CZ presented its inaugural Breakthrough Awards to Davidson's and Ann Arbor Arms during a gala at the company's 90th Anniversary Celebration in Prague. Davidson's received the distributor award and Ann Arbor Arms the retail award, both recognized for exceptional growth, partnership commitment, and brand advancement.
Team Vihtavuori member Kim Rowe earned top honors at the 2026 NRA National High Power Mid-Range Prone Championships and the 2026 NRA National High Power Long Range Championships, capturing the Patriot Minuteman Trophy and multiple podium finishes. Rowe credited her success to premium components including Vihtavuori powder, Berger bullets, and Lapua brass.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department's wildlife photo contest, celebrating its 20th anniversary, is now accepting submissions through August 14, 2026. One best-in-show and 11 winners will be featured in the Arizona Wildlife Views 2027 calendar, with the winning photo appearing on the cover. Participants can submit up to three photos via an online form in partnership with Arizona Highways.
NOAA Fisheries implemented a final rule reducing catch limits for the Gulf Other Shallow-Water Grouper complex by 54.7% and establishing a fixed closed recreational season from January 1 through June 30 annually, effective January 1, 2027, based on Gulf Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee recommendations.
Idaho Fish and Game Fisheries Bureau Chief Lance Hebdon explains how severe drought and summer heat threaten fishing opportunities. Managers will consider salvage fishing, fish relocation, or allowing natural die-offs based on cost-benefit analysis and available resources.
Ohio's Division of Wildlife announces free fishing days on June 20-21, allowing residents 16 and older to fish public waters without a license. The state stocked over 36 million fish in 2025, including walleye, rainbow trout, and channel catfish across 200+ locations.
Idaho Fish and Game has released controlled hunt drawing results for deer, elk, pronghorn, fall bear, turkey, and swan. Hunters can check results via email or by logging into GoOutdoorsIdaho.com, where a virtual line system will manage high traffic during initial availability.
Fish and Game is seeking public comments on 2026–27 sage-grouse seasons and tag proposals. Statewide male counts on leks decreased from 2025, with tag numbers declining from 5,030 in 2025 to 4,280 in 2026.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game and Idaho Wild Sheep Foundation are offering the 2026 Idaho Bighorn Sheep Lottery Tag with entries due July 20. Proceeds support wildlife disease research to increase bighorn sheep populations in Idaho and the west.
Christensen Arms has integrated with Guns.com to allow customers to find and purchase rifles directly from ChristensenArms.com through the online marketplace, with firearms shipped to local FFL dealers. The integration bridges product research and purchase while supporting the licensed dealer network.
MidwayUSA, founded by Larry and Brenda Potterfield in Columbia, Missouri in 1977, celebrates 49 years of business. The family-owned company has grown from a small 1,600-square-foot gun shop to a major retailer offering shooting, hunting, and outdoor products while maintaining core values of customer satisfaction and integrity.
SAAMI has established a working group to evaluate Federal Premium's new 6.5 Creedmoor +Peak cartridge, which uses advanced case technology that falls outside existing standards. SAAMI takes no position on the cartridge's compatibility with standard 6.5 Creedmoor firearms or legacy suppressors pending technical review.
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department confirmed invasive zebra mussels in Horseshoe Lake, Richland County, after detecting veligers in plankton samples. Aquatic nuisance species coordinator Ben Holen noted follow-up sampling found additional adult mussels. The lake is now Class I ANS Infested waters with emergency rules prohibiting water movement from the site.
Leupold & Stevens, Inc. announced a limited-edition Mark 250 Riflescope Package exclusively through Scheels to commemorate the U.S. Semiquincentennial. Only 250 custom scopes featuring the Mark 5HD 2-10x30 riflescope with CMR-MIL reticle and Betsy Ross flag design are available, sequentially numbered 001-250.
Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's Outdoor Fund renewed its Diamond level partnership with the Boone and Crockett Club with a $120,000 grant for 2026. The funding supports conservation policy leadership, Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch education programs, and implementation of the Club's landmark Poach and Pay Project research.
