That letter was written by their law firm cause their board was told they are starring down the barrel (pun intended) of a lawsuit.
I don't know that, that's just my interpretation after reading it. Why would they alienate their customers? That's a marketing no-no and even a freshman snowflake could tell you that. The only reason is their lawyers are up their butts about it (gay reference for Gomer).
This is about money. Nothing else. Their bottom line is the only thing that matters.
In their overall, the sales of these specific guns are fractional compared to everything else. And just like Delta or the other companies who have done things recently, they know that the fractional impact of the folks who really, really "never set foot in the doors again!!!" will be offset by those who applaud this move and will go in to buy something or will go more frequently.
Walmart made changes to firearms several years ago. Everyone lost their chit and ranted about how Walmart is evil and they'll never return. Maybe so. But Walmart is still here, will still be around, and doesn't care about the fractional sales of whatever they didn't stock anymore or the fractional number of people who quit shopping there. Just like Dick's will do. Target is the same way.
Don't use a company? No problem. Your decision just like theirs to make a policy change or whatever. But a mega-corp like Dick's or Target or Walmart isn't going away simply because a tiny sliver of folks are upset.
Hell, Chipotle and Blue Bell had food products that killed people or made them violently ill - repeated times. And pretty much the general populace was like, "Oh, but it's SO good! They're OK, I'll eat it again. Yummy!" Their products literally were a health risk and yet they're both still in business.
Field & Stream Shops may be a different matter. They're a subsidiary of Dick's focused specifically on hunting and fishing, without the soccer balls and other stuff. Hunters and 2A supporters could have a really big impact there IF they truly never spend money there again. So when the treestands go on sale or the coupons arrive for discounts we'll see if the "BOYCOTT 'EM FOREVERRRRR!" folks hold true or give in.
