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FRIDAY, JULY 12, 2024

- ACQUISITIONS -
 
SilencerCo announced its pending acquisition of certain business operations of Zev Technologies, a firearm and firearm parts manufacturer. The transaction is expected to close during the second half of July.
- BOATING -
 
Norsk Lithium® breaks industry ground with a line of lithium marine starting batteries that exceeds most outboard manufacturer specs and will never leave you dead in the water; featuring three sets of terminals and included hardware for flexible rigging, Bluetooth® battery monitoring and more.
- FISHERIES -
 
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) wants freshwater anglers to be prepared if they catch a bass large enough to be the new state record.

While there are a lot of great reservoirs and ponds where you can fish in Utah, the Beehive State also offers some excellent stream and river fishing. An added bonus for heading into the mountains to fish is that you can also escape the heat! If you are planning any stream or river fishing this summer, here are a few things to know.

Cornwall Creek Flooding will be lowered by approximately 6 feet beginning Monday, Aug. 12, to comply with a state safety order and prepare for dam renovations, with the goal of preserving the impoundment for recreation and wildlife.

- FISHING TOURNAMENTS -
 
Unified Pros, a nonprofit with no ownership, has organized and announced Ultimate Angler Championship—October 5th - 11th on Lake Guntersville, near Scottsboro, AL. with a guaranteed 1st Place payout of $500,000, the tournament guarantees a total of over 1 million in cash payouts.
- GRANTS -
 
Applications are now open for grants to fund urban forestry projects throughout Indiana. Funds are awarded on a reimbursable basis and a 1:1 match is required.
- HUNTING -
 
Join the Michigan DNR for Hunter Safety Education Week, Aug. 12-18. More than 40 in-person classes will be offered throughout the state as additional opportunities to obtain a hunter safety education certificate.
- INDUSTRY -
 
TAG Precision has announced the addition of Ian Paul as Sales Manager, bringing over 12 years of experience in sales, inside sales, customer service, and ecommerce.

The second installment of the NRA’s “I Defend the 2nd” campaign features Ronnie Barrett, founder of Barrett Firearms and designer of the Barrett M107 .50-cal sniper rifle. The full video with Mr. Barrett can be viewed here. The first video of this series from new NRA Executive Vice President and CEO Doug Hamlin introduced Doug to the Association’s members.

NSSF® tracks and reports monthly U.S. import units for several sporting arms, ammunition, and optics categories from the US International Trade Commission. here are the results for April 2024 compared to April 2023.

NSSF tracks and reports monthly U.S. export units for several sporting arms, ammunition, and optics categories from the US International Trade Commission. Here are the results for April 2024 compared to April 2023.

Winchester Ammunition has committed its support to the 2024 National African American Gun Association Summit in Dallas, Texas, July 25 – 28. NAAGA will use Winchester ammunition for its instructor certification courses and range days taking place throughout the event.

Regal Products is proud to announce its participation in the 2024 VA/DOD Suicide Prevention Conference from July 16-18 in Portland, Oregon. Regal Products’ commitment to developing safety tools and responsible firearm storage solutions makes it the perfect partner for this forward-thinking direction.

The Yamaha U.S. Marine Business Unit recently donated two Yamaha WaveRunners to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) to enhance enforcement of the Weeki Wachee Springs Protection Zone.
- NEW PRODUCTS -
 
Walther Arms, Inc. announces the new Walther Magnum Pistol (WMP) SD, which now comes with a threaded barrel (1/2x28) for suppressor use. Crafted to the high-quality Walther standards, the WMP SD offers unmatched ergonomics for every type of shooter and adventure.

GunTag, a newly launched company dedicated to protecting firearms from theft, presents their innovative product line aimed at empowering gun owners to keep tabs on their firearms at all times. GunTag empowers gun owners the ability to know the location of their firearms at all times using popular Bluetooth devices such as Apple AirTags and Tile Stickers.

