NSSF Bullet Points Articles

Gun Sales Up, Crime Down

As firearm sales continue to rise, the Department of Justice (DOJ) says the nation's crime rate in 2004 remained at the lowest level in more than 30 years, reports the Associated Press. Since 1993, violent crime has fallen by 57 percent and property crime by 50 percent. Included is a 9 percent drop in violent crime between 2001-02 and 2003-04. The DOJ's report also revealed that in 2004 less than 25 percent of all violent crimes were committed with a gun, knife or other instrument.

Don't Lie For The Other Guy

The joint program of NSSF, ATF and Project Safe Neighborhoods designed to reduce illegal straw purchases of firearms will resume with a press conference Wednesday in Birmingham headed by Alice Martin, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama. In addition to educating firearms retailers on how to detect and deter straw purchases, the Don’t Lie for the Other Guy program drives home the message to the public that anyone attempting an illegal purchase faces a stiff federal penalty.

New Web Sites Showcase Shooting

If shooting has an "extreme" sport, practical shooting is it. Shooters move, negotiate obstacles, run, speed-reload, and drive their guns through short courses (called stages) as fast as their skills will allow. Competitors shoot outdoors, in all weather, competing against the clock to create the highest points-per-second score possible on each stage.

Concealed Carry

Wisconsin residents could have a new concealed-carry law under a bill the state Senate approved Tuesday that would end the state's 133-year-old ban on concealed weapons. The bill is next expected to pass the state Assembly, but Gov. Jim Doyle has promised a veto. Wisconsin is one of only four states that don't allow concealed weapons.

NJ Bear Hunt Ends

About 280 bears were killed in New Jersey’s controversial six-day hunt, which ended Saturday with more than 100 protesters waiting for hunters to emerge from the woods. Ten protesters were arrested for disorderly conduct. In a 2003 hunt, 328 bears were taken to thin out the burgeoning population but conflicts between bears and people persisted. If problems continue, management plans call for another hunt in 2006 or 2007

New ATF Regulations Guide

The new “Federal Firearms Regulations Reference Guide” has been published by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and is posted to the ATF Web site. ATF has advised NSSF that no date has been set for distribution of the hard copy to Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs). It should also be noted that the guide’s cover will be white, a change from the “green book,” as it is commonly referred to. The guide is also available for download through the National Association of Firearms Retailers Web site.

Two Days At The Grand

NSSF’s Scholastic Clay Target Program will hold its national trapshooting championships next year on the first two days of the Grand American World Trapshooting Championships in Sparta, Ill. SCTP competitors will shoot events one and four of the Grand on Aug. 8 and 9. Aug. 7 will serve as a practice day for teams. In 2005, more than 1,560 SCTP youths competed at the Grand, shooting 312,800 registered targets and accounting for nearly 25 percent of total participation at the event

Criminals 'Laughing' At Martin's Plan

During a campaign stop in Toronto, Canada’s Prime Minister Paul Martin announced Thursday that his party would ban handguns outright. The Liberal Party leader says his plan would be used to curb violence in cities, but critics say the only thing it will accomplish is stripping law-abiding citizens of their rights at the expense of taxpayers.

Penn Issues CWD Measures

The Pennsylvania Game Commission has issued an order banning the importation of specific carcass parts from states and Canadian provinces where Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been identified in free-ranging deer, elk and other cervids. Hunters traveling to these areas will need to abide by the new restrictions.

Hunter Appreciation 101

Confronting the fact that many wildlife management students these days are not hunters, a Pennsylvania State University professor is seeing to it that students are educated on the major role hunters play in wildlife management. Gary San Julian has established a program at Penn State and the University of Wisconsin that teaches future wildlife managers a comprehensive classroom and in-the-field introduction to hunting.