New for 2008, Model AOM160: .30 caliber with “Tactical Folding Stock.”

PEARL RIVER, NEW YORK – The AOM160 Auto-Ordnance M1 Carbine is a .30 caliber rifle with a black polymer folding stock and metal perforated handguard. The overall length is 36 ½ inches and a compact 27 ½ inches when folded. The AOM160 has a post front sight, flip style rear sight and includes one 15 round shot stick magazine. The Auto-Ordnance AOM160 is durable, light; weighing only five pounds and easy to shoot.

The Auto-Ordnance M1 .30 Caliber Carbine is produced at Kahr Arms state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Worcester, MA. The Auto-Ordnance carbines are produced using newly manufactured parts on high precision computerized machinery. Markings include the following: Auto-Ordnance, Worcester, MA behind the rear sight; U.S. Carbine, Cal. 30 ML on the receiver in front of the bolt and the serial number is engraved on the left side of the receiver.

Since 1999, Kahr Arms has been proud to support the legacy of the Auto-Ordnance Corporation. The Auto-Ordnance division of Kahr Arms began production of an M1 Carbine replica in 2005. The Auto-Ordnance AOM160 retails for $792.00 and is shipping now. The M1 Carbine came into popularity during WWII offering troops a better defensive weapon than a pistol or submachine gun, with great accuracy and range but without the recoil or weight of a full-power infantry rifle. Find out how it feels to carry a piece of history before legislature and politics put this design back on the shelf.

Learn more about Thompson, Auto-Ordnance and Kahr Arms at www.tommygun.com and www.kahr.com.

NEWTOWN, Conn. - The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) — the trade association of the firearms industry — applauded the decision by the United States Supreme Court to determine authoritatively whether the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides an individual right to keep and bear arms.

The U.S. Supreme Court granted a review of a decision from March by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in Parker, et al., v. District of Columbia (Circuit docket 04-7041) — a case that upheld the striking down of the District’s ban on private ownership of handguns while asserting that the Second Amendment provides an individual right to keep and bear arms. The case is now known as District of Columbia v. Heller. The mayor of Washington, D.C., Adrian M. Fenty, filed the appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, setting the stage for the high court to rule. According to FBI statistics, Washington D.C., with its gun ban, ranks as one of the most dangerous cities in the United States and maintains one of the highest per-capita murder rates in the country.

“The firearms industry looks forward to the Supreme Court putting to rest the specious argument that the Second Amendment is not an individual right,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel. “This intellectually bankrupt and feeble argument has been used by gun control advocates to justify laws and regulations that deny Americans their civil right to own and lawfully use firearms for protection, hunting, sports shooting and other lawful purposes.

“The firearms and ammunition industry is unique in that our products are the means through which the Second Amendment right is realized,” continued Keane. “If there were no firearms and ammunition manufacturers, then the Second Amendment becomes an illusory right.”

While the Heller case will be the first time since 1939 that the Supreme Court has addressed the Second Amendment (U.S. v. Miller), the nation’s leading historians, legal scholars and constitutional experts are on record as having concluded that the Second Amendment provides an individual right. Such renowned scholars as Lawrence Tribe of Harvard, Akhil Reed Amar of Yale, William Van Alstyne of Duke and Sanford Levinson of the University of Texas have been vocal in their assertion that the Second Amendment secures an individual right to keep and bear arms.

“The government has powers, not rights,” added Keane. “The contention that the Second Amendment is a collective right of the government is completely without merit.”

BACKGROUND:
In March, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, in striking down the District’s gun ban, held in Parker, et al., v. District of Columbia that “The phrase ‘the right of the people’ . . . leads us to conclude that the right in question is individual.” This was the second time in recent history that a federal circuit court upheld the longstanding belief that the Second Amendment was an individual right. In 2001, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in the case of U.S. v. Emerson that “All of the evidence indicates that the Second Amendment, like other parts of the Bill of Rights, applies to and protects individual Americans.”

Legislation has been introduced in Ohio that will stop anyone under the age of 21 from hunting or shooting without supervision.

House Bill 354, sponsored by Rep. Barbara Boyd, D-Cleveland Heights, and Sandra Williams, D-Cleveland, prohibits anyone under 21-years-old from possessing a firearm. Under the bill, if an adult or youth who does not meet the age requirement plans to handle a firearm, he or she must do so in the presence of someone 21 or over. Licensed hunters who now take to the woods solo will have to bring a supervisor if the bill passes.

