ThinkingAfield.org

The NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action wrapped up its lobbying efforts at the first session of the UN committee drafting an “arms trade treaty.” The “Preparatory Committee for the UN Arms Trade Treaty Conference” (called the “Prep Com”) has been meeting in New York from July 12 to today, July 23. The meeting is one in a series to prepare for a major conference to finalize an arms trade treaty in 2012.

NRA-ILA was one of few pro-gun groups at the meeting. Anti-gun groups had a strong presence led by the International Action Network on Small Arms.

The Chairman of the meeting, Ambassador Roberto Garcia Moritan, released a 14-point outline of a possible arms trade treaty. Several other supporting position papers were also published. The inclusion of civilian firearms remains one of the controversial aspects of the proposed treaty. Countries such as Mexico and the Netherlands want civilian firearms included in the treaty. Other countries, such as New Zealand, want those types of arms excluded from the treaty. In a move that disappointed anti-gun groups, Moritan’s treaty outline includes a category for “Exclusions,” and the supporting position paper lists an exclusion covering civilian firearms. Still, we must remain vigilant on this and series of other threatening issues.

The Prep Com will meet again in New York the week of February 28, 2011. It will meet a second time in July 2011. There are also an extensive series of workshops scheduled for 2011 to “support” the Arms Trade Treaty.

Below, you may view video coverage of these meetings by NRA News correspondent Ginny Simone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FulGZGJnmhs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8Hbddd7LL4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ-RqSWsKP0

We will report on further developments as they occur.

MISSOULA, Mont.– With their latest petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, animal rights activists are preparing to sue for federally mandated release of wolves in every state, warn officials with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

David Allen, RMEF president and CEO, says animal rights groups have learned that introducing wolves translates to major fundraising, and activists have found a way to exploit the Endangered Species Act “as well as taxpayer-funded programs that cover lawyer fees” to push their agenda and build revenue through the courts.

“There are now about 100,000 gray wolves in the U.S. and Canada, and over the past few years in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, activists discovered that every wolf is also a cash cow,” said Allen. “If we don’t get some reform in federal laws very soon, we’re all going to be living in Jurassic Park. This is not about saving a lost species. It’s about money and special interest agendas.”

“Americans need to wake up,” he added, ‘because when you respond to those fundraising letters with photos of cute little wolf pups, you’re writing a check that our country’s rural and traditional lifestyles can’t cash. You’re eroding the fundamentals of America’s model for wildlife conservation.”

Allen said undermanaged wolf populations in the northern Rockies are compromising the health of other wildlife species — especially elk and other prey. In areas of Montana and Idaho where wolves share habitat with elk, calf survival rates now are too low to sustain herds for the future.

‘How do animal rights groups who claim to defend wildlife justify elk calf survival rates below 10 percent? Clearly they have another agenda,” said Allen.

Participation in hunting and the funding it generates for conservation also are being negatively affected, as are local economies, livestock production and potentially even human safety.

Continuous lawsuits by activists have setback wolf control and management efforts, compounding problems and costs for states.

“Now imagine bringing these kinds of impacts to more populated states elsewhere in the U.S., and I think we’re looking at an unprecedented wildlife management disaster,” said Allen.

RMEF has helped to successfully restore elk populations in Kentucky, Tennessee, Wisconsin and other states where habitat is suitable and citizens support the effort. Elk restoration is being considered currently in Virginia and Missouri using these same criteria.

“There are two proven ways to restore a species,” said Allen. ‘Our way is offering to help with funding and expertise so long as the local public wants the species and the state can manage them. The other way is using lawsuits and loopholes to shove a project down people’s throats.”

Animal rights groups filed a petition July 20 complaining that wolves now inhabit just 5 percent of their former range in the U.S., and that wolf populations should be recovered in all significant portions of that range. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) responded by saying that it is reviewing “what is realistic and where the suitable habitat would be.” The agency’s review could be complete by late 2010 or early 2011.

‘We urge USFWS to be very cautious in this evaluation and reject the rhetoric of the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Earth Justice, Humane Society of the U.S. and other animal rights groups. Wolf re-introduction in the greater Yellowstone region was a classic example of “let’s get our foot in the door and then move the goal line,” and should be warning enough. This is a fundraising strategy with anti-hunting, anti-ranching, anti-gun impacts, and the public needs to understand and see it for it is,” added Allen.

