by Paul G. Markel

For about twenty years now I've been writing about guns professionally, that is, someone has paid me to do it. I've written on all manner of firearms from inline muzzle-loaders to precision bolt-action rifles to squad-automatic weapons. Although I've never tried to be controversial, regardless, when you are talking about firearms there will always be someone who disagrees with you.

I'm experienced enough to gauge the "controversy level" when I'm working on a piece. Anytime you introduce a new topic about hardware or question the status quo people get their hackles up and the letters to the editor pour in. With the advent of the "blog", the poisoned pen has become the "poisoned keyboard". That's part of doing business and even men in their thirties living in their mom's basement are entitled to their opinions. Despite all this I am still dumbfounded when a simple article, of which the topic is non-threatening or plain common sense, stirs up a push back.

NEWTOWN, Conn. -- Hunters are generous people. More than 11 million meals were provided to the less fortunate through hunters' donations of game meat in 2010.

As a reminder to all hunters to consider sharing their harvest this autumn with those in need, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) has developed a new video and webpage that encourage making venison donations to food banks and other charitable meal providers. NSSF is the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry.

In the video, NSSF Director of Editorial Services Glenn Sapir asks fellow hunters to consider making a donation of game meat this fall if they have the good fortune to tag a deer or other game animal. "I believe that what a person gives is returned many times over," said Sapir. "I have no doubt that if a hunter makes a venison donation to a local food pantry or church kitchen, he or she will receive great personal satisfaction in knowing they have provided many meals to people in difficult circumstances."

Burglar's family confronts homeowner, says he "should have taken different precautions" against the burglar, who has a record of violence

by Chad D. Baus

The Lorain Morning-Journal is reporting that an Elyria resident fatally shot a burglar who confronted him at home in the early Friday darkness, then hours later he was confronted by the dead man's upset relatives.

From the article:

Police said Jeffrey Carson, 29, of Elyria, broke into a house at 112 Water St. about 2:44 a.m. after getting a friend to boost him up to get in through an unlocked window.

The home’s residents, Jack and Linda Dillon, were awakened by Carson, who was in their living room, believed to be stealing electronics, police said. Jack Dillon called out and Carson lunged at him. Dillon had a handgun and shot Carson, police said.

In a frantic call to 911, Linda Dillon said, "Oh my God, we just had a break-in and we shot him." She continued, "My husband shot him. Oh Jesus. He's on my couch. I think this guy is dead."

October dates set for youth hunting only; statewide season begins Nov. 2

COLUMBUS, OH – The Ohio Department of Natural Resources' (ODNR) Division of Wildlife will release thousands of pheasants at 28 public hunting areas this fall. More than 15,000 ring-necked pheasants are being released to encourage pheasant hunting within the state of Ohio.

Youth-only hunts will be held Oct. 20-21 and Oct. 27-28 prior to the statewide season, which begins Friday, Nov. 2.

Ring-necked pheasants will be released on Friday, Oct. 19 and Friday, Oct. 26 in anticipation of the small-game weekends for youth hunters. Hunters age 17 and younger can hunt statewide for rabbit, pheasant and all other legal game in season during two designated weekends, Oct. 20-21 and Oct. 27-28.

Ohio's small game hunting season begins on Nov. 2, with pheasant releases to take place on Friday, Nov. 1 and the evening of Friday, Nov. 9. The final release of the fall is scheduled for the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 21 to increase pheasant hunting opportunities during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

by Greg Ellifritz

"If you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss." Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu said this over 2000 years ago in his book The Art of War. It's hardly new advice. Yet it is just as useful now as it was so many centuries ago.

Armed citizens spend countless hours trying to find the perfect weapon system, combining the best size, accuracy, reliability, and stopping power into one easy-to-carry package. They try friends' guns. They read gun magazines. They study every gun website on the Internet. They are truly taking Sun Tzu's advice above as they attempt to "know themselves."

But how much time does the average CCW permit holder spend on the other portion of that quote? How many of you spend an equal amount of time studying criminal behavior in order to "know your enemy?" Most of my students don't study criminal behavior nearly as much as they should.

There are several reasons for this phenomenon. The primary reason is that most honest citizens don't come into contact with hardened criminals on a daily basis. They don't personally know any criminals and have no direct experience dealing with them. Without having regular contact with criminals, honest citizens are forced to rely on research done by others. Most criminological research isn't all that interesting or relevant for the law-abiding citizen. The available academic research simply doesn't answer many of the questions the average person cares about.

Armed citizens want to understand commonly used criminal ruses and attacks. They want to know how likely they are to be victimized. They want to know potential characteristics of their attackers and their attackers' weapons. They want to know when and where crimes occur. Unfortunately, most criminological researchers aren't interested in the same topics. It's tough finding useful research.

