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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2019

- EDITOR'S NOTE -
 
No Wires on Veteran's Day, Monday, Nov. 11
The Outdoor Wire Digital Network will not publish any of our services on Monday, November 11, as we observe Veteran's Day with the nation.

Press releases and industry news received after Friday, November 9 at 5:00 p.m. Central Time will not run until Tuesday, November 12 as we resume our normal publication schedule.

- ACQUISITIONS -
American Baitworks Co. is pleased to announce the company has completed their investment in STH (Set The Hook) Bait Co., a tackle company with a focus on finesse fishing tackle for Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass, Panfish and Walleye.
- AMMUNITION -
SIG SAUER, Inc. extends its line of Elite Match premium competition ammunition with the addition of 6mm Creedmoor. Featuring a 107gr Sierra MatchKing bullet, the new 6mm Creedmoor Elite Match OTM load has a muzzle velocity of 2,950 fps and muzzle energy of 2,068 ft-lbs.

- COLLEGIATE FISHING -
The bass-fishing club at Adrian College is the best in the country, capping off the 2019 YETI FLW College Fishing season in 1st place overall with 2,350 points, and earning the team the title of 2019 YETI FLW College Fishing National School of the Year.
- COMPETITION -
The National Walleye Tour, presented by Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s, unveiled an intriguing 2020 schedule, a slate that includes two stops on the Great Lakes and two visits to the Missouri River.
- ENFORCEMENTS -
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced that two teens – a 17-year-old from Plainwell and a 19-year-old from Kalamazoo – have been charged with seven felony counts connected to a series of recent vehicle break-ins in Allegan, Barry and Kalamazoo counties.
- EVENTS -
To encourage hunters and others to get ahead of their health this fall, two "Novembeard" healthy-hunter events are offered Friday, Nov. 8, at Jay's Sporting Goods stores in northern Michigan.

- FISHERIES -
An experimental regulation that allows for 33 streams in the Upper Peninsula to have a 10-fish daily possession limit for brook trout has been extended. This regulation expired Oct. 1 of this year, but was reauthorized by the Michigan Natural Resources Commission at its meeting today in Lansing.
- HUNTING -
The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is asking hunters who get a deer during the November 16 – December 1 rifle season are asked to provide an incisor tooth from their deer when they go to a reporting station.
This year’s Quail Roadside Surveys across Oklahoma show a statewide population index of observed birds that is up 23.6 percent over 2018.
- ICE FISHING -
The St. Croix CCI line features carefully engineered rod blanks as diverse as the specialized techniques they serve, including Solid Carbon (SC material), Solid Glass (SG material), Tubular Carbon (TC material), Tubular Carbon / Tubular linear S Glass (TCG material), and Tubular Carbon Fused to Tubular linear S Glass through a unique, proprietary manufacturing process (TCFG material).

- INDUSTRY -
This fall Savage Arms and Powderhook are teaming up with industry partners to celebrate those who go the extra mile in bringing someone new into the hunting community. Savage is holding their Generation Grit contest.
For the third quarter of 2019, Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE: RGR) reports net sales of $95.0 million and diluted earnings of 27¢ per share, compared with net sales of $114.9 million and diluted earnings of 52¢ per share in the third quarter of 2018.
- NEW PRODUCTS -
Hoppe’s introduces a complete firearm cleaning station -- Hoppe’s Gun Vise. Designed to accommodate any cleaning need, the new Gun Vise offers dual lockable sides that securely hold your firearm in place.
Mec-Gar USA announced they have upgraded their 9mm 19 round CZ 75 magazine with their new Drop Protection System floorplate. The new floorplate design functions like the current +2 but greatly reduces the chance of damage to the floorplate - or it coming off - as it hits the hard surface.

