December 2011 – January 2012

Out With The Old, In With The New

A noble sentiment, except the new looks very much the same as the old. Same old motley crew in Washington who would rather bicker between themselves rather than get this country turned around. Oh, wait a minute we were forgetting that, collectively, they are responsible for getting this country into the predicament that it’s in, in the first place.

The good news is the weather. So far, touch wood, it’s been a remarkably mild winter with very little snow and mild temperatures for the most part. As this edition goes to press the temperature is nudging 60°. Quick, someone sacrifice a Bud Lite to the Weather Gods for continued mild weather!

Maggie’s & Christmas Party
The Maggie’s Drawers shoot turned into just a regular lucky target shoot — apparently a miscommunication somewhere. The shooters were reimbursed what they paid over and above the regular cost of a round of skeet.

The Christmas Party on the other hand was a blast — Ron and Rich laid on a great feed for us. The roast beef was so tender, you could cut it with a fork. Along with the shrimp cocktails, salad and other fix’ns, it was a sumptuous feast topped off with very tasty desserts.

DU Game Feed
We will be hosting the 33rd Annual KC’s Game Feed on Super Bowl Saturday, aka February 4th.

Activities kick off at 11:00 with the food tent opening at noon. There will be raffles and auctions to raise money for the wetland preservation efforts of Ducks Unlimited.

This is a great way to break the mid-winter doldrums as the event happens come rain, shine or snow.

If you attend, plan on bringing your kids as there will be activities for them including a special Greenwing raffle.

Entry and parking are free with a $10.00 fee to get into the food tent where you can eat all you want.

Kids participating in activities will be supplied with all the hot dogs they can eat with sodas to wash them down.

Valentines Skeet Shoot
There’s been talk of a Valentines Lucky Target Skeet shoot on Sunday, February 12th. It was thought best to include a mention of this shoot in case it does happen as there will not be another Nimrod before the event.

Best to check with Skeet Committee closer to the date.

On The Legal Front
At press time we were still scheduled for Monday, January 30th in Brockton Superior Court.

Monday will be jury selection and hearing of motions not previously heard with an outside possibility of opening statements. Most days are expected to be from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM.

Please contact Phil Lennon if you are available to make an appearance as a spectator.

Chuck ’n Quail Shotgun Runs
We’ve held a couple of Chuck ’n Quail shotgun runs utilizing the skeet field since the fall that have been fairly well attended.

These events tend to be of the spur of the moment type with an e-mail notice sent out the week of the event.

The M1 Garand

Do you wonder why that rifle
Is hanging in my den?
You know I rarely take it down
But I touch it now and then.

It’s rather slow and heavy
By standards of today
But not too many years ago
It swept the rest away.

It’s held its own in battles
Through snow, or rain, or sun
And I had one just like it,
This treasured old M-1.

It went ashore at Bougainville
In Nineteen Forty-Three.
It stormed the beach at Tarawa
Through a bullet-riddled sea.

Saipan knew its strident bark,
Kwajalein, its sting.
The rocky caves of Peleliu
Resounded with its ring.

It climbed the hill on Iwo
With men who wouldn’t stop
And left our nation’s banner
Flying on the top.

It poked its nose in Pusan,
Screamed an angry roar
And took the First Division
From Chosin Reservoir.

Well, time moves on
And things improve
With rifles and with men,
And that is why the two of us
Are sitting in my den.

But sometimes on a winter night,
While thinking of my Corps,
I know that if the bugle blew
We’d be a team once more.

    – Author Unknown

Thoughts For Reflection

It’s amazing how words written over two thousand years ago are relevant today.

“True law is right reason in agreement with nature;…it summons to duty by its commands, and averts from wrongdoing by its prohibitions… It is a sin to try to alter this law, nor is it allowable to repeal any part of it, and it is impossible to abolish it entirely”
    – Marcus Tullius Cicero, 106 BC – 43 BC

Peter Belsan, General Manager
www.belsanbait.com
belsanbait@comcast.net

Record Gun Sales For Christmas

from www.telegraph.co.uk
According to the FBI, over 1.5 million background checks on customers were requested by gun dealers to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System in December. Nearly 500,000 of those were in the six days before Christmas.

It was the highest number ever in a single month, surpassing the previous record set in November.

On Dec 23 alone there were 102,222 background checks, making it the second busiest single day for buying guns in history.

The actual number of guns bought may have been even higher if individual customers took home more than one each.

Explanations for America’s surge in gun buying include that it is a response to the stalled economy with people fearing crime waves. Another theory is that buyers are rushing to gun shops because they believe tighter firearms laws will be introduced in the future.

The National Rifle Association said people were concerned about self defence because police officer numbers were declining.

A spokesman said: “I think there’s an increased realisation that when something bad occurs it’s going to be between them and the criminal.”

But anti-gun campaigners said those who already owned weapons were simply hoarding more of them due to “fear-mongering” by the NRA.

A spokeswoman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence said: “The research we’ve seen indicates fewer and fewer people are owning more and more guns.”

Dave LaRue, of Legendary Guns in Phoenix, Arizona, said Christmas sales were up 25 per cent on the previous year and ammunition sales were also “brisk”.

He said: “There are a lot of people concerned about pending gun legislation and the sense about the current administration. People think future availability will be limited and there’s a feeling of get it while you can.” The record for gun sales in a single day was set in November, on the day after Thanksgiving, when 129,166 background searches were carried out on customers buying weapons.

Since the near-fatal shooting of congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords by a deranged gunman in Tucson, Arizona last January there have been increasing calls for tighter gun control. Miss Giffords survived being shot in the head with a semi-automatic handgun, and six other people were killed.

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