ASA Hosts 3rd Annual Media Day Ahead of NRA Show
NRAAM Starts Off With a pffffttt.
The American Suppressor Association (ASA) hosted their third annual media day in tandem with the NRA Annual Meeting & Exhibits in Louisville, Kentucky, today – one day ahead of the exhibit floor opening to attendees – and the GunLink team was there to take part in the invitation-only event. The Media Day event, held at Knob Creek Gun Range, was an excellent opportunity to get hands on experience with some of the newest gun mufflers on the market. Now is a great time to buy and own NFA items like suppressors, despite some of the new hurdles placed in front of some owners by the 41F ruling.
The ASA touts itself as the unified voice of the suppressor industry with a mission “to unite and advocate for the common interests of suppressor manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and consumers” by lobbying at the state and federal levels, educating the public, and providing industry research. ASA’s main objectives include raising public awareness, relaxing ownership laws in the 9 remaining states which do not allow private ownership, relaxing hunting regulations that prohibit the use of such hearing protection equipment, and fixing issues with the NFA – including the bottlenecks that result in lengthy wait times.
Among the industry participants at the event – which featured live fire demos – were Advanced Armament Corp. (Booth 3947), Daniel Defense (2401), Gemtec (2819), Liberty (4561), Sig Sauer (5333), SilencerCo (2430) and sister company SWR, Silencer Shop (5835), Thunder Beast Arms (2941, and Yankee Hill Machine (5940).
While here, we got to see and shoot some of the new silencers that we saw at SHOT Show in January – as well as some that we somehow missed – and some even newer cans and guns. Continue reading
NRA Show is Just Around the Corner
NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits Lands in Louisville May 19-22
Are you sad that you weren’t able to attend the industry-only 2016 SHOT Show in January? Cheer up, because the NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits (NRAAM) is just around the corner!
The 145th NRAAM will be held at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, KY May 20-22, 2016. The show, which is open and free to all NRA members and their immediate family, features over 650 exhibitors covering over 475,000 square feet of exhibit hall space and offers a terrific opportunity to meet with representatives from the manufacturers and vendors of your favorite shooting, hunting, and outdoor gear, guns, and more.
The NRA Show also features numerous educational seminars, celebrities, and fun filled special events for the whole family. Visitors can spend the day exploring products from every major firearm company in the country, book the hunt of a lifetime in the outfitter section, and view priceless collections of firearms in the gun collector area. There will also be no shortage of knives, wildlife art, shooting accessories, hunting gear, ATV’s, and much more. Continue reading
NRA First VP Pete Brownell Seeks Third Term on NRA Board
Editor’s Note: Pete Brownell, and Brownells as a whole, were among the first big established companies in the firearms industry to really embrace new media and recognize it as a valuable resource for firearm enthusiasts, industry members, recreational shooters and others to participate in the timely exchange of information. In addition to supporting new media, Pete has been an strong and unwavering supporter of Second Amendment rights. GunLink is proud share his announcement that he will seek a third term on the NRA Board and add our endorsement to the list of others supporting him. The NRA Board of Directors needs more members like Pete Brownell!
NRA First Vice President and CEO of Brownells, Pete Brownell, announced this week that he will seek a third term on the NRA’s Board of Directors. If re-elected, Brownell will likely become NRA President at the 2017 NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Atlanta, Georgia.
An NRA Life Member since birth, Brownell, 47, boasts proven NRA leadership experience and is a widely-recognized visionary in the firearm and outdoor industry. Brownell’s service to the NRA began in 2006 when he was nominated to serve on the NRA Membership Committee. Following his election to the board in 2010, Brownell began serving on numerous other committees, including:
- President’s Committee on Advancement
- Nominating Committee
- Sport Shooting Committee
- Finance Committee
- Law Enforcement Committee
- Meeting Site Selection Committee
- Publications Policy Committee
- Task Force on Industry Relations Committee
- Investment Oversight Committee
Proving himself as an ardent defender of the Second Amendment and a powerful voice for the NRA, Brownell was elected the NRA Second Vice President in April 2013. Two years later in 2015, he was elected NRA First Vice President, an office he holds today. Continue reading
Anti-Gun Group Uses Trick Photography to Hide Paltry Numbers
As reported by NRA-ILA, 
pro-gunners apparently were not the only ones in Nashville last weekend for the NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits. Moms Demand Action for Gunsense in America were apparently there also, but nobody seemed to notice. Until they got caught creatively spinning “facts.” Big shock there.
