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March 31st, 2013
 New Jersey legislators have introduced no less than 76 new bills to regulate firearms, control the sale of ammunition, and tightly restrict gun ownership. We’ve summarized some of the most important new NJ gun-control bills below, and you can read the full list here. Legislators in the New Jersey Assembly pushed through 20 of 43 pieces of legislation last month. And New Jersey’s State Senators have been hard at work too, introducing dozens of other bills restricting gun rights. According to the New Jersey Association of Rifle and Pistol Clubs (ANJRPC), “the legislative feeding frenzy of anti-gun bill introductions by Democrats has steadily continued [with] no end in sight. Apparently, they won’t be satisfied until there’s nothing left of the Second Amendment in the Garden State.”
Important New Anti-Gun Legislation in New Jersey (Partial List)
- Establishes regulatory/reporting program for ammunition sales and transfers. A3645 Acs.
- Defines most centerfire 50-caliber firearms as “destructive devices”. A3659aa.
- Bans mail order, telephone, and internet sales of ammunition. A366 and S2465.
- Requires, to purchase a gun, mental health screening by licensed professional. A3667.
- Requires psychological evaluation and in-home inspection in order to buy a gun. A3676.
- Requires handgun ammunition to be encoded with serial number. A3704.
- Imposes additional 5% tax on sale of firearms and ammunition. A3727.
- Requires firearms to be unloaded and securely locked or stored within home. A3752.
- Requires background checks for ammunition sales and transfers. A3800.
- Disqualifies persons with three DUIs in 5 years from purchasing firearm. A3973.
- Prohibits persons with “disorderly persons” convictions from purchasing firearm. A3974.
- Requires firearms endorsement on driver’s license or state ID card. A4001.
- Reduces maximum capacity of ammunition magazines to 10 rounds. S2475.
- Requires ammunition sales/transfers be done as face-to-face transactions. S3476.
- Requires submission of mental health records to NICS. S2492.
- Extends reach and coverage of State’s assault weapons ban. S2605.
- Creates penalty for failing to report unintentional discharge of firearm in home. S2642.
The above list is just a sample — there are many other pending bills which would restrict gun rights in other ways. CLICK HERE for the full list of pending New Jersey Anti-Gun Bills.
COMMENT: The above list is a wake-up call, and not just for residents of New Jersey. All readers should take a long, hard look at the above list. This is what happens when anti-gun politicians “pull out all the stops”. These proposed laws are not just about so-called “assault weapons”. Note the tight restrictions (and new taxes) on ammunition purchases. Note the mandating of “gun owner endorsements” on drivers’ licenses. Note the chilling requirements of “mental health screenings” and “in-home inspections”. Law-abiding gun owners across the country need to understand that these kind of regulations are now “on the table” and we can expect “copy-cat” legislation in other states….
March 30th, 2013
 The MidwayUSA Foundation, Inc. and Scholastic Shooting Trust, a public charity established by Larry and Brenda Potterfield, received a $3,000,000 donation from the Potterfields to support junior shooting programs. These funds will be allocated to 204 separate endowments. Funds will support 192 shooting teams each receiving $10,000, seven state 4-H shooting programs, as well as five, new college curriculum shooting programs (receiving $100,000 each).
The Scholastic Shooting Trust (SST) Fund is owned and controlled by the MidwayUSA Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, public charity established by Larry and Brenda Potterfield in 2007. The SST Fund is an endowment intended to provide financial support for scholastic shooting programs. The SST Fund gives alumni and other interested parties of universities, colleges and high schools the ability to financially support a school’s competitive shooting program. The Foundation works with shooting teams, conservation groups and the shooting industry to raise funds in support of high school and collegiate shooting programs. To learn more about The MidwayUSA Foundation and Scholastic Shooting Trust, visit ScholasticShootingTrust.org or call 1-877-375-4570.
March 28th, 2013
 The U.S. Senate voted 53-46 to stop the United States government from “signing on” to a controversial United Nations Treaty on arms sales. Though negotiations on a U.N. Arms Trade Treaty that would regulate international arms sales are slated to end on March 28, an amendment to the Senate’s budget resolution introduced by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) is intended to prevent the United States from entering into the treaty.
CLICK HERE to read more about U.N. Arms Treaty Vote
Inhofe stated: “We’re negotiating a treaty that cedes our authority to have trade agreements with our allies in terms of trading arms. This is probably the last time this year that you’ll be able to vote for your Second Amendment rights.”
Despite President Obama saying he would not vote for anything that would violate the Second Amendment, criticism over his decision to even consider the Treaty prompted the Senate vote on the Inhofe Amendment, which passed by a 53-46 margin.
