Anybody want a free gun? Or scope? Or other schtuff? Here’s Aaron Spuler’s February roundup of gun and gear give-aways. Good luck.

Handguns

Sig Sauer P224 SAS
Deadline: February 29, 2011
http://www.sigsauer.com/TeamSig/Sweepstakes.aspx

Kahr CM-40
Deadline: February 29, 2011
https://www.galleryofguns.com/about/GGGEntry.aspx

Armalite AR-24
Deadline: February 29, 2012
http://www.americanhandgunner.com/giveaway/

Ruger SR9
Deadline: February 29, 2012
http://www.lincolntactical.net/giveaway/

SIG Sauer P226
Deadline: March 1, 2012
http://www.gunsmagazine.com/giveaway/

Tussy Custom Springfield Armory 1911
Deadline: April 30, 2011
http://www.americanhandgunner.com/giveaway/

Glock 19
Winner announced when membership to Shooters Legion reaches 5,000
http://www.shooterslegion.com

Rifles

Stag Model 3 Carbine
Deadline: February 29, 2012
http://www.ontargetmagazine.com/gun-giveaway

Adcor Defense B.E.A.R. Elite
Deadline: February 29, 2012
http://www.gunsmagazine.com/giveaway/

PR2012SM Optima Muzzleloader
Recurring Monthly
http://www.cva.com/cva-contest.php

Knives

Boker Plus Collector’s Knife
Recurring Monthly
http://www.ebladestore.com/knife-giveaway.shtml

Constitution

Pocket-sized Constitution and Declaration of Independence
Recurring Monthly
http://www.hillsdale.edu/seminars/booklet/default.asp

Gun Rights Organizations

12 Month NRA Freedom Associate Membership
Recurring Monthly
https://www.nrahq.org/FreedomAssoc/default.asp

Accessories

Gun Goddess
Deadline: February 14, 2012
http://www.womensoutdoornews.com/2012/02/wanna-win-won-julie-g-offers-smith-wesson-gift-bundle-for-valentines-day/

Bushnell Legend Ultra HD Riflescope
Deadline: January 31, 2011
http://www.nrahuntersrights.org/

Gerstner & Sons GO12G Shooter’s Chest
Deadline: February 29, 2012
http://www.gundigest.com/sweepstakes

$50 Cabelas Gift Card
Recurring Monthly

http://www.facebook.com/NSSFcomm?sk=app_95936962634

Tuff-Writer Pen (Engraved)
Recurring Monthly
Post a picture on the FB wall of you using your Tuff-Writer pen to enter
http://www.facebook.com/TuffWriter

Gear Care Kit – Field Grade
Recurring Monthly
Post a picture on the FB wall of you using your favorite Sentry Solutions product to enter
http://www.facebook.com/SentrySolutions

.22LR AR-15 Conversion Kit
Recurring Monthly
http://www.ar15conversions.com/

1911 Pistol Grips
Recurring Monthly
http://www.e1911pistolgrips.com/

Crimson Trace Laser Grips
Recurring Monthly
http://www.crimsontrace.com/Home/Support/WinFreeLasergrips/tabid/317/Default.aspx

Osprey Defense Gas Piston Kit
Recurring Monthly
http://gaspiston.com/product/monthly-gas-piston-kit-giveaway/

Gun Care USA Cleaning Kit
Recurring Monthly
http://guncareusa.com/photo-of-the-month

Training

MAG40 Training
Deadline: April 1, 2012
http://thevicki.com/2012/01/31/mag40-training-contest/

Hunting

Bear Hunt
Deadline: March 31, 2012
http://sportsmansnews.com/promotions/sportsmans-news-bear-hunt-giveaway/

Utah Trophy Mule Deer Hunt
Deadline: June 1, 2012
http://www.worldwidetrophyadventures.com/contest/

Our northwestern correspondent, Chris Dumm, has been struck almost, well, dumb. It seems that our friends at the ATF have proposed a common sense change to the firearm import permitting rigamarole that actually makes some common sense. Here’s Chris’s breathless email to our fearless leader. . .

RF:

I read through the notice and the proposed rule, and this actually looks like a good thing. From the ATFE. I’m almost dead from shock, really.

