| NSSF Online News Service
OUR CONDOLENCES . . . The National Shooting Sports Foundation, on behalf of its members, expresses heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of those involved in the tragic events at Virginia Tech University today. We join with President Bush and the nation in offering our prayers to the victims.
KANSAS’ FAMILIES AFIELD BILL AWAITS GOVERNOR’S SIGNATURE . . . Senate Bill 192, now on Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’s desk, will allow the state fish and game agency to establish an apprentice hunting license, permitting people aged 16 and older who have not yet passed their hunter education requirement to hunt for one year in the accompaniment of a licensed adult who has satisfied his or her hunter education requirement. This adult apprentice license will open the door to interested would-be hunters, just as the apprentice youth hunting program has done. Families Afield is a partnership program of NSSF, the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance and the National Wild Turkey Federation. Read the news release.
NSSF DONATION SUPPORTS GAME PRESERVE RANGE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS . . . Offering its support for the nation's only community college-based shooting-complex management and game-preserve management programs, NSSF has donated $8,000 to Southeastern Illinois College. The Foundation's donation will provide $6,000 in scholarships and $2,000 in program development and support. SIC's game preserve management and shooting complex management programs ready students for careers in the shooting and hunting preserve industry. In addition to extensive in-class training, the programs offer one-year internships at various facilities throughout the country.
RANGE SURVIVAL SEMINAR COMING TO PENNSYLVANIA . . . Survival on the range in the frontier days required a whole different kind of advice than the critical information to be dispensed to range managers and shooting grounds owners at “The Range Survival Seminar” on Saturday, April 28, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m, at the Atglen Sportsmen’s Club on Creek Road in Parkersburg, Pa. Information on range management, community relations, risk assessment, lead migration, range insurance and more can breathe new life into a shooting facility. Call 717-232-3480 or e-mail info@pfsc.org to learn more about and register for the program presented by the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, Inc., in cooperation with the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
HUNTING HERITAGE PARTNERSHIP GRANT DEADLINE . . . State Agencies interested in seeking funding for new and innovative approaches that target the recruitment and retention of hunters or increase hunter access are encouraged to apply for assistance through the NSSF’s Hunting Heritage Partnership program, which offers a total of $500,000. To date the program has invested more than 1.7 million dollars in 33 partner states. “Over the past four years we have funded creative and far-sighted efforts that aim to resolve the real barriers that today’s hunter faces,” said Doug Painter, president of NSSF. “The resulting benefits provided by this program are increases in lands open to hunting and a noticeable expansion of hunting participation within our partnering states.” Grant submissions must be received no later than 5 pm on April 30.
WINCHESTER PLEDGES $500,000 FOR NRA ENDOWMENT . . . Winchester Ammunition has made a groundbreaking $500,000 pledge to permanently endow NRA's Marksmanship Qualification Program. The gift allows Winchester to become the exclusive, permanent sponsor of the program, which will now be formally known as the Winchester/NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program.
NEW POSITION FOR OLYMPIC RIFLE CHAMPION . . . Launi Meili is a seven-time national champion in three-position rifle, and now she has added another title to go with a new position. The American Olympic gold medalist at the Barcelona games in 1992 has been named head rifle coach at the Air Force Academy. Meili comes to the academy from the University of Nebraska, where she led the Cornhuskers to a No. 2 national ranking this season and earned “coach of the year” honors in 2006.
NRA LOOKS TO INDUSTRY . . . With the 2008 election on the horizon, accompanied by new threats to the Second Amendment and the firearms industry, the NRA wants to make sure that it enters the battles for Congress, the courts and political campaigns with the most support ever. At a meeting attended by 150 key firearms and outdoor industry representatives at the NRA Convention in St. Louis last Friday, an industry committee pledged to help build NRA membership through manufacturer, distributor and retailer outreach efforts. Details of the multi-faceted plan will be unveiled later in the year. Members of the industry committee are Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Savage Arms, Taurus, Big Rock Sports, RSR Group, Davidson's, AcuSport, Gander Mountain and Turner's Outdoorsman.
BOLTON WARNS OF ENEMIES "WITHOUT" . . . At the NRA’s 136th Member’s Banquet on Saturday night, the guest speaker, former UN Ambassador John Bolton, warned that anti-gun forces in the U.S. were supporting international pressures to take guns away from U.S. citizens. A good summary of Bolton's speech appears in today's The Shooting Wire. His comments echo the concerns of industry officials and underline the importance of the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI) in the international body with its Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) status. Total attendance for the April 13-15 NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits, still not officially finalized, has already been acknowledged to have set, by a wide margin, a new record for any convention ever held in the St. Louis and may exceed the NRA’s all-time record of 62,000 set in Pittsburgh in 2004.
NRA-ILA SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISER . . . Drawing support from a broad base of corporate supporters, individual NRA members and leaders in the firearms industry, the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) added much needed financial horsepower to its efforts to defend America’s firearm freedoms at a fundraiser last Friday at Anheuser-Busch's Grant's Farm. “The support we received was tremendous. Big-ticket items from Beretta, Browning, Ruger, Smith & Wesson and countless others, including outfitters and custom gunmakers, contributed greatly to our success,” said Mike Benecke, event organizer. “When you combine that with outstanding support from Budweiser, corporate America and individual donors like Guy Coheleach, who contributed a set of original artwork that sold for $35,000, you can’t help but be successful.” Preliminary estimates suggest the proceeds may well eclipse $400,000 as a result of spirited bidding in the silent and live auctions coupled with a sold-out crowd of 500 attendees. “The NSSF applauds NRA-ILA’s outstanding success at this event,” said Doug Painter, president of the NSSF. “We were proud to stand united with the members of the firearms industry in support of their important efforts.”
CONGRESSIONAL SPORTSMAN'S SHOOT-OUT . . . The annual Congressional Shoot-out and Industry Challenge sponsored by the Congressional Sportsman's Foundation are scheduled for May 21 and 22, respectively, at the Prince George County Shooting Center in Glenn Dale, Md. It's a great place to meet members of Congress who belong to the Congressional Sportsman's Caucus and their key staff members. It's also an opportunity to get up to date on legislation concerning our firearms freedoms and the firearms industry, and sharpen your clay target shooting skills at the same time. Find out more at the event's Web site.
NEW CEO AND PRESIDENT AT GRIFFIN & HOWE . . . Guy Bignell has been appointed CEO and president of Griffin & Howe, Inc., the venerable retailer of fine firearms. Bignell, who has been associated with Griffin & Howe since 1993, will be only the fifth president of the company since its founding in 1923. He replaces Joseph E. Prather, who has retired as president and has accepted the position of chairman emeritus.
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