Here is the latest shooting sports industry news:

McMillan Fiberglass Stocks has been named the Official Stock of the 2019 National Rifle League season.

“It’s a privilege to have McMillan Fiberglass Stocks as the Official Stock for NRL,” said Travis Ishida, co-founder of the NRL. “Its roots are firmly planted in competitive shooting, and the kind of support McMillan has shown to the community, top shooters, and team shooters over a number of years is truly exceptional. They have a strong commitment to the sport, and like the NRL, they aim for continued growth. This is a natural fit for the NRL community.”

McMillan fiberglass stocks are hand-laid and go through rigorous quality control tests during production.

As a 501c3 non-profit organization, the National Rifle League's mission is to promote the growth and education of precision rifle shooting through competitive long-range matches and other outdoor enthusiast venues. This aligns perfectly with McMillan's goal of producing the highest-quality and innovative precision rifle stocks. With members spanning the U.S., the NRL presents 17 matches across the country with courses of fire that are open to everyone looking to become part of the growing long-distance shooting movement.

"McMillan has enjoyed a long and proud relationship with the National Rifle League," said Britainy McMillan, vice president of McMillan Fiberglass Stocks, "and enthusiastically supports the organization's efforts to grow the shooting disciplines and to bring new shooters into the exciting world of shooting competition."

The 2019 sponsorship as the NRL's Official Stock aligns with several of McMillan's new product initiatives designed to give shooters of all experience levels more options in custom-fit stock platforms. Key among these are the new A-10, Adjustable A-6 and Adjustable A-5 Thumbhole stocks. The A-10, especially, accommodates PRS-style shooting for smaller statured individuals, ideal for youth and women shooters.

SAF Joins Lawsuit in New Jersey

The Second Amendment Foundation has joined several other organizations in a lawsuit against New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal to seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against enforcement of provisions in a 2018 law that criminalizes constitutionally-protected speech.

SAF is joined by Defense Distributed, the Firearms Policy Coalition, Firearms Policy Foundation, Calguns Foundation, California Association Federal Firearms Licensees and a private citizen, Brandon Combs. They are represented by attorneys Chad Flores, Daniel Hammond and Hannah Roblyer of Beck Redden LLP in Houston and Daniel L. Schmutter of Hartman & Winnicki, P.C. in Ridgewood, N.J.

The lawsuit contends that after New Jersey lawmakers passed the new statute last November, Attorney General Grewal censored the plaintiffs’ free speech rights by threatening to jail them or anyone else that violates a section of the law that criminalizes distribution of digital instructions that may be used to produce a firearm with a three-dimensional printer.

“This isn’t about firearms, it’s about freedom of speech,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “If Attorney General Grewal can suppress the sharing of technical information about the production of firearms components using modern technology, what else might he, or another attorney general choose to suppress at some future date if he or she doesn’t like it?

“Section 3(I)(2) of the law doesn’t criminalize conduct,” he observed, “it criminalizes speech, the mere act of sharing information. We are hopeful the court will recognize the Orwellian nature of this prohibition and conclude, as we have, that it is an unconstitutional abridgement of protected speech.”

The lawsuit notes that all types of digital firearms information are censored, including computer aided design files and other code or instructions stored and displayed in electronic format as a digital model. Under the law, it does not matter whether anyone actually uses the information, only that it is available and “may be used.”

“With so much media attention on 3-D technology in recent months, the public has a right to know what the controversy is all about,” Gottlieb said. “But Grewal won’t allow that so we’re taking him to court.”

Team Sig Off to Good Start

Team SIG Captain Max Michel kicked off the new year with a big win in the 2019 Miami Open, his first match of the competitive shooting season.

The Miami Open was Jan. 11-13 at the Homestead Training Center in Homestead, Fla. Michel won first place in the Carry Optics Division.

Sig Sauer Team Captain Max Michel.

“This is a great start to the 2019 competition season for Team Sig," said Tom Taylor, Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President, Commercial Sales, Sig Sauer, Inc. "Max’s intensity and continued focus on the Carry Optics division is bringing home wins for Team SIG and driving product development

“Max has been working for years with the design and engineering team at Sig Sauer Electro-Optics to develop a high-performance, competition open reflex carry sight that we’ve named the ROMEO3MAX. This was the first time he competed with the ROMEO3MAX and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results.”

To claim his first place finish at the 2019 Miami Open, Max competed through 12 courses of fire, winning 11 using his P320X5, the newly developed ROMEO3MAX open reflex sight, and Sig Sauer Match Elite Pistol Competition Ammunition.