- ORGANIZATIONS -
 
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene its Standing Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) from July 31 – August 1, 2024. The meeting will convene at 8:30 ET each day and will adjourn by 5:30 ET on August 1, 2024.
- PODCASTING -
 
Trey Reid, host of Arkansas Wildlife Podcast sits down with Luke Naylor, AGFC chief of wildlife management, to chew the fat on some of the more prominent regulation changes hunters should be aware of when preparing for fall.
- PROMOTIONS -
 
Nightstick, Remington and Springfield Armory have teamed up with Savior Equipment and 1791 to offer The Heavy Metal Package, a $3,500 retail value. This accessory-packed prize package features an 18.5" Remington 870 Police 12GA shotgun outfitted with a Nightstick SFL-13GL shotgun light and extended Choate Machine and Tool magazine tube.
- RANGES -
 
The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ (ADCNR) Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) Division is in the process of adding a state-of-the-art shooting facility in Shelby County to complement the 12 existing shooting ranges they operate.

- STATE AGENCIES -
 
The Arizona Game and Fish Department has issued a Notice of Intent to Pursue Rulemaking to begin the process to amend its Article 4 rules (live wildlife) to implement the recommendations made in the recent five-year review report.

If you're looking for a volunteer opportunity to help young people experience outdoor recreation -- helping instill in them a sense of Michigan's great natural resources heritage and traditions -- then the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is looking for you.

After an inspection Tuesday found bridge footings undermined, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has closed the Kamichik Bridge over the Sturgeon River in Dickinson County.
- STATES -
 
Specially rigged agricultural airplanes dropped thousands of pounds of millet seed on the exposed mudflats of Nimrod Lake during its scheduled summer drawdown to boost the productivity of the system for fish as well as wintering waterfowl and other wildlife later this year.

The Board of Trustees of the Alabama Forever Wild Land Trust will hold its third quarterly meeting of 2024 on Thursday, August 1, at Reid State Technical College, located at 100 Highway 83, in Evergreen, Alabama.

A series of port meetings continues in July and August, providing a unique opportunity for fishermen and others interested in the King Mackerel and Spanish Mackerel fisheries to share their perspectives and vision for the future.
- TELEVISION -
 
Waypoint TV announces the exclusive launch of the highly anticipated Season 3 of Winchester Life, to their channel. This first episode of the never-before-seen season is set to premiere on the Waypoint TV Channel on July 16 at 7 PM ET.

Outdoor Action TV is excited to announce the addition of OIFC TV to the Outdoor Action TV channel and platform. OIFC TV is sponsored by the Ocean Isle Fishing Center and hosted by one of its owners, Capt. Brant McMullan and his 14-year-old son, Brayden McMullan.

- TRAINING -
 
GRITR Range announced a Texas LTC class to be held on July 28 from 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM. The range is a Texas Department of Public Safety Certified instructor, allowing it to provide successful students with the official documents required for obtaining their licenses.
- WILDLIFE -
 
As a result of Indiana’s positive detection of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in April, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has restricted moving deer from any CWD Positive Area for rehabilitation purposes.
 

FEATURE

If you want to know the best handguns and gear for women, look to see what women are choosing to train with and carry. A Girl & A Gun (AG & AG) hosted its 12th Annual National Conference, SHINE 2024.

Participants included 706 members representing 135 AG & AG chapters from 45 different states. All participants were required to go through a ‘Gear Check’ process where their handguns, belts, holsters, and mag pouches were all reviewed and function checked. In total, the women brought 976 handguns for training.

GLOCK was the Title Sponsor of the National Conference, and GLOCK was the most popular choice among the participants: 22.7% of all handguns used were GLOCK models.

