Black Friday Highest Ever for NICS
SECOND HIGHEST DAY IN NICS HISTORY . . . The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) reports that it processed 175,754 transactions on Nov. 28, Black Friday, making the day the highest Black Friday ever and the second highest day in NICS history. That means an average of three transactions were being processed every second, triple the normal daily volume. The highest day ever was Dec. 21, 2012 with 177,170 background checks. In a very welcome development, 74.66% of the federal checks were conducted via the E-Check, a secure internet connection, the highest total ever. NSSF has been encouraging retailers to use E-Check in order to get much faster approvals for their customers. Watch a CNN video on Black Friday firearms sales.
NOVEMBER SECOND HIGHEST ON RECORD . . . The November 2014 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,329,688 is the second highest November (following November 2012) on record for the 16-year-old system, with an increase of 1.7 percent compared to the November 2013 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,308,100. For comparison, the unadjusted November 2014 NICS figure of 1,797,163 reflects a 0.5 percent decrease from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,805,759 in November 2013. To learn more about last month's NICS report, log in to the member side of nssf.org.
SHOT Show
HOTEL ROOMS GOING FAST. FIND DEALS THROUGH OFFICIAL HOTEL PROVIDER . . . Hotel rooms in Las Vegas are going quickly for the week of the SHOT Show. There are many affordable hotel options still available through the show's official hotel provider, onPeak. Due to multiple trade shows taking place at the same time, rooms across Las Vegas are in exceptional demand during this year's SHOT Show. If you haven't already registered for the show and made room reservations, now is the time. Book your rooms through shotshow.org/travel.
EXPAND YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF INDUSTRY MARKET RESEARCH DURING SHOT SHOW . . . NSSF is offering two "Market Research 101" seminars during the 2015 SHOT Show. Each seminar will cover current and historical industry indicator figures and trends. Topics include NICS, excise taxes, hunting license sales, firearm production and imports along with the most current consumer research, sentiment and buying trends to improve your knowledge and allow you to make better informed business decisions in 2015. Attendees will receive a flash drive with the latest industry research. For additional information on these informative seminars, click here.
TWO MORE SPEAKERS ADDED TO SHOT SHOW UNIVERSITY LINEUP . . . NSSF has added well-known firearms retailing veterans Doug VanderWoude and Miles Hall to the Drive Your Sales Lineup as the featured speakers for the all-important Power Promotions session. In this session, VanderWoude and Hall will show retailers how to drive sales and increase margins and turns with a number of unique promotional ideas that the pair have developed over their combined 60-plus years of experience in the firearms industry. Read the full blog post. To learn more about SHOT Show University and its many sessions, click here.
Read the SHOT Show Blog for all of the latest SHOT Show news.
Industry News
SMITH & WESSON TO ACQUIRE BATTENFELD TECHNOLOGIES . . . Smith & Wesson announced Wednesday that it will acquire Battenfeld Technologies in a $130.5 million deal. The acquisition is expected to close this month. Based in a 145,000 square foot facility in Columbia, Missouri, Battenfeld Technologies develops and sells shooting, reloading, gunsmithing and gun cleaning supplies under several popular, premium brands, including Caldwell Shooting Supplies, Wheeler Engineering, Tipton Gun Cleaning Supplies and Lockdown Vault Accessories.
MAGPUL WILL BE OUT OF COLORADO COMPLETELY IN EARLY 2015 . . . Ammunition magazine manufacturer Magpul Industries Corp. has purchased a West Austin, Texas, office building to relocate its corporate headquarters from Colorado. Texas Gov. Rick Perry is credited with attracting the company to Austin after Magpul's executives said they would move from Colorado when more restrictive gun laws were passed there in 2013. Magpul is moving manufacturing operations to Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Government Relations
N.J. ATTORNEY GENERAL: PISTOL DOES NOT START 'SMART GUN' CLOCK . . . The New Jersey Attorney General's office has issued an opinion that the Armatix iP1 handgun does not start the clock on that state's so-called "smart gun" law. To quote from the report: "After careful consideration of the iP1's design, we have determined that it does not satisfy the statutory definition because, as a matter of design, the pistol may be fired by a person who is not an authorized or recognized user. That is, as long as the pistol is situated within 10 inches of the enabling wristwatch, it may be fired by anyone — the authorized user or any other person who is able to pull the trigger. While the system does incorporate a PIN code or a timer to disable the handgun, when the weapon is enabled, there is nothing in the technology which automatically limits its operational use so that it may only be fired by an authorized or recognized user (so long as the pistol is within a 10-inch proximity to the wristwatch component)." Read the opinion.