March 27th, 2013
The NRA National Pistol and Rifle Championships are coming to Camp Perry, Ohio in just a few months. And now you can read all about this year’s Camp Perry activities online. The official Program for the 2013 NRA National Pistol and Rifle Championships is now available as a FREE 158-page eZine.
CLICK HERE to Read Program for 106th Annual National Matches at Camp Perry.
The Official 2013 Camp Perry Program covers match schedules, rules, range locations, scoring procedures, and much more. You’ll fine a comprehensive calendar (pp. 24-25) plus separate sections for each of the major championships: Pistol, Smallbore 3-Position, Smallbore Prone, High Power Rifle, and Long Range High Power Rifle.
Camp Perry Registration
If you plan to go to Camp Perry this year, you can register in a few weeks. Online entry starts in early April, 2013. To sign up, visit www.NMEntry.com and submit your information. Then you can be part of one of histories greatest marksmanship competitions. The NRA explains: “For over 100 years, shooters in the United States have made the pilgrimage to Camp Perry for the NRA National Matches, and the honor to shoot shoulder-to-shoulder with the best.”
 2012 Nat’l High Power Champ Carl Bernosky. Photo courtesy NRABlog.com
March 27th, 2013
Original story by Marco Dalla Dea for ISSF.
The ISSF has announced a new name and new competition for the ISSF Run & Shoot event. ISSF TARGET SPRINT will now be the official title for this action-filled ISSF “Sport for All” event. And the ISSF is organizing an international Target Sprint Grand Prix in Munich (GER) in May to promote the new sport. ISSF Target Sprint combines athletes’ precision shooting and running abilities. The new event mixes air rifle shooting and middle-distance running. It requires participants to be fast, accurate shooters and to possess outstanding physical fitness. LINK: ISSF-Sports.org.
You Provide the Running Shoes — ISSF Provides the Air Rifles
“A pair of running shoes is all you need. Everything is designed to keep costs down for the athletes. The ISSF will provide targets and single-shot air rifles,” explained ISSF Secretary General Franz Schreiber. “The game is as easy as it looks”, says Schreiber, “Competitors will run on a track or running path and then stop at the air gun range to shoot at falling targets on their assigned firing points. There are no complicated scoring systems — the first athlete to cross the finish line is the winner.”
ISSF President Olegario Vazquez Raña adds: “We are developing ISSF TARGET SPRINT under the rubric of Sport for All, a program now being strongly promoted by the IOC. We were looking for a new event that combines marksmanship and fitness, can be staged outdoors, and is accessible to everybody.”
How Does ISSF TARGET SPRINT Work?
ISSF Target Sprint participants begin each event with a mass start and a fixed distance run. At the end of the first run, normally 600 meters, they stop at a 10-meter air rifle range where they must pick up their rifles and shoot at and hit five knockdown targets from standing position. More than five shots are often required to hit all five targets, but that adds to the shooting time. There are no penalties, but the sooner you finish shooting, the sooner you can start running your next lap. At the end of the second run, participants must shoot another five targets before beginning the third and final running stage. The final rankings are clear and easy to understand. The athlete who completes the three running stages and two shooting stages and who is the first at the finish line is the winner.
 ISSF TARGET SPRINT Competition this May
at ISSF World Cup in Munich, Germany
The new event will have its official 2013 inauguration during the 2013 ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup Munich, set for 23-30 May at the Hochbrück Olympic Shooting Range. The ISSF TARGET SPRINT competition will be held on the 26th of May.
Participation is open and more than 40 athletes have already registered to compete. World Cup participants who are interested in trying TARGET SPRINT are invited to bring their running shoes and clothing to Munich and give it a try.
March 26th, 2013
 The Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is planning to spend more than $20 million to strengthen the firearm background check system by improving states’ abilities to share information with the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Attorney General Eric Holder stated: “The Department of Justice intends to take immediate and effective action to work with states to fill gaps in information currently available to the NICS system.”
OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) are providing three grants to support state efforts to improve flow of the information needed by NICS. The grants would be used to improve access to and reporting of: 1) mental health information; 2) felony convictions; 3) misdemeanor domestic violence convictions; and 4) domestic violence restraining orders. The project also hopes to get immediate access to active felony and misdemeanor warrants. The grants will support enhancements to electronic submissions of fingerprints to state and federal systems as well as linking of arrest and disposition. Funding will be provided under National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP), NICS Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP), and a new initiative called, Improving the Completeness of Firearm Background Checks through Enhanced State Data Sharing. CLICK HERE for more info on the new Background Check Data Sharing Programs.
March 25th, 2013
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), receives hundreds of telephone and electronic inquiries every day. In an effort to provide individuals with the most up-to-date information, ATF has compiled a list of the Top 10 Most Frequently Asked Questions. ATF has provided these questions, along with official ATF-sourced answers, in a 4-page PDF file you can download.
