Image courtesy North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, NCwildlife.org.
Today, September 23, is National Hunting and Fishing Day. On this day we recommend you take a new shooter or angler afield and introduce them to shooting, hunting and/or fishing. National, regional, state and local organizations will run thousands of “open house” hunting- and fishing-related events around the country. Events will include Fishing Derbys, Hunting Expos, Wing-shooting tournaments, and much more. Over four million Americans will participate.
The History of National Hunting and Fishing Day
The first to suggest an official day of thanks to sportsmen was Ira Joffe, owner of Joffe’s Gun Shop in Upper Darby, Pa. In 1970, Pennsylvania Gov. Raymond Shafer adopted Joffe’s idea and created Outdoor Sportsman’s Day in the state.
With determined prompting from groups such as the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the concept soon emerged on the floor of the U.S. Senate. In June 1971, Sen. Thomas McIntyre, N.H., introduced Joint Resolution 117 authorizing National Hunting and Fishing Day on the fourth Saturday of every September. Rep. Bob Sikes, Fla., introduced an identical measure in the House. In early 1972, Congress unanimously passed both bills.
On May 2, 1972, President Nixon signed the first proclamation of National Hunting and Fishing Day, writing, “I urge all citizens to join with outdoor sportsmen in the wise use of our natural resources and in ensuring their proper management for the benefit of future generations.”
By late summer, all 50 governors and over 600 mayors had joined in by proclaiming state and local versions of National Hunting and Fishing Day. The response was dramatic — now regional, state, and local organizations stage some 3,000 “open house” hunting- and fishing-related events on the fourth Saturday of every September.
Here’s a great deal if you are looking for a smooth-running 6.5 Creedmoor rig in a modular chassis for PRS and tactical competitions. Right now you can get the Howa HCR chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor for just $867.00 at Bud’s Gun Shop (Check, eCheck or M/0 price). The new Howa HCR (Howa Chassis Rifle) combines a Howa 1500 barreled action with a modern, fully-adjustable aluminum chassis. MSRP for this HCR rifle is $1299.00, so this $867.00 price is a great deal for a 6.5 Creedmoor Howa with a very good two-stage trigger and 1:8″-twist 24″ barrel. Other chamberings are: .223 Remington, .243 Winchester and .308 Winchester (price may vary).
Mounted on an AR-style buffer tube system, the Howa HCR utilizes the fully adjustable LUTH-AR MBA-3 stock. Length of Pull is adjustable from 12.5″ to 16.75″. Comb height is also adjustable to fine tune for scope height-over-bore. Weight with a 24″ barrel is 10.2 pounds (before optics), so this Howa HCR is lighter than some similar rifles on the market.
Howa HCR Features
• Howa 1500 Barreled Action with 24″ Heavy Barrel
• Black 6061-T6 Aluminum Chassis with Free-Float M-LOK Forend
• LUTH AR Buttstock with LOP Adjustment (12.5″ to 16.75″) and Adjustable Comb
• 10-RD ACCURATE Detachable, Teflon-coated Steel Magazine
• Two-Stage H.A.C.T. Trigger
• 3 Position Safety
The HOWA HCR features an adjustable, two-stage HACT trigger, set for about 3 pounds (combined stages). Crisp and repeatable, this is an excellent trigger for a factory gun. In our opinion, the HACT trigger is clearly superior to the trigger on the Ruger RPR, as well as the Savage AccuTrigger. And there is no annoying Glock-style safety lever in the middle of the trigger blade.
Also available in .223 Rem, .243 Win, and .308 Win chamberings (price may vary)
NOTE: For all chamberings, 24″ barrels are offered, with 20″ options for the .223 Rem and .308 Win as well. Twist rates are 1:9″ for .223 Rem, 1:10″ for .243 Win, 1:8″ for 6.5 Creedmoor, and 1:10″ for .308 Win. We think .243 Win shooters will NOT be happy with the 1:10″ twist. We would prefer to see a 1:8″-twist for the .243 Win so it can shoot the 105-115 grain 6mm bullets. Most competitive 6mm shooters will want a true 8-twist or even a 1:7.5″.
We all know that ammo prices have dropped and gunmakers are discounting handguns and rifles. But have gun sales really dropped that much since the 2016 Presidential election? Actually not. Recently released data from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) show that gun sales remain at near-record levels.
