June 22, 2009

Vol. 10 No. 25

NSSF Reaches Out to Outdoor Media

An outdoor writer gets some help from Smith & Wesson's Paul Pluff during shooting day at the Outdoor Writers Association of America's annual conference in Grand Rapids, Mich. NSSF sponsored an informative lunch for writers at the range.

AMMUNITION AND MODERN SPORTING RIFLES KEY TOPICS . . . More than 100 members of the Outdoor Writers Association of America attended Shooting Day at the West Walker Sportsman's Club near Grand Rapids, MI., where they tested the latest firearm models offered by Smith & Wesson, Browning and Winchester, among others, and afterward listened to a presentation made by NSSF's Glenn Sapir and Bill Brassard on important issues related to ammunition and modern sporting rifles. With hunting season on the horizon, NSSF asked for the outdoor media's help in informing hunters that eating game taken with traditional ammunition that contains lead components does not pose a health risk and that calls to ban traditional ammunition are nothing more than scare tactics pushed by anti-hunting groups. NSSF also encouraged the media to stop referring to semi-automatic AR-15-platform rifles as "assault weapons," pointing out that true assault weapons are fully automatic--machine guns that have been severely restricted since 1934. NSSF asks the media to use the term "modern sporting rifle" to describe these popular, widely owned firearms that are used for hunting, target shooting and personal defense and which have taken their place in the long line of civilian sporting rifles that have evolved from military versions. Read more about traditional ammunition, the assault weapons issue and the importance of outdoor media.

Hunting

If signed by Gov. Jim Doyle, Wisconsin would become the 29th state to pass a Families Afield-style law. Click on the map above to see the other states.

• WISCONSIN ASSEMBLY PASSES FAMILIES AFIELD BILL . . . Legislation that would make it easier for people to get into the field and try hunting cleared another hurdle Thursday as the Wisconsin State Assembly passed SB 167. The bill will allow people 10 years of age and older to hunt with an experienced mentor. It passed the Senate on June 9 by a 27-6 vote and now awaits the signature of Gov. Jim Doyle. Similar laws have been enacted in 28 states as part of the Families Afield campaign, launched by NSSF, the U. S. Sportsmen's Alliance and National Wild Turkey Federation. Read more about Wisconsin bill at ussportsmen.org.

• NEW COMPILATION OF NATIONWIDE HUNTING REGS FOR DISABLED . . . The NRA Disabled Shooting Services has compiled a listing of rules and regulations for disabled sportsmen across the country. Visit the Services' Web site and click on the link for State Websites for Hunting and Disabilities. By clicking on particular states, visitors will find information about fees, licensing, facilities and more.

Inside the Industry

• MARK THOMAS JOINS NSSF AS MANAGING DIRECTOR, MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS . . . Mark E. Thomas has been appointed managing director, marketing communications for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Thomas comes to NSSF after serving seven years as director of marketing for Invisible Fence Brand in Knoxville, Tenn. He has more than two decades of sporting goods experience in a variety of marketing roles with Remington Firearms, Stren Fishing Lines, Brunswick Corp., Outboard Marine Corp. and Volvo Penta. A 51-year old Missouri native, Thomas will direct the in-house communications staff while reporting to Chris Dolnack, NSSF senior vice president. "Mark brings a wealth of multi-industry communication strategic planning and implementation skills," said Dolnack. "He has an expert knowledge of traditional and new media communications, disciplines that will serve NSSF and its member partners extremely well."

• ATK RECEIVES ADDITIONAL $42M IN U.S. MILITARY AMMO ORDERS . . . Alliant Techsystems (NYSE:ATK) has received an additional $42 million in small-caliber ammunition orders from the U.S. Army Sustainment Command in Rock Island, Ill. Work on the contracts will be performed by ATK Small Caliber Systems at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, Mo. The orders are for the production of 5.56mm, 7.62mm and .50-caliber ammunition.

• SMITH & WESSON FOURTH QUARTER TOPS WALL STREET OUTLOOK . . . Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:SWHC) on Thursday reported fourth-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations, the Associated Press reports. Revenue was up 20 percent to $99.5 million during the quarter. "Demand for our handguns and tactical rifles remained strong throughout the fourth quarter, as evidenced by our revenue as well as by our backlog balance," the company said in a statement. Also on Thursday, Smith & Wesson announced it will acquire security systems solutions provider Universal Safety Response Inc.

• STURM, RUGER TO JOIN RUSSELL 3000 INDEX . . . Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE-RGR) has announced that it will join the Russell 3000® Index when Russell Investments reconstitutes its U.S. and global equity indexes on June 26. Annual reconstitution of Russell's U.S. indexes captures the 4,000 largest U.S. stocks as of the end of May, ranking them by total market capitalization.

