NSSF Expands Hunting Works for America
Award-winning program adds newest chapter in Ohio
The National Shooting Sports Foundation® (NSSF®), the trade association for the firearms industry, is proud to announce that the Hunting Works For America footprint has grown once again. A new chapter was launched in Columbus, Ohio, today. Hunting Works For Ohio joins 17 other states in the award-winning program, which brings a coalition of partners together to advocate for hunting and the shooting sports.
Hunting Works For America has consistently brought diverse stakeholders to the table when it comes to outdoors issues in all the 17 states it has launched to date. The state organizations are frequently made up of groups that people do not always consider when thinking of hunting, such as chambers of commerce, convention and visitors bureaus and trade associations. Through a shared interest in the economic impact of hunting, these groups, along with sportsmen and conservation groups, work together to educate the public and elected officials on the importance of hunting to state and local economies.
“Hunting in Ohio is a powerful economic engine that supports jobs as well as conservation,” said Chris Dolnack, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for NSSF. “Hunters spend $850 million a year in Ohio, about $320 million on trip-related expenses and $274 million on equipment.”
Taxes, fees and surcharges paid by hunters when they purchase licenses, tags and equipment fund Ohio’s conservation efforts, benefiting game and non-game species as well as anyone who enjoys the outdoors.
Hunting Works For Ohio launched today with a press conference in the Statehouse, and was attended by the program’s co-chairs, Mike Goschinski and Ron Schuller, Fin Feather Fur Outfitters; Tom Vorisek, Vorisek Financial Corporation; Beth Ellis, Cherrybend Pheasant Farm; Melinda Huntley, Ohio Travel Association; and Andy Good, Hocking Hills Chamber of Commerce. In addition to these co-chairs, the newly formed Hunting Works For Ohio partnership has nearly 50 partner organizations and will be adding dozens more in the weeks and months to come.
“We’re excited to have NSSF bring Hunting Works For America to Ohio,” said Ron Schuller, President of Fin Feather Fur Outfitters and Hunting Works For Ohio co-chair. “Whether at a hotel, resort, grocery store, gas station, restaurant or countless other businesses, you’ll find employees working who are being supported by the hunting and shooting economy. This hunter-led spending translates to $490 million in salaries and wages and over 20,000 jobs for Ohioans.”
Hunting Works For America initially launched in 2010 with Hunting Works For Arizona, Hunting Works For Minnesota and Hunting Works For North Dakota. These states have since been joined by chapters in Iowa, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Washington, Oregon, Alabama, Maine, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and New York. All totaled, the Hunting Works For America program now represents more than 2,000 businesses, organizations and associations representing tens of thousands of stakeholders.
Becoming a member of Hunting Works For Ohio is free of charge, so please visit www.HuntingWorksforOH.com to learn more about how to become a partner and about the program, including leadership, members, social media opportunities and local hunting seasons.
The Oldest World Champion Duck Caller, Inventor and Founder of Sure-Shot Game Calls James “Cowboy” Fernandez Passes
Sure-Shot Game Calls is sad to share the news that co-founder, inventor and world champion caller James “Cowboy” Fernandez passed away yesterday in Beaumont, Texas at age 86. The entire Sure-Shot Game Calls family, friends and fans mourn his loss and extend our sympathies to his family.
Cowboy worked with George Yentzen to design and patent the first double reed duck call in 1950 and the triple reed in 1968. Cowboy was the first Texan and first double reed contestant to win the Worlds Duck Calling Championship in Stuttgart, Arkansas in 1959 using the double reed Yentzen Caller. And others followed, winning World Championships with this Yentzen Caller as well. He was well known for his calling prowess and won numerous regional and international competitions. Fernandez was inducted into the Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame in 2014.
“There was only room in this world for one Cowboy Fernandez,” explained Charlie Holder, current owner of Sure-Shot Game Calls. “He will be sorely missed. We greatly appreciate all of the support, messages, and well wishes from the friends and fans of Sure-Shot.”
For more information about Sure-Shot’s complete line of game calls, visit www.sureshotgamecalls.com.
FN Announces Release of FN 509 Simunition Pistol for Law Enforcement Agencies
FN America, LLC is pleased to announce the release of the FN 509® Simunition® pistol, developed jointly with General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, available to law enforcement agencies nationwide. Ideal for agencies seeking more realistic training for their officers, the FN 509 Simunition® is a complete pistol that utilizes the FN 509 fire control, frame and magazine along with the Simunition® slide assembly to fire the proprietary FX® 9mm marking cartridges.
“The FN 509 Simunition® pistol gives agencies the ability to train their officers for force-on-force scenarios in real-time,” said Charles “Bucky” Mills, senior director for law enforcement sales at FN America, LLC. “This ability provides a great training benefit for our agencies invested in the FN 509 platform and is an added benefit for future agencies considering the FN 509 as their next duty pistol.”