“If passed, this bill would have a devastating effect on efforts to attract new hunters and recreational shooters,” said Rob Sexton, USSA vice president for government affairs. “It is inconceivable that the government would send people between the ages of 18 and 21 to war, but prohibit them from hunting or target shooting.”

Bill sponsors claim that the legislation is aimed at preventing gun violence and accidents; however, hunters and recreational shooters promote safe handling of firearms. Accident rates among hunters and shooters are at historic lows.

For those under eighteen, parents are best equipped to make this decision, not the government,” said Sexton.  “The proposal will not stop criminals from using firearms, but it will stop hunters from passing on our traditions to the next generation.”

House Bill 354 has been referred to the House Criminal Justice Committee.

Take Action! Ohio sportsmen should ask state representatives to reject HB 354. Let them know that you oppose unnecessary restrictions on youth hunting. To find your representative, call (800) 282-0253 or use the Legislative Action Center at www.ussportsmen.org.

Yesterday, the Indiana Court of Appeals issued a ruling that will allow the city of Gary, Indiana’s lawsuit against sixteen firearms manufacturers to proceed. The suit was originally filed in 1999 against Smith & Wesson, Colt, Browning, Sturm, Ruger and Co and Beretta, despite the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Firearms Act - a federal law that was validated by the same lawsuit the Court of Appeals is allowing to continue.

It wasn’t unexpected by Indiana legal observers, but was both disappointing and infuriating to the firearms industry. Not just because it continues what was always a nuisance lawsuit, but because of the Appeals Court’s complete dismissal of federal law.

“Gary’s frivolous lawsuit is the poster child for the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act,” says Lawrence G. Keane, senior vice president and general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). “Gary’s lawsuit seeks to blame manufacturers for the actions of criminals who misuse firearms. It is like blaming car makers for drunk driving accidents. Congress understood that lawsuits like Gary’s defy logic and common sense. During Congressional debate, the city of Gary’s case was cited as an example of precisely the sort of frivolous lawsuit that the bill was intended to stop.”

Keane added, “Gary’s lawsuit if filed today would be barred by an Indiana state law passed in 2001 after the city of Gary’s case was originally filed in 1999.” Indiana is one of 36 states that have laws barring public nuisance lawsuits against gun makers and served as a catalyst for Congress’ passage in 2005 of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

“We look forward to the Indiana Supreme Court reviewing this case, so it can correct the lower court’s error,” Keane said.

In early 2006, firearm manufacturers had moved to have the city’s lawsuit against them, originally filed in 1999, dismissed based on the federal Act. In 2006, a Lake County, Indiana, Superior Court judge ruled the federal Act does apply to Gary’s lawsuit, but declared it unconstitutional.

Yesterday, the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the lower court and ruled the statute does not apply and Gary’s case could go forward. The court did not address the constitutional claims.

As if that wasn’t enough headaches for the firearms industry, Arizona animal advocates are now pushing the Arizona Game and Fish Commission to issue a ban on lead ammo. The Center for Biological Diversity, now says with the California law on the books, Arizona becomes “the next step in our campaign.”

Arizona officials haven’t responded, and one source says they don’t plan to. In response, Sandy Bahr, the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon chapter spokesperson, told the Arizona Republic the Sierra Club will formally petition the commissioner by early November if they don’t get a response. Bahr also says they have not ruled out litigation.

In the meanwhile, Arizona isn’t ignoring lead ammunition. The state issues coupons lead-free ammunition for those hunting in condor territory, and continues an education program to educate hunters of the threat lead poses to condors.

We’ll keep you posted.

