Those purchasing a vehicle at Max Motors in Butler Missouri will receive an AK-47 assault rifle with their purchase during the month of August.

This is the second consecutive year the dealership has given away vouchers for a firearm as part of a sales promotion.

The logo at Mark Muller’s dealership is a nod to his feelings about guns – with an old west caricature pointing two pistols at those who pass by. He said it’s a nod to what he calls “big city” ways.

“We really are different than the big city dealers,” Muller said.

The actual promotion gives those who buy a vehicle a voucher redeemable at a gun shop for the $450 dollars it costs to get an AK-47.

“That way it separates you from anything bad that could happen,” Muller said. “We’ll put it in the hands of professionals who do this every day.”

The AK-47 ups the ante on a promotion Muller did last year, giving away vouchers for the price of the Caltec pistol. Muller proudly shows off the same pistol he carries in his pocket.

“We already did handguns,” Muller said. “Let’s do something more fun — AKs. You ever shot an AK? Oh, they’re a blast.”

Muller said he knows people are bound to be bothered by the promotion, even in his small city locale, people like Gabe Johnston.

“I would not encourage people to get an AK-47,” Gabe Johnston, of Jasper, Mo., said. “I’m fine with a rifle. But maybe not assault rifles … I don’t see the purpose of those guns.”

Muller said the purpose of any gun is protection — and at Max Motors, selling cars. “We get a lot of press out of these kind of promotion,” Muller said. “We sell a lot of cars. And we have a lot of fun.”

Muller says last year’s promotion, which also offered the option of $250 gas cards, sold 35 more cars than usual.

This year’s promotion is guns only, though Muller said customers can spend the voucher on a less expensive model, like a hunting rifle, or towards a more expensive one, like an AR-15 if they wanted to buy American.