The Dueck Defense Story
Barry was an outdoorsman and avid hunter from a very young age, quickly developing a fascination for firearms architecture. He spent six active years in the Marine Corp and eight in the reserve. He shot on the Marine Corp Reserve shooting team where he sharpened his shooting accuracy and skills before he was released from active duty and enlisted to join the team at Surefire, pioneers in the commercialization of tactical lights and laser sights for firearms.
Barry’s expertise as a competitive shooter and veteran spearheaded the exploration of refining existing rifle suppressors. In 2002, Barry created the Surefire Suppressors division which developed a top-of-the-line product that is now the standard with which all suppressors are judged. But, his ingenuity and passion for innovation didn’t stop there. While continuing to develop products at SureFire, Barry began building products after hours in his home shop where he engineered the first Dueck Defense, Inc. Rapid Transition Sight™.
His goal was to design the ultimate transition sight for help with his competition shooting. Barry’s design was originally constructed to enable him to have iron sights plus a magnified optic on his rifle at the same time for his own use in competition, but when his military friends, customers and 3-Gun Shooter fans started buzzing about and requesting these sights, Barry and his wife and business manager, Michelle Dueck, decided it was time to start manufacturing the Dueck Defense, Inc. Rapid Transition Sight™. And, in 2010, Dueck Defense, Inc.’s e-commerce site was officially launched. Soon after the Duecks began commercial production, a YouTube video of Barry using the cutting-edge Dueck Defense, Inc. sights went viral, solidifying their position in the firearms accessories industry.
The expeditious expansion and swift success of Dueck Defense, Inc. cannot solely be attributed to Barry’s innovative design, however; the company was launched as a family corporation with the support and instinctual business mind of Michelle Dueck, Barry’s wife. She is the daughter of a veteran, lifetime NRA member who has become a valuable part of Dueck Defense’s success, having her own industry experience being skilled in catering to the needs of high-end clients and customers throughout her career.
They both admit they didn’t build the Dueck Defense corporation because they wanted a business, though; they built it because “no one else builds exactly what I needed, and I knew I could build it the best,” Barry Dueck said.