California Initiative to require background checks on ammunition purchases

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Fox News has a news story on a new initiative being offered by California’s Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.  The initiative has includes proposals either not approved by the the Democrat controlled legislature because they were viewed as unworkable or vetoed by the governor.

. . .  Dr. John R. Lott, Jr., an economist and world recognized expert on guns and crime who founded and heads the Crime Prevention Research Center, a research and education organization dedicated to conducting academic quality research on the relationship between laws regulating the ownership or use of guns, crime, and public safety, called the initiative “racist.”

“The question is who are you stopping from owning a firearm or getting hold of ammunition – in this case it is law-abiding, poor blacks and Hispanics who won’t be able to afford the cost of ammunition, which will rise with the cost associated with required background checks for ammunition purchases.” . . . Read more

Ammunition

Winchester USA Forged Steel Shellcase Loads


EAST ALTON, Ill. – Steel shellcase ammunition has been a favorite among value-minded shooters looking to reduce the expense of shooting, while at the same time increasing their opportunities to shoot.In the new USA Forged™, Winchester introduces a steel shellcase product that is made in the USA. USA Forged represents the culmination of an extensive development project that resulted in new manufacturing methods.

This new line is proudly manufactured in Winchester’s Oxford, Miss., manufacturing facility and utilizes precision-made steel shellcases with a proprietary coating for improved reliability and corrosion resistance. The noncorrosive boxer primers and clean-burning powder are ideal for high-volume range sessions, while the brass jacketed (nonplated) lead-core bullets can be used on any range and can also be used in any pistol type; including ported, vented or suppressed pistols. Read more

Ammunition

New Buck, Boars & Bears Premium 12-GA Rounds

ALELPHIA, NJ – With uncompromising accuracy, devastating on-target expansion, and rifle-like chambering performance in both smooth and rifled barrels, Lightfield’s Bucks. Boars & Bears premium 12-gauge rounds are the most devastating and accurate shotgun slugs available for hunters after deer-sized game animals.

“These 2 ¾” rounds leave the muzzle at an impressive 1,600 fps with a massive 2,643 ft-lbs of energy and deliver a staggering 1,094 ft-lbs into their target with only ¾ of an inch of drop at 125 yards,” Brian Smith, Lightfield’s director of marketing, said. What that tech-speak means for hunters, he said, is a round that provides a consistent and impressive knockdown punch that puts game down for the count. Read more

Ammunition

Michigan Approves Year-round Coyote Hunting

By Glen Wunderlich

With Michigan’s deer numbers on the decline and our coyote population on the rise, our Natural Resources Commission (NRC) has taken a bold step to combat this disappointing trend by lifting protections on coyotes. Effective immediately, coyote hunting season is open year-round in Michigan, thus bringing us in line with other states in the Midwest region. In addition, raccoons, opossums, foxes and coyotes now may be taken at night with number 3 and 4 buckshot.

Coyote Pup Taken with Lapua Sub-Sonic .22 Ammo

Coyote Pup Taken with Lapua Sub-Sonic .22 Ammo

Nighttime furbearers can be taken with a bow and arrow, crossbow, a rimfire firearm .22 caliber or smaller, or a shotgun with loads other than buckshot larger than number 3, slug or cut shell. Centerfire rifles still may not be used to take furbearers at night.

These refreshing changes to common-sense game management tools couldn’t come at a more appropriate time, insofar as Michigan’s new crop of fawns will begin to be born at any time. It is the first 10 days of a fawn’s life, when fawns are most vulnerable to predators and when coyotes do the most damage to our deer herd.

A newborn fawn’s only defense against attack is to remain motionless, while it instinctively calms its heartbeat from 175 beats per minute to about 60 beats. The slower and deeper breathing has the effect of reducing airborne scent in an effort to remain “invisible” to predators’ noses.

Often, humans will encounter newborn fawns bedded, because that’s what they do for some 95 percent of the first 10 days or so. It’s important to understand that the mother doe has not abandoned her offspring, but will return to nurse her fawns during the day. If ever we should adopt a hands-off policy for wildlife, it is at this precarious time in the life of a deer.

However, spring is also the time that mated pairs of coyotes are not only feeding themselves but 4 to 7 of their pups. Opportunistic coyotes are omnivorous and will eat about anything including small mammals, plants, and insects. Defenseless fawns, however, are always on the spring menu.

If you choose to hunt coyotes, here are the remaining rules to keep in mind.

*Dogs may not be used to hunt coyotes April 16 through July 7.

*Nighttime hunting season dates now match the daytime hunting season dates by species. No longer do we have conflicting dates just because we may choose to hunt at night.

*Portable artificial lights may be used throughout the open nighttime season of the target species.

*Nighttime hunters must use the aid of a game or predator call and/or dogs while hunting at night. Dogs may not be used from April 16 through July 7. While hunting with dogs at night, a firearm, crossbow or bow and arrow may be loaded at the point of kill only.

*To hunt coyotes, Michigan residents must have a valid base license, and nonresidents must have a valid base license and a valid fur harvester license. Residents hunting other furbearing species will need a base license and a fur harvester license.

* A license or written permit is not needed. Raccoons and coyotes may be taken all year on private property by a property owner or designee when the raccoons or coyotes are doing or about to do damage to private property.

I am left with one wish: to learn the difference between a coyote with good intentions and one determined to do damage. For now, I’ll have to be content with some head scratching.

Hunting

Weatherby Introduces Vanguard Camilla – Offers Special Offer with Leupold Optics


Paso Robles, CA – “Please don’t just shrink it and pink it and call it a girl’s gun.” is the comment most often heard when women hunters and shooters are asked what they are looking for in a rifle. In response, Weatherby assembled an elite team of outdoor women and used multiple social media channels to find out exactly what features are most important to them. The result is the first ever Weatherby Vanguard Camilla – a rifle designed by women, specifically for women.

