NEWS
Next week is the 2009 Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade
Show (SHOT) in Orlando, Florida. All materials you would like released
for Thursday, January 9 (the opening day of SHOT) should be submitted
to us electronically in advance - no later than Wednesday, January 8.
Please send your materials as soon as possible with the notation
EMBARGOED MATERIAL/SHOT SHOW in the Subject line. If you are including
graphics, please send low-resolution images, ideally less than 15K in
JPG or GIF formats .
A few interview positions remain for the initial videos of the
Outdoor Wire Digital Network. The new video service will premiere
during SHOT with The Shepherd Report, twice-daily interviews and
insights into new products and services being introduced at SHOT.
Interested companies should contact Paul Erhardt at info@thedealerwire.com as soon
as possible.
Finally, 2009 Corporate Memberships are due. If you have not
submitted your Corporate Membership payment or received your Corporate
Membership invoice for 2009, please contact jim@theoutdoorwire.com
immediately. Release material from unpaid companies will be used as
BRIEFS rather than full-releases.
AWC Systems Technology introduces their redesigned Agenda Six
suppressor. A lighter, smaller diameter suppressor, the Agenda Six
reduces muzzle blast and flash signature more effectively than
previous models.
Brownells new 1911 Catalog (number four) offers everything
the gunsmith, serious hobbyist, and shooter needs to personalize,
build and repair a 1911 as well as "dream guns" built by Wilson
Combat, Cylinder & Slide, Ed Brown, Heinie Specialty, Nighthawk
Specialty and Brownells in-house experts. The catalog is available at
no cost to consumers.
Olympic Trap Shooter and member of the USA Shooting Team,
Corey Cogdell has joined the SHE Pro Hunting and Shooting Team as a
national spokesperson for SHE Outdoor Apparel.
Extreme Shock Ammunition, known for producing the world's
most advanced ammunition, announces the creation of a new kind of
porcelain barrel coating. The new X-Coat "C" is a dry lubricant that
represents the latest in 21st century technology.
At this year's SHOT Show, Wilson Combat will be hosting a
meeting room for dealers to hold one-on-one meetings to learn about
new products, customer service and increased profit opportunities.
The National Scholastic Sportsman Program (NSSP), a
conservation and education organization for middle and high school
students who are enthusiastic about the outdoors, will become one of
NRA's Cooperative Youth Organizations.
The new Winchester® Supreme Elite® Dual Bond™
redefines bullet technology and innovation in 2009 with a
groundbreaking technology for big bore handgun hunting, as well as
the shotgun slug product lines.
Beginning January 7, 2009, Arizona archers will have the
opportunity to compete in an eight-week long winter archery league at
the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix, Arizona.
2008 Women's bronze medalist in Women's Trap Corey Cogdell
has joined the Cabela's family as a member of its esteemed Ambassador
Program.
Sierra created an entirely new bullet to fill the long range
demands of the Palma and other long range shooters, the 30 caliber 155
grain HPBT Palma. The new #2156 Palma bullet has a longer, more
streamlined 9 caliber ogive, slightly longer OAL and a pointed meplat,
which is a first for Sierra Bullets.
Consumer demand for Winchester® Ammunition's E-Tip®
lead-free bullet is growing among big-game hunters in states that have
lead-free regulations. To continue meeting all of the demands of
hunters across North America, Winchester Ammunition is expanding its
E-Tip line by producing lead-free ammunition in .270 Winchester, .300
Win. Mag and 7mm.
U.S. Practical Shooting Association (USPSA), the governing
body of Practical Shooting in the U.S., has announced a wide range of
sponsorship opportunities for the 2009 USPSA National Handgun
Championships and the 2009 National MutliGun Championships.
FEATURE
New Tactics NeededIn fifteen days, the
firearms industry will find itself squarely in the gunsight of a new
administration dedicated to the regulation of virtually everything
related to guns, from so-called assault weapons to the elements used
in ammunition. Regulation, incidentally, will be defined as "the
regulation of everything, and the potential removal of anything we say
you don't need."
