Mossberg, along with many other notable firearms industry companies and key professionals, is in full support of this program as well as having it Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Tom Taylor, serve on the ACA Advisory Council. ACA has two primary missions:

1. To provide the concealed-carry and personal defense community and industry with an organization and a program to which personal-defense firearms customers can turn as their “first-contact” point for practice and familiarization. The ACA enables the entire concealed-carry community to be pro-active on the issue of practice, preparation, and training.
   
2. To offer an attractive and easily accessible program to “draw in” new and inexperienced purchasers of concealed-carry and personal defense firearms to gain them familiarization with their personal and home defense firearms while having fun doing it.

For complete details on Armed Citizen Alliance, visit the website at www.armedcitizenalliance.com.

A knowledge of firearms, a no-nonsense approach to personal defense, advanced hunting skills, and the outstanding ability to teach those things to others, are what make Il Ling a special person in the field of firearms training. She takes her work seriously and she works hard. My hat is off to Il Ling and to the sportsmen & sportswomen of California for recognizing her value to our industry. Way to go, Il Ling!!! -SJW

4 Stellar Inductees for Outdoors Hall of Fame
Tom Stienstra, Chronicle Outdoors Writer
Sunday, January 22, 2012 

Il Ling New, America’s No. 1 female firearms instructor and hunting guide, was the top vote-getter in this year’s balloting for the California’s Outdoors Hall of Fame.

New was inducted at a ceremony Saturday at the Sacramento International Sportsmen’s Exposition, which ends a four-day run this weekend at Cal Expo.

The Circle of Chiefs also inducted fishing tackle pioneer Sep Hendrickson, hiker Scott Williamson and fly fisher and scientist Jim Adams.

Others considered by voters this year include snowboard Olympian Shaun White, bicycling guru Austin McInerny, Marin outdoor historian and hiker Barry Spitz and renowned trekker Leo Le Bon.

Anybody can nominate a candidate for the Hall of Fame. The award is based on a vote of past winners and leaders in the outdoor industry, media and government, free of any faction. All candidates must fill two requirements:

• The nominees have inspired thousands of Californians to take part in the great outdoors and/or conservation.
• The nominees must have taken part in a paramount scope of adventures.

For information, go to http://caloutdoorshalloffame.org

Visit Il Ling at http://onthewildside.com

Il Ling New
Born in San Francisco and a Yale graduate with an MBA, she turned her back on a lucrative marketing career to teach people self-protection, how to handle firearms, and hunting. She is America’s No. 1 female firearms instructor and No. 1 female freelance guide. She has hunted across the hemisphere and to Africa twice, including for Cape buffalo, and trains hunters from across the hemisphere prior to world-class expeditions. She has hunted ducks in California since age 10. As an instructor, she has had a profound influence on people across America, and has taught Marines and police as well as housewives and hunters of all backgrounds. Her skills are world-renowned; with a handgun small enough to fit in her palm, she can put three shots in a pie plate in 5 seconds, has competed nationally for skeet titles, and is versed as an expert in all rifles. She has a stunning ability to improve others’ skills and safety. Named on more than 75 percent of ballots.

Read the rest if the article at SF Gate.

Dean had numerous health problems. I mean, serious health problems, like organ transplants and all sorts of other issues. In addition, he was a bit unsteady on his feet and couldn’t walk very far. He had wanted to hunt Africa but his doctor simply told him that his immune system wouldn’t stand it. Instead, he settled on Australia.

Dr. Taylor, Il Ling New, and I, hunted buffalo in Australia’s Northern Territory in 2009 and 2010. Our outfitter, Simon Kyle-Little (www.australianbiggamesafaris.com) worked out a way to help Dean get through the brush and on target. With our little hunting team, Dean got several great buffalo trophies on those two hunts.

The most amazing thing about Dr. Taylor was that he would refuse to take any pain medication when he planned to go out and hunt. “You don’t need to be taking any sort of drugs if you’re going to have a loaded gun in your hands,” he would tell us. Several times, I’d come in to camp and want to whine about how tired I was, and how I’d twisted my ankle, or how something else had caused me a little inconvenience. Then I’d look over at Dean and imagine what he must be going through just to be able to hunt. There was a lesson their and he served as an example to all of us.

Dr. Dean Taylor was a great conversationalist. He was great fun to share a hunting camp with. He was my friend.

This Glock class is similar to the wildly successful 1911 Centennial class that Gunsite held earlier in the year. It’s a must-attend event for Glock shooters. Check it out at www.gunsite.com.

