Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
ENVIRON-Metal, Inc.®, makers of HEVI-Shot® (Sweet Home, Oregon) introduces;
HEVI-Bismuth™
HEVI-Shot® is retiring its venerable Classic Doubles line of soft tungsten shotshells, and replacing the line with HEVI-Bismuth™, a product new for 2019 that remains safe for classic shotguns but is also a powerful hunting load for use in any shotgun. Read more
GW: I have a sinking feeling about all this – especially after the photo shows how some people are going to trust their lives riding on some dime store junk blow-up gadget. It just isn’t going to be any good on anyone’s resume…
The annual Port Huron Float Down is scheduled to take place on Sunday, August 18, 2019 on the St. Clair River. This remains an unsanctioned marine event and poses risks to the participants and other
users of the waterways during the 7.5 mile /12 km course. The fast-moving current, large number of
participants, lack of lifejackets, alcohol consumption, potentially challenging weather conditions, water
temperature, and limited rescue resources can create difficult emergency response scenarios that can
result in serious injuries or fatalities.
The marine environment – motion, sun, wind, spray – accelerates the effects of alcohol consumption.
Alcohol can also increase fatigue and susceptibility to the effects of cold water – further impairing a
person’s judgment, vision, and reaction time.
Water temperatures during recent Float Downs averaged in the high 60s o F/ 17-19 o C. Immersion in
water below approximately 70 degrees o F/ 21 o C can lead to hypothermia that impairs physical
performance and degrades a person’s ability to self-help or swim. Early signs of hypothermia include
shivering and loss of coordination and judgment.
In 2014, a 19-year-old, experienced swimmer drowned during the event. The U.S. Coast Guard and
local, state and federal partners including the Canadian Coast Guard mounted a significant search and
rescue effort that was eventually suspended after 21 searches lasting more than 36 hours.
In 2016, high winds and a heavy downpour led to approximately 1500 participants requiring assistance
when they landed on the Canadian shoreline at Sarnia and Corunna, leaving them stranded, subject to
Canadian and U.S. border security and, often without identification, money and means of
communication. Some had injuries and were suffering from hypothermia.
This is an inherently dangerous activity, especially for minors. As first responders, the U.S. Coast Guard
and the Canadian Coast Guard recommend that people do not take part in this event. Participants are
strongly encouraged to take several precautions: Read more
City of Industry, CA – Battery life and ease-of-use are critical features for any electronics to be used defensively or in the field. Whether sighting in game or responding to a potential threat, events often unfold quickly and there isn’t time to fumble for controls to turn an optic on or worse, discover that the batteries are dead at that moment of need. That’s why Holosun has incorporated Shake Awake™ technology in all of its open reflex, tube and micro red-dot optics.
Shake Awake™ allows a Holosun optic to essentially go to sleep after no movement or vibration is detected during a set period of time; much like your computer when not in use. The amount of time before the optic shuts off is completely programmable by the user. As soon as the optic senses movement, it automatically turns on for immediate use and at the same level of brightness last used. This feature helps promote longer battery life and ensures the unit is ready for action the second the firearm is picked up. Read more
FORT SMITH, AR – The new and improved patented and proven Axeon® Absolute Zero® makes sighting in your rifle absolutely easy. Using two precision lasers it guarantees you hold your rifle in the exact same place while sighting in thereby providing the ability to completely eliminate hold error and establish a zero in just one shot.
The Absolute Zero from Axeon Optics includes a new mounting system making it the easiest, most efficient, and accurate way to find your zero at 25 yards giving you the ability to zero at 100 yards with cold barrel accuracy. It comes with an adapter that fits your rifle’s Picatinny or Weaver rail. It also comes equipped with a quick disconnect mount that allows the unit to mount onto any scope that has a 1-inch or 30 mm tube. Adhesive backed reflective grids are included with each Absolute Zero making the red lasers easy to identify and locate even in bright sunlit conditions. Read more
It has been confirmed that the White House has reached out to Second Amendment Foundation and The Citizen’s Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) chairman Alan Gottlieb to discuss the “current debate over recent mass shootings.” Gottlieb confirmed the conversations, saying “we talked about everything from background checks to banning semi-automatic firearms and magazines to red flag laws”
“We went,” he said, “through everything that’s been proposed.
According to Gottlieb, the administration appeared receptive to possible ways existing proposals could be changed to address 2A supporters’ concerns.
“It was a very good, positive conversation,” he said, “They want to address the problems of violence in our society and at the same time protect Second Amendment rights- without doing just lip service or symbolism. They’re looking for proposals that could work and not eradicate people’s freedom.”
“I’m glad they reached out,” he said, “they want to find solutions to these violent acts in ways that do not attack Second Amendment rights. They know opponents of gun rights are not friends of the administration or the Constitution.”
