ThinkingAfield.org

ADELPHIA, NJ – Lightfield Ammunition Corporation – an industry leader in innovative, high-performance saboted slugs for hunters, as well as specialized, less-lethal rounds for law enforcement — has announced the hiring of Brian E. Smith as the company’s new, National Director of Marketing.

Smith, co-founder and CEO of Indiana-based Raghorn, Inc. – parent company to Indiana Outdoor News Magazine and Adventure Media Productions — brings over 17 years of communications, sales and marketing experience in the outdoors and hunting industries to his new position with Lightfield. He will focus on expanding Lightfield’s brand-awareness and market share.

A lifelong hunter, Smith has worked with senior Lightfield personnel for the past few years on a variety of special projects – including the groundbreaking and highly successful Lightfield Wild Adventures television series – and knows there are no substitutes for quality, design and performance in the world of saboted shotgun ammunition. “I come from a slug-gun state”, says Smith, who has hunted around the world with the Lightfield Hybred and I.P.S. Commander slugs. “I can’t think of another line of products – from any industry – that would give me any more confidence or pride to use personally or, ultimately, to represent to the public”, he continues.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Brian to this critical position at our company”, says Lightfield CEO, Peter Saker, who expects Smith to be a significant asset in keeping Lightfield slugs both on the minds and in the firearms of consumers. “We believe his unique combination of experience, expertise and media connections will mesh favorably with the Lightfield brand”, Saker continues. “And, of course, the fact that Brian is an avid slug gun hunter with a national following through his own media outlets is a significant bonus”.

Lightfield Ammunition Corporation was founded in 1982 and specializes in manufacturing the hardest hitting, most accurate saboted slugs available today. The extensive Lightfield product line utilizes two distinctly innovative and proprietary designs to produce superior accuracy at extended ranges for today’s hunters. For more information, visit www.lightfieldslugs.com, or visit them at Booth 2103 at the SHOT show in Las Vegas, NV, January 18-21.
Contact:
Josh Lantz (219) 728-8996 or josh@sandcreek-media.com

Longmeadow, MA – Honored American Veterans Afield (HAVA) announces a unique website offer for two (2) documentaries about the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. The award winning This Is War-Memories of Iraq and new release Shepherds of Helmand both feature soldiers who fought there with actual front-line photography and video documenting their experiences. Celebrated film director Gary Mortensen tells the stories of these conflicts in the soldier’s own words, with Donald Trump Jr. narrating the Shepherds of Helmand film. Shepherds also features the Zac Brown Band who recently won a Grammy Award for best new artist and CMT Country Music Artist of the Year Award (with an original score by Stuart Currie). Powerful and hard hitting, both of these 90 minute films put these wars in a context that the evening news simply cannot capture. The films are exclusively offered on the HAVA web site: www.honoredveterans.org.

The new release, Shepherds of Helmand tells the very personal story of 17 noble American soldiers who volunteered to train the Afghan army to resist the Taliban, but wound up fighting off incessant attacks by a determined enemy committed to killing Americans and further enslaving the Afghan people. The film takes the viewer to the front lines through the soldier’s emotional words and via actual combat footage shot by American soldiers and captured from Taliban forces.

The award winning This Is War-Memories of Iraq is the story of the Iraq conflict through the words of nine Oregon National Guard soldiers who survived some of the war’s heaviest fighting in Fallujah, Najaf and the desolate IED-infested roads outside Baghdad. Joking to keep their spirits high, and griping about their commander’s decisions, the story is distinctly American as they patrol dangerous streets and await the enemy attacks that are inevitable.

“These combat films show the courage of the American soldier and the human toll of the conflicts that we fight to preserve freedom,” said Tom Taylor, HAVA Chairman. “The HAVA mission is to create awareness of these human costs and to help returning veterans rebuild the lives that have been interrupted by their volunteer service. Offering these films to the public is a good way to pursue our mission and to help the public understand the enormous price that these American Heroes pay to protect our way of life. Each has suffered tremendous physical and emotional damage, and each deserves our full support.”