The lack of available research leads to real preparation problems for the armed citizen. How does a person choose what type of weapon to carry when he doesn't have a good idea of the threat he faces? Wouldn't knowing the types of weapons criminals carry be important information to have before deciding what type of weapon you should carry? Remember Sun Tzu's quote above; we need to know both ourselves AND our enemies.

There hasn't been a whole lot of published research on the subject of criminal weapons. There are numerous studies from the FBI and US DOJ about weapons used in crimes, but they don't go into great detail. Most only identify if the weapon used by the criminal was a firearms, edged weapon, or impact weapon. If the reports supply additional information about firearms, they seldom track individual weapon types, calibers, and ammunition. Most papers only classify the weapons used in crimes as "handguns," "rifles," and "shotguns." That's not enough information for the armed citizen. He or she needs to know more details about the threats they face.

The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that a man who police say was breaking into an East Side home died today after he was shot by a resident and fell from the second-floor bedroom window.

From the article:

Police were called to 3117 Easthaven Dr. S. at 2:17 p.m. on a report of gunshots fired.

Donald Griffin III, who lives at the house with his mother and sister, was alone in the home and watching television when he heard a noise upstairs, said Sgt. Steven Little of the Police Division’s homicide squad.

Griffin, 19, knew from when he had locked himself out that a person could scale the house by climbing atop a storage shed, Little said. And he knew that a second-floor window had been left open through yesterday's warm afternoon.

When he heard the noise, Griffin grabbed a handgun. Little said he confronted the man in his sister's bedroom and fired once.

The intruder fell from the window to the concrete patio below. Columbus Fire paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene.

It was unclear tonight whether he died from the gunshot or the fall.

Griffin, who cooperated and told police he acted in self-defense, was not charged. Little said it appeared that Griffin might have fired the handgun more than once.

Under Ohio's Castle Doctrine law, if someone unlawfully enters or attempts to enter an occupied home or temporary habitation, or occupied car, citizens have an initial presumption that they may act in self defense, and will not be second-guessed by the State.

And in Oklahoma..."Twelve-year-old Bryan Co. girl shoots home intruder"

And in La-La Land..."The American Academy of Pediatrics says that children are safer in homes without guns"

by Larry S. Moore

Sportsmen and women from across Ohio once again converged on the Aladdin Shrine Temple in Columbus for the annual US Sportsmen's Alliance (USSA) Ohio Rally. Whether they came to renew friendships; join in the fun of the various games, raffles and auctions; or simply to support the USSA, the evening provided ample opportunity.

Governor Kasich opened the evening. Prior to leading the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance, he noted, "I believe the most important thing is when you tell people you are going to do something that you do it. When I was here in 2010, I said I would fight for our right to bear arms and I have not let anybody get in the middle of that amendment right. We've kept our word to all the gun collectors and hunters in this state. Regarding the Wildlife Fund you all worry about being raided, well there ain't no way - no how! We will leave that fund strong. All the areas of habitat are important to us. We made a commitment to Lake Erie and Grand Lake St. Mary's. We are not just talking we are doing because it is important. We are promoting tourism because we think sportsmen all over America should come to Ohio."

by Jim Irvine

Months ago, Josh Mandel (R) was considered an unlikely candidate to help the GOP gain a majority in the U.S. Senate. Many considered his opponent Sherrod Brown (D), who is closely tied to the unpopular Obama policies, unbeatable. Not anymore.

A year ago Public Policy Polling noted that Brown had a 48-33 lead over Mandel, and that Mandel was up from only 31%. Overcoming a 15-17 point deficit is almost impossible. But impossible is not in Josh Mandel's vocabulary.

On Saturday, elections projection.com moved Ohio from "Moderate DEM" to "Weak DEM." Real Clear Politics lists Ohio as a toss-up state. Some polls still show Brown with a sizable lead, but those polls seem to over-sample Democrats. Mandel's campaign is feeling confident with what their internal polls are telling them - this is a winnable race.

[Editor's Note: This article has been updated.]

by Chad D. Baus

In his second debate with Governor Mitt Romney on Tuesday Oct. 16, President Barack Obama pledged to renew his push to ban certain semi-automatic sporting rifles, should he win a second term.

The discussion on the two candidates' positions on the Second Amendment followed for several minutes, and Mitt Romney raised the issue of the Obama Justice Department's "Fast & Furious" operation, which allowed thousands of guns to be "walked" across the border and into the hands of murderous Mexican drug lords.

The September 2012 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,007,259 is an increase of 14.7 percent over the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 878,345 in September 2011. For comparison, the unadjusted September 2012 NICS figure of 1,450,737 reflects a 16.6 percent increase from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,244,604 in September 2011.

This marks the 28th straight month that NSSF-adjusted NICS figures have increased when compared to the same period the previous year and the highest figures ever reported for the month of September.

The adjusted NICS data were derived by subtracting out NICS purpose code permit checks used by several states such as Kentucky, Iowa and Michigan 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.