GLOCK Sport Shooting Foundation (GSSF) Celebrates 25th Anniversary
The GLOCK Sport Shooting Foundation (GSSF) celebrates its 25th Anniversary this year. GSSF was formed in 1991 and continues to exceed the goal of introducing new shooters to the shooting sports.
Since 1991, GSSF has seen more than 120,000 members, over 200,000 match entries, and more than 700 outdoor events. Planned for 2016 are 55 outdoor matches scheduled throughout the United States and another 500+ Indoor League matches available for members who wish to demonstrate their marksmanship, win prizes and enjoy family-oriented atmosphere that is safe as well as fun.
GSSF matches are low-pressure competitions using standard GLOCK pistols and there is no need for expensive match gear. Members compete with others according to their respective skill levels and GLOCK models. The courses of fire are simple yet challenging. There are 10 competitive divisions and also special awards for Juniors, Seniors, Super Seniors, Ladies and 3-Person Teams.
“Millions of dollars in prizes and GLOCK pistols have been awarded over the years,” said Alan Ramsey, Director of Training & GSSF. “We hope you will come out this year and shoot with GSSF as we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Mr. Gaston GLOCK’s vision.”
To view the 2016 match schedules and for more information on GSSF, visit www.gssfonline.com.
SHOT Show is Just Around the Corner
Stay with the GunLink Team for Complete SHOT Show 2016 Coverage
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) SHOT Show 2016 is just two short weeks away, and the GunLink team will be there from the opening shots of the pre-show Industry Day at the Range until after the show ends to bring you complete coverage of the latest and greatest guns, gear, and more that is coming soon in the shooting, hunting, and outdoor fields.
Watch the GunLink Blog for detailed coverage of SHOT Show 2016 and participate by joining the discussion in the NSSF SHOT Show boards on the GunLink Forums. For more frequent up-to-the-minute updates throughout the show, be sure to follow GunLink on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The 38th annual Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show – SHOT Show – runs from Tuesday, January 19 through Friday, January 22 at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas. This is the largest show of its kind, drawing tens of thousands of attendees. The 2015 show drew approximately 64,000 attendees – second only to the 2014 show’s 67,000. The heart of the show that brings such a massive crowd? The 1,600 exhibitors who cover more than 13 acres of exhibit space to showcase their wares.
At Industry Day at the Range on January 18 in Boulder City, we will have the opportunity to visit with manufacturers and see the latest firearms in action with some live-fire trigger time – which is always a “blast”. Featuring over 170 manufacturers exhibiting, and over 500,000 rounds of ammunition shot, Industry Day is the premier shooting event in the industry, giving outdoor media and buyers the opportunity to shoot and test new products for the upcoming year. This year’s exhibiting companies include firearms, ATV and truck demos, knife throwing, archery and more.
For those of you lucky enough to be going to the SHOT Show to see it for yourself, there are a number of tools to make your visit easier. Plan meet-ups, talk about what you’ve seen, get pointers, and more in the SHOT Show thread on the GunLink forums. Find exhibitors, schedule meetings with vendors, take notes, and plan your show with SHOT Show mobile, available as an app for Android and iOS devices and as a mobile site for Windows and Blackberry devices. This will, no doubt, make it easier to navigate the 630,000 square feet and 12.5 miles of aisles on the show floor!
Of course, all of this great coverage of the best new products that shooters care about wouldn’t be possible without our valuable partners.
Brownells, and Pete Brownell in particular, has been among the earliest and biggest supporters of new media in the firearms industry – going so far as to host the New Media Meetup Lunch at previous SHOT Shows – in addition to offering an enormous selection of firearm parts and accessories. Brownells has been Serious About Firearms for over 75 years – since 1939!
If you are seeking information about the latest and greatest advancements in the firearms industry, then chances are that you are an ardent supporter of our Second Amendment Right to Keep and Bear Arms. What better way to make sure that those advancements continue by protecting that market and helping to ensure that we keep those rights strong than joining the National Rifle Association – one of the oldest and largest civil rights organizations in the United States.
Northwood Components offers a full line of aftermarket triggers that can turn an ordinary KelTec pistol into a sweet shooting little carry gun. The machined aluminum triggers virtually eliminate finger pinch and provide a lighter perceived trigger pull although the actual trigger pull weight and safety of the firearm are not effected. Pops’s trigger upgrade has been featured on the GunLink Blog and in our P11 Improvement Project.
Concealed carry and open carry practitioners from all over the United States, and gun owners in general, will find the Gun Laws by State guide invaluable. The guide, written by a prominent gun law author and nationally recognized gun law attorney, covers reciprocity, constitutional & federal law, use of force, civil & criminal liability, preemption, and more in its 360 pages, which include over 1,000 updates for 2016.
