It’s a pleasure for FFL Unleashed to share the story of cutting-edge new ammunition products that are a result of collaboration between Team Never Quit and Snake River Shooting Products. We were fortunate to interview Team Never Quit founder Marcus Luttrell and Snake River Shooting Supply’s President Casey Betzold together, so the answers you see are from their combined responses.
FFL Unleashed: It’s not likely among the tuned-in FFL Unleashed audience, but in case there are folks out there who haven’t heard, please share a brief history of Team Never Quit, its purpose, and who all is involved.
Team Never Quit: Team Never Quit started as the group of folks supporting Marcus Luttrell on his speaking engagements, appearances, events, etc. The hours were long, logistics complex, etc. and due to the Navy SEAL creed centering on “Never Quitting” the team started referring to themselves as Team Never Quit. One thing led to another, and soon they had T-shirts and merch with the TNQ logo on them, with a very powerful message. This rolled into Patriot Tour several years ago, which was initially going to be Marcus Luttrell and American Sniper, Chris Kyle. Just prior to the initial Patriot tour launch, Chris was killed. His widow, Taya stepped forward amidst her grief and decided to take Chris’s place on the Tour. Several other speakers were also added all focused on the central message of never quitting and getting back up when life knocks you down.
As most know, Marcus and his family also started the Lone Survivor Foundation, in 2010, geared at restoring, empowering, and renewing hope for our wounded service members and their families through health, wellness, and therapeutic support. In late 2014, Marcus sat down with the Snake River Shooting Products (SRSP) team to discuss the first product line focused on providing a long term revenue stream for The Lone Survivor and other Veterans focused foundations. This line was to be ammunition. Casey Betzold, President of SRSP, asked Marcus why he wanted to do ammo. Marcus noted that as a Texan, military veteran, hunter, and outdoorsman, guns and ammo had always been part of his life and it seemed like a good fit. When asked what the brand would be called, Marcus stated, “Team Never Quit,” and proceeded to tell the story of how the TNQ brand was formed, and what it stood for.
The TNQ brand is about much more than ammunition, much more than Patriot Tour, and much more than Marcus Luttrell. Team Never Quit is a passion, a way of life, and a movement made up of anyone who resonates with the message TNQ portrays – getting back up and moving forward when life knocks you down. Through this message, anyone can be part of the Team, not just military members who have taken a hit, but also widows, orphans, those who have lost a loved one, lost a job, or health, etc. Marcus has stated, “Everyone has a bad day, it is the choice to get back up and keep moving forward that sets people apart, and that is what Team Never Quit is all about.” The ammunition line is a very small piece of a much larger picture and focus.
FFL Unleashed: Can people still participate in TNQ Ammo’s donations to the Lone Survivor Fund? What efforts do those donations support?
Team Never Quit: Absolutely! People can go directly to the website, www.lonesurvivorfoundation.org and give. A portion of the proceeds both generated by Team Never Quit, as well as at the manufacturer level with SRSP go to the Foundation, as well as support other great Veteran’s focused charities, with a constant goal of increasing the impact as we go. Dealers and Chains also have the opportunity to run direct individual campaigns through ammo, or even other products to support the foundation as well.
FFL Unleashed: What is TNQ ammo? What sets it apart?
Team Never Quit: Casey and Marcu
s talked through what Marcus’s desire was for the ammunition line – what he wanted to accomplish. Marcus noted that we have more conceal carry holders in this country than ever before, and thus the need for viable and impactful training is also at an all time high. As such, Marcus wanted ammunition that allowed for much more dynamic training, as well as hunting, match shooting, and more. As Marcus noted, “We aren’t trying to re-invent the wheel, we are just trying to do a little better each and every day, working together in a team concept, to do something better than an individual could do alone.” A large portion of the ammo line is lead free, although not all of it. There is something for every category of shooter, all built to a high level of excellence. We also always want to hear from folks not only about their good experiences, but their bad – thus allowing us always to respond, and continue to improve on the products we provide.
FFL Unleashed: What are the applications of “frangible” ammunition?