The expected drop in firearms sales has been minimal. Sales are at historically high levels, only a little less than the records set in 2016. If the economy continues to pick up, 2017 will be the second highest year on record for NICS background checks. — Dean Weingarten
According to Dean Weigarten: “Firearm sales and NICS checks are having a good year. In 2017, the overall NICS checks are at 92% of the all-time record through August.” 2017 will probably surpass 2015 as the second-highest year for NICS checks since 1999, when the program started. (2016 was the highest year ever). And notably, the trend is up: NICS checks were 1,925,146 in August 2017. That beat the August 2016 number of 1,853,815, the previous high mark for the month.
Report by Dean Weingarten
The Trump era of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) checks has had eight months of high sales. The record for NICS checks was set in 2016, with over 27 million NICS checks for the year. 2015 was the second highest year for NICS checks with over 23 million checks done.
This chart reveals that the annual number of NICS Checks has more than doubled in the last decade! Source: www.FBI.gov
The high number of NICS checks reflects an expanded base of firearms owners and shooters who are buying more guns under the expectation of a prosperous Trump Presidency. Gallup released a poll on September 8th, that shows U.S. investor optimism at a 17-year high….
Now is a Good Time to Buy — Especially AR Platform Rifles
There is a high inventory of firearms for sale, and many good quality AR-15 types can be had for under $500. Ammunition prices have been slowly dropping.
Growth of Concealed Carry by Americans Drives NICS Numbers
The number of people with carry licenses continues to soar. There are over 16.5 million. At the time of this report, the number has likely surpassed 17 million. Carry permit holders are 5-15% of voters in many states [such as] Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. When a carry permit is obtained or renewed, another NICS check is done.
NICS checks are done for Federal Firearms License sales of used guns as well as new ones. The latest estimation of the ratio of NICS checks to the addition of private firearms stock is about 0.53 private firearms added for each NICS check done. If that ratio holds in 2017, about 8.6 million more firearms have been added to the private stock in 2017 thus far.
Report based on story in theNRA Blog
The 2017 NRA World Shooting Championship was a big success. Attendance was strong — nearly 300 competitors shot the three-day event at the Peacemaker Nat’l Training Center in Glengary, West Virginia. Both pros and amateurs competed in 12 challenging stages with a broad spectrum of firearms — rifles, shotguns, and handguns. This is the richest multi-discipline shooting event in the world. With $250,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs, competition was tough. Rankings were based on a “blend” of time plus points — you had to shoot fast AND accurately. Congrats to Pro Greg Jordan who took home the $25,000 first prize as overall winner. John Chambers finished first in the Amateur Division, Lena Miculek was High Lady, and Michael Davis was High Junior.
Greg Jordan – 2017 NRA World Shooting Champion
John Chambers – NRA World Shooting Championship – High Amateur
Lena Miculek – NRA World Shooting Championship – High Lady
Michael Davis – NRA World Shooting Championship – High Junior
(Overall winner Greg Jordan seconed from left. Photo courtesy Jim Powell)
Big Turn-Out in Amateur Division
Unlike typical matches, the NRA World Shooting Championship allows those interested in the shooting sports to compete among some of the best shooters in the world all while using the same firearms and equipment. This year, 232 competitors participated in the Amateur Division — some who had never competed in a shooting competition before!
Here are the final scores for the top 10 shooters from each division:
We want to add a special congrats to Sean Murphy of Nightforce. Sean finished 9th overall in the Pro Division, an impressive showing for an industry executive with limited time to attend matches. Sean says: “I had a great time at the NRA World Shooting Championship this weekend. It’s a 12-stage match featuring 12 different disciplines, with all equipment provided. You have to adapt to each set of rules and equipment and then shoot and be competitive. This is a fun format for both new and experienced shooters, and gives some insight [into] other disciplines. I finished at 9th place in Pro, hitting my goal of a Top 10 finish. Congratulations to Greg Jordan on the overall win, don’t spend that $25k all at once!”
WSC Highlight Video with Competitor Interviews (Past Event):
Seen at the WSC: VuDoo Gunworks Tactical .22 LR Rimfire Rifles
The WSC included a side-match featuring Vudoo Gunworks .22 LR rimfire tactical rigs. Shooters were impressed with the V-22 rifle, which looks and feels like a centerfire rig, but with a rimfire repeater action running full-size mags.
Vudoo states: “Our V-22 also runs a full-size short action bottom metal (DBM) and our V-2210 magazine has a [full-size] AICS form factor. The V-22 is the only controlled-round-feed .22 LR receiver out there. The bolt has full capture control of the cartridge from the time it leaves the magazine until it ejects the spent round out the ejection port.” That means the round never touches anything during feed travel so the bullets won’t be nicked/dented during rapid cycling. Sean Murphy of Nightforce enjoyed shooting the Vudoo Gun Works .22s: “I’ll probably end up with one of their rimfires as it is a sweet setup.”
