ISSN Magazine

Author: Kevin McKeown

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Mentor Watches Pupil’s Triumph from Home: Chris Jennings Shines at Junior Olympics

Mentor Watches Pupil’s Triumph from Home: Chris Jennings Shines at Junior Olympics

Mike Smith, Coach/Mentor watched with pride from his home as his former pupil, Chris Jennings, from Floyd County made a stunning debut on the national stage, clinching third place in the country at the Junior Olympics. Mike, a club junior rifle coach, had dedicated countless hours to training and mentoring young shooters. One of his most promising students, Chris, had shown exceptional talent and dedication.

Chris’s journey to the Junior Olympics was marked by perseverance and hard work…he consistently demonstrated his prowess and composure under pressure. His qualification for the Junior Olympics was a testament to his unwavering commitment and the hours and hours of practice. As the Junior Olympics commenced, the anticipation was palpable. Competing against the best shooters in the nation, Chris displayed remarkable precision and focus. Each shot brought him closer to the podium, culminating in a well-deserved third-place finish in both air rifle and smallbore. It was a moment of triumph not just for Chris, but also for his mentor who had believed in his potential from the start.

Watching the event unfold on his computer, Mike felt an immense sense of pride and fulfillment. “Seeing Chris compete and succeed at this level is incredibly rewarding,” Mike shared. “It’s moments like these that make all the hard work worthwhile. Chris has always had the talent, and today he proved it to the country.”

While Chris competed in the finals, I texted back and forth with his mom, Bonnie…we exchanged messages, sharing the tense moments and cheering for Chris through our screens. We discussed every point, and every reaction, feeling almost as if we were there in person. The live updates and our rapid-fire texts keep us connected, supporting Chris together, even from afar.

Looking ahead, Chris has a bright future in the sport…he currently is going into his junior year at the United States Military Academy at West Point where he has been on the rifle travel team since his freshman year. With his recent success at the Junior Olympics, he has set a solid foundation for a promising career. His performance has also inspired a new generation of young shooters at the Southern Indiana Rifle & Pistol Club junior program, proving that with dedication and the right guidance, reaching the pinnacle of the sport is possible.

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Your vote Matters – Kelly Myers

Your vote Matters – Kelly Myers

As I’m writing this, we are one month removed from the Indiana Primary Election. With that in mind I have one question, “Did you vote?”

Looking at the numbers there were a lot of people in Indiana who chose to sit out the 2024 Primary election. According to the Indianavoters.in.gov, there are 4,709,250 registered voters in Indiana. That’s an estimated 91% of the adult population. 814,077 voted in the 2024 Primary, that is 17%.

If you live in Brown County, there’s a roughly 3 in 10 chance you voted (31% voter turnout, the HIGHEST in the State.) If you live in Lake, St Joseph, or Marion County, the chances are roughly 1 in 10 with an 11-12% turnout.

As gun owners, WE HAVE TO SHOW UP AND VOTE!

29% of the votes in the 2024 Primary were absentee votes. This includes both early voting and traditional mail-in absentee ballots.

Having spent over 21 years in the US Air Force, I voted absentee many times over the years. I voted in person once prior to joining the USAF, in 1984 and yes, I did vote for President Reagan (so did a lot of other people.) The next time I would vote in-person would be in a special election as a Florida resident, in 2001. I voted in every election in between and since. Over 40 years of voting (yes 1984 was 40 years ago) I lived in many places and did many different things. In all those elections there was one thing in common: I was a gun owner.

While I choose to vote at the polls on Election Day, we all need to make sure we get to the polls when we can. If you can vote early? Vote early. Are you over 65? You can vote with a traditional absentee ballot in Indiana. Any way you do it, make sure you vote.

As gun owners and supporters of the 2nd Amendment, we outnumber those who oppose the freedoms we enjoy. Our majority doesn’t count unless we show up and vote.

Kelly Myers
ISRPA Government Affairs Co-Director

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Friends of The NRA Hendrick County Fundraising Event

Friends of The NRA Hendrick County Fundraising Event

The Indiana State Rifle and Pistol Association invites you to attend the Friends of the NRA (FNRA) banquet event on May 23, 2024 at the Lizton Lodge in Lizton, IN. Join other champions of the Second Amendment for dinner, games, auctions, and fun with a chance to win exclusive NRA guns, gear, décor, and collectibles!