Each film is offered at $24.95 including shipping and handling, with a package of both DVD’s available at $39.95 on the HAVA site www.honoredveterans.org. All proceeds go directly to HAVA to facilitate their mission to get disabled veterans in the field to aid in their healing process.

About HAVA:
HAVA is a 501(c)3 organization formed by companies in the shooting and outdoor industry with the purpose of raising awareness and further assisting disabled veterans with their healing process through guided hunts, shooting sports, and other active outdoor sports activities. The sustaining sponsor companies are Smith & Wesson, Yamaha, Crimson Trace, Leupold, Surefire, Mossberg, Hornady, FMG Publications and NRA. There are many other contributing companies. Those who would like to learn more and contribute to the HAVA mission can do so at www.honoredveterans.org.

BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is condemning Saturday’s attempted assassination of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the murders of six people including a federal judge and a 9-year-old child, for which a 22-year-old Tucson man is now facing charges.

“Our sincere sympathy and sorrow goes to the victims of this heinous crime, and their families, who are in our thoughts and prayers,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan M. Gottlieb. “This was a despicable act of cowardice, and we believe the full force of law should be used against the individual responsible.

“And speaking of despicable,” he continued, “we find it unconscionable that the gun prohibition lobby wasted no time at all in its attempt to exploit this hideous attack in an effort to further its political agenda. When will these people stop dancing in the blood of crime victims in an attempt to resuscitate their relevance?”

Gottlieb was especially critical of attempts by at least two different organizations to link an out-of-context remark made in 2009 by the National Rifle Association‚s Wayne LaPierre to this crime. He called it a “shameless demonstration of the depths to which the anti-gun-rights lobby will stoop in an attempt to discredit gun rights organizations.

“We notice,” he said, “that little has been said about the courageous armed citizen, Joe Zamudio, who helped physically subdue the gunman. Despite Mr. Zamudio‚s disclosure during interviews with CNN and Fox News that he was armed, the press appears to be largely ignoring this detail.

“The gun apparently used by the suspect, Jared Loughner, was quickly traced to a legal sale at a Tucson-area sporting goods store in November,” he added. “The speed by which that firearm was traced belies claims that police agencies are hindered by current statute that prohibits political exploitation of firearm trace data.

“A horrible crime has been committed, and our nation is stunned,” Gottlieb concluded. “But until this investigation is completed, it is disgusting that gun prohibitionists would rush to the nearest microphone, demanding that we need more laws, while trying to link firearms rights advocates to this tragedy.”

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With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is one of the nation‚s premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States. The Citizens Committee can be reached by phone at (425) 454-4911, on the Internet at www.ccrkba.org or by email to InformationRequest@ccrkba.org.

Ray City, Georgia- Outdoor Channel Outfitters, a superior resource for the tens of millions of Outdoor Channel Television and Online viewers to find their next world class destination to hunt, fish and enjoy the outdoors, has partnered withwww.huntnfishregs.com to provide outdoor enthusiasts with easy-to-navigate, hunting and fishing season information, regulations and license purchasing.

Outdoor enthusiasts can find their next outdoor destination by logging on to www.outdoorchanneloutfitters.com and searching by category, species, location and price range. After setting their search criteria, users will be presented with a list of guides, outfitters and lodges who have been certified as Outdoor Channel Outfitters who match their search. By clicking on one of those provided outfitters, users can view contact information, a description of services, photo albums and video galleries. On the right hand side of the listing is an informational widget which will bring them to the respective Huntnfishregs.com state page with corresponding regulations and links to license information. Huntnfishregs.com has also added the Outdoor Channel Outfitters “Find an Outfitter” widget to each of their respective state pages, so that visitors looking for regulation information can also find a Certified Outdoor Channel Outfitter who can accommodate their outdoor recreational needs.

