Spike's Tactical/Pipe Hitters' Union ad (courtesy facebook.com)

“A Florida gunmaker company is unapologetic after devising an advertisement for its products that declared ‘NOT TODAY ANTIFA,'” theblaze.com reports. “Spike’s Tactical produced the ad, which caused controversy on social media, in conjunction with a  Texas-based clothing company, Pipe Hitters Union.” Spike had some choice words for critics who said they should spike the image . . .

“For the snowflakes and writer at Newsweek that we triggered with massive amounts of butthurt, here’s a lower we made just for you. The Spike’s Snowflake.”

But before those sly sale-oriented bon mots, Spike’s PR guy sounded a bit more reasonable.

Kit Cope, the company’s marketing director, told WFTV that the ad features “defenders” standing up against violent protesters and was adamant that the ad did not condone white supremacy.

“We are absolutely anti-bigotry, anti-racism – all of those things are very anti-America,” Cope said. “We are very pro-America, pro-law enforcement [and] pro-military.”

Cope added, “We wanted [the ad] to bring up thoughts, feelings, that can be discussed. We’re just trying to start a discussion.”

A “discussion.” OK then. Is this ad incendiary for firearms freedom fence straddlers? Is that important?

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161 COMMENTS

      • Because either give it a short barrel or put a stock on it. The middle ground is all but worthless.

        • Looks like the spike’s pistol with a 8.1″ barrel a barking spider and a 10″ rail over most of it. In a lot of places it is much easier (or even possible) to have a pistol than an SBR. Plus there is the idea: why should I pay $200 when I can get the same thing with a brace and avoid all those imperial entanglements. But to each their own.

        • Owen, because it’s not the same thing. I’ve shot every brace out there. The best ones are barely passable as a stock. None of them perform as well as a good stock. And most of the good braces cost almost as much as a decent stock and a tax stamp.

        • Actually it’s a good system. A buddy of mine built an Ar pistol with an SBtactical PDW brace and an 11.5 mid length gassed barrel. It’s freakin awesome.

        • The one area I can see being useful for an AR pistol with brace is as a car gun to be in the passenger compartment while you’re driving. Loaded rifles may not be legal but pistols are usually covered by a handgun carry permit.

        • There’s no brace on the one in the picture. Just a pistol buffer tube with foam on it. And I agree; whatever barrel setup it’s running is nearly as long as a 16″ setup. I’d much rather have, for instance, a 14.5″ barrel w/ pinned & welded muzzle device and a normal stock than something with the equivalent of like a 12″ barrel and a naked buffer tube dangling in the wind. Plus it’s a drawing or fantasy photo or whatever. Give the man a proper, suppressed SBR. Or Spike’s integrally suppressed 9mm.

        • Jwtaylor, I have shot with braces also and for 5.56 or 300blk a brace is just fine for me. I am a nose to the charging handle kind of guy. You also have to understand not everyone wants the baggage of an SBR. Having to report annually to the ATF where you are going to be taking it for example turns many off to the idea. A lot of folks just don’t want to buy in to the whole NFA scheme. But I get where you’re coming from about why compromise on the stock.

    • Looks like a 10.5″ with a KX3/KX5. There’s nothing sticking out from that quadrail. I do agree that 14.5″ barreled AR pistols are dumb. 14.5s should always be pinned IMO. Other things should be SBRed, unless you’re making a one-stamp suppressed gun with a ~10 inch barrel, or a fakey XM177 and you’re not putting an M203/lookalike 37mm on there (those require a grenade ring and either Griffin comp or another repro of the old 4.5″ compensator to mount, but if you’re not using a lawnchair, why not pin a fake comp to get non-NFA status?).

  3. I would argue that umbrella of our 2A rights includes the ability to defend ourselves and our communities against violent insurgents formed within our own borders.

    Spike’s Tactical is dead on, in my book. They champion our 2A rights, and effective resistance against violent anti-American insurrectionists is but another facet of the 2A, and why the rights protected by it are so important.

