For children and youth 14 years of age and under,unintentional injuries are the leading cause of fatality, but firearms account for the lowest cause of injury among youth.

“Tragically, 18% more children are killed by suffocation from bedding, plastic bags or small objects than guns.” said Ammoland Editor, Fredy Riehl

About NSSF
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 6,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers. For more information, log on to www.nssf.org.

Prior to my running firearm and military magazines and now a firearms industry public relation company I was literally raised in retail sporting goods operations.

Early on in my dads store I learned that customer relations is certainly key.

Later in life (after some significant PR and personnel positions in corporate management) I managed a large (at that time) sporting goods store for a major retail chain.

I still like going to gun shops and sporting goods stores to just see how they do what they do. While in the particular store I listen in on the interactions between customers and sales people and check out the store operation in general. I wish I could say things are better than my retail days, but I think there is a lot of room for improvement.

Years ago most store management typically would do some training of sales clerks; nowadays they hire someone who may know about guns, stick them behind a counter and let them loose. Yet that person may have no idea how to sell or merchandise the operation and selling and merchandising are different from just knowing about guns.

Weapons or Guns
They (and unfortunately many in the firearms industry and our media) still use the term “weapon” rather than rifle, pistol, revolver, shotgun, gun or firearm. Years ago I pitched and pressured the NRA and NSSF to start some type of reeducation program to reposition the term “assault rifle” when referring to “semi-automatic military look alike rifles” (my term).

Both “assault rifle” and “weapon” are consistently used by anti-Second Amendment people and groups. Why those of us in the industry still use these inflammatory and more importantly, inaccurate anti-gun terms is beyond me.

After all a baseball bat is just a baseball bat until it is used against a human; only then does it become a weapon.

An assault rifle is a government issued carbine sized combat firearm that is both semi- and full-auto capable which fires a mid-power cartridge. For example the Springfield M1-A is not an assault rifle and its military brother the M-14 is classed as a main battle rifle due to the gun’s size and full power caliber.

A semi-automatic AR-15 type rifle is not an assault rifle or a weapon; it is a semi-automatic rifle or carbine; a M-16 is an assault rifle.

The NSSF (which runs the SHOT Show) to their credit coined and now promotes their term “Modern Sporting Rifle” when referring to lookalike military rifles. And this is accurate as these are modern rifles; now available in many calibers other than the .5.56mm NATO round and they are used for plinking, competition, hunting, etc.

So let’s all of us, gun writers, PR people, publications, bloggers, newsletters, retailers, shooters, gun companies and the firearm and sporting media in general stop using the terms “weapon and assault rifle.”

These terms are incorrect, inflammatory, and play into the hands of anti-gun people.

Additional Retail Tips
Some additional suggestions that might help with retail store sales. Never have empty shelves. If you don’t have the items then spread your inventory. I realize that when it comes to displaying ammo or gunpowder you can’t fill that possibly tagged spot but you could put in a box with a label that suggests when you might get more. I have gone into stores that have several feet of linear shelf space empty—this makes the store look vacant (like they are going out of business), slip shod and discourages sales of other products. Spread the inventory even if it is only one item deep.

Keep your inventory, displays and shelves dust free. If you want to present a perception to customers you have old stuff and kill sales in a New York second, have dirty or dusty merchandise and displays. A new box of ammunition with a coating of dust is seen as an old box of ammunition and shows the store does not maintain their merchandise. Automobile dealers work like crazy to keep their cars clean because it helps sales, creates a good image and reflects positively on their business—firearm retailers should do the same.

I watch employees not busy with customers milling around chatting it up with each other or in smaller operations the counter guy is reading a magazine or just hanging around. When not busy, these folks should be dusting merchandise, working displays and merchandising. Store management should educate them in the correct use of dust rags and feather dusters (if they know themselves).

When selling to a customer who is unsure of what they should purchase, ask questions of the customer—lots of questions. For example, who is the gun for: are they experienced: how often do they shoot: how big are they; what do they most want the gun for; what is their second use; what is their budget; etc. Then a sales person can begin intelligently and patiently explain what he might suggest and why by detailing certain applicable calibers, firearm size, finish, grips, power, ease of complication of operation to them, etc.