Team Never Quit: Frangible ammunition means different things to different people. A portion of the TNQ line utilizes a bullet manufactured by Sinterfire – www.sinterfire.com, which is lead free and frangible. Think of the bullet like a giant sugar cube, when it strikes something harder than itself, it breaks into much smaller pieces. The Sinterfire bullet is made up of Copper and Tin. If you were to think of a room, and filled the room with basketballs, that is the copper, and then throw in golf balls, which would fill in the voids, that is the tin. Heat it under pressure and you have a very hard projectile, but one that will come apart into particles less than 5% of its total grain weight when striking AR500 steel. This projectile has been 
used by the Federal LE Training Center (FLETC) for almost two decades due to its properties to hit steel plates without any splash back like you would get from a standard FMJ or HP round. Also, being lead free and 100% recyclable is a benefit for indoor ranges worried about lead contamination. The training and duty rounds can both be fired within a few inches of steel plates with no danger of splashback thus providing for much more dynamic and CQB style training scenarios to truly train like you may have to fight. For one segment of our self defense line, TNQ also utilized a Sinterfire projectile with a hollow point. This round is devastating on soft targets, but when striking hard targets still performs just like the training projectile. Consider CCW, you leave your home and enter a world made of hard substances such as concrete, steel, cinder blocks, bricks, etc. Now consider having to use your weapon in a self defense, or active shooter situation in a public building or in the street – Team Never Quit provides a round which is incredibly effective on the threat, but also greatly reduces or removes the threat of collateral damage due to ricochet. This bullet starts to dump energy and come apart when striking hard surfaces, thus we believe it is the best all around choice for conceal carry and self defense. What is also fantastic is the round comes at a much lower cost than the competition, and is offered in a wide array of pistol calibers!
FFL Unleashed: Looks like you have some hunting rounds coming out at SHOT Show. Can you give any hints about what’s in store?
Casey: We do! We are launching loads in .223, .300 BLK, and .308 on the first run, utilizing a solid copper tipped HP by Maker Bullets – www.makerbullets.com, they like to call their TREX bullet. These bullets are absolutely amazing at expansion and holding together when hitting even the largest animals! We have put 55 gr .223 bullets into pigs that have expanded to the size of a quarter and held together! That is unmatched anywhere else!!! For those going to Industry day, SRSP and TNQ are exhibiting sponsors, and Marcus will be there as well. At the show, our booth is #4366 – come by and take a look at them!
FFL Unleashed: If FFL Unleashed dealers are interested in putting TNQ ammo on their shelves, who can they contact?
Team Never Quit: Team Never Quit ammo and reloading brass are being carried by a myriad of distributors to include Axleson Tactical, Palafox Solutions Group, Chattanooga Shooting Supplies, and Texas Ammo Group, and we are also in discussions with several other large distributors. Our team at Snake River Shooting Products is also setting up dealers all over the country. For any information, please contact [email protected] and we will get you pointed in the right direction. It is also worthy of note that SRSP has been standing up a prostaff team made up of former military and law enforcement, competitive shooters, hunters, industry writers, and much more, with over 35 on the team already! Our goal with prostaff is to have them assist new dealers in getting the word out in their areas to help this be a great pull through product for the dealers!
Finally, SRSP with their internal family of brands, has also aligned with other great brands in the industry who share a similar mission of helping our veterans! This group is growing and will be working together at SHOT, and within the industry to bring a greater selection of brands which have a great synergy to those dealers who have interest in working with a great group of companies, with some great products, all focused on something bigger than any of us can be as individuals!
FFL Unleashed: Earlier in the year, TNQ Ammo made “The Blaze!” Tell us about the experience. Can FFLU readers check out that coverage somewhere?
Team Never Quit: Glenn Beck and the team at The Blaze, have been wonderful to Marcus Luttrell, TNQ, and SRSP! They were gracious enough to jump in and tell our story, which can be found here.
There is much more to come with the brand and we very much appreciate FFLU for taking the time with us to talk through the brand and our story! We are excited to hear the feedback from readers!
More information on Team Never Quit can be found at www.teamneverquit.com.
More information on the ammunition line specifically can be found at www.snakerivershootingproducts.com.
