Longtime gun publisher Paladin Press closing after nearly 50 years

Established in 1970, Paladin has marketed 800 how-to books and videos, with a heavy emphasis on firearms-related topics.

Once described as being a product of the “most dangerous publisher in the world,” the Colorado-based media house and distributor is closing its doors at the end of the year.

As noted on the company’s website, Paladin is shuttering following the death earlier this year of their co-founder and publisher, Peder Lund, and is selling off remaining inventory at greatly reduced prices. Over the decades, Paladin has marketed 800 how-to books and videos on topics like self-defense, firearms, martial arts, and survival as part of its Professional Action Library.

“There will be no more books or videos sold after November 29, 2017,” the company’s website says. “We are incredibly grateful to all of our amazing customers and authors for their continued loyalty and support over the decades.”

According to a company history, Lund began operations in 1970 as Panther Publications in conjunction with Robert K. Brown, who later left the group in 1975 to found Soldier of Fortune magazine.

Changing to Paladin Press: “Lund and Brown were convinced there was a market for books on specialized military and action/adventure topics. Both men also firmly believed that the First Amendment guaranteed Americans the right to read about whatever subjects they desired, and this became the cornerstone of Paladin’s publishing philosophy.”

Over the years the company published various titles from mainstream gun culture gurus to include Jeff Cooper and John Plaster, and reprinted a number of out-of-publication vintage works by the likes of W.E. Fairbairn, E.A. Sykes, and Rex Applegate. These were balanced with reprints of public domain military field manuals, guerilla guides and “dirty tricks” style tomes.

Homemade weapons manuals such as Philip Luty‘s guide to DIY submachine guns and the various works of Bill Holmes — sold for educational purposes only– and other volumes found an eager audience for generations of home firearm builders and enthusiasts.

One of the last members of the unconventional publishing houses in the business, Paladin picked up a number of titles from Michael Hoy’s Loompanics Unlimited when that publisher folded a decade ago and has remained printing months after Brown’s Soldier of Fortune switched to a web-based-only model.

Lund was killed while on vacation in Finland in June, and SOF noted that Playboy Magazine once described him as “most dangerous publisher in the world,” citing Paladin’s publication of the book Hit Man, which was used in a murder that led to a lawsuit.

“Peder is the first to admit that he has lived his life on the edge, with a total disdain for convention as he sought adventure and danger, and that publishing risqué and provocative adventure books fits right into his lifestyle,” said the SOF article.