“They understand the issue well, and know how important gun owners are to the 2020 election results.”
Gottlieb says he considered the questions “really good,” with a special interest in “what the gun rights community could support, and what it couldn’t support.”
While Gottlieb was encouraged at the conversations, he reminded us that “politicians are sensitive to public opinion polls, and the public wants to pass something even after admitting it would not stop mass murders.”
After being pushed off the front pages of the outdoor media by the shootings in Texas and Ohio, the internal affairs of the National Rifle Association are, unfortunately, back in the news.
Yesterday morning, the Washington Post reopened the saga with a report detailing discussions regarding the proposed purchase of a $6 million mansion in a gated Dallas, Texas-area golf community for CEO Wayne LaPierre. According to that report, LaPierre, concerned that he would be targeted following the shootings at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, wanted to move from his current home to something “more secure”.
After rejecting an “upscale high rise in Dallas” the report says the LaPierres instead selected the 10,000 square foot home with golf course and lake views in Westlake, Texas. The purchase never happened, reportedly because the NRA’s longtime ad agency, Ackerman-McQueen, refused to go along with their purchasing the estate via a third-party corporation apparently formed for that purpose.
The report, essentially another chapter in the ongoing “he said-she said” legal battle between the NRA and its longtime advertising Ackerman-McQueen may be adding more fuel to the ongoing investigation of the Association in New York.
On Tuesday it was reported that NY AG Letitia James’ office had issued a subpoena to “90 present and former members” of the NRA’s Board of Directors. New York officials declined to confirm or deny the action, citing “ongoing investigations” but it’s no secret that New York and the District of Columbia are investigating the tax status of both the association and its Foundation.
Apparently, we’re not the only people in the dark about this. Several present- and former board members – have told us they’ve been unable to get information on the subpoena from the NRA.
Former NRA contributor turned dissident David Dell’Aquila fired another broadside at LaPierre and his management on Tuesday, filing a civil lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.
That suit alleges that Wayne LaPierre, the National Rifle Association, and the NRA Foundation, Inc. solicited and fraudulently obtained donations from Dell’Aqulia and “all others similarly situated.”
“Instead of spending the donated money on the solicited purposes,” the suit alleges, “Defendants used significant portions of the donated funds for purposes unrelated to the NRA’s core mission.”
Those “purposes unrelated” included “roughly $20 million” paid by the Association to Brewer Attorneys & Counselors, from April 2018 through March 2019.
According to the suit, Dell’Aquila learned of the problems “from an investigation conducted by the NRA’s former President, Lt. Col. Oliver North” and documented the timeline of events between North’s demands for answers and his summary dismissal from the President’s position at the NRA’s Annual Meeting in Indianapolis earlier this year.
After laying that groundwork, the suit then alleges two counts of fraud; both against LaPierre, and one each against the National Rifle Association and the NRA Foundation.
Both seek the same awards: “damages equal to the amounts such person donated to the NRA (or NRA Foundation) during the period from January 1, 2015 to the present, together with costs, punitive damages, and attorneys fees.”
We contacted the NRA regarding Dell’Aqula’s suit and received comments from both current NRA President Carolyn Meadows and William A. Brewer, III, of the aforementioned Brewer firm.
Meadows called the suit “..a misguided and frivolous pursuit. Here’s all you need to know: this lawsuit parrots claims from an individual who has worked for anti-NRA organizations and openly campaigned against our cause and our Association. End of story.”
Brewer’s response alleges the whole matter is “part of a contrived narrative to advance the interests of Lt. Col. North, his employer (Ackerman McQueen), and to deflect attention from their conduct.”
Having spoken at length with Dell’Aquila throughout his four-phase plan to force reforms on the NRA (which include the dismissal of LaPierre and a restructuring of the Board of Directors) it is difficult to believe he has embarked on a reform campaign to “advance the interests” of a company (Ackerman McQueen) he has repeatedly described to me as a “part of the NRA problem”.
It is not hard to imagine the suit as the latest installment in a series of strategies Dell’Aquila and his group of dissident former NRA contributors have formulated with the goal of forcing the NRA Board to act. As it was explained to me, the initial three phases of their campaign were designed to encourage action without having the whole situation play out in public.
Barring that, I was told, the Board, LaPierre and the current corporate officers would be not only called to account for their actions (the officers) and inaction (the Board) which have reportedly resulted in the Association’s current plight.
This appears to be the initial part of phase four, which Dell’Aqulia dubbed “Operation Clean-Up” and is designed to reform the Association’s by-laws, internal governance, accountability, transparency, infrastructure, marketing and branding.
Unfortunately, for those gun owners and NRA members concerned by this latest spate of allegations, it’s not “End of story” as NRA President Meadows stated. In fact, a number of emails, phone calls and personal communications indicate “regular members” fear exactly the opposite may be true.
