If you are in Arizona, or will be on June 12, 2015, make sure you attend the Arizona Firearms Enthusiast Club Friends of NRA banquet at Gainey Ranch Golf Club.  The food should be great and the raffles and auctions will be stellar. The money raised will be used to support youth firearm safety and education programs, hunter education, range development and improvement, women’s training seminars, and wildlife conservation efforts.  Don’t worry, your Friends of NRA dinner won’t be politicized.  These events are apolitical.

Did I mention you can win guns at the dinner?

You can order tickets directly through the Friends of NRA website.

I hope to see you there!

Time is almost up for you to win one, or more, (nearly) free guns at the 2013 Gun Blogger Rendezvous in Reno, NV this week.   Just register for Gun Blogger Rendezvous, take a trip to the Silver Legacy Hotel in Reno, and buy raffle tickets, comfortable in the knowledge that the proceeds will go to Soldiers Angels.

What can you win if you participate?

True Blue Sam put together this little video to show you.

What about the guns? 

Yes, you could win a stainless Ruger .357 Magnum Blackhawk donated by True Blue Sam.

You could win this pre-WWII Stevens “Little Scout 14-1/2” rifle, restored and donated by Engineering Johnson.

You could also win a Hipoint.  Last year, Hipoint donated a 9mm Carbine, and I believe they have generously donated another.

You could also win a lot of other great products, generously donated by Gun Blogger Rendezvous sponsors.

Last year, Mz. VRWC won an awesome stainless steel Ruger Single-Ten (donated by Ruger) along with a custom tooled holster made by Engineering Johnson.  We also brought home a wheelbarrow full of other great prizes, including a Crimson Trace LightGuard, a Leupold Mark AR scope, AR-15 magazines from Brownells, and many other great prizes from numerous event sponsors.

What are you waiting for?  Get signed up and attend the 2013 Gun Blogger Rendezvous!

The 8th Annual Gun Blogger Rendezvous is right around the corner, it’s being held September 5th through the 8th, 2013, at the Silver Legacy Hotel in Reno, Nevada. Last year’s GBR was fantastic, we raised about $6000 for Project Valour-IT, met a bunch of great people, shot OPG and came home with a handful of prizes from sponsors. What’s not to like about that?

This year, Gun Blogger Rendezvous promises more fun, shooting and prizes, and I’m really looking forward to it.  In no particular order, here are five reasons you should head up to Reno for GBR VIII:

True Blue Sam is donating a Ruger Blackhawk

Engineering Johnson is donating a beautiful rifle

Molly will be there to teach everyone how to shoot Steel Challenge!

Friday Night Activities – Double Elimination Pistol competition in our own private hospitality room using the Optical Computer Aided Training Simulator from Outwest systems, using real guns shooting lasers instead of bullets. An OCAT System will be awarded to one of the competitors by random drawing (you’re going to have to fight me for this).

If none of the above reasons were good enough, thanks to gunauction.com, we’re going to be shooting bowling balls out of a Mortar:

The Gun Blogger Rendezvous is not just for gun bloggers. if you read gun blogs, enjoy shooting or shooting sports, are interested in Second Amendment issues, or are in the shooting sports industry in some manner, you are all welcome to the Gun Blogger Rendezvous. To register and for more information, check out the Gun Blogger Rendezvous website

SC Kid (of Sandcastle Scrolls fame) shares his experience shooting a belt-fed machine gun match, with the gun and ammo supplied for free (courtesy of Rio Salado Salado Sportsman’s Club).

He’s a good kid, and I’m glad he got a chance to shoot something that cool with OPA.  I’m not jealous at all.  Nope, not at all.

Ok, maybe just a little bit.

This is the peak of the Anti-NRA protest on Saturday Afternoon during the 2013 NRA Annual Meeting and Convention in Houston, Texas. The mainstream media were reporting 35-40 protestors, but when you looked closely, you could tell that there were several pro-rights people engaging the antis, most likely leading to an overinflation of the count.

As I was taking this picture, a gentleman walked up to us and said, “Where are the protesters? I was looking forward to a good argument!”

Heh.

On Sunday at 10am, there were no protestors to be found.

By the middle of the day on Sunday, less than a handful of protestors decided to show up.  They looked pretty lost and dejected, and just paced around in small circles for a few hours.

And for some big picture perspective:

Here I am on Friday afternoon with Larry Houck at the FNH booth.  (Many thanks to Larry and the other awesome Team FNH shooters for taking the time to give me an amazing detailed lesson on 3-gun shotgun reloading).

The important thing to note here is that There are more people in the background of this picture than there were anti-gun protestors at the NRA Convention.  

Kevin From The Smallest Minority had a very similar observation, and he’s got some great pictures of the attendance disparity here.

While reading the transcript of President Obama’s gun control speech this morning, I came across this shocking statement:

“If you think that checking someone’s criminal record before he can check out a gun show is common sense, you’ve got to make yourself heard.”

A background check before CHECKING OUT a gun show? This is guilty until proven innocent on steroids and a Constitutional violation of epic proportions.

Folks, it’s become perfectly clear that this isn’t about reducing gun violence, it’s about restricting as many of your Constitutional rights as possible.  I can’t help but ask myself why President Obama and his band of anti-rights, gun grabbers want to make it as difficult as possible for responsible and law abiding citizens to even look at a firearm? I’ll let you decide for yourself, but I can’t come up with an answer that isn’t truly terrifying.

Gabrielle Giffords’ husband and anti-rights activist, Mark Kelly, recently drew a great deal of (earned) criticism for purchasing an AR-15.  Well, make that ALMOST purchasing.

The President of Diamondback Police Supply just made the following statement on their Facebook page:

Statement of Douglas MacKinlay, Owner/President, Diamondback Police Supply Co., Inc.

“While I support and respect Mark Kelly’s 2nd Amendment rights to purchase, possess, and use firearms in a safe and responsible manner, his recent statements to the media made it clear that his intent in purchasing the Sig Sauer M400 5.56mm rifle from us was for reasons other then for his personal use. In light of this fact, I determined that it was in my company’s best interest to terminate this transaction prior to his returning to my store to complete the Federal From 4473 and NICS background check required of Mr. Kelly before he could take possession this firearm. A full refund was sent to Mr. Kelly, via express mail, on Thursday of last week.

The Sig Sauer rifle will be donated to the Arizona Tactical Officers Association where it will be raffled off to generate funds the association can use to purchase much needed tactical equipment for the organization’s members. The A.T.O. A. represents the SWAT and Special Response officers of the state’s law enforcement community who regularly place their lives on the line to protect the residents of this state.

Additionally, Diamondback Police Supply will make a $1295.00 contribution (the selling price of the M400 rifle) to the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program that teaches children, in pre-K through 3rd grade, four important steps to take if they find a gun. The emphasis of the program is on child safety, something that is important to all of us and at the core of the current debate on gun control,” stated Douglas MacKinlay, Owner/President, Diamondback Police Supply Co., Inc.

Mr. Kelly left Diamondback Police Supply with no choice – if they had completed the transaction, they would have been in a heap of trouble and quite possibly lost their Federal Firearms License. Perhaps Mr. Kelly will better acquaint himself with the tens of thousands of existing gun laws before he attempts his next stunt.

Also, kudos to Diamondback Police Supply for their generosity in supporting the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program, it’s a great program and that money will be well spent.