About the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:

Snowy peaks, dark timber basins and grassy meadows. RMEF is leading an elk country initiative that has conserved or enhanced habitat on over 5.8 million acres — a land area equivalent to a swath three miles wide and stretching along the entire Continental Divide from Canada to Mexico. RMEF also works to open, secure and improve public access for hunting, fishing and other recreation. Get involved at www.rmef.org or 800-CALL ELK.

Contact: Steve Wagner, Blue Heron Communications, 800-654-3766 or steve@blueheroncomm.com

GW: Good advice in any state.

WATERBURY, VT – Wild animals do not make good pets. Some are dangerous when they reach maturity, almost all do not adjust well to captivity, and many populations of reptiles and amphibians, including turtles, are being threatened by people illegally collecting them in the wild.

The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department says a recent newspaper advertisement promoting turtles as pets and showing a photo of a wood turtle could mislead people to think it is OK to keep a wood turtle. It is illegal in Vermont to catch or possess a wood turtle as well as other native turtles.

Vermont is home to seven species of turtles: spotted turtle (small with distinct yellow spots; endangered and known from just a handful of locations), spiny softshell (large, threatened, confined to Lake Champlain and lower portions of rivers that flow into Lake Champlain), map turtle (up to 10″ and confined mainly to Lake Champlain), musk turtle (rarely seen lake or stream bottom walker), snapping turtle (large, prehistoric looking giant that can have a 18″ shell and be 36″ nose to tail tip; can live up to 100 years and lay up to 100 eggs per year), painted turtle (perhaps our most plentiful turtle, relatively small, smooth dark shell, and likely a mix of midland and eastern subspecies in Vermont), and last but certainly not least, the wood turtle.

The wood turtle averages about 7.5 inches in shell length, and it has reddish-orange skin on its neck and legs and a roughly textured shell. It is dependent on streams and small rivers where it spends the winter on the bottom. In warmer months it may travel 1000 or more feet from the stream to forage on land.

Adult wood turtles may live 60 years, but egg and hatchling survival is extremely low. Survival of older juveniles and adult breeders is key to maintaining this species. The wood turtle is rare throughout its range which includes Vermont.

Taking a turtle home removes it from its breeding population and reduces that population’s chances of replacing turtles that die. It takes many years for a turtle to mature and we need the older breeders to maintain populations. Only 2 percent of hatchling turtles may survive to become breeding adults, and wood turtles only lay an average of seven eggs each year.

Wood turtles have not fared well in the face of human development of the landscape. Habitat loss and alteration, isolation of populations from each other, road mortality, impacts from mowers, increase in turtle predators such as raccoons and skunks, and collection of wild turtles as pets have contributed to a region-wide decline in this species.

It is illegal to collect and possess native wildlife, including turtles, as pets. Yet, an illegal pet-trade still exists. Even animals reported to be “captive bred” are a problem because breeding stock comes out of the wild.

Don’t be part of the problem. Remember that wildlife are not pets. They belong in the wild. Enjoy Vermont’s natural heritage where it belongs — in the wild. To learn more about wood turtles and other wildlife in Vermont, visit the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s website “Critter Curriculum” at www.vtfishandwildlife.com/vtcritters.

Indiana Adds County to Emerald Ash Borer/Wood Quarantine
Emerald ash borer (EAB), an invasive forest insect that kills ash trees, has been detected in Hendricks County.

As a result, Robert E. Carter Jr., director of the DNR, declared the county quarantined for EAB after state entomologist Phil Marshall recommended that movement of regulated ash material and hardwood firewood within the county be limited to reduce spread of the insect. To view quarantined areas and EAB sightings in Indiana go to the DNR’s interactive EAB Map at http://www.in.gov/dnr/entomolo/5349.htm.

An EAB quarantine restricts the movement of regulated ash materials, including whole ash trees, limbs, branches or debris of ash trees at least 1 inch in diameter, ash logs or untreated ash lumber with bark attached, or cut firewood of any hardwood species, outside of the affected county. Regulated ash material and hardwood firewood may be moved within the county, but special permission in the form of a signed compliance agreement must be obtained from the Indiana DNR to move it outside the county borders. In general, the DNR recommends that movement remain limited within each county when possible to reduce spread of the insect within the county. A compliance agreement can be applied for by contacting the Indiana DNR’s Division of Entomology and Plant Pathology at (317) 232-4120.