Streamlight, Inc. launched the Enduro Pro USB, a headlamp with a 48 hour run time (on low) for automotive technicians, industrial professionals and other users.
- ONLINE -
The Mag Life, the official online publication of GunMag Warehouse, announced the addition of its latest contributor: Michael Kupari. A veteran of both the Air Force and the Army, Kupari is the author of the science fiction Privateer Andromeda series.
- ORGANIZATIONS -
The Board of Directors of the Youth Shooting Sports Alliance recently conducted its board meeting in Columbia, Missouri, at the offices of MidwayUSA Foundation. MidwayUSA Foundation is a longtime supporter of the YSSA.
The myths associated with prescribed fire, a member state that set a 40-year record for bobwhite abundance in one of its bobwhite focal areas and the final adoption of wild bobwhite translocation guidelines are all featured in the new State of the Bobwhite (SOTB) 2019, published annually by the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI) to provide a range-wide snapshot of the bird’s population, hunting and conservation status.

The Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) has honored International Union of Elevator Constructors (IUEC) Director of Governmental Affairs Vance Ayres with the 2019 IUEC Conservation Steward of the Year Award.
The Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) named Alvin A. Taylor the 2019 C. W. Watson Award winner, the highest honor bestowed by the Association.
The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) has received the 2019 Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Award from the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA). The Alabama agency was recognized for multiple efforts to engage racial minorities, women and people with disabilities.
The Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) has named Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks officer Cole Edwards the 2019 Colonel Bob Brantley Wildlife Officer of the Year

The Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) named Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries' Gary Norman the 2019 Wildlife Biologist of the Year.
The Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) has named Todd Ewing, Assistant Chief of the Inland Fisheries Division with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission as the organization’s 2019 Fisheries Biologist of the Year.
The Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) has named Todd Ewing, Assistant Chief of the Inland Fisheries Division with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission as the organization’s 2019 Fisheries Biologist of the Year.
- PROMOTIONS -
The Samson M-LOK grenade-style Vertical Grips are on sale through Tuesday, November 12, 2019. The grenade-style grips are available in short (2-1/8”) and medium (3-1/2”) lengths.

- RADIO -
This weekend on America Outdoors Radio we highlight groups and businesses helping out our veterans.
- RETAIL -
GunMag Warehouse is now carrying an extremely high-quality style of Bulgarian-made, steel-reinforced polymer AK mags - and are the only ones doing so. Lighter than many of its cousins, this magazine boasts a steel-reinforced front lug, steel-reinforced rear lug, and reinforced feed lips.
BreachBangClear.com is happy to announce that they're working with Bad Moon Armory, an FFL/gun dealer whose avowed intention is to "Cerakote Kentucky." Bad Moon Armory assembles and services weapons, provides premier Cerakote services, and carries their own line of parts.
Through November, Honor Defense is offering a 15% firearm discount for Active-duty, Retired Military and Veterans. They can design their own pistol at: https://honordefense.com/product/custom-pistol/and receive a 15% discount by using coupon code: Military15.
To show their appreciation for U.S. military veterans, TETRA, a new hearing technology company, is running Veterans Day special. Everyone who purchases a pair of TETRA-90 Alpha Shield or 90-level AmpPod hearing devices, Tetra will give a pair of 60-level Alpha Shields ($699 value) to a U.S. military veteran of their choice.
- SPONSORSHIPS -
ZEISS announces a sponsorship of the 26th Annual Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival in Harlingen, Texas. The Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival is a great opportunity for birders to get access to beautiful south Texas landscapes.
True Timber presents Major League Fishing® (MLF) Bass Pro Tour Stage Six as the season coverage continues on Discovery Channel .
- STATES -
North Dakota’s darkhouse spearfishing season opens on most state waters whenever ice-up occurs, with northern pike and nongame species legal.
- TELEVISION -
On this week’s episode, Terry and Mike reflect on a great year wing shooting and waterfowl hunting.
Outdoor Sportsman Group’s original series The Brigade: Race to the Hudson presented by Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s offers a whole new look at adventure racing as a 10-member team try to collectively make their way along 750 miles of the York Factory Express in 28 days to try and claim a prize of $500,000.
- VOLUNTEERS -
The DNR will host several volunteer stewardship workdays in November at state parks in southern Michigan.
 

As we close up shop for the Veteran’s Day weekend, a few more observations that have come in regarding the continuing “evolution” of the outdoor industry’s sales model. First, it’s only appropriate to note that not everything in the outdoor industry is subject to the discussion. There are hundreds of items that go direct from manufacturer to retailer every day, but there are others, including firearms, ammunition and other bigger-ticket items that go through intermediaries.