“The Miami Open was my first time running the ROMEO3MAX and it ran perfectly from start to finish," Michel said. "The sun was brutal in Miami for this competition, and while others had issues with their optics, the ROMEO3MAX performed flawlessly."

The ROMEO3MAX is a compact, open reflex sight featuring a 30mm Max round lens design for superior field-of-view, a special red-notch filter for vivid red dot and unrivaled optical clarity, 6 MOA dot size for rapid target engagement, 12 illumination intensity levels, MOTAC activation, and up to 20,000 hours of runtime.

Mayer Honored by GPO Optics

German Precision Optics USA presented Scott Mayer, a longtime contributor to Grand View Outdoors publications, with its annual Writer of the Year Award on Jan. 22 at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas.

Scott Mayer, right, receives the GPO Writer of the Year Award from GPO President and  CEO Mike Jensen. (Photo: GPO)

The award is presented each year to a writer that has supported GPO in his/her writing, educates the industry reader base about shooting sports and supports our second amendment rights.

“Scott is a prolific writer and has been a champion of the sport of hunting and our products,” said Mike Jensen, GPO president and CEO. “It is truly an honor to present him with the 2019 GPO Writer of the Year Award.”

Mayer, who began his career at SCI in 2003, held several high-level communication posts in the outdoors industry until returning to SCI in 2012 as assistant publisher. There, he launched several new, popular SCI digital publications including Hunt Forever blog and the Hunter Pride e-newsletter. He was named editor in late 2018 and now oversees the production and editorial content of all SCI member publications under the direction of long-time SCI communications head, Steve Comus.

"It is always an honor when someone recognizes your work and receiving GPO’s award is especially meaningful to me because I know Mike Jensen always strives for the very best," Mayer said. "I am very proud to have him acknowledge my work and associate it with the GPO name."

Birchwood Giveaway at Pheasant Fest

Birchwood Casey is giving away a Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen and package of Birchwood Casey products at the 2019 Pheasant Fest and Quail Classic.

The Classic is Feb. 22-24 at the Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, Illinois. Registration for the shotgun and Birchwood Casey package of cleaning and shooting products will take place in the Birchwood Casey booth — No. 1222 — during the show.

The shotgun and package is valued at more than $2,200.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Browning and to offer attendees the chance to leave the 2019 Pheasant Fest and Quail Classic with a brand new A5 Shotgun and some excellent Birchwood Casey products,” said Todd Binsfeld, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Birchwood Casey. “If you’re planning to attend the show, make sure to take advantage of this great giveaway.”

The Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic focuses on wildlife conservation, upland game bird hunting, dog training, and wildlife habitat management and restoration. In addition to the trade show, Pheasants Forever will hold seminars on habitat improvement, pheasant hunting, shooting sports, wild game cooking, dog training, and conservation. Several companies including Birchwood Casey will be present, displaying new products and much more.

Rival Arms Now Available Through Zanders

Rival Arms, manufacturer of precision handgun components for do-it-yourself firearm enthusiasts, has announced an agreement with Zanders Sporting Goods for distribution of multiple lines of Rival Arms products. Zanders is one of the leading firearms wholesalers in the U.S. committed to retail dealer service.

"Experienced shooters and new shooters alike, are beginning to spend more time on DIY projects and looking to significantly modify their stock pistols," said Josh Roetemeyer, Purchaser at Zanders. "These 'hands-on' shooters demand components that exceed the quality and performance of factory-original parts, and Rival Arms products deliver just that. The fact that these items are made in the U.S. and come in retail-ready designer packaging is another big plus for our dealers."

Rival Arms is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It was founded on the concept that today's increasingly sophisticated, do-it-yourself handgun enthusiasts desire the best components for their handgun modifications and upgrades, whether that end use is for competition, personal protection, defense service, or simply the satisfaction of building a pistol to perform at its peak design potential.

Current Rival Arms product lines center around the Glock platform—specifically, Glock models 19, 17, 22, 23, 34 and 43—with line expansions into other popular handgun platforms. The Rival Arms 2019 product lineup includes:

• Precision slides, with and without optic accommodations
• Precision drop-in barrels, threaded and non-threaded
• Precision strikers
• High-performance guide rod assemblies
• Slide completion kits
• Frame pin kits
• Extended slide locks
• Two-piece flared magwell assemblies, grip plugs, and magazine extensions
• Tritium night sights

For more information on Rival Arms' precision-manufactured handgun components and accessories, visit rival-arms.com.