Ron Smith (firearms innovator)

Ron Smith (born 08 April 1951) is an American small arms designer and President of Smith Enterprise Inc. Smith is most famous for developing the Vortex Flash Hider for use on a variety of small arms and developing the major upgrades and refinements found on the M-14 rifle, particularly the United States Navy Mark 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle.

Early life
Smith served in the US Army and the United States Marine Corps for a total of 16 years of active duty. While serving in the Army, Smith was stationed in South Korea as a Staff Sergeant and chief of a M109A3 Howitzer battery. He was certified with nuclear credentials to man the nuclear M109A3 in preparation for a possible invasion by North Korea.

Western Ordnance
Smith was a partner at Western Ordnance, a firearms manufacturing firm that specialized in rifles such as the M1 Garand and M-14. Western Ordnance was founded in 1979 by Smith's father, Richard Smith, in Mesa, Arizona. While at Western Ordnance, Smith became a Certified Journeyman in Ordinance and Metallurgy and was the first person to design and field a commercial flash suppressor. Smith would also invent a sound suppressor that could be rebuilt.

Smith Enterprise Inc.
In 1993, Ron Smith reformed the company as Smith Enterprise, Inc. and relocated production to Tempe, Arizona. The company is known for its Vortex Flash Hider, a proprietary heat treating processes, the Crazy Horse weapons upgrade and making numerous upgrades to the M-14 rifle platform for the US Military; all of which came from Ron Smith's designs.

Ron Smith is the owner of 3 awarded patents and over 10 more initiated patents or patents pending and 5 trademarks in the Sound Suppressor and Flash Hider industry including the following: Vortex Flash Hider, Crazy Horse rifle, Good Iron Muzzle Brake and Wind Talker sound suppressor