Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
Aiken, SC – For countless years, the gift of a special firearm has been a special Christmas tradition that provides life-long memories for both giver and recipient. With the theme of “Where Heirlooms Begin”, High Caliber Gifts, LTD is helping bring the gift of a firearm to a completely new level by offering reasonably priced custom engraving for Christmas firearms and other special occasions. Read more
The Sportsmen’s Alliance believes wildlife management decisions belong in the hands of trained biologists who use data and proven science to balance habitats and mitigate human-wildlife conflict.
As such, the Sportsmen’s Alliance has sent a letter to Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear urging him to dismiss a request by the Humane Society of the United States that called for an emergency stop of the 2015 bear hunt, the impetus of which is based solely on emotional rhetoric and an espoused agenda to end all hunting.
In a letter obtained by the Sportsmen’s Alliance, Kathryn Callahan, the Kentucky State Director for HSUS, pleads with Gov. Beshear to stop the bear hunt. Using emotional language and making unsubstantiated statements, Callahan espouses a case that runs long on rhetoric and short on fact – statements the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife unequivocally and expertly refute with legitimate fact.
“At the end of the day, this isn’t about management or harvest quotas. It’s about their desire to stop bear hunting entirely. It wouldn’t matter if a single bear was the quota, the Humane Society of the United States wouldn’t approve, and they won’t be satisfied until all hunting is stopped everywhere,” said Adam Wright, Sportsmen’s Alliance associate director of state services. “We’re hopeful Gov. Beshear will listen to Kentucky’s expert wildlife biologists who rely on facts, science and data when managing wildlife.”
The “emergency request” by HSUS was spurred by the fact that the quota for the fall archery black bear hunt was set at 10 bears total, or five female bears only, but because bowhunters experienced greater than anticipated success rates during the two-day season, 22 bears were killed, 10 of which were females. Read more
Paso Robles, CA – Introducing the New Mark V® Accumark®, legendary accuracy with upgraded features.
“We’ve taken the unbelievable performance that the Accumark® is so well known for and added all the features that a precision shooter wants,” said Adam Weatherby, Executive Vice President and COO. “A more comfortable stock. A crisper trigger. A Hand Honed barrel. This is the perfect example of what a precision rifle can, and should be.”
The New Mark V® Accumark® stock has been designed with a slimmer forearm and sharper, more distinctive lines and contours. The grip diameter has been reduced, a slight right-hand palm swell has been added, and overall weight decreased. These refinements provide better fit and feel for a wider range of shooters. The lighter weight results in increased comfort, control, quicker to the shoulder mounting, and faster target acquisition.
The new Weatherby® LXXTM Trigger increases performance and shooter accuracy. The trigger’s surfaces are precision ground, polished, and overall tolerances refined. A new, wider trigger face boosts trigger-to-finger contact for a more consistent and comfortable pull. Adjustable down to 2.5 lbs., the new Weatherby® LXXTM Trigger will amaze you with every single round fired.
The New Mark V® Accumark® comes with a SUB-MOA accuracy guarantee (3-shot group measuring .99″ or less at 100 yards). Its hand-lapped barrel ensures that the bullet’s flight path will be true and consistent. Now, no matter where you take your New Mark V® Accumark® rifle, you can trust every shot will be right on the money – guaranteed. Read more
Grand Island, NE – Hornady® Manufacturing, an industry leader in bullet, ammunition and reloading technology, announces a comprehensive lineup of new and technologically advanced products for 2016. These reloading and Hornady® Security™ products will be available from stocking dealers, major retail sporting goods stores, and their websites. Dealers can be found by visiting the Retail Locator on hornady.com. Read more
WASHINGTON –On Friday, the American Farm Bureau Federation and a coalition of agricultural and builder groups asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court ruling that allows the Environmental Protection Agency to micromanage local land use and development decisions under the guise of implementing the federal Clean Water Act. The lower court’s ruling, according to the petition, “opens the door for a dramatic expansion of federal power” and must be overturned.
Download a copy of the petition filed by AFBF here. http://www.fb.org/tmp/uploads/ChesapeakeBayTMDLcertpetition.pdf
The lawsuit arose in the context of EPA’s so-called “blueprint” for restoring the Chesapeake Bay, but Farm Bureau points out that the issue at stake is national in scope.