Neal Rohrbach, President of Marketing & Sales for Outdoor Channel Outfitters, commented on the partnership, “We’re certainly pleased that our ‘One-stop-shop for outdoor destinations and gear’ is now even more convenient for hunters and anglers to not only find a great destination but also learn about the seasons and regulations. By sending visitors to huntnfishregs.com, all of the important information is right at their fingertips, in an easy-to-use format.”

www.huntnfishregs.com provides all of the information an outdoor enthusiast needs to have a legal, successful, safe and enjoyable venture in the great outdoors. Finding hunting and fishing information is easy, but also interactive. Visitors can find the information they need, email it, download and print PDF files. “We at Huntnfishregs.com are very excited to be able to partner with Outdoor Channel Outfitters to provide the person looking for a great outdoor experience the information that they need, as easily as possible,” says Guy VanDyke, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Huntnfishregs.com. “The last thing you want is to not have all of the pertinent information as you plan your experience of a lifetime.”

For more information about Outdoor Channel Outfitters, visit http://www.outdoorchanneloutfitters.com or email contactus@outdoorchanneloutfitters.com.

For more information about Huntnfishregs.com, visit http://www.huntnfishregs.com or email contact@huntnfishregs.com.

The Sierra Club and the U.S. Forest Service were presenting an alternative to the Wyoming ranchers for controlling the coyote population. It seems that after years of ranchers using the tried and true method of shooting or trapping the predators, the Sierra Club had a “more humane” solution to this issue. What they were proposing was for the animals to be captured alive. The males would then be castrated and let loose again.

This was ACTUALLY proposed by the Sierra Club and by the U. S. Forest Service.
All of the ranchers thought about this amazing idea for a couple of minutes. Finally an old fellow in the back of the conference room stood up, tipped his hat back and said;

“Son, I don’t think you understand our problem here”,

“These coyotes ain’t screwin’ our sheep – they’re eatin’ ’em!”

You should have been there to hear the roar of laughter in that room. The meeting never really got back on track.

By Glen Wunderlich
Outdoor Columnist
Member Professional Outdoor Media Association

It’s coyote season. Actually, the season has been open statewide since July 15th, but once deer season begins, few hunters concentrate on them. Of course, many are taken by hunters during incidental encounters in the course of other hunting activities, but to seek out these superb predators takes tactics beyond just being there.

Before heading afield, however, attempt to comprehend the hunting rules, which are about as clear as the IRS tax code. Here is some of the mumbo jumbo: The season is open statewide July 15 –April 15, except if you hunt at night. A license is needed except if you are hunting on private property and are the owner or a designee of the owner, in which case they can be taken all year long. But, before you pull the trigger, you are required to read the coyote’s mind and determine if they are doing damage or about to do damage. Hello! They’re carnivores! If they are not eating meat, they are about to. And, until the DNR holds classes on mental telepathy, I am assuming their intent is to kill whatever they can.

Most of the coyotes’ hunting is done at night when they seek and destroy mice, rabbits, grouse, house cats, and deer. To hunt coyotes at night, though, only .22 caliber or smaller firearms, or shotguns with loads other than buckshot, slugs, or cut shells, or bow and arrow can be used. Then there are rules about what lights can be used. Additionally, you must make sure your firearm is not loaded if you are not in the act of calling.

All of this nonsense may be sporting, but anemic rimfires are best suited to squirrels and rabbits. If I’m going to take the time to hunt an animal as crafty as a coyote, I am not out there to be cute about it. If that means only daytime hours, then so be it, but at least my chosen firepower will be more than adequate. It doesn’t matter to me what the quarry is – varmint or otherwise – I am after humane kills. I’m going big or staying home.

Is there such a thing as overkill? Yes, if one is after edible game or wants the fur. When it comes to coyotes, neither apply to me. I have taken them with the mighty .300 Winchester Magnum and versatile .30-06, and because I am a handloader, these .30-caliber choices offer long-range potential and plenty of punch with custom loads utilizing lightweight bullets.

If you are thinking that in the shotgun zone (Zone 3), that centerfire rifles are illegal, take a little time to read between the lines in the Hunting and Trapping Digest. Nowhere do the rules indicate that centerfires cannot be used for varmint hunting in the lower portion of the state. That means your deer guns are perfectly legal.

