WITH BAITED BREATH...
The world awaits the overdue 3rd newsletter of the semi new millennium. Here it is arriving by postal carrier or horse and buggy. By rights you will be receiving this on or about the fourth week of October. And, unless you've been on Mars, its also an election year. Thinking about it, that is a hack of a way to begin a millennium. But we're not going to deal with the election issue at this point of this little tome. Later...
ALL THE NEWS THAT IS THE NEWS...
Here in the shadow of ye olde water tower, we have had a year of change and evolution. Still no parking meters but there are rumors of a set of traffic lights out there by the interstate. Closer to home, we got a spiffy new street out front...spunky new paint on the building and inside, a host of changes. Our new rifle section which allowed us to greatly enhance both the rifle department as well as the shotgun section. And this all got us a great black powder department as well. And a neater floor layout and the over/under/target section is longer. We really hope you are impressed by it. We put more than a little bit of work into it to make our and your "Bills" environment more fun and more efficient.
YE OLDE FISHIN' HOLE...
As the non ice fishing season winds down a little bit, we are extremely happy with the response to our efforts at making our fish department better. We are now working at getting the spring stuff for 2001 ordered now.
NEW GUN NEWS...
Boom boom out comes a gun from Ruger without being overdue a year. Hey, the 44 semi auto carbine is back...this time with a rotary magazine clip. Not real plentiful but it DOES EXIST, and people will be hunting this fall with them. Browning is a little late with their 410 pump and Buckmark rifle, but the X series of over/unders are showing up. The darn Remington Big Rifles are lean again. But coming. Marlin continues with their incredible line of guns including the 450 as well as the stainless 30-30's. And Winchester has a 300 Ultra in the Model 70.
DEPARTMENT 19...
Ye Olde Gun Accessory Department has a plethora of things to cover virtually any angle. Starting to see a bunch of gun cases, yeah, plain old gun cases that have rather adequate pockets for the things you have to bring along. We could go on and on with this section but there is so much in so many spots.
DNR...
The machine is running in a more stress free manner than last year. Less stress for you and for us. Darn machines never experience stress, much less are they famous for empathy. Anyway, it's working pretty well.
Lots of permits, kind of a thrill for most getting those two free Zone T freebies. The bad news is that the snazzy orange paper is in short supple so DNR wisdom has us just issuing paper receipts for a lot of the licenses. Somehow we will all survive.
RIFLES...
We have an incredible assortment of center-fires in. And out and more in again again and again. The 31 pound 50G is a hit, pun intended. Great bunch of Rugers on hand in about 6 styles. Winchesters are becoming a little more plentiful. Got some octagon barreled Marlins in and once again there is some really neat chunks of wood showing up. With our new racks up, we are able to keep a pretty comprehensive bunch of iron out where you can see the contrasts. Did have a moment of madness when this one salesman came around. Picked up a bunch of what we have labeled 'Armory Guns' these are older firearms of some historical significance. Some date back to the 1920s', Old enough to be pretty unique, yet plentiful enough so as to be really inexpensive. Wish we had time to just research each one and give a little pedigree.
HISTORY OF HUNTING PART 1...
This you may...are you familiar with the word vegetarian? Do you know where the word vegetarian comes from?? Well, it turns out that vegetarian is an old Indian word which, when translated into English, means "lousy hunter."
WEBSITE...
This exists but we are not thrilled with it...primarily because we have not spent enough time working on it to keep it up to date and just plain get it to of value to you and/or us. Our first priority is always at the counter. But we are still going at: www.billssport.com
POLITICS...
