In a video filmed during an “online town hall”, Vice President Joseph Biden told a questioner that a modern, semi-automatic firearm is not needed for self-protection or home defense. Biden told the questioner to buy a double-barreled shotgun instead.
V.P. Biden: “Katy, if you want to protect yourself, get a double-barrel shotgun, have the shells of a 12-gauge shotgun, and I promise you, as I told my wife, we live in an area that’s wooded and somewhat secluded. I said, Jill, if there’s ever a problem, just walk out on the balcony here, walk out, put that double-barrelled shotgun and fire two blasts outside the house. I promise you who’s ever coming in is not [going to] — you don’t need an AR15. It’s harder to aim. It’s harder to use. And, in fact, you don’t need 30 rounds to protect yourself. Buy a shotgun. Buy a shotgun.”
The Vice President went on to say the government has to make some limits on the weapons people can buy. Otherwise, he said, the wrong people would have flamethrowers and rocket launchers and billionaires could buy “fully-loaded” fighter jets.
Like crosswords? Like guns? Well, thanks to Shooting Sports USA (SSUSA), you can try a crossword puzzle that tests your knowledge of gun stuff and competitive shooting. In the February 2013 digital edition of Shooting Sports USA magazine, you’ll find a crossword puzzle created just for shooters. There are some easy items, such as the location of the annual NRA National Pistol Championships. Other entries are more difficult, and may require some research. To print the crossword puzzle before you start working, click this Page 12 link, and then select the print icon. Spoiler alert — all the answers appear on PAGE 14 of the same February issue of SSUSA.
This week on Gun Girl Radio, Julie Golob interviewed the talented Maggie Reese for a fun “girl talk” episode Gun Girl-style. Maggie is a two-time 3-Gun Ladies National Champion as well as a Season Two contestant on the History Channel’s Top Shot TV show.
The podcast interview explores Maggie’s journey from new shooter to national champion. Maggie talks about the challenges that she faced along the way, such as dealing with injuries. Julie and Maggie also chat about their experiences of shooting and competing with other women. Maggie shares some of her secrets to having fun and looking great on the range. In addition to talking all things competition shooting, Julie and Maggie share some reality TV insider Top Shot talk. CLICK HERE to listen to this episode. You can also subscribe to get future Gun Girl Radio podcasts.
About Gun Girl Radio Gun Girl Radio is a proud part of the Firearms Radio Network. The show features information and insider perspectives on shooting sports, training, hunting and all things outdoors by two of the firearms industry’s most talented female shooters, Randi Rogers and Julie Golob. Click icon at right to learn more. Gun Girl Radio releases a new podcast each Wednesday at 12:00 pm CST.
Pyramyd Air, the leading online airgun retailer, has developed two smart phone Apps for airgun shooters and airsoft shooters. Pyramyd’s FREE Air Wizard App is offered for both Apple iPhones (go to: iTunes Store) and Android OS phones (go to: Android App Market).
Pyramid Apps Calculate Projectile Energy, and Do Conversions
The Air Wizard Apps calculate muzzle energy (based on projectile weight and observed velocity). The Apps can do a host of conversions: foot-pounds to joules, joules to foot-pounds, grams to grains and grains to grams, pounds to pounds and ounces, feet to yards, yards to feet, meters to yards, yards to meters, Fahrenheit to Celsius, Celsius to Fahrenheit, FPS (feet per second) to MPS (meters per second) and MPS to FPS. Most of these calculations work for all gun types — airguns, firearms and airsoft.
Special Functions for Airsoft Guns
For airsoft guns, the Apps offer additional computations including determining joules, meters per second (MPS), feet per second (FPS), kilometers per hour and battery time for auto-electric guns (AEG).
Additional Air Rifle Information from Pyramyd Air
Pyramyd Air provides professional product videos from Airgun Reporter Paul Capello. Pyramyd’s Tom Gaylord, a.k.a. B.B. Pelletier writes a highly respected daily Blog, the Pyramyd Air Report. Pyramyd also provides instructional videos through its online Airgun Academy.
By voice vote yesterday (Friday), the Colorado State House of Representatives* approved tough new gun-control legislation after hours of heated debate. One new law will ban ammunition magazines over 15 rounds (or 8 for shotguns). In addition, companion bills will require exhaustive background checks on all firearm purchases, and impose severe restrictions on lending guns. Yet another new law will prohibit CCW permit-holders from carrying a firearm on college campuses.
The new laws are not final yet. They advanced on Friday’s unrecorded “voice vote”, but there will be a final “recorded vote” in the House next week. Then, before they can become law, these bills must be approved by the Democrat-controlled Colorado Senate and signed by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. However, Senate approval is likely and Hickenlooper has stated his support for the new laws.
House Bill 1224 – Bans magazines with a capacity greater than fifteen rounds. House Bill 1228 – Imposes a “gun tax” for a background check when purchasing a firearm. House Bill 1229 – Criminalizes the private transfer of a firearm. House Bill 1226 – Repeals law allowing CCW permit-holders to carry firearms on college campuses.
