Is This the Answer to Your .22LR Woes?

The great thing about the NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits is the opportunity to see and speak to so many vendors, not only firearm distributors but entrepreneurs that have interesting products.  One such vendor was Sharp Shooter 22 LR Reloading.  Reload rim fire ammo you ask?  The answer is yes.  According to Brian Nixon and Dennis Shultz, while a new brick of .22LR can cost around $60, with this product, with this product you can reload a brick for around $8 and have ammo whenever you want it.  Cam Edwards of NRANews.com had the opportunity to speak to the Sharpshooter 22LR Reloader Team to find out more about their product.
You can see the process from start to finish below
Hat tip to NRANews.com.

Kahr Arms Showcases New Gen2 at NRA Annual Meeting

Kahr Arms used the NRA Annual Meeting to showcase their new Gen2 Premium line of handguns ahead of this summer's availability.  With tighter tolerances and many upgrades, the company's web site notes the Gen2 "truly is the second generation of Kahr pistols."  Some of the new features include:

• shortened trigger stroke allowing for quicker firing rates – 30% shorter than premium model
• integrated trigger safety
• accessory rail for lasers and lights
• front slide serrations on 5” and 6” barrel models
• 6” compensated barrel model
• Leupold® Deltapoint™ Red Dot mount (5” barrel models) with tall target sights
• Leupold® Deltapoint™ Red Dot optic included with 6” barrel models
• TRUGLO® TFX™ Tritium/Fiber-Optic Day/Night sights standard on 3.5” and 4” barrel models
• Safe-Cam striker-fired action
• double recoil spring system for reduced felt recoil
• redesigned magazine base and grip for a sleeker look
• slide machined from the highest quality of stainless steel available for firearms
• erial tag on grip frame
• ergonomic single stack grip frame fits most hand sizes from small to large
• ships with 3 magazines and a lockable, hard, polymer case

Outdoor Channel's Michael Bane spoke with Kahr Arms' Frank Harris about the new offerings showcased in Nashville.
Kahr rolled out eight of the firearms in Nashville but a total of 12 models will be available by December 2015 with four barrel lengths and three calibers including 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP. Premium doesn't only describe the model, it could also be used to describe the price.  The MSRP on the new series will range from $976 to $1668.  The 9mm and .45 ACP will be available in July/August 2015 and the .40 S&W will be available in December.

VSSA Member Ascends to NRA Presidency

Yesterday, the NRA Board of Directors elected Allan D. Cors President of the NRA.  From the NRA Blog:

A lifelong hunter and competitive shooter with a passion for collecting World War II military vehicles, Cors has served as president of the NRA Foundation and is a member of the NRA’s Executive Committee. He was a principal advocate for the establishment of the NRA’s Political Action Committee. Cors served as a counsel with the Judiciary Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. He also served as the director of government affairs and senior vice president at Corning for 34 years.

Cors has been a member of VSSA since 1978.  He will serve a term of two years and will likely be succeeded by Pete Brownell, who was elected 1st Vice President.

Women of Weatherby A Resource for Female Shooters

During the NRA Annual Meetings in Nashville, Michael Bane had the opportunity to speak with the Women of Weatherby, Haley Heath, Rachel Ahtila, and Karissa Phantz at the Outdoor/Sportsmen Channel Booth.  The ladies talked about how Weatherby has created a resource for the fastest growing segment of the firearms community.  According to the Women of Weatherby web site:

The Women of Weatherby team is comprised of three women known for their fierce independence, positive influence and unconditional love of the outdoors. Their vast experience and authenticity as hunters provide the perfect foundation to inspire the dreams of women at every level of hunting and shooting.

Haley and Rachel noted that simply making firearms in purple, pink, and teal do not make them a woman's gun.  They said every woman is different and through the Women of Weatherby, the company has made a commitment to ensure that all women have the resources to make the right choice when it comes to owning and using firearms.

Moms Demand Pathetic Excuse for Demonstration in Nashville

All of my favorite blogs have posts about the Moms Demand Action so-called demonstration on Saturday during the NRA Annual Meeting.  My entire family went to Nashville so we took some time away from the Music City Center Saturday afternoon to take a walk down Broadway and get some ice cream at Mike's Ice Cream.  We must have missed the "protest" because we had walked all the way down to the river where it was held and there were no protesters at the time we were there but we passed four people with red Moms Demand t-shirts on our way back up Broadway. One of them had an arm full of t-shirts. Needless to say, according to folks who did see the dismal turnout, the crowd was much less than the 400 Moms Demand predicted.  My favorite photo though had to be the one that explained how Moms Demand made it look like there were more people than there actually were:

Bob Owens of Bearing Arms had this photo from the walking bridge above in comparison to one hallway at the Music City Center.