EAB, first found in Indiana in 2004, has now been identified in 35 Indiana counties: Adams, Allen, Blackford, Brown, Carroll, Cass, DeKalb, Delaware, Dubois, Elkhart, Floyd, Grant, Hamilton, Harrison, Hendricks, Huntington, Jay, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Lawrence, Marion, Miami, Monroe, Noble, Orange, Porter, Randolph, Ripley, St. Joseph, Steuben, Tippecanoe, Wabash, Wells, White and Whitley.

In addition to the state-level quarantine, all of Indiana is under a federal quarantine that prohibits moving regulated ash material out of Indiana without a compliance agreement or permit from the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). For a federal compliance agreement application, contact USDA, APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) at (765) 497-2859.

Ephrata, Washington – An 18-year-old Mattawa man has been charged with attempted first-degree murder, after shooting at a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) police captain Saturday in Grant County.

The man is being held in Grant County Jail on $1 million bail, along with his 60-year-old father, who drew a knife on another WDFW police officer. The father has been charged with second-degree assault, and is being held on $100,000 bail. The men, who made a preliminary appearance today in Grant County Superior Court, are to be formally arraigned next Monday. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has also placed holds on both men.

The two were arrested Saturday evening, following a vehicle pursuit by WDFW and the State Patrol on State Route 28 near Ephrata.

The incident began about 8:30 p.m. Saturday, when WDFW Officer Chad McGary was checking anglers at Crab Creek, a popular fishing area near Beverly in Grant County. McGary contacted the 18 year old, who had been fishing but did not possess a fishing license. As McGary was escorting the suspect back to his vehicle, to confirm whether he had purchased a license, the man drew a gun and pointed it at the officer. The man’s father also approached the officer, brandishing a knife.

The young man then escaped to a car and was pursued by WDFW Capt. Chris Anderson. During the pursuit, the suspect turned his vehicle around and drove toward Anderson’s marked police vehicle, firing shots and penetrating the driver’s side door with one round. Anderson returned fire after the suspect attempted to shoot at him a second time.

After a pursuit of several miles, the suspect was apprehended after his car stalled on State Route 28 near Ephrata.

The young man was booked into Grant County Jail for alleged attempted murder in the first degree. The suspect’s father was booked for alleged assault and for an outstanding felony warrant on an unrelated charge.

The incident is being investigated by the Columbia Basin Investigative Team, a regional law-enforcement consortium. Investigations are routinely conducted following police use of force involving firearms.

WDFW police are general-authority law enforcement officers who provide a range of police services focused on natural-resource protection and public safety.

By Glen Wunderlich
Outdoor Columnist
Member Professional Outdoor Media Association

When my new Horton Vision crossbow arrived at the doorstep, I knew there would be plenty to learn about its function. Little did I know, however, how little I knew.

Before any testing could take place, a bit of assembly had to be performed. The stirrup had to be mounted to the front of the barrel and the scope had to be secured to the mounting rail. Check.

I then placed one of the three provided arrows in the flight groove and let it fly toward the target. Bull’s eye at 20 paces! Let’s go hunting. Oh, that’s right, the season doesn’t begin for a few months. That’ll give me more time to discover what I don’t know.

For starters, rule #1 is to keep your front hand in the proper position on the forearm. To do otherwise could lead to a race downrange between your fingertips and the arrow. Even if your fingertips win, you lose.

The manual safety must be purposely pushed forward much like any firearm but this particular one makes substantial noise – much more than is practical in a hunting situation. There is simply no way this safety could be disengaged with a whitetail nearby without sending it to parts unknown. To me, this condition is problematic: some hunters will defeat the safety by disengaging it while on stand to avoid spooking game. I am by no means advocating this practice but it’s going to happen.

The trigger is stiff enough, that Horton could have supplied a mini string cocker to operate it. When I hooked a trigger scale to it, I couldn’t get it to come close to firing within the 72-ounce scale. Considering the condition noted above with the noisy safety, maybe the heavy trigger was built in by design. I have fired many guns over the years and have never found one that took the force to operate it as this crossbow trigger does. It certainly won’t fire by accident!