Story based on report by Ammoland.com, under Creative Commons License: Attribution.
While California politicians are doing everything possible to strip citizens of their gun rights, things are different in Texas. Very different. Shooting is big business in Texas. Witness the latest shooting facility being built in the Lone Star Star: “The Gun Range”. Under construction now in Killeen, Texas, this 15,000-square foot facility will have 16 indoor shooting lanes. It will even have a “Virtual Reality” room where you can shoot bad guys. The total cost for this state-of-the art shooting range? A cool four million dollars ($4,000,000).
Construction is already underway on “The Gun Range”, set to open in the Spring of 2018. The new facility will feature four 50-yard general purpose lanes plus twelve 25-yard pistol lanes, all equipped with advanced Target Retrievers. A new high-tech feature at the range will be a virtual reality projector that uses a real gun to shoot the “bad guys”, but without shooting real projectiles.
Other features include a full snack bar, and TV Lounge. The Gun Range will offer online reservations for gun safety courses, range sessions, and appointments for large parties.
“This… will also be a great place for date nights too,” said The Gun Range owner Paul Doyle.
COMMENT: Only in Texas would they think of going shooting on “Date Night”. We love it.
The new $4 million Killeen Gun Range will be located at 2401 South Fort Hood in Killeen, home of the Fort Hood Army base. Fort Hood is the most populous army base in the world — roughly 88,000 active duty personnel live in the immediate area. When complete, “The Gun Range” will be the most modern shooting range to serve army personnel and the local population. Killeen currently has another 10-lane, 15,000 sq.ft. facility, the Mountain Creek Range, on the south side of town.
Texans Love Their Shooting Sports
There were some interesting comments on Ammoland.com about this project and the shooting sports in Texas:
“Funny how California is doing everything it can to deprive people of their Constitutional civil rights. But in Texas everyone I know has at least one shooting range on their place, every municipality has a shooting range, and commercial shooting ranges are making money hand over fist.” — Wild Bill
“In Texas, if you have 10 acres or more, the county is not allowed to prohibit your shooting on your land by state law. Ft. Hood used to have a sportsman’s range on Ft. Hood, but anti-gun commanders added onerous regulations that drove many people away, then finally closed the range. That was a real disservice to soldiers.” — D. Baker
Sig Sauer recently issued a safety recall for certain SIG 516, 716, and M400 model rifles with two-stage triggers. There was a production problem with the hammer that could create a “significant safety hazard”. If you own one of these SIG rifles, read this Safety Warning and Recall Notice. Sig Sauer will fix the particular rifles that have defective hammers at no cost to the customer. The replacement trigger will also be a two-stage match model.
SIG SAUER Safety Warning and Recall Notice
Published Date: 09/15/2017
SIG SAUER, Inc. has determined that a limited number of rifles in the SIG716 DMR®, SIG516® Carbon Fiber, and SIGM400® Predator models were built with a two-stage SIG SAUER trigger that may have an improperly heat-treated hammer. Over time this could result in a trigger malfunction creating a significant safety hazard. SIG SAUER is issuing a mandatory recall to replace the hammer and trigger assembly in these specific rifles. This recall does not affect any military or law enforcement rifles or any SIG MCX®/SIG MPX® products.
SIG SAUER will correct any of the affected firearms at no cost to the customer. The firearms affected by the recall can be identified by the presence of a SIG mark etched into the hammer:
To determine if a specific firearm is affected by the recall, go to:
If you are a customer who is affected by the recall, stop using the firearm immediately and follow the instructions on the website or call SIG SAUER Customer Service by dialing 603-610-3000, option #1. Have the rifle’s serial number available. If your rifle is affected you will be issued a pre-addressed shipping label and box.
Sig M400 Predator Product Features
Recall/Safety Tip from EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.
Fit, capable, self-assured young women hunting in the Texas backcountry. What’s not to like? This is what’s offered by Extreme Huntress, a TV series that pits six lady competitors in a season-long shooting and hunting competition. It’s like a ladies-only version of Top Shot, but with a focus on hunting skills. Twenty-Six six-minute episodes are now available online at GetZone.com. Each episode features a game hunt, skills event, or competitor profile.