BARNES BULLETS – VOR-TX AMMUNITION
Barnes Bullets is now offering an interesting line of loaded ammunition. Their Vor-Tx rifle ammo includes all the popular calibers, from .25/06 to .45/70, and even some metric calibers. Their Vor-Tx Safari line runs from the venerable .375 H&H all the way up to .500 Nitro, in TSX bullets and solids. Finally, the Vor-Tx Handgun ammunition is made for .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .45 Colt.

Check out the Barnes Vor-Tx ammo at your local dealer, or online at www.barnesbullets.com.

CROSSBREED HOLSTERS
Crossbreed Holsters’ customer warranty is one of the best in our business. Within two weeks of purchase, the customer can return his holster (for any reason) and Crossbreed will buy it back from him. In addition to this buy-back policy, Crossbreed holsters have a lifetime warranty should anything go wrong with the holster under regular use.

Check out the full details and the line of Crossbreed products at www.crossbreedholsters.com.

RUGER
A new addition to Ruger’s line of SP101 revolvers is the new 4” barrel .22. This is an 8-shot revolver with a 4.2” barrel and target sights. In addition to a fully adjustable rear sight, the new SP101 has a Fiber Optic front sight. If this ain’t the Kit Gun for the 21st Century, I’ll eat my hat! (www.ruger.com)

GALCO USA
While we were at Gunsite, recently, for a Timney Trigger seminar, we had the chance to check out the new Galco Field Grade MSR gun case. This case is made from heavy khaki cotton duck material, with an acrylic fleece lining. Externally, it has a heavy-duty carry strap and an outside pocket that is big enough to hold several AR magazines. It’s a sturdy gun case that will stand a lot of use and abuse. You’ll find it under “New Products” at www.usgalco.com.

Either one will get you to the order form and we’ll ship the CD right out to you.

And, you can still purchase the CD by check or money order, sending $17 to
Buscadero Productions
P.O. Box 1134
Alpine, TX 79831.

I have a few copies of my first CD, BORDER BRAVO, still in stock, and you can order it for the same price. I’ll soon have another run of that album done and you will be able to order it with your credit card in the near future.

Jim Wilson’s new CD, WEST OF SOMEWHERE, is nearly ready for release and will begin shipping within the next couple of weeks. Included in the album are songs that you’ve enjoyed from Jim’s concerts; “Pancho & Lefty,” “Eighteen Inches of Rain,” “Cowboy Pride,” “Somewhere in the Rubies,” the comical “Streets of Lajitas,” the title song–a Wilson original–”West of Somewhere,” and many more.

Be the first kid on your block to have a copy of WEST OF SOMEWHERE by getting your order in now. Send $17.00 (cash, check, or money order) to:

Buscadero Productions
P.O. Box 1134
Alpine, TX 79831.

From Left: Il Ling, Dr. Taylor and I with Dr. Taylor's wild ox.

I took a trophy-sized Asian buffalo bull on at 35 yards. I was shooting Hornady’s Dangerous Game Series ammunition in my Ruger #1, in .375 H&H. Unfortunately, the Hornady softpoint bullets failed horribly. They went to pieces in the animal. For the rest of the hunt I used ammo loaded with the Swift A-Frame bullets, as loaded by Superior Ammunition.

Dr. Taylor took another very nice Wild Ox. I think this one was a bit bigger than the one that he killed last year. Altogether, it was another great hunting experience in Australia.

Just as I was leaving for Australia, I was contacted by the NRA and asked to be the co-host of American Guardian Television for the 2011 season. Adam Heggenstaller and I will share the honors of hosting the show. Beginning in September, Adam and I hit the road to get the 2011 series in the can. We filmed at the Sig Academy, in New Hampshire, Crossbreed Holsters, in Missouri, NRA Headquarters, in Virginia, among other places.

I think you’ll enjoy this coming season. Our focus will be a bit more towards personal defense for the average citizen. We even filmed one show with the Fairfax County S.O. Showing you how to deal with a routine traffic stop.

As usual, please let us know what you’d like to see on coming episodes of AMERICAN GUARDIAN TV.

BENELLI ON ASSIGNMENT… In the midst of getting AGTV in the can, I was invited to hunt with my friend Joe Coogan on a whitetail hunt to be filmed for his Benelli On Assignment TV show. Our hunt was at the Stasney/Cook Ranch–above Albany, TX–where my pardner Johnny Hudman is in charge. As luck would have it, our hunt was scheduled for right in the middle of the rut.