Surprisingly, the concern most expressed in those communications isn’t outrage over allegations of profligate spending and nest-feathering by senior officers in the Association, although that is a major concern.
The primary concern is considerably more simple: who speaks for them when their Association won’t or can’t?
We’ll keep you posted.
—Jim Shepherd
The Montana Wildlife Federation joined wildlife conservation organizations from 12 other Western states and the National Wildlife Federation in a letter urging congressional leaders to demand the revocation of anti-public lands activist William Perry Pendley’s appointment as acting head of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
The organizations, which represent hundreds of thousands of hunters, anglers, and other conservationists across the West, cited in a letter Pendley’s long record of support for the sale and transfer of public lands as well as the lack of hearings on his appointment or recently announced plans to relocate the BLM’s headquarters.
“Put simply, he believes public lands should not be in public hands. … This antipathy for public lands and outward hostility towards public servants who manage them must not be a belief held by someone in charge of the agency,” the conservation organizations wrote in the letter. “Further, the goal of selling off our federal lands is fundamentally in opposition to the bureau’s statutory responsibilities, its reason for being, its values, and its mission.”
Pendley has served for the last 30 years as president of the Mountain States Legal Foundation, a radical activist group that routinely (and unsuccessfully) sues the federal government to curtail agency authority and public use of public land. Last week, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt issued an order making Pendley the acting head of the BLM — despite the position requiring U.S. Senate confirmation.
“Our public lands put food on our tables, support wildlife habitat, give us a place to recreate and find solace, and provide natural resources that support jobs in our communities. These lands that are owned by all of us are one of America’s finest ideas and deserve protection and wise stewardship, not wholesale attack through mismanagement and selloff,” the letter concludes.
The letter’s signatories are:
Montana Wildlife Federation
Idaho Wildlife Federation
Wyoming Wildlife Federation
Arizona Wildlife Federation
The Association of Northwest Steelheaders (Oregon)
Colorado Wildlife Federation
Conservation Northwest (Washington)
New Mexico Wildlife Federation
Nevada Wildlife Federation
North Dakota Wildlife Federation
Planning and Conservation League (California)
The Southeast Alaska Conservation Council
South Dakota Wildlife Federation
National Wildlife Federation
Apply for an antlerless deer hunting license through Aug. 15.
Drawing results will be posted Sept. 4.
When getting your antlerless application, don’t forget to pick up an application or two for the Pure Michigan Hunt to get your shot at elk, bear, antlerless deer, turkey and more.
Sedalia, MO – Capstone Precision Group, the importer and distributor of top quality Lapua and SK rimfire ammunition, proudly announces the appointment of Luke Johnson as manager of the new Rimfire Test Center housed at the Cardinal Shooting Range near Columbus, OH.
Johnson, a native of Marysville, PA, brings a long background of competitive shooting and hunting to Capstone. Johnson is a graduate of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. While pursuing his Bachelor of Science degree, Luke was a four year letterman for the University’s D1 Rifle Team. In addition to his 3P/Prone shooting pedigree, Luke is a High Master rifle silhouette competitor. Highlights of his competitive background include:
NCAA – CRCA All-American
Patriot Conference – All-Conference
USA Junior National Champion (50 meter rifle)
NRA Smallbore Rifle Silhouette Champion
“We’re very fortunate to have Luke join the Capstone family in this very important role. We’ve watched Luke for many years in his competitive shooting, and while that was a key in his selection to this position, his people skills are even greater. His outgoing personality and eagerness to help others excel are exactly the qualities we sought in filling this new position,” stated Adam Braverman, CPG Director of Sales & Marketing. Read more
WESTFIELD, Massachusetts –– Savage is excited to launch its new 110 Prairie Hunter, a precision bolt-action 110 platform rifle built for the cartridge that rewrote the rules of ballistics. Shipments of these firearms have been delivered to dealers.
“This new configuration, built on our time-tested 110 bolt action, is our first 224 Valkyrie rifle and its features are specifically designed for long distance shooting,” said Savage Senior Brand Manager Jessica Treglia. “The wide variety of bullet options available in the 224 Valkyrie cartridge makes Savage’s 110 Prairie Hunter ideal for long-distance target shooters, hunters targeting medium-sized game such as pronghorn, varmint hunters or backyard plinkers.”
The 110 Prairie Hunter unleashes the full power and accuracy of 224 Valkyrie. Its AccuFit system makes it easy to customize comb height and length-of-pull to any hunter. Combined with its user-adjustable AccuTrigger, 22-inch button-rifled barrel and target crown, the rifle delivers the most consistent accuracy at extreme ranges. The 110 Prairie Hunter features a threaded muzzle, synthetic stock with a beavertail fore-end, three QD studs and a detachable box magazine. Read more