December 18, 2025
Thursday Bulletin – December 18, 2025
Executive Director’s Message
Richard Pearson
MERRY CHRISTMAS
& BLESSED HANUKKAH
In the midst of darkness, may the holidays bring light. From all of us at the Illinois State Rifle Association, we hope you have a very merry Christmas and blessed Hanukkah.
We are forever grateful for you, our members and friends… and all who support us throughout the year. With your help, we will continue to be on the forefront of defending Second Amendment rights in Illinois. We couldn’t do it without YOU!
Sending our best wishes…..
The ISRA Family
Farewell, Old Friend…..
It is with great sadness that Joyce Lindhoff, our oldest member to ever participate in the IGOLD march to the Capitol, has passed away. Joyce was a longtime friend of mine and I will miss her. Joyce was set to celebrate her 98th birthday in January.
Introducing – The “ISRA Paladin” Sustaining Membership
I am pleased to announce that the ISRA is introducing our new sustaining membership. The membership is called the “ISRA Paladin.”
When you become an ISRA Paladin, you join the front line in defending the Second Amendment in Illinois. Your commitment helps power the ISRA’s training, education, and legal efforts that protect the rights of every law-abiding gun owner in our state.
What is a PALADIN—and why should you become one?
In the time of King Charlemagne, the Paladins were his most trusted and honorable knights—sworn to act with courage, defend the innocent, and protect what was just. Their loyalty and leadership made them legends. Today’s ISRA Paladins carry that same spirit. They stand firm for freedom, safeguard the innocent, and defend our rights against those who would take them away.
You can be a Paladin member and an Annual, Life, Endowment, Benefactor, or Patron member concurrently. Every bit helps.
Your invitation to this membership should be arriving in the USPS mail starting this week. The letter will explain the further details of the ISRA Paladin membership.
If you would like to become a ISRA Paladin member, please call the office at 815-635-3198.
Thank you for your continuing support of the mission of the ISRA!
Australian Politicians Still Don’t Get It – Aussies Pay The Price
Here we go again. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is already calling for tougher gun laws on top of their already ridiculously restrictive gun laws. I watched some Australian talking head worrying about guns being smuggled into Australia. They admit the latest attack was ideologically motivated. This was an attack on Western Civilization. These attackers don’t care about any country’s gun laws or anything else. They want to destroy Western Civilization, the Jewish people, or any anything else they don’t agree with. You and I are targets.
As for worrying about smuggling guns into Australia, that is going to be tough to stop. Australia has 27,293 miles of coastline on the continent. If the islands are added into that, the number increases to 37,118 miles. What Australia needs to do is stop being a bunch of government-dependent cowards and arm themselves. Governments only take care of themselves and citizens can be sacrificed as needed. Everyone needs to understand that. If you don’t get it, just look at history for your proof.
ATTENTION – Deer Hunters
We would like to publish pictures of your deer in the Illinois Shooter. Please send us a photo with your name, the county in which you bagged the deer, and what type of firearm you used. Please email your pictures and info to member@isra.org .
Litigation Update
ISRA AS PLAINTIFF
We are still waiting on a ruling on Harrel v. Raoul from the Seventh Circuit which we hope to get soon.
ISRA SUPPORTING
Schoenthal v Raoul (7th Cir.) – The right of a licensed CCL holder to carry on public transportation is now being discussed in a conference of the Justices, which will decide if the Supreme Court will hear the case. The DOJ is in support of CCL holders to carry on public transportation.
The Second Amendment Foundation, the Connecticut Citizens Defense League and several individual plaintiffs have filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) in case of Grant v Rovella, the Connecticut “assault weapons ban.” That is one more nudge toward getting SCOTUS to decide on so-called assault weapons bans.
Thanks to all those who have and will continue to support the ISRA in our efforts to protect the Second Amendment in Illinois. This fight is far from over.
We need extra support right now, so please… donate HERE.
If you would like to mail a check to the ISRA Legal Assistance Committee (donations to the ISRA LAC are tax deductible), please send to:
ISRA Legal Assistance Committee
PO Box 494
Chatsworth, IL 60921
Not an ISRA member? Join the ISRA and support 2A rights in Illinois – click HERE.
Legislative Update
The General Assembly will reconvene for the Spring 2026 session on January 13th.
The House deadline for drafting is January 16, 2026, and the deadline for the Senate drafting is February 6, 2026.
You can find a PDF of the House calendar HERE and a PDF of the Senate calendar HERE to view all the legislative session deadlines.