 CLICK HERE to DOWNLOAD ATF Top 10 Questions and Answers PDF file.
The #1 most commonly asked question is whether a person barred by law from possessing a “firearm” can legally own a black-powder muzzle-loading gun. The answer to that question is quite lengthy, so we can’t include it here. But we have reprinted below the second, third, and fourth most-asked questions, along with the ATF answers. Download the PDF file to read the remaining questions and answers.
2. May I lawfully transfer a firearm to a friend who resides in a different State?
Under Federal law, an unlicensed individual is prohibited from transferring a firearm to an individual who does not reside in the State where the transferee resides. Generally, for a person to lawfully transfer a firearm to an unlicensed person who resides out of State, the firearm must be shipped to a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) within the recipient’s State of residence. He or she may then receive the firearm from the FFL upon completion of an ATF Form 4473 and a NICS background check. More information can be obtained on the ATF website at www.atf.gov and www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/unlicensed-persons.html. The GCA provides an exception from this prohibition for temporary loans or rentals of firearms for lawful sporting purposes. Thus, … a friend visiting you may borrow a firearm from you to go hunting. Another exception is provided for transfers of firearms to nonresidents to carry out a lawful bequest or acquisition by intestate succession. This exception would authorize the transfer of a firearm to a nonresident who inherits a firearm under the will of a decedent. See 18 U.S.C. 922(a)(5).
3. May I lawfully transfer a firearm to a resident of the same State in which I reside?
Any person may sell a firearm to an unlicensed resident of the State where he resides as long as he does not know or have reasonable cause to believe the person is prohibited from receiving or possessing firearms under Federal law. There may be State laws that regulate interstate firearm transactions. Any person considering acquiring a firearm should contact his or her State Attorney General’s Office to inquire about the laws and possible State or local restrictions. A list of State Attorney General contact numbers may be found at www.naag.org.
4. How do I register my firearm or remove my name from a firearms registration?
There is no Federal registration requirement for most conventional sporting firearms. Only those firearms subject to the National Firearms Act (NFA) (e.g., machineguns, short-barrel firearms, silencers, destructive devices, any other weapons) must be registered with ATF. For information on the registration and transfer provisions of the National Firearms Act, please refer to the ATF NFA Handbook at www.atf.gov/publications/firearms/nfa-handbook/ or contact the ATF NFA Branch at 304-616-4500. Firearms registration may be required by State or local law. Any person considering acquiring a firearm should contact his or her State Attorney General’s Office to inquire about the laws and possible State or local restrictions. A list of State Attorney General contact numbers may be found at www.naag.org.
March 24th, 2013
 Led by the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association (NYSRPA) and the NRA, a group of gun organizations filed suit on March 21, 2013, seeking to overturn the recently-passed New York SAFE Act. The pro-Second Amendment coalition filed suit in Federal court in Buffalo seeking to toss out New York’s new gun control law on a variety of constitutional grounds.
Specifically, the complaint states that the SAFE Act violates the Second Amendment as well the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The Buffalo News explains: “The lawsuit says the gun law… violates the U.S. Constitution’s commerce clause, which empowers the federal government to regulate interstate commerce, because the law restricts interstate commerce by requiring private gun owners to go through dealers if they want to sell guns to a private party in another state.” Read Full Article from BuffaloNews.com.
NYSRPA President Thomas King says the SAFE Act infringes New Yorkers’ Second Amendment rights: “The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed an individual right to keep and bear arms in the landmark 2008 case of Heller v. District of Columbia and incorporated that decision to the states in the 2010 case of McDonald v. Chicago. These decisions apply to all New Yorkers”. Chris Cox, Executive Director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, added: “Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature usurped the legislative and democratic process in passing these extreme anti-gun measures with no committee hearings and no public input“.
Along with the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, other plaintiffs in this action are the NRA, the Westchester County Firearms Owners Association, Sportsmen’s Association for Firearms Education, New York State Amateur Trapshooting Association, Bedell Custom, Beikirch Ammunition Corporation, Blueline Tactical & Police Supply, and three individual citizens.
Injunction Against SAFE Act Denied in State Action
In another related lawsuit, on March 12, N.Y. State Supreme Court Justice Thomas McNamara refused to enjoin implementation of the SAFE Act. That ruling applied to a lawsuit brought by Robert Schultz and hundreds of other private citizen plaintiffs. A motion had been filed asking the court to temporarily halt the SAFE Act on the grounds that the legislation had been rushed through, without proper consideration or the opportunity for citizen input. The judge denied the motion, holding that the Legislature was authorized by “messages of necessity” to enact the SAFE Act on a “fast track” schedule. Schultz stated that his group would appeal the ruling to the N.Y. State Court of Appeals: “We’re saying the language of the Message of Necessity has to match up with the legislation.”