Not a CCW permit holder yet? If the time requirements of the class are holding you back, The Carry Academy has the solution: take your CCW class online in under an hour for less than $50 to satisfy the training requirements needed in order to obtain your concealed carry permit in over 20 states. The majority of these states allow you to carry a concealed weapon by obtaining a Virginia nonresident permit. The course also satisfies training requirements for resident permits in Iowa, Oregon and Virginia.
If your 2016 New Years resolutions include being more prepared for natural or man-made disasters, you can hope for the best but prepare for the worst with shelf-stable food from Wise Food Storage. Great tasting meals with the ease of just-add-water, the peace of mind of 25-year shelf life, and the pride of being Made in the USA.
BOHICA: 41F (nee 41P) is Here
Attorney General Lynch Signs Off 41P Final Ruling. It WILL Happen in as little as 180 days.
Included in the president’s inappropriately named “New Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence and Make Our Communities Safer” is the official harbinger of the BATFE’s 41P rule change.
Despite NFA owners being among the most law abiding gun owners who already have to jump through the most hoops, and despite the fact that – on average – NFA firearms are pretty much never used in crimes, the president’s edicts makes it more difficult to purchase what he calls “some of the most dangerous weapons and other items” through a trust, corporation, or other legal entity.
This change will require fingerprints, photographs, and background checks for all “responsible persons” of the trust or other legal entity. It is unclear what this change will do to the ability for legal entities to use the eForms system, which the BATFE claims to have been spending considerable time and resources on improving and getting the broken eForms Form 1 functionality working again, as the system appears to have no mechanism for accepting photographs or fingerprint or information.
Attorney General Loretta Lynch describes the change as “[closing] the ‘trust loophole’ that people have been using to avoid registering by going through legal trusts, corporations or other legal status.” And – in case this is confusing for some – by “loophole,” AG Lynch means “the law as written.”
Lynch signed off on the rule making and the official BATFE announcement is here. The release states that rule 41P “is effective 180 days after date of publication in the Federal Register,” which can be at any time now. It is unclear whether the BATFE will ever respond, as required, to the 9,000+ comments received regarding the rule change with anything other than “who cares, the president has a pen and a phone.”
41P Final Ruling Summary:
The Department of Justice is amending the regulations of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) regarding the making or transferring of a firearm under the National Firearms Act (NF A). This final rule defines the term “responsible person,” as used in reference to a trust, partnership, association, company, or corporation; requires responsible persons of such trusts or legal entities to complete a specified form and to submit photographs and fingerprints when the trust or legal entity files an application to make an NFA firearm or is listed as the transferee on an application to transfer an NFA firearm; requires that a copy of all applications to make or transfer a firearm, and the specified form for responsible persons, as applicable, be forwarded to the chief law enforcement officer (CLEO) of the locality in which the applicant/transferee or responsible person is located; and eliminates the requirement for a certification signed by the CLEO. These provisions provide a public safety benefit as they ensure that responsible persons undergo background checks. In addition, this final rule adds a new section to ATF’ s regulations to address the possession and transfer of firearms registered to a decedent. The new section clarifies that the executor, administrator, personal representative, or other person authorized under State law to dispose of property in an estate may possess a firearm registered to a decedent during the term of probate without such possession being treated as a “transfer” under the NF A. It also specifies that the transfer of the frrearm to any beneficiary of the estate may be made on a tax-exempt basis
NFA Rule Change Receives Top Billing in BATFE Portion of Federal Regulatory Agenda
The Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions was published today in the Federal Register, and it contained what may be a telling excerpt regarding BATFE’s proposed rule 41P. The Unified Agenda is essentially the roadmap for regulatory planning throughout the coming year. According to the publication’s summary, the document is meant to “identify regulatory priorities and provide additional detail about the most important significant regulatory actions that agencies expect to take in the coming year.” Obviously, one agency in particular is of special interest around here: The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives – or BATFE.
The Unified Agenda is a massive document, spanning 206 pages in PDF format. Among those 206 pages, the BATFE’s “important significant regulatory actions” that have been identified as top priorities occupies two paragraphs. Of those two paragraphs, the first – after a brief introduction of the BATFE – is dominated by discussion of the proposed rule 41P while everything else the BATFE plans to do for the next regulatory period is stuffed into the second paragraph:
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
ATF issues regulations to enforce the Federal laws relating to the manufacture and commerce of firearms and explosives. ATF’s mission and regulations are designed to, among other objectives, curb illegal traffic in, and criminal use of, firearms and explosives, and to assist State, local, and other Federal law enforcement agencies in reducing crime and violence. The Department is planning to finalize a proposed rule to amend ATF’s regulations regarding the making or transferring of a firearm under the National Firearms Act. As proposed, this rule would (1) add a definition for the term “responsible person”; (2) require each responsible person of a corporation, trust or legal entity to complete a specified form, and to submit photographs and fingerprints; and (3) modify the requirements regarding the certificate of the chief law enforcement officer.