We have reserved the Bank of Springfield Convention Center, 1 Convention Center Plaza, Springfield Illinois, for IGOLD 2026 on April 15, 2026. Dave McDermott, a well known Second Amendment attorney, will be one of the speakers at IGOLD 2026. You won’t want to miss his address. Please mark your calendars to reserve this date.
You can follow along by clicking the ISRA Legislation Page.
“Money can only buy happiness if you spend it on freedom. Join the ISRA today.” ~ Richard Pearson
ISRA Colt Anaconda 44 Magnum Raffle – Tickets Now Available
Buy your tickets early for the ISRA Colt Anaconda 44 Magnum Raffle! Drawing will be held on February 17, 2026. Entries must be postmarked by February 9, 2025.
TICKET PRICES:
• 1 for $10
• 3 for $25
• 7 for $50
• 15 for $100
You need not be present to win. Dues and donations to the ISRA are NOT tax deductible. Winner of the Colt Anaconda must comply with all federal, state and local laws. Winner has 90 days to claim prize.
Scan the QR code in the ad or Click HERE for more info.
Questions? Call the ISRA office at: 815-635-3198.
We appreciate your continuing support! Every ticket you buy helps keep Illinois gun owners strong, trained, and protected. We’ve stood for your rights since 1903 — and we’re not slowing down. Thank you for standing with us!
ISRA Memorial Brick Fundraiser – Honor Your Mentors
We all have people in our lives who have influenced our lives in a positive manner, we do not want them forgotten. My father is a perfect example, he taught me how to shoot, hunt, and many other life lessons. He was a WWII veteran with two purple hearts, I did not want him to be forgotten.
To remember people like my father and those in your life that have made a positive impact over the years the ISRA has established a Memorial Brick Project. The memorial bricks are laid out around the flagpole at the ISRA Range in Bonfield, IL, which is located near Kankakee, IL.
Please look over the attached flier and consider buying a brick for someone who has made a difference in your life.
For more info or to order your commemorative brick today, CLICK HERE.
ISRA Ruger 10/22 Collector Series Raffle – Tickets Now Available
Buy your tickets early for the ISRA Ruger 10/22 Collector Series Rifle Raffle! Drawing will be held on January 7, 2026. Entries must be postmarked by December 30, 2025.
You need not be present to win. Dues and donations to the ISRA are NOT tax deductible. Winner of the Ruger Rifle must comply with all federal, state and local laws. Winner has 90 days to claim prize.
Scan the QR code in the ad or CLICK HERE for more info or to purchase tickets.
Questions? Call the ISRA office at: 815-635-3198.
ISRA Gen-5 Glock 30 Raffle – Tickets Now Available
Right now, you can enter to win a pre-owned Gen 5 Glock 30® with six magazines. This pistol is gently used—fired less than 500 rounds—and calibered in .45 ACP. It’s a solid, dependable choice for any Illinois gun owner.
This raffle helps fund the ISRA’s work: training, safety programs, and defending the rights of law-abiding firearm owners across Illinois. Your support makes that possible.
TICKET PRICES:
• 1 for $10
• 3 for $25
• 7 for $50
• 15 for $100
Drawing Date: February 3, 2026
Mailed entries must be postmarked by January 26, 2026.
You do not need to be present to win.
(All state and federal laws apply. Prize must be claimed within 90 days.)
To get your tickets, CLICK HERE.
Or call the ISRA office at 815-635-3198 and we’ll help you over the phone.
Every ticket you buy helps keep Illinois gun owners strong, trained, and protected. We’ve stood for your rights since 1903 — and we’re not slowing down.
Thank you for standing with us.
ISRA Range – Once Fired Brass For Sale
If you are an ISRA member and reload your own ammunition the ISRA Range has once fired brass for sale. Please contact Mike James at 847-456-3386.
“I am frequently asked if the ISRA sells our membership list. The answer is absolutely not.” ~ Richard Pearson
Education & Training @ ISRA Range, Bonfield, IL.
