by Joseph P. Tartaro | Executive Editor
Congressman seeks case histories for Operation Choke Point probe
If you or your gun-related business have been affected by Operation Choke Point you may want to share that experience with Congress. Choke Point made a lot of headlines a short time back, including in TGM, but has been on the backburner in recent months.
Now US Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) is asking businesses affected by Operation Choke Point to come forward and to explain their story through a new email address, chokepointstory@mail.house.gov. The information provided will not be shared without consent.
Through Operation Choke Point, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Department of Justice attempted to stop financial institutions from offering financial services to some regulated industries. This operation was first aimed at non-depository lenders but expanded to ammunition and firearms sales, among other things.
“This platform was created so that if you own a business and have been affected by Operation Choke Point you can share your story so that I can continue to apply pressure to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Department of Justice, and other federal agencies who are applying unnecessary pressure on you,” Luetkemeyer said.
Daniel Defense makes Inc. list
Daniel Defense has made Inc.’s 500|5000 list for the third consecutive year.
Daniel Defense, engineering and manufacturing weapons systems, precision rail systems and accessories, has been ranked Number 1568 by Inc. magazine on its 33rd annual Inc. 500/5000, the third consecutive year the company has been recognized.
The list represents the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy—America’s independent entrepreneurs. Daniel Defense, a Georgia-based company and leader in the firearms community, is honored to be included again for 2014.
Benefit for Kansas girl
Henry Repeating Arms of Bayonne. NJ, has donated 100 custom rifles with proceeds to benefit Grayson Sutton, a 4-year old from Sedan, KS, who has been battling Primary Pulmonary Hypertension since May. Eventually she will most likely need a lung transplant. Grayson travels to Denver monthly for testing and medication updates.
The Henry Frontier .22 Lever Action rifles have been customized with a hand-painted sunflower, the state flower of Kansas, along with the script “Get Well Grayson” on the American walnut buttstock. The rifles bear custom serial numbers ranging from GWG001 to GWG100. Serial number 1 is being auctioned on gunbroker.com until Nov. 29.
The other 99 units are being sold by authorized Henry dealers throughout Kansas. The United Sporting Goods Company’s distribution outlet Simmons Guns in Olathe, KS, will distribute the rifles to Henry dealers. Interested consumers should visit their local Henry dealer as soon as possible. The 100 Get Well Grayson rifles are expected to generate in excess of $40,000.
Miss Sutton’s family received nearly $10,000 from Henry Repeating Arms in July after a custom Golden Boy .22 rifle was raffled at the Chautauqua County Fair and Rodeo in Sedan.
Other business briefs
FN Herstal has teamed with Dillon Aero to add to its portfolio of FN MAG® 58M and FN M3M™ (GAU-21) machineguns, the Dillon Aero M134D Gatling Gun as an additional option to its airborne pintle-mounted systems. FN Herstal airborne pintles are now capable of connecting either to the FN MAG® 58M, the FN M3M™ or the M134D, with all three variants being qualified by FN Herstal. Each armament conversion kit fulfills a segment: the FN MAG® 58M is a 7.62mm cal. machinegun with maximum rate of fire of 1,000 RPM; the M134D, also known as the “Minigun” is a 6 barrel Gatling Gun with rate of fire of 3,000 while the FN M3M™ (GAU-21) is a .50 cal. firing at 1,100 RPM.
The armament swap on FN Herstal’s systems connections will only take minutes. Swapping from the FN MAG® 58M to the M134D or to the FN M3M™ (GAU-21) on FN Medium Pintle Systems adds flexibility to the end users. Providing end users with the ability to configure the weapon systems with the armament of the customer’s choice greatly improves the helicopter’s modularity and adaptability to specific missions and threats. By offering three variants and turning its airborne pintle-mounted systems into modular systems, FN Herstal covers all calibers and segments that are of interest to its customers, and opens a growth path for future weapons solutions.
FN Herstal is a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of small caliber portable weapons and weapon systems, and equips more than 2,600 airborne platforms on all continents.
In August, LaserMax of Rochester, NY, announced that Beverly J. of Arizona has been named grand prize winner in the LaserMax® 2014 “Win a One Year Supply of Ammo” Spring Sweepstakes. Beverly’s name was randomly drawn from a pool of over 70,000 entrants. As winner, Beverly is entitled to 100 rounds of ammunition each week for an entire year, a total of 5,200 total rounds.
The sweepstakes commemorating LaserMax’s 25th anniversary emphasized the importance of frequent firearm training in maintaining every responsible citizen’s skill at arms.
While some in the general media have been claiming that a decline in the stock prices of shares in some publicly traded gun manufacturers is a sign that the gun business is cooling down substantially, the September 2014 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figures are far from pessimistic. The NSSF adjusted NICS figure of 1,024,272 is the second highest September on record for the 16-year-old system, even with a decrease of 1.0 percent compared to the September 2013 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,034,701.
For comparison, the unadjusted September 2014 NICS figure of 1,447,485 reflects a 4.0 percent increase from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,392,423 in September 2013. To learn more about Septembers NICS report, log in to the member side of nssf.org.
