Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
The Department of Natural Resources will host the 19th annual Saginaw Bay Waterfowl Festival Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 2-3, at Bay City State Recreation Area. Festival activities focus on getting families outdoors to appreciate Michigan’s Waterfowl Legacy – wondrous waterfowl and the unique wetland habitat upon which they depend. The festival runs 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Read more
Why do some people think they have the right to break the law and trespass wherever they please? Most law-abiding property owners can’t imagine why these unethical “hunters” (for lack of a better term) would break the law and take the chance of losing their hunting privileges, or why they would steal from the property owner. Protect yourself from this and prevent trespassing and poaching from ever happening in the first place. Read more
Hunter’s Specialties® new Butt Hook Combo helps hunters safely and easily field dress game.
The Butt Hook Combo comes with the popular field-tested Butt Out® 2 game dressing tool, which allows hunters to quickly remove the alimentary canal of deer-size game animals. It also includes the new Gut Hook. The Gut Hook uses a replaceable standard utility knife blade set in an ergonomically designed polymer handle. Molded finger grips provide better control while opening an animal’s body cavity during field dressing. Read more
Birchwood Casey® has added three new targets to the Ground Strike™ line for 2014. Ground Strike Targets from Birchwood Casey are constructed of a durable self-healing material that will withstand hundreds of shots while still maintaining their original shape. Read more
Morgan Utah: New for 2014, Browning has expanded the Citori 725 line of over and under shotguns by adding new Trap and Skeet models in 12 gauge.
Both Trap and Skeet versions of the Citori 725 will be available in standard stock and adjustable comb models. Like other Citori 725 models, the Trap and Skeet models include the Fire Lite Mechanical Trigger System and full-width hinge pin and tapered locking bolt receiver design. Read more
NORTH CHESTERFIELD, VA – Carl Zeiss Sports Optics, the world’s leading manufacturer in high performance sports optics, is pleased to announce its 2014 ZEISS FIELD DAYS promotion. From August 1 through August 31, 2014, Zeiss is offering huge savings in the way of an instant rebate on many of its most popular optics. Simply purchase any of the following ZEISS products from an authorized ZEISS dealer during the promotional period and get an instant rebate at checkout. Instant rebates are as follows:
– $150 rebate on any VICTORY HT Riflescopes or VICTORY HT Binoculars
– $100 rebate on any CONQUEST HD5 Riflescopes or CONQUEST HD Binoculars
– $50 rebate on any TERRA 3X Riflescopes or TERRA ED Binoculars Read more
Levels of scrutiny is a legal term that describes the various standards a law must survive in order to be ruled Constitutional. On Saturday, Senior Judge Fredrick J. Scullen, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the District of Columbia’s ban on carrying of handguns outside the home didn’t stand up to a constitutional test “under any level of scrutiny.”
Scullin’s ruling sets aside the longstanding argument by anti-gun groups that the right to keep and bear arms applies only inside one’s home. While pro-gun advocates are celebrating the ruling, legal experts say the carrying of handguns for self-defense can still be regulated, although the limitations have yet to be established.
At the same time, they agree prohibitive “discretionary issue” laws like those in Maryland, New Jersey and New York, may be in trouble. Groups, including the Second Amendment Foundation, say they have been studying Senior Judge Scullen’s ruling over the weekend and will issue a formal statement later today.
Last month, while addressing a group of Colorado sheriffs, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper spoke on the topic of the state’s 2013 measure outlawing almost all private transfers of firearms. According to the Denver Post, Hickenlooper told the sheriffs, “I think we screwed that up completely… we were forming legislation without basic facts.” A new Associated Press report examining Colorado background check data in the first year of the new law proves the accuracy of Hickenlooper’s statement, and should (although likely won’t) end the repetition of an already discredited anti-gun background check factoid.
The report states that the Colorado Legislative Council, an offshoot of the state legislature that is tasked with analyzing legislation, estimated that 420,000 additional background checks would be conducted in the two years following the new private sale restrictions. This led the Colorado legislature to allocate $3 million to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to handle the anticipated increase.
However, the AP notes, “officials have performed only about 13,600 reviews considered a result of the new law — about 7 percent of the estimated first year total.” The article goes on to state, “In total, there were about 311,000 background checks done during the first year of the expansion in Colorado, meaning the 13,600 checks between private sellers made up about 4 percent of the state total.” Read more
The Department of Natural Resources reminds hunters that fall turkey hunting applications are on sale until Friday, Aug. 1. The application fee is $5. Applications and licenses may be purchased at any authorized license agent or online at www.mdnr-elicense.com. Read more
“There’s a sign on the door that says you have to check your weapons at the front,” she said. “But you can’t expect every crazy person to do that.” But when a “troubled” patient opened fire on people at a hospital office, he wound up with some different troubles. More here…