Twenty-Six short episode are available online right now on GetZone.com:
The 9th season of Extreme Huntress (2018) premiered on GetZone.com on September 15, 2017. A ton of 2018 content is online now — 26 six-minute episodes. This interactive, online competition series showcases female shooters and huntresses who compete head-to-head in hunting and skills challenges. According to its producers: “Extreme Huntress™ is about preserving our outdoor heritage and creating positive role models for women in the shooting and hunting sports.”
Held at YO Ranch Headquarters in Texas, the Extreme Huntress Competition takes nine months for the contestants to complete. Viewers can vote for their favorite competitor at www.ExtremeHuntress.com. The winner of the 2017 Extreme Huntress Competition is announced at the Dallas Safari Club.
There a number of good rebate programs going on right now, but many of them conclude at the end of October. To take advantage of these deals you’ll need to start your shopping. Here’s are some current Rebate Programs for ammunition, loading equipment, and shooting accessories.
Bet you’ve never seen anything like this before — a “double-decker” indoor shooting range. Lotus Gunworks of Jensen Beach, Florida, operates a super-sized twin-lvel indoor shooting range featuring a two-story-high steel funnel bullet trap. Nicknamed the Lotus 8/11 for the number of steel panels used to create it (eight panels on the bottom slope and 11 panels on the top slope), this version of Action Target’s Total Containment Trap is the first of its kind. “No one has ever seen a range like this before” noted Lotus Gunworks’ Robbie Abell.
Abell came up with the two-story concept when it became clear that the new Lotus building in Jensen Beach was not wide enough for two side-by-side ranges AND a gun store. Necessity was the mother of invention… Lotus wanted at least two ranges, so the only option was to make a double-decker range where both levels shot into the same bullet trap.
Indoor ranges require ventilation to remove potentially hazardous dust and lead particles. The sheer size of the double-decker range presented a unique challenge, but Carey’s Small Arms Range Ventilation installed a system that can completely replace all the range air every 80 seconds.
Other Multi-Level Shooting Ranges
While the Lotus Range may have the first two-story bullet trap, it’s not really the first-ever double-decker indoor shooting range. Other multi-level ranges exist, they just don’t have the giant bullet trap. In fact, some of the multi-level ranges in Europe are bigger and even more sophisticated.
Brünig Indoor facility — Multi-Level Range Underground
Switzerland boats a popular shooting facility built completely underground. The large, deluxe Brünig Indoor facility includes a 300m underground range with multi-level shooting stations.
This video shows centerfire rifle practice on the upper level of one of Brünig Indoor’s shooting tunnels:
Dutch Double-Decker Range
Here’s a Dutch Double-Decker Range. Check out Schietsportvereniging (SSV) Katwijk, a great twin-level range in Holland featuring electronic targets with displays at each shooting station (on both levels):
The 14th annual CMP Western Games and Creedmoor Cup Matches will head back to the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix, Arizona next month. The CMP Western Games run October 13-17, 2017, followed by the Creedmoor Cup Matches from October 18-22, 2017. Popular CMP Western Games events will include the Garand, Springfield, Vintage Military, Modern Military, Rimfire Sporter, Carbine and Vintage Sniper matches. The Creedmoor Cup features a 4-Man Team Match, EIC Match and 80-Shot High Power rifle event. The 10-day combined series of vintage and service rifle matches are open to competitors of all ages and experience levels.
High Power Shooting Clinic and SAFS
A CMP Advanced High Power Shooting Clinic will also be held with instructino from some of the nation’s leading High Power Shooter. In addition, a rifle Small Arms Firing School will give participants insight into the fundamentals of marksmanship and competition shooting. Participants are teamed up with experienced CMP Rifle Master Instructors for classroom and hands-on training, with rifles and ammunition provided. Students in the school will also fire in a true M16 EIC Match, observed by instructors on the line.
Try Out CMP’s Traveling Electronic Targets
Competitors at this year’s CMP matches at Ben Avery will also have the opportunity to fire on the CMP’s highpower electronic target system.
The traveling targets, which include precision scoring hardware and software, plus a high-tech wireless monitor system, were used earlier this year with great success at the Oklahoma Games in April and Eastern Games in May. In June, at the outset of the National Matches, the targets made history by recording 36,000 shots during an entire week of successful National Match Course events on the ranges of Camp Perry in Ohio.
The HOWA HCR features an adjustable, two-stage HACT trigger, set for about 3 pounds (combined stages). Crisp and repeatable, this is an excellent trigger for a factory gun. In our opinion, the HACT trigger is clearly superior to the trigger on the Ruger RPR, as well as the Savage AccuTrigger. And there is no annoying Glock-style safety lever in the middle of the trigger blade.
