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Profile:
International Defensive Pistol Association Shooters
 NEW REPORT: IDPA SHOOTERS SPEND $30 MILLION ANNUALLY . . . NSSF has a released a new Industry Intelligence Report containing the results of a survey conducted by NSSF and the International Defensive Pistol Association. The major finding: IDPA members spend upwards of $30 million on shooting equipment, delivering significant economic impact. The report, Profile of International Defensive Pistol Association Shooters, also reveals that about 91 percent of members hold a concealed carry permit and 14 percent are concealed carry instructors. "NSSF's research into the habits of recreational target shooters shows that their economic impact is considerable. When we delve further into the pool of target shooters and look at those dedicated to competition, as we have with the IDPA shooter, we find that recreational shooting is very much a lifestyle and the resulting economic impact is substantial," said NSSF Research Coordinator Dianne Vrablic, who headed up the project. Read press release.
Import/Export Conference
 REGISTER TODAY FOR IMPORT/EXPORT CONFERENCE . . . To help industry members navigate the federal laws and regulations that govern the import and export of firearms and related products, the NSSF and the FAIR Trade Group will present our 13th annual Firearms Import/Export Conference on Aug. 5-6. This year's conference features round-table sessions with key ATF branches, Customs and Border Protection, Treasury's Tax and Trade Bureau, and Census Bureau's Automated Export System. The conference will also feature presentations from ATF, an update on the U.N. arms trade control actions, and State Department speakers covering policy updates, enforcement trends, compliance, commercial export policies and brokering licenses, among other topics. Register now to guarantee your spot. Not sure whether to register? Watch this video.
Government Relations
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 RHODE ISLAND, ALASKA GOVERNORS SIGN FIXNICS BILLS INTO LAW . . . Gov. Lincoln Chafee late last week signed legislation making Rhode Island compliant in the submission of mental health records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Over the past year, NSSF has testified before house and senate committees and in front of a special task force on firearms and mental health. In testimony, NSSF Director, Government Relations, State Affairs Jake McGuigan stressed the importance to the industry that appropriate mental health records be submitted to NICS. In Alaska, Gov. Sean Parnell signed House Bill 366, which establishes a system to allow the Alaska Department of Public Safety to receive identifying information from the state court system regarding individuals who are prohibited from firearm ownership due to an adjudication of mental illness or mental incompetence for transmission to NICS. Alaska and Rhode Island were priority states in NSSF's nationwide FixNICS initiative.
- MASS. HOUSE PASSES IMPROVED FIREARMS LEGISLATION . . . The Massachusetts House last week passed amended gun legislation that now heads to the Senate with just 22 days remaining in the session. The package unveiled less than 10 hours before House floor passage was considerably improved for both the industry and gun owners in the Commonwealth. NSSF believes progress made from the original bill, H.4121, to the current version, H.4278, is a direct result of the voices of sportsmen, gun owners and retailers. Among other things in the new legislation, firearms retailers are no longer required to conduct background checks on private party sales for a state-imposed fee of $25. Instead, individuals will access a web portal to be developed by the state police. In addition, the state attorney general will no longer have the ability to develop a more restrictive list of "approved" firearms for sale and a criminal firearms and trafficking unit will be established within the state police, a measure supported over the years by NSSF.
- FY2015 INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS BILL RELEASED . . . The U.S. House Appropriations Committee last week released the FY15 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill. The legislation sets funding levels for the Department of Interior, EPA, Forest Service and related agencies, and includes important provisions for sportsmen such as preventing the EPA from regulating traditional ammunition made with lead components; a one-year delay on any Endangered Species Act rule-making from USFWS regarding the sage grouse; funding to fight wildfires that have been destroying important wildlife habitat; and preventing any rule-making from the Department of the Interior that would devalue lawfully imported ivory products such as pistol grips and shotgun beads. The full committee was expected to mark up the bill today.
For more Government Relations news, read NSSF's latest Government Relations Update.
ATF
- NSSF OPPOSES IDEA TO DISBAND ATF . . . U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) has introduced a proposal to eliminate the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and turn its responsibilities over to other federal law enforcement agencies. NSSF opposes the Congressman's suggestion, which has not yet been introduced as a bill. "While we agree that ATF has had a number of high-profile missteps, we do not believe these shortcomings rise to the level of warranting disbanding the ATF," said Larry Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel. Read a news account.
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ORCHID ADVISORY: WHAT ARE CURIOS AND RELICS, DO I NEED A TYPE 03 FFL? . . . The first time one of our team members saw an early style Swedish Mauser with a light hue French walnut, she knew she was in trouble. Looking out for cracks through the recoil lug was one thing, but bringing a firearm from 1902 into the family raised all kinds of questions. As one friend quipped, "Next thing you know, you'll be getting your FFL in curios and relics." So, "What are Curios and Relics and Do I Need a Type 03 FFL?" Read more. Orchid Advisors is an endorsed compliance information provider for NSSF members.