READ More about Schultz Lawsuit in N.Y. State Court.
March 23rd, 2013
As we commence the 2013 IBS benchrest season, it’s time to give credit to the 2012 IBS long-range Shooters of the Year. Bill Shehane of D&B Supply sent us photos and profiles of three winners, who all used his Tracker stocks. Bill writes: “I would like to thank all the many 600-yard and 1000-yard shooters for once again making Tracker Stocks the number one choice in long range shooting for 2012.” Bill notes that: “I’ve always said we get beat by women and children more than we own up to and 2012 was a perfect example of this.”
Photo Credit: Gordy Mitchell
Sally Bauer, 2012 IBS 1000-Yard Shooter of the Year
In 2012, Sally Bauer became the first lady to win the title of IBS 1000-yard Shooter of the Year. Sally earned that honor through hard work, dedication, and a burning desire to “be all she can be”. While helping her husband Jim rise to the top of the 1000-yard benchrest game, Sally was taking notes and working toward her turn at the top. Well friends, Sally took no prisoners in 2012. At the Nationals, Sally fought a very tight battle with several extremely good shooters. But then she “put the hammer down” and pull away in a very convincing manner to clinch the top title.
Mason Hildrith, 2012 IBS 1000-Yard Junior Shooter of the Year
Mason Hildrith not only had a great performance at the 1000-yard National Championship in his home State of West Virginia, but was once again the top Junior Shooter in the IBS 1000-yard Shooter of the Year program. Bill Shehane writes: “I know just how proud your Grandmother and Grandpa are of you and Diane and I are just as proud of not only how good you are with the rifles but the way you conduct yourself. You are a fine young man and a great example of an humble shooter willing to help others enjoy the sport too.”
Mike Hanes, 2012 IBS 600-Yard Shooter of the Year
Mike Hanes is a reformed .22LR rimfire shooter who took a liking to 600-yard benchrest competition. At last year’s 600-yard Nationals in St. Louis, Mike put on quite a show against a steller group of the Nation’s best 600-yard shooters. After this performance, Mike never let up and captured the 2012 IBS 600-yard Shooter of the Year title
Congrats to Sally, Mason, and Mike for a fine season of great shooting. Bill Shehane adds: “Diane and I both thank all of you for choosing Tracker Stocks. Keep up the good shooting and have fun in 2013.”
Diane & Bill Shehane
D & B Supply
www.Scopeusout.com
March 22nd, 2013
 EURENCO, the company that currently owns and operates the Vihtavuori Oy powder plant in Finland issued a press release on March 12, 2013. In the release, EURENCO states that it is starting “to define a downsizing process that may ultimately result in stopping the production of nitrocellulose and propellant in Vihtavuori.” This sounds ominous, but understand that a plant closure in Finland won’t necessarily mean the end of Vihtavuori-brand powder (or at least alternative EURENCO powders with similar characteristics). This is because Eurenco has four (4) other modern powder production facilities. Additionally, we have confirmed that Nammo Lapua is current having “discussions” with EURENCO regarding the status of the Vihtavuori plant — but we have no more specifics about Nammo’s interest in the plant.
EURENCO Press Release about Vihtavuori Oy
In June 2012, EURENCO (France), the mother company of EURENCO Vihtavuori Oy
announced its willingness to divest from its operations in Finland, considering the deteriorated economical situation of the subsidiary and the insufficient prospects of the local defence market.
Since Patria confirmed it is not interested in buying back the Vihtavuori plant, EURENCO is now starting a co-operation negotiation to define a downsizing process that may ultimately result in stopping the production of nitrocellulose and propellant in Vihtavuori.
The detailed planning of the process will be known after negotiations with all relevant unions and with existing customers, since EURENCO has also to enter into discussions with its customers to inform about the situation and to define solutions to mitigate the consequences of this possible downsizing.
During the coming months, EURENCO will also remain open to enter into negotiation with any company interested in acquiring EURENCO Vihtavuori Oy.
Created in January 2004, EURENCO (European Energetics Corporation) is owned by
GROUPE SNPE. EURENCO has annual sales exceeding 200 Million €, more than 1000
employees, 5 modern production plants in Belgium (Clermont), Finland (Vihtavuori), France (Bergerac, Sorgues) and Sweden (Karlskoga), plus one commercial desk in Washington and one distribution company in Houston (USA). EURENCO Vihtavuori Oy has annual sales of 12 MEUR and about 120 employees.
Thanks to JDK for sourcing this Press Release.
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