September 21, 2023
The 2023-2024 Illinois deer season is forecast to be robust, however, a wet spring & abnormally dry summer conditions could affect changes to deer behavior. Read the complete article “2023-2024 Illinois Deer Hunting Forecast” by Peter Schlichting, published in the Illinois Outdoor Journal, an IDNR online publication.
Most of you are aware of the new Illinois law allowing hunters to use centerfire, single-shot rifles in certain calibers for deer hunting in Illinois. Administrative rules are still under development to accommodate the new law. For further deer hunting information and to review a list of frequently asked questions and answers, please go to the IDNR website.
Don’t be caught short – Be prepared, and don’t forget to check your ammo supplies and the condition of your arrows and bolts, if you are an archery hunter. If you’re near the Range, come to our annual “Sighting-In Day held on Saturday, October 21, 2023, 10 am – 3:00 pm. We will have several of our rifle, shotgun, and pistol ranges available for this day and an archery range. No ammunition is available for purchase on our premises. Light gunsmithing services are available, bring 25 rounds of ammo per firearm, and firearms must be unloaded and enclosed in a case.
It is open to everyone. You don’t need to be a member to come, but if you would like to have a tour of the range and maybe join, you are welcome to sign up while you’re there. $10 per firearm or bow, including targets. Our Range is located near Kankakee, IL (1589 N. 7000 West Rd., Bonfield, IL). For details of what you should bring, and more information, including directions to the Range, visit isra.org or call the ISRA office at 815-635-3198. So come on out!!!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: ISP Public Information Office
September 15, 2023 ISP.PIO.Personnel@illinois.gov
Assault weapons and high-capacity magazine endorsement affidavit process
Springfield – The Illinois State Police (ISP) has filed an emergency rule with the Illinois Secretary of State to implement the Protect Illinois Communities Act (Act). On January 10, 2023, Governor JB Pritzker signed into law Public Act 102-1116 regulating the sale and distribution of assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and switches in Illinois. The Act went into effect immediately upon signing. Individuals who possessed an assault weapon, assault weapon attachment, .50 caliber rifle, or .50 caliber cartridge before the Act took effect are required to submit an endorsement affidavit through their Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) Card account prior to January 1, 2024. A copy of the emergency rule will be posted on this page www.isp.illinois.gov/Home/AssaultWeapons.
Individuals can begin submitting their endorsement affidavits online beginning October 1, 2023. Affidavits must be submitted online through a FOID Card account. Individuals can access their FOID Card account from the ISP Firearms Services Bureau website or going directly to www.ispfsb.com/Public/Login.aspx. If you have forgotten your username or password, links on the login page will help you recover or reset your information. The same Firearm Service Bureau links can be used to create an account for those who do not have one. You will need an email address, driver’s license, or State ID, and FOID card to create an account. A tutorial video on how to create an account can be found on the ISP FOID webpage under Application Help.
Individuals who need help submitting an endorsement affidavit can refer to the Frequently Asked Questions page or visit one of the ISP FOID Kiosks, both of which can be found on the ISP website at www.isp.illinois.gov/Home/AssaultWeapons.com. Do not bring your weapon, ammunition, or accessories if you visit a Kiosk. A tutorial video on how to submit an endorsement affidavit through your FOID account will be available on the ISP website by October 1, 2023.
Election Season is here already. Primary Petitions are currently being circulated.
Tuesday, March 19th 2024, General Primary,
Tuesday, November 5th, 2024 General Election Day.
Here is the Illinois General Assembly / FOID, CCL numbers: There are 177 members of the Illinois General Assembly. In the Senate, there are 59 members. In the House of Representatives, there are 118 members. Each Senate District is comprised of approximately 213,348 people and each House District is comprised of approximately 106,674 people.
The State Senate Democratic majority consists of 40 members, while the Senate Republican minority consists of 19 members. The State House Democratic majority consists of 78 members, while the House Republican minority consists of 40 members.
As of September 18, 2023, there are a total active 2,434,710 FOID cardholders and 484,908 CCL license holders. We need to get to a million concealed carry license holders in Illinois.
NYC’s surprising new gun owners: Councilwoman, grocer, new mom. Most of America is free when it comes to the right to keep and bear arms. New York City, on the other hand, is the most oppressive jurisdiction when it comes to gun ownership. None of NYC’s gun control ever applied to criminals, of course. They’ve always thumbed their noses at the law, assaulting, robbing, hurting, and killing peaceable, decent New Yorkers, whose habit of obeying the law puts them at a disadvantage against criminals. What follows is understandable and unsurprising to gun owners who live in the rest of the country. Ordinary people have started exercising their Second Amendment rights.
