COLUMBUS, OH - Ohio's youth deer-gun hunting season will be held Saturday and Sunday, November 19-20, according to the Ohio Department ofNatural Resources (ODNR), Division of Wildlife.

The youth deer-gun season is open statewide to hunters 17 years old and younger. Plugged shotguns using slugs, muzzleloaders .38 caliber and larger, handguns .357 caliber or larger, and bows are legal. All participants must wear hunter orange, possess a valid Ohio hunting license and a $12 youth-deer permit, and must be accompanied by a non-hunting adult in the field.

by Chad D. Baus

RealClearPolitics.com has posted a transcript of testimony by Attorney General Eric Holder, submitted at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing at which he was asked to answer questions about the ATF's "Operation Fast and Furious" gun running scandal, which has led directly to the deaths of two, possibly three U.S. agents and more than 200 Mexicans.

In the video, Holder can be seen telling Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) that he has not apologized (or even talked to) to the family of Brian Terry, one of the U.S. Border Patrol agent murdered by a weapon used in the Justice Department operation now being investigated. The article notes that, when given the opportunity to do so at Tuesday's Senate hearing, he did not apologize.

Holder also can be heard saying that Fast and Furious did not directly lead to the death of Agent Brian Terry. "It is not fair, however, to assume that the mistakes that happened in Fast and Furious directly led to the death of Agent Terry," Holder said today.

The October 2011 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 945,088 is an increase of 10.6 percent over the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 854,563 in October 2010. For comparison, the unadjusted October 2011 NICS figure of 1,331,836 reflects a 2.1 percent decrease from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,359,894 in October 2010.

This marks the seventeenth straight month that NSSF-adjusted NICS figures have increased when compared to the same period the previous year.

The adjusted NICS data were derived by NSSF by subtracting out all NICS purpose code permit checks used by several states such as Kentucky, Iowa and Utah for CCW permit application checks as well as checks on active CCW permit databases. Though not a direct correlation to firearms sales, the NSSF-adjusted NICS data provide a more accurate picture of current market conditions.

In addition to other purposes, NICS is used to check transactions of firearms sales and transfers on new and used handguns and long guns.

by Jim Shepherd

This weekend, thanks to the efforts of my friend Doug Warren, I had an on-the-record conversation with Herman Cain. As the current front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, his candidacy is drawing plenty of attention and criticism. Some of the criticism seems warranted; he has reversed himself on some issues, on others he's been short on details.

He's also the antithesis of the stereotypical black politician. He's conservative in his politics and says the country has to cut back on many of the giveaway programs that have formed the backbone of liberal political platforms.

His 9-9-9 plan has been eviscerated, dissected and roundly discounted by opponents in both parties. But he's still not afraid to be forthcoming on anything, with the exception of the charges of sexual harassment while he headed the National Restaurant Association.

Since first reported in Politico, that story has roiled the national media. Cain flatly denied having ever harassed anyone, but that hasn't stopped the conversations. Cain's camp appears to be done with the entire matter - at least when it comes to on-the-record comments.

It is the only topic that is simply, and absolutely, off-limits in interviews. Everything else - at least from my perspective- seemed open for discussion.

As I prepared, I realized that the chance to speak with a presidential candidate presented a special opportunity.

That's why I told you about the interview before it happened. My job isn't just to ask questions; it's to ask questions you'd want answered. So I asked for your questions, and you responded.

Tuesday November 8 is Election Day in Ohio. Primary and general election days are the only two days each year where we have the ability to vote on our future. We will vote on statewide issues and local candidates.

Some have asked why these local races are important, when none of the winners will hold an office where they will vote statewide gun issues.

A large number of our current House of Representatives will be replaced in the next few years because of term limits. Who will replace them? In part, it will be those local candidates who are elected Tuesday. Every pro-gun candidate who wins now will be in a stronger position to replace term limited legislators.

Make sure to remind your friends to vote. "Off year" elections typically have very low voter turnout, meaning each vote has greater weight. Together, we will make Ohio a better state.

Don't forget to vote - polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 8, 2011.

Columbus' CBS affiliate, WBNS 10TV, reported last week on two separate incidents in which students of The Ohio State university were victimized by armed robbers.

From the first article, from October 28:

Students shared their stories on Friday after they were robbed at gunpoint.

All of the students were robbed near The Ohio State University campus 10TV's Kevin Landers.

Jake Calvert said he was walking when a car drove up behind him and a man with a gun demanded his iPod.

"Said 'Give that to me or I'll shoot you' and pointed a gun at my chest and said 'empty out all your pockets,'" said Jake Calvert.

Calvert said he gave in to their demands.

"You never know, they have no value for my life, you don't know if they were going to shoot me or what. I was pretty scared."

Six hours later three other Ohio State students, who requested anonymity, were robbed at gunpoint in an alley behind 13th Avenue.

"They were three feet in front of me before I even turned around and I had a gun to my face," said one student.

