the movements which he believes in.

Matt Carriker (Demolition Ranch)

Matt Carriker, better known by his YouTube channels Demolition Ranch and Vet Ranch is a veterinarian in Texas, who makes videos of both his job (Vet Ranch) and his hobby, which is all things firearm related (Demolition Ranch). Matt makes more humorous videos than the above two, and goes above and beyond to make amazing videos that most could not. He uses his resources as a vet and his massive 4.7 million subscriber base on YouTube to fund videos and experiments that others would not have the resources to pull off. Matt became famous by uploading videos onto his YouTube channel of him loading shotgun shells with unconventional item, including legos, and testing the damage that they would deal out against a ballistic gel torso.

Greg and John Kinman (Hickok45)

 

Greg Kinman, alongside his son John Kinman, have together created the very successful YouTube channel Hickok45, with just over 3 million subscribers. Hickok45 videos feature Greg talking about and shooting firearms, while his son John is behind the camera; however there is a second YouTube channel, Hickok45andson with 171 thousand subscribers, where the roles are reversed, featuring John front and center while his father Greg is behind the camera. Greg and John are both very active on other forms of social media as well, including John and Greg’s Facebooks and John and Greg’s Instagram accounts. Greg and John use their platform to educate their viewers about historical firearms, as well as promote movements of which they are passionate.

Richard Hewitt (Nutnfancy)

Richard Hewitt, more known by his YouTube channel Nutnfancy, where he has a 743 thousand subscriber following, is an Air Force Veteran from Utah, who tests equipment, including but not limited to firearms, extensively in some of the harshest conditions in order to provide in depth, accurate reviews on YouTube. It is not uncommon for him to upload videos over 30 minute in length, including some exceeding an hour in length. Richard prides himself with his extensive testing, often time pushing the gear that is being tested to their breaking point. This is often the reason that his videos are so long in length, his tests are so in depth, that it would be impossible for him to cover all of the data he has recorded in a shorter time.

In conclusion, social media sites such as YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook are great places to get your brand out there and get established. There are countless more stories of people who have started out on social media, and gone on to make a living off of the social media content they create.