Colorado resident (and one of our contributing writers) Zak Smith says: “We are facing a tough fight here in Colorado — but don’t give up yet. Now is the time to contact your state representatives.” The official recorded vote will be taken Monday. Accordingly, Zak adds: “Concerned Colorado gun owners need to contact their legislators this weekend before the final recorded vote.” CLICK THIS LINK to get contact information on Colorado State Legislators, in Colorado General Assembly House and Senate.
MagPul Says it May Leave Colorado
Colorado gun parts-maker Magpul has announced that it might leave Colorado if the magazine ban becomes law. This could result in the loss of 600-700 jobs (Magpul employees and subcontractors). Magpul also contributes “nearly $85 million to Colorado’s economy” according to Fox News. “If we’re able to stay in Colorado and manufacture a product, but law-abiding citizens of the state were unable to purchase the product, customers around the state and the nation would boycott us for remaining here,” Doug Smith, Magpul’s chief operating officer, told the Denver Post.
*The Colorado General Assembly is bicameral, composed of the Colorado House of Representatives and the Colorado Senate. The House has 65 members while the Senate has 35 members.
American Airgunner is the first and only television show about airgun shooting sports. This cable TV show features a wide range of airgunning interests, including hunting, competitive shooting, and plinking. American Airgunner has signed a 52-week 2013 agreement with Pursuit Channel to help anchor its “Friday Night Firepower” line-up of shows with all-new episodes. American Airgunner will air Friday at 8:30 pm (EST), and again Wednesdays at 4:30 pm (EST). (Check local listings for other times.)
“2013 is already a good year for American Airgunner. We have a primetime slot on America’s largest outdoors network” said Justin Biddle, exec. producer of the show. Episodes this year will include airguns for Olympic-style competition, large- and small-game hunting, training, and backyard fun shooting. This year’s shows will also feature industry experts explaining airgun technologies and airgun history.
Airgunner Challenge — Test Your Skills
American Airgunner TV Show is seeking competitors “with strong personalities” for the 2013 Airgunner Challenge. Chosen challengers will vie for a $5000.00 top prize. You don’t need professional training in the shooting sports, just be in good physical shape and confident in your shooting abilities. Apply soon — Deadline is February 22, 2013. CLICK HERE for more information.
Blaser USA Seeking to Fill Executive-Level Role
Want to be the boss of Blaser USA and make decisions on sales, marketing, strategies, and distribution? Well, here’s your chance. Blaser, USA, the national distribution and service facility for Blaser, Sauer, and Mauser products, is looking for a “highly motivated and dedicated individual … to lead its national operations”. An ideal candidate would have background in sales and marketing, either as a President of another operation, or as a VP of Sales and marketing somewhere else.
Candidates should “combine a passion and in-depth knowledge of hunting/competitive shooting with a high level of experience in marketing and general business.” Candidate needs “strong communication skills; interpersonal as well as organization competencies; strong strategic instincts, and … skills to lead a team of dedicated employees[.]” If you are interested, email your resume, including salary expectation and available start date, by email to: jobs@blaser-usa.com.
In order to dispel some rumors and misinformation, Hornady has issued a notice concerning Hornady product availability and production priorities. Hornady has been working hard to fill increased demand, and wants to set the facts straight. Here’s what Hornady has to say…
Hornady Product Availability
The current political climate has caused extremely high demand on all shooting industry products, including ours. Empty retail shelves, long back-orders, and exaggerated price increases on online auction sites – all fueled by rumors and conjecture – have amplified concerns about the availability of ammunition and firearms-related items.
If the information you hear doesn’t originate from Hornady Manufacturing, don’t believe it.
Here are some of rumors we’ve heard, and questions we’ve received:
Q: Have you stopped production, or has the government forced you to stop?
Hornady: Not at all.
Q: Did you stop selling bullets so you could only make loaded ammunition?
Hornady: Absolutely not.
Q: Since we can’t find your product you must be selling it all to the government.
Hornady: Nope, less than 5% of our sales are to government entities.
Q: Why can’t you make more? Ramp up production? Turn on all the machines?
Hornady: We’ve been steadily growing our production for a long time, especially the last five years. We’ve added presses, lathes, CNC equipment, people and space. Many popular items are produced 24 hours a day. Several hundred Hornady employees work overtime every week to produce as much as safely possible. If there is any question about that — please take a tour of the factory. You’ll be amazed at what you see.
Bottom Line — We are producing as much as we can; much more than last year, which was a lot more than the year before, etc. No one wants to ship more during this time than we do.
We appreciate everyone’s understanding and patience. We don’t know when the situation will improve, so please bear with us a little longer. And remember, when it comes to Hornady Manufacturing, if you don’t hear it from us, please don’t believe it.
Report by Bryan Litz
The 2013 Berger Southwest Nationals is in the record books. No matter how you shot, those who traveled from the east were happy to escape the brutal winter weather, at least for a while. But that’s not to say there wasn’t some fine shooting!
