It’s 2016 and the Social Media Reload is back! This year you can expect more entertaining videos from your favorite YouTubers, as well as those you may not know, interesting statistics, controversy and drama from the firearms and outdoors industry and more. If it’s trending or going viral on social media, you can bet you’ll find it on our list at the end of each week. So without further ado, here are your three rounds making noise this past week.
A HICCUP FOR HICKOK45
By now you’ve surely heard that Hickok45, one of the largest YouTubers in our industry, had his channel temporarily “terminated due to repeated violations of Google’s policies” earlier this week. With little information to go on, government and anti-gun conspiracy theories started flying in as viewers, fans and other YouTubers banned together to offer how they could help. After a few hours, the channel and all videos were restored, though Hickok’s connected Google+ account—a possible cause of the termination—was still down. Two days later, we still don’t know what caused the channel to be removed, but it was likely related to Google’s algorithm, which has a history of shooting first and asking questions later. We’re just glad he’s back!
TACTICAL CLAW MACHINE
We’ve all done it: shovel quarter after quarter into a claw machine at a local arcade, mall or restaurant hoping to land the cool stuffed animal or electronic device (many times despite already knowing the game was rigged). In Florida, a custom firearms shop specializing in water transfer printing and Cerakote® firearm coatings put their own touch on the classic game, replacing the typical rewards with AR-15 stocks, grips, sights, and more on a layer of brass shell casings. The photos were posted on their Facebook Page with the simple message “We put a claw machine in the shop filled with AR parts come play!” Does anyone have another quarter? (via Guns.com)
REVOLUTIONARY NEW AIRBOW
It’s a bow, it’s an air rifle, no, it’s an Airbow! New on the hunting market this year is the Pioneer Airbow from Crosman. Built like a rifle in a bullpup configuration, the Airbow is powered by 3,000 psi of compressed air capable of firing eight full size arrows at a consistent 450 FPS and bringing down big game like buffalo. Don’t believe us? Just watch professional hunter and Outdoor Channel’s own Jim Shockey in the video above quickly land two arrows on top of each other. And while you may not be able to “shoot” like Shockey, Crosman is confident the Pioneer Airbow will enhance your hunting experience. (via Outdoor Hub)
Did you watch or read something that you think we missed? Shoot us a link in a comment below and stay up to date with our Social Media Reload archive.
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The LBM Blogger 