The key in talking to gun buyers is not to try to be superior; they have tried it with me. It is the clerk’s mission to sell merchandise, not be a jerk. Superior selling is insulting and I have no patience for it. I have been in some stores where a clerk has tried that with me and I am able to quickly put them in their place by going far beyond what they tell me right back at them—I am not new to firearms. In cases like this I must admit, I like watching the faces of these guys with superior demeanors collapse.

A clerk should have patience in pointing out the key features and know how to explain the benefits of those features. The new gun owner is relying on knowledge and patience; they should not have to apologize for needing help. And should the customer apologize the clerk should quickly counter with something like “Don’t apologize, none of us is a born shooter, we all had to learn about guns, I am here to help you.”

Bottom line, retailers are in business to service customers. By doing a good job of doing just that they get the sale and they will also get the repeat business because caring about the customer means business and happy customers will pass on the word.

About:
Jim Shults understands shooting and has a strong background as an experienced shooter. He has won hundreds of NRA local, state, regional and national shooting championships and set four national records. He is DCM/NRA Distinguished Rifleman, NRA Master in multiple-disciplines, outdoorsman, and has trained and consulted SWAT and counter-terrorism units around the world.

For more information please contact:
Jim Shults
Shults Media Relations, LLC
www.smrpr.com

“The Fix Gun Checks Act would make states accountable for updating their background check databases to help ensure nobody ineligible for a firearm ends up with a weapon. It would also require a background check for every American who wishes to purchase a gun, thus closing the gun show loophole.”

Let’s revisit this statement: “To help ensure nobody ineligible for a firearm ends up with a weapon.” That is probably one of the most naïve and bold statements ever written about gun control. There is absolutely no way to ensure that criminals can’t get guns. There are millions of unaccounted guns in the world, and as we have seen in places where guns are banned – China for example – there is a thriving black market.

The author also fails to address what the background check for every American means. What about a father who gives a gun to a son? Background check would be required. What about two buddies who hunt together and swap rifles? Background check would be required.

Where is the money to pay for this? There isn’t even a system in place to accomplish such background checks, and in the end it won’t work. People will ignore it and thus create a black market in the process.

“Facing new accusations that investigators with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives allowed buyers to funnel high-powered assault weapons into Mexico.”

The problem is that once again the mainstream media tries to make something that is not. In this case the assault weapons are not high-powered. As we’ve noted time and time again, high-powered should never be used to describe assault weapons. It isn’t akin to saying a “speedy sports car,” because in this case the adjective “high-powered” is not correct, as the firearms are “intermediate powered.”

Second, the guns are not technically “assault weapons” at all, but rather “assault weapon style” firearms. The military would not classify these as assault weapons as these are commercial versions and lack the selective fire option of true military firearms.

The law requires that police departments in Michigan must sell forfeited firearms to federally licensed dealers. The guns are cleared of all evidentiary retention requirements before going up for auction. Legal owners are given a chance to recover their firearms before sale. Local authorities must post each weapon, giving a description and serial number, for 30 days before any sale.

Destroying firearms seized by police is a terrible waste. Other legal assets that are forfeited usually end up on the auction block. Why not raise money from gun sales too? With many local municipalities facing tight budgets, new ways for raising money need to be explored and implemented.

 The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) today announced a ruling that will affect any person licensed as a dealer-gunsmith performing certain processing or finishing on firearms owned and marked by a federally licensed firearms manufacturer.  The ruling will also affect licensed manufacturers and licensed importers who have contracts with specialized gunsmiths to perform a variety of processes involved in producing firearms.  

The ruling holds that licensed firearms dealer-gunsmiths are not engaged in a manufacturing business, and are not required to hold a manufacturers license, under certain specified conditions.  The ruling was issued to address modern firearms manufacturing processes, which often involve a number of contractors other than the manufacturer whose name is marked on the firearm.  

Under the ruling, licensed dealers may perform manufacturing services if (1) the firearms are not owned by the licensed dealer-gunsmith; (2) the licensed dealer-gunsmith returns the firearms to the licensed manufacturer or licensed importer upon completion of the manufacturing process and does not sell or distribute the firearms to any other person; and (3) the firearms were properly identified and marked by the importer or manufacturer in accordance with the law and regulations.    