The leaders of that assault, unfortunately, won't give a tinker's
damn about the Second Amendment. Their long-term plans will address
that piece of "outdated thinking". But a new political expediency will
move firearms - more specifically their nebulous assault weapons
-front and center.
The left continues to whine about being used and then cast aside by
the new administration. Amazingly, the inclusion of pastor Rick Warren
in the Obama inauguration ceremonies is being cited as irrefutable
proof of the position.
Even more astounding, the complaints are getting serious traction in
the politics and appearances above all segment of the incoming
administration.
So, Democratic insiders are telling us the firearms industry will be
used as an object lesson to both sides of the aisle.
To the left, it's the always-popular smackdown of a group of
right-wing loonies (that's you and me, by the way) who want gunfights
on the streets of our hometowns.
To the right, it will represent a little payback for the rhetoric
that was taken very personally by the incoming administration. In
other words, a little taste of the whip should keep both sides nicely
in line.
In other words, last year's unquestioned gun salesman of the year
-Barack Hussein Obama - will turn his attention toward a group that
has been unrelenting in opposing him throughout his political career.
When that happens, a billion-dollar industry will take another body
blow.
Despite the new administration's insistence that jobs and the economy
will be the top priority beginning January 20, insiders say payback to
the NRA and other pro-Second Amendment groups is high on the agenda.
Democratic advisors say the Republican party is "disorganized,
disheartened, and dissolving" and it's a good time for the incoming
administration to take them on in a core issue - the assault weapons
ban is one of three topics they're evaluating.
If the AWB is chosen, everyone expects a pitched battle with no
quarter given.
If the attempt to pass this drastically-expanded AWB succeeds, the
administration will have proven itself virtually unbeatable in matters
of policy. They will also further fracture the Republican party and
simultaneously serve notice on any pro-gun Democrats that they'd
better get with the new program, too.
Last week, I spent a significant amount of time on the phone speaking
with industry leaders about the word on the grapevine from Washington.
There were mixed responses. One leader said his political advisors
were hearing exactly the opposite- that the AWB was being pushed back
to the "second Obama administration". Another said his advisors were
getting both reports, but considered an assault on firearms
"inevitable" whether now, 2010 or later.
In other words, industry leaders see the fight in terms of "when" and
not "if".
At a time when the nation is suffering from economic problems, it may
be time to consider a new countering-strategy. In the past, we've won
key political and legislative fights based on the Constitution.
This time, I think it may be time to take a page from the James
Carville playbook and remind everyone "It's the economy, stupid".
If this new administration goes after firearms, a billion-dollar
industry that has never asked for a dime of bailouts and annually
contributes hundreds of millions of dollars to conservation and
environmental work via taxes will be hammered. That will most
certainly result in lost jobs and tax revenues. Entire communities
will be negatively impacted.
The Obama administration has said its number one priority will be the
economy. I hope they keep that promise - and genuinely hope they are
wildly successful at creating a renewed vibrancy. I also believe the
firearms industry should be prepared on a moment's notice to clearly
demonstrate to local and regional media that banning guns is
tantamount to eliminating jobs in their areas.
Yesterday afternoon, I was a guest on Tom Gresham's Gun Talk radio
and expressed my concerns about the incoming administration's
expressed intent to pass a permanent assault weapons ban and go after
firearms in general. When I did, a caller took me to task for what he
characterized as an unrealistic viewpoint. After all, he said, Obama
said during the election he supported the Second Amendment.
Personally, I'm more inclined to judge someone based on the things
they have consistently done versus the positions they've taken during
political campaigns.
From that perspective, I believe that fifteen days from today, Barack
Hussein Obama, the man I jokingly refer to as the unwitting gun
salesman of the decade, will place his hand on a Bible last used to
administer the oath of office to Abraham Lincoln. He will raise his
right hand and swear to uphold the laws of this nation - and its
Constitution.
At that time, I also believe his administration will almost
immediately seek to begin to dismantle or disregard any laws with
which they disagree and embark on the total disenfranchisement of
anyone who disagrees with their political positions.
That would include firearms owners and the firearms industry.
I'd love to be wrong.
--Jim Shepherd
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