February 14, 2011

Vol. 12 No. 7

This Week:

NSSF History

Government Relations

News of Note

Hunting

Mexico's Gun Supply Myth

View full-size chart

ONLY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF U.S. ORIGIN . . . In a new report, the independent research group STRATFOR has corroborated what NSSF has been saying for some time about firearms recovered from drug cartels in Mexico: that it is erroneous and grossly misleading to say, as Mexican officials and the media have done, that 90 percent of the firearms recovered came from the United States. The truth is that less than 12 percent of the guns Mexico seized in 2008 have been verified as coming from the United States. The proof can be found in U.S. government statistics that the STRATFOR report and the accompanying pie chart explain. Read the NSSF blog post.

  • 'DON'T LIE' CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED IN HOUSTON AREA . . . NSSF and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) last week announced the return of the "Don't Lie for the Other Guy" campaign to reduce illegal straw purchases of firearms in the Houston area. The Don't Lie program was developed to raise public awareness of the seriousness of the crime of purchasing a firearm for someone who cannot legally do so, or does not want their name associated with the transaction. The program also educates firearms dealers so they too can better detect and deter potential straw purchases. Learn more.

NSSF History

  • NSSF.ORG/50 . . . NSSF is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2011. A special webpage, www.nssf.org/50, has been launched to highlight the Foundation's successes and challenges over the years. Among its offerings are a digital version of the publication, The National Shooting Sports Foundation: A History 1961 to 2011; a video walk through NSSF's history; the Annual Review 2010, a look back at the most recent year in NSSF's history; a November 1961 article from Guns & Ammo magazine that traces NSSF's genesis; and the special 50th anniversary NSSF logo, the version that members should use as the NSSF logo through Dec. 31, 2011. Throughout this anniversary year, Bullet Points each week will feature a "snapshot" of moments from NSSF's history.

News of Note

  • NSSF GIFTED 'MSR' DOMAIN NAMES . . . To support NSSF in its promotion of the term "modern sporting rifle" in place of the often misunderstood “AR” prefix, ISSC-Austria, a long-time NSSF member and exclusive importer and distributor of the new Austrian-made MSR Modern Sporting Rifle MK22, has generously transferred ownership of its website domain names modernsportingrifle.com and modernsportingrifle.org to NSSF. NSSF encourages others in the industry to follow ISSC-Austria’s example and use the “modern sporting rifle” and “MSR” terms as much as possible in order to reshape the public’s attitudes about AR-platform rifles. Read ISSC-Austria’s press release. See NSSF's educational campaign about AR-style, semi-automatic rifles launched to correct misperceptions about their use and operation.

  • WINTER RANGE REPORT DIGITAL EDITION . . . The Range Report, NSSF's quarterly magazine for shooting facilities, not only goes out to more than 10,000 subscribers in the shooting range industry, but is also available online in a digital edition on the NSSF website. View the Winter 2011 edition, and read, among several articles, how shooting range operators can partner with local retailers to boost their business.

  • 50 NEW HUNTING AND SHOOTING OPPORTUNITIES . . . Every two weeks, five correspondents with their finger on the pulse of their 10 assigned states, report on opportunities that can educate and activate shooters and hunters. Among the four-dozen-plus opportunities recently posted on the NSSF website include an introduction to turkey hunting for young hunters in Indiana, two big outdoor sports shows in New York, a First Shots seminar in Phoenix, Cowboy Action Shooting matches in Montana and a turkey hunt for people with disabilities in Georgia.

  • SHOT DAILY CITED FOR EDITORIAL EXCELLENCE . . . SHOT Daily, the daily news magazine of the SHOT Show "brought to you by the Bonnier Corporation and the NSSF," received the Silver "Eddie" for Editorial Excellence (Full Issue) in the Business to Business Sports/Outdoor category in the annual Folio: Eddie and Ozzie Awards. The awards program is the largest competition for magazines in the country, recognizing the best in editorial and design excellence.

Government Relations

  • NSSF FILES MOTION TO DISMISS IN TRADITIONAL AMMUNITION LAWSUIT . . . Last month, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) following the EPA rejection of a CBD petition to ban the use of traditional ammunition under the Toxic Substance Control Act of 1976. Soon after the lawsuit was filed, NSSF filed a motion to intervene, a motion granted, despite opposition from the CBD, by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Now a part of the case, NSSF has wasted no time in filing a motion to dismiss. The basis for this motion is that the CBD failed to file a timely challenge to the EPA's denial of its petition. NSSF has also noted that even if the petition were timely, ammunition was intentionally exempted from the EPA's jurisdiction by Congress. Read NSSF's motion.

  • ATF RULING ON CONSOLIDATED RECORDS FOR IMPORTERS . . . ATF has published ATF Ruling 2011-1 related to consolidated records for importers. It is a companion ruling to the one published for manufacturers in December, ATF Ruling 2010-08.

  • NOVELIST STEPHEN HUNTER ON EXTENDED MAGAZINES . . . On the op-ed page of The Washington Post last week, novelist and former Post film critic Stephen Hunter spoke out in defense of extended magazines. "When the question arises of who needs an extended magazine, the answer is: the most defenseless of the defenseless," writes Hunter. Read his op-ed.

Hunting and Conservation

  • NSSF ACCEPTING HUNTING HERITAGE PARTNERSHIP GRANT PROPOSALS . . . NSSF is again accepting proposals from state fish and wildlife agencies and regional state fish and wildlife agency associations under its Hunting Heritage Partnership grant program. The deadline to submit proposals is March 11. There is $500,000 in grant money available this year. Visit nssf.org/HHP for information, guidelines and application materials. Since the program's inception, 98 grants have been awarded to 37 state agencies and one regional organization for a total of $3.8 million in support of hunting-related initiatives.

  • REPORT: TURKEY HUNTERS INCREASING TWICE AS FAST AS U.S. POPULATION . . . The number of turkey hunters has increased at more than twice the rate of the growth of the U.S. population since 1991, according to a new report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. That is just one nugget of information found in the report, "Trends in Fishing and Hunting 1991-2006: A focus on Fishing and Hunting by Species," which provides a detailed look at hunting and fishing by species and offers new information on national and state hunting and fishing expenditures, participation rates and demographic trends. Read more about the report.

  • PROTECTING ALASKA'S BRISTOL BAY . . . Hundreds of sporting organizations and businesses, including a number from the firearms and ammunition industry, are supporting an effort to protect southwest Alaska's famed Bristol Bay region. The groups are concerned that the proposed Pebble Mine project may damage water quality and the bay's salmon fishery, adversely affecting fishing and hunting in the area. The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced that it will conduct a study on how large-scale development projects may affect this area's eco-system. Read more about the Bristol Bay/Pebble Mine issue in this article from Trophy Hunter magazine, a news release from Sportsman's Alliance of Alaska and a recent ad.

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NSSF's Mission

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COPYRIGHT © 2011 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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