Don’t trash the desert

Most shooters enjoy the freedom of being able to head out to a remote area, cruise down a dirt road to a backstop and let the brass fly.  These open access public lands provide shooters an area to practice target shooting and have a little fun with out the cost of joining a gun club or the restrictions of a shooting range.  Sadly these open access areas are turning into waste lands due to the rising amount of trigger trash left behind.

Trigger trash is a catchy name for an increasing problem, trash left behind in public access areas by target shooters.  Trigger trash isn’t just brass and other casings, it’s targets, clay fragments, electronics, bottles, cans and everything else shooters haul out for a day shooting.  When we did our group shoot a couple months back out in Buckeye I was disgusted and dismayed to find not only an insane amount of casings, but literal piles of various car and electronic parts that had been used for target practice as well as food containers and more than one dirty diaper.  It was nasty.  The trash was everywhere!  The dirt, the cactus, the bushes.

The problem with trigger trash is that it’s more than just an eyesore, much of this trash is hazardous to the animals and environment.  Computer and electronic components often contain chemicals that can contaminate ground water.  Animals can get their paws or heads stuck inside aluminum cans and plastic bottles.  Torn metal and glass shards can easily puncture the feet of animals causing infections, loss of limbs and death.

We bring out our fare share of targets and fun stuff to shoot up but we make it a point to pick up everything we haul in.  We set the kids the picking up brass and shells.  I’m sure we don’t get every single casing, but we try.  Here are a few tips to make cleaning up trigger trash easier:

1.  Lay a tarp down where ever you plan to shoot from.  When you are done shooting simply pull up the tarp and dump the casings into a bucket.  It’s worth it to hold on the brass as it can be sold to re-loaders or scrappers.

2.  Bring a small rake and a scoop.  You can find a slotted scoop for litter boxes at any dollar store.  Use the scoop to scoop up piles of casings and trash to filter out the dirt.

3.  Bring a pop-up trash can.  You can find Flings at Amazon, Target or Wal-Mart.  Flings are a handy, compact trash/recycling bin that you can pop open, fill ’em up, and haul out your trash and recycling.  I’ve used them for backyard parties, camping trips, soccer games, you name it.

4.  If you don’t want pick up, leave it at home.  It’s quite simple, if it’s going to be too much effort for you to pick it up and haul it out, just take it to the actual dump.  Sure, it’s fun to go all Office Space on that old copier, tube tv or what ever, but if it’s in so many pieces you can or won’t clean it up, skip it.

5.  Do more.  Don’t limit your clean up efforts to your own trash. If you see some trash left behind, pick it up.  It’s a group effort.  I’m sure you’ve heard the saying that one rotten apple can spoil the whole bunch? Well a few rotten shooters can destroy open access.

6.  Respect the land.  Don’t shoot up signs, trees, cactus, structures, etc…  It’s disrespectful to the land and your fellow shooters.  Shooting on open access lands is a privilege, treat it as such.

This is a problem we, the shooting community, need to take seriously.  We need to hold ourselves and one another accountable.  As open access areas get trashed that access will be removed.  If it becomes a big enough problem we might find laws being put in place to disallow shooting on all public lands.  Groups like Tread Lightly and The Dusty Bunch have on going campaigns to increase awareness and coordinate volunteer groups to clean up the trash that’s out there now.  We all need to do our part as a responsible gun owners, clean up after ourselves and think about getting involved in one of these volunteer groups to keep Arizona beautiful.

Here are some related articles and resources for more information about trigger trash and litter:

• http://environmentalchemistry.com/yogi/hazmat/articles/trash.html
• http://treadlightly.org/
• http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2015/02/05/arizona-target-shooters-trash-cns/22939977/
• http://donttrashaz.com/
• http://cronkitenewsonline.com/2015/02/target-practice-in-the-desert-north-of-the-valley-causing-trigger-trash/

Shootin’ ya straight,

Becky
Arizona Ammo Source
http://www.arizonaammosource.com

Unsung Heroes, Emergency Dispatch.

It starts with a beep and then the call drops in, you answer the line and then the breath is caught in your the chest as you wait.  Sometimes there is silence, so you strain to hear, you call out, waiting for some sign that there is someone on the line.  You hope it’s just an accidental dial, but your mind goes to the worst case possible, the caller is no longer able to respond.  Other times you hear the screams before you can even announce your presence on the line.  The shouts are inaudible, but you can hear the children crying, you hear the rustling and banging of a struggle, someone cries into the phone, “please help.”

They need you, so you suppress your own fear, you swallow your panic and you answer calmly, your mind goes on auto-pilot as you work your fingers across the keyboard, switching screens, sending alerts, and getting help.  All the while you talk in a calm and assuring voice, telling the caller that help is on the way, listening as the cries grow more desperate, or in some cases weak.  Maybe it’s a child, terrified, seeing things that children shouldn’t see.  Maybe it’s a mother, holding her dying child, begging for you to save her baby.  Sometimes it’s just a gurgle or a moan of someone in their last moments.