Legendary hunting writer Jim Zumbo has incurred the wrath of thousands of shooting enthusiasts with a weekend posting on his now-suspended blog for Outdoor Life magazine.
In the posting, Zumbo said “assault rifles” had “no place” among “our hunting community.” Adding that in his “humble opinion these things have no place in hunting” because “We don’t need to be lumped into the group of people who terrorize the world with them, which is an obvious concern.”
Zumbo went on to say “game departments should ban them from the praries and woods.”
That kicked off a firestorm among owners of so-called “black rifles”. Within hours, internet sites had reproduced the offending blog, kicking off thousands of angry emails and internet postings.
Subsequently, in what may one day be classified as the worst apology ever written Zumbo attempted to soothe readers, attributing his remarks to being tired following a long day of hunting coyotes in extreme weather conditions.
He went on recount his 40 years of NRA membership and the United States Sportsmen’s Alliance, an organization, which, he wrote, “actively fights anti-hunters and animal rights groups for hunter’s rights.” He also told readers he had plans to go hunting with an AR-style rifle to give them a try.
At that point, however, there was little, if anything, that would assuage an angry horde of electronically mobilized AR fans. They considered Zumbo’s remarks as being tantamount to a sellout, with Zumbo offering up “black rifles” as a sacrificial lamb for anti-gun forces.
In an appearance on Tom Gresham’s national radio show “Gun Talk” Sunday afternoon, Zumbo attempted to apologize, but listeners didn’t seem to be buying his verbal apology. If anything, any attempt to assuage them only fanned the flames of outrage.
Over the course of the afternoon and evening, various executives associated with Zumbo posted their own comments on his blog site, attempting to deflect the anger at directed at Zumbo away from their companies.
It didn’t work.
Instead, they found themselves under attack with angry feedback calling for everything from a boycott of all Remington products to cancellation of Outdoor Life magazine subscriptions and campaigns against all companies with connections to Zumbo.
Yesterday morning, responding to an onslaught of negative publicity, Remington CEO and President Tommy Millner released a statement severing “all sponsorship ties with Mr. Zumbo, effective immediately.”
Zumbo was entitled to his opinion, Millner wrote, but the inflammatory comments were solely his and did not reflect the views of Remington.
“Remington has spent tens of millions of dollars defending our Second Amendment rights to privately own and possess firearms, ” wrote Millner, “and we will continue to vigorously fight to protect these rights. As hunters and shooters of all interest levels, we should strive to utilize this unfortunate occurrence to unite as a whole in support of our Second Amendment rights.”
In conclusion, Millner expressed regret at the termination of a long-standing relationship with a “well-respected writer and life-long hunter.”
Outdoor Life announced they were discontinuing the “Hunting With Zumbo” blog “for the time being” due to the “controversy surrounding Jim Zumbo’s latest postings.”
Their notice went on to remind readers “Outdoor Life has always been, and will always be, a steadfast supporter of our Second Amendment rights which do not make distinctions based on the looks of the firearms we choose to own, shoot and take hunting.”
Yesterday, anyone who didn’t comment risked being lumped in with anti-gun forces. Any voices calling for reason and tolerance found themselves shouted down. And those writers professing support for Mr. Zumbo privately certainly weren’t willing to go on the record with that support.
Additionally, Cabela’s has not yet dropped their sponsorship of the Jim Zumbo Outdoors television show, Cabela’s Frank Ross is being quoted as having said their legal department is “currently reviewing contractual obligations and commitments regarding our sponsorship of the Jim Zumbo Outdoors television show. ”
“Jim’s comments are as unfortunate as they are inappropriate,” said National Shooting Sports Foundation president Doug Painter. “No one should divide firearms into good-gun, bad-gun categories.”
Zumbo’s ill-considered blog may not have been intended to create good-gun, bad-gun categories, but it has certainly raised firebrand rhetoric to an art form. Rather than hunters being supported by recreational and competitive shooting enthusiasts, they have now become “Fudds” to shooters who feel they have been labeled “terrorists” by a “hard-core hunter.”
It’s truly not a pretty picture, but may observers say it accurately reflects a widening gap between “traditional” and “non-traditional” shooting enthusiasts.
With Congress reconsidering the Assault Weapon Ban and Connecticut and New Jersey considering legislation that would limit handgun purchases to one per month, this latest schism is already being used as further evidence of the “need” to regulate firearms -all firearms - more stringently.

The New York Sun reports that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been hit with another lawsuit following his ill-advised and potentially criminal investigations into out-of-state FFLs. This latest suit was filed against Bloomberg by a South Carolina gun dealer. The FFL is seeking damages and claims that the city defamed his reputation.
Bloomberg’s refusal to turn over evidence — evidence that the mayor claims would incriminate the FFLs — has raised questions as to the veracity of his accusations. NSSF has called upon the mayor to release this “proof” and turn it over to the ATF.
To date, Bloomberg continues to hold steadfast in his refusal to relinquish his purported evidence. Of the 15 dealers New York and Bloomberg have sued, two have filed countersuits, several more are exploring litigation and two have settled.