Currently, firearms importers have to apply for a firearm/ammo import permit from the ATFE, and then they have to jam the whole contract’s worth of guns and stuff through the sales contract AND inspection AND shipping AND customs within 12 months. If there’s a glitch and they don’t get it done in 12 months, their permit expires and it’s a PITA to ask for an extention even though they’re almost always granted.

This new rule would see the ATFE issuing 24-month import licenses instead of 12-month licenses, so there wouldn’t be as much of a rush on the importers and less of a monitoring and approval burden on the ATFE itself.

Odd that Holder would propose this; maybe it has something to do with the shitloads of M1 Garands soon to return from Korea?

Chris

Color us surprised. Happily. Anything that makes the import process easier should lead to more gun choices at a lower cost. Theoretically, anyway.

Here’s a link to the relevant legalese in the federal register containing the proposal. You needed some sleep anyway, right? It all boils down to this paragraph.

This proposed rule does not impose any new reporting or recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act. ATF Form 6 currently states that a permit is valid for 12 months from the Director’s date of approval, which is specified on the permit. If this proposed rule is adopted, the ATF Form 6 will be revised under currently approved OMB control number 1140–0005 to reflect the 2 year (24 months) amended period of validity for import permits.

Sorry, but I have to get my shotgun. The dogs are barking at all those pigs flying around outside my window.

The NSSF is reporting continued good times in the firearms bidness.  Year-over-year, NICS (adjusted FBI background check) search volume was up 17.3% in January. Sure, there are the naysayers who base their claims of lower gun sales on other metrics. But you’d have a hard time convincing retailers, manufacturers or SHOT Show attendees that the firearms market is anything less than robust. To say nothing of the stock market. One of the growing areas in a growth industry: internet sales. The acceptance of which seems to be increasing, particularly among local brick and mortar dealers who buyers have to call on to do the FFL transfer dirty work for them. BUT . . .

As a recent survey of retailers for shootingindustry.com shows, the vast majority of gun stores are agreeing to do the transfers for Internet buyers ’cause there’s money in them there services.

The study showed a dramatic increase in retailer willingness to perform transfers for online sales in recent years. Some 45 percent of the responding retailers indicate that they have begun performing Internet transfers within the past five years – nearly have of those have only begun within the past two years.

The motivating factor: dinero. This is America, right? Sure, there are plenty of gun stores that may grumble and look at an Internet transfer as a lost sale, but they see the service as an opportunity for add-on sales. Not to mention wanting to provide a service to existing customers.

And doing the transfers also brings new customers in the door. What’s not asked: how much the retailers charge for their FFL expertise. A gun store that charges $100 or more to do an Internet transfer technically “does Internet transfers” for the purposes of the survey. In practice, though, they’re using the high price to tell anyone who asks to take a hike.

Which brings us to the question, does your store do on-line transfers? Are you sheepish about asking? Do they welcome the business or do they look at you sideways for not buying from them directly? And how much do they ding you for the service?

According to philly.com columnist Kevin Riordan, DyAnn DiSalvo is an unobservant, self-absorbed children’s book author and illustrator living in Merchantville, New Jersey (“a quaint Camden County borough of about 3,800, Merchantville is best known for Victorian architecture”). Actually, Riordan doesn’t describe her as unobservant and self-absorbed. That’s just the obvious conclusion drawn from reading of her outrage at looking up one day recently and noticing that her small town just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia now sports a gun store. And that it’s been there for over a year. Which means that something must be done about this. Now.

“I was completely startled when I saw a sign saying ‘firearms and ammunition,’ ” says DiSalvo, who has lived in the borough for 10 years and is the mother of two grown children. “I thought, ‘Why is there a gun store here?’ “

Being a Brooklyn, New York native, DyAnn’s probably more accustomed to an idyllic, gun-free atmosphere where suddenly coming upon a gun store in your neighborhood would be about as likely (and as welcome) as finding a newly established combination methadone clinic/hazardous waste disposal center had opened down the street. As the title to the piece ominously indicates, the store’s mere existence…raises questions. And more sympathetic to DiSalvo’s concerns, columnist Riordan could not be.

Firearms pervade our culture; they make some people feel secure and others afraid. Many people have no interest in owning (much less firing) one. And we’d rather not live near a commercial establishment that supplies folks who do.

But DyAnn doesn’t like what the gun store, RayCo Armory, says about her little burgh to unsuspecting visitors.