Location                                                      Contact
Lizton Lodge                                               Howard Griffith
1392 Wyatt Way                                         (317) 438-3227
Lizton, IN 46149                                         griffithsbeagles48@yahoo.com

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NRA World Shooting Championship: 2024 Event By The Numbers

NRA World Shooting Championship: 2024 Event By The Numbers

Source: NRA Shooting Sports USA | Repost ISRPA 4/12/2024 –

The 2024 NRA World Shooting Championship was stacked, from Stage 1, which featured Sporting Clays competition with Raptor synthetic semi-automatic 12-gauge shotguns from TriStar Arms and Rio 2¾-inch, 1⅛-ounce, 1,300 f.p.s., #7.5 shotshells, to the 12th and final stage, USPSA, which had shooters equipped with Walther PDP Match Polymer pistols and PMC 9 mm 115-grain ammunition.

Between the first and last stages, there were plenty of other stages that shooters could be excited about. For example, Stage 3: NRA America’s Rifle Challenge had the ACME Machine AM15 rifle with ACME Machine 1X6 first-focal-plane optic and Fiocchi 5.56 mm NATO ammo. Stage 6: Three-Gun included Mossberg JM Pro 12-gauge shotguns, Canik Rival pistols with MeCanik red-dot optics and Ruger AR-5.56 rifles with Vortex Razor 1-6X HD Gen II E optics. Stage 7: NRA Mid-Range AR Tactical saw competitors shooting the same Ruger AR-5.56 rifles and optics as the Three-Gun stage with Federal .223 Rem. ammo. Stage 9: Cowboy Action had shooters beginning in a seated position with their backs to the firing line, running to either the left or right while shouting “Wet my whistle” (or their choice of words), firing a Henry Big Boy revolver, then sprinting to the other side to shoot three Henry H006GM Big Boy lever-action rifles. And Stage 10: Precision Rifle Series featured Ruger Precision Rifles topped with Vortex Razor 3X15 HDLHT optics, along with Federal GM .308 Win. 168-grain ammo.

Read the full article…

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NRA’s World Shooting Championship Going On NOW

NRA’s World Shooting Championship Going On NOW

Source: The Outdoor Wire | Repost ISRPA 4/5/2024 –

When the shooters take to their various stages to begin the NRA’s World Shooting Championship today at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, they will face a course of fire designed to help identify the best all-round shooters in the sport. Rifle, pistol and shotgun- with variations of each -wait to see who can combine the various stages of fire to take home the top prize and bragging rights as the world’s best all-around shooter…for 2024.

What they won’t see is all the work that went into getting the competition ready for them. Not just setting the courses, but re-setting them after severe weather moved through much of the country on Monday and Tuesday. Things were pretty much ready-to-go until the weather decided to take one of those notable spring u-turns and go from mild to wild.

Atterbury was no exception.

Read he full article…

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USA Youth Education in Shooting Sports (USAYESS) Celebrates Record-breaking Attendance at the 2024 Western Regional Junior Clay Target Championships

USA Youth Education in Shooting Sports (USAYESS) Celebrates Record-breaking Attendance at the 2024 Western Regional Junior Clay Target Championships

The USA Youth Education in Shooting Sports (USAYESS) recently celebrated a landmark achievement at the 2024 Western Regional Junior Clay Target Championships, recording unprecedented participation levels. Held at the prestigious Clark County Shooting Complex in Las Vegas, Nevada, from March 22nd to 24th, the event attracted over 1,392 student-athlete entries from across nine states, underlining the growing appeal and inclusivity of youth shooting sports. This year’s championships not only showcased the exceptional talent and sportsmanship of young athletes but also highlighted USAYESS’s commitment to promoting educational and recreational opportunities in shooting sports.

Source: USAYESS | Repost ISRPA 4/3/2024 – 

USAYESS (USA Youth Education in Shooting Sports) proudly announces the triumphant conclusion of the 2024 Western Regional Junior Clay Target Championships. Which was held from; March 22nd to March 24th, 2024, at the esteemed, Clark County Shooting Complex in Las Vegas, Nevada. This event marked a monumental milestone for USAYESS, as it welcomed a record-breaking attendance, with over 1,392 student-athlete entries competing in the 350-target competition.

The Western Regional Junior Clay Target Championships showcased the dedication, skill, and sportsmanship of young shooting enthusiasts from across the nation. Drawing participants from 46 teams representing nine different states, the event served as a testament to the growing popularity and inclusivity of shooting sports among the youth.