ATF Rul. 2010-10 clarifies concerns and addresses questions about activities such as bluing, anodizing, powder-coating, plating, polishing, heat and chemical treating that have caused confusion over activities  requiring a federal firearms manufacturers license, firearms marking requirements, and firearms record keeping requirements.  

Sarah Brady. Barack Obama. Michael Bloomberg will use any crisis to grab power.

They hope you are too consumed with your Christmas shopping to pay them any attention.

But don’t be fooled, they’re as active as they’ve ever been.

In just a few short weeks, Barack Obama has instructed his Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to add another regulatory scheme requiring gun dealers to report the sale of two or more of certain semiautomatic rifles to the same person within five days.

This is a left-wing, gun control, power grab scheme concocted by Sarah Brady, Michael Bloomberg, and their anti-gun gang, MAIG.

The federal government has failed in its ability to protect our borders — and now wants to use that failure as an excuse to crack down on our right to keep and bear arms.

Your action is needed at once. We’ve provided you with the telephone numbers to the offices of our Georgia Senators as well as to every Congressman in Georgia.

Call your Senators and your Congressman at once and demand that they publicly condemn the Obama Administration’s anti-Second Amendment power grab and call on the administration to end this new gun control scheme before it can be implemented:

• Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R): 202-224-3521
• Sen. Johnny Isakson (R): 202-224-3643
• Rep. Jack Kingston (R-1): 202-225-5831
• Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-2): 202-225-3631
• Rep. Lynn Westmorland (R-3): 202-225-5901
• Rep. Hank Johnson (D-4): 202-225-1605
• Rep. John Lewis (R-5): 202-225-3801
• Rep. Tom Price (R-6): 202-225-4501
• Rep. John Linder (R-7): 202-225-4272
• Rep. Jim Marshall (D-8): 202-225-6531
• Rep. Tom Graves (R-9): 202-225-5211
• Rep. Paul Broun (R-10): 202-225-4101
• Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-11): 202-225-2931
• Rep. John Barrow (D-12): 202-225-2823
• Rep. David Scott (D-13): 202-225-2939

Please call immediately. There is no time to waste.

For liberty,

Patrick Parsons
Executive Director GGO

About:
Georgia Gun Owners in a non-profit, non-partisan, grassroots firearm advocacy organization dedicated to countering the gun control lobby through an aggressive program designed to mobilize gun owners and liberty activists across the State of Georgia, while seeking to enlist public support for legislation that would remove compulsory government requirements for gun owners throughout the state. Georgia Gun Owners’ mailing address is 1635 Old 41 Hwy., Ste. 112-202, Kennesaw, Georgia 30152. Georgia Gun Owners can be contacted at 678-719-2348.

Georgia Gun Owners

The good news is that the ordinance could save firearms, as the Kingman Police Department would be allowed to make exceptions for weapons that could be used for training purposes or that have historic value or significance.

But now two years later, the media is quiet on the fact that according to FBI figures, sales of firearms for the month of October increased 1.5 percent from a year ago.

According to Buckeye Firearms, via Ammoland:

The FBI has released its National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figures for October 2010.

NSSF-adjusted figures (854,563) show a 1.5 percent increase over October of last year (841,631).

The adjusted NICS data were derived by NSSF by subtracting out NICS purpose-code permit checks used by several states such as Kentucky and Utah for CCW permit application checks as well as checks on active CCW permit databases.

Though not a direct correlation to firearms sales, the NSSF-adjusted NICS data provide a more accurate picture of current market conditions.

…In addition to other purposes, NICS is used to check transactions of firearms sales and transfers on new and used handguns and long guns.

Buckeye Firearms Association

“Americans are acquiring guns, silver, and food stamps at record levels in reaction to the crumbling economy, trends indicative of a fearful public who are struggling financially and preparing for potential mass civil unrest in the aftermath of a total economic collapse.”

But that isn’t what Colas said. He noted that in addition to firearms, silver coins sales are up. People don’t buy silver coins if they think there is going to be a total economic collapse! He was also quoted on CNBC as stating:

“The consumer is still on pretty shaky ground. Confidence [is] still not all that strong, the intention to spend, still [is] not all that strong.”

That is a very far cry from fearing that next month we’ll be living like the Road Warrior! This panic mode from PrisonPlanet simply borders on the dangerous .