NSSF ASKS FOR MORE TIME ON CALIF. LEAD AMMO BAN IMPLEMENTATION . . . A decision could come this week to move ahead with regulations to implement AB711, the California law outlawing the use of traditional lead component ammunition in hunting. NSSF continues to urge the California Fish and Game Commission to allow the industry time to develop more alternatives and increase the supply of non-traditional ammunition, rather than continue on the current fast-track path. Read NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Larry Keane's recent letter to the commission. NSSF is closely monitoring activities in Sacramento and will continue to keep you informed.
HUNTING WORKS FOR AMERICA . . . Two state chapters of NSSF's Hunting Works for America program were cited in recent news stories as resources for factual information on hunting issues and for data on the importance of hunting to America's economy. In response to a misleading article on traditional ammunition in the Ames (Iowa) Tribune, a letter writer correctly pointed out that traditional ammunition containing lead components has not negatively impacted bald eagle populations nor does consuming game taken with such ammunition pose a health risk to humans. The writer pointed to the Hunting Works for Iowa website for additional factual resources. At a regional meeting, representatives of Hunting Works for Pennysylvania discussed with area business owners the economic importance of hunting to the state and region.
Ranges
NEW YORK TIMES TAKES NOTE OF NEWER RANGES AND THEIR AMENITIES . . . NSSF's Five Star rating system for shooting ranges merited discussion in a recent New York Times story that explored the customer experience at such facilities with "upmarket appeal" as the Centennial Gun Club in Colorado and the Scottsdale Gun Club in Arizona. Zach Snow, NSSF's Manager of Shooting Promotions, explained that the new business model employed by such clubs demonstrates the growing interest in the sport, including among new shooters. Read the New York Times article.
Members
DID YOU KNOW? . . . Professional burglary, particularly smash-and-grab theft, is one of the most serious threats firearm retailers face today. NSSF's partnership with a commercial burglary prevention firm provides special custom-pricing on a crime-deterrence solution that makes it more difficult for criminals to steal. Learn more about this NSSF member benefit.
Research
WEBINAR DISCUSSING THE SHOOTING SPORTS INDUSTRY FOR 2015 . . . On Thursday, Dec. 4 from noon-1 p.m. CST, NSSF Director of Research and Analysis Jim Curcuruto will be a participating in a National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers webinar entitled "Planning Demand and Building a Sales Strategy for the Shooting Sports Industry." The webinar will consist of a roundtable discussion on current market conditions and an outlook for 2015. Other panelists slated for this webinar include industry professionals from SIG Sauer, Kahr Firearms Group, International Firearms Consultants, H&H Shooting Sports Complex and Bill Hicks & Co. For additional information on this event, click here.
Retailers
SHOT SHOW UNIVERSITY FILLING UP FAST . . . Tickets are selling quickly and the number of seats are dwindling for the 2015 SHOT Show University. Sign up today to secure your spot at this highly recommended event that includes keynote addresses by Afterburner, Inc., on its management processes of Flawless Business Execution®, Dr. Linda Talley on the "Four Lessons of Leadership for Specialty Store Retailing" plus sessions on ATF compliance, cash flow management, power promotions, store layout, store security and best hiring practices — everything geared for the independent firearms retailer to succeed. Learn more and sign up.
ATF Q&A . . . We've received several great questions this past week on the NSSF Compliance Hotline, including a couple questions we've been asked before. The first question relates to what documents active duty military personnel need to present to establish their state of residency. The second question relates to the process involved with having a family member pick up a firearm left for repair. Click on the links to get the answers to these and other great questions that we've received. Remember that the NSSF Compliance Hotline is provided solely for our members and is just one of the many great benefits NSSF Membership offers. View more information about joining NSSF at nssf.org/join.
Jobs
FIREARMS INDUSTRY JOBS . . . Visit nssf.org/jobs for current employment opportunities in the shooting, hunting and outdoor industry. Employers: Log in to post a job opening.
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The last morning of the Last Grand American Day in Vandalia Ohio, 2005...
Amateur Trapshooting Association moves on... It couldn't be said better than the article by Jim Morris staff writer of the Dayton Daily News and author of the book "Homegrounds." Photo slide show by Bill Reinke
Amateur Trapshooting Association moves on
Grand American adjusts just fine to new location. ATA officials and shooters say they're happy with the $50 million complex in Sparta, Ill.
By Jim Morris Staff Writer
Photo slide show...
SPARTA, Ill. — If you showed up at the former Amateur Trapshooting Association grounds in Vandalia last week and wondered where all the shooters were, you could have found them 380 miles to the southwest.
