Gunfight

My Battle Against the Industry That Radicalized America

By: Ryan Busse

Narrated by: Ryan Busse

A former firearms executive pulls back the curtain on America's multibillion-dollar gun industry, exposing how it fostered extremism and racism, radicalizing the nation and bringing cultural division to a boiling point.

As an avid hunter, outdoorsman, and conservationist - all things that the firearms industry was built on - Ryan Busse chased a childhood dream and built a successful career selling millions of firearms for one of America’s most popular gun companies.

But blinded by the promise of massive profits, the gun industry abandoned its self-imposed decency in favor of hardline conservatism and McCarthyesque internal policing, sowing irreparable division in our politics and society. That drove Busse to do something few other gun executives have done: He's ending his 30-year career in the industry to show us how and why we got here.

Gunfight is an insider’s call-out of a wild, secretive, and critically important industry. It shows us how America's gun industry shifted from prioritizing safety and ethics to one that is addicted to fear, conspiracy, intolerance, and secrecy. It recounts Busse's personal transformation and shows how authoritarianism spreads in the guise of freedom, how voicing one's conscience becomes an act of treason in a culture that demands sameness and loyalty. Gunfight offers a valuable perspective as the nation struggles to choose between armed violence or healing.

©2021 Ryan Busse (P)2021 PublicAffairs

Critic reviews

“Ryan Busse presents a fascinating, clear-eyed account of the gun industry’s slide into extremism. Gunfight is an important book for anyone seeking to understand how our country’s debate over the role of guns and gun laws in our society has become so bitter and fraught. I was left with a sense of hope that there is a path forward; one where the majority of Americans, including the majority of gun owners, stand up to the gun lobby's bullying and demand lasting change.” (Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords)

“Ryan Busse is a gun enthusiast, conservationist, and defender of our Second Amendment. This is a must-read book for anyone who wants to understand how a wholesome part of America was twisted to radicalize wide swaths of our country, and its all wrapped up in a wild-ride story that you can't put down.” (Steve Bullock, two-term Montana Governor)

“Gunfight is a riveting account of how special interests have perverted the Second Amendment to create a culture of gun extremism that's radicalized a vocal minority. But gun owners like Ryan Busse are taking back the narrative from extremists who are trying to use guns to undermine our democracy.” (Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action)

IRA shocking

A must read to understand how the IRA is destroying our country. Also very sad

Entertaining with a powerful message

Listening to Ryan Busey discuss his life story and relationship with the NRA was like sitting with an old high school chum at a bar and listening to what they’ve been up to for the past 20 years— An enjoyable read that delivers a very powerful message.
I have read many stories on Wayne LaPierre and the NRA, but this angle of the NRA story appealed to me as an individual. This should be one of those mandatory reads in high school that are being banned by the Republicans.

Excellent. Well written and read. Eye opener.

Encourage those who are not aware of the power and sway of the NRA to read this book. I could not stop listening. Insightful. What an ugly industry that has created and promoted divisions in our country.

Most Memorable Moment

"...so we're not selling guns here are we?"
Thank you Ryan Busse. Deeply important revelations.

Should be required reading

This book is fantastic and OH SO eye opening. Will be sharing with as many people as possible!

No one is guilty; all are responsible

This book, while it soaks in language unfamiliar to a person whose father told him when he asked to have a gun as a senior in HS was told: “you’ll get enough of guns the army,” bespeaks of a persons perilous journey through a wrecked culture. This book exposes what America has largely become, a nation of stupid people looking to the wrong persons and beliefs for relief from their fear to think beyond anything beyond themselves.

Great Perspective from an Insider

As a gun owner and hunter who also believes in responsibility, this book struck a chord with me. Definitely a recommended read/listen on my list.

Growing up in the 70s and 80s, my dad was a geologist and an avid hunter. My brother and I grew up with guns and he drilled us at an early age about proper handling and gun safety. He was also a long-time NRA member up until the mid 90s, when he left the organization believing they had lost their way. I sometime wonder what he would think if he were still around today to see what the NRA has become.

Essential Reading

Anyone who cares about maintaining democratic values, responsible gun ownership, and fundamental decency and respect in society should read this book. The story of how the gun industry and its advocacy arms pushed an increasingly radical agenda with the goal of selling more guns isn’t just alarming in its own right, it’s also a warning of the dangerous influence of money and corporate influence in politics, and how those forces don’t have the best interest of American democracy at heart.

The rise and fall of a mislead gun industry

The author shares not only his story rising through the ranks of the gun industry.
He also shares the sick and twisted way Donald Trump with the NRA's Help made it ok to allow school shootings and advocating for killing anyone that did not agree with their racist and xenophobic beliefs. I did learn that under President Obama was when the gun industry was really profitable which I had not heard before.
This book confirms all of the fears i have had about the NRA under Trump and the mentally ill people that have no business owning guns committing mass shootings because of the misinformation being put forth by NRA Television and conservative commentators like Dana Loesch. Sad to see that Charlton Heston also had in hand in this propaganda. All of these people have blood on their hands and even responsible gun owners have been lumped in with these fake hunters like Donald Trump Jr and Jimmy John and their ilk.

Insider politics, but not policy

Well-written and listenable (readable) business history from a firearms industry insider. He claims in his introduction that his recollections of conversations are accurate. If so, he has a remarkable memory for telling details that describe the catastrophic evolution of a once ethical manufacturing industry into a slavish cult of venal, authoritarian sycophants. He spends little time discussing a few policy proposals he promotes with the innacurate cliche, "Common sense measures." He's a salesman (by his admission), not a policy guy, and this shows in his knowledge gaps. He engagingly relates his journey from self-deception as an idealistic neophyte to self deception as an idealistic reformer. He starts with a claim that the quality and craftsmanship of Kimber guns (which are pretty good for mass market products) made them "defensive" weapons, as opposed to the "offensive" style polymer ("Tupperware") products that were his sales competition. This is a sales pitch, not a logical analysis. He stakes a similar claim against "assault weapons" (which his company eschewed because they belonged to the "tactical" market), which he mocks and disrespects. He's a traditionalist hunter and conservationist, and movingly advocates for those values as the only "true" purposes for firearms. The most interesting parts are his devastating exposure of the corruption and misconduct of numerous top gun industry colleagues and politicians to whom his position gave him access. He is unsparing in his distain for the NRA and its malignant influence on US politics in recent times. This is totally accurate but still shocking to hear from the vantage of an insider. However, he has zero good to say about the other face of the NRA, which is its role as the pre-eminent civilian firearm education organization in the world. Like many crusaders, he sticks to the black and white, steering clear of nuances. What's most surprising are a fair number of inaccuracies and silly myths, and what can only be a few intentional misrepresentations that are inexplicable coming from a gun industry expert. For example, more than once he describes the .45 ACP cartridge as "designed to knock over a charging, 200lb man," which a real expert would say is Hollywood nonsense and a physical impossibility. He also persistently describes the AR-15 as "the exact weapon used by the military," which (he should know?) is completely false. These surprising lapses are more in keeping with the book's predictable final pivot into a political diatribe. On the whole, worth reading for its discouraging but credible account of corruption at work, in an industry that is opaque to most Americans.