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

BATFE to FFLs: Checking Guns into Foreign Baggage a No-No

(GunReports.com) -- According to a recent open letter from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to Federal firearms licensees (FFLs), "It has recently come to the attention of [the agency] that some Federal firearms licensees (FFL) are arranging for the exportation of firearms and ammunition through an in-person disposition to foreign purchasers at the airline ticket counter of local international airports. Industry members are advised that this manner of disposing of firearms and ammunition violates the Gun Control Act of 1968…."

Chad J. Yoder Chief, Firearms and Explosives Industry Division, writes in the letter that the typical scenario involves an FFL bringing a firearm to the airport ticket counter where the foreign purchaser is waiting to check in baggage for an out-bound flight. Next, the firearm is either checked-in in its own shipping case or inserted by the FFL or an airline employee into the foreign purchaser’s baggage. The FFL has usually obtained the required export licenses and approvals from the United States Department of State. Neither a Firearms Transaction Record, ATF Form 4473, nor a National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) check is completed by the FFL in connection with the firearms transaction.

Delivering and disposing of a firearm to a foreign purchaser at the airport without completing an ATF Form 4473 or conducting a NICS check would violate the law.

Because the purchaser has lawful authority and control over his/her baggage, it makes no difference whether the FFL enlists the aid of an airline employee to act as an intermediary in taking the firearm from the FFL without the foreign purchaser ever actually handling the firearm. Even after check-in, the foreign traveler may request and retrieve his or her baggage containing the firearm prior to a flight. Circumstances may also arise preventing the purchaser from travelling, and the baggage holding the firearm would be returned to the foreign visitor. Likewise, it makes no difference whether the firearm is inserted into the purchaser’s baggage or kept in a separate container, because both would constitute baggage of the foreign purchaser.

Further, if the foreign purchaser is legally present in the United States on a tourist or other non- immigrant visa, the sale or disposition of the firearm and/or ammunition would be unlawful, unless the person falls within one of the exceptions. Additionally, it is unlawful for a non-licensee who does not reside in the United States to receive any firearms unless such receipt is for lawful sporting purposes. ATF is also concerned that FFLs engaged in this practice have not properly identified the individual at the airport who purports to be the foreign purchaser.

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Click here to see the open letter to FFLs

Reader Comments

Gone are the days when we could just put a firearm into our checked baggage without any concerns. Back in the days of my frequent travels as an Army officer, my baggage frequently had arms and ammunition in them, and nobody gave it a second thought. Hell, I remember back in the early 1960s when I travelled by air and even had personal handguns in my carry-on baggage or in the pockets of my jackets/coats which I put into the overhead compartments of the aircraft. We were much safer back then..... Any hijacker or terrorist who tried to take over an aircraft back in those days would have been summarily dealt with, and their plans would have been permanently disrupted. Today, I won't even consider flying anyplace, because I am not permitted to carry my weapons aboard any scheduled flights, and charter flights are prohibitively expensive.

I remember a time back in the mid-1960s when I flew to New York City, as I was taking my overcoat down from the overhead compartment, upon landing at JFK, my Walther PPK fell out of the pocket onto the seat, where I quickly snatched it up and put it into my pants pocket. Nobody saw it, or if they did, they didn't do anything about it.

Comment by: canovack | May 9, 2012

I'm sure this doesn't stop anybody from buying a gun while here and getting it home to a location outside the US - except, of course, for law abiding visitors. Hell, so many TSA staff are ex-cons, you could probably find one who would put your guns into your bag for you AFTER check-in and just prior to loading the luggage on the plane. And theft from or of baggage is still so common that it's silly to try to say there is no way to smuggle a gun or anything else INTO somebody's luggage as opposed to stealing something OUT of it.

Comment by: david b | May 10, 2012

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Comment by: DickersonIO | February 20, 2013

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Comment by: DickersonIO | February 20, 2013