Armored Republic: 11-Year Anniversary

Occasionally, an online store seems to look you in the eyes and declare:  “Move along. This is not for you. You are not our target audience.” Oftentimes this is because of a “get a quote” button or an exorbitant price tag. 

Before 2012, the armor industry was this way for civilians. 

At the time, armor manufacturers believed that the government was the source of profits; big federal contracts, and smaller department contracts. This created a big problem for Free Men with budgets not supplemented by tax revenue.

Government officials rarely care much about price. For that reason, a manufacturer dealing with the government will often hike up prices to get more money off the tree. But there is a limiting factor: the public price. The government requires that their deals are at least as good as the ones available to civilians.

For an industry not concerned with civilians, this meant that public prices went way up.

Another problem: ceramic and polyethylene materials are expensive and difficult to make into effective body armor. You can easily botch a ceramic plate and threaten someone’s life with faulty design. The industry needed an economic and manageable material.

AR500 steel is that material. It is tough, gritty, impressive. It gets the job done. We were not the first in the world to recognize this; steel targets were used as armor by the two North Hollywood bank robbers in 1997. That armor stopped countless pistol rounds from the LAPD (and, by the way, the robbers had no real issues with fragmentation). It is because of that steel armor that police nationwide started to be armed with high-power rifles more often.

AR500 Armor was the first to bring steel to a wide market. Since then, our catalog has grown to include all four major armor materials as well as carriers, IFAKs, gas masks, and other Tools of Liberty. It was at this time of growth that we changed from AR500 Armor of the Armored Republic to Armored Republic. 

Because AR500 steel is not our only offering, and because armor exists to protect a free state.

In the past year, we have also emphasized that Armored Republic doesn’t just supply Free Men with physical arms. We arm Free Men with intellectual ammunition–-the kind of information that inspires a people to build and defend a Republic. Ideas that inspire preparation and action. Stories like the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Principles like the Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrate. 

We serve you so you can advance righteousness. Resist tyranny. Further liberty.

When Free Men arm themselves, banana tyrants cower. They hate it. They hiss at it. Free Men continue to do it.

Detractors mock those who prepare by calling them “LARPers” or suggesting that they won’t actually be ready when the time comes. They say Free Men with guns can’t or won’t resist tyranny at their front door. But whether every Free Man with a gun will resist is not the question. 

This is the only question worth considering: if Free Men are armed, will they be more likely to resist tyranny effectively? Will they be more willing to organize into militias? Will they be more willing to fight?

The answer is obviously yes.

A weaker body of men can defeat a larger, stronger body as long as their goals are asymmetrical to the larger body. Free Men don’t need to conquer the United States. They need to create a Bastion of Liberty in a Sea of Tyranny.

Guns give you a superpower: the ability to apply lethal force from long distances with tiny energy expenditure. Body armor gives you a superpower: the ability to take lethal force and survive. Gas masks give you a superpower: the ability to breathe poison air. Obviously, these powers don’t become part of your body. They work with your body. They are tools. Tools of Liberty.

We create Tools of Liberty.

We are Free Craftsmen.

This is Armored Republic.

Eleven years of tireless service to you, the Free Man.

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This month, we are looking back and moving forward. Check out the Heritage BOGO. Inflation has made this more challenging to provide, but our prices remain the same. Armor materials are much more expensive now. Our 2012 price stays.

When the War for Independence had just begun, George Washington armed a thousand men at his own expense. We can’t offer a Buy-1-Get-999-Free promo, but we can offer this.

The Full-Coverage Concealment gives you twice as much coverage as the standard armor options. And it still hides under your clothes. Check it out here.

The A3, which gives .308 & Green Tip stopping mojo in a superlight package, is now $99 off + stacks with free shipping for orders $399+. 

See Mr. Reece discussing the need to Advance Righteousness. We are honored to be your armorsmith of choice.