“Here’s the ‘Welcome to Merchantville’ sign, there’s the elementary school, there’s the fried chicken, and there’s the gun shop,” says DiSalvo, who grew up in Brooklyn. “Welcome to Merchantville!”

So DiSalvo’s begun a letter-writing campaign to make sure her senses aren’t assaulted again in this manner.

“Business is business, but they need to be regulated into certain areas – business areas,” she says. “This is a residential area.

“Merchantville . . . needs to wake up. We need to change the zoning laws.”

DiSalvo obviously believes that certain types of undesirable retail enterprises need to be confined to ghettos so they don’t affront the sensibilities of decent people. The LEOs and hunters who frequent RayCo just aren’t the kind of patrons DyAnn thinks are suitable to be readily seen by polite society.

But rather than amending the town’s zoning laws and changing the way Merchantville licenses and locates lawful businesses, there may be another solution. Perhaps RayCo, local gun enthusiasts, second amendment advocates and other lovers of free enterprise could take up a collection and offer to move DyAnn out of Merchantville to another town where her delicate sensibilities won’t be assaulted on a regular basis by the presence of a gun store and its reprobate customers. If, that is, they can find another town that’s willing to have her.

Once is a cautionary curiosity. Twice in a fortnight is a cringe-worthy trend. To wit: a co-worker was lowering a nail gun—one with a disabled safety—down to Jeff Luptak. The construction worker reached up. He hit the trigger, driving a nail three inches into his melon. Due to the lucky angle of the threepenny projectile and the skill of Luptak’s neurosurgeons, he’s recovering from the cranial intrusion. Speaking to startribune.com, Dr. Tariq Janjua said the nail lodged “‘in the middle of the brain’s two hemispheres, just grazing major artery vessels.’ Had the nail gone any direction either way, he added, Luptak’s story would have ended much differently.” How long before OSHA mandates and eight-hour training class and a five-day waiting period for a D51238K?

We’ve all seen the pink paraphernalia everywhere. From the Pepto pink grocery bags at the store to the pink shoes, towels and even mouth guards worn by NFL players, few charities have so effectively been adopted as a worthy cause to support as has breast cancer awareness. But now the driving force behind all that pinkness, the Susan G. Komen Foundation, has taken the whole pink thing to uncharted territory.

Komen’s teamed up with Discount Gun Sales in Seattle to offer pink Walther P-22s. Pink guns have been a popular item for a while, of course, but this one isn’t just a painfully transparent way to appeal to women shooters. OK it is but a portion of the sales proceeds for these guns will go to breast cancer research.

From seattle.cbslocal.com:

The gun, a Walther P-22, is already available for purchase at $429.99.

“Discount Gun Sales is proud to team up with the Susan B. Koman [sic] Foundation to offer the Walther P-22 Hope Edition in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” the page reads. “A portion of each P-22 Hope Edition will be donated to the Seattle Branch of the Susan G. Komen Foundation.”

The new “Hope Edition” P-22 would seem to be tailor-made for an upcoming Brady or VPC press release decrying the association of an organization previously known for working to prolong women’s lives with an instrument of death and destruction. See what I did there? I wrote it for them.

Knock yourselves out, boys.

“Because we are the federal ‘gun police’ and we have the experience with the different firearms that have been manufactured and sold, we’re going to provide any assistance they need,” ATF Special Agent Helen Dunkel said. “ATF is the agency that traces crime guns. This firearm is now involved in a crime because it was stolen.” Whew! We know we feel better knowing the conscientious folks at ATF are on the job. You? The particular gun that Agent Dunkel’s bird-dogging is Salinas city councilwoman Gloria De La Rosa‘s stolen AK-47. Or SKS. Well, it was one of those. Probably. Since both are pretty much always illegal in the Golden State, does it really matter?

Well, yes it does. Particularly if you’re not a councilwoman or other member of California’s privileged class for whom the state’s onerous gun laws don’t really apply. And as monteryherald.com tells it, Dunkel’s making some progress.

An outlawed assault rifle stolen from a Salinas councilwoman’s home was bought at an Arizona gun show, police say, and investigators are now looking into its origins.

The gun was reported stolen in a recent burglary at the St. Michael Way home of City Councilwoman Gloria De La Rosa.

Following up on leads provided by De La Rosa and others interviewed, investigators say they are tracing the gun’s history in hopes of learning details about the weapon. Police believe the gun was either an AK-47 or SKS rifle, both of which are mostly outlawed in California, with rare exceptions.