Yet you stay, you listen, you comfort.  You are the anchor keeping them tied hope until help can arrive.  When EMS finally arrives the call disconnects.  Quiet except for the pounding in your chest and the shaking breaths.  You place your head in your hands and breath, maybe you cry, maybe you pray.  You wonder what’s happening now, you hope you did enough, that you worked fast enough, that you were strong enough, that you were enough.  You know you aren’t likely to get a follow up on how the situation ended so you try to put it out of your mind so you can focus on the next call.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.  Some calls stay with you forever.

Photo art courtesy of Dan Sun photography.

You are an emergency dispatch communicator and you are the first contact during a crisis.  You are an unsung hero, a warrior, and an invaluable member of the emergency response family.  Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU.

It’s National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, please take a moment to thank the amazing men and women who serve so valiantly behind the scenes.

God bless!

~Becky~

Armscor 22LR Review

Armscor’s 22LR High Velocity Hollow Point is one of our most popular products and it’s no surprise. Below I will give some information about the Armscor brand and specifically the 22LR.

Lets start with a little bit of history of the Armscor brand.  Although Armscor has only had a US location for 30 years, the company actually started in 1905 in the Philippines under the name Squires, Bingham & Co.  It was bought by Don Celso Tuason at the beginning of WWII and remains in the Tuason family.  Don’s 3 son’s joined the company and today the company is lead by the 3rd generation of Tuason’s, Martin Tuason.  The current Armscor name derives from the 1980’s renaming of the company to “Arms Corporation of the Philippines.”  In 1985 they established their first US location in Pahrump, NV and at that time they acquired Rock Island Armory.

Today Armscor continues to establish roots in the US with a manufacturing facility in Stevensville, Montana and they export to more than 50 countries.

So now that you know who Armscor is, lets get into the good stuff, THE AMMO!  While Armscor carries a variety of calibers, the 22LR is one our favorites.  The 22LR is a high velocity jacketed hollow point with a copper wash and is manufactured in their Philippines facility.  The jacket is super smooth and lubricated which is what gives it that extra umph and a muzzle velocity of 1260 fps.  The ammo is reliable and consistent, we’ve shot over 1000 rounds have had zero issues.  From a consumer standpoint the ammo gets a 4 – 4 1/2 out of 5 star review.

When it comes to shopping ammo the options can be overwhelming, that’s why we are encouraging our clients to leave reviews on the ammo that they purchase from us.  We do not offer an incentive, just our gratitude.  Head on over to www.arizonaammosource.com to shop our Armscor products and let us know if you have any questions or feedback.

Shootin’ ya straight,

Becky

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Guns, Ammo and Knives Oh My!!

Beautiful scenery, amazing weather and a rocking gun show, who could ask for more?  This weekends Arizona Peacemaker Gun Show was more than a huge success, it was a fantastic experience.  We had a great time meeting fellow gun enthusiasts and other vendors.

We moved A LOT of ammo this weekend, in fact we sold all of our Armscor 22LR bricks.  It’s no surprise considering how awesome the Armscor product is.  We immediately placed another order and anticipate having more in stock this week.

As I cruised around the show I saw a lot of great products and met with some really friendly people.  One of the vendors that really piqued my interests was Bill Bowsher of Command Concealment.

“Seeing the need for handguns to be mounted in strategic places, Bill designed a screw mount bracket to conceal weapons within easy reach of anywhere in a home.”

The cold rolled steel bracket can be securely placed between mattress and box spring, mounted to the bed or, well, anywhere!  I really liked the product and will be recommending it to all my friends.  Not to mention, Bill is a really nice guy, we talked for several minutes and he took the time to demonstrate the product and talk to me about its uses.

This leads me to my last observation about the gun show: I was largely ignored.  I realize that guns and ammo is still primarily a boys club, but that’s changing, and fast. One Gallup poll indicated that between 2005 – 2011 the percentage of women in the USA who own guns jumped from 13% to 23%.  The same 2011 report states that “The percentage of women who report household gun ownership is also at a new high, now registering 43%.”

Keeping in mind that those statistics are from 2011, based on my personal experience and speaking with other women in my community that percentage is probably closer to the 50% mark these days.  With that in mind gents, remember to give the ladies your attention. We have guns, we have money and we are looking for guns, ammo and accessories.

That said, I still really enjoyed the show and learned a lot about what to do next time and what NOT to do.  We will definitely be doing more shows and we hope next time you will come out to see us.

Have a fantastic day and come back tomorrow to learn more about one of my favorite products, Armscor 22LR.

Shootin’ ya straight,

Becky

Join our Facebook group to hear about specials and new products https://www.facebook.com/groups/arizonaammosource/