• GAO STUDY PROMOTES MISINFORMATION . . . The General Accounting Office (GAO) of the United States has released a study on firearms trafficking and violence in Mexico. The report, which NSSF is still reviewing, appears to be rife with error. After a preliminary read of the document, NSSF posted an initial analysis on the NSSF Aiming for Accuracy blog.

• DON'T LIE FOR THE OTHER GUY IN TEXAS . . . In an effort to warn the public near the troubled Mexican border that it is a crime to purchase a gun for a prohibited person, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and NSSF will launch the Don't Lie for the Other Guy program in border cities along the Rio Grande and in Houston this Tuesday and Wednesday. The Don't Lie program educates firearms dealers on how to detect and prevent illegal straw purchases, and through the use of press conferences and billboard and other public messaging drives home the point that engaging in a straw purchase is a serious crime punishable by up to 10 years in jail and up to a $250,000 fine.

• OWAA AWARDS HIGHEST HONORS . . . At the concluding banquet of the Outdoor Writers Association of America's (OWAA) annual conference, in Grand Rapids, Mich., five veteran communicators were given special recognition. Jay Cassell, deputy editor of Field & Stream Magazine, received the Excellence in Craft Award; Bill Hilts Sr., editor of Bear Journal, was awarded the J. Hammond Brown Memorial Award for continual service to the communicators' organization; Jim Low, print news services coordinator for the Missouri Department of Conservation, was named recipient of the Jade of Chiefs, the organization's highest honor for conservation communication; Kay Richey, book designer and publisher, received the Jackie Pfeiffer Memorial Award for character exemplifying the ideals of membership at OWAA's annual conference; and Mark Taylor, outdoors editor of the Roanoke (Va.) Times and regular contributor to NSSF's Tracking Hunting and Shooting Opportunities in Every State at www.huntandshoot.org, was voted Outstanding Board Member.

• NWTF CONSOLIDATES PUBLICATIONS, ANNOUNCES ‘TURKEY COUNTRY' . . . The National Wild Turkey Federation has announced its intention to publish a brand-new, full-color publication, entitled "Turkey Country," which will take the place of the federation's four main publications—Turkey Call; Women In The Outdoors; Get in the Game; and Wheelin' Sportsmen. The bi-monthly publication is slated to debut in September and will be edited by Karen Lee. "By folding these four magazines into a single publication, we're creating a method of focusing on our member volunteers while providing a tool that tells the Turkey Federation story in each and every issue," said Burt Carey, NWTF editorial director.

• FIREARMS INDUSTRY TO OFFER REWARD IN THEFT . . . As part of a national initiative to help curb the criminal acquisition and misuse of firearms, NSSF has announced that it will match the reward issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in the June 16 theft of 15 handguns from the P&C Gold and Coin Exchange in Brodheadsville, PA.

Legal & Legislative

• D.C. ORDERED TO EXPAND ACCEPTABLE HANDGUNS . . . Firearms regulations in Washington, D.C., are being amended by emergency order in response to a federal lawsuit that challenged the arbitrary nature of previous regulations enforced in the District of Columbia. Handgun registration regulations adopted after last year's Supreme Court ruling, which struck down the district's handgun ban as unconstitutional, have been broadened, essentially acknowledging that the State of California's approved handgun regulations, upon which the current regulations had been based, are inadequate. Citizens who had been previously denied an opportunity to register their handguns, reports the Second Amendment Foundation, will be invited to reapply under the new guidelines, which now included information from the so-called "safe gun roster" maintained by Maryland and Massachusetts.

• WHY MICROSTAMPING DOES NOT WORK . . . Joe Gross, chief operating officer for the Remington Arms Company, takes on microstamping in an op-ed piece published in the Utica Observer-Dispatch. "Microstamping," writes Gross, "is a concept where a manufacturer incorporates the firearm serial number onto the firing pin of the firearm such that the serial number is imprinted on the cartridge when it is fired. The objective is to aid law enforcement in investigations to trace firearms used by criminals. Simply put, microstamping does not work. Microstamping is an idea put forth by those who wish to legislate burdensome, unreliable and unproven controls on an industry to drive up costs, increase burdens and force manufacturers out of business. They do this under the guise that this will help solve crimes." Remington has a manufacturing plant in New York state, where anti-gun legislators have introduced and strongly support microstamping legislation. Read full article.

• SENATE COMMITTEE ADVANCES CLEAN WATER RESTORATION ACT . . . The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has passed an amended version of the Clean Water Restoration Act, which reaffirms the original intent of the Clean Water Act to broadly protect water quality and the streams, lakes and wetlands important to the country. The vote creates momentum for the legislation's introduction and consideration in the House of Representatives.

• HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE REJECTS ADMINISTRATION'S PROPOSED CUTS IN SPENDING . . . Several cuts proposed for the 2008 Farm Bill have been restored by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, including funding affecting the Wetlands Reserve Program and the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program. Furthermore, the subcommittee's proposal would increase funding by more than $100 million over the next four years for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, reports the Wildlife Management Institute.