Joe Coogan (second from left) and I with our camera crew.

We were both hunting with the Benelli R1 autoloading rifle, in .30/06, using the Federal 180 grain ammo, with Burris optics.

I lost count of the number of bucks that were rattled in each day by our guide Jim Kern, but it was a lot–something like 10 per day. For the most part, these were no older than 2-3 years. The big bucks that we saw were already running doe and were not interested in checking out the rattling. Joe and I ended up getting two nice 10-point bucks, mine by spot & stalk and his by rattling. Wait until you see the way his buck came in to the horns. And we got it all on camera.

That was a great Texas deer hunt. And it was especially great to get to spend time with Joe Coogan. Joe has hunted all over the world. He was a PH in Africa for a number of years and really knows his game. Besides all that, he’s just a nice guy.

ALBUM UPDATE… My new CD, WEST OF SOMEWHERE, will be ready to ship in late January, or early February. We got a little behind schedule with all of the last-minute TV work that had to be done, but we’re in the home stretch now. Jim Jones has done an excellent job of producing this work. And we’ve had great help from musicians like Allan Chapman, Kate Howell, and Susan Clark.

Watch for our announcement, early next year, and get your order in.

So that about wraps it up for 2010. I’ll see you folks down the road…

Jim Wilson

Just to prove that a blind sow can occasionally find an acorn, I actually won an M&P auto. It was supposed to be an M&P .45 but, at my request, they swapped it for the 9mm version. Don’t get excited… I’m not switching calibers this late in the game. However, the fact was that I didn’t have a good 9mm to use in classes and ammo tests. Smith & Wesson was happy to fix me up.

JIm and Simon Kyle-Liittle With a Prized Australian Wild Ox

As you know, there are several good polymer, striker-fired pistols available today. I just happen to like the S&W M&P a little better than the others. The model that I received has the ambidextrous thumb safeties, which I like, and I really like the interchangeable backstraps for making the gun fit my hand.

This past week, this particular M&P went off to XS Sights (www.xssights.com) to have an Express rear sight and a Big Dot front sight installed. I’m looking forward to playing with this package. Don’t be surprised if you see if on AMERICAN GUARDIAN TV during the coming season.

RUGER… This past week, I spent three days with the good folks from Ruger. I was especially pleased to tour their Prescott, AZ, plant. Mark Lang and the guys are doing some really interesting new things with the way they are set up to build guns. Mark and his staff are finding ways to make the whole process faster and more dependable.

For example, just a while back, Texas governor Rick Perry used a Ruger LCP to dispatch a coyote that was after his dog (one shot, too, by the way!). The folks at Ruger heard about the episode and within a few days were turning out an LCP marked “Coyote Special” complete with the Texas star on the slide. Their new manufacturing techniques are the reason that they can get such a quick turn-around on products. You can expect more of this to occur in the future.

We also shot several Ruger guns that will be coming out later this year. Frankly, I agreed not to talk about the specifics until Ruger gives us the green light to do so. You have to understand that Ruger is a public company and, in order to avoid accusations of insider trading, they take confidentiality very seriously. Ruger is also committed to having plenty of guns on the shelves, ready to ship, before they make an announcement. This hasn’t always been the case with Ruger and they don’t want it to happen again. So, stay tuned and we’ll let you know about some very interesting new Rugers just as soon as we can.

HUNTING… In July I’ll be going to Argentina with Remington for a dove/pigeon/duck shoot. I’ve been wanting to get among the Argentine doves & pigeons for many years and this will be my first opportunity. Down there, the birds nest several times a year and there are so many that they have become a pest to local farmers. I’m told that it’s not uncommon to shoot 500-1,000 shotgun shells each day! And, not to worry, the birds are collected and provided to villagers for food.

Anyway, we’ll be testing a new Remington shotgun and new Remington shotshell. You’ll see my report later this year in the pages of American Rifleman and American Hunter magazines.

And then, in August, Il Ling New, Dr. Dean Taylor, and I will be back in Australia, hunting Asian buffalo with Simon Kyle-Little (www.australianbiggamesafaris.com). We’re heading back to the Walker River camp, in Eastern Arnhem Land, and will be doing another buffalo management hunt.

Jim and Il Ling enjoy the Outback morning.