“It’s about whether EPA has the power to override local decisions on what land can be farmed, where homes can be built, and where schools, hospitals, roads and communities can be developed,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. “This is nothing less than federal super-zoning authority. As much as we all support the goal of achieving a healthy Chesapeake Bay, we have to fight this particular process for getting there.” Read more
Some years back, when Michigan’s Chinook salmon program was in its greatest glory, some anglers suggested the Department of Natural Resources abandon raising the smaller, less spectacular coho salmon and put more emphasis on the kings. The DNR demurred, preferring a multispecies approach.
It appears to have been a wise strategy; Chinook salmon populations are down significantly, largely because of stocking cuts necessitated by a diminishing alewife population in Lake Michigan.
Chinooks depend almost entirely on alewives for their diet. Cohos are more adaptable. As a result, the coho population remains strong. It helped fill out the catch this past summer, as there were fewer Chinooks available to anglers.
Now, the DNR stocks nearly as many coho salmon as Chinooks. A decade ago, it was a quarter as many. Read more
Currently, the ATF has received 32 petitions from ammunition manufacturers and has given no indication on when they will make a determination on whether they qualify for the “sporting purposes exemption.” The Alternative Ammunition Manufacturing Act will ensure that the ATF processes petitions by ammunition manufacturers in an expedient manner, which will allow for additional alternative ammunition to be brought to market. If an application for an exemption does not receive a ruling by the ATF within 60 days, the application will be automatically approved.
H.R. 3799, the Hearing Protection Act of 2015 was introduced by Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) Member Congressman Matt Salmon (AZ). The bill includes 22 co-sponsors, including Vice-Chair of the CSC, Congressman Jeff Duncan (SC).
The Hearing Protection Act will remove firearm suppressors from the purview of the National Firearms Act, and instead require that all suppressor sales be subject to an instantaneous background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation has been working alongside the American Suppressor Association and other partners at the state level for many years to dispel the many myths and misconceptions surrounding firearm suppressor technology. Currently, 41 states allow for suppressor ownership and use and 37 allow their use for hunting.
In reality, suppressors do not at all resemble Hollywood’s portrayal of the technology. Suppressors do not silence host firearms, instead they reduce the sound signature of the report down to hearing safe levels (roughly the same decibel reduction as a high quality pair of ear muffs).
Successful passage of the Hearing Protection Act will ensure that the law abiding public is able to purchase this hearing protection technology without subjecting themselves to onerous federal taxes and administrative processes, while prohibited individuals will continue to be barred from purchasing or possessing them. – See more at: http://www.sportsmenslink.org/the-media-room/news/hearing-protection-act-introduced#sthash.lR7Ds1Sm.dpuf
This from The Sportsmen’s Alliance…
Florida’s first bear season in decades was slated for the last seven days of October. It lasted only two.
The shortened season wasn’t due to the protests and lawsuits of animal-rights activists, but instead to the sound management of the state’s fish and wildlife department.
Just two days into the season, 295 bears were killed in the four designated units. The quota biologists set for the season was 320. With so many bears taken so quickly, officials exercised a conservative approach to managing the estimated population of 3,200 bears and ended the season.
We applaud the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s decision to not only exercise a conservative approach to the state’s first bear hunt, but to use hunting as means to scientifically manage them – especially in the face of vocal and emotional, yet factually lacking, objection.
The fact that so many bears were taken so quickly only underscores that management through hunting was needed. Population levels have exceeded the carrying capacity of the habitat (and are likely higher than estimates) in Florida, and encounters – sometimes resulting in violent attacks – have risen.
Unlike the dogmatic animal-rights activists who protested and impeded scientific management from the start, we believe in a holistic approach to resolving wildlife conflicts and management – one where hunting, in all its forms, is employed to manage wildlife in accordance with habitat and predator-prey balance. Used in conjunction with commonsense trash management and other practices in areas bordering bear habitat, humans and bears can peacefully coexist.
Without a doubt, Florida’s bear hunt was a success – perhaps most of all for the thousands of bears that remain in the state, for now they have a little more room and more resources to enjoy in the state’s forests and swamps.