If you are concerned about the safety of shooting high-powered rifles in Zone 3, I commend you. One of the reasons I handload with the .30 calibers is that bullets used for varmints, such as the Hornady 110-grain spire points or V-Max, are designed to totally disintegrate upon impact. If you are not a handloader and still want to varmint hunt with your deer rifle and big-game rounds, consider doing so from a raised platform or treestand to minimize ricochet potential (see page 32 of the Hunting Digest for complete details.) Yes, it’s legal for coyotes.

So, if you have yet to put away your favorite deer rifle, get out there, play the wind, and sound like food. Just be careful, because coyotes will hunt in pairs or small groups and are coming to kill.

On December 29, 2010, Congress sent the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to the White House for President Barack Obama’s signature. The legislation includes several provisions developed by NRA-ILA and pro-Second Amendment members of Congress, which will provide practical benefits to gun owners, while generating revenue for military bases, and protect the privacy and Second Amendment rights of gun-owning military personnel and their families and civilian employees of the Department of Defense. President Obama is expected to sign the NDAA imminently.

Protecting the privacy and Second Amendment rights of military personnel, their families, and other DOD personnel: Section 1062 of the Act prohibits the Secretary of Defense from issuing any requirement, or collecting or recording any information, “relating to the otherwise lawful acquisition, possession, ownership, carrying, or other use of a privately owned firearm, privately owned ammunition, or another privately owned weapon by a member of the Armed Forces or civilian employee of the Department of Defense” on property not owned or operated by the DOD. It also requires, within 90 days, the destruction of any information of the type prohibited by the Act.

Championed by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Section 1062 was necessary because of a preposterous regulation imposed by the garrison commander of Fort Riley, Kans., similar regulations imposed on other bases, and a regulation DOD was considering to impose department-wide—schemes which violated and threatened to violate the privacy, self-defense and Second Amendment rights of military personnel and their families.

Appallingly, the Fort Riley regulation required troops stationed there to register privately owned firearms kept off-base and firearms owned by their family members residing anywhere in Kansas. It prohibited soldiers who have carry permits from carrying for protection off-base. And, it authorized unit commanders to set arbitrary limits on the caliber of firearms and ammunition their troops may privately own.

Meanwhile, DOD’s plan would have required military commanders to require troops to register privately-owned firearms kept off-base, and authorized commanders to require troops living off-base to keep privately-owned firearms and ammunition locked in separate containers—the latter a requirement that the Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008).

Protecting Sales of Surplus Military Ammunition and Ammunition Components: Section 346 of the NDAA—an amendment sponsored by Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-Ind.), culminates a nearly two-year effort by NRA-ILA and pro-Second Amendment members of Congress to preserve and increase the availability of once-fired military small arms cartridge cases and other ammunition components to civilian vendors, who use the components to produce commercially reloaded ammunition.

NRA-ILA’s effort began early in 2009, when we learned that government sales of fired small arms cartridge cases to civilian vendors had been temporarily interrupted, due to the cases having been reclassified under regulations governing their disposition. That bureaucratic glitch was corrected quickly, but a year later it was learned that some military bases were scrapping cartridge cases in deformed condition, rather than making them available for sale in reloadable condition.

An effort by Senators Jon Tester (R) and Max Baucus (D) of Montana led to a voluntary reduction in the scrapping of cartridges on some bases. But some other bases continued to scrap their cartridge cases, leading Congress to adopt a rider to the 2010 Defense appropriations bill, stipulating that “None of the funds available to the Department of Defense may be used to demilitarize or dispose of M-1 Carbines, M-1 Garand rifles, M-14 rifles, .22 caliber rifles, .30 caliber rifles, or M-1911 pistols, or to demilitarize or destroy small arms ammunition or ammunition components that are not otherwise prohibited from commercial sale under Federal law, unless the small arms ammunition or ammunition components are certified by the Secretary of the Army or designee as unserviceable or unsafe for further use.”