The assault rifles are legal in Arizona, however, and police believe the weapon may have been legally purchased by De La Rosa’s late son-in-law at a gun show there and later brought into California.

“While they may have in good faith strongly believed that it was legal, ignorance of the law is not a (legal) defense,” Salinas Deputy Police Chief Kelly McMillin said.

But De La Rosa may skate anyway.

Police say they are convinced the weapon was an illegal assault rifle, but because the only evidence comes from a family photo and statements, McMillin said prosecutors don’t have enough to prove possession of an illegal weapon.

“Prosecutors can’t prove it based on suspect statements and a photo,” he said. “Without the gun, you can’t prove it’s an assault weapon.”

We’re sure any of De La Rosa’s constituents would be treated with just as much deference and understanding.

Everyone knows the automobile industry uses crash test dummies. The cosmetics industry has their cute little bunny rabbits. The computer industry relies on anyone who uses Microsoft products. It seems every industry needs some way to find out what happens when their products interact with the real world. Now our friends at the Department of Homeland Security are looking for an equivalent to a crash test dummy for firearm and ammunition testing…

No, they aren’t looking for something to shoot at – they’re looking for something to do the shooting. The National Firearms and Tactical Training Unit (NFTTU) issued a (now closed) Small Business Innovation Research (SIBR) solicitation titled “Replicating Human Functionality during Firearms and Ammunition Testing with a Mechanical Device.”  Basically they’re looking for a device to “replace the human firing system [huh?] with a mechanical device.”  They specify the device should:

• Be easy to mount and re-load with full magazines;
• Mimic the exact counter forces of a broad demographic range of human hands during firing, recoil cycle, bullet/cartridge ejection and post-firing forward movement of the gun; and
• Allow for similar accuracy as when completed by human testers

They’re also looking for “modeling of complex, multi-degree forces exerted on the human body when a gun is fired as well as the resulting reactionary/counter forces that are then exerted on the gun by the human body.” Well, alrighty then. I guess that means they want to know how badly it smarts when that improperly-held Bennelli 12 gauge Nova pump action dislocates your shoulder.

There are three phases to this project that range from virtual modeling and prototype development to final operational testing and acceptance (and then, we have to assume, use).  Hi-tech auto crash test dummies can run automakers upwards of half a million samolians. Anyone what to venture a guess what this will end up costing the taxpayer by the time DHS is done with it?

[Ed: The following article is republished from thegunwire.com with the author's permission]

This is all the Grand Canyon State needs – more bad press – when things are going well for freedom-loving Arizonans. Here’s the story at eurweb.com: “The bullet riddled tee shirt of President Obama posted brazenly on Facebook by seven semi-automatic gun toting men among them a Peoria, Arizona police sergeant was much more than the by now standard non-stop litany of racist cartoons, depictions, web postings, and kooky loose talk threats against President Obama.”

Posting this on Facebook is pure stupidity. Posing for the pic wasn’t very bright (raising the eyebrow of Secret Service agents in Arizona, for openers), and the entire episode is in bad taste. Using the shirt for a target – well, I couldn’t care less. It could be a picture of anyone and I’d look at it the same. What if it were a picture of Sean Penn? Or George Bush? If it was George Bush, would the eurweb.com article even have been written?

It’s in bad taste to shoot at any target depicting any real, live human being, except obvious enemies like OBL or Saddam Hussein (when they were alive) or commercial targets with real people playing the role of the threat. Even then, is it really necessary?  I mean, we’ve got plenty of cool zombie targets. And think about it:  Obama/Zombie…Zombie/Obama… not much difference. Only one as a target is much less inflammatory and doesn’t flag you for law enforcement scrutiny.

The gun toting men and the police sergeant were taking target practice on the president’s likeness at an undisclosed desert locale.  The gun toting men made a virtual public call for the gunning down of the president comes on Facebook.

That’s reading a little too much into it. They shot up a shirt. It’s a big leap to call that a “public call for the gunning down of the president.”

Again, if it were a picture of Sean Penn, would it be considered a “public call for the gunning down of a celebrity?” Doubt it. If it were George Bush? Hell, if it were Bush, I’m sure the left would give these guys merit badges. They would be invited to fancy dinners and given a big pat on the back.

