April 2, 2012

Vol. 13 No. 13

This Week:

Industry News

Government Relations

#gunvote 2012

News of Note

Industry Heads to D.C. April 18-19

STILL TIME TO REGISTER FOR NSSF CONGRESSIONAL FLY-IN . . . Join your fellow firearms industry executives in Washington, D.C., April 18-19 for NSSF's 2012 Congressional Fly-In. The Fly-In is a chance for NSSF-member companies to meet with key lawmakers and help advance the industry's federal legislative priorities. NSSF this week is opening up registration to include all NSSF supporting manufacturer and distributor members. For more information on why you should attend the Fly In, watch this short video. If you're interested in attending, register here.

Industry News

    View full-size chart.

  • MARCH NSSF-ADJUSTED NICS BACKGROUND CHECKS UP 20% . . . The March 2012 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,189,152 is an increase of 20 percent over the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 990,840 in March 2011. For comparison, the unadjusted March 2012 NICS figure of 1,715,125 reflects a 19.3 percent increase from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,437,709 in March 2011. This marks the 22nd straight month that NSSF-adjusted NICS figures have increased when compared to the same period the previous year. Read more.

  • SIMILAR STORY ACROSS NATION: FIREARM SALES ON THE RISE . . . A common headline in newspapers across the country recently has been "Firearm sales on the rise." From Arizona to Michigan to Massachusetts, retailers are reporting a spike in sales that many attribute to this year's upcoming elections.

  • SMITH & WESSON SHARES HIT 52-WEEK HIGH . . . Shares of Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. hit a new 52-week high today after a Wedbush analyst said that gun sales are rising on worries that President Barack Obama may tighten gun laws if he is reelected, the Associated Press reports.

  • FREEDOM GROUP NAMES MINIARD CHIEF MANUFACTURING OFFICER . . . Freedom Group Inc. (FGI) has named Kevin Miniard as its chief manufacturing officer and senior vice president of operations. Miniard will oversee all manufacturing, quality, sourcing and distribution teams for FGI. Miniard comes to Freedom Group from Smith and Nephew Medical where he was senior vice president (Global Operations) and responsible for transforming the company's global product development model and quality systems. FGI has also named Ryan Cleckner its manager of government relations. Cleckner most recently served as NSSF's government relations manager.

  • AMMUNITION BUSINESS LEADS WAY FOR ATK . . . "With a workforce that has doubled in the past decade, the Federal Cartridge plant in Anoka owes its growth to those who own firearms for hunting, sport shooting and, more than ever, personal protection," begins an article in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The newspaper this weekend spotlighted ATK's commercial ammunition business. Read the article.

Government Relations

    New York State Capitol

  • THE END OF COBIS IN NEW YORK . . . On Friday evening, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the state budget into law immediately eliminating the Combined Ballistics Identification System (CoBIS), the state's ineffective ballistic identification database. As important, the budget did not contain a microstamping provision sought by anti-gun legislators. This is a major victory for manufacturers, retailers and law-abiding firearms owners throughout New York. NSSF thanks the governor and Senate Republicans for protecting New Yorkers' Second Amendment rights. The CoBIS was put in place in 2000 by then Gov. George Pataki. In the words of the New York Post today: "Trouble is, the Pataki program NEVER worked. Despite the hundreds of thousands of spent shells submitted, not one criminal was ever captured using the extensive and costly-to-maintain database, state officials concede." This wasteful and ineffective program doesn't work any better in Maryland, the only state that still requires ballistics imaging.

  • URGE SUPPORT FOR PUBLIC SHOOTING RANGES BILL . . . NSSF encourages its members, and all target shooters and hunters, to urge their U.S. senators and representatives to support the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act. This legislation, a priority of NSSF's government relations efforts, will ensure that shooters and hunters have high-quality public facilities at which to train, learn about firearms safety and enjoy recreational shooting. Learn more and contact legislators.

#gunvote 2012

    Download and
    use this button
    .

  • USE THE BUTTON . . . NSSF is encouraging its members and others to proactively use its #gunvote icon on their websites and other electronic communications. The goal is to remind hunters, shooters and gun owners that together they can make a huge impact at the polls this Election Day. By clicking the icon, it will bring them to NSSF's #gunvote website, where they can learn about candidates' stances on hunting and gun-control issues. The icon also serves as a reminder to individuals to share information they obtain about candidates on Twitter by using the #gunvote hashtag. Please download and use the button and link to nssf.org/gunvote. Read NSSF's news release.

News of Note

  • RECORD 61 COLLEGES COMPETE AT CLAY TARGET CHAMPIONSHIPS . . . Sixty-one colleges competed last week at the ACUI Intercollegiate Clay Target Championships in San Antonio. The event has grown steadily in recent years, thanks in part to NSSF's Collegiate Shooting Sports Initiative, which provides grants to college shooting sports programs. Lindenwood University again took high overall team in Division I. Complete results are available at the ACUI website.

  • STUDY: DIRECT MAIL MOTIVATES HUNTERS TO RENEW LICENSES . . . When encouraging hunters to renew their hunting licenses via direct mail, no-frills black-and-white postcards hit the bull's-eye, according to a new study sponsored by NSSF. The success of the no-frills direct-mail campaign was one of the primary findings by Southwick Associates, which examined the success of a reminder mailing to 50,000 expiring license holders in the state of New York. The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) carried out the direct mail campaign as part of the NSSF-funded grant program "Models of Success." Read NSSF's news release.

  • USA FINISHES ATOP MEDAL STANDINGS AT WORLD CUP . . . The United States finished the ISSF World Cup Tucson with the highest number of overall medals -- five to be exact with three gold and two bronze medals. Read more from USA Shooting.

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COPYRIGHT © 2012 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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