More Than Just a List of Products
With over 45 years of different iterations, advancements in technology, and increased quality, we give you our 45th Master Catalog. Our catalogs contain a full listing of each product we carry. Although it can’t contain every product offered, since some items are picked up throughout the year, it’s the absolute best reference, outside of our website, as to what Midsouth is all about. We create our catalog right here in Clarksville, TN. It’s put together by our VP of Marketing, Michael Ryan, who painstakingly pieces this Catalog together. This catalog truly is a labor of love.
A Note From Michael Ryan
“Another catalog is done and at the printer and we’ve decided to give you a little inside info about the 2015 Midsouth Master Catalog while we wait for them to get here.
First off – We apologize for the wait – It usually takes until Late March / Early April for two big reasons: 1) We wait until the majority of the new items are released for the year at The Shot Show. This makes for more accurate pricing, removal of discontinued items, and ensures that you get first glances at the newest products that are out there. It’s always hard trying to decide what will and won’t make the cut-off, and what won’t make it into the catalog. 2) It takes about 1 month from the time that the finished pages leave here for the printer to the time it arrives in your Midsouth Order or your mailbox.
This year’s catalog is pretty special to me, and as the case with every year – this is best one we’ve made. This is the 20th catalog that I’ve worked on. For some reason they never get easier, but they always seem to get more gratifying when they’re done. One of my favorite things is when the new boxes arrive. It’s a great feeling when you cut open that first box and pass them out to all the people who work here. It’s an even better feeling when people start phoning in orders from them. We actually hold a contest with our operators and give a small prize to the first operator to take an order from the new catalog. I think Erin is going to win this year.
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On our cover – Hornady American Series Die Sets, this is probably one of the biggest items to come out this year and no doubt will end up on a lot of benches over the next few years. I’m planning on buying a set for myself this week – can’t wait to try them. The back cover, some do-it yourself “Free Range Meat” from the new Nosler Ballistic Tip Ammo. Not to mention Old Glory in the background, I love the cover. |
There are changes all-throughout the catalog, (believe me, lots of changes) but the key changes I can shed some light on. The biggest improvement is in our AR-15 section. We’ve expanded it from 8 pages to 14 pages, and honestly, it could have still filled up 6 more pages. Within the AR-15 section, we’ve added an AR-10 parts and accessories page(We need more). Look for more AR parts and Accessories online as well. Next, we revamped a lot of our optics, and added Vortex. Look for big changes in Burris scopes and red dot sights, as well as Nikon scopes. More pages have been added to the reloading section, but really take the time to look (page 79) at Inline Fabrication. They make improvement parts for presses and reloading benches. Very useful items, well built, American Made and Dan’s just a good guy who started out in his own backyard (like so many other great American companies). We’ve started a small concealed carry section in here, but look for big additions in the next few months to this category online. The catalog just has a small sample of what is to come. One last major addition, and I’m pretty excited about this, is Geissele Triggers. If you went to the Shot Show this year you’ll know what I mean when I say, “They were busy”. That booth was constantly packed, and for good reason. There are lots of good triggers for AR’s out there, but I was sold the first time I squeezed my arm through 12 people in front of me and tried one up against the standard mil-spec trigger. Glad we picked these up.
One Final Note: There is another reason that makes this catalog special – the fact that it’s actually printing. A lot of companies have ditched print, with every other voice out there echoing, “Print is dead” or “E-commerce is the direction,” and this voice is correct. I’m not in denial. But it seems that so many places have turned their collective backs on paper, in an effort to “Cut Costs” and “Save Money”, and the truth of it is – I haven’t seen any of them pass those savings on to you. We’ve studied the possibility of not printing a catalog and the information that we got back from you, our customers, corrected that thinking. The response was overwhelming. So, as long as customers continue to use the catalog, pass them on to friends, and order from them, we’ll keep making them.
Well, those could be some famous last words. Technology is moving so fast and 12 months from now I could be out of a job. But, I have this feeling deep down inside, that these catalogs have a special place on a lot of reloaders benches, out in workshops, factory break rooms, barbershops, and as we’ve heard from many customers, bathrooms across the world.”
– Michael Ryan, Catalog Guy
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P.S. I’ve included a pict of “The Catalog Chair” that only gets used from November to February – and a 2am view from “The Home Office”. P.S.S. Mr. Marshall – You’re going to be disappointed this year. The Shamrock is too easy to find. Click the image of the catalog above for a larger picture of it. |
Midsouth’s Paper Past
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– This is one of our earliest versions of the catalog, dating back to 1977. Even though we were founded in 1969 in Newmarket, TN, the first few “catalogs” were just stapled together pages of order numbers with brief descriptions. It’s survived several moves, and it’s really the first time it took on the tone of a true look and feel of a catalog, with a front and back cover. |
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– Things advanced a little from 1977 to 1979, when we started actually binding the catalog together. |
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– The Original Cut and Paste. We’re not entirely sure what year this is from, but the small cartoon of the woman on the guy’s lap comes from a much earlier time in Americana. |
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– Here’s a look inside at some of our earliest offerings. Recognize some of your favorite brands? What’s amazing is that many of these item numbers are still the same, 40 years later. They’re still popular, widely used, and just as reliable today as yesterday. |
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– Here’s the Catalog of today. Impressive graphics, concise descriptions, helpful tips, and more products than ever before, but the same amount of time and painstaking detail has gone into this catalog like its predecessors. |
Available Online Now
Now, our online version is ready today, but our dead-tree version will be done in a couple weeks. We’re extremely proud of our catalog. It speaks to the root of our company. It’s a difference that we take quite personally. Ready to get started sifting through the pages of our 2015 offering? Click Here for the full PDF version. It’s a big file, so only do this if you have a fast connection. We have our 2015 Master Catalog broken down into separate pieces, so your computer won’t be overly burdened under the weight of it’s 240 page glory. Click Here to visit the page with our catalog sections available for download.
The Interactive Online Catalog
Our 2015 Interactive Master Catalog will be uploaded soon. With this version, you will be able to click the part number of the item you’re after, and you will be whisked away to it’s item page, where you can continue on to your cart, and on with your life. You’ll also be able to search for items, part numbers, etc. within the interactive catalog, thereby making your life even easier!