As a student of ballistics, I had to find out just how much less than the advertised speed of “up to 325 feet-per-second” (fps) this crossgun (excuse me, crossbow) will fling an arrow. (By the way, in Michigan crossbows cannot exceed 350 fps for legal hunting and advertised speed is how they are judged.) When I released an arrow through the speed meter, it clocked in at 290 fps – far below advertised speed. Then I read in the manual, that with a lighter-than-supplied arrow, such speed could be attained. Whaddayaknow!

According to the manual, my arrow with tip weighs 438 grains and coupled with the actual velocity, a whopping 82 foot-pounds of kinetic energy is developed. Compared to firearms, it doesn’t stack up, but arrows aren’t bullets and do their damage with shear penetration and cutting ability. For reference, only 25-41 foot-pounds are required to take medium-sized game such as deer. Black bears and elk need 42-65 pounds of force, while dangerous game such as cape buffalo or grizzly bears need 65 foot pounds to get the job done. Therefore, penetration will not be a problem.

As with any other hunting tool, crossbows will only be effective if shots are placed on target. The Vision comes with a lighted-reticle Mult-A-Range scope, which has 5 crosshairs for varying yardage designed for increments of 10-12 yards each. It is interesting to note that typical firearm scopes may not be suitable for crossbows because there is a phenomenon called reverse recoil which could destroy them. (Airguns work the same way.) I just hope it is calibrated close enough with my less-than-advertised-up-to-325 fps rig to actually be worth retaining.

In any case, the learning curve has begun and I expect to have this contraption figured out and dialed in long before the archery opener October 1st.

An alligator crossing the road in Sanford, Florida Monday night got a surprise when a man decided to catch it and grabbed it by its tail. But the alligator’s surprise was nothing compared to the man’s when the reptile whipped around and bit him on the leg and then ran into some bushes.

As if getting bitten once wasn’t enough, the man, who officials said appeared to be intoxicated, reached into the bushes to grab the gator again, and it obliged him by biting him, again.

The gator was trying to get to some water when Dirk Alan Willms, 44, (DOB 08/13/65), of 501 Lemon St., Sanford, decided to catch it.

Eventually, Willms subdued the 45-inch alligator and took it to his house. Someone who saw him with the alligator reported it to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, which then called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

FWC Law Enforcement Officer Naomii Tye responded to the call, issued Willms a ticket for possessing an alligator, a second-degree misdemeanor, and then released the small reptile in nearby Lake Jesup. The maximum penalty for a second-degree misdemeanor is 60 days in jail and $500 fine.

While Tye was filling out the citation, Willms commented that he should have cut the gator’s tail off and left it where he caught it, and that he had caught several alligators in the past and had never been bitten.

“If someone sees an alligator that they think is a threat to public safety, they should call the FWC. They should never try to catch it themselves, no matter how small it is,” said Tye. “As Mr. Willms found out, not only is it dangerous, it’s against the law.”

Willms received minor punctures and lacerations, and Tye instructed him to seek medical attention to avoid infection from his cuts.

The moral of this gator tale is if something isn’t bothering you, leave it alone.

Catching and possessing alligators without a permit is against the law. Violators should be reported to the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922. Callers may remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward if their information leads to arrest.

SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI -More women than men took up hunting last year, according to new net figures from the National Sporting Goods Association.

While total hunters in the U.S. decreased slightly (.05 percent) between 2008 and 2009, the number of female hunters increased by 5.4 percent, netting 163,000 new participants. Growth areas for women included muzzleloading (up 134.6 percent), bowhunting (up 30.7 percent) and hunting with firearms (up 3.5 percent).

Data also show women outpaced men among net newcomers to target shooting with a rifle, where female participation grew by 4.1 percent.

New hunters and shooters are cause for celebration because more participation helps with funding for conservation, according to officials with National Hunting and Fishing Day. Congress established NHF Day, set for Sept. 25, 2010, to recognize America’s sportsmen and women for their leading role in fish, wildlife and habitat conservation (more info at www.nhfday.org).