• CALIFORNIA TEEN RECOGNIZED FOR PRO-GUN RIGHTS ESSAY . . . Justice Locatelli, a 16-year-old high school junior in Santa Cruz, Calif., turned a passion for politics, specifically the Second Amendment, into a spot at the National Youth Education (YES) Summit in Washington, D.C., reports the Santa Cruz Sentinel. An avid shooter, Locatelli will attend the week-long NRA-sponsored program, which will offer him and others an opportunity to see America's political process in action.

NSSF Member News

• CALICO LIGHT WEAPONS SYSTEMS JOINS NSSF AS VOTING MEMBER . . . NSSF is pleased to announce Calico Light Weapon Systems as its newest Voting Member. "NSSF is proud to welcome Calico Light Weapon Systems aboard, and we look forward to its support as we work to better promote, protect and preserve our industry and our shooting sports traditions," said NSSF Senior Vice President Chris Dolnack.

• SCHOLARSHIPS FOR NSSF VOTING MEMBERS . . . NSSF is offering students attending college or vocational school during the 2009-10 school year the chance to win one of twenty-five $1,000 scholarships. Scholarships are limited to candidates seeking an undergraduate or vocational degree, and only current employees of NSSF voting member companies and certain family members of such employees are eligible to apply. A completed application with an accompanying essay of 350 words or less written on one of four identified topics concerning hunting and the shooting sports must be received by NSSF no later than June 30. Judging of essays and announcement of scholarship recipients will be made by Aug. 15. Download a scholarship application and full rules in the Members Only section of nssf.org or contact bswann@nssf.org for more information.

Shooting

The U.S. Army "Blue" team took home top honors at the 50th Interservice Pistol Championships June 8-12 at Fort Benning. (Photo by Michael Molinaro, USAMU PAO)

• ARMY MARKSMANSHIP UNIT DOMINATES AT INTERSERVICE PISTOL MATCH . . . Soldiers with the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit dominated the competition at the 50th Interservice Pistol championship matches. The unit's Blue team swept the team awards, winning the .22-caliber team match, .45-caliber match, center fire match, service pistol match, and the prestigious overall team championship against teams from across the military. The Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Army Reserves, Army National Guard, and Coast Guard were all represented at the event, totaling 79 marksmen and a total of 14 teams.

• FIRST SHOTS FOR SHOTGUNS . . . The National Shooting Sports Foundation's popular and successful First Shots introductory firearms program is not just for handguns. The program now includes shotgun seminars, which may be held by any outdoor shooting facility that is looking to increase its customer base. The First Shots team at NSSF has everything you need to host a successful event. Visit the First Shots Web site for more details or to schedule an event, or e-mail Cyndi or Sarah with any questions on the seminars.

• SHOOTERS CLAIM HONORS AT PRESTIGIOUS COMPETITIONS . . . Americans have distinguished themselves on both the national and international scene in recent major shooting events. Read more about: Doug Koenig winning his thirteenth title at the Sportsman's Team Challenge and Bruce Piatt and teammates claiming the Two Man and Three Man Team events at the Sportsman's Team Challenge in San Antonio; Kim Rhode capturing the silver medal in Women's Skeet and Josh Richmond the bronze in Double Trap at the San Marino World Cup; Team Smith and Wesson, led in honors by Jerry Miculek, earning multiple titles at the International Revolver Championship; and the several rifle and pistol champions at the USA Shooting Rifle/Pistol National Championships at Ft. Benning's International Shooting Complex.

• IRLENE MANDRELL BENEFIT SHOOT . . . Country music star, and avid shooter and hunter, Irlene Mandrell will host her annual celebrity shoot June 24-28 at the Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Seven Springs, Pa. It is a week of "great food, fellowship and the shooting sports that we all love so much," in Mandrell's words, while raising money for the Boys Scouts of America, and Wish Upon A Star, which helps fulfill dreams of life-threatened children. To learn more about the event and to register, e-mail Tammy Meyers or call her at 814-352-7777 ext. 7899.

Jobs

• INDUSTRY CAREER CONNECTION . . . Visit www.nssf.org/jobs for current employment opportunities in the shooting, hunting and outdoor industry. Employers: Log in to post a job opening.

NSSF's Mission "To promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports." Click here to visit the NSSF Web site and see how we accomplish this mission.

COPYRIGHT © 2009 by National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. Permission is granted for broadcast, publication, retransmission to e-mail lists, Web sites or any other copying or storage, in any medium, online or not, if 1) the text is forwarded in its entirety, including this paragraph, and 2) no fee is charged. "Bullet Points®," "National Shooting Sports Foundation®," "NSSF®," and all other trade names, trademarks, service marks, logos and images of the National Shooting Sports Foundation appearing in this publication are the sole property of the Foundation and may not be used without the Foundation's prior express written permission. All other trade names, trademarks, service marks, logos and images appearing in this publication are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

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