The most unique aspect of the rifle is the stock, painstakingly developed to fit the widest variety of women. The butt features a negative angle, reduced heel-to-toe dimension, and the toe angled away from the body to better fit the female’s anatomy. The 13″ length of pull reduces overall length and weight, creating a compact, balanced and fast-handling rifle. The pistol grip has a trigger finger groove, right side palm swell, slim radius, and short grip-to-trigger reach for consistent trigger contact and increased control. The short, slim forearm also adds to the balanced feel. The high comb and Monte Carlo cheek piece provides optimal cheek weld and eye-to-scope alignment for fast target acquisition. A rifle specifically for women must have a beautiful, elegant look so Weatherby chose Turkish A-grade walnut with a satin finish, Fleur-de-lis checkering, and rosewood forend and grip caps. Read more

Firearms

Suppressor Export Act of 2016

In January of 2015, we submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to view the memos, but the State Department never responded.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Suppressor Association (ASA) is pleased to announce the introduction of the Suppressor Export Act of 2016 (SEA), H.R. 5135, by Rep. Chris Stewart (UT-02). This legislation would require the State Department to allow the exportation of American made suppressors to existing commercial markets in friendly nations abroad.

American suppressor manufacturers are known world-wide as producers of the highest-quality firearm suppressors available on the global market. For this reason, allied foreign militaries and government agencies regularly equip themselves with American-made suppressors. Many foreign countries around the world also have thriving, well-established commercial markets for suppressors. These markets cater primarily to target shooters and hunters, and represent a major growth opportunity for the burgeoning American suppressor industry. However, the U.S. State Department currently prohibits the exportation of U.S. manufactured firearm suppressors to commercial end users, hindering the potential growth of domestic manufacturers.

“With no legitimate justification, the State Department is unilaterally preventing American manufacturers from competing in countries like the UK, France, and Norway,” said Knox Williams, President and Executive Director of the ASA. “We know that the blanket prohibition is based on a single misguided internal memo within the State Department from 2002. In January of 2015, we submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to view the memos, but the State Department never responded. While they may be willing to sacrifice domestic manufacturing jobs, we are not. We applaud Representative Stewart and the 17 original cosponsors who have signed on to the Suppressor Export Act for their willingness to stand up to the State Department and let them know that American jobs are worth more than bad policy based on old misconceptions.”

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Firearms

HSUS: Animals Over Hungry People?

If there’s one thing the Humane Society of the United States seems opposed to, it’s common sense. But in light of events in Ann Arbor, Michigan, you might be able to add logic, scientific facts, and feeding the hungry.  But before we get there, here’s the backstory.

Struggling with an out of control deer population, the city of Ann Arbor approved a deer cull given that deer-vehicle collisions were up 75%, the deer were straining the ecosystem, and the near certain increase in ticks carrying Lyme disease. Despite these sensible grounds, activists were outraged that deer had been hunted in their city.

Unsurprisingly, HSUS led the charge on non-lethal population control last year, lobbying for Ann Arbor to use birth control on female deer. Interestingly, the birth control, PZP, is developed using pig ovaries, while HSUS is generally against medical research using animals.

HSUS’s political ideology puts it at odds with biological and ecological experts.  According to wildlife expert Jim Sterba, PZP “for free-ranging whitetails, does not work. And it is neither practicable nor affordable.” That’s because PZP efficacy has only been proven on isolated populations , such as animals on islands or those living in a fenced environment. University of Michigan professor Christopher Dick, a biologist, had a blunter word for what HSUS is advocating: “Pseudoscience.” Read more

Animal Rights

Lion Kill Fest: The Impact of the HSUS Ideology

When the “Cecil” the lion issue took place last summer, the Humane Society of the United States, the largest animal-rights organization in the country, fought to end the importation of lion trophies to the United States under the guise of protecting the remaining “endangered” population (an action the Sportsmen’s Alliance fought).

HSUS won that battle in part (but not in full, as explained below). Lion trophy importation from Zimbabwe (where the Cecil incident occurred) has effectively ended (although the door has not yet been conclusively slammed shut). But, as the Sportsmen’s Alliance said would happen, the consequence of shutting down trophy imports from Zimbabwe has had the opposite effect of what HSUS claimed – as now unsustainable populations of lions will likely face slaughter as new rules shut down the flow of money from U.S. trophy hunters.Lion-By Rumpleteaser (FlickrCC) sized for web

Currently, at least 200 lions are being considered for culling because of an unsustainable management paradigm – overpopulation and no revenue stream for continued support. And a revenue stream it is.

If just those 200 lions are killed, that’s a loss of $10 million dollars to just one area’s anti-poaching efforts, habitat conservation and acquisition, academic studies and all associated ancillary benefits to the local economy and people. The shortsighted and unsustainable rhetoric of the Humane Society of the United States and other animal-rights “warriors” is leading to more bloodshed in the form of economic and intrinsic loss of wildlife in Africa in mere months than has ever been spilled by hunters.

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Animal Rights, Hunting

Watch nesting barn owls through IN DNR webcam

A show of companionship and survival will play out live before the public in a DNR webcam that offers a peek into the lives of a barn owl pair raising chicks. The webcam is at wildlife.IN.gov/8183.htm.

Barn owls are a state-endangered species. The pair on this webcam has been living in a DNR-built nest box inside a metal pole barn in southern Indiana since 2009. These owls have nested every year since 2009. Read more

Wildlife
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