“New hunters, shooters and anglers are a good thing for everyone who loves the outdoors,” said Denise Wagner of Wonders of Wildlife museum in Springfield, Mo., the official home of NHF Day. “Hunting and fishing license sales, combined with special taxes on firearms and ammunition, bows and arrows, and rods and reels generate about $100,000 every 30 minutes, totaling more than $1.75 billion per year, for conservation. When it comes to funding for wildlife and wild places, more is definitely better.”

The growth in new participation among women, perhaps counterintuitive to traditionalists, is no surprise to Steve Sanetti, president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the shooting, hunting and outdoor industry.

He explained, “Over the past several years, our industry has worked hard to help build this segment of our market. We’ve developed shooting and hunting products especially for women, reached out with welcoming and instructional workshops for women, and encouraged existing hunters and shooters to introduce their spouses, daughters and other newcomers to shooting sports and outdoor lifestyles. I believe these efforts are paying off, which is a bright spot for our industry as well as for conservation.”

Also unsurprised at the number of female hunters and shooters are the women Olympians of the USA Shooting Team, whose ever-increasing visibility has made them effective ambassadors, role models and recruiters of women to traditional outdoor sports.

“Shooting is one of the most fun and empowering things you can teach a young girl or a grown woman,” said Corey Cogdell, 23, a lifelong hunter and 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in trap shooting. “Most men are surprised to find out that I am an avid outdoors woman and are often intrigued to learn how they can get females in their own lives involved in hunting and shooting.”

Connie Smotek, 45, a two-time Olympic skeet shooter, bronze medalist in the 2009 World Cup, and avid bird and big-game hunter, added, “Shooting and hunting are activities which a woman can enjoy for a lifetime.”

Cogdell and Smotek are among the many USA Shooting Team members who parlayed early interests in hunting into international success in shooting sports-an opportunity that didn’t exist for women until comparatively recently. Women’s shooting wasn’t officially added as an Olympic sport until 1984 (although U.S. rifle shooter Margaret Murdock won a medal competing against men in the 1976 games). Since then, U.S. women have won 10 Olympic medals in shooting, which is a growing source of pride.

Four of those 10 medals were won in the past four Olympics by Kim Rhode, a double-trap and skeet shooter now among the most elite and enduring athletes in all of sports.

The entire USA Shooting Team is serving as honorary chair for NHF Day 2010.

Sponsors for NHF Day 2010 include Wonders of Wildlife, National Shooting Sports Foundation, Bass Pro Shops, Smith & Wesson, Sportsman Channel, Realtree, Cabela’s, GunBroker.com, Yamaha, Pope and Young Club and Izaak Walton League of America.

For more information about NHF Day, visit www.nhfday.org.

Participation statistics are from the National Sporting Goods Association report “Sports Participation in 2009-Shooting Sports.”

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources will take a lead role in implementing a short-term step to address the advance of Asian carp up the Wabash River system and their potential movement into the Maumee River, a tributary to Lake Erie.

The focal point is Eagle Marsh, a 705-acre restored wetland near Fort Wayne that DNR staff identified as a possible pathway for Asian carp passage under certain flood conditions. The marsh is just north of Fox Island County Park near the intersection of Interstate 69 and U.S. 24.

A permanent solution to prevent Asian carp from being able to pass through this area during flooding conditions will take more time to develop, design and construct.

Therefore, as an immediate preventive measure, the DNR will install mesh fencing across a section of the marsh, creating a barrier against passage of Asian carp between the Wabash and Maumee drainage basins.

The DNR convened a recent meeting in Fort Wayne to address the potential carp movement and explore solutions, and the consensus was the mesh barrier is the best short-term option to pursue. The Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Allen County Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Little River Wetlands Project that manages Eagle Marsh, were represented at the meeting.

The fencing will be substantial enough to withstand floodwaters but will be designed so it does not increase flood elevations and cause property damage. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will provide design guidance on the fencing. The goal is to have the fencing installed this summer. Additional monitoring will be conducted and more aggressive action taken if the threat warrants.

Although Chicago waterways remain the likeliest entry point for Asian carp into the Great Lakes, the Corps of Engineers is tasked with finding other potential pathways throughout the Great Lakes basin. Corps officials have identified several sites they are investigating to determine the risk of Asian carp advancement, including the Eagle Marsh area.