Ok, here we go into the snake pit...it's rather sad that we seem to have evolved into society of single issue voters. Whatever the issue. It's sad that the political body seems compelled to control parts of society that are not worthy of that degree of attention. Or more accurately, "they" have no business being in that part of social mores. There was an old army adage, that the army's rate of march is that of the slowest man. Tho not the intention, many legislative actions cause our society to function at that slowest pace as a whole. The Sportsman and Woman are forced to conduct their hunting fishing life to accommodate the conditions in an urban area while they are 100 miles from electricity. Something like the kid that doesn't like how the playground game is going for him or her, so takes the ball home and ends the game for everyone else. You kind of wish your choice was someone to vote for instead of voting against someone. We all get frustrated about figuring out what is really going on. We'd like just a little shot of straight stuff. And it doesn't show up.
And a final thought, we all know not to believe everything we read in the newspaper. (At least we should know this) But we have recently been asked by individuals about some email or Internet fact. Something that came in an email from some senator and it was an absolute fact...no details here but suffice it to say that it wasn't true.
So here is a thought to possibly live by...If it sounds too good to be true, well then, it probably is not. If it sounds absolutely horrible and catastrophic to be true, it probably is not.
WHAT IS CONCEALED CARRY?...
This is something that we want to touch upon here just to help define it a little bit. Lot of talk about this in a state level, lot of talk about it nationally. Here is a brief definition of what it does and does not mean...Concealed Carry means you the private citizen would have certain rights to carry a firearm concealed legally. Those certain rights would be defined by the state. I will describe the probable scenario if this were in effect in our State. If you wanted the right to carry a firearm, you would have to go through the following: You would have to take a certified Firearms safety course which would cover safe and competent use of firearms. This course would also cover the rights and responsibilities involved. Upon successful completion of this course, you would apply to your city or county for a permit. This would require you to undergo a background check that would be akin to what you go through to purchase a firearm now. Upon successfully completing this, you would pay about a $25 fee for a five year permit including a photo id like your Drivers License. There would be certain places like a Police Station, where you could not carry a gun. Also, private businesses and places would have the right to prohibit firearms on the premises. This would be a law that is specifically designed for the good citizen, the legitimate citizen. Without passing additional redundant laws, it would essentially strengthen the existing body of law. In states where this right exists it has had a remarkable effect in that crime rates drop. I will not dwell on this too much since we are all subjected to statistics at every turn already. There would be serious penalties for those who would abuse the privilege or right. In conclusion to this skeleton interpretation, let us state that "concealed carry" is not something out of the old west.
BOOTS...
We have a lot of these and have worked hard at finding great boots at sane prices, and we have sold a lot of them, so we went and got more. From no insulation to 2000 grams of Thinsulate, to thick felt pads. And Always on Sale!!!! For men and women.
FED AND STATE REGS...
Despite all you read, there are no scary occurrences in effect. Don't think they aren't out there lurking however. A thing we would like to clarify here. A lot of people are concerned about buying a gun for their husband, wife, son, daughter, dad, retirement gift, ect. Here is the story...you can buy a gun as a gift for anyone in the world you choose, what you can not do is buy a gun for someone who is not legally able to buy one for whatever reason. If you buy a new shotgun for your 14 year old, the gun may be his or hers ,but it still remains your responsibility and ultimately the property of you the adult. If you have any questions regarding this please give us a call or stop in. Thanks.
GUN SAFES...
We have sold a lot of these in the last two years and if we have learned anything its how to sort out the confusion, or at least come close. So here it is ladies and gentlemen. Gun safes are either fire rated which essentially means fire proof. Or they are fire resistant meaning that they aren't fire proof but will keep some heat out. Fire rated can mean different things, but in the case of Brownings, they will withstand 1200 degrees for 30 minutes. And that is essentially a fire. They come in 3 size ranges. 25 inches wide which hold 9-18 guns. 30 inches wide which hold 14-28 guns. Or 40 inches wide which old 30-45 guns. The reason for the range in capacity, is that most have "duo" interiors. Meaning the shelves are on one side but come out easily for greater capacity. And the additional rack is already there under the shelf. Doors on all these safes lift off when the safe is open, this "halves" the weight making it easier to shuffle these things around.
BLACK POWDER...