The number of New Yorkers legally packing guns is on the rise. For a city where obtaining a license to carry a firearm was not that long ago, almost impossible, a surprising number of NYC residents, 17%, have bought a gun in the past year, according to a July Siena poll. “I want it for protection,” Brooklyn councilwoman Inna Vernikov told The Post. She received her concealed carry license this month after her application was approved in July. When she heads to her local synagogue for the high holidays starting Friday, she’ll be carrying an increasingly popular temple accessory: a 9MM Smith & Wesson.
“With anti-semitism, it doesn’t feel safe in the city anymore”, said Vernikov, who asked her synagogue to designate her as a volunteer safety guard. (Only certain people, such as official safety guards and congregation leaders, are allowed to carry guns in places of worship.) “We are short on cops and recruitments are way down. We can’t just rely on the police. Something life-altering can happen in the time it takes for cops to arrive.” Vernikov completed a mandatory New York State concealed-carry class this spring. At Vernikov’s “packed” shooting practice classes on Staten Island, she said, there were more female attendees than she expected.
Victoria Bonelli shares that sentiment. “It’s not just my life anymore. I’ll be walking around with a baby and putting her in the car all the time. I’m really just ensuring that I’m properly equipped for a life-or-death situation. This is our reality now,” said the mom of a newborn daughter.
Helming her training course was retired NYPD Sgt. Johnny Nunez runs an 18-hour New York State/ NYC concealed-carry course as required by the state. “The demand is there — it’s incredible,” Nunez said, noting the wide range of New Yorkers looking to protect themselves.
Aida, a Yonkers mom of two, fits the bill as a Manhattan market owner. “It was never in my mind before,” said the 35-year-old. “It was only cops who were supposed to have them [guns]; they were supposed to provide us safety.” But violence against local bodega (a small grocery store – especially in a Spanish-speaking neighborhood) workers — including a March robbery on the Upper East Side that ended in a deli employee’s death and a similar situation on Staten Island in July — scared her. Aida did the right thing…She faced the danger head-on and did not look for someone else to protect her. A good lesson for us all.
Several factors are at work here: an increase in crime thanks to criminal-friendly progressive policies, poor police response, a decrease in police recruitment, and an overall feeling that crime, and especially hate, have increased. The people of New York City now have the choice to defend themselves and they are exercising it in droves. But despite all the training hurdles, the people are still applying, and they are legally getting around carry restrictions, as Vernikov did, by asking to become designated security guards.
“The mayor recently said that there are too many guns on the street — no, that’s not correct. It’s that there are too many illegal guns on the street,” Nunez said. “I challenge the politicians to show me the statistics.” As the number of permit holders increases, I think the burdens imposed will come down as voters realize their inefficacy.”
Home invaders get an armed greeting from apartment resident. An early morning home invasion in West Melbourne, Florida didn’t turn out the way the suspects were hoping. In fact, their unwanted incursion into an armed citizen’s apartment ended with multiple suspects shot, while those who had every right to be in the apartment emerged unscathed. The incident unfolded early Sunday morning at the Reserves of Melbourne apartment complex. Police were called out just before 3 a.m. on a report of shots fired in an apartment in the complex. When they arrived on the scene with paramedics, they quickly learned that those shots had been fired in self-defense.
Officers learned that multiple, possibly armed, subjects had forcefully entered an apartment. According to police, one suspect had a gun. The apartment’s resident, armed with their own firearm of unknown caliber, fired on the group, striking at least three of those carrying out the home invasion, police reported. One unidentified suspect was taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center where a doctor later pronounced him dead. Another suspect turned up on his own at the hospital and was treated for his wounds, police said. No details were released about the third person who was shot. Local news sources report that a total of three home invaders were on the receiving end of the armed citizen’s defensive fire.
While neighbors and nearby residents may have been surprised by the shooting, they also sounded thankful that the resident was able to protect themselves. Sarah Goodman told WESH-TV that she’s a “proud Second Amendment person” and would “protect her space” if she ever found herself in a similar situation. Miles Svikhart, another resident, expressed support for the armed citizen as well saying: “It’s self-defense. That’s why you have a gun. If he didn’t have that gun, I’m sure he’d be in a lot more trouble.”
Given that authorities have already determined at least one of the home invaders had a gun of their own, I’d say Svikhart is right. At the very least those inside the apartment would have had to hope for mercy from their armed assailants, and there’s no guarantee that the intruders would have spared their lives after taking their stuff. Criminals are not known for their mercy!