December 18 (Thursday) ISRA Precision Air Pistol Training – Range 12 & Clubhouse – 5:30pm – 7:00pm
December 27 (Saturday) Armed Women of America – Range 11 & Clubhouse – 9:00am – 12:00pm
December 27 (Saturday) CCL Renewal & Qualification – Range 11 & Clubhouse – 1:00pm – 4:00pm
January 8 (Thursday) ISRA Precision Air Pistol Training – Range 12 & Clubhouse – 5:30pm – 7:00pm
January 11 (Sunday) NRA Basic Rifle Shooting Course – Range 11 & Clubhouse – 8:30am – 5:00pm
January 15 (Thursday) ISRA Precision Air Pistol Training – Range 12 & Clubhouse – 5:30pm – 7:00pm
January 17 (Saturday) NRA Basic Instructor Training (BIT) – Clubhouse – 8:30am – 2:30pm
January 18 (Sunday) NRA Basic Rifle Instructor – Range 11 & Clubhouse – 8:30am – 6:00pm
January 22 (Thursday) ISRA Precision Air Pistol Training – Range 12 & Clubhouse – 5:30pm – 7:00pm
January 29 (Thursday) ISRA Precision Air Pistol Training – Range 12 & Clubhouse – 5:30pm – 7:00pm
January 31 (Saturday) Armed Women of America – Range 11 & Clubhouse – 9:00am – 12:00pm
*** Please contact academy@isra.org for any training or class questions and check the ISRA Range for links to dates, times, descriptions of ISRA activities and events.
ISRA Members: View the Fall 2025 Shooter HERE.
If you would like to donate to us, please click HERE.
Thank you for your support!
GET IN THE FIGHT, STAY IN THE FIGHT, JOIN THE ISRA
To Join the ISRA, click HERE.
The Illinois State Rifle Association
is the home of marksmanship in Illinois
Tidbits
December 18, 1932 – The Chicago Bears defeat the Portsmouth Spartans 9 to 0 in the first indoor National Football League championship. The game was originally supposed to be played in Wrigley Field but waist-deep snow prevented the game from being played there. Fortunately, the National Hockey League stadium had just hosted a circus. The floor had been covered with 400 tons of dirt. The rules were modified so the game could be played on a 60 yard field. No field goals were allowed. Hopefully, they raked up all of the elephant dumbos and scat from the lions and tigers before they played the game!
December 18, 1620 – The Mayflower arrives at modern-day Plymouth, Massachusetts. The passengers began to prepare for their new settlement. They hoped to reach the Hudson River, but winter weather changed their mind. The 102 passengers on the Mayflower were separatists from Nottinghamshire, England. In England, they founded their own church, separate from the Church of England. Accused of treason, they had no choice but to leave the country, where they escaped to the Netherlands for 12 years. When they departed on the Mayflower, there was no Plymouth Rock. The American adventure was about to begin.
December 19, 1776 – Thomas Paine publishes an essay entitled the “American Crisis”. In the first of thirteen numbered parts published on this date in the Pennsylvania Journal, he wrote –
“THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
Well Mr. Paine… here we are again.
December 19, 1777 – The Continental Army, commanded by George Washington, goes to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania for the winter. His troops were short of food, clothing and shoes. Their Christmas dinner in 1777 was made up of rice and vinegar. Their feet were bleeding because of their tattered shoes and frostbite. They had to bind their feet with rags.
The British Army didn’t think the Continental Army would emerge from Valley Forge. Had they been dealing with lesser men, they would have been right. However, these were not lesser men. They were Americans.
Washington would not give up and his troops were loyal to him. Help would soon arrive from the Prussian General Frederich von Steuben and support from France. The Oneida Indians brought 600 bushels of corn to help feed the soldiers. General Washington’s staff would sleep where they worked. They would utilize their sleeping cots as their desks during the day. Nathanael Greene became Quartermaster General and soon, a loyal officer corps was built.
Washington also faced members of the Continental Congress who wanted to replace him. When March 1778 came, the Continental Army that marched out of Valley Forge no longer resembled the beleaguered group of men who formerly staggered in.
December 19, 1957 – Elvis Presley is inducted into the United States Army. Elvis was the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” but soon became a Private. Elvis was a good soldier. At the end of his enlistment, he was a Sergeant AND the “King”.
December 21, 1945 – General George S. Patton dies in a freak car accident. He was 60 years old. Congress, the President, and the Pentagon did not liketo hear what General Patton had to say, but they should have listened to him. He was right.
December 22, 2001 – Richard Reid, a British citizen and Al-Qaeda member, attempts to detonate a bomb hidden in his shoe aboard American Airlines flight 63. Reid converted to Islam and trained at Al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan.
December 23, 1620 – Construction on the Plymouth settlement begins. Nearly half of the colonists had died of disease, but conditions began to improve. By the mid-1640s, Plymouth’s population rose to over 3000 people.
