Buckeyefirearms.org: Top 10 News Items of 2017

In 2017 we published approximately 300 news articles, along with other types of content. Over the years, we have published approximately 12,300 articles, covering elections, legislation, and all manner of events and information of interest to Second Amendment supporters.

Over 1 million different people visited our website last year, creating over 2.23 million pageviews. Ours is an international audience, with visitors from 205 countries. 18% of visitors to our website are women. We have visitors of all ages, but most are aged 25 to 64. Nearly two-thirds of our visitors access our website on a mobile device or tablet.

We received the most visitors from the following ten cities, in order from 1 to 10: Columbus, Cincinnati, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Cleveland, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Pittsburg and Akron.

As content editor for BuckeyeFirearms.org, I always find it interesting to look back over the year to see which articles captured the most interest. Here are the Top 10 news items on our site from 2017.

  1. Changes to Ohio concealed carry law coming March 21, 2017
  2. Overview of changes to Ohio concealed carry law passed in SB 199
  3. Is the Mossberg 590 Shockwave legal in Ohio?
  4. Ohio Gun Laws Changed March 21 - Restrictions Removed for Concealed Handgun License Holders
  5. Teacher shames young hunter at NE OH school: "Killing animals is not what we do"
  6. 10 Must Have SHTF Guns
  7. Best Caliber for Self Defense: 9mm, .40 S&W or .45 ACP?
  8. HB 233 DEFEND Act passed by House by 65-31 vote [UPDATE: VOTE TALLIES]
  9. The Time for National Reciprocity is NOW
  10. We warned them: City of Cleveland gun control laws struck down; untold tax dollars wasted

Progress on and passage of pro-gun rights legislation is always a popular topic, and this year was no different. Even though passage of Senate Bill 199 occurred in late 2016, news on the progress and explanations about improvements took three of the top four spots. A fourth Top 10 article covered legislation passed this year by the Ohio House of Representatives - Rep. John Becker's DEFEND Act (HB 233). Also in the Top 10 - an article urging gun owners to support efforts to pass National Reciprocity legislation.

The third most-read article addressed the question of the legality of owning a Mossberg 590 Shockwave in Ohio due to its 14 inch barrel (Spoiler: It's not legal).

Rounding out the Top 5 was a news article covered Buckeye State news that went viral across the U.S. and beyond - the account of a 9 year-old first-time hunter being publicly shamed by her Ohio school teacher for having worn a shirt celebrating her harvest of a mature buck.

Articles on "must have" guns for end-of-the-world scenarios, or those wading into the "best caliber" debates always draw crowds, as did an article highlighting City of Cleveland gun control laws being struck down as unconstitutional.

Buckeye Firearms Association spokespersons appeared on national and news outlets including the Associated Press, Breitbart.com, CBS Evening News, Fox News, HotAir.com, The Independent Journal Review, and PBS News Hour. They were also interviewed by international news agencies from France and the Netherlands.

Our efforts made news with national Second Amendment-related media included America's 1st Freedom magazine, Americas1stFreedom.org, AmmoLand.com,BearingArms.com, Guns.com, GunFreedomRadio.com, GunNewsDaily.com, Ohio Outdoor News, and NRANews.com..

News of our progress even got coverage on anti-gun sites such as MediaMatters.org and TheTrace.com.

What articles and topics will claim the top ten spots in 2018? What articles will make national (or international) news? Only time will tell!

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is co-founder of BFA-PAC, and served as its Vice Chairman for 15 years. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.

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