For the first time since 1924, the Grand American World Trapshooting Championships were held somewhere other than Vandalia, and from all appearances, the shooters fit in well at their new location.
"We will grow into it," said John Norris, executive director of the ATA. "There have been a few minor things, but overall I am very pleased."
The new $50 million World Shooting and Recreational Complex here in southwest Illinois is everything the shooters could have hoped for.
"I like it," exclaimed sub-junior shooter Walter Reaster of West Milton. "It's huge, but it's not all that difficult to get around. You can park your car right behind the trap where you are shooting."
Getting there
Starting in Vandalia, the drive to Sparta is not difficult. Figure six to seven hours, including a few rest stops and a half-hour for a quick meal.
There are several ways to approach Sparta, a small town with about 5,000 residents about 20 miles from the Mississippi River. Perhaps the most direct route is to take Interstate 70 almost to East St. Louis, and then head directly south for 50 miles on Illinois 4, a mostly straight, two-lane road through corn and bean fields and some small towns.
Once you get close, it's easy to find the shooting complex. The state has posted signs that take you directly there. Local folks also have put up large signs welcoming shooters and pointing them in the right direction.
What you see
The first inkling that something new and very large has been created out of former strip-mine land in southwest Illinois is the glistening white water tower with the shooters' logo. Then you see four new buildings, the first one being the 34,000-square-foot events center, the hub of everything going on at the shoot.
The small army of state highway patrol officers directs drivers on a rather circuitous route to enter the 1,600-acre WSRC. And as you drive to the main parking lot, you see some of the other facets the facility will soon be opening — rifle and pistol ranges, a cowboy action shooting corral, and archery ranges — and signs to the campground that has about 1,000 spaces.
The events center serves as the central entry building with all of the shooter services, windows to sign up for events and cashiering. But unlike the old Central Entry Building in Vandalia, there also is a snack bar, a full-service restaurant and all of the offices and meeting rooms for the ATA.
Merchants are found in two locations. The larger firms, such as Baretta and Perazzi, can be found in four new buildings to the west of the events center. The small, more numerous vendors are set up in a row of tents and trailers about a quarter-mile east of the center on the other side of one of five lakes on the grounds.
Surrounding area
"People thought we were 'in the middle of nowhere,' but that isn't true," said Toni Pautler, president of the Sparta Chamber of Commerce. "When some of the campers came in, they were carrying two weeks' worth of groceries because they thought there was nothing around here.
"There's no big city right here (like Dayton), but we have several small towns with restaurants and places to stay. And there will be two new hotels going up this year. I think the shooters are finding everything they need."
Those shooters who don't camp seemed to find places to stay, even though they might have had to drive several miles to the grounds each day.
"We're staying in Chester, and it's a 24-mile drive, but it's not bad," said New Knoxville's Dave Berlet, who was shooting in his 50th Grand American last week.
Chester is a town of about 8,000 on the Mississippi River. It has a statue of Popeye in a park overlooking the river, honoring Chester native Elzie Segar, creator of the sailor-man comic.
"We are all excited to see the shooters come," Pautler said. "There really has been nothing going on around here since the coal mines closed."
The shooting
With a 3-mile-long line of 120 traps, all facing north, the ATA has found what it was looking for when talk of expansion first came up in the late 1990s. The only difference is it doesn't own anything, other than the trap machines, trams, benches and scoring chairs. The ATA has a 10-year lease. In addition to the Grand, it also puts on smaller shoots in July and October.
The background, with its wide sky and a few trees, is mostly to the shooters' liking.
"The shooters seem to like it," said Chuck Fritzges, tournament director since 2000. "The line is pretty much the same from one end to the other, so it doesn't really matter where you shoot."
And, he added, referring to Vandalia, there aren't any airplanes roaring in overhead.
As with any new facility, the grounds could use more trees and green grass (the summer has been unusually dry), both on the trap line and campground. And more restrooms are needed.
"They (Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which operates the WSRC as a state park) have been very accommodating," Norris said. "When we've seen something that needed to be done, they have taken care of it."
Ray Greb of Maryland, incoming ATA president, said he was happy with the turnout.
"The naysayers came, and they've enjoyed it here. The attendance has been good, better than last year," Greb said.
For the entire tournament, which closed Friday, 33,858 entered Grand events, up 11 percent from 30,455 in Vandalia last year.
In addition to those trams, traps and benches, there is one last reminder to the days at Vandalia — the Italian sausage man, Tony Johnson, drove his sausage trailer down from Vandalia.
"It wouldn't be the Grand American without that smell of Italian sausage along the trapline," one shooter said.
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