The May 2015 Mentor Initiative from NRA Publications, in conjunction with SIG Sauer and Magpul Industries, was an outstanding success. Approximately 21,000 NRA members pledged to mentor new shooters and signed up for the NRA Mentor Sweepstakes. Sweepstakes prizes totaling $12,000 in value and ranging from Bass Pro Shops and NRA Store gift cards to Life memberships were awarded, and 500 limited-edition NRA Mentor pins were delivered. NRA Publications circulated thousands of copies of the initiative’s “NRA Guide For New Shooters” at the NRA Annual Meetings in Nashville and to clubs and instructors around the country. This year’s initiative inspired several thousand new members to join NRA. NRA Publications Executive Director Doug Hamlin said, “I would like to thank SIG Sauer, Magpul and the 20,000-plus NRA members who stepped up to mentor a new shooter in 2015. The success of the NRA going forward depends on individual members introducing new prospective members to the recreational shooting sports.” NRA Publications will repeat this Mentor Initiative in 2016—stay tuned.
Our official coverage of new products for the current year is set for next month, but we included two substantial new developments in this issue that have the potential to make significant ripples in the firearm business even before then.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed into law requiring public and open enrollment public charter schools to provide age-appropriate firearm safety instruction beginning during the 2025-2026 school year.
Alexandria Pro-Fab, a contract machine shop based in Minnesota, announced that it has purchased the assets of Adams Arms, along with all of the company’s intellectual property, and it plans to relaunch the company in the second quarter of 2025.
The Herstal, Belgium, firm of Anciens Etablissements Pieper was apparently expecting big things when, in 1908, it named its new semi-automatic pocket pistol “Bayard.”
This latest update to Benelli’s pump-action shotgun gives users a few upgrades over previous generations, making the new NOVA 3 the most exciting pump-gun yet to come from the Italian maker.