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AUGUST 8, 2019

KC Eusebio takes 1st place Overall and 1st place in the Open Division at the 2019 Canadian IPSC Nationals held in Quebec, Canada. KC was using Atlanta Arms Elite 125 Grain Super Comp.
Sellmark Corporation is proud to announce their attendance at the upcoming Sports Inc. Fall 2019 Outdoor Sporting Goods Show. Sellmark brands 12 Survivors, Firefield, Pulsar, Sightmark and newly acquired Kopfjäger will showcase their full lineup of optics and accessories at booth #217.
Sightmark is ready to attend the NTOA 36th Annual Law Enforcement Operation Conference and Tradeshow in Orlando, Florida. Stop by Sightmark booth #401 to check out their products such as the Ultra Shot M-Spec reflex sight and the Wolverine red dot sight.

UFC prize fighter, James “The Texecutioner” Vick is appearing at Sellmark company’s booth (# F360) on Saturday, August 10, at 1 – 2:30 p.m. during the 2019 Texas Trophy Hunters Association (TTHA) Extravaganza, at the Fort Worth Convention Center, in Fort Worth, Texas.
Savage is excited to launch its new 110 Prairie Hunter, a precision bolt-action 110 platform rifle built for the cartridge that rewrote the rules of ballistics. It features a threaded muzzle, synthetic stock with a beavertail fore-end, three QD studs and a detachable box magazine.
Daniel Defense announced that is has been selected as the designated service carbine for Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Law Enforcement Division. All Texas game wardens and park police will be issued custom DDM4V7 carbines to begin use in August 2019.

The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) is seeking a Policy and Communications Manager to help promote CSF’s policy work and elevate the brand among elected officials, the outdoor media, conservation partners and the public. This position will be located in our Washington, DC office and will report directly to the Marketing and Communications Director.
Hogue Inc. announced the new HandALL Beavertail grip designed for the Ruger Security-9 Compact. Hogue grip sleeves are manufactured using a long-lasting thermoplastic elastomer compound.
Buck Knives has added new handle and blade coatings to the popular Compadre Series line of outdoor rugged tools. The Compadre Series now includes a Cerakote Cobalt coating to help prevent rust and corrosion while adding to the overall aesthetics.

Bear & Son Cutlery announces that Michael Mathews has been appointed National Sales Manager.
The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation through their Scholastic Clay Target Program and their Scholastic Action Shooting Program awarded 126 youth athletes over $100,000.00 in college Scholarships through their scholarship program and at the 2019 National Championships in Marengo, Ohio last month.
See the review of the new DELTA 5 bolt-action rifle from Daniel Defense in the October issue of GUNS Magazine. Also, SCCY’s .380 ACP CPX-3 encapsulates founder Joe Roebuck’s concept of designing a functional, reliable and easily manufactured firearm.

The MidwayUSA Foundation is excited to announce that $1.7 million in cash grants have been distributed to 521 youth shooting teams across the United States. These vital funds will assist them in covering expenses.
 

After being pushed off the front pages of the outdoor media by the shootings in Texas and Ohio, the internal affairs of the National Rifle Association are, unfortunately, back in the news.

Yesterday morning, the Washington Post reopened the saga with a report detailing discussions regarding the proposed purchase of a $6 million mansion in a gated Dallas, Texas-area golf community for CEO Wayne LaPierre. According to that report, LaPierre, concerned that he would be targeted following the shootings at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, wanted to move from his current home to something “more secure”.

After rejecting an “upscale high rise in Dallas” the report says the LaPierres instead selected the 10,000 square foot home with golf course and lake views in Westlake, Texas. The purchase never happened, reportedly because the NRA’s longtime ad agency, Ackerman-McQueen, refused to go along with their purchasing the estate via a third-party corporation apparently formed for that purpose.

The report, essentially another chapter in the ongoing “he said-she said” legal battle between the NRA and its longtime advertising Ackerman-McQueen may be adding more fuel to the ongoing investigation of the Association in New York.

On Tuesday it was reported that NY AG Letitia James’ office had issued a subpoena to “90 present and former members” of the NRA’s Board of Directors. New York officials declined to confirm or deny the action, citing “ongoing investigations” but it’s no secret that New York and the District of Columbia are investigating the tax status of both the association and its Foundation.

Apparently, we’re not the only people in the dark about this. Several present- and former board members - have told us they’ve been unable to get information on the subpoena from the NRA.

Former NRA contributor turned dissident David Dell’Aquila fired another broadside at LaPierre and his management on Tuesday, filing a civil lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

That suit alleges that Wayne LaPierre, the National Rifle Association, and the NRA Foundation, Inc. solicited and fraudulently obtained donations from Dell’Aqulia and “all others similarly situated.”

“Instead of spending the donated money on the solicited purposes,” the suit alleges, “Defendants used significant portions of the donated funds for purposes unrelated to the NRA’s core mission.”

Those “purposes unrelated” included “roughly $20 million” paid by the Association to Brewer Attorneys & Counselors, from April 2018 through March 2019.

According to the suit, Dell’Aquila learned of the problems “from an investigation conducted by the NRA’s former President, Lt. Col. Oliver North” and documented the timeline of events between North’s demands for answers and his summary dismissal from the President’s position at the NRA’s Annual Meeting in Indianapolis earlier this year.

After laying that groundwork, the suit then alleges two counts of fraud; both against LaPierre, and one each against the National Rifle Association and the NRA Foundation.

Both seek the same awards: “damages equal to the amounts such person donated to the NRA (or NRA Foundation) during the period from January 1, 2015 to the present, together with costs, punitive damages, and attorneys fees.”

We contacted the NRA regarding Dell’Aqula’s suit and received comments from both current NRA President Carolyn Meadows and William A. Brewer, III, of the aforementioned Brewer firm.

Meadows called the suit “..a misguided and frivolous pursuit. Here’s all you need to know: this lawsuit parrots claims from an individual who has worked for anti-NRA organizations and openly campaigned against our cause and our Association. End of story.”

Brewer’s response alleges the whole matter is “part of a contrived narrative to advance the interests of Lt. Col. North, his employer (Ackerman McQueen), and to deflect attention from their conduct.”

Having spoken at length with Dell’Aquila throughout his four-phase plan to force reforms on the NRA (which include the dismissal of LaPierre and a restructuring of the Board of Directors) it is difficult to believe he has embarked on a reform campaign to “advance the interests” of a company (Ackerman McQueen) he has repeatedly described to me as a “part of the NRA problem”.

It is not hard to imagine the suit as the latest installment in a series of strategies Dell’Aquila and his group of dissident former NRA contributors have formulated with the goal of forcing the NRA Board to act. As it was explained to me, the initial three phases of their campaign were designed to encourage action without having the whole situation play out in public.

Barring that, I was told, the Board, LaPierre and the current corporate officers would be not only called to account for their actions (the officers) and inaction (the Board) which have reportedly resulted in the Association’s current plight.

This appears to be the initial part of phase four, which Dell’Aqulia dubbed “Operation Clean-Up” and is designed to reform the Association’s by-laws, internal governance, accountability, transparency, infrastructure, marketing and branding.

Unfortunately, for those gun owners and NRA members concerned by this latest spate of allegations, it’s not “End of story” as NRA President Meadows stated. In fact, a number of emails, phone calls and personal communications indicate “regular members” fear exactly the opposite may be true.

Surprisingly, the concern most expressed in those communications isn’t outrage over allegations of profligate spending and nest-feathering by senior officers in the Association, although that is a major concern.

The primary concern is considerably more simple: who speaks for them when their Association won’t or can’t?

We’ll keep you posted.

—Jim Shepherd

 
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