December 23, 1823 – A poem entitled “A Visit From Saint Nicholas” was published detailing a jolly old elf that travels in a sleigh powered by eight reindeer and delivers toys to good girls and boys by sliding down their chimneys. The more common name for this poem is “The Night Before Christmas”.
December 23, 1810 – Richard Trevithick, a British inventor, takes seven friends for a test ride on his “Puffing Devil” locomotive. Trevithick used “strong steam”, unlike James Watts’ steam experiments. Trevithick’s locomotive used steam at 145 pounds per square inch (PSI), much higher than Watts. The locomotive was destroyed in a fire a few days after.
His next locomotive pulled five cars with 10 tons of iron and 70 passengers at a blistering speed of 5 miles an hour, which was huge for the time. That locomotive was wrecked when the tracks gave out. Many of the original railroad tracks were wooden with an iron strap on top… they were not very strong.
December 24, 1923 – President Calvin Coolidge pushes the button and lights the first national Christmas tree on the White House grounds. It was lighted with 2500 red, green and white bulbs and stood 48 feet tall.
December 24, 2025 – You better be getting your Christmas shopping done or you’re going to be in trouble!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Gun Shows
While the gun show information shown in this email is believed to be accurate, sometimes changes occur. This is provided for informational purposes only.
If your club or organization is holding a gun show, event or class, let us know the details, and we’d be happy to post it in our Weekly Range Schedule.
Jan. 24 – Jan. 25, 2026 Belleview Gun & Knife Show – Belle-Clair Fairgounds, Belleview, IL.
Jan. 24 – Jan. 25, 2026 Sauk Trail Gun Show, Bureau County Fairgrounds, Princeton, IL.
Feb. 7 – Feb. 8, 2026 Bloomington Gun & Knife Show – Interstate Center, Bloomington, IL.
Feb. 14 – Feb. 15, 2026 Central Illinois Gun Collectors Association – New Berlin Gun Show, Sangamon County Fairgrounds, New Berlin, IL.
March 28 – March 29, 2026 Belleview Gun & Knife Show – Belle-Clair Fairgounds, Belleview, IL.
March 28 – March 29, 2026 Sauk Trail Gun Show, Bureau County Fairgrounds, Princeton, IL.
Other Events
Jan. 25, 2026 Common Caliber: Cold Weather Pistol – Range 10 & Clubhouse – 8:00am – 4:00pm
Feb. 7, 2025 Highland Pistol & Rifle Club International Pistol Event, Highland, IL.
Feb. 14, 2026 Sandy Ford International Pistol Event, Sandy Ford Sportsman Club Indoor Range, 720 S Bloomington St, Streator, IL.
Mar. 14, 2026 Sandy Ford International Pistol Event, Sandy Ford Sportsman Club Indoor Range, 720 S Bloomington St, Streator, Illinois
April 11, 2026 Sandy Ford International Pistol Event, Sandy Ford Sportsman Club Indoor Range, 720 S Bloomington St, Streator, IL.
ISRA Grassroots Monthly Meetings
Come and meet fellow activists and learn the latest on protecting our Second Amendment Rights!
Come and meet fellow activists and learn the latest on protecting our Second Amendment Rights!
Livingston County – 4th Saturday of the month – South Post Guns, 104 Livingston Rd., Streator, IL; Social Hour 4:30pm – 5:30pm; Meeting 5:30pm – 6:30pm
Madison County – 1st Wednesday of the month – Piasa Armory, 625 Lewis and Clark Blvd., East Alton, IL; Doors open at 6:15pm; Meeting starts at 6:30pm
Northwest Suburban – 3rd Tuesday of the month – Golden Corral, 1591 S Randall Rd., Algonquin, IL; Doors open 6pm; Meeting 7pm – 8pm
South Suburban/Cook County – 2nd Thursday of the month – Kenootz Pizza, 4659 147th St., Midlothian, IL; Doors open 6:30pm; Meeting 7pm – 8pm
Will County – 3rd Wednesday of the month – Silver Dollar Restaurant, 422 E. Mississippi Ave., Elwood, IL; Doors open 6pm; Meeting 7pm – 8pm
Stand Strong &
Thank you for being a member!
If you are not an ISRA member, join TODAY!
Donate: isra.org/support-us/
Visit: isra.org/
Upcoming Meetings: isra.org/isra-activities-and-events/
Upcoming Range Events: isra.org/the-range/#range-calendar
PO Box 637
420 E Locust St
Chatsworth Illinois 60921
USA
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