The following lists the Top 10 brands of handguns that the women brought to training:

Popular Brands / Percentage

GLOCK / 22.75%

Sig Sauer / 20.29%

Walther / 17.01%

Smith & Wesson / 9.63%

HK / 5.94%

CZ / 5.33%

Springfield / 4.51%

Canik / 4.41%

Staccato / 3.48%

Ruger / 0.82%

See the complete list and additional details: https://www.agirlandagun.org/womens-favorite-handgun-brands-in-2024/

Depending on the topic of their training courses, e.g., concealed carry vs. 3-gun, women would bring different models that were most appropriate to the skills learned. Some pistols were very topic-specific, and some were used for general skillbuilder sessions with training that can be applied to both defense and competition. The following lists the most popular models of handguns that the women brought to training:

Popular Models / Percentage

Walther PDP-F / 17.23%

GLOCK 19 / 11.56%

Sig Sauer P365XL / 5.44%

GLOCK 34 / 4.54%

GLOCK 43X / 4.31%

HK VP9 / 4.31%

Sig Sauer P320 / 4.31%

Sig Sauer P365 / 3.85%

GLOCK 17 / 3.40%

Walther PDP / 3.40%

GLOCK 48 / 2.49%

GLOCK 45 / 2.27%

Smith & Wesson M&P Shield EZ / 2.27%

Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 / 1.81%

Popular Sighting Systems and Triggers

While there are more pistol-mounted optics each year, they still have not yet surpassed iron sights among women.

Sighting Systems / Percentage

Iron Sights / 54.41%

Red Dots / 45.59%

Iron Sights / Percentage

Stock / 91.91%

Upgraded / 8.09%

Popular Upgraded Irons / Percentage

Trijicon / 24.05%

Dawson Precision / 20.25%

TruGlo / 7.59%

Ameriglo / 3.80%

Popular Red Dot Brands / Percentage

Holosun / 67.64%

Sig Sauer / 11.91%

Trijicon / 5.17%

Leupold / 4.72%

Vortex / 2.92%

Preferred Reticle Colors / Percentage

Red / 59.73%

Green / 40.05%

Black / 0.23%

Most women used stock triggers in their handguns, but approximately 7% of them had upgraded triggers. The GLOCK Performance trigger was the most popular, followed by Apex and Timney.

Triggers / Percentage

Stock / 92.62%

Upgraded / 7.38%

Upgraded Triggers / Percentage

GLOCK Performance / 31.94%

Apex / 13.89%

Timney Triggers / 6.94%

Powder River / 5.56%

Cajun Gunworks / 4.17%

Note: SHINE Gear Check Logs listed brands and models of handguns, belts, holsters, and mag pouches. No serial numbers or personally identifiable data was collected. No information on rifles or shotguns was collected during gear check.

Popular Gear, Equipment, and Shooting Apparel

Here are some of the other popular brands that women brought for training to SHINE 2024. From eye/ear pro to holsters, belts, and apparel, here are the popular brands that were logged at Gear Check.

Eye Protection / Percentage

SSP / 16.23%

Oakley / 9.69%

Hunter’s HD Gold / 7.07%

WileyX / 6.02%

Ray-Ban / 3.14%

Hearing Protection / Percentage

Walker / 36.09%

Howard Leight / 13.00%

Axil / 11.62%

AKT1 Sport / 5.96%

Peltor / 4.28%

Belts / Percentage

Nexbelt / 30.35%

Kore / 7.74%

5.11 / 6.83%

Black Scorpion / 4.86%

Safariland / 4.25%

CR Speed / 3.19%

Tuff / 2.73%

We the People / 2.28%

Krydex / 2.12%

Blade Tech / 1.67%

Holsters / Percentage

Comp Tac / 17.16%

Haven Defense / 7.59%

BladeTech / 6.27%

We The People / 5.83%

Black Scorpion / 5.72%

Safariland / 4.40%

PHLster / 3.52%

Dara / 3.19%

Alien Gear / 2.42%

Blackhawk / 1.98%

Apparel / Percentage

5.11 / 38.59%

Duluth / 11.92%

Wrangler / 3.64%

Columbia / 3.43%

Levi / 2.83%

LAPG / 2.02%

Vakandi / 2.02%

Magellan / 1.41%

Tru Spec / 1.41%

Merrell / 1.41%

For more information about A Girl & A Gun Women’s Shooting League, or to learn how to join, please visit AGirlandAGun.org. Follow AG & AG on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest for social media and corporate news.
 
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