ATF will continue, as a priority during fiscal year 2016, to seek modifications to its regulations governing commerce in firearms and explosives. ATF plans to issue regulations to finalize the current interim rules implementing the provisions of the Safe Explosives Act, title XI, subtitle C, of Public Law 107-296, the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (enacted Nov. 25, 2002). ATF also has begun a rulemaking process that will lead to promulgation of a revised set of regulations (27 CFR part 771) governing the procedure and practice for proposed denial of applications for explosives licenses or permits and proposed revocation of such licenses and permits.
Note that this still does not mean that the BATFE is finalizing plans to implement the proposed rule. As we previously reported, BATFE received approximately 9,500 comments about the proposal, each of which must be addressed before making a decision. Resources working on 41P may have been diverted to perusing some of the 310,000 or so comments received regarding the M855 ammo ban which must, likewise, be read and responded to.
It may well be that 41P is at the top of BATFE’s priority list simply to clear it from their docket, as they did with the “green tip ban,” and move on to other issues. While it may not be much of an update, and firearms owners’ only recourse may still be to just “wait and see,” at least there is some indication that something is happening somewhere, and someone may be looking into it.
Texas Plumber Suing Dealership After Work Truck Ends Up in Hands of Terrorists
Photo: Twitter
One year after Mark Oberholtzer’s story went viral when his former work truck ended up in terrorist hands, the 62 year old Texas plumber is back in the news – this time, seeking amends from the dealership who said they would “handle” his trade-in.
Back in October of 2013, Oberholtzer traded in his black 2005 Ford F-250 for a newer 2012 model. When he started to peel the decals with his company’s information from the sides of the vehicle, a salesman at AutoNation Ford Gulf Freeway in Houston stopped him and told him that they would take care of it so that the paint would not be damaged. Clearly they dropped the ball.
In November of 2013, the truck was sold at auction and, one month later, shipped to Turkey before making its way to Syria. In December 2014, photos of Islamic terrorists firing an anti-aircraft gun from the truck – with Olberholtzer’s company name and phone number still intact – hit twitter and skyrocketed to viral status with millions of views. The photos appear to be stills from a video by Jabhat Ansar al-Din, an Islamic jihadist movement operating in Syria.
As the photo picked up traction, Olberholtzer’s phones were ringing off the hook. His company received thousands of calls that included angry verbal harassment and death threats directed at him and his employees. They even got a visit from the FBI and DHS. As a result, he had to temporarily shutter the business and leave town to escape the harassment.
Olberholtzer is now suing the dealership for compensation in excess of $1 million for the financial losses and reputation damage suffered by him and his company. The full text of the lawsuit is below. Continue reading
Brownells New Products Week in Review for December 11, 2015
Paul Levy, Brownells Product Manager, shares the inside scoop on new products this week.
New products include:
- Brownells B-TAC AR-15 5.56 Barrels – These barrels are made from 4150V steel and have a black Nitride finish that resists wear, gives good lubricity and makes them easy to clean. They accept .750″ gas blocks, not included, and have standard ½-28 muzzle threads. The 16″ version has a mid-length gas system, 1-7″ twist rifling and a SOCOM profile. The 10.5″ version has a carbine gas system, 1-9″ twist rifling and an M4 profile.
- Brownells B-TAC AR-15 .300 Blackout Barrels – These .300 Blackout barrels give many of the same great benefits as the B-TAC barrels in 5.56. Both have 5/8-24 muzzle threads for .30 caliber muzzle devices, and have 1-8″ twist rates to stabilize both super- and sub-sonic .300 Blackout loads. Available in 16″ length with carbine gas system, or 10.5″ with pistol gas system.
- Magpul AK/AKM PMAG M3 30-rd Magazine – Lightweight, polymer magazines fit into 7.62×39 Kalashnikov-style rifles and give reliable, consistent feeding. M3 magazine has steel-reinforced locking lugs on both front and back for long service life. Floorplate removes for easy cleaning and maintenance and low-friction follower gives smooth operation. Available in black and sand.
- XS Sight Systems Armorer’s Block For AR Platforms – Machined aluminum block fits into a vise and accepts upper receivers from standard AR-15s, as well as AR-10, SR25 and DPMS Gen II .308 rifles to help make work, maintenance or rifle building convenient. Comes with two pins with easy-pull rings to help keep upper secure. Block has “FRONT” marking to help instantly orient the upper correctly. Thick aluminum construction won’t flex in the vise, and stands up to years of use.
