By Philip Bourjaily

We want you to take the July issue of Field & Stream out and shoot it. Well, not the whole magazine, but the target on page 49. It’s part of the special Gun Nut issue, in which DEP and I put this blog on the pages of the Field & Stream. In the section you’ll find shooting advice, lots of guns, Gun Nut rules to live by and such vital minutiae as my five favorite gun scenes in the movies and Dave’s nominations for the Three Meanest Gunwriters Ever. The issue hits newsstands on June 22nd.

Back to the target. We want you to shoot it. Really. With any gun, at any range. One shot or many – doesn’t matter – then shoot it again, this time with a camera. You can be in the picture, too. Whoever takes the photo our editors like best wins a Smith & Wesson M&P MOE in 5.56mm. And by “wins” I mean, we give it to you (via a registered FFL dealer) and you get to keep it. You can enter the contest here once your issue arrives.

I have shot... [ Read Full Post ]

By Chad Love

From this story in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
Everyone knows, or should know, that leaving trash behind when you go on an outing is a surefire way to lose access to private grounds and even mar public ones. But a new campaign has been launched to reinforce that point, and make sure shooters in particular minimize their impacts on the environment. The nonprofit group Tread Lightly! has released a series of nine tips designed to help shooters leave a smaller footprint. The campaign is called "Respected Access is Open Access." Cooperating in promoting it are the National Wild Turkey Federation, National Shooting Sports Foundation, Safari Club International, Boone & Crockett Club, U.S. Forest Service and others. "The message of the campaign is simple: responsible behavior leads to continued access," said Lori McCullough, executive director of Tread Lightly! "Outdoor opportunities in America are dwindling at a rate so serious it demands our immediate action. Damage caused by a few uninformed or uncaring recreationists is contributing to the loss of access for everyone. This campaign will help change that." [ Read Full Post ]

By Chad Love

Is there a "terror gap" in US gun laws? New York City Mayot Michael Bloomberg thinks so...
 
From this story in the Washington Post:
New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg told a Senate panel Wednesday that he strongly supports congressional efforts to close a "terror gap" in the nation's gun laws, which currently allow persons on a federal terrorist watch list to buy guns and explosives legally in the United States. Testifying before the Senate Homeland Security Committee in the wake of the latest alleged terrorist plot against his city, Bloomberg (I) pointed to a new Government Accountability Office report showing that individuals on the terrorist watch list were able to buy firearms and explosives from licensed U.S. dealers 1,119 times over the past six years. "That is a serious and dangerous breach of national security," Bloomberg testified. The FBI should have the authority to block such sales, "but right now, they don't," he said. "It is time to close this 'terror gap' in our gun laws." [ Read Full Post ]

By Philip Bourjaily

Thanks to editorial assistant Kristyn Brady, who sent me a link to this short movie of Annie Oakley and a copy of her letter to President McKinley volunteering her services in the Spanish American War.

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By David E. Petzal

It is a fact that your occupation can affect your mental processes. If you are a school administrator, for example, you lose any shards of common sense you might have brought to the job. Thus, in February, a 12-year-old New York City girl was led away from school in handcuffs after doodling on her desk in Magic Marker, and ended up in a police station.

Or, if you work for the TSA, you exist in an alternate universe. The all-time illustration of this came in 2002 when a collection of blue-shirted imbeciles in Phoneix Skyport detained Joe Foss because they thought the Medal of Honor in his pocket was a shuriken. Or, as a close second, there is the example of the disabled boy who was forbidden to walk through the metal detector in Philadelphia Airport unless he removed his leg braces. When his father, a Camden, NJ police officer, explained that his son could not walk without the braces, it made no difference. National security was at stake.

And now, we have our friends in the U.S. Customs and their pals in the ATF, who have impounded 30 M4-replica Airsoft rifles, claiming that they can be converted to real M4s. This story... [ Read Full Post ]

By Dave Hurteau

From a US Fish and Wildlife Service press release:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced that effective February 22, 2010, the rules governing possession of firearms on National Wildlife Refuges will change as a result of legislation enacted by Congress. After this date, the law allows an individual to lawfully possess a firearm within the boundaries of a National Wildlife Refuge in accordance with federal and state firearms laws. . . .

The new law applies to all 551 units of the National Wildlife Refuge System, as well as the National Monuments and the 392 units of the National Park System.

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