Our biggest announcement to date

Over the past nine months of building our community – and almost four years of relentless product development behind the scenes – the support from the global clay shooting community has been incredible.

But building something groundbreaking from scratch is never a straight line.

Every now and then, you hit a bump – and when you do, you have to be candid enough to own it.

And we did.

When this journey began in 2023, the name PAIR DEAD felt nailed-on.

As every brand owner should do, we registered it as a trademark.

But as our momentum rocketed this year and we accelerated towards launching clay shooting’s first dedicated technical clothing brand, one person didn’t like it.

Yes, just one person. We didn’t even know the guy – but we do now…

This person had registered their trademark in 2024 with a similar (not the same) name to ours. We saw it in 2025 and didn’t have an issue – they’d done nothing with it for over 2 years.

There was one post on Instagram about it, showing a badged-up off-the-shelf shooting vest with the brand name on it. Nothing to write home about.

It’s incomparable to the years we’ve spent designing, engineering and launching a proper apparel brand from the ground up. That takes determination and passion, not lazy shortcuts to flog a few vests.

So we pushed on with PAIR DEAD.

In June this year we were approached with all sorts of legal (obviously AI generated) emails and messages. None had any real substance, we could’ve battled and won eventually but that was going to be a distraction from our mission.

But more importantly, it would have caused friction in the shooting community and we never want that.

So we made a deliberate, proactive choice to swerve the red tape, extinguish any community friction fires and build an identity that is bigger, bolder and unequivocally ours.

Ours is a well-trodden path: History shows that iconic brands rarely start under the name the world comes to know.

Phil Knight ran Blue Ribbon Sports for years before shedding the name to create Nike. Larry Page and Sergey Brin spent the early days calling their project BackRub before it became Google.

Sometimes an early name serves its purpose, but the mission and brand outgrow it.

And sometimes hurdles are there to be jumped over – and when they’re cleared something bigger and better is revealed on the other side.

So we’re actually quite grateful for early the challenge on our name.

Thanks “Mr Friction” (you know your real name 😘), you’ve actually really helped us. History will remember you.

LOAD+FIRE isn’t a compromise – it’s an upgrade in every sense. It encapsulates the start and the conclusion of the pure, two-step rhythm of the sport we live and breathe.

Sliding the cartridges into the action and then executing the shot.

LOAD+FIRE.

It embodies the energy, focus and dynamism of clay target shooting.

While the name is evolving, everything at our core remains identical. Because after all, a name is nothing unless it has substance behind it:

• The exact same founders and squad driving the vision.
• The same obsession with garment ergonomics and premium fabrics engineered for full mobility.
• The same commitment to building a sustainable, precision-engineered apparel brand specifically for clay shooters.
• The same community, camaraderie and clubhouse banter that started this crazy journey in the first place.

With our brand identity locked in and trademarks secured (again!), we’re pumped for our launch.

The official LOAD+FIRE online store is scheduled to open this December, dropping our debut collection – the PRO RANGE Series I – including technical t-shirts, performance polos, ergonomic sweaters, modal base layers and range accessories.

So update your bookmarks, follow our social channels and stick with us for the ride.

Series II and Series III are already in the making…

PAIR DEAD is dead.

Long live LOAD+FIRE.