One photo is the entire @MomsDemand rally. The other is one hallway at #NRAAM2015 on a slow Friday morning. Hmmmm... pic.twitter.com/UZFNSE972F
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) April 12, 2015

Bob also had this prediction:

PREDICTION: @MikeBloomberg is results oriented. @shannonrwatts is becoming a liability. She and @MomsDemand will be defunded within 2 years.
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) April 12, 2015

Marco Rubio: We are at a Turning Point with the Second Amendment and National Security

I've attended, or at least watched via the video feed in the convention center, or after I returned home, a number of NRA Annual Meeting Leadership Forum speeches since they began in 2008.  More times than not, speakers touch on the Second Amendment then go on to a laundry list of other issues that would fit more with a GOP Convention than a non-partisan organization.  While it may be safe to say a lot of gun owners fall on the conservative side of the aisle, what about those gun owners who aren't?  Are we discouraging those folks from being NRA members? 

Despite the fact there are very few national Democrats who vote the right way on the Second Amendment issue, resulting in most of the organization's national support going to Republicans, there are still states around the country that have Democrats who support the Second Amendment.  They receive support from the NRA when they are on the right side of the issue.  The NRA is a non-partisan single issue organization.  Support that issue and the NRA will support your re-election.

So, it was refreshing to hear Florida Senator Marco Rubio use his time Friday to speak almost entirely on the Second Amendment and how it relates to national security. The phrase "The Second Amendment is the Original Home Land Security" isn't just a slogan, and Rubio made the case on how the right to keep and bear arms and how it intersects with national security. 

Eddie Eagle Gets a Facelift

One of the things I picked up at the NRA Annual Meetings was the just released updated Eddie Eagle video.  If you have children, you have probably seen the one dimensional cartoon that debuted in 1988.  With the wide use of computer generated images (CGI) for today's animation, the old version is a bit outdated.  The new video pairs Eddie with new friends known as "The Wing Team" to teach children what to do if they find a firearm.


The NRA has also updated the program web site.  It's still a program for young children but the update should make it more appealing and help get the message to kids that if you see a gun "Don't Touch, Leave the Area, and Tell and Adult."

Jim Shepherd: Hillary Gives NRA Last Word

The Shooting Wire's Jim Shepherd ended today's edition with a wrap-up of the NRA Annual Meeting and started with a pronouncement that something that happened hundreds of miles away from Nashville may do more to unite the NRA's membership than the upbeat positive event that just ended:

As the one hundred and forty-fourth annual meeting of the National Rifle Association wrapped up in Nashville, Tennessee's Music City Center yesterday, one of the most galvanizing actions for the NRA's membership took place hundreds of miles away.

With Hillary Clinton's virtual announcement of her formal candidacy for president, the NRA and the many Second Amendment groups in attendance finally have the face of the anti-gun movement firmly fixed in their political sights. As the parade of potential Republican presidential candidates rolled (slowly) across the stage on Friday, many of them took pointed shots at President Obama's record, but others took advantage of the opportunity to let the NRA faithful in attendance know they were ready for "Madame Clinton" when her apparently inevitable other shoe was once again digitally tossed into the ring with considerably less invective than a rumored ashtray was passed to her husband in the White House.

We've been down this road before where we focus on defeating Hillary Clinton and ended up with someone as bad if not worse.  In 2008 most anyone would have said that Clinton was going to be the Democrat nominee. She had the early start, the popular (among Democrats at least) former president husband, and it looked like she could not be beat.  Sound familiar?  So you can excuse me when I heard a focus on Hillary at Friday's NRA-ILA Leadership Conference as maybe just a little bit of déjà vu.


With no other announced candidate on the Democratic side of the race, it makes sense to focus on the known.  There is talk however that former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley may jump in an that he would possibly run to Hillary's left (as if that is possible).  His record on Second Amendment issues are just as bad.  Let's hope this year, if there ends up being a competitive Democratic primary race, we will get the word out on how each of the candidates stand on our issue.  Because, as more than one person has noted, the more people who see Hillary, the less they like her.