Sling Shooting Results
In the sling class, Nancy Tompkins was far in the lead, followed by second place Bryan Litz, and Trudie Fay (who shot a Palma rifle) in third. It’s noteworthy that, after all the smoke had cleared, Bryan, Trudie, and 4th place Angus McLeod were tied in score, with only Xs separating second through fourth place. It was an exciting finish to say the least, especially for Bryan Litz whose poor performance in the Palma course started him in 25th place on Day One. Bryan went on to win both 1000-yard days, dropping only 2 points in 4 matches to climb to 2nd place overall. Trudie, who finished third overall among all sling shooters, also deserves recognition. Shooting a .308 Win Palma rifle with aperture sights the whole match, Trudie beat all but two Any/Any shooters who were allowed to use scopes and run any cartridge type they preferred.
F-Class Results
In the F-Open Class, Shiraz Balolia finished first shooting a .300 WSM. Freddy Haltom was second and Danny Biggs took third place. In the F-TR Division, John Hayhurst topped the field, followed by Lige Harris (second), and James Crofts (third place). CLICK HERE for more info and F-Class Top 10 Lists.
Listen to Shiraz Balolia Talk about his F-Open Victory (Click PLAY to Launch Audio File)
[haiku url=”http://accurateshooter.net/Video/shirazmemo1.mp3″ title=”Shiraz Talks about F-Open”]
Profile of Winning F-TR Team from Michigan
The Michigan F-TR Team had a very successful debut, breaking the National record for the 4-man F-TR Palma team course. However, that same day Team USA Blue coached by Mid Tompkins shot two points higher to set the new official record. The Michigan F-TR team came back on the second day of team matches (4-man 1000 yards) and won by a decisive 15-point margin to win the day and the overall F-TR Team Aggregate. Coached by Bryan Litz, firing members of the Michigan F-TR team included: Al Barnhart (Captain), Doug Boyer, Bill Litz, and Dale Sunderman. Team members Charlie Hayes and Jennifer Litz (adjutant) were also present and contributed to the team’s success. In all it was a very successful and educational first tour for the Michigan team, considering it was only formed this winter and it only practiced together one time before traveling to Phoenix. One interesting technical note is that 3 out of 4 Michigan Team shooters used the new Berger 215gr Hybrid bullet. That’s a very heavy projectile for the .308 Winchester case, but the Michiganders certainly showed the potential of the heavy Hybrid in F-TR competition.
Michigan F-TR team, from left to right: Dale Sunderman, Al Barnhart, William Litz, Jennifer Litz, Doug Boyer, Bryan Litz, Charlie Hayes.
The 2013 Berger Southwest Long Range Nationals (at Ben Avery in AZ) have wrapped up, and some divisional results have arrived. (Stay tuned for more complete results — as they are made available.) Congratulations to Grizzly Industrial President Shiraz Balolia, who won the F-Open Division.
The F-Open competition was very close right down to the end, and the conditions were unforgiving. Shiraz finished with a 1226-55X score, one point ahead of F-Open runner-up Freddy Haltom (1225-60X), who had high X-count among Open-classers. We’re told that Shiraz was using a “shoulder-busting” .300 Win Short Mag in Phoenix. We’ve been promised photos of Balolia’s winning rig as soon as Shiraz gets back from Arizona.
The Top 10 F-Open shooters are listed in the chart above. Note, the 9th and 10th best Aggregate Scores were shot by two “Masters”, who out-shot dozens of “High Masters” to make the Top 10 overall. Steven Blair, who placed 8th Overall in F-Open, told us: “When conditions and competitors are as tough as they were in Phoenix, the winners deserve our accolades. It was no accident or luck that they finished as they did.” Forum member Kelbro agreed: “Except for the practice days, this was a challenging week. Double congrats to the top dogs. They earned it.”
In the F-TR division, John Hayhurst shot well throughout the Nationals to finish first with 1210-25X. Runner-up Lige Harris had 35 Xs, but ended six points down, finishing with 1204-35X. James Crofts, a past F-TR National Champion, finished third with 1203-24X. In F-TR Team Competition, the new Michigan F-TR team coached by Bryan Litz proved to be a powerhouse, securing an impressive team win. Shooters were: Al Barnhart (captain), Doug Boyer, Bill Litz (Bryan’s father), and Dale Sunderman. The second- and third-place teams were both USA F-TR Development squads. USA Team Blue grabbed second place, while USA Team Red took third. We’re told that USA Team blue set a new F-TR Palma record on Saturday. However, Team Michigan came back with a big win in Sunday’s 1000-yard team match, securing the Team Aggregate title.
In F-Open division, we’re told that Team UHaul finished first, with great shooting by Matt Davis, Herb Edwards, David Gosnell, and David Mann. Team Tex-Mex was second, with strong performances by Bryan Chatwell, Freddy Haltom, Ben Milam, and Cory Bizzel. Team Grizzly ended up third despite a cross-fire in one match. Team Grizzly is composed of F-Open winner Shiraz Bilolia, Emil Kovan, John Myers, and Tony Robertson.
Like crosswords? Like guns? Well, thanks to 
This week on 
Hornady Product Availability
The 2013 Berger Southwest Long Range Nationals (at Ben Avery in AZ) have wrapped up, and some divisional results have arrived. (Stay tuned for more complete results — as they are made available.) Congratulations to 