    It is a perfect illustration of how the 2A is still relevant in 21st century America, a good argument for those times when the “tyrannical government” debate falls on deaf ears because “it would never happen here”.

    • To be fair: I doubt this ad was targeted at any sort of “fence-straddler”. No, it’s meant for someone who is fully on board with civil rights freedom in all it’s forms.
      🤠

      • I suspect the simplest explanation for this ad is just to sell more product.

        Not everything is a mind-numbing exploration of the finer points of the Second Amendment.

  5. I give a thumbs up to Spikes.

    There’s nothing wrong with the ad. Antifa are a bunch of commies and anarchists causing mayhem. If the police are ordered to stand down, then who else to stand up to them besides regular citizens?

  6. I adore the add and will support Pipe Hitters Union. I would support Spikes as well, but I have so many AR15s from BCM, KAC, LWRC, and DD that my plate is full! Anything that upsets snowflakes is awesome and Antifa are a bunch of communists that should be hung for treason towards our constitution.

  7. That ad makes me want to … buy lots more spike’s gear! Loved it!

    I think that pistol has a 10″ hand guard over a 8.1″ barrel with barking spider muzzle device. Looks great to me.

  8. Spikes and Pipe Hitters for add of the year,glad they took the stance they did and I wrote and told them so. Now produce the tee shirts and posters,produce them and they will sell.

    • Thanks for your support! Posters will be available on our website early next week. Watch for them, they are in big demand.

    • I would buy that poster.
      Maybe Spike’s should sell them, with proceeds going to pro-2A groups.

  9. The only thing wrong with that ad is they arent standing on a pile of Antifa corpses with smoking barrels surrounded by a pile of brass.

    Deus Vult!

  11. Should have tossed one African American on the pipe hitters side with a nice AR to be inclusive.

    then what would the your ‘raciest’ screamers do then??

    • You are falling right into the lefty’s trap. Not every group of four guys in real life includes a dude of color. Why does every ad?

    • Also… they would say that that one guy is the “token” or that it’s clearly an “Uncle Tom” or whatever else.

      If it was really a real concern, they could have just as easily made all 4 “black or brown.”

      I doubt, though, many people that don’t already have some strange guns = racist association sees racism in that picture, regardless of how many of the defender guys are white.

    • Im a bit confused…Wouldn’t you be pro Neo Nazi’s, Skinheads etc if you’re anti “ANTIFA”…When did the people of the gun start supporting that shit …i must’ve missed it…Questions, comments, snide remarks…anyone???

      • You are confused. Antifa has a lot in common with Nazis. More so than any white supremacist I’ve ever heard of since the Nazis themselves.

        • “ANTIFA” was protesting against the neo nazis and the skinheads…(remember, the guys with the tiki torches and the jews will not replace us chants)…so lemme get this straight….”ANTIFA” is the enemy???you’re with the neo nazis because they’re less harmful (or closer to your viewpoint) than “ANTIFA”…PLZ explain…this I gotta hear

  12. Would it have killed you to put a 2 Amendment loving person of color in the ad? Also, the antifa members look beefier than they appeared in the news, and less geeky.

    • This.
      Antifa should be scrawnier, paler from basement dwelling and be wearing more name brand fashions paid for with dad’s credit card.
      🤠

      • Antifa really isn’t the problem. The dudes from the old Black Bloc-type groups that show up in the middle of these demonstrations and start busting heads are the problem. Black Bloc ain’t no geeky, basement dwellers with Daddy’s credit card.

        • Antifa is a domestic terrorist organization. The kind of organization where membership should qualify you for a middle of the night visit from a platoon of Marines or a hellfire missile from a drone.

    • “Also, the antifa members look beefier than they appeared in the news, and less geeky.” – Also more minorities, like, at least one.

      • How about you get off the PC band wagon? Does not matter what color the true American is as long as they are doing what the (police?) are not.

        Some of you need to take a short review of WWII history and see who was fighting whom. If memory serves, the Nazis (fascist) were fighting the Communist. They still are and we should not allow either to control this country. But then maybe some of you think that Communism is a good thing. I am here to tell you that there is not a dimes worth of difference in the two.

