Field and Stream - Speak Your Mind RSS

Announcing the 2011 Gun Nut Target Photo Contest

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:22:42 -0400

Enter the 2011 Gun Nut Target Photo Contest for a chance to win a S&W rifle.

The Gun Nuts On Television

Online Editors — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:55:05 -0400

That’s me -- I’m the one on the left -- on the set of “The Gun Nuts” the other day. We had just filmed a highly scientific test on the shot-resistant properties of shooting glasses. What happens when 8 shot launched at 1200 fps meets polycarbonate lenses protecting googly craft eyes on cantaloupes representing human heads? Tune in to The Gun Nuts to find out.

Starting today, every Wednesday at 9:30 PM (EST) Dave and I will do our best to bring this blog to life onscreen on the Outdoor Channel. We will blast melons, torture red dots, debunk myths and even break out Dave’s famous Ballistic Buffalo. We’ll talk about guns both classic and new, give shooting advice, and speak our minds about gunny subjects. We may give some stuff away, too.

How to Shoot a Magazine for Fun and (Maybe) Profit

Online Editors — Thu, 27 May 2010 13:20:41 -0400

Chad Love: Toy Guns Don’t Make Kids Killers

Joe_Cermele — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:43:43 -0400

It's always refreshing to see a person reject "liberal" versus "conservative" politics in favor of non-partisan rationality, and a good example of this can be found in this essay on the "liberal"-leaning news site Salon.

From the story:

I was a violent kid. More than anything, I loved to play war. In my basement, I built a sandbag foxhole out of stacked-up sofa pillows. I would hide inside and peer out at what I imagined were the smoking slopes of Iwo Jima, crawling with Japanese soldiers ready to fight to the death.

Bourjaily: The Naked Truth About Concealed Carry

Online Editors — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:11:42 -0400

Chad Love: Locked & Loaded in Parkland

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:28:51 -0400

There's already been a boatload of bloviation expressed on the recent reversal of the ban on loaded firearms in our national parks, some of it sensible but most of it (predictably) bordering on hysterics.

This column from the Huffington Post is a perfect example:

"In fact, the new rule is likely to make national park visitors less safe around wildlife. Packing heat could give some people a false sense of security and make them more likely to approach bison, elk, moose, and grizzly bears, rather than keep a safe distance which is better for both people and animals."

But the most certain outcome of this congressional action is that it will promote poaching. The National Park Service warned in its fiscal 2006 budget submission each year for the past several years ... The data suggests that there is a significant domestic as well as international trade for illegally taken plant and animal parts." Poaching, the agency said, "is suspected to be a factor in the decline of at least 29 species of wildlife and could cause the extirpation of 19 species from the parks."

Discussion Topic: On Obama And Gun Control

Joe_Cermele — Tue, 19 May 2009 11:27:26 -0400

From Politics Daily:

This should be a time of great hope for supporters of stricter gun control laws. They've got a new president on their side, a Congress dominated by Democrats, even a terrible string of shootings this spring that should lend urgency to their cause.

A Man's Grill

Joe_Cermele — Fri, 15 May 2009 13:00:00 -0400

Discussion Topic: Senate Okays Guns In Parks

Joe_Cermele — Thu, 14 May 2009 09:05:58 -0400

Strange things are happening in Washington—and not just the usual strange things. Democrats are voting pro-gun. Or at least they did on Tuesday, when the Senate overwhelmingly approved a measure (attached to credit-card-reform legislation) that would allow permit holders to carry loaded guns in national parks and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service public lands.

Second-Amendment Restoration Act Re-Introduced

Joe_Cermele — Mon, 04 May 2009 09:21:54 -0400

From the office of U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak:

U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) has introduced legislation to restore the gun rights of individuals convicted of minor, non-violent crimes. . . .

Discussion Topic: Field & Stream Wins ASME’s Highest Honor

Joe_Cermele — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:32:04 -0400

F&S is the best magazine of its size on the planet. Okay, I’m a little biased on that point--but it’s not just me who thinks so. Last night, the country’s top magazine editors representing the country’s top magazines met at New York City’s Lincoln Center for the 44th Annual National Magazine Awards. Known as Ellies, these are basically the Oscars of the magazine industry, and “General Excellence” is “Best Picture.”

Petzal: The Four Toughest Men of the Old West

Joe_Cermele — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:54:22 -0400

In compiling this list, I’ve given myself more latitude then usual—from the post- Lewis and Clark era into the early days of the 20th century. I would not want to neglect one of these men and have his shade come after me in the next life.

