Because the targets are flatter and thicker than standard clays in order to withstand rolling on the ground without shattering, the clays often require a little harder hit before shooters can prove they are masters of “rascally rabbits.”

All Mossberg autoloaders available are gas operated. Each bleeds a set amount of gas from the ignition of the shotshell, down through a port in the barrel to function the action. The oldest of these guns, the Model 5500, requires the shooter to change barrels when switching from non-Magnum to Magnum loads. Two updated 5500s—the new Model 6000 and the Maverick 60—will continue to do so. A totally new Mossberg, the Model 9200, allows free interchange of ammunition without changing barrels.

For the past five years, the National Shooting Sports Foundation has surveyed federally licensed firearms retailers across the country to find out what products are the biggest sellers and who is buying. NSSF has just issued the latest version of that report from an online survey conducted last month. The data shows which types of firearms and ammunition were most popular in 2012, and at the same time allows retailers to compare their businesses to that of other gun stores across the country.

Newly-released data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) proves that more guns in private hands do not lead to more murders, and a Pew Research study showing widespread ignorance of this fact suggests that the public has been misled, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms says.

Gun Reports - News

California Fish and Game Commission
Does Not Expand Lead-Ammo Ban

(GunReports.com) -- In a victory for hunters and sport shooters, on August 8, the California Fish and Game Commission rejected a proposal to expand the existing ban on the use of lead ammunition that applies to hunting in certain parts of California. The proposal would have expanded the existing ban on the use of lead ammunition, now applicable only in the limited "Condor Zone" created by AB 821, to also include State Wildlife Areas, Ecological Reserves, and depredation hunts.

Ammunition ban proponents urged the Commissioners to put the proposed expansion out "to notice" for official public comment, a prerequisite step toward getting it formally adopted. Their arguments are based on recent publications created by researchers at UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz. National Rifle Association and California Rifle and Pistol Association representatives, scientists, and lawyers opposed the proposal. Their presentations are available online.

Specifically, two recent studies published by UC Davis researchers Terra R. Kelly and Christine K. Johnson purport to show that golden eagles and turkey vultures have significantly higher blood-lead levels during hunting season, in comparison to the off-season, and that lead exposure in both species declined significantly after the implementation of the AB 821 lead ammunition ban. But the UC Davis researchers' methodology behind their publications was so flawed that their conclusions are unreliable.

Proponents also relied on a study by UC Santa Cruz researchers Myra Finkelstein and Donald Smith, who recently published a paper that admitted that the ban on hunters' lead ammunition in the "Condor Zone" did nothing to reduce condor blood-lead levels! Nonetheless, they insist that condor lead exposure and poisoning is due to hunters' use of lead ammunition. Their latest publication claims to show that lead found in the blood of condors matched the lead found in ammunition. But they relied on a discredited analysis technique, so their conclusions are unreliable.

The NRA's presentation anticipated and addressed the arguments raised by proponents of the lead ammo ban. Through an extensive investigation, the NRA obtained and analyzed tens of thousands of pages of public records and data. In preparation for their presentation, the NRA and CRPA representatives analyzed the public records and data, as well as peer-reviewed papers including the UC authors' publications. These efforts showed that the most recent study was based on data that was cherry picked to reach pre-conceived conclusions. In fact, the researchers' conclusions in their own prior publications contradicted their most recent conclusions.

The NRA showed the commission not only that the studies were flawed, but that the data actually showed the opposite of what proponents were claiming: Condor blood-lead levels actually slightly increased after AB 821 was implemented. NRA also obtained information from the Department of Fish and Game's own law enforcement wardens showing that 99 percent of all hunters were complying with the lead ammunition ban in the "Condor Zone."

Faced with the facts, the commissioners were convinced that lead ammunition is not the sole cause of lead exposure in wildlife, and that the AB 821 lead ammunition ban was ineffective. Alternative sources of lead, such as lead paint, gasoline, and pesticides, must play a significant role in lead exposure and poisoning. The commission not only rejected the proposed expansion of the lead ammo ban, but abandoned any effort to open a formal public comment period on the proposed regulations.

The NRA's presentation prompted the commission to form a stakeholder's science committee to get to the bottom of the scientific debate on the cause of lead exposure in condors. The committee will include Commission President Jim Kellogg, Commissioner Michael Sutton, and scientists from the Audubon Society and the NRA.

Tweet