Bullet Points

[NSSF]

Vol. 4 No. 49 December 22, 2003


RETAILERS & RANGES CAN BUILD TRAFFIC WITH NSSF TV ADS

Another pair of fast-paced and exciting NSSF commercials depicting the thrill of sport shooting are being edited to air on a television station near you. The Original Outdoor Challenge campaign of TV spots, broadcast nationally and featuring champion shooter Doug Koenig in rifle hunting and action pistol scenarios, has been test marketed and proven to produce notable increases in retail traffic at gun stores. This second pair of commercials, available free to NSSF member retailers and ranges, features Doug shooting upland game and sporting clays. Check your mailbox in coming weeks for a kit explaining how these ads can be working to improve sales at your store. For a preview of this exciting campaign, make it a point to stop at the Retailer Services Pavilion at booth #7307 at the SHOT Show for details on making this dynamic advertising campaign work for you to attract new customers and increase sales.

With a soundman and microphone in the foreground, champion shooter Doug Koenig tracks a flushed pheasant rising into the sky during production of NSSF's latest Original Outdoor Challenge commercials.

ANOTHER LAWSUIT DROPS . . . As Newark did just last month, Jersey City has voluntarily dropped its lawsuit against the firearms industry, with city attorneys complaining about the work required to meet deadlines for production of evidence that gun companies did anything wrong. Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham and City Corporation Counsel Karen DeSoto, however, said they believe the city has a case, vowing the suit will be filed again sometime later.
STATE SETS WHITETAIL HARVEST RECORD . . . Underscoring increased opportunities for deer hunting, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials determined that hunters killed a preliminary record of 253,300 white-tailed deer during the firearms hunting season Nov. 8 through 30, a 25 percent increase from last year and easily exceeding the previous record of 229,000, set in 1992. Ed Boggess, assistant chief of the Department of Natural Resources' wildlife section, tells The Pioneer Press the high deer kill is good news for the DNR, which wanted to put a dent in a record herd of 1.12 million that was outgrowing population models. This year the DNR doled out most of its gun licenses over retailers' counters rather than through a lottery system, and combined with good weather through the season and an increase of 2.7 percent in the number of hunters, more than 100,000 extra tags were sold over last year.
PACK COMFORTABLE SHOES . . . With a couple of months to go before the SHOT Show opens its doors in Las Vegas February 12-15, the amount of square footage purchased for the Show has already surpassed the previous record,511,000 square feet in Orlando. Exhibitors have 514,000 square feet to display their wares, approaching the sold-out limit of 517,000 the convention facility can offer. That figure does not include space set aside for the Retailer Pavilion and other added features of the show.
MAP OF THE SHOW . . . In the January issue of SHOT Business, you'll not only get a pullout map with a floor plan for the SHOT Show in Las Vegas, but a sneak peek at some of the newest products that will be on display at the premier shooting, hunting and outdoors sports trade show. Retailers will also get tips on transforming the conversationalist staffing your gun display into someone who can actually close sales. Plus, there's a feature about checking the references of prospective employees and what to do when someone calls asking for information about an individual who used to work for you. Make sure you're getting the news you need by qualifying for a FREE subscription at http://www.shotbusiness.com.
AROUND THE STATES
MASSACHUSETTS IS DIFFERENT . . . Numerous sportsmen in Berkshire County are unable to hunt deer or shoot recreationally this season because of a backlog of gun license renewals, according to a state legislator. Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli (D-Lenox) has asked House leaders to approve a bill to allow holders of firearms identification (FID) cards a 90-day "grace period" while state police agencies catch up in processing renewals of licenses required for bearing any firearm in the state. A grace period for FID cards was originally passed in 1974, but eliminated by the Legislature in the Gun Control Act of 1998. His bill would reinstate it for those people who Pignatelli said are "law-abiding and have had licenses in the past."
NEW MEXICO . . . The state's supreme court will hear arguments next month regarding a new law providing for concealed carry for New Mexicans 25 years and older who pass a special background check and get additional training. A children's advocacy group and a physician have sued to block the provision for honest people to subject themselves to additional police scrutiny and qualified instruction in the responsible use of firearms for protection, claiming it endangers children. Read the story in the Santa Fe New Mexican.
ENFORCING EXISTING LAWS
CONVICTED . . . Antique weapons expert Michael Zomber and Richard Ellis, an expert on Colt pistols, have been convicted of deceiving a Pennsylvania collector, James Murphy, into thinking that he was in a bidding war for two pistols once owned by Texas Rangers Capt. Samuel H. Walker. The guns, a pair of .44-caliber Colt revolvers, ultimately sold for $2.2 million, a price that prosecutors say was vastly inflated. Read the story.
SENTENCED . . . A Riverdale, Maryland, resident has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for possession of firearms by a convicted felon. Darryl Jovantti Harrington, 36, was convicted of burglarizing the home of a firearms collector in Riverdale and stole 15 firearms including a machine gun and two semiautomatic firearms. He was arrested a year ago after attempting to pawn the firearms. Authorities recovered eight of the 15 stolen guns. Harrington sold others on the street.
GUN TRAFFICKING RING . . . Four men face federal charges after two days of raids resulted in the seizure of 300 guns and $60,000 in cash believed to be part of a multistate gun-trafficking ring. Dan Woloszynowski, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told the Associated Press in Knoxville, "The ring conducted operations in Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina." Christopher Alan Perry, 38, a Bristol, Tenn., chiropractor, was charged with selling a gun without a license, conspiracy to transfer an unregistered machine gun and possession of an unregistered machine gun after agents allegedly found 107 firearms during a raid Thursday of his home. Read the Knoxville News story.
AROUND THE INTERNET
NRA IN THE N.Y. TIMES . . . A story about the National Rifle Association and its finances appeared in the Sunday New York Times, where experts on non-profit organizations disagreed on how much of an impact the NRA's deficit will have on the group's political activism that is so important to law-abiding gun owners. Read the story (free registration required).
FLAWED SERIES . . . Last week's Detroit News series, "Flawed Guns: Public At Risk," by Melvin Claxton, recycles all the usual arguments anti-gunners have espoused over the last several years.

PROTECT OUR INDUSTRY, PROTECT YOUR JOB -- ACT NOW!
The Senate will next vote on S.659 to prohibit junk lawsuits against manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers of firearms or ammunition for damages resulting from the misuse of their products by others. See whether your Senator is a co-sponsor of this important legislation by clicking here.

Contact your Senators and urge them to support the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.
Call Both Your U.S. Senators
(202) 224-3121
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