Idaho House Votes To Allow Guns In Cars

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 10:47:58 -0400

From the Idaho Statesman:

Idaho residents love their cars and they love their guns. State representatives say the two shouldn't be separated, even when gun owners are on the job.

The House voted 50-19 Monday to tell companies to let employees leave their guns in their cars parked in company lots.

Discussion Topic: On Obama And Ammunition

Joe_Cermele — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:09:50 -0400

From NPR:

An ammunition shortage in the U.S. is affecting police and sheriffs' departments all over the country, as well as gun dealers, from big retailers like Wal-Mart to smaller family-run businesses and online operations.

Ammunition suppliers say the shortage. . . coincided with the election of President Obama . . . .

Discussion Topic: On Children, Parents, And Guns

Joe_Cermele — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 09:51:21 -0400

From ABC News:

Daniel Gross, the CEO and co-founder of PAX, the nation’s largest nonpartisan gun violence prevention organization, said that 40 percent of homes with children have a gun.

Bipartisan Senate Bill Aims To Get Guns In Parks

Joe_Cermele — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 08:59:26 -0400

From OpposingViews.com:

Today, U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID), Max Baucus (D-MT), Bob Bennett (R-UT), Jon Tester (D-MT) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) introduced legislation to restore the Second Amendment rights of visitors in national parks and wildlife refuges. . . .

Petzal: The Adventures of Plaxico in Bloombergland

Joe_Cermele — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:28:34 -0400

In the 19th century, when China was still ruled by emperors, a British trader asked a mandarin if it did not bother him that there were two standards of justice, one for the poor and another for the wealthy and well connected.

“Of course not,” said the mandarin, “it gives poor people all the more incentive to work hard and become rich.”

Bourjaily: Thoughts on Lead Bans

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:39:33 -0400

We never saw bald eagles when I was kid, but they’re a common sight along the Iowa River now that they no longer feed on DDT-laced fish and lead-poisoned waterfowl. While a lot of hunters will disagree with me, I really believe lead bans are not secret back-door attacks on guns and hunting but are acts of genuine, well-intentioned concern for the environment.

Discussion Topic: Judge Blocks Guns-In-Parks Rule

Joe_Cermele — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:15:31 -0400

From the Washington Post:

A federal judge yesterday blocked a last-minute rule enacted by President George W. Bush allowing visitors to national parks to carry concealed weapons. . . .

Discussion Topic: Tennessee May End Access To Gun-Permit Records

Joe_Cermele — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 09:00:51 -0400

From an AP story posted on knoxnews.com:

Tennessee's database of state-issued permits to carry loaded handguns would be closed from public inspection under a proposal headed for a full House vote.

The House Judiciary Committee voted 6-4 to advance the measure sponsored by Rep. Eddie Bass, a Prospect Democrat and a retired sheriff.

Bourjaily: Nancy Pelosi and the AWB

Joe_Cermele — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:23:18 -0400

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, not normally considered a friend to gun owners, may have killed the proposed Assault Weapon Ban renewal with one shot. Here's the full story from MSNBC.

Chad Love: Hunter Safety (and Politics) Course

Joe_Cermele — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:36:52 -0400

Who among us younger hunters doesn't look back on the completion of our hunter safety course as a major childhood or adolescent milestone on the path to becoming a hunter? Passing your hunter safety course and getting that card was a gateway into the adult world. It meant you possessed the knowledge, ethics and the responsibility that is required of a hunter.

What you weren't required to have was a particular political or religous philosophy. Unless, of course, this guy was your instructor.

Discussion Topic: On Nerf Guns In Schools

Joe_Cermele — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:19:20 -0400

From South Carolina’s The Beaufort Gazette:

A science teacher at Battery Creek High School resigned Friday, about two weeks after he was placed on paid leave for shooting a foam dart from a plastic Nerf gun at a student. . . .

On Feb. 23, Baker fired a foam dart at a 14-year-old girl in a "joking manner," according to a Beaufort County Sheriff's Office report.

Discussion Topic: Student Talks Guns, Prof Call Cops

Joe_Cermele — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 10:08:02 -0500

From The Recorder:

For CCSU student John Wahlberg, a class presentation on campus violence turned into a confrontation with the campus police due to a complaint by the professor.

Discussion Topic: Obama Administration Looks To Reinstate Assault-Weapons Ban

Joe_Cermele — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 09:43:44 -0500

From ABC News:

The Obama administration will seek to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 during the Bush administration, Attorney General Eric Holder said today.

“As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons,” Holder told reporters.