        • You miss my point entirely. There should be more minorities in the antifa crowd if the ad is to be realistic, like the previous comment was talking about. Bruce commented on the appearance of antifa in real life vs. the ad. I quoted that sentence. I then commented.

  13. I’ve generally found PHU to be a bit OTT but that’s just my read of them and their gear. It doesn’t bother me but I probably wouldn’t buy anything from them either.

    This ad… it doesn’t bother me but I’m not sure it’s really very productive in the larger scheme of things. On the one hand it does kinda bash ANTIFA, which I’m pretty OK with but OTOH it can, and probably will, be used against us in the future when someone wants to say “Hey, look the 2A folks just want to shoot some people they disagree with”.

    Sure, it revs up the folks already securely on our side. Fence sitters won’t be swayed by it in a way we want. So I would say there’s nothing wrong with it but it’s not useful either.

    Oh, and anyone who says “We’re just trying to start a discussion.” needs an old school rifle stock to the face at least once for allowing that tomfuckery out of their mouth.

    • They are not trying to start a discussion. Spikes and PHU are trying to sell product. They don’t give a dam about fence sitters or the anti-gunners.

      Not everything is mired in deep 2A meaning and intricate 2A thought processes.

      • Then, per the story, their marketing director is a liar.

        If they don’t give a damn about fence sitters or future use of such an ad against the 2A community then they are fools and no friends of mine.

        • “We’re just trying to start a discussion” said no one ever who was telling the truth. Okay. That’s probably an exaggeration, but you probably get my point too.

        • Oh c’mon strych. You really think any for-profit company’s primary motivation is something other than making a profit? The rest is all fluff to try and make more money.

        • Maybe he was just joking, using the line gun grabbers use every time they come up with another infringement on our rights against them.

  14. That would be a solid no. First off ANTIFA has already been declared a extremist organization by the US federal government, and beyond that multiple groups affiliated with them were responsible for serious riots and millions of dollars of property damage.

    And as a greater thought I should point to the fact that the MSM constantly makes ad ad hominem attacks on the NRA and gun owners in general. The fact that they got their proverbial panties in a twist says more towards their lack of a cogent argument against us than the so called ‘violence’ in this advertisement.

  15. Totally cringe worthy. That said I would have laughed my ass off to see their spokesperson go “we’re not pro racist we’re anti communist.”

  16. Lets see lawbreaking, traffic blocking, store burning, assaultive little spoiled punks vs hard working Americans who have defended the nation, sacrificed and have jobs that provided economic support as well as families that make America great.
    What was the question again?

    • That’s not true at all. They love gun rights… when they can have guns themselves. See the Huey P. Newton Gun Club and Redneck Revolt. Both are far left anti white racist organizations.

      It’s also very telling that these are the same kind of leftist scum that also try to use the power of the state to redefine the concepts of ‘hate speech’ as a part of a greater plan to use hate crime laws to strip gun rights from people they don’t agree with. If you ever need an excuse to get a Ghost Gunner, this is why everyone needs one.

      • The Huey P. Newton guys are just like the Open Carry rally cosplayers, only they hold original Black Panther (not NBPP) sympathies. They don’t do shit. Antifa and the Black-Bloc start shit all the time everywhere they go. I’m not even sure Redneck Revolt is a real thing outside the internet. Most of the leftist groups marching with guns have been exposed as carrying airsoft guns because mommy wouldn’t let them play with lead and loud, scary, offensive, explodey stuff. Of course the Huey Newton guys have real guns because they can just get them from “brothers” they know.

      • Not everyone needs Ghost gunner. Some of us are able to use drill press and router to finish our 80 percenters just fine.

  20. There’s too much “you’re with us or you’re against us” rhetoric in Antifa. To begin with a good portion of the US isn’t very sweet on the socialist tones of Antifa and then they pull a “No gray area” outlook on everything that sure enough drives away moderates.