There is nothing shadowy or conspiratorial about what police sergeant Pat Shearer and his gun packing friends in Peoria, Arizona did. It was brazen and very open. The clueless Shearer for his part saw nothing inappropriate, let alone, dangerous, about what he did. He chalked it up to much ado about nothing or as he put it he didn’t think that shooting up a t-shirt with President Obama’s face on it “was that big a deal.” It was more than a big deal. The target in their in gun sights, not a regular bull eye, a likeness of Howdy Dowdy, or a Cactus plant. It was President Obama. Federal prosecutors should see it as the “big deal” that it is and bring charges.

It would seem to me the LEO should have known better than to participate in such an affair, and looking at this situation, I can completely understand the outrage towards the LEO – but not the civilians. I can’t say what the outcome should be for the LEO – that’s not my call…but common sense would dictate he shouldn’t have been involved. For the other shooters, it should be a learning experience – nothing more.

Really, do any of these guys have any common sense?  Or class?

Earlier this week the Chicago-based National Gun Victims Action Council released a statement promoting a boycott of Starbucks on Feb 14^th.  I do not usually pander to the fringe anti-gun lobby, but something about this whole crusade bothered me. Well, a number of things. First, let’s look at the facts . . .

On January 30, 2010, Starbucks landed in the middle of a political mess. Two other Bay Area chains refused service to people that were following California law and openly carrying unloaded handguns. The group from opencarry.org moved on to another coffee house in the area, which happened to be Starbucks.

When the mainstream media got wind of the story, they quickly turned the open carry demo into a heated debate about private property owners’ firearms policies in general, and Starbucks’ rules in particular. Gun control advocates pressed Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz: why had the chain allowed loaded guns on its premises?

What happened next shocked just about everyone around the county. Starbucks decided they would follow state law where the store was located. If you’re legally allowed to carry a firearm in your state—whether that’s concealed or openly displayed—you could do so inside a Starbucks.

Despite numerous letters and appeals from The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, National Gun Victims Action Council and other gun control groups, Starbucks refused to budge on this subject. As far as they were concerned, the issue was settled.

Starbucks profits were up 10% last quarter again, so obviously they are doing something right. If gun control advocates don’t like Starbucks’ policies or their coffee, the solution is easy enough: don’t patronize their stores. There are plenty of businesses I no longer patronize because I don’t like their policy on something.

That doesn’t mean that I’ll try to organize a national movement to try to pressure a company to change its policies. They’d have to do something seriously out of line, and do it to millions of like-minded people.

NGVAC claims to represent 40 million people all over the county. At last count only 99 of the purported 40 million have cared enough about the movememt to “like” them on Facebook.  That math works out to 0.0000025% of their “membership.” Or right around 1 in 400,000.

They make a number of false claims, such as the picture of the FN FiveseveN handgun with a caption of “Capable of penetrating a cop’s vest.” This is a lie and they know it. The only way that a FiveseveN is going to penetrate a soft armor vest is with armor-piercing rounds which are not for sale to civilians.

The NGVAC also claims that you increase your risk of “being a victim of gun violence” just by being in a state that allows concealed or open carry. They claim that a Glock is to blame for shooting 31 rounds in 15 seconds, killing 6 and injuring 14 in Tucson. They blame the gun and they blame the “lack of laws.” No one blames the person that pulled the trigger.

But just as the gun control group has the right to stay away from Starbucks, we have the right to support them. There are several pages and Facebook groups to help get the word out about Starbucks Appreciation Day.

If you can open carry in your state (and feel comfortable doing so) then open carry in your local Starbucks to show your support. I will be there, at least a few times that day with my Sig on my hip for all to see. If you can’t, at least spend a $2 bill and thank the barrista for their employer’s support of your Second Amendment rights.

Edmund Burke said that “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Well here’s something you can do to protect your rights against those who would disarm us against evil.

• http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/01/robert-farago/starbucks-appreciation-day-going-viral-with-a-bullet/
• http://www.pagunblog.com/2012/01/23/starbucks-appreciation-day-2/
• http://nwfreethinker.blogspot.com/2012/01/make-valentines-day-starbucks-kind-of.html
• http://blog.joehuffman.org/2012/01/25/StarbucksAppreciation.aspx
• https://www.facebook.com/events/309772139073555/
• https://www.facebook.com/events/261743290558881/