Free NRA Memberships!

From Michael Waddell's blog...
The NRA is giving FREE 1-yr memberships to everyone who wants to join.

They are trying to build up their membership to fight pending legislation that impacts our right to keep and bear arms.
It is very important that anti-gun congressmen see how many people they will have to fight to get their legislation through.

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!

This can include spouses and children also
https://www.nrahq.org/nrabonus/accept-membership.asp

SIGN UP TODAY!! It only takes 2 minutes.

I have already done this and it is legit! Please take the time to register, it is quick and easy!

Virginia's Hunters and Anglers Have a Significant Impact on the Economy

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Virginia's 857,000 hunters and anglers are among the most prominent and influential of all demographic groups, spending more than $1.3 billion a year on hunting and fishing, according to a new report.

The new report, "Hunting and Fishing: Bright Stars of the American Economy ~ A force as big as all outdoors," spotlights the immense impact hunters and anglers have on the economy at the national and state level.

In Virginia, spending by hunters and anglers directly supports 24,000 jobs, which puts $683 million worth of paychecks into pockets of working residents around the state. Of course, government coffers also benefit -- spending by sportsmen in pursuit of these outdoor activities generates $128 million in state and local taxes. These latest figures demonstrate that season after season hunters and anglers are driving the economy from big businesses to rural towns, through booms and recessions.

"Because sportsmen enjoy hunting or fishing alone or in small groups, they are overlooked as a constituency and as a substantial economic force," stated Jeff Crane, president of the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation. "When you compare spending by hunters and anglers to other sectors, their impact on the state's economy becomes more tangible."

* Sportsmen support more jobs in Virginia than Northrop Grumman in Newport News and Virginia Tech University combined (24,000 jobs vs. 23,000).
* Annual spending by Virginia sportsmen is more than the combined revenues of Southside Oil, Uppy's Convenience Stores, Apex Systems, and Lumber Liquidators - the state's four fastest growing companies grossing over $100 million ($1.3 billion vs. $932 million).
* Sportsmen spend more in Virginia than the combined cash receipts from broilers, cattle and dairy products - the state's top three agricultural commodities ($1.3 billion vs. $1.2 billion).
* Virginia sportsmen annually spend $175 million on outboard boats and engines to get out on the water and around the marshes for fishing and hunting.
* Virginia sportsmen could fill both Richmond International Raceway and Martinsville Speedway nearly 5 times (857,000 vs. 177,000).
* The economic stimulus of hunting and fishing equates to an astounding $3.6 million a day being pumped into the state's economy.

"Spending by sportsmen benefits not only the manufacturers of hunting and fishing related products, but everything from local mom and pop businesses to wildlife conservation," noted Doug Painter, president of National Shooting Sports Foundation. "And because most hunting and fishing takes place in rural areas, much of the spending benefits less affluent parts of the state."

On the national level, 34 million sportsmen age 16 and older spent more than $76 billion in 2006, supporting 1.6 million jobs. If a single corporation grossed as much as hunters and anglers spend, it would be among America's 20 largest, ahead of Target, Costco and AT&T. And if all hunters and anglers had voted during the last presidential election, they would have equaled 31 percent of all votes cast. If all hunters and anglers living in Virginia voted, they would have equaled 38 percent of all votes cast in the state.

These statistics are impressive and, if anything, they underestimate the impact of sportsmen since they do not take into account the millions of hunters and anglers under 16 years of age or people who were not able to get out and hunt or fish in 2006. When sportsmen's spending is thought of in business terms and compared to other sectors of the economy, it is quite remarkable. From small rural towns scattered across our country's landscape to the bottom-line of Fortune 500 companies located in major cities, if you take away hunting and fishing you take away the equivalent of a multi-billion dollar corporation.

"It is a fairly simple equation – hunters and anglers mean jobs in states and local communities that have made the effort to maintain their hunting and fishing opportunities," said Crane. "The economic impacts that sportsmen have on state economies should be a wake-up call to state governments to welcome and encourage hunting and fishing in their state."

The report, "Hunting and Fishing: Bright Stars of the American Economy ~ A force as big as all outdoors," was produced by the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation with support from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, National Marine Manufacturers Association, National Shooting Sports Foundation and SCI - First For Hunters. The report uses the results from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation and statistics provided by the American Sportfishing Association and Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.



The report: "Hunting and Fishing: Bright Stars of the American Economy ~ A force as big as all outdoors" along with STATE FACTS are available on the Web at
www.sportsmenslink.org and www.nssf.org

For more information or questions contact: Melinda Gable 202-302-4794 or at Melinda@sportsmenslink.org



###

About CSF
CSF is the most respected and trusted hunting and fishing organization in the political arena. With support from every major hunting and fishing organization, CSF is the leader in promoting sportsmen's issues with elected officials. CSF works directly with the bi-partisan, bi-cameral Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus in the U.S. Congress, as well as affiliated state sportsmen's caucuses in state legislatures around the country.

About NSSF
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the shooting, hunting and firearms industry whose purpose is to provide trusted leadership in addressing industry challenges. NSSF concentrates efforts on measurably advancing participation in and understanding of hunting and the shooting sports; reaffirming and strengthening their members' commitment to the safe and responsible use of their products; and promoting a political climate supportive of America's traditional firearms rights.

Interesting article by Bob McNally

I stumbled across this interesting article on mossyoak.com.

Outdoorsmen Spend $55 Per Second
Bob McNally


An email crossed my desk recently about how Smith & Wesson firearms has just become a new and important member of National Hunting and Fishing Day, slated this year for September 2008.