    The masses have grown tired of them by now. Everyone is in agreement any trouble they run into was brought upon themselves.

    • Portraying groups of American citizens as terrorists who must be exterminated is problematic to say the least. Many of you are quick to criticize ANTFA for riots but remain silent on rise of armed white supremacist groups. Not surprising since many of you probably barely graduated high school.

      • Sure dill. I’m fairly certain my 10 years of higher education is a good 10 years longer than yours. Give me a break with the white supremacist crap. A few of these white supemacist guys have always been around. Just ignore them like the rest of us and stop trying to drag all white folks into that camp just because of your Trump Derangement Syndrome.

      • There is no rise of white supremacist groups. Claiming otherwise ignores basic reality. Oh… and ANTIFA IS a domestic terrorist group and every member needs to be stood up against the wall and shot.

        • One of those rare occasions were I agree with Pwrsurge – A rise in the media’s use of the term “white supremacy” is not the same thing as a rise in expressions of actual white supremacy. Dont’t play into the medias’s hands by thinking otherwise.

          • A hate group is any grouping of persons who do not believe as I do. A hate group is any grouping of persons who make me feel bad. A hate group is any grouping of persons who do “bad” things.

            A hate group is whatever I say it is.

      • JDillyDill and LeftyGunToter: president and v.p. of Sock Puppets, Inc. Did you stage a takeover and oust Professor Manque and the spelling-challenged Nazy Cegro With A Gun, or are they still on the board of directors?

  21. Er…it didn’t go far enough?

    They could have helped themselves disarm the inevitable “you’re raaaaacists” by putting a darker skin tone on one of the armed patriots, and it seems to me that they missed an opportunity by not including a woman with a gun, but that’s the only criticism I have. Nitpicking, really.

    More power to ’em. If I could afford a Spike’s product right now, I’d buy one just to say thanks.

  22. As someone who witness his gay Asian friend get nearly beaten to a pulp and have racial and homophobic slurs hurled at him by these so called “tolerant peaceful protestors”

    These black-clad racist hate-mongers need to be exposed for what they really are.

    It’s ironic that most members of anti-fa are Caucasian college-aged young adults and older white adults from high-income to wealthy families with left wing beliefs and most of the people they actually tend to victimize are the homeless, racial minorities, the elderly and handicapped, random civilians and even children.

    There are scores of youtube videos shown of Antifa targeting and committing unprovoked attacks against these same people I described and the media ignores and praises it.

    Antifa are the true racist tyrannical hatemongers.

    • You misspelled “terrorists”. Fortunately, we’ve spent the past 17 years figuring out how to deal with terrorists.

  23. We should be honest about the terrible flaws in this ad. It is too dark to make out the rich details of those gorgeous modern sporting rifles. It could be a little more realistic with depictions of terror stricken Antifa thugs laying on the ground, curled up into fetal positions, crying for their mommies. Also, there could be a rainbow and a puppy and some flowers.

  24. I have no problem with the image, ‘Antifa’ (gag) deserve every thing they have coming to ’em, in *spades*.

    Now I’m sure Johnathan in Houston will eloquently disagree with me…

      • lol, fun weapons for sure, but in this day and age totally obsolete and why anyone would grab one of these if the shit hits the fan is beyond me. AR or AK is what I’m grabbing. And if I need to worry about defeating armor, then my SCAR17 or KAC SR-25 are my go to.

        • A 91/30 with a bayonet. You can reach across the street and communicate with an antifa type.

          They swing a bike lock, you poke back. And if you have to shoot…….

  26. Portraying groups of American citizens as terrorists who must be exterminated is problematic to say the least. Many of you are quick to criticize ANTFA for riots but remain silent on rise of armed white supremacist groups. Not surprising since many of you probably barely graduated high school.

      • If you say so. I didn’t know calling people unintelligent was racist, classist, or fascist. Did I trigger you?

        • “If you say so.”

          No, *you* said so :

          “Not surprising since many of you probably barely graduated high school.”

          Said the one who identifies himself *first* as a ‘Lefty’.