There are still some unanswered questions regarding the circumstances of the shooting, but based on the preliminary evidence and eyewitness statements it sounds like the armed citizen was well within his rights to use deadly force in defense of himself and others.
TIME IS RUNNING OUT….
The Illinois State Rifle Association is offering a special sale on Life and other upgraded memberships. Please check your mail and take advantage of this offer. Upgrades must be postmarked by Oct. 16. If you didn’t receive it in the mail, please call the office at (815) 635-3198. We can easily upgrade your membership on the phone.
September 21, 1942, Superfortress Bomber
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Flying Fortress, the Superfortress was designed for high-altitude strategic bombing, but also excelled in low-altitude night incendiary bombing, and in dropping naval mines to blockade Japan. B-29s dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only aircraft ever to drop nuclear weapons in combat.
The B-29 was designed to reach Europe on bombing missions. The B-29 was an effort to do that – to design a bomber that could reach Europe from the United States. The first prototype made its maiden flight from Boeing Field, Seattle, on this day.
September 22, 1862, Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Proclamation had the effect of changing the legal status of more than 3.5 million enslaved African Americans in the secessionist Confederate states from enslaved to free. As soon as slaves escaped the control of their enslavers, either by fleeing to Union lines or through the advance of federal troops, they were permanently free. In addition, the Proclamation allowed for former slaves to “be received into the armed service of the United States”. The Emancipation Proclamation was a significant part of the end of slavery in the United States.
Its third paragraph reads: …” All persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, … shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; … will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.
September 22, 1985, Farm Aid Concert
In the 1980s, family farmers faced a crisis the likes of which hadn’t been seen since the Great Depression. Plummeting farm product prices and land values, rising interest rates, troubled credit markets, and unfair lending practices pushed tens of thousands of farms out of business, forcing millions of people off their land.
It was in this context that Willie Nelson, joined by John Mellencamp and Neil Young, organized a groundbreaking concert in 1985 to raise awareness and funds to help America’s family farmers, sparking a family farm movement that continues to this day. The show was put together in six weeks and was held on September 22, 1985, in Champaign, Illinois before a crowd of 80,000 people. It raised over $7 million for America’s family farmers. Performers included Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, Loretta Lynn, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and many more.
September 23, 1806, Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition took a total of 2 years, 4 months, and 9 days. Beginning on May 14, 1804, and ending on September 23, 1806. The Corps of Discovery Expedition, also known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country. President Thomas Jefferson commissioned the expedition shortly after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. One of his goals was to explore and map the newly acquired territory, to find “the most direct and practicable water communication across this continent, for the purposes of commerce.”, and to establish an American presence in this territory before European powers attempted to establish claims.
The expedition was a select group of U.S. Army and civilian volunteers under the command of Captain Meriwether Lewis and his close friend Second Lieutenant William Clark. Clark and 30 members set out from Camp Dubois (Camp Wood), Illinois, on May 14, 1804, then met Lewis and ten other members in St. Charles, Missouri, then started up the Missouri River, for the first phase of their exploration. The return voyage began on March 23, 1806, at Fort Clatsop, Oregon, ending 7 months later.
September 23, 1949, Soviet Atomic Bomb Project
President Truman issued a terse statement announcing that the US government had “evidence that within recent weeks an atomic explosion occurred in the U.S.S.R”. The Soviet atomic bomb project was the classified research and development program that was authorized by Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union to develop nuclear weapons during and after World War II. Although the Soviet scientific community discussed the possibility of an atomic bomb throughout the 1930s, going as far as making a concrete proposal to develop such a weapon in 1940, the full-scale program was not initiated and prioritized until Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union.
On 29 August 1949, the Soviet Union secretly conducted its first successful weapon test. The nuclear-armed Soviet Union escalated the Cold War with the United States to the possibility of nuclear war and ushered in the doctrine of mutually assured destruction.
September 24, 1789, First U.S. Supreme Court
Since the Supreme Court was established in 1789, 116 people have served on the Court.
The Supreme Court was created by Article III of the United States Constitution, and was organized by the 1st United States Congress. Through the Judiciary Act of 1789, Congress specified the Court’s original and appellate jurisdiction, created thirteen judicial districts, and fixed the number of justices at six (one chief justice and five associate justices). The first justices were: John Jay (chief justice), John Blair Jr., William Cushing, John Rutledge, James Wilson and Robert Hanson Harrison, who declined to serve. The seat remained empty until the confirmation of James Iredell in 1790. Since 1789, Congress has occasionally altered the size of the Supreme Court, