NSSF Bullet Points | Online News Service

September 3, 2013

Vol. 14 No. 34

This Week:

Research

Government Relations

America's New Target Shooters: Younger, Female and Urban

Analysis of Sport Shooting Participation in the U.S. 2008-2012

NEW NSSF REPORT SHOWS ONE IN FIVE BEGAN SHOOTING IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS . . . A new NSSF report, "Analysis of Sport Shooting Participation in the U.S. 2008-2012," contains fascinating data on the changing face of America's target shooters. New target shooters--those who have taken up the sport in the last five years--are younger, female and urban when compared to established target shooters. The report, based on a survey conducted by Responsive Management, also reveals that one-fifth of target shooters in America first started participating in the shooting sports between 2008 and 2012. "The landscape of target shooters has shifted," said Jim Curcuruto, NSSF's director of research and analysis. "This is data that everyone doing business in our industry should be aware of." Read more. NSSF members, log in here and select NSSF Industry Research for the report.

Research

AUGUST NSSF-ADJUSTED NICS CHECKS DOWN 2.5% . . . The August 2013 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,016,559 is a decrease of 2.5 percent compared to the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,042,924 in August 2012. For comparison, the unadjusted August 2013 NICS figure of 1,408,468 reflects a 7.0 percent decrease from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,514,696 in August 2012. This NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,016,559, while being a 2.5 percent decrease from the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,042,924 in August 2012, is an increase of 24.6 percent over checks in August 2011. This marks the first time since May 2010 that NSSF-adjusted NICS figures have decreased when compared to the same period the previous year. Read more.
REPORT SHOWS SIZE OF RECREATIONAL SHOOTING MARKET . . . Released today by Southwick Associates, a leading market research firm for the outdoor industry, was the 2012 Size of Recreational Shooting Market Report. This report, which is vital for organizations and businesses that serve the nation's millions of recreational shooters, details the total retail dollars associated with the recreational shooting market. For more about this report read Southwick's press release.

Government Relations

CALIFORNIA SENATE PANEL PASSES ANTI-HUNTING AB 711 . . . On Friday, the California State Senate Appropriations Committee passed Assembly Bill 71 banning the use of traditional lead ammunition in hunting, the first such statewide ban in the nation. The bill now moves to the Senate floor opposed by NSSF and a coalition of hunting and sporting organizations, as well as several labor groups. In a press release issued Friday, NSSF's Sr. V.P. and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane said, "Not only does passage of this bill needlessly jeopardize millions of dollars of federal conservation funding California receives annually as articulated by the Department of Finance analysis of the bill, but these new amendments shine a light on supporters' true intentions. Their goal is to end hunting and sports shooting, beginning with California." Before the vote, the committee amended the bill to delay its implementation until 2019. Regarding AB 711's passage, Sacramento Bee veteran political columnist Dan Walters observed that while ". . . a basic governmental duty is to protect constituents' civil and human rights . . . there is . . . a significant exception to the Legislature's zealous protection of rights, one group of law-abiding Californians whose rights are being assaulted, even though they are specifically mentioned in the nation's Constitution -- the millions of Californians who own and use firearms for hunting and target-shooting." What also should be of concern to lawmakers in a state now reeling from widespread wildfires is that copper ammunition often suggested as the alternative to lead ammunition is more prone to sparking fires. Also the California Assembly will be voting on bills that would deem any semi-automatic rifle with a detachable magazine to be an "assault weapon" banned under state law, require a background check for ammunition purchases, outlaw ownership of magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds, require safety certificate requirements for long-gun purchases and expand the list of Californian convicts who can't legally own guns to include more crimes. The only gun-control measures that did not pass committee were the "bullet button" and "smart gun" technology bills. NSSF is closely monitoring developments in Sacramento and continues to urge state hunters and target shooters to contact their state senators to express opposition to AB 711 and these other unnecessary and ill-considered measures.
LAST MASSACHUSETTS GUN-CONTROL HEARING SET FOR SEPT. 13 . . . Boston's Gardner Auditorium will be the venue for the final public hearing on Sept. 13 of the Massachusetts legislature's Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security. The hearing begins at 10 a.m. The committee is looking at more than 60 bills to make firearms ownership more restrictive, although the state already has on the books some of the strictest measures in the nation. At an August hearing in Springfield, Smith & Wesson CEO James Debney testified that the state legislature's emphasis should be on ensuring that the state's adjudicated mental-health records are sent to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
COLORADO RECALL ELECTIONS GET NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT . . . National attention and money is being lavished on the recall elections of John Morse, the president of the Colorado Senate, and Angela Giron, who represents the city of Pueblo. Campaigns that began with homemade signs and volunteers collecting signatures in store parking lots now feature telephone banks, printed pamphlets, and radio and television commercials. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has donated $350,000 of his own funds in support of the pro-gun-control politicians who now face the first recall elections in Colorado history.
NSSF BRINGS 'DON'T LIE FOR THE OTHER GUY' CAMAPAIGN TO SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND . . . Billboard advertisements for the "Don't Lie for the Other Guy^TM" program are being purchased by NSSF in key locations in the Boston, Worcester and Springfield, Mass. markets, as well as in the immediate Hartford, Conn., and Providence, R.I., areas. More than 34 million media impressions will be delivered in September through the public-education program, which is fully funded by the firearms industry. "Our goal is to raise awareness among residents of southern New England through billboards on the highways in these crossroads cities that there are serious consequences for illegally straw purchasing a firearm," said Stephen L. Sanetti, NSSF president.
NSSF FILES AMICUS BRIEF IN MINIMUM-AGE CASE APPEAL . . . Last week, NSSF filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of NRA's petition asking the court to strike down federal law prohibiting responsible, law-abiding adults between 18 and 20 years of age from purchasing handguns from licensed firearms retailers. NSSF's brief challenges, among other things, the hypocrisy of the ban. Young adults have the legal right to get married, vote and even enlist for combat in our nation's armed services. One thing they can't legally do, however, is visit a licensed retailer, undergo an extensive background check and purchase a handgun. Ironically, federal law allows those young adults to buy a handgun from a private party without a background check.
NO M-1s FOR YOU ANY MORE, WEAPONS OF WAR AND ALL THAT . . . The Obama administration has decided officially that 60-year-old semi-automatic rifles, the legendary M-1 Garands and M-1 Carbines of World War II lineage that had been formerly used by our allies and are now sitting in overseas warehouses, can no longer be re-imported into the U.S. for purchase by collectors and target shooters. In issuing a new executive order, a long-standing practice administered by the Civilian Marksmanship Program and created by Congress comes to an end. Though the U.S. has approved 250,000 of these rifles for reimportation since 2005, under the new policy only museums and a few other entities such as the government will be eligible to reimport military-grade firearms.

Retailers & Ranges

REGISTER TODAY FOR LEAD MANAGEMENT & OSHA COMPLIANCE WORKSHOP . . . If you are an indoor range owner or operator looking to ensure that your business practices are in regulatory compliance while determining ways to improve your management practices, NSSF's Lead Management and OSHA Compliance Workshop on Oct. 13-15 in New Orleans is for you. NSSF's team of experts have hands on experience in the fields of environmental law related to shooting ranges, OSHA compliance and inspection, and lead reclamation and range maintenance. Read more about this workshop and register today.
NEW RANGE COMPLIANCE CONSULTING PROGRAM . . . In response to shooting ranges seeing more visits from regulatory agencies such as the EPA and OSHA, NSSF has developed its Range Compliance Consulting Program to provide education on regulatory requirements and help ranges take corrective action and implement preventative programs that could save a business. Similar to NSSF's FFL Compliance Program, the range compliance program offers an on-site mock OSHA audit and provides response plans. A range representative must have attended an NSSF Lead Management & OSHA Compliance Workshop like the one scheduled October 13-15 in New Orleans. Read more or contact NSSF's Zach Snow at 203-426-1320 or zsnow@nssf.org for information.

2014 Shooting Sports Summit

CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS . . . NSSF has issued a Call for Presentations for breakout sessions at its 2014 Shooting Sports Summit, which will attract leaders from the firearms industry, shooting range operators, firearms retailers and members of the conservation community and state wildlife agencies. The Shooting Sports Summit is scheduled for June 9-11, 2014, in Springfield, Mass. Presentations will be 15 minutes in duration, and the subject matter must be consistent with the Summit's theme of sharing models of success to increase hunting and target shooting participation and with the topics listed here. All submissions are due by Oct. 1, 2013, and the presenter will be notified of acceptance via email by Oct. 18. Learn more about the NSSF Shooting Sports Summit and how to submit a presentation at the Summit's website, http://www.nssf.org/summit.

SHOT Show

MEET CONVEXX'S KATE PETERSON . . . The announcement of NSSF selecting Las Vegas-based ConvExx as the new SHOT Show management company has reverberated throughout the firearms, exhibition and event industries as well as in the Las Vegas business community. The news was met with no small number of words of encouragement and congratulations from SHOT Show exhibitors and attendees alike. Each week, the SHOT Show Blog is featuring a series of "who's who" blog posts to introduce the ConvExx team. This week: Director of Sales and Customer Service at ConvExx, Kate Peterson.

News of Note

Select a Poster Size to Print or Download

8.5 x 11 | 11 x 14

PROUD TO BE A FIREARMS OWNER? WE HAVE POSTERS . . . A few weeks ago, NSSF made available its new "Proud to Be a Firearms Owner" pocket-sized card, which quickly became a hot item in our literature lineup. Since then we've been urged to make a poster-sized version so the facts in the card can be displayed and easily read at shooting ranges and clubs, retail outlets, hunting clubs or even your den wall. The posters are offered in 8.5 x 11- and 11 x 14- inch sizes to make for easy reproduction on home or business printers. The "Proud to Be a Firearms Owner" poster files are available here. The pocket card version is available here. NSSF members can order printed copies of the card from the Safety & Education section of the NSSF member shopping cart.
RUGER FINALIZES PURCHASE OF N.C. MANUFACTURING FACILITY . . . Sturm, Ruger & Co. announced today that it has finalized the purchase of a 220,000 square foot facility in Mayodan, N.C. This is the company's first major expansion in more than 25 years. Production at the new facility is expected to begin during the first quarter of 2014.
IOWA DNR EXPANDS LAND AVAILABLE FOR HUNTING . . . Eight new sites have been added to Iowa's walk-in public hunting access program, increasing the land available for hunting by nearly 600 acres. That brings the total of private property on 48 sites available to hunters to 7,590 acres. Read the Iowa Department of Natural Resources press release.
PENNSYLVANIA CELEBRATES CENTURY OF ELK; W. VA. SEEKS FULL-SCALE ELK REINTRODUCTION . . . Two neighboring Eastern states are in the news for their elk-restoration programs. Pennsylvania is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its successful elk-restoration program. The post-Labor Day Weekend traditionally kicks off a period of increased activity on Pennsylvania's elk range--bugling by the elk and visits by 75,000 to 100,000 tourists--during the upcoming two months. West Virginia has a small population of elk formed by migrants from Kentucky and other nearby states. A plan by the state's Division of Natural Resources could bring elk back to southern West Virginia through a massive reintroduction effort that could take as long as two decades to complete, according to a report in The Outdoor Hub.
HERD OF ELK FOUND DEAD IN NEW MEXICO . . . The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is investigating the deaths of more than 100 elk discovered last week in the northeastern part of the state. Biologists took tissue samples from the dead elk and water samples from the area in Game Management Unit 46 north of Las Vegas, which were delivered to the state Veterinary Diagnostic Services laboratory for analysis. The die-off is being investigated, but officials confirmed that the elk were not shot by poachers. Epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) is one of the possible causes being explored. See the department's press release.
INDUSTRY MOURNS PASSING OF VICKIE LAWRENCE, SPRINGFIELD ARMORY CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM LEADER . . . Springfield Armory's customer service team leader, Vickie Lawrence, died unexpectedly last week. "Vickie's enthusiasm and leadership will be greatly missed by all of us here at Springfield and by the thousands of customers whose lives she touched over the years," said Dennis Reese of Springfield Armory. Read her obituary.

Jobs

FIREARMS INDUSTRY JOBS . . . 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 website and see how we accomplish this mission.

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