          Your true colors, come shining through…

          Leftist 😉

      • I was just trolling with the last line. I hold two bachelors degrees. One in media communications and the other in history. I work in the gun industry.

        • Your degrees suck. You can call me Doctor. Not the PhD posers either.

          Your are bringing intellectual knives to the proverbial gunfight.

        • Media Communications and History? aka Jack Daniels 101?

          I got a history degree out of boredom while working on my actual degree in mechanical engineering.

        • BBQ, that’s actually pretty funny. Same with the Jack Daniels 101 comment (it was more 420 though frankly: no carbs, no hangover.) I wish my brain worked more mathematically. Unfortunately, I’m only good at sales and writing to a lesser degree (I work as a writer in the gun industry).

          Look gents, can’t we agree that these violent fringe groups (left and right) are part of the problem? How would you feel if this image showed black folks holding guns in front of the tiki-torch bearers in Charlottesville?

        • “How would you feel if this image showed black folks holding guns in front of the tiki-torch bearers in Charlottesville?”
          I would feel just fine, thank you. Not everything is about race. Disagreement with Antifa doesn’t make us racist. (Never mind what Antifa says) Or uneducated. Or unintelligent.

    • Yet you have no problem with these “tolerant peaceful protestors” beating innocent people at random, firebombing building and vehicles, fighting the police, committing rioting, looting and arson.

      These “tolerant peaceful protestors” are the true racist hatemongers.

      • I didn’t say I had no problem with them, I have a problem with any extreme political that uses violence or intimidations to achieve its goals. But treating fellow citizens as terrorists and creating an us or them narrative like this is tribalistic and short-sighted.

        • Just wait, Serge- Next he’s gonna retort with –

          “You wouldn’t know what a real commie was…”

          (In a sniveling tone, of course… 😉 )

        • Of course I wouldn’t… It’s not like I grew up in a marxist dictatorship or anything… Oh… wait…

        • Let’s get real. Some of my fellow citizens ARE terrorists. And they come in all colors from all ends of the political spectrum. This ad merely targets a specific subset.

          You don’t need to come from the middle east and speak Arabic to be a terrorist.

      • “Protesters included white supremacists, white nationalists, neo-Confederates, Klansmen, neo-Nazis, and various militias. Some of the marchers chanted racist and antisemitic slogans, carried semi-automatic rifles, swastikas, Confederate battle flags, anti-Muslim and antisemitic banners, and “Trump/Pence” signs.[7][8][9]”

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unite_the_Right_rally

        • You consider Wikipedia to be a “source”. There’s some newage libarts edumacation. Says a lot for the academic credentials you where yapping about above.

        • If you had a real education you would know that Wikipedia is hardly a credible, reliable source of information.

        • Its call the 1st Amendment, do not like it? Suck start a 12 gauge.

          It was a permitted event, your side lost in court to stop it, so the police stood down by order of the mayor, a riot happened when the left started being violent, and now you want to blame everyone but your side who started it when they were going to defile Lee Park?

          Get fucking real. The statues are going to be one of the many reasons why your sides loses, and guess what? When we win, they are going back up, only bigger.

        • JWM: Does this look like a rally to you?

          Anime Man: Does it look like these guys are clashing with ANTIFA in this pic?

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unite_the_Right_rally#/media/File:White_supremacists_clash_with_police_(36421659232).jpg

          Wikipedia is a great source for general info, then you have to go into the actual sources they list, so it is actually useful for research, though I’m sure its all “fake news” to you. Sorry I didn’t submit a research paper. Finding a source conservatives will not cry “fake news” at seems harder and harder as time goes on. Does the Nation work for you?https://www.thenation.com/article/donald-trumps-rise-has-coincided-with-an-explosion-of-hate-groups/

          henry bowman: you sound like a man who uses the N-word in casual conversation, and talking about winning/losing sides? What about the biggest losers in the history of America: the Confederacy. I have no problem with free speech. Sorry to tell you, those statues of traitors are never going back up. What’s more un-American and non-freedom loving than supporting a counter-US government based around the institution of human slavery. I have yet to meet someone who supports the Confederacy and is not racist–who knew!