Zanders, a national distributor based in Sparta, Illinois, has added Throwflame products to its inventory, offering dealers access to innovative flame-throwing technology. Throwflame, the oldest flamethrower manufacturer in the U.S., provides handheld and mounted systems for outdoor enthusiasts and land management professionals.
Texas Hunter Products unveiled a Limited Edition patriotic 70-lb. fish feeder celebrating America's 250th birthday. The feeder features a premium digital timer, solar-powered rechargeable battery, centrifugal air-blower system, and rust-proof galvanized steel construction, built in America for pond and lake anglers.
Auto-Ordnance honors the United States' 250th anniversary with the Founding Fathers 1911, a commemorative pistol created by Altered Arsenal featuring patriotic engravings and a worn Old Glory finish. Built on the premium Auto-Ordnance Stainless 1911 platform and chambered in .45 ACP, this firearm merges historical reverence with modern manufacturing for collectors and sport shooters.
CAA USA announced the MCK EVO Gen 6 Beavertail Expansion, enabling its flagship Micro Conversion Kit to support Glock's newly released 6th Generation pistols (G17, G19, G45). The expansion brings the MCK EVO's compatible firearm roster to over 130 models across major brands.
KJI announced the launch of its modernized K-Series tripod lineup, replacing the original K-700 and K-800 models. The new lineup includes five tripod models and the K100 monopod, featuring carbon-fiber and aluminum construction with CNC-machined components designed for hunting, competition, and professional field use.
Magnum Research and Koted Arms Master Gunsmith Jonathan DeVries' have created a limited-edition "250 Years of Liberty" Desert Eagle pistol celebrating America's Semiquincentennial. Only 100 will be produced, with the first 10 available June 18th through Magnum Research's Custom Shop at $9,659.00.
Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. expands its 250th Anniversary Series with six additional limited-production firearm models including SR1911 pistols, Hawkeye rifles, No. 1 rifles, and Marlin Model 1894 lever-action rifles, each marked with patriotic engravings and elevated finishes celebrating American manufacturing.
Fish Monkey's Performance Face Guards offer retailers an opportunity to increase sales by bundling with the brand's gloves and American-made socks. The face guards feature UPF 50-plus sun protection, laser-cut ventilation holes to reduce sunglass fogging, and are available in multiple colors and camo patterns for freshwater and saltwater anglers.
North American Arms has joined Whitetails Unlimited as a national sponsor, according to WTU President Jeff Schinkten. The Provo, Utah-based firearms manufacturer offers compact and powerful firearms for personal defense, concealed carry, and recreational shooting.
Alabama State Parks launched a statewide habitat restoration initiative funded by a $25,000 grant from the Alabama Association of RC&D Councils. The program deploys a mobile conservation crew across Alabama's 21 state parks to combat invasive species like Chinese tallowtree, restore native habitats, and engage communities in conservation efforts.
Major League Fishing's Bass Pro Tour Zenni Stage 6 streams live on MLFNOW! and MyOutdoorTV from Grand Lake, Oklahoma, June 18-21, featuring 51 professional anglers competing for a $125,000 top prize and $600,000 purse. Broadcast team Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney provide live coverage daily from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. CT.
Idaho Fish and Game enforcement officers, along with Nampa Police and Fire Departments, successfully relocated a yearling male black bear from a residential Nampa neighborhood to Unit 32A north of Ola on June 14. Regional Wildlife Manager Ryan Walrath noted this relocation was rare, as bears in town typically require euthanization due to food-conditioning and loss of fear of humans.
Gun control politicians are proving once again that “common sense” has never been the standard. In fact, we see time and again that gun control is really less about guns and more about control.
U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) reintroduced the mis-named Help Empower Americans to Respond Act, or HEAR Act; federal legislation that would ban the importation, sale, manufacture, transfer and possession of firearm suppressors. Billed by gun control activists as a “public safety measure,” it is, rather, confiscation legislation aimed at law-abiding Americans who followed the appropriate channels, paid the required tax, completed the additional background check process and legally acquired a firearm accessory designed to protect hearing.