Although the Wabash and Maumee basins drain in opposite directions and have no direct connection under normal conditions, their waters do comingle under certain flood conditions.

Eagle Marsh straddles a natural geographic divide created by glacial movement during the ice age. The broad wetland marsh extends across the divide into two key drainage ditches – McCulloch Ditch and Junk Ditch. McCulloch drains west into the Little River and eventually the Wabash River near Huntington, while Junk Ditch drains northeast into the St. Marys River and then the Maumee River.

If Asian carp cross the divide at Eagle Marsh and reach the Maumee, they would be in the Lake Erie drainage basin and additional more costly and invasive steps would be required to protect the Great Lakes from the threat.

The DNR and the Corps of Engineers are working with U.S. Geological Survey to analyze historic flood data and determine the depth and duration of flooding in the Eagle Marsh area.

Asian carp, a generic term for four species of non-native carp, were first detected in Indiana in 1996 at Hovey Lake Fish & Wildlife Area in the southwest corner of the state. Subsequent DNR surveys located bighead carp and silver carp in low abundance in the Wabash River or its tributaries, but the location of those findings show the fish moving upstream. A 2008 survey collected a total of 25 silver carp and two bighead carp over a 105-mile stretch of the Wabash River.

Adult bighead carp have been found below the dam at Roush Lake near Huntington, and silver carp have advanced to the Mississinewa River near Peru. In late May, a DNR biologist found evidence of silver carp spawning near Lafayette, 105 river miles downstream from the mouth of the Little River.

NOTE: For a map of the Eagle Marsh area, go to www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files/fw-AsianCarpMap.pdf
For facts about Asian carp in Indiana, go to www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files/fw-AsianCarpAdvisory.pdf
Contact:
Phil Bloom, DNR Communications, 317/232-4003, or pbloom@dnr.in.gov

(Grand Island, Neb.) – Team Hornady members, Joe Thielen and Randy Stephens took top honors at the 2010 Missouri State 1000 yard bench rest championships in Yukon, MO on June 26, 2010. Competing in a field of over 30 competitors, Joe, also an Engineer at Hornady Manufacturing, took 1st place in Light Gun group and another 1st in Light Gun overall. Randy took 1st place in the Heavy Gun score category as well as Heavy Gun overall.

The course of fire that entailed two, five shot targets with the light guns (17 lbs or less) and two, ten shot groups with the heavy guns (unlimited class). Each target was measured for group size and counted for score. Weather conditions were less than ideal, with 90-95 degree temperatures, high humidity, and an unpredictable fishtailing wind that made shooting very difficult.

Randy Stephens

Randy was shooting Hornady® 30 caliber 208 gr A-MAX® bullets in his heavy gun, which is chambered in 300 WSM. Both of his Heavy Gun targets were impressive with regard to both group and score. His first target was a 5.050″ / 99-4X and he followed that up with a 7.382″ / 95-3X, giving him a group average of 6.216 inches. Considering the 10 ring is only 7″ in diameter, dropping only 6 points is very impressive.

Joe Thielen

Joe was shooting Hornady® 7mm 162 gr. A-MAX® bullets in a 280 Remington Improved cartridge. The Light Gun targets measured an impressive 4.005″ / 47 followed by a 3.779″ / 45. The group average was an amazing 3.892″. The fact that these groups are shot at well over half of a mile makes it almost unbelievable.

Joe had this to say after the match, “Shooting 1000 yard bench rest is my passion. Being able to use the bullets that I help design and build to shoot groups like these at 1000 yards leaves no doubt in my mind that we are on the cutting edge of match bullet technology, and we’re not done yet.”

Founded in 1949, Hornady Manufacturing Company is a family owned business headquartered in Grand Island, Nebraska. Proudly manufacturing products that are “Made in the USA” by over 300 employees, Hornady Manufacturing is a world leader in bullet, ammunition, reloading tool and accessory design and manufacture.

For further information regarding Hornady products visit our web site at www.hornady.com. Media members interested in Hornady products for editorial review should contact Steve Johnson at sjohnson@hornady.com.
Contact:
Steve Johnson, Marketing Communications Manager, Hornady Manufacturing sjohnson@hornady.com