    • What white sepremicist groups? The 20 wannabe Nazi’s that showed up in Charolettesville? You leftists live in a male believe world.

    • “white supremacist groups” brought to you by the manmade global warning, fakenews, #____ , & Dreamer/unrestricted immigration thugs.

    • Yo, Totey-doofus! Rioting is a violent *activity*. You can be “armed white supremacist” your entire life without ever committing a crime, if you are a rioter you should be left bleeding out in the gutter. Violent ACTIONS should be severely punished, philosophy or capability should be left the hell alone, called “freedom”.

    • Even if you’re correct — which I do not concede — the evidence of the past year says that armed white supremacists are less dangerous to life, limb, and public property than their antifa counterparts.

    • Word for word what J Dilly Dill posted at 13:17. Did you forget who you were supposed to be?

  27. The media and the left refuse to acknowledge that antifa isn’t actually antifascist or antiracist. So to the media, anyone who opposes antifa must be either a fascist or a racist. Just because they call themselves antifascists doesn’t make it so. But for some reason the left and the media believe them. Useful idiots, or just blind to reality. Take your pick.

    • I don’t think they are actually fascist. I think they are communist. What’s the difference? At least fascists are patriotic. (Fascists are nationalists, and communists are globalists).

      • Of course communists tend to be globally focused, global communism gives you access to more “other people’s money” to spend.

      • They are literally communists. Antifaschistische Aktion was started as a militant wing of KPD (German Communist Party) somewhat like the Nazi SA in 1932.

    • “I don’t care any more”

      -Phil Collins

      Liberate yourself. Stop caring about what the lefties/media think.

    • Just what grabbers say POTG are? Four armed men (I use the term advisedly) standing up to several dozen masked killers? I’ll buy that.

  32. Interesting that only one side is wearing masks and nothing is said about that. I was taught that if wearing a mask in public, and not for the weather conditions or medical, that the mask wearers were considered ‘bad guys’ or criminals and you needed to defend yourself and others from them. Oh wait, there is criminal activity occurring with arson in the background and at least one masked person ready to commit assault, totality of the circumstances apply here. Since there are more than 4 individuals that is considered, and is by definition, a riot so you can now protect yourself with whatever tools at your disposal. The four unmasked are showing great restraint because, IMHO, they could be legally shooting now.

  36. Who cares one way or the other? Freedom of speech to say whatever they want. Doesn’t matter if it offends, shocks, or divides. There are no fence sitters. There’s people who have guns, and those who don’t.

    Spikes makes solid equipment with some comical flare, at a good price with a lifetime warranty.

  38. Something like that is going to be seen as provocation to those on the far left. Fascists, neo-Nazis, etc. on the far right are going to think Spike supports them since that is generally who Antifa is battling in the streets, and many news organizations and regular people will see that as Spike taking the side of the Alt-Right in general including Nazis.

    I personally think wading into these issues is a bad idea for a company, and the ad is pretty stupid overall. It has them acting like tacti-cool operators defending the world from marauders. That’s not something they are actually doing in the least. They aren’t doing anything about Antifa, especially anything involving using their guns. If they did something now, this ad could be used to show premeditation.

  40. No more incendiary than Boyd Craven’s book “Breaking Point.” That’s been out for two years. Still $3.00.

  42. Anything to agitate the snowflakes. They would have no idea that it is done simply to make them foam and the mouth….just for fun.

  43. The message I get from that image is that Spikes sells baseball caps and HuffPo advertisers sell ski masks and handkerchiefs.

  45. One of the reasons why I buy things from Spike’s, a great bunch of guys with a sense of humor. If the left wants to cry some, go for it.

  47. Spike’s > Springfield & Rock River

    Nothing like a swift kick to liberal’s snowflake area to cause a meltdown.

  49. Spike’s Tactical and anyone who supports them is a fool. I mean the PHU idiots sell merch that says “Be Violent First” ffs.

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