Buried in that good news, however, was the astounding fact that through licenses and excise taxes, outdoor enthusiasts pony up $100,000 every 30 minutes for fish, wildlife and habitat programs. And that’s been going on for decades.

A quick check with a calculator shows that sportsmen belly-up $4.8 million every day for wildlife; $72 million per month; or just under $2 billion annually.

That’s billion, with a “B”; you know, 1,000 times $1 million.

Big bucks, huge money, all voluntarily spent by hunters and fishermen who initiated excise taxes on their own fishing and hunting gear; and whose licenses pay the freight on everything from studying whooping cranes to tagging Stone's sheep.

Good things to keep in mind next time you run into someone who raises an eyebrow when he learns you hunt; or can’t understand why that 200 Yamaha is on your bass boat.

Without sportsmen and their expensive toys and licenses, rare would be the bird watcher photographing warblers in a wildlife refuge, or a family camping on public land.

From MossyOak.com

Mossy Oak ProStaff Expands Participation
Staff Reports | May 06, 2008


For more than 20 years the Mossy Oak ProStaff has represented perhaps hunting’s most prestigious collection of outdoors personalities, a group of highly visible, hard-hunting conservationists with the ethics of fair chase and traditional family values at its core. Over the years, we’ve all seen many great Hall of Fame-type names associated with Mossy Oak… Mark and Terry Drury, Will Primos, Ted Nugent, Warren Strickland, Jim Dougherty and Barry Wensel to mention only a few.

Certainly the Mossy Oak ProStaff has benefitted everyone involved. To have ultra-successful, well- known hunters counting on the concealment advantages of good-looking and magnificently effective camouflages represents the proverbial win-win, whether you’re Mossy Oak, the Drury Brothers, a world-class manufacturer of hunting products or the free-spirited individual who just lives to hunt.

Expanding the all-important ProStaff recently became a top-priority initiative for the company’s marketing department led by Butch English and Ben Maki. The number of requests for more personal, countrywide representation has paralleled the incredible rise of the Mossy Oak brand since inception, but, of late, the interest in more and better personal contact between Mossy Oak and its friends has increased exponentially.

The upshot of all this is a program led by a dedicated manager, Tim Anderson, who is well into building out an all-new, uniquely cohesive, multi-tiered Mossy Oak ProStaff.

The Elite level will continue to consist of those people with national influences. The regional level, the newest second tier of the Mossy Oak ProStaff, will represent specific geographic region of the country while also managing the new local Prostaff level.

“Not only will we have more personal touches with consumers locally, but we’ll have folks in place regionally to promote the best patterns for each area, which follows the pursuit-specific approach,” said Anderson. So far the results have been nothing short of staggering.

Interested individuals are encouraged to contact Anderson via email at tanderson@mossyoak.com.

Statement of Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President of the NRA:

America Has Lost A Great Patriot

4/6/2008

Today, my heart is heavy with the loss of Charlton Heston. America has lost a great patriot. The Second Amendment has lost a faithful friend. So have I, and so have four million NRA members and eighty million gun owners. And so has every American who cares about the Bill of Rights, individual liberty, and Freedom.

My heart is heavy, but not without a sense of pride. Pride in a man who devoted his life to his profession with grace and dignity. Pride in an American who devoted himself to civil rights, to correcting injustices around him, and to standing up for what he knew was right. Pride in a friend who stood with me and stood with fellow NRA members to preserve our freedom for future generations. Pride in a patriot who believed with every fiber of his being that our Bill of Rights is the foundation of our freedom that makes Americans singular among the masses of nations.

And now, Charlton Heston has passed that duty to us - the next generation. I am as proud to continue his cause as I am to have known him as my friend.

But today, my thoughts cannot leave the Heston family. They have always had my utmost respect and admiration and, today, they have my deepest sympathy and most earnest prayers, and they will always have my friendship.

Sad news About Charlton Heston

Screen legend and former NRA President Charlton Heston has died at age 84. It’s a big loss for a lot of people and my condolences go out to all of his family, friends, and fans. More information will follow later.

NWTF CEO Keck steps down after 27 years

Interesting news from the NWTF, the press release is below...

After 30 Years of Service, NWTF CEO Steps Down



EDGEFIELD, S.C. — After 30 years of distinguished service, including 27 years as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Wild Turkey Federation, Rob Keck has decided, for personal and family reasons, to step aside from his duties with the Federation as of June 1, 2008.

Wednesday morning, the NWTF's National Board of Directors reluctantly accepted this decision. Under Mr. Keck's leadership, the NWTF has grown into one of the nation's premier conservation organizations.

The NWTF is a grassroots, nonprofit organization with more than 550,000 members in 50 states, Canada, Mexico and 14 other foreign countries. It supports scientific wildlife management on public, private and corporate lands as well as wild turkey hunting as a traditional North American sport.

In 1973, the National Wild Turkey Federation was founded in Fredericksburg, Va. At that time, there were an estimated 1.3 million wild turkeys and 1.5 million turkey hunters. Shortly after its founding, the NWTF moved to Edgefield, S.C., where it is headquartered today.

Thanks to the work of federal, state and provincial wildlife agencies and the NWTF's many volunteers and partners, there are now more than 7 million wild turkeys and nearly 3 million turkey hunters. Turkey hunting has become the fastest growing form of hunting and has the second-highest number of participants of any type of hunting.

Since 1985, more than $258 million NWTF and cooperator dollars have been spent on upholding hunting traditions and conserving more than 13.1 million acres of wildlife habitat. Hunters have also benefited as the NWTF has worked tirelessly to support our hunting heritage and protect and promote laws that increase hunting opportunity and safety.

The NWTF's National Board of Directors will immediately begin a nationwide search for Mr. Keck's successor.