NSSF

Uncategorized

Trigger Finger Discipline

November 22, 2013 by 1 Comment

The National Shooting Sports Foundation has released another of their training tips videos. This one is with Adam Painchaud of the Sig Sauer Academy. In this video, Adam demonstrates a training technique for working on your trigger finger discipline so that you will press and not jerk the trigger.

He is using a single action pistol but it would work with any pistol that doesn’t have a magazine disconnect. Adam starts by loading a round in the chamber and then removing the magazine. He then takes an aimed shot and then lets the trigger reset. The shooter follows this up with a dry fire aimed shot. If your front sight wobbles on the dry fire shot, you have found your accuracy problem.

Uncategorized

Fat Chance Of This Happening

November 20, 2013 by 2 Comments

According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s Bullet Points for November 18th, a coalition of groups has requested that Attorney General Eric Holder apply the “‘sporting purposes’ exemption to the definition of armor piercing ammunition set forth in the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA).”

The letter accuses ATF of sitting on petitions from ammunition manufacturers for exemptions for ammo made from materials such as brass and copper. While these materials fail the composition test set forth by the Gun Control Act of 1968, the law does provide an exemption for products clearly intended for sporting purposes. Long range target shooting and hunting would both clearly be sporting purposes.

The letter from these groups (seen below) makes a good case for why such ammo should be granted an exemption. That said, I don’t think there is a chance in hell of Eric Holder pushing ATF to act on these petitions. Not only is Holder anti-gun, he tries to portray himself as pro-cop which would cause him to rule out any ammo that could be considered “armor piercing”. It is a sham but it is what it is.

Uncategorized

October NICS Show Slight Decline

November 14, 2013 by 1 Comment

The October 2013 NSSF-adjusted NICS checks are in and they show a slight decline from the same month in 2012. Nonetheless, if you look at the chart of NSSF-adjusted NICS checks for the last 14 years, both 2012 and 2013 are substantially higher than prior years.

From the NSSF:

The October 2013 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,113,818 is a decrease of 0.5 percent compared to the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,118,994 in October 2012. For comparison, the unadjusted October 2013 NICS figure of 1,679,099 reflects a 4.6 percent increase from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,604,743 in October 2012.

The next chart is quite interesting. It shows the last 12 months of year over year data. You can see the spike in December 2012 and January 2013 presumably caused the shooting in Newtown and the attendant rise in the call for more gun control. After that, it follows the more normal curve of trending down towards summer and then starting to show a rise as the hunting season arrives.

 

 As the distance from the tragedy in Newtown has grown, the year over year gains have diminished until in August and October they actually show decreases. I think that we are at a new normal with some months being higher and some months being less.That said, the slight increases and decreases will be at a much higher base than pre-2012.

While the NSSF-adjusted NICS checks are not a perfect correlation for gun sales, they are a good indicator of them. For the firearms industry the great growth spurts may be over and their backlogs decreasing but they are still producing at a level that is significantly higher than in the past.

Uncategorized

Back From Hiatus

October 10, 2013 by 1 Comment

The NSSF-adjusted NICS checks rebounded from their August doldrums to again post a 2.7% gain for this September over previous September.

The September 2013 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,034,701 is an increase of 2.7 percent compared to the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,007,259 in September 2012. For comparison, the unadjusted September 2013 NICS figure of 1,392,423 reflects a 4.0 percent decrease from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,450,737 in September 2012.

 The beginning of the fall hunting season may have provided some of the stimulus for this growth as may the recent clamor for gun control after the recent Navy Yard shootings.

NICS checks are an indicator but not a direct correlation with firearms sales. Many states use the NICS checks for concealed carry background check purposes. Moreover, in many states such as North Carolina, the concealed carry permit itself substitutes for the NICS check.

Uncategorized

About Those ATF e-Forms? Fuhgeddaboudit

October 9, 2013 by 1 Comment

According to a release sent out by the National Shooting Sports Foundation late yesterday afternoon, the BATFE’s e-Forms system will be down for the duration of the “shutdown”. More on that below:

NSSF has learned that the ATF e-Forms system is going offline and will be unavailable due to the ongoing federal shutdown. This service will remain offline during the duration of the shutdown.

As we reported Monday:

  • The FBI’s NICS Section is maintaining normal business hours.