Section 346 achieves a more permanent solution to the problem, stipulating that “Small arms ammunition and ammunition components in excess of military requirements, including fired cartridge cases, which are not otherwise prohibited from commercial sale or certified by the Secretary of Defense as unserviceable or unsafe, may not be demilitarized or destroyed and shall be made available for commercial sale.” As the section’s text indicates, it applies not only to fired cartridge cases, but also to loaded ammunition and other ammunition components. This provision should significantly expand the quantity of surplus ammunition components available to commercial reloaders, resulting in the increased availability of reduced-cost ammunition to gun owners, while maximizing the revenues that bases can derive from the sale of ammunition components in usable condition.

Other Provisions: The Act also contains language clarifying the conditions under which the government can reclaim military equipment sold to the private sector without strict adherence to regulations governing disposition of military property, and additional language introduced by Rep. Adam Putnam (R-Fla.) encouraging military installations to continue granting public access to base lands for hunting and fishing, and to provide discounted hunting and fishing permits and other accommodations to current and retired military personnel who have disabilities.

Last week, the Ohio Supreme Court made a ruling upholding Ohio’s preemption law and siding with both the state’s and NRA’s position, as outlined in an amicus brief the organization filed with the Court. The case, The City of Cleveland v. the State of Ohio, stems from the City of Cleveland’s scheme to establish a series of restrictive gun laws despite Ohio law, which clearly prohibits such municipal gun ordinances.

NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris Cox said the ruling “…is a victory for law-abiding Ohioans. This ruling makes clear that preemption is the law in the Buckeye State and a patchwork of gun laws is not acceptable. If Cleveland, or any other city, wants to crack down on violence, city leaders there should focus on prosecuting criminals, not enacting new gun laws that only serve to restrict law-abiding citizens.”

The City of Cleveland filed suit against the State of Ohio in March of 2007, challenging changes to Ohio state gun laws that effectively preempted all municipal ordinances as to possession and concealed carry of handguns. Cleveland’s city council passed a never-ending stream of useless and burdensome ordinances—including forced registrations and bans on both open carry and semi-automatic firearms—that only impacted the law-abiding. The city filed suit to try to preserve its ability to impose these restrictions. The Court found that the state law in no way violates Cleveland’s home rule powers under the Ohio Constitution, as those powers are still subordinate to matters of general concern within the state.

NRA immediately moved to intervene but was rebuffed by the trial court and again at the mid-appellate level. The trial court ruled for the state, but the court of appeals reversed and ruled for Cleveland. NRA, along with Ohioans for Concealed Carry, filed an amicus brief with the Ohio State Supreme Court in support of the state’s ability to make firearm laws of general concern, and thus effectively preempt municipalities from creating a patchwork of gun laws throughout the state.

This week, President Obama re-nominated Andrew Traver to be director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Obama first nominated Traver on November 17, 2010, but the Senate Judiciary Committee failed to act on his nomination.

Last November, NRA strongly opposed Obama’s nomination of Traver. Our strong opposition has not changed.

Traver has been deeply aligned with gun control advocates and anti-gun activities. This makes him the wrong choice to lead an enforcement agency that has almost exclusive oversight and control over the firearms industry, its retailers and consumers.

Please contact your U.S. Senators and urge them to oppose Andrew Traver’s ill-advised nomination to head BATFE. You can call your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121.

As we reported on December 17, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has proposed that it be given emergency authority for six months to require about 8,500 firearm dealers along the border with Mexico “to alert authorities when they sell within five consecutive business days two or more semiautomatic rifles greater than .22 caliber with detachable magazines.” A Washington Post story reporting on the BATFE proposal described that definition as being applicable to “so-called assault weapons,” but it would also apply to many rifles that have never been labeled with that term. The rule change was to have started this week, but has been delayed by the White House.

According to an article on TheUSDaily.com, the White House Office of Management and Budget was expected to approve the rule change on Wednesday, but an official told Reuters that “ATF’s information collection request is still under review,” and declined further comment until the “deliberative phase is concluded.”