I say intermediaries because it’s only fair to recognize the fact that there are buying groups out there representing dealers’ interests, too. That’s a point brought to my attention after the latest observations in Thursday’s wire.

That’s reminder that came in loud and clear from one buyer’s group:

“Regarding the conversation about the independent dealer and distribution, you can't overlook the buying group role either. Distribution has its place, but it is truly a middle-man. Our group and our members are still flourishing in 2019!”

Good point. And a second one from a longtime reader who’s also an exec in an apparel manufacturing company. His comment reflects the sentiment it seems many in business share:

“We want to survive where I work, so we ship everything from full pallets of all one style garment via full container loads to big box stores, to a single garment in a single package to a retail customer. Like it or not, today it is get with it or get gone!”

Good points all - and we’re continuing the discussions next week with some notable “thought leaders” from the industry.

One of the industry bellweathers, Sturm, Ruger & Company (NYSE: RGR) reported their third quarter results late yesterday afternoon. As expected, they’re down - like twenty-four percent (24%) for the first three quarters of 2019 compared with 2018.

As has become a longstanding occurrence, however, the company maintained their profitability, returning a dividend of eleven cents per share to investors. It’s not a big return, but it’s certainly better than a notice written in red ink.

Ruger CEO Chris Killoy attributed the Q3 results to continued soft demand - the same that will cause 2019 to be remembered as a slow year for the gun industry. He also made the case that rather than attempt to soften the results via the “aggressive discounting and extension of payment terms” being employed by others, Ruger took the “fiscally prudent measure of reducing production” (for the third consecutive quarter) to moderate inventory levels in the company’s warehouses and in the distribution channel.

Gaming, he noted, works only in the short-term. Ruger, he says “is in it for the long haul.”

Long-term health versus short-term expectations is one of those conundrums that makes me very glad I’m not in the manufacturing side of things. A continued focus on making quarters doesn’t do much toward assuring longevity.

He also noted something important to our discussions this week: one significant impact on Ruger’s numbers has been the loss of a “formerly significant distributor that ultimately filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2019 and the market disruption caused by the liquidation of its inventory of Ruger products.

While buyers are being “cautious” about purchases of new guns, Killoy did report that Ruger’s sales of new products represent $70.6 million - twenty-three percent - of firearms sales in the first nine months of 2019.

We’re entering the Veterans Day weekend, and it’s appropriate that we end our week by offering our thanks to all our friends, neighbors and readers who are service veterans. This is your weekend, and we certainly want to recognize your service on behalf of the rest of us.

Without your service, we wouldn’t be as safe and secure as we are today -and we thank you.

It’s also the weekend when many businesses around the country show their appreciation by offering special prices or incentives to veterans. It’s a long list that changes almost hourly- and there’s really no way we can keep our list current.

Rather than give you incorrect info, we’re going to direct you to the resource listings at themilitarywallet.com. They’ve assembled lists of free meals, discounts and events that isn’t just comprehensive, it’s being updated throughout the weekend.

Here’s how you can see that information:

Veterans Day Free Meals -

https://themilitarywallet.com/veterans-day-free-meals-and-discounts/

Veterans Day Retail Discounts -

https://themilitarywallet.com/veterans-day-retail-discounts/

Veterans Day Events -

https://themilitarywallet.com/veterans-day-events/

Our thanks to themilitarywallet.com for doing that work.

From all of us at The Outdoor Wire, thank you for your service.

—-Jim Shepherd

OUTDOOR WIRE
Event Calendar

JANUARY 21-24
SHOT SHOW

Las Vegas, NV

JANUARY 24-26
Houston Safari Club Foundation's Annual Worldwide Hunting Expo and Convention

George R Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas

https://hscfdn.org/convention/attendees/

FEBRUARY 1-9
Great American Outdoor Show

Harrisburg, PA

FEBRUARY 5-8
Safari Club International Convention

Reno/Sparks Convention Center, Reno Nevada

 
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