The FN 509 Simunition® is a dedicated training pistol that utilizes the FX 9mm reduced-energy, non-lethal marking cartridges. The FN 509 Simunition® pistol ships with three magazines that feature dedicated blue base plates, three interchangeable backstraps, take-down wrench for disassembly and a blue soft case. The pistol is available for agency quote now. Agencies interested in the FN 509 Simunition® should email inquiries to LE@fnamerica.com.
For more information about the FN 509 or other FN products, please visit www.fnamerica.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
Max Michel Takes Top Prize for Team SIG in First Competition Using SIG SAUER Match Elite Pistol Competition Ammunition
SIG SAUER Inc. congratulates Team SIG Captain, Max Michel, on his first place finish in the Production Optics Division at the U.S. IPSC Nationals held July 13th – 15th in Frostproof, Florida. The IPSC Nationals marks the first competition Max used the newly released SIG SAUER Match Elite Pistol Competition Ammunition.
“At the IPSC Nationals the stakes are high, I was prepared, and as a result finished very strong. This was my first competition using the new SIG SAUER Match Elite Pistol Competition ammunition and it really gave me an edge,” said Team SIG Captain Max Michel. “This new competition ammunition Lena and I developed with SIG SAUER really delivered during difficult shots on both accuracy and speed. With this being my first official competition using the Match Elite Pistol Competition Ammunition I was really pleased with its performance and shootability during the fast-paced IPSC Nationals.”
To claim first place at IPSC Nationals Max competed using his P320 X5, Romeo 3 Optic, and the SIG SAUER Match Elite Pistol Competition Ammunition. The IPSC Nationals is one of four qualifying matches that will determine who represents the United States at the next IPSC World Shoot in Thailand in 2020. Max has represented the U.S.A. in the last seven IPSC World Shoots and holds seven Team Gold medals.
“Max is an exceptional competitor. He is really performing at such a high level right now and we could not be more proud, and impressed, by his wins on behalf of Team SIG,” said Tom Taylor, Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President, Commercial Sales, SIG SAUER Inc. “Max works side by side with our product management and engineering teams to develop products designed for the sport of competitive shooting – clearly the formula for the Match Elite Pistol Competition Ammunition is a big winner.”
Maxpedition Adds Two New CCW Backpacks to AGR Line
For Fall 2018, Maxpedition introduces two new backpacks in the Advanced Gear Research (AGR) lineup.
Building upon the success of the Riftcore design introduced in early 2016, Maxpedition now offers the larger 30L Riftblade and the more compact 15L Riftpoint to round out this trio of ergonomic concealed carry capable backpacks.
This latest release reinforces Maxpedition’s mission in the creating of the AGR line: to build military-grade tactical gear based on cutting-edge research using custom developed materials and components and with modernized aesthetics.
Maxpedition’s pursuit of the best since 2003 has cultivated a clientèle that has come to expect only products of uncompromising quality, durability and innovation.
MA Firearms Retailers Petition State Court to Invalidate AG Healey’s ‘Assault Weapons’ Enforcement Action
Two Massachusetts firearms retailers, Baystate Firearms and Training, LLC of Peabody and Downrange, Inc., which does business as Cape Gun Works of Hyannis, have petitioned the Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County to invalidate State Attorney General Maura Healey’s 2016 “enforcement action” for violating the procedures required for issuing regulations under state law and radically re-defining what constitutes “assault weapons” contrary to the intention of the Massachusetts Legislature.
Because the Attorney General’s office plans to enforce the regulation either civilly or criminally, the two federally licensed firearms retailers are asking the court for declaratory judgment. The petition acknowledges that any decision is likely to be appealed to the state Supreme Judicial Court. The National Shooting Sports Foundation supports the two Massachusetts-based firearms retailers in this petition.
“With the 2016 ‘Enforcement Action,’ the Attorney General’s office demonstrated how little it understands about firearms,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “Attorney General Healy and her staff clearly overreached their statutory authority and decided to legislate from that office without the benefit of any public process and in total disregard of 18 years of Massachusetts firearm law, under which firearm retailers operated. The Attorney General undermined the state legislature by unilaterally declaring firearms that were legal to be illegal.”
Keane continued, “With this petition, these two retailers are stepping up to challenge bold overreach by an elected official that has not only compromised their livelihoods without any true enhancement of public safety, the press conferences and media interviews notwithstanding, but they are also speaking up for tens of thousands of law-abiding citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts who, overnight in 2016, found that their legally-purchased firearms had been redefined as “assault weapons” while additional untold numbers of citizens were arbitrarily denied access to many models of semiautomatic rifles from that day on.”
