ANKENY, IA (August 30, 2021) – The National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers (NASGW), the association representing shooting sports wholesalers, manufacturers, and their trade partners, is pleased to announce that Winchester Ammunition will be sponsoring speaker Chris Stirewalt at the NASGW Expo Appreciation Dinner on October 26th in Columbus, Ohio.

It’s official, I’m an empty nester. Took the youngest of our five sons to college at Wichita State University late last week. That was a surreal experience.

I suffered from a case of “eye sweating,” as my wife calls it. I mean, it was 104 degrees on the thermometer when we unloaded his stuff just outside his dorm, so it makes sense my eyes were sweating, right?

My wife and I, as parents who’ve had children living with us for the past 27 years, have had an interesting year with a lot of “last time for this” moments. And now we’ve got the “first time for this” moment of living in a home without loud boys to keep us company (or sometimes drive us crazy). I am certain this is going to take some getting used to for both me and the missus. We did bring home a couple of new dogs over the summer though, so we’ve got plenty to keep us busy and keep the house active.

The National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers (NASGW), the association representing shooting sports wholesalers, manufacturers and their trade partners, is pleased to announce that Armscor will be sponsoring an NASGW Expo Happy Hour on Thursday, October 28th in Columbus, Ohio.

Summer is in full swing, and we are back to our normal lives for the most part. Americans are vacationing at historic levels, events and crowds are returning, and music festivals and baseball are reminding us what summer is all about. Honestly, it is all so refreshing after last summer. You don’t realize how much we all took for granted until those regular summer activities were taken away.

While there has been little meaningful federal legislative action on firearms recently in Washington, D.C., all efforts remain focused on ensuring President Joe Biden’s nomination of David Chipman to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is defeated. This includes the first-ever TV ad from the firearm and ammunition trade association opposing Chipman’s confirmation. All 50 U.S. Senate Republicans have come out against supporting Chipman as director, but a handful of Democrats are undecided. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Angus King (I-Maine), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) have not indicated how they may vote. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, acknowledged Chipman “has a lot of issues” and faces a difficult path ahead. Industry efforts are ongoing to ensure Chipman’s nomination does not proceed and all voters in these states are encouraged tell their senators to oppose him as well.

Birmingham, Alabama: Bangers L.P., a leading distributor of shooting sports products and outdoor recreational sporting goods, announced today that it is rebranding as Iron Valley™ Supply Co. This new name reflects the company’s nearly 100-year heritage as a wholesale distributor in the Iron Valley region of Alabama.

We have a new puppy.

If you are a dog owner, I almost don’t even need to say anything more, because you know how crazy life just got at my house.

I can tell already; he’s going to be a good dog. He’s smart, and because of this, he brings a unique set of challenges and opportunities. But for now, he’s just a puppy so of course he needs a lot of love, training, and constant attention.

He’s a French pointing breed called Braque D’Auvergne. I’d never heard of it. My wife discovered the breed through a gun dog magazine we get delivered to the house. It’s supposed to be a good hunting breed, so hopefully he’ll learn how to hunt for pheasants. He did already rip the wing off a stuffed duck toy, so maybe that’s a good sign? My wife is excited about his potential. She’s been working very hard with him already and if she can tame his inner beast, this guy is going to be amazing.

As the weeks go on, it seems like COVID is becoming a thing of the past. True, there are still some places and circumstances where restrictions still exist, but most things are opening up and we’re slowly getting back to what we think is normal. That is a tremendous development which we have all been waiting for—impatiently, I might add. This leaves me wondering, exactly what IS normal in the post-pandemic era?

Culture is everything. It surrounds you in your office setting, at home, and in your social aura. Much of our past year has been spent in a “non-cultured” environment with minimal socialization and little opportunity to do anything about it. The removal of masks (for those vaccinated) was certainly the biggest obstacle that was overcome to begin socializing again. We missed the casual conversations, the smiles, the facial expressions and the laughs.