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Here’s what’s worth reading today, Wednesday, September 4, 2019:
Walmart to stop Alaska handgun sales, end sales of short-barrel rifle and handgun ammo nationwide; NRA hits back: Walmart is set to end sales of handguns in Alaska and will discontinue the sale of short-barrel rifle and handgun ammunition in stores nationwide, the super chain’s president and CEO announced Tuesday afternoon. The store said it will gear its focus toward long-barrel deer rifles and shotguns, supplying much of the ammunition they require and providing hunting and sporting accessories and apparel, Doug McMillon wrote in a memo. “We have a long heritage as a company of serving responsible hunters and sportsmen and women, and we’re going to continue doing so,” McMillon said. The National Rifle Association hit back. “The strongest defense of freedom has always been our free-market economy. It is shameful to see Walmart succumb to the pressure of the anti-gun elites. Lines at Walmart will soon be replaced by lines at other retailers who are more supportive of America’s fundamental freedoms. The truth is Walmart’s actions today will not make us any safer. Rather than place the blame on the criminal, Walmart has chosen to victimize law-abiding Americans,” the group said.
Following Walmart’s lead, Kroger asks customers not to openly carry firearms in stores: Kroger followed Walmart in asking customers not to display their firearms in stores located in “open carry” states, becoming the latest big chain to reshape its business around gun reform amid a spate of mass shootings. The nation’s two biggest grocers also are pushing for tougher background checks, bowing to public pressure that has been building since deadly shootings at Walmart stores in El Paso and Southaven, Miss., claimed 24 lives and wounded dozens this summer. “Kroger is respectfully asking that customers no longer openly carry firearms into our stores, other than authorized law enforcement officers,” Jessica Adelman, group vice president of corporate affairs, said in a statement to CNBC on Tuesday. “We are also joining those encouraging our elected leaders to pass laws that will strengthen background checks and remove weapons from those who have been found to pose a risk for violence.”
September, October among best months for Texas outdoor pursuits
The Second Amendment isn’t about hunting. Period. The Second Amendment is about protecting yourself against tyranny — whether against a tyrannical government or for self-defense purposes. Nowhere in the Constitution does it state the right for law-abiding Americans to keep and bear arms applies to hunting. Nowhere. Talk about an illusory correlation. So why are Democrats lumping hunting with the Second Amendment and dictating to gun owners whether or not they should use AR-15’s (Armalite Rifles) while hunting?
As Bear Grylls is knocked out by bee sting, these are the other terrifying animal attacks while making TV shows — from filmmaker eaten by bear to baby grabbed by lion: Animals can be unpredictable and dangerous — as many unfortunate TV presenters and crews have discovered while shooting scenes in the wild. Former SAS hardman Bear Grylls was the latest star to fall victim to a life-threatening animal attack, after he was knocked out by a bee sting as he filmed his new survival series. Dad-of-three Bear — who has an allergy to bee stings — went into terrifying anaphylactic shock while shooting the Channel 4 series Treasure Island in a remote part of the Pacific. Although Bear initially tried to carry on filming, he soon took a frightening turn for the worse and medics had to race onboard with an EpiPen. a life-threatening animal attack, after he was knocked out by a bee sting as he filmed his new survival series.
Fishing with Steven Rinella in the South: From the MeatEater team, Das Boat is a series of short films that follow a 50-year-old aluminum hull boat as it’s towed all over the Southeast. In this first installment, host Steven Rinella meets up with fly-fishing guide JT Van Zandt in Rockport, Texas, to sight-fish for redfish. The whole episode is steeped in nostalgia, good conversation, and a delicious haul.
Maine hunter pleads guilty in shooting death of Hebron woman: A Maine hunter charged with killing a woman he mistook for a deer has pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Robert Trundy, of Hebron, entered his plea Tuesday during a hearing in Oxford County Superior Court. The shooting happened on the first day of deer hunting season for Maine residents in 2017. The 34-year-old victim, Karen Wrentzel, was digging for gemstones on her property when she was shot.
Feds open 1.4 million acres of public land to hunting, fishing: U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt last week announced the expansion of hunting and fishing at over 90 wildlife refuges and hatcheries nationwide. The announcement, which comes just in time for hunting season, includes new opportunities for sportsmen at 77 refuges and 15 hatcheries, opening 1.4 million acres of public land managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Bernhardt’s office said the move, described as a “big win for sportsmen” is more than double the acreage that has been opened in the past five years combined. “This is the largest single effort to expand hunting and fishing access in recent history,” said Bernhardt. “President Trump has made increasing public access and streamlining government functions priorities of his administration, and this new rule delivers on both fronts given the unprecedented expansion of public acreage and removal or revision of 5,000 hunting and fishing regulations to more closely match state laws.”
Duck hunting tips for every early teal season in the country: 25 states in the U.S. have September teal seasons. Here’s how to kill your first limit of the year.
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