We have more black powder rifles and bullets and odds and ends than ever before. Black Powder stuff has its own corner now. If you want to start out and keep it easy and simple, you would not believe how great it is to shoot with powder pellets and sabots or just maxis. If you are a traditionalist, life is still grand. And the number of choices available to you is so terrific. Camouflage guns, stainless guns, Inlines, primers, musket caps, and even wood guns with real bluing. And they are here for your good times.
RELOADING...
RCBS continues with their new Pro Center program which includes some great new tools particularly in the area of progressive loading. Foster Apelt, an old name in case care tools and accessories has been reborn insofar as what their marketing niche is and how they do it. Lots of bullets to choose from for everyone.
A reloading thought here for you rifle/pistol folks. In order for you to properly reload, you know all that is going on, and the basic principle is that you are making a very precise thing in your reloading casing. You learn that the reloading numbers in the books are just recommendations, a place to start. You are tailoring a load for your very specific firearm. And it is truly unique. So you learn that you work a load to your wants and needs.
ARCHERY...
We are winding down this, so its all pretty olde news, had a great season, lots of great stuff, no problems with any of the new machinery. Amazing how many new bow-hunters there are every year, and how many people return to the sport of kings and rock moguls. Olde early riser Paul is still waiting for his perfect shot.
SPORTSWEAR...
When I see a sportswear sign at a department store, it always is a surprise as to what "they" term "sportswear". Anyway, OUR sportswear department has tons of great wear for the outdoors sporting life. To wit: white camouflage for you coyote and crow folks, trap vests at special season end prices. Another plethora of chamois shirts. Camo of every shape size and pattern. Orange either trim or the whole shebang, no orange thongs tho, Shirts Coats, Jackets, Real Wool Stuff, Gloves, Mitts, and much much more!!!
OPTICS...
We are gonna nutshell this one for this issue, we carry Nikon, Leopold, Bushnell, Weaver, Simmons, Burris, Adco, Tasco, Millet, and a few other scopes. In about that order. We carry solid and detach and see thru mounts, bases and rings. We can get them on for you and bore-sighted as well. And you can be assured that the level of quality from scope manufacturers is incredibly high. Especially in the area of mechanical reliability. We also sell binoculars and laser rangefinders.
NEW PRODUCTS...
We haven't seen much in the way of new product news for the upcoming year, and frankly, been a little too busy with the frenzy of this season to pay attention anyway. For this year the thrill is getting a lot of the new semi auto 44 Ruger Rifles. The new Winchester Gold 12 Gauge Sabot that goes 1900 feet per second is big news. It's mid October and we've gone thru about six cases so far and have laid in another 13. This is Big Ollie, REALLY BIG!!! So many things in virtually every department. We try to stay away from the stuff that smacks of snake oil, but at the same time we don't want to become cynical. Stuck in the past, or over opinionated. Decades ago, we took a plain cardboard box, carefully lettered "Squirrel Decoys" and put a sale tag on it. (that is how I met my...) ...anyway, now somebody makes em' for real.
PARTING SHOTS...
This puppy is way late, we kind of got a little bit more political than normal. All the readers of this are interested in what we have. but, you/we all have a lot of other interests that influence our own political wants and needs. Vote your sport is an adage you many wish to consider. But without question the one thing you really want to do is VOTE ...and we will see you all next issue with our slightly less irregular format. Or, you all could just stop in and say howdy, or perhaps become infatuated with some of the items making up the plethora of fine products we have in the joint.
We have had another year of pretty awesome growth. That has put a lot of pressure on our inventory as well as our little minds. Slow but sure we are getting up to speed in all aspects. We thank you for your support, and hope we can continue to provide you with an enjoyable and positive experience in our store. May your hunting seasons be enjoyable, your elected officials your favorite, your Holidays happy.
Thanks from all of us at Bills...
Ken, Paul, Tom, Kathy, Al, Dan, Andy, Diane, and Dick