Online financial magazine TheStreet.com profiled a recent visit to the Beretta Gallery on New York City’s Madison Avenue, where “cashing a bonus check or two beforehand might be advisable.”
Read TheStreet.com’s article and see its video interview with Beretta vice president Peter Horn.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans residents were forced to hand over their firearms to authorities. The Second Amendment Foundation announced Friday that the city will begin returning seized firearms to residents this week. Residents whose guns were taken should call the New Orleans Police at 504-658-5503 or go in person to the Police Property and Evidence facility, at 400 North Jefferson Davis Parkway.
Gun owners will have to provide proof of ownership, which could include a bill of sale, a description of the firearm including brand and model and the serial number or a notarized affidavit that describes the firearm. Citizens claiming their firearms will need proper identification, such as a driver’s license. Before firearms are returned, New Orleans police will conduct a background check.
Meanwhile, Wayne LaPierre, NRA executive vice president, and Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, will be holding a Town Hall-type of meeting at the New Orleans Marriott Hotel on Tuesday, April 18, at 7 p.m., to discuss firearms confiscation in the Katrina aftermath. NRA news footage showing abuses to Second Amendment rights will premier.
The occurrences in New Orleans have raised an awareness that has led to proposed legislation in states and on the federal level to help prevent illegal firearm confiscations in the future.

Smith and Wesson has made remarkably great strides over the past two years, navigating a turnaround that has astonished skeptics and rewarded investors.
Last week, the New York Times profiled the 154-year-old company’s comeback.

Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest firearms retailer, announced Friday that it would stop selling firearms in one-third of its stores, about 1,000 outlets. No details have been announced on which locations will be affected.
The decision was widely reported through an Associated Press story. “While from a customer perspective we don’t like to see a reduction in the number of retail outlets for our industry’s products, the Wal-Mart decision to eliminate firearm sales in some locations may open the door for increased sales among independent retailers and outdoor ’superstores,’” said Doug Painter, NSSF president.
Although Wal-Mart cited lack of demand in certain markets as the reason for its decision, recent nationwide data show that firearm and accessory sales remain strong. According to the latest statistics from the National Sporting Goods Association, U.S. firearm sales increased by nine percent, while hunting gear sales saw the fastest growth of all sporting goods categories, in 2004.

In South Carolina last week, the state’s U.S. Attorney, representatives from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and NSSF launched a program aimed at deterring illegal gun purchases.
The “Don’t Lie for the Other Guy” program is designed to educate firearm retailers on how to detect and deter potential straw purchases and to raise public awareness that it is a serious crime to purchase a firearm for someone who cannot legally do so. The campaign is a joint effort of ATF, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods program and NSSF.
The program’s kickoff in South Carolina made headlines across the state with coverage by the Associated Press.

Boston mayor Thomas M. Menino, like New York’s Michael Bloomberg, just can’t let it go. Both continue to blame the firearm industry for the actions of criminals, in spite of growing confirmation that doing so is a colossal waste of time and money.
Lawsuits have proven frivolous. Courts have rejected the notion. After its discovery phase, Boston itself voluntarily dropped its suit against the industry. Federal law now prohibits such junk lawsuits. And yet, last week, Menino hosted a conference on handgun violence featuring a keynote address by Robert Ricker, the so-called “bombshell witness” whose well-worn testimony against the industry has bombed every time it’s been tested.

Smith and Wesson Holdings Corp. on Wednesday reported sales of $38.6 million in the third quarter, a 24 percent jump over the previous year. It was the highest quarterly revenue in the company’s history.
“This has been a good quarter for us,” said Michael Golden, president and CEO. “In addition to achieving 24 percent sales growth, attaining profitability versus breakeven for the same quarter one year ago, and establishing a record level of revenue, we also achieved some significant milestones in our strategy to grow our core handgun business, to diversify the company, and to enter into new markets with new products.”
The company expects fiscal 2006 sales to increase by 19 to 20 percent from 2005. Smith and Wesson is traded on the American Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SWB.

Sportsmen’s organizations from around the Keystone State will hold a “Right to Keep and Bear Arms” press conference Tues., March 14, from 9 to 11 a.m. on the steps of the Capitol Building in Harrisburg. The event will launch the introduction of several pro-gun measures.
The NRA reports that several Pennsylvania groups helped organize the event. Among them are the Allegheny County Sportsmen’s League, the Pennsylvania Sportsmen’s Association and the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs. For information, contact Kim Stolfer, 414-221-3346, e-mail activist@fyi.net.