This year, I’ll be hunting with the same Ruger #1 (.375 H&H) that I used last year. But I’ll be using the Hornady Dangerous Game 300 gr. soft-point ammo this time. As with last year, I’ll give you a blow-by-blow of the hunt and let you know how the ammo performed.

MUSIC… Jim Jones is producing a new album for me. This next week I’ll head to Albuquerque and record the last songs for it. Then we’ll be involved in mixing the completed work and getting it ready for distribution. With my hunting trips and all, I expect we’ll probably have it ready to ship some time in October. Just a guess, though. Our main goal is to get it right and have a collection of songs that you folks will enjoy.

I hope that each of you has a fun, exciting summer. Feel free to drop me a line and tell me about your latest hunt or your newest gun. I’ll get back to you in August, with a report on Argentina and Australia. In the meantime, ya’ll try to behave yourselves!!!

Jim Wilson

WELCOME FR

SHOOTING ILLUSTRATED… Speaking of Shooting Illustrated magazine, I write a personal defense column (Straight Talk) in each issue and do several feature stories each year. My colleagues on the magazine include Wiley Clapp, Dick Williams, Rick Hacker, Richard Mann, and others. Shooting Illustrated is an NRA publication that is not included in your NRA membership. You’ve got to buy it on the newsstand or, better yet, subscribe to it. Subscription is only $9.95 per year. You can subscribe online or call 877-223-3840. We’d love to have you as part of our shooting family.

STARBUCKS… As most of you know, Starbucks has come under fire from the anti-gun crowd. It seems that Starbucks won’t ban guns in their stores. They are simply saying that all pertinent state and local laws should be respected in whatever state and city the Starbucks store happens to be located. In other words, Starbucks is their to sell coffee and service their customers, not make a political statement. So, for minding their own business and not yours, Starbucks is the target of the anti-gunners. It is very important that you take the time to stop by your local Starbucks and thank the store manager for their corporate position. Failing that, visit them online and express your thanks. Businesses, like Starbucks, needs to know that we appreciate their not caving in to the bullying tactics of the anti-gun crowd.

SINGLE-ACTION DEFENSE CLASS… The Gunsite Academy will be hosting a Single-Action Defense class May 3-5, 2010. This class is designed to help the student learn to apply the Modern Technique of the Pistol to the single-action revolver. The old thumb-buster is still mighty popular with cowboy-action shooters, woodsmen, modern-day cowboys, and handgun hunters. The class will help the shooter to better defend himself should the need arise while he is carrying a single-action. For information and to reserve your spot in the class, call Mr. Ed Head at 928-636-4565. But don’t delay… time’s a-wasting!

So, thanks for visiting my Web site. If you have any questions, or comments, please let me know. I’d enjoy the visit.

WEB SITE
Thanks go to my friend Carlos Vazquez for designing and maintaining this web site. I highly recommend his work and, if you’re needing a web site, or work done on an existing web site, you can contact him at Dichotomy Consulting. I think you’ll be pleased with his service.

WRITING ENDEAVORS
In the spring of 2008, I quit Shooting Times and Intermedia. Almost immediately, I began an association with NRA Publications. I’ve got a regular column (Straight Talk) in Shooting Illustrated, and I do feature articles for Shooting Illustrated, American Rifleman, and American Hunter magazines. In addition to that, you’ll see my articles in the various Wolfe publications, Handloader and Rifle magazines.

Joe Graham, John Zent, and the crew at the NRA, are great folks to work with and I am really enjoying this association. I’ll say the same for Don Polacek, Dave Scovill, and Roberta Scovill, at Wolfe Publishing Company. This change in writing jobs also brings with it the opportunity to do a lot more hunting and writing about hunting. As you can imagine, that just about broke my heart. But, in the words of that Great American John Wayne, “A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do!”

TELEVISION WORK
In conjunction with my association with the NRA, I have also increased my television work. You’ll see my regular weekly segment on American Guardian TV on Wednesday nights, on the Outdoor Channel. And I am also featured on the American Rifleman show and the American Hunter show, also on the Outdoor Channel.

In fact, back in March, we had a great aoudad hunt down along the Rio Grande, in the Chinati Mountains of the Texas Big Bend. We filmed it for the American Hunter show and I think you’ll find it pretty exciting. I can tell you this, with the passing years; those mountains seem to be getting steeper. Must be a global warming thing.

So, anyway, welcome to my new web site. I hope that you enjoy it and will visit it often. I’ll do my best to have an update of some kind for you each month. Let me hear from you with your questions, thoughts, and ideas.

See ya down the road……