Welcome back to another episode of Gun Industry Insider, where we bring you the latest developments shaping the firearms industry. I’m your host, Ray Toofan, and today is May 9, 2025. In this episode, I’ll be covering the recent rumors surrounding a smaller, but a fairly well-known name in the firearms industry, Vudoo Gun Works. This episode is a little different than previous ones where I cover legislation or new product releases, but it is an important topic that shop owners should be aware of, especially those that may be financially invested in Vudoo but haven’t heard the latest news. Having said that, let’s get into today’s episode.

As I just mentioned, a recent development with Vudoo Gun Works has been making the rounds in the precision 22 rimfire rifle and 2011-style pistol communities, and it’s something that shop owners who have dealt with Vudoo need to pay attention to. And just for full disclosure, my firearms business does have pending builds that have been partially prepaid for, so I’m watching the situation closely. Vudoo, known for its precision rimfire target rifles and, more recently, its 1911 and 2011 pistols such as the Priest and Mobius models, has built a reputation for quality. But lately, there’s been a lot of uncertainty about the company’s future, and it’s leaving customers, dealers, and vendors in a tough spot without any useful information. 

Rumors have been circulating on the various firearms forums that Vudoo has closed its doors in Utah and is moving to Oklahoma. And it’s not just one isolated rumor, multiple forums like Sniper’s Hide, Rimfire Central, and Canadian Gun Nutz have been active with discussions about the company’s status. While Vudoo has recently gone dark on social media and hasn’t contributed on the forums, they did release a statement claiming they’re relocating to Oklahoma and plan to be back in production within four weeks. That should be the first indication that something isn’t right. Shutting down a location, moving to another state, and get back up and running within four weeks is a near impossible task in this industry. Also, when a company goes silent on customers and vendors, it raises serious concerns regarding the truth of their statements. 

Just a little background on the company, in July 2024, they announced a change in ownership. This was done relatively quietly with a simple press release, no noticeable mention of it on their website nor social media. Information gathered from an anonymous former employee, they were acquired by Nomad Capital, a private equity firm, which is associated with Nomad Spear, and Jacob Herman was brought in as the new CEO. It was claimed that Herman has over 20 years in the firearms industry, who’s listed as the only employee of Nomad Spear on the company’s Linkedin profile. But according to the former Vudoo employee, Herman didn’t have the experience needed to run a production facility like Vudoo’s. 

There are claims that he let go of the entire staff, including its original owners, Paul and Jill Parrot, who were supposed to stay on to manage operations. Since then, things have reportedly gone south. Vendors stopped getting paid, and customers who prepaid for products—including dealers and retail customers—haven’t received what they ordered. That’s a problem, especially when you’re dealing with high-end firearms that come with a hefty price tag.

For shop owners and dealers who took custom orders for these pistols, this isn’t just an inconvenience—it’s a potential hit to your reputation and your bank account. If customers are waiting on orders that aren’t showing up, it puts you in a difficult situation. You’re the one they’re calling, and you’re the one who has to explain why their rifle or pistol hasn’t arrived. And if they already prepaid, now you’re responsible for refunding their money, not Vudoo. But it’s not just about the money; it’s about trust. When a company like Vudoo stops responding, it shakes confidence across the industry. People start wondering if their warranties are still valid or if they’ll ever see the products they paid for, and not just from Vudoo, but other smaller shops as well. If you go back to Episode 1, we talked about Watchtower and the situation with them. Also, for vendors who supplied parts or services to Vudoo, not getting paid is a direct blow to the bottom line. It’s a mess, and right now, there’s a lot of frustration out there.

We’ve spoken to a few shop owners, large and small, that have prepaid for product without receiving delivery. If you’ve prepaid for pistols and/or rifles that haven’t arrived, the first step is to document everything. Keep records of your orders, payments, and any communication—or lack of it—with Vudoo. If you paid with a credit card, check the time limits for chargebacks. Most cards give you up to six months to dispute a charge, but it varies, so don’t delay. If you’re past that window, you might need to consider other options, like small claims court or even joining a class action if things escalate. But legal action should be a last resort. It’s costly, time-consuming, and there’s no guarantee of recovery, especially if the company is struggling financially.

Vudoo has claimed they’re moving and will be back up and running soon. It’s possible that’s true, and if you can afford to wait what could be many months, it might be worth giving them a chance to make things right. But that’s a big unknown. The lack of communication is a major issue. Customers and dealers have been trying to reach them through every channel—phone, email, social media—and getting nothing back. That’s not how you run a successful business, especially in an industry where reputation is everything. For vendors, the situation is even trickier. If Vudoo owes you money, you might need to get in line with other creditors. Depending on the amount, it could be worth consulting a lawyer to explore your options. But again, weigh the costs against what you might recover. Sometimes, cutting your losses is the smarter move, even if it’s painful.

What’s frustrating is that Vudoo’s products are, or were, top-tier. Their rimfire rifles are considered some of the best in the business, and their 2011-style pistols were starting to gain quite a bit of traction. Their name was also becoming more well known with their presence at Shot Show and the NRA Annual Meeting. But all that notoriety and quality means nothing if they can’t deliver. Who knows, maybe the move to Oklahoma will be a fresh start so they can push out product in a more timely manner, but without the original team and with so much doubt hanging over them, it’s hard to say if they’ll ever bounce back. Even if they do, what’s the quality of their products going to be like? From all accounts, they won’t have their original gunsmiths, so it’s very possible that quality will suffer. 

For those of you that are waiting on orders to be fulfilled, keep trying to contact them, document everything, and be prepared to take action if needed. Also, try contacting the private equity firm, Nomad Capital, although the only contact info is a form on their website, the web address is nomad.capital. We did some research on the company and it appears they’re headquarters is in St George Utah at 491 N Bluff Street, located in the same city as Vudoo. Also, it appears at one point there was a Type 7 FFL with a business name of Nomad Firearms, and a license name of Sage Canyon 2 LLC, located at this same address, but the license expired in August of 24. Interestingly, when looking at Vudoo’s license, their license name is Sage Canyon 2 LLC, so this appears to have been a company formed by Nomad Capital at some point in the past to obtain an FFL.

At the end of the day, this isn’t just about one company; it’s about how these situations are handled in the industry. Transparency and communication are key, and right now, Vudoo is falling short on both. If you’re a customer, vendor, or dealer that has been affected by the current situation, let us know by sending us an email or messaging us on X.

That’s it for today’s episode. Hopefully Vudoo will get their act together and product will start being pumped out again. But all signs seem to point to the fact that the company may not be around much longer before we get a formal announcement of their bankruptcy. Got thoughts or topics you’d like us to look into? Email us at insider@gunindustryinsider.com or reach out on X at @GunInsider. Stay tuned for the next episode—we’ll bring you more updates that matter to your shop or sales calls. Thanks for listening. Until next time!