NEWTOWN, Conn. — A new report from the National Safety Council shows that accidental firearm-related fatalities remained at record lows in 2004. Statistics in the council’s “Injury Facts 2005-2006″ show a 48 percent decrease over a 10-year period ending in 2004.
The council’s most recent data show 106,742 U.S. residents died in accidents of all types. Less than 1 percent involved firearms. The most common deadly accidents involved motor vehicles, poisonings and falls, claiming 74 percent of all accidental deaths.
“Increased awareness of gun safety and responsible firearms storage have undeniably played a huge part in keeping these numbers at their lowest levels ever,” said Doug Painter, president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation , the trade association for the firearms industry.
NSSF directs and funds a number of initiatives focused on firearms safety, including Project ChildSafe®, which, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice, will have distributed more than 35 million free gun safety information kits, including gun locks, across the country by the end of 2006. NSSF also distributes safety literature and videos that emphasize outreach to schools. Additional support is provided for hunter safety programs.
“Continued persistence in communicating the importance of firearms safety will only help drive these record numbers even lower,” Painter added.
Other new findings from the National Safety Council include:
There were 700 accidental firearm-related fatalities in 2004, the same as the previous year. Firearm-related fatalities are down 48 percent from the 1,356 accidents reported in 1994.
Accidental firearm-related fatalities among children ages 14 and under declined 17 percent when compared to the previous year.
Firearms accounted for only 1.1 percent of all accidental injuries to children ages 14 and under, down from 1.3 percent reported the previous year.
Accidental firearm-related injuries were down 3 percent among teenagers when compared to the previous year.
Accidental firearm-related fatalities continue to have the largest percentage decrease of all measured types of accidental fatalities.
NSSF, formed in 1961, is the trade association for the firearm industry. It directs a variety of outreach programs to promote greater participation and better understanding of shooting sports, emphasizing safe and responsible ownership of firearms. For further information, visit www.nssf.org.

“What’s stylish this year in home design? Bold graphic patterns. Blue and brown, used together. Bamboo.
Green walls. And guns,” writes Boston Globe columnist Linda Matchan.
Firearms have become the latest craze among fashion designers, who are including them in everything from Victorian-themed pillows to lamps that go for $1,500.

Though Boston’s mayor was quick to blame guns for his city’s violent crime problem, New Hampshire’s Union-Leader pointed out last week that a rise in the city’s murder rate can be attributed to more criminals in the city. “Last year Boston Mayor Tom Menino blamed an influx of guns from northern New England for the city’s spiking murder rate. But an analysis by The Boston Globe last week found a more plausible culprit. A rise in young men.
Typically, cities that see large increases in their population of young males also see large increases in crime. Boston was no exception,” the Union-Leader explained. “If Boston officials don’t want a repeat of 2005, they’d do well to turn their resources toward finding and locking up gang members and drug dealers rather than changing gun laws in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont.”

In an effort to strengthen Winchester Firearms, U.S. Repeating Arms Co. announced last week that it will close its plant in New Haven, Conn. Many efforts were made to improve profitability at the plant, USRAC said, and the decision was made after exhausting all options.
With the plant’s closure, production of the Winchester Model 94 and Model 70 rifles and the Model 1300 shotgun will cease. The company said it will concentrate on growing its current line of other Winchester shotguns and rifles and has plans to introduce new models. Winchester guns have been manufactured in New Haven for 140 years.
During World War II, more than 19,000 people worked at Winchester’s New Haven factory. That was about 11 percent of the city’s population at the time. In Friday’s Washington Post, columnist Stephen Hunter offered a salute to Winchester’s iconic level-action rifles.

Firearms retailers from California, New York and New Jersey who will be attending SHOT Show are encouraged to attend meetings of the California Association of Firearms Retailers, New York State Association of Firearms Retailers and New Jersey State Association of Firearms Retailers.
All meetings are scheduled for Friday, Feb. 10, in Meeting Room N 236 of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Click here for times and contact information.

In an effort to strengthen the voices of law-abiding firearms retailers in New York and New Jersey, two state organizations affiliated with the National Association of Firearms Retailers have formed.
Retailers in both of these states are facing new threats from anti-gun lawmakers this year. The New York State Association of Firearms Retailers and the New Jersey State Association of Firearms Retailers will help give retailers the voice they need in Albany and in Trenton.
By joining NYSAFR or NJSAFR today, members will receive a combined one-year’s membership in NAFR. They will also receive membership in NSSF and have access to its member benefits and receive all of its publications. To join, contact Bettyjane Swann at 203-426-1320 or bswann@nssf.org.
New York and New Jersey retailers planning to attend SHOT Show are encouraged to attend meetings of their respective state group in Room N236 of the Las Vegas Convention Center on Friday, Feb. 10. NYSAFR will meet at 11:30 a.m. NJSAFR will meet at 10:30.