The social media post by MDA reads “Just blocks from the NRA convention, hundreds of moms, dads and kids gathered today to show that we’ll go anywhere to bring the message of gun sense to America! Join our fight, we’re just getting started.”
Hundreds, you say? That’s cute, compared to the nearly 80,000 that attended the NRA meetings down the street. And “hundreds” might seem reasonable if you take the accompanying photo at face value. However, as usual, one just cannot seem to take anything this group says at face value.
It just so happened that there was another photographer in the area that captured the real story with this photo. What was claimed to be “hundreds” of anti-gun zealots shows the actual anemic turnout for their photo op was really only a few dozen – including the children that were dragged to the event for their dose of indoctrination. Perhaps technically since there have been slightly more than one hundred there, they feel comfortable calling it “hundreds.”
So how did they do it? Trick photography, of course. They arranged people in a funnel shape with a few people in the front, fanning out toward the rear so that the attendees filled the field of view – and no more – to give the appearance of a large crowed as far as the eye can see.
Just a reminder that when you see the anti’s propaganda machine output, caveat emptor!
It’s a Wrap on the 2nd Highest Attended NRA Show
78,865 Attend 2015 NRAAM in Nashville
Nearly 80k attendees made their way to visit the 550+ exhibitors in Nashville for the 2015 NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits – the world’s longest running Shooting & Hunting Show. Although not record high attendance, those numbers make it the 2nd largest NRAAM on the books. This should come as no surprise since the NRA show is the place to be for non-industry members to find out about the latest and greatest innovations in the shooting and hunting world and to have the opportunity to interface directly with manufacturers and vendors.
GunLink staff was only able to attend one day of the show – a weekday, no less – but could tell that it would be a well attended event. We made the trek to Nashville the previous day to attend the Official Glock 43 Launch Party at a nearby indoor range and then stuck around for the first day of the show, during which we had the opportunity to visit with many of the preeminent manufacturers in the industry as well as a number that are new to the scene.
Although the NRAAM obviously centers around firearms, shooting, and hunting, that isn’t all the show is about. The show is a great place to rub elbows with like-minded individuals and enjoy the camaraderie with fellow members of the shooting community. It is also a great opportunity to take in some entertainment throughout the Country Jam and Freedom Festival featuring live music and comedy acts from big-name headliners. For those seeking enlightenment, there are also educational tracks and leadership forums that provide great information for those wishing to take a break from the exhibit floor or entertainment venues.
Next year’s NRAAM will be in Louisville April 20-22, 2016 and the following year in Atlanta April 28-30, 2017. Make your plans to attend now. Admission is free for NRA members and their immediate families. Save $10 on membership dues by joining or renewing now HERE.
Check out some of the 2015 NRAAM photos below. Continue reading
New Additions to AAC’s Line of Pistol, Rifle, and Rimfire Silencers
True to Mike Smith’s (somewhat brash, perhaps) letter earlier this year, Advanced Armament Corp. is not only still open for business with real, live employees, they are continuing to innovate and release new suppressors for centerfire pistols, rifles and rimfire firearms. We got a chance to see them at SHOT Show 2015 and they will be on display to the general public in booth 2033 at next month’s NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Nashville.
Among the new offerings are a couple of neat little pistol suppressors. Filling the void left by the popular-but-discontinued Ti-Rant 9 is the new Illusion 9 with a claimed 33db sound reduction. The Illusion 9’s offset bullet path allows the bulk of the suppressor to hang below the bore axis, freeing up the real estate above the axis to allow the use of factory sights instead of raised suppressor sights. The Illusion also incorporates AAC’s “Assured Semi Automatic Performance” (ASAP) booster which the company claims “ensures reliable pistol operation, allows for zero-shift adjustment, and provides for modularity to support multiple weapons platforms.” The Illusion has an MSRP of $800 and should be available this spring. Continue reading
