Attention Ranges and Clubs:
A Call to Arms!
(May 20, 2009) On Independence Day 2009 we will celebrate several things in addition to celebration of the 233rd anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we at The Firearms Coalition will be celebrating our 25th anniversary as an organization. We’ll mark the occasion with the release of the new book The Gun Rights War, a compilation by my brother Chris of highlights from Neal Knox’s extensive writings stretching from 1966 to 2000.
July 4 also marks the inauguration of a new event, National Training Week. National Training Week is an opportunity for experienced shooters and gunowners to share their knowledge with newcomers. During the week between July 4 and July 11, ranges and gun clubs all over the country will host events and offer special deals geared to new shooters.
If your local range or club is not planning something special for National Training Week, why not? Participation can be as elaborate or as simple as your resources allow. Many commercial ranges are offering free gun rentals and inviting local certified instructors to make themselves available for some basic instruction. Private clubs are opening their gates to the public and asking members to bring a few extra guns they don’t mind sharing. Some stores are offering ammo specials and some are teaming up with local clubs to offer free ammo to new shooters, and "demo" guns to let people try different ones. If you’re a gun dealer and you haven’t been approached by your local club seeking your support and assistance for this national event, take the initiative and reach out to them to encourage them to get involved.
National Training Week is a win-win-win proposition. By giving away free gun rentals, commercial ranges can bring new traffic through the door, and generate revenue from selling ammo and range time. Instructors get to introduce themselves and their services to potential clients. Clubs get to show off their facilities to a whole new crop of potential members. Gun shops get to showcase their products and services to a new client base. Experienced shooters get to try out some different guns to help make a decision on that next purchase and new shooters get a taste of the fun and camaraderie of the shooting fraternity in a safe environment geared especially to meet their needs.
National Training Week is the brain child of our good friend Alan Korwin of GunLaws.com and is being endorsed and supported by a variety of firearms and rights-related organizations. Alan has put together posters and fliers that can be printed at his web site and posted by local ranges and gun shops. Just go to www.GunLaws.com and click on the "National Training Week" button in the left-hand menu.
As this is the first year for celebration of National Training Week it is very important that everyone who hears about it helps to spread the word to make this nationwide event a success. I hope that those ranges and clubs which are unable to participate this year will begin working on getting involved next year to make National Training Week flourish as an annual event.
As John Adams wrote, Independence Day "ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations." Celebrate your independence with fireworks – fireworks from your favorite rifles, pistols, and shotguns! Participate in National Training Week. Learn more at www.GunLaws.com.
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On July 4, 1984 Neal Knox sent his first newsletter to a select list of hard core rights advocates, what Dad called the Hard Corps. It was the genesis of The Firearms Coalition. That first edition of The Hard Corps Report was well received and the organization and newsletter have continued as valued resources to serious supporters of the Second Amendment. Though Neal Knox was taken from us much too soon, Mom, Chris, Shan, Stacey, and I want to thank all of our readers and supporters for allowing us to carry on Dad’s legacy. Your trust and support are what keep us going and we appreciate the opportunity to contribute to the preservation of liberty.
If you’re not a subscriber to the Knox Hard Corps Report, please consider doing so with our 25th Anniversary Edition. We also invite you to purchase our new book, The Gun Rights War compiled and annotated by Chris Knox. With the Hard Corps Report you get the latest news and analysis in the battles to preserve and advance your right to firearms. With The Gun Rights War you get a comprehensive overview of the past forty years of that war, written as it was being fought by one of the most active and respected participants.
To order the newsletter or the book, go to www.FirearmsCoalition.org or contact us at the address below.
Yours for the Second Amendment,
The Knox Family
Permission to reprint or post this article in its entirety is hereby granted provided this credit is included. Text is available at www.FirearmsCoalition.org. To receive The Firearms Coalition’s bi-monthly newsletter, The Knox Hard Corps Report, write to PO Box 3313, Manassas, VA 20108.
©Copyright 2009 Neal Knox Associates