The recent revelations regarding fund sweeps of monies from the State Police Firearm Services Fund and the State Police Services Fund are a travesty against law-abiding gun owners in Illinois [refer to the Headline News on our website, www.isra.org and please share our FB post].  These revelations are the work of the Illinois State Rifle Association lobbying team.  The idea to check out what was happening to gun owners’ money became a discussion in April 2019 when the highly organized and well-funded anti-gunners began pushing the so- called FOID fix bill, which turned out to be a guise to crush firearm ownership.  The project to find out what happened to the FOID funds was led by ISRA lobbyist Ed Sullivan.  The ISRA has five lobbyists and each one brings different skills to the table.  When added together, the ISRA has one of the best, if not the best, pro-gun lobbying teams anywhere.  Ed Sullivan is a former Republican Floor Leader and was on the negotiating team when we passed the Illinois Concealed Carry Act in 2013.  Remember, we had to override Governor Quinn’s veto to get that done.  Ed Sullivan is an example of why experience matters.

In 2013, the ISRA stepped up to the plate to make sure Illinois gun owners received their FOID cards and ICCLs on time.  That did not happen because the money was there; it was swept away and gun owners were left with bad service.  The money went down the General Revenue Fund rat hole and, most likely, was wasted on stupid projects.  Moreover, the gun owners stepped up to the plate and did the right thing and their reward for their good citizenship was to get the Gun Dealer Licensing Certification Act shoved down their throats, which wiped out over half of the Federal Firearm Dealers in this state.  The ISRA case against the GDLCA will be heard soon; we are just waiting for a date.

I am often asked why join the ISRA?  The answer is simple.  No organization fights harder or more effectively for Illinois gun owners than the ISRA.  Do we win every time?  Not always.  But we will always fight for you and we won’t back down.  Every gun owner should be an ISRA member.  If every gun owner was a member, we would enjoy even greater success in defending our Second Amendment rights.

The last couple of mornings I have been greeted by the icy sting of winter and new fallen snow.  Winter is something you need to prepare for.  Besides your vehicle and clothing, you need to also think about your firearms and ammunition.  Guns do not like going from warm to cold, or colder to warmer temperatures.  Condensation will form on the gun and cause it to rust.  If you are hunting, once the gun is in the cold it is best to leave it in the cold.  I realize that is not always possible; if you have to bring the gun inside, do not leave it in the case.  Condensation will form on the inside of your case and may become wet.  You will be able to hear your gun rust.

Here are some quick tips for your firearms and ammunition.  Clean your firearms thoroughly.  Get all the oil out of every nook and cranny, and don’t neglect the areas around firing pins, strikers, safety devices, magazines and magazine tubes.  During cold weather, oil can hang up all kinds of things.  I have been around people who oiled the magazine tube on their shotgun and it refused to feed in cold weather.  If you have to oil anything, use light synthetic oil.  In arctic temperatures, I wouldn’t oil any interior parts.  The oil used on the outside of the gun should be of a rust preventative variety.  I prefer to use the oil wipes because they work well and are easy to use.  Unlike oily rags, they don’t pick up foreign matter because they are always clean.  When I was in high school, a new hunting fellow over lubed his shotgun and on a cold day, it did not fire.  He thought the gun was broke so he put it in his car but did not unload it.  When the car warmed up, it went off.  No one was hurt but the car and his pride needed repair.

When you are hunting, target shooting, or have your self-defense firearm in the cold, it is a good idea to carry a small aerosol can of lock de-icer with you just in case the gun does freeze up.  Be sure it is for locks.  Some kinds of de-icer will raise havoc with your gun.  Even so, clean the gun as soon as you can if you have had to de-ice it.

Be sure to keep snow out of the end of your barrel or barrels.  Any amount of snow in a shotgun barrel will destroy the gun and may injure you or someone else.  Even a spider web will destroy a shotgun barrel.  I own a model 12 Winchester that a friend of mine had.  He saw a spider web in the barrel and decided to clear it by shooting it out.  It was a really nice trap gun.  Now it is a not-so-nice home-defense gun.

Ammunition is not what it used to be.  In the past, some ammo was temperature sensitive to the point that it became unreliable.  I have not had any problems in recent years but you should still test what you are going to use to see if cold weather affects the performance.  The same is true in hot weather.  When I was competing, I would put my ammo in a cooler to protect it from both heat and cold.

I hope these small tips will help make your cold weather shooting or hunting adventures successful.

Bertha Vickers from Morgantown, Mississippi, is 101 years old.  That is an accomplishment in itself but Bertha does not stop there.  Bertha loves to hunt.  Earlier this year, Bertha shot at a deer but didn’t realize there was another close behind the first one.  It shot plum through both of them; she had bagged two deer with one shot.  The hunt didn’t end there for Bertha.  After her grandson skinned them, she took part in the cleaning process and shared the meat with her family.  Good going Bertha!

It’s not a good idea to steal Christmas presents in Alabama.  A couple of really stupid thieves broke into a home and stole the family’s Christmas presents, Christmas tree and a couple of TVs.  Then these morons returned to the scene of the crime with the stolen Christmas tree in the back of their truck.  The family recognized their tree, ran the thieves down and held them at gun point until the police arrived and hauled them off to jail.  I just love heartwarming Christmas stories – Don’t you?

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Upcoming Events: ISRA Calendar
For more information, visit www.isra.org

ISRA Air Rifle League
Tuesdays – 5:00-8:00

ISRA International Air Pistol League
Every other Wednesday – 5:00-8:00

Well Armed Woman
December 28, 2019

Range Work Day
January 4, 2020

Glock Armorer’s Course
January 9, 2020

Winter Wars 2020
January 11, 2020

Gun & Trade Shows

Aledo Gun Show
Aledo, IL – Aledo VFW Hall
Dates: December 14-15, 2019
Hours: Saturday: 8:30-5:00
             Sunday: 8:30-3:00
Admission: $3.00

McHenry County Gun Show
Woodstock, IL – McHenry County Fairgrounds
Date: December 22, 2019
Hours: Sunday: 8:00-1:00
Admission: $5.00

Crown Point Gun Show
Crown Point, IN – Lake County Fairgrounds
Dates: December 28-29, 2019
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $5.00

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