Update: Military Brass Destruction and ATK March 27, 2010

Having suffered a “Zumbo moment,” corporate giant ATK now seeks to redeem its image after its aggressive run at destroying all used military brass. Even though ATK was actively soliciting military installations to join its brass destruction program as recently as last Wednesday, ATK said in a fresh press release on Friday, “ATK fully supports the provision passed by Congress last year to ensure that demilitarized spent brass casings remain available for civilian use.”

Industry and gun culture insiders report that ATK head Mark DeYoung is one of us, a gun owner and sportsman. Great. However, to refurbish its image and get beyond this “Zumbo moment,” ATK will need to do more than simply post a statement announcing that it now fully supports a congressional ban on brass destruction enacted last year. Read more

Military Cartridge Brass Destruction 2010 – Round 2

by Gary Marbut, President, Montana Shooting Sports Association

The cure that was arranged by Montana Senators Baucus and Tester to fix the intended military destruction of once-fired cartridge brass last year appears to be suffering from a fatal end-run.

Interested persons will remember that a year ago, helpful intervention by Montana’s senators persuaded the Department of Defense to rescind a fresh DoD directive to military installation commanders requiring them to destroy once-fired brass, prior to selling it at auction into the civilian marketplace for ammunition reloading and other purposes. Read more

Gun Safety Classes – Missoula area

Gun Safety for Personal Protection and Concealed Weapon Permits Course April 10th or April 18th

MISSOULA – A course entitled “Gun Safety for Personal Protection and Concealed Weapon Permits” will be hosted in Missoula by the Montana Shooting Sports Association and taught by Gary Marbut on both Saturday, April 10th and also on Sunday, April 18th. Both one-day courses will focus on safe handling, storage and use of handguns suitable for personal protection, selecting a personal firearm, issues of personal protection, allowable use of lethal force, concealed weapon permits, kids and gun safety, and shooting skills, and will include both classroom and shooting range sessions. Graduates will receive a credential qualifying them to apply for concealed weapon permits under Montana law. The class will begin at 9:00 AM, and finish about 4:00 PM. Class size is limited to the first 20 registrants and preregistration and pre-class study are required. The cost is $90 per student. Students should be 16 years or older. For further information or to register, call 549-1252 or email gary@marbut.com.
- 30 -

Information: Gary Marbut, president MSSA, 549-1252

Note to prospective students: These two classes are the same, so you could attend on either the 10th, or the 18th. If you want into either class, call or email me and I’ll get you registered. If you send me an email, I will need your first and last name, a valid USPS mail address, a contact phone number, and which class you wish to attend.

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

MT. To Celebrate “Right To Keep And Bear Arms” Week Beginning March 1st.

*Editor’s Note* Below is an email message I received from Gary Marbut, President of the Montana Shooting Sports Association. It is a reminder to members of MSSA that beginning on March 1, 2010 will be the start of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Week. As a bonus, Marbut included a short recap of how the RKBA Week evolved.

Celebrate!!

In 1991 MSSA got a bill passed setting aside the first week of March as the official week in Montana to celebrate our cherished Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

Here’s what the Montana law actually says: Read more

Lead shot ban narrowly defeated – report

You may have read or heard that the FWP Commission turned back the FWP Department’s proposed lead shot ban for upland game bird hunting on a narrow 3-2 vote.

The Missoulian/Lee Bureau story is located HERE.

From the story: “Fish, Wildlife and Parks Director Joe Maurier suggested looking at such a ban in certain areas in Montana after returning from a conference of wildlife managers.” Read more

Head Of Montana Shooting Sports Association Proposes Manufacture Of Youth Rifle

Gary Marbut, President of the Montana Shooting Sports Association and lone plaintiff in MSSA v. Holder, has proposed the manufacture of a youth .22 caliber rifle if the Montana Firearms Freedom Act actually becomes laws. It will be called the Montana Buckaroo.

The Montana Firearms Freedom Act was actually signed into law by Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer last year. The law states that any firearm or firearm accessory that is manufactured in Montana and is sold in Montana cannot be regulated by the Federal Government. Marbut’s proposed manufacturing of this youth rifle would fall under the rules of such a law. Read more

Montana High Court Says SSNs To Hunt And Fish Necessary

Gun Group Frustrated with Supreme Court Privacy Opinion Constitutional Rights for Sale?

MISSOULA – The Montana Shooting Sports Association (MSSA) was handed an unfavorable decision by the Montana Supreme Court in MSSA’s lawsuit claiming that it violates the right to privacy in the Montana Constitution for Montanans to be required to divulge a Social Security Number (SSN) in order to legally hunt and fish in Montana.

This MSSA lawsuit has been percolating through the courts since January of 2006. While MSSA argued that the requirement to provide an SSN to hunt and fish was unconstitutional, the State of Montana contended that it must collect SSNs to remain eligible under federal law for federal funds for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Read more

A Warning To Outdoor Users About Echinococcus, From Worms

by

Tom Remington

This is a warning to outdoor users about a potentially deadly biological event that could result from one’s curiosity to poke at and kick through scat from wolves, coyotes and foxes. Of course not everyone knowingly does this but many hunters, trappers and simply the curious, want to know what these animals have been eating.

Read more

Feds Decline To “Relist” Prairie Dogs

A story in the Billings Gazette today reports that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has declined to act on the latest petition from an environmental group to put Prairie Dogs on the Endangered Species List.

You may be aware that MSSA has fought against Prairie Dog listing for years. We’ve seen such efforts as further attempts to hijack wildlife and land by the enviro-wackos. PDs could be the most numerous and widely-distributed animal in the U.S.; certainly one of the most. There are uncounted millions of PDs in 11 states, occupying (and decimating) vast tracts of land. Read more

Utah Firearms Freedom Act

The Utah Firearms Freedom Act has been pre-filed with, and has passed, an interim committee of the Utah Legislature. Until it gets an official bill number on December 1st, it is known as File # 0032. Because the bill has been adopted as a committee bill of a joint House/Senate interim committee, it will come to both the House and Senate with definite legs when the full Utah Legislature convenes in January.

The Utah bill is at:
http://le.utah.gov/interim/2009/pdf/00001506.pdf Read more

« Previous Page — Next Page »