This is exactly why Congress must reject this latest gun control overreach and pass the NSSF-supported Hearing Protection Act, H.R. 404, now instead.
Hollywood Myth
Firearm suppressors do not make firearms silent, a la scenes from Jason Bourne-style Hollywood movies. They do, however, reduce the sound report of a firearm to help protect hearing and reduce recoil. Suppressors are hearing protection devices, reducing the decibel level of a firearm to a safer hearing level that won’t cause permanent and irreversible damage. Suppressors can reduce long-term hearing loss and make hunting, target shooting and training safer and more enjoyable for participants. They are also less intrusive for the neighbors of hunting areas and shooting ranges.
Congress has already acknowledged that the federal government’s treatment of suppressors is outdated. The One Big, Beautiful Bill Act eliminated the $200 National Firearms Act (NFA) transfer tax on suppressors at the beginning of this year. This was a victory for law-abiding gun owners and the lawful firearm industry. It removed a Depression-era tax barrier that was never about public safety and served only to discourage Americans from obtaining a lawful safety accessory. The elimination of the tax resulted in an explosion in firearm and suppressor ownership so far this year. Eliminating the tax, though, was only part of the job.
The HPA, H.R. 404 in the U.S. House of Representatives and introduced by U.S. Rep. Ben Cline (R-Va.), along with the U.S. Senate companion S. 364 introduced by U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), would finish what Congress started by removing suppressors from the burdensome NFA provisions and allow them to be transferred through the same background check system used for traditional firearms. It preserves accountability, respects the Second Amendment and recognizes the simple truth that suppressors are a safety accessory.
As if more convincing is needed, the facts are overwhelming. Suppressor ownership has surged because law-abiding Americans understand their practical value. ATF reported more than 6.1 million registered silencers in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record as of May 4, 2026. In April 2026 alone, ATF received 127,996 Form 4 applications. Thanks to the diligence of federal agencies including ATF and FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System, Individual eForm 4 median processing times are now down to seven days. That’s called evidence of lawful demand.
Creating a Problem to Solve
That’s not how Rep. Watson Coleman sees it, though. And it’s no surprise. The gun control politician is stuck on repeat with the tired accusations that suppressors are “tools of murder.” She can’t be bothered by facts, however. In a study looking at the criminal use of suppressors in California and nationwide between 1995 and 2005, researchers found that of 153 federal criminal cases involving suppressors, only 15 involved the actual use of the suppressor in the commission of a crime. Less than 0.1 percent of homicides, an infinitesimally low 0.00006 percent of felonies in California and a mere 0.1 percent of armed robberies, involve a suppressor.
Paying no heed to the narrative that less gun control would return the country to the Wild, Wild, West, the Federal Bureau of Investigations’ Uniform Crime Reporting Program released an early look at the historic decrease in crime from 2024 to 2025. Preliminary data show violent crime decreased an estimated 9.3 percent, with murder and non-negligent manslaughter decreased an estimated 18.1 percent. Contrary to what Rep. Watson Coleman repeatedly misleadingly states, suppressors are, in fact, rarely used in any crimes.
Suppressors are already legal in 42 states and hunters may use them in 41. States have steadily moved toward normalization because the fact is that suppressors are a safety device. They are especially valuable for new shooters, younger shooters, older hunters and anyone concerned about permanent hearing damage.
Call Your Congressmen
The firearm industry has been clear. Suppressors protect hearing. They make shooting sports and hunting more responsible and enjoyable for all participants — and neighbors too for that matter, in near proximity to ranges or hunting areas. They are legal across most of the country and are already owned by millions of law-abiding Americans. Congress should not punish those citizens for following the law.
Image: Silencer Shop
Now lawmakers need to hear that message directly from their constituents.
Members of Congress and U.S. Senators should reject Rep. Watson Coleman’s HEAR Act and instead pass the Hearing Protection Act. Constituents should contact their elected officials and tell them plainly: suppressors are hearing protection devices, their treatment under the NFA is outdated and Congress must finish the job.
The tax barrier is gone. Now Congress must remove the remaining red tape and pass HPA.