  • The ATF Office of Enforcement Programs and Services (EPS), which includes the imports, firearms technology, NFA branches, the licensing center and firearms industry programs branch now processing marking variances, is effectively shut down, operating with minimal staff.

  • The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) is accepting licenses, but only acting on them in genuine emergency situations.

  • The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is no longer accepting export license applications, classification requests (CCATS), encryption reviews, encryption registrations or advisory opinion requests. Similarly, BIS will not be issuing any final determinations. All pending export license applications, commodity classification requests, encryption reviews, encryption registrations and advisory opinion requests will be held without action by BIS until the shutdown ends.

NSSF will continue to update the industry as additional details on the government shutdown become available

Uncategorized

Bullet Trace

September 20, 2013 by 2 Comments

In the latest training tips video from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, NSSF’s Dave Miles discusses long range shooting with Rod Ryan of Storm Mountain Training. In particular, they discuss trace or the wake of a bullet as it pushes through the air. If you watch the video below carefully, you can see the actual trace or path of the bullet. Having a spotter watch the trace will allow you to make the necessary corrections for long range shooting.

Uncategorized

That Reminds Me

September 20, 2013 by

I haven’t bought my NC Sportsmans License yet this year. Even if I don’t get out hunting I do try to buy one to help support the NC Wildlife Resources Commission. In North Carolina, the Sportsmans License cover you for everything from fishing to big game hunting. The only thing it doesn’t cover is the Federal Duck Stamp and fishing in coastal waters.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation just published a new infographic that presents the economic impact of hunters and hunting. The estimated impact of hunting in America is greater than the revenue generated by Google – $38.3 billion versus $37.9 billion.

Uncategorized

The Streak Had To Be Broken Sometime

September 3, 2013 by 6 Comments

After 38 straight months of increases in the NSSF-adjusted NICS checks when compared to the same month a year previously, the streak has ended. The NSSF-adjusted NICS checks for the month of August 2013 were 2.5% lower than August 2012.

The August 2013 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,016,559 is a decrease of 2.5 percent compared to the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,042,924 in August 2012. For comparison, the unadjusted August 2013 NICS figure of 1,408,468 reflects a 7.0 percent decrease from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,514,696 in August 2012.

This NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,016,559, while being a 2.5 percent decrease from the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,042,924 in August 2012, is an increase of 24.6 percent over checks in August 2011.

The streak of increases began in May 2010.

It should be noted that NICS checks are not a perfect correlation with firearm sales. This is because a number of states such as Connecticut and Utah use the NICS database to perform background checks on applicants for concealed carry permits as well as existing holders.

As to the streak being broken, we saw signs of the slowing last month. While ammo is still in relatively short supply, you can find a full gun case including AR-15s at most Walmarts.

Uncategorized

Good Advice From Doug Koenig On New Shooters

August 28, 2013 by 1 Comment

The National Shooting Sports Foundation released another of their training videos featuring Doug Koenig. Unlike the others which dealt with improving your shooting, this one was dedicated to the proper ways to introduce new shooters to the sport. The video features both Doug and his son Trevor.

Doug suggests starting out with air rifles for absolute new comers and with rimfire for those slightly more experienced. Above all else, you don’t want to overwhelm the new shooter with a “hand cannon”. He makes good points about the use of reactive targets as a way to keep things interesting.

Uncategorized

It’s Small But Still An Increase

August 6, 2013 by

The National Shooting Sports Foundation reported their adjusted NICS checks for the month of July 2013. It marks the 38th straight month in which the NSSF-adjusted NICS checks increased when compared to the same month a year previously.

The July 2013 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 855,259 is an increase of 0.2 percent over the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 853,355 in July 2012. For comparison, the unadjusted July 2013 NICS figure of 1,271,571 reflects a 1.4 percent decrease from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,289,585 in July 2012.

The increase was only 0.2%. While still an increase, I think it may mark the end of the massive rush to purchase guns and ammo that started when President Barack Obama started proposing gun control measures in the wake of the Newtown shootings. That said, even if the August numbers come in lower than the previous period in 2012, we are seeing a new normal. Gun sales may have hit a plateau but it is a much higher plateau.

Of course, it is important to note that the adjusted NICS checks are not perfectly correlated with gun sales. The NICS background checks are used by many states for background checks on new and existing concealed carry permit holders.