Company Facts:

Sundance Industries of Valencia, California is one of the six "Ring of Fire" companies that manufacture the majority of Saturday Night Specials, or "junk guns," in the United States. In 1992 Wall Street Journal reporter Alix Freedman reported that Sundance was founded in 1989 by a nephew of George Jennings�founder of Raven Industries and patriarch of the Jennings family Saturday Night Special cartel. Sundance Industries sells clones of the Raven .25. Garen Wintemute, MD, MPH, author of Ring of Fire: The Handgun Makers of Southern California, notes that Sundance produces two .25 pistols, the A-25 and the BOA�retailing at $80 and $95 respectively. Marketing is primarily limited to the company catalog, which features a Western theme. The Sundance logo is a 10-gallon hat resting on a pair of cowboy boots and a gun belt. Wintemute states, "The one gun in the logo is a stylized revolver, a gun Sundance does not make."

The Sundance catalog promotes the BOA as "the only inexpensive pistol made in America with a grip safety." Despite Sundance's marketing, Wintemute notes, "Gun Tests reviewers were concerned that, given its suboptimal design, the grip safety might increase unintended shootings by creating a false sense of security." In 1995 Sundance introduced the "Lady Laser"�the first Saturday Night Special with an integral laser sight. The pistol is marketed to women as "the ultimate defensive weapon, specifically designed for the protection of women in today's hostile environment." One ad shows the gun surrounded by a string of diamonds on a pink satin background, and promises that the Lady Laser is, "Easy to carry anywhere, even when jogging or in a small evening handbag!" According to Sundance literature, "The LADY LASER and LASER-25 open a complete new market to the industry. Our market research has shown that the unique features of the LADY LASER appeal to women who desire the protection of a handgun but were previously afraid to handle large caliber weapons that were difficult to carry, shoot and required extensive practice to shoot accurately."