Read the full article…

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HB1235 signed by the Governor

HB1235 signed by the Governor

The 2024 Indiana General Assembly Legislative session has come and gone. While we never get every bill we support through the process, this was a very successful year for Hoosier gun owners.

Last week two very important (and hard-fought) bills were signed into law by Governor Holcomb.

One of these bills was House Bill 1235, Prohibited Causes of Action Concerning Firearms. This bill prohibits political subdivisions from filing nuisance lawsuits against firearms and ammunition manufacturers, dealers, sellers, and trade associations. HB 1235 would also put an end to a 25-year-old lawsuit in which the City of Gary is suing nearly every firearms manufacturer in a civil suit under Indiana’s public nuisance law. This lawsuit was putting the personal information on an estimated 400,000 ATF Form 4473s at risk and had to be stopped.

Another important bill that passed this year was House Bill 1084 Privacy of Firearms Financial Transactions. This bill bans the use of merchant category codes to identify firearms purchases as well banning creating registries of gun owners.

I’ve testified for a lot of bills in the last eight years. I’ve never been more concerned about what I found during my research for testimony, and I’ve never kept finding things that made me more concerned than with this bill.

I’m sure many of you remember the press release from US House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan concerning the use of terms like “MAGA” and “Trump” being used to track purchases using debit and credit cards. That was what made the news. That was the first paragraph of a five-page press release.

Keep an eye out for the Indiana Shooting Sports News. I go into detail on these bills going through the legislative process, as well as those who were there in the committee hearings testifying in support of this vital legislation. There will also be two other bills reviewed that didn’t have the fight involved with 1235 and 1084, but were still wins for Hoosier gun owners.

Kelly Myers
Government Affairs Co-Director
Indiana State Rifle and Pistol Association

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Indiana Primary Election Ratings & Endorsements Are Now Posted on NRAPVF.ORG

Indiana Primary Election Ratings & Endorsements Are Now Posted on NRAPVF.ORG

Fellow ISRPA Members,

The NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) has updated the grades on (most of) the candidates in the upcoming (7 May) Primary Elections. These include Governor, US Senate, US House, State Senate, and State House candidates.

This year will not only be highly-contentious in the Presidential election, but in Indiana as well. The Governor, one US Senator, and several US House seats (Districts 3, 6, and 8) do not have an incumbent.

One race that has caught my attention (you can’t avoid all the TV and radio commercials) is the 6th District US House. This District runs from just south of Indianapolis to south of Columbus in the west, and from (all the way east to the Ohio State line) south of Winchester to well south of Richmond.

One of the Republican candidates in this race is Jefferson Shreve. It is rare to see a Republican candidate with a an NRA-PVF “F” grade. Those of us who live in the Indianapolis area and remember his run for Indianapolis Mayor in 2023 (when he adopted the same anti-2nd Amendment platform as the Indianapolis City/County Council which included an “Assault weapons ban”, eliminating Constitutional Carry of handguns, raising the age limit to purchase ANY firearm to 21) know he earned the F-grade.

Those of you who live in the eastern part of the State who get your local news out of Dayton or Cincinnati: Jefferson Shreve is buying a lot of commercial time on radio and TV. Keep in mind that he earned the F from NRA-PVF while running for Indianapolis Mayor.

The note below is from NRA-ILA. It contains dates and links revolving around Indiana. Check it out!

Kelly Myers
Government Affairs Co-Director
Indiana State Rifle and Pistol Association

Dear Indiana NRA Member:

Tuesday, May 7, is Primary Election Day in Indiana. NRA Political Victory Fund candidate ratings and endorsements for the primary are now available at http://www.nrapvf.org.  Be sure to check out the NRA-PVF website before you vote, so you know where the candidates stand on issues of importance to gun owners and sportsmen.

Early voting starts Tuesday, April 9th.  Make sure you exercise your right to vote — early or on Primary Election Day — and support candidates who will protect your Second Amendment rights! Voter information and polling locations can be found at https://indianavoters.in.gov

Sincerely, NRA-PVF

 

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Kelly Myers on The Gun Guy

Kelly Myers on The Gun Guy

Listen in as ISRPA Legislative C-Director Kelly Myers calls into the The Gun Guy Radio Show on WIBC on Saturday, March 2nd. Guy discusses several bills that are entering the final process as the Legislature enters the final week. Kelly joins Guy at the 57-minute mark of the broadcast.

 

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