Obama scares women and liberals into the gun store

Gun ownership is on the rise in some surprising places. As much as President Obama would have us believe that only small-town yokels "cling to guns or religion," a Gallup poll released [recently] suggests many of the firearms that have been flying off the shelves in the past two years were purchased by Democrats and women. The Second Amendment has truly gone mainstream.

Overall, just under half of Americans said they have a gun at home, which is 6 percent more than had them in 2010. Not surprisingly, the highest ownership percentages are found in the South and the Midwest, and Republicans are the group most likely to be packing heat - up 3 percent. By comparison, Gallup found the number of Democrats willing to come out and admit to having a sidearm jumped 8 points from 32 percent to 40 percent. Since Mr. Obama’s inauguration, the ranks of gun-toting women swelled by 10 points to 43 percent.

by Jim Shepherd

If you could ask the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination a question, what would it be?

Foreign policy?

Second Amendment?

Jobs?

When did a successful career as a businessman become a negative when running for what is the CEO's position for the biggest business in the world?

What it's like to be vilified by your own race because you're not a liberal?

At this point, the apparent front-runner appears to be Herman Cain, although the race with Mitt Romney is pretty close to a photo finish.

But Cain's giving political operatives on both sides of the aisles fits.

He's decidedly not a professional politician, says pretty much what he thinks, and isn't bashful about putting forward suggestions for the course of the country -knowing they're going to be mercilessly dissected by the other candidates for the nomination and the Democratic party.

That's tough to handle if you're a fellow Republican. It's especially tough to tear down another candidate's ideas when you haven't offered any concrete plans of your own.

The problem compounds for the Democrats because, well, Herman Cain's -gasp- black.

As a black conservative, Cain has the Democrats trying every tool in their political operative tool bag. He's been called "a black man who knows his place" had "Old Man River" sung at the mention of his name, and been called "the black friend of the Tea Party"- as in "Well, I have a black friend...".

Pretty rough treatment of a black man from modest means who's worked his way up in the business world, but that's what happens when you screw around with preconceptions and politics.

Through it all, he's managed to pretty much remain his own man. In itself, that's enough to make him intriguing.

Until yesterday, I didn't know he was the black guy in the cowboy hat I saw strolling the aisles of SHOT Show last January. Heck, until yesterday, I didn't care.

Today, we should all care. And be encouraged by the fact that he was visiting the outdoor industry's biggest event before it was a purely political visit. He was there because he wanted to be.

by Chad D. Baus

The Columbus Dispatch reported recently that on October 20 the unelected Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board voted to prohibit concealed guns on the property surrounding the Statehouse.

From the article:

"The thought was that the board wants to be proactive as we continue to have more events outside," said Gregg Dodd, the board's deputy director.

"The board's intent is to make the Statehouse the people's house, inclusive and acceptable to everybody, and we just want to assure that all families that are visiting and the Downtown work force that it continues to be a safe gathering place."

Dodd did not explain how the board believes a policy banning people who are legally exercising a constitutional and statutorial right is more "inclusive," or why they believe ensuring that only criminals will have guns on the Statehouse grounds is more "safe."

According to the article, much of the impetus for the change stemmed from the Ohio Second Amendment Rally which was held last year in conjunction with a rally that occurred a week later in Washington, D.C. The article says the board wanted to bar attendees at the Second Amendment March from "packing heat," but was told by the attorney general's office that no policy existed for a ban.

The event featured speakers including Dave Yost (now Auditor of State), State Senator Tim Grendell and Jon Husted (now Secretary of State), and their comments made at the rally are highly ironic in light of the proposed rules change:

Republished with permission of the Ohio Gun Collector's Association. (OGCA)

"The Art of War" art gallery exhibit at The Works museum in Newark, Ohio will highlight the advancement of weaponry and contributions made to the Remington Gun Company by an industrious Ohio inventor, Joseph Rider.

The heart of this exhibit, "The Rider," is a biography of Rider's life-long successes, inventions and his 25-year partnership with Remington & Sons Armory. He was also once the wealthiest man in Newark, Ohio.

Displayed will be a collection of Remington Rolling Block Rifles, and carbines along with some of Rider's first patent designs on vest-pocket pistols. Also feated are many Civil War artifacts and Licking County's role in that war. This exhibit was created by the Works Firearms Curator and OGCA member Tracie Hill.

The December issue of the NRA magazine will pay tribute to Rider with an informative article written by famous American firearms authors, Roy Marcott and, local historian, Scott Gowans. Marcott's article will emphasize how Joseph Rider's ideas impacted the history of firearms and saved Remington & Sons from bankruptcy prior to the Civil War. From his first firearm, U.S. patent designs on percussion revolvers, his business relationship with Remington & Sons for a quarter of a century, to how his improvements led to the most famous single-shot rifle ever manufactured, the Remington Rolling Block Rifle.