Moments before this alert was to go out (1/13/12), a federal district court in Washington, D.C. issued a ruling upholding an Obama administration policy that requires federally licensed firearms retailers in states bordering Mexico to report multiple sales of semi-automatic rifles. 

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) is seeking to offer an amendment to the Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations bill now being debated on the Senate floor. Hatch’s amendment would permanently enshrine 10 different appropriations “riders” -- essentially directions from Congress to the administration about how they must spend, or not spend, funds -- into permanent law.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) -- the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry -- is encouraging all hunters, shooters and gun owners to contact their United States Senators and Representatives to urge them to become an original co-sponsor of the Hunting, Fishing and Recreational Shooting Sports Protection Act, legislation that will clarify that Congress has not given the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) authority to regulate ammunition and its components under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

Six young people from Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin have been named to serve as the 2011 Brownells/NRA National Youth Shooting Sports Ambassadors.

Often times you’ll hear sportsmen say “it won’t happen here.”  They’ll say that they know there are real threats to our right to hunt, fish, or trap out there – in other states – but they don’t think that it could ever happen to them where they live.   Nothing can be further from the truth nor more dangerous for our sports. 

The National Shooting Sports Foundation, trade association for the firearms and ammunition industry, calls the 3.6 percent rise in paid hunting license holders for 2009 one of the most encouraging signs for hunting in recent years.

On Thursday, Jan. 27, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives released a Study on the Importability of Certain Shotguns, which proposes that “military shotguns, or shotguns with common military features that are unsuitable for traditional shotgun sports” be prohibited from importation. This would apply to all shotguns—not just semi-automatics.  As in previous “working group” studies on rifles, the study fails to give proper credit to the widespread use of these guns in newer shooting sports, or to their adaptability to hunting.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is moving to require federally licensed firearms retailers to report multiple sales of modern sporting rifles beginning January 5, 2011. Specifically, the ATF requirement calls for firearms retailers to report multiple sales, or other dispositions, of two or more .22 caliber or larger semi-automatic rifles that are capable of accepting a detachable magazine and are purchased by the same individual within five consecutive business days.

Hunting is proving to be recession-proof.  Nationwide, spending on hunting gear is soaring, says the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which tracks hunting trends.

On August 23, 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was petitioned by the Center for Biological Diversity and four other organizations to ban all lead in fishing tackle under the Toxic Substances Control Act. This includes sinkers, jigs, weighted fly line, and components that contain lead such as brass and ballast in a wide variety of lures, including spinners, stick baits and more.  It is important that industry members send comments now! Let your voice be heard!