Research
 NSSF'S CONSUMER EYE-TRACKING REPORT . . . Even though it is mid-summer, many businesses are starting to plan for the holiday sales season. NSSF reminds members of a report released in April focusing on the consumer shopping experience. The report--In-store Shopper Research: An Application of Mobile Eye-Tracking and Post-Shop Surveys--will help manufacturers and retailers make better-informed decisions about packaging and displaying products. Recruited shoppers were fitted with specially equipped eyeglasses that monitored their visual attention and tracked and recorded retina movement when shopping for firearms, ammunition and other products in a retail shop. For additional information on this report, read the press release. NSSF Members can log in and view the report. NSSF members interested in customized research using mobile eye technology can take advantage of a 25 percent discount on initial research by Informed Decisions Group. Inc. NSSF members should contact IDG's Susan Johnston at sjohnston@idg-consulting.com or 440-454-0399 to learn more.
NSSF Rimfire Challenge
- SHOOT THE NSSF RIMFIRE CHALLENGE AT 'THE MASTERS' . . . NSSF invites participants at the Shooting Industry Masters July 18 and 19 to stop by its Rimfire Challenge "side match" to see what the program, available to any shooting range, is all about. Formerly the Ruger Rimfire Challenge, the program is designed to introduce shooters to competition using steel targets in a comfortable, supportive and affordable format. Three generous industry sponsors--Action Target, Tactical Solutions and Volquartsen Custom--are making the side match possible. Part of the fun is that shooters in the side match earn a chance to win a Tactical Solutions X-Ring .22 LR rifle with Nightforce scope. And Volquartsen Custom has donated a Scorpion Lightweight Target Pistol to the Masters GunBroker.com Auction. Read press release.
 ATK SPORTING IS PLATINUM SPONSOR OF NSSF RIMFIRE CHALLENGE . . . The brands and products of ATK Sporting -- Federal Premium and CCI Ammunition, Savage Arms, Bushnell and BLACKHAWK! -- will be supporting the NSSF Rimfire Challenge program under ATK Sporting's new Platinum-level sponsorship. "The NSSF Rimfire Challenge gives people a chance to get out and shoot," said ATK Sporting President Jay Tibbets. "That's why we're involved at this level. Our leading brands and products are a perfect fit for this program, and the initiative to get more people involved in our sport aligns with our mission. We look forward to seeing new shooters and novice and accomplished competitors get involved at ranges across the country." NSSF Rimfire Challenge matches are conducted at host ranges nationwide. Learn more at NSSF.org/Rimfire. Read the press release.
Retailers
- NSSF ENTERS HOME STRETCH OF RETAILER EDUCATION SEMINAR SCHEDULE . . . Five more informative Retailer Education Seminars are scheduled this year, including two in August. Seminars cover a wide variety of topics that will help keep Federal Firearms Licensees in compliance with governing regulations. All attendees receive an NSSF Retailer Education Kit, which includes a number of compliance tools and materials. The seminars are free to NSSF members and cost $100 per person for non-members. Next month, this seminar trail will lead to Pittsburgh, Penn., on August 12 and Springfield, Mass., on August 19. View the entire 2014 seminar schedule.
- MORE QUESTIONS ANSWERED . . . Two more great questions to share from our NSSF ATF Compliance Hotline (available 24/7 and free to all of our members). The first is regarding a customer using a passport for ID to purchase a firearm and the other involves an FFL who has an employee who became a prohibited person and whether or not that employee can still work at the gun store. Do you know the correct answers? Find out and share with your staff.
Did You Know?
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 MORE FOR LESS AT SHOT SHOW . . . Did you know that NSSF's Voting Members receive a considerable discount on their SHOT Show booth space? Voting members pay $25 per square foot, compared to $35 for non-NSSF members. For information on becoming an NSSF Voting Member, contact Bettyjane Swann, NSSF Member Services Director, at 203-426-1320 ext. 237 or bswann@nssf.org.
News of Note
- MOSSBERG ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF TEXAS FACILITY . . . O.F. Mossberg & Sons on Thursday announced the completion of a major expansion at its Maverick Arms facility in Eagle Pass, Texas. With the new 116,000 square-foot addition, Mossberg's manufacturing and distribution capabilities have now increased significantly in Texas. Mossberg's corporate headquarters and some manufacturing remain in North Haven, Connecticut, where the company has been located since 1919. Said Mossberg CEO Iver Mossberg, "Investing in Texas was an easy decision. It's a state that is not only committed to economic growth but also honors and respects the Second Amendment and the firearm freedoms it guarantees for our customers." Read more.
- N.Y. POST OP-ED: ATTACKS ON FEMALE HUNTERS 'IGNORANT, SEXIST' . . ."Texas cheerleader Kendall Jones and World Cup fan-turned-model Axelle Despiegelaere are the latest to be widely slammed for posting photos of their big-game hunting in Africa. The vitriol is silly, ignorant and sexist," writes Eliyahu Federman in the New York Post. Jones, Despiegelaere and other female hunters have been and continue to be the targets of social media attacks by anti-hunters. Federman points out why these attacks are way off base.
- ROLLING STONE COLUMN: 'CONFESSIONS OF A LIBERAL GUN LOVER' . . ."Gun nuts aren't always creatures of the political right," begins a Rolling Stone magazine column by Christopher Ketcham. Read his take in the column titled "Confessions of a Liberal Gun Lover."
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