Guns and Politics at First Day of NRA Annual Meeting

While thousands walked the exhibit floor, a sold out crowd heard a line up of GOP current and former elected officials tout there ability to protect our Second Amendment rights as well as other issues they believe are important to those in the crowd.

Senator Ted Cruz and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker received some of the loudest applause from the audience. Cruz claimed he was the one who had consistently fought for conservative  principles, even when it was not popular.  Walker talked about his modest upbringing.

Jeb Bush, who has been tagged as the "establishment" candidate, said he would put his record on the Second Amendment while Governor of Florida up against any other candidate.

Former Governor Rick Perry said he is undecided on whether he will run again but gave a spirited speech none the less. Not long after I received a fundraising email from Perry's PAC touting his Life Membership in the NRA.

Other speakers included Governor Bobby Jindal, Donald Trump, and Marco Rubio.  You can watch all of the speeches of the day at NRANEWS.COM.  You can also watch today's Annual Meeting of Members live on several NRA video platforms, including NRANews.

NRA Annual Meeting Weekend

This VSSA blogger is headed to Nashville. Look for Annual Meeting updates through Saturday.  I'll also be gathering a lot of product information for future posts after the weekend is over.

CAA USA Offers NRA Annual Meeting Attendees and Online Customers Special Discount

CAA USA will be exhibiting at the National Rifle Association (NRA) 2015 Annual Meetings & Exhibits on April 10 – 12, 2015 held at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee. As a way of saying “thank you” to their customers for their continued support, CAA USA is announcing two new promotions.

First promotion starts at the NRA show’s opening on April 10^th through the last day, April 12, 2015, NRA attendees can purchase any CAA product at booth 101 and receive a 20% discount.

Second, CAA USA is offering any customer the opportunity to take $100 off any CAA firearms accessories purchase of $150 or more at their favorite retailer. Simply, bring in the CAA USA coupon to any retailer and receive the discount. The offer expires June 30, 2015 and is limited to one coupon per customer.

Retailers will also have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of this limited CAA USA promotion.
For every coupon redeemed at their store location, the discount applies to the price of a stocking dealer order of $500 or more. (Limit one coupon redemption for every $500 order.) Retailers interested in saving 20% off of every redeemed in-store purchase can call CAA USA ahead and stock up prior to this promotion by calling Mike Grandy at 215-949-9944 x105 or Rick Young at 2-15-949-9944 x103.

The CAA USA Promotion coupon can be found and downloaded at Command Arms Facebook page. Visit the new CAA USA Facebook fan to get all the upcoming information and promotions.

For more information on CAA USA, visit www.commandarms.com. Become a fan on the new CAA USA Facebook page.

About CAA USA:
CAA USA is the US based company marketing and distributing world-class, operator-tested firearms accessories from Command Arms Accessories (CAA). Our products are specifically designed to meet the rigorous demands of tactical solutions required by worlds armed forces, law enforcement units and weapons professionals. CAA USA product line includes advanced light and laser devices, bipods, handgrips, Picatinny rail systems, tubes, butt stocks, cheek rests, non-lethal personal protection and the patented RONI® pistol-carbine conversion. www.commandarms.com

Glock Looking to Shake Up the Concealed Carry Firearm Market

The Motley Fool has an article over on Nasdaq.com on the new Glock 43:

Last month, Austrian arms maker Glock unveiled its latest handgun for the civilian market, and it's tailor-made for concealed carry. Dubbed the "43," Glock describes its new polymer pistol as a "subcompact slimline" and a "single-stack 9mm" -- meaning rounds are loaded into the magazine straight up and down, permitting a narrower grip.

It's not the first carry handgun Glock has produced (the Glock 42) but the previous effort in .380 received less attention.  The Glock 43 follows in of the Ruger LC9 footsteps by being chambered in .9mm.  It weighs just over a pound unloaded and the magazine holds 6 rounds (making it 6 plus 1), one round less than the popular Smith and Wesson Sheild.

Looking forward to seeing this later in the week at the NRA Annual Meeting and Exhibits in Nashville.

Restaurants Where You Can Carry In Nashville During the NRA Annual Meeting

For those who will be attending the NRA Annual Meeting and Exhibits in Nashville in April, Dr. John Lott's Crime Prevention Research Center interviewed restaurant managers to determine which venues would welcome patrons carrying concealed.  The post has a list of restaurants that post "no firearms" signs and those that don't.  One restaurant had NRA decals in the window.  I guess it's safe to say gun owners carrying are welcome there.