April 26, 2010

Vol. 11 No. 17

This Week:

News of Note

SHOT Show

Legal & Legislative

Jobs

Industry Heads to D.C.
For Congressional Fly-In

EXECUTIVES TO MEET WITH KEY LEADERS . . . The National Shooting Sports Foundation this week will host its third annual congressional "fly-in" for executives from industry companies. These executives will meet with key congressional leaders on legislative and regulatory issues important to the industry, such as reforming the payment schedule for federal excise taxes, safeguarding the rights of sportsmen to continue to use traditional ammunition, improving the ability of U.S. manufacturers to compete in an increasingly global economy by removing export controls (not affecting national security) that impede business and seeking a comprehensive federal study of firearms microstamping -- an unreliable technology being promoted by gun-control groups. "For more than 200 years, America's firearms and ammunition industry has made products that have been part of our country's tradition of freedom, self-reliance and enjoyment of the outdoors," said NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane. "Making our industry's voice heard in the halls of Congress will help ensure that this great tradition continues and that our industry members can continue to grow their businesses and create good-paying jobs in their communities." Video: A preview of this week's congressional fly-in.

News of Note

  • PRO-HUNTING PROJECTS FUELED BY NSSF GRANTS . . . Emphasizing projects designed to reactivate lapsed hunters, introduce more youngsters to hunting and evaluate previously funded efforts, NSSF has awarded Hunting Heritage Partnership grants to seven state wildlife agencies and, for the first time, the regional Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. A total of $419,150 in grants will be distributed. "These grants will support effective, pro-hunting projects by state agencies that otherwise may not have been launched because of lack of funding during these challenging times for state economies," said Steve Sanetti, NSSF president. "These projects address hunting's biggest challenges, including access, mentoring and using new media tools to communicate with young hunters." Since the inception of the Hunting Heritage Partnership program, 98 grants have been awarded to 37 state agencies and one regional organization for a total of $3,828,653 in support of hunting-related initiatives. Read more about this year's grant recipients.

  • SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SPOTLIGHTS COLLEGE SHOOTER . . . Columbus State's Jonathan Hall, the 2010 NCAA air rifle individual national champion, is featured in the "Faces in the Crowd" section of this week's Sports Illustrated. Hall's winning total score of 699.9 in the air rifle competition was the highest ever in the history of the NCAA Rifle Championships.

  • ACUI COLLEGE CHAMPIONSHIPS CONTINUE TO GROW . . . More than 40 schools from around the country were represented this past weekend at the ACUI College Clay Target Championships. It was the largest turnout in the event's history, thanks to a continuing influx of shooters from youth programs now competing at the college level. Within the past year, new schools have created shooting teams and have expanded existing programs with the help of NSSF's Collegiate Shooting Sports Initiative grant program. Bethel University, one of 15 schools to receive an NSSF grant last year, fielded a team of 16 at the ACUI championships. It was the school's first year competing at the event. NSSF is a major sponsor of the annual college shotgun championships and will also be sponsoring upcoming broadcasts of it on ESPNU and ESPN2. Air times will be announced in Bullet Points. Read coverage from this year's ACUI championships from the National Rifle Association.

  • RANGE GIVES TV NEWS REPORTER INTRO TO SHOOTING . . . Lafayette, Ind., shooting range Applied Ballistics, which will be hosting a First Shots seminar on May 8, recently introduced a local TV news reporter to the shooting sports on live television.
    Watch the video segments from WLFI-TV.

  • RHODE, SZARENSKI WIN GOLD AT ISSF WORLD CUP IN BEIJING . . . America's four-time Olympic medalist Kim Rhode took a big step toward making history when she won the gold medal and equaled the existing world record in women's international skeet at the ISSF World Cup event held in Beijing, China. Daryl Szarenski also brought home gold, taking first in the men's 50m pistol event. Both victories will help secure American entries at the 2012 London Olympic Games, where Rhode hopes to compete. If she medals in London, she would become the first American Olympian to earn medals in five consecutive Olympic Games in an individual sport.

SHOT Show

  • UPDATE FROM THE SANDS: NEW ROOF INSTALLATION COMPLETE . . . To ensure the best possible SHOT Show experience for this coming year, NSSF has asked the Sands Expo & Convention Center to provide our exhibitors and attendees with regular updates on improvements the facility is making for next year's show. Read the latest update from Sands management.

  • SHOT SHOW TRAVEL DESK UP AND RUNNING . . . Are you ready to book into an official SHOT Show hotel, make your airline arrangements or reserve a rental car for the 2011 show? If so, then the SHOT Show Travel Desk can make it easy to get it done. You can reach the SHOT Show Travel Desk provider onPeak (formerly Travel Technology Group) online or by telephone, 800-388-8104.

Legal & Legislative

  • SUPREME COURT SHOOTS DOWN LAW HOSTILE TO HUNTING VIDEOS . . . NSSF applauded the decision by the Supreme Court on Tuesday that strikes down a federal law against animal cruelty videos because the law was so broadly written that it could have been used to ban videos and television content related to hunting. NSSF helped alert the outdoor media and wildlife conservation community to the potential threat that this case, United States v. Stevens, represented. Two of the largest outdoor media organizations, the Professional Outdoor Media Association and the Outdoor Writers Association of America, objected to the law in friend-of-the-court briefs. NSSF also filed a friend-of-the-court brief. Patricia Millet, the attorney for Stevens, called NSSF's brief "fantastic" and credited the briefs that NSSF encouraged to be filed by outdoor media groups and others as being "influential for the court." Read more.

  • SENATE HEARING SET ON GUIDELINES FOR FILMING HUNTING PROGRAMS ON FEDERAL LANDS . . . At a hearing scheduled for April 28, the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests will field comments on S. 1241, legislation that would establish new guidelines for filming hunting and fishing programs on federal lands. Meant to offset any impact made on public lands by the film crews, current fees are completely incompatible with the impact the productions actually make, reports the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation. S. 1241 and companion legislation H.R. 2031 would create a separate guideline and fee schedule to be reflective of the actual impact of small crews.

  • ARIZONA BILL WOULD EXEMPT SOME RANGES FROM TAXES . . . According to the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, Arizona SB 1005 would exempt trap and skeet shooting clubs that teach, train, sponsor, coach or host clinics, shooting leagues and competitive tournaments, or other events including hunter and firearm safety classes, from property taxes if the property is being used as a non-profit.

  • KUDOS TO THE WATERBURY REPUBLICAN . . . NSSF commends the Waterbury (Conn.) Republican for making a strong statement in its editorial Sunday, titled "The Deadliness of Gun Laws." Finally, someone in the journalistic world had the courage to use facts and history rather than bow to polling results and circulation numbers. Read the newspaper's editorial.

Jobs


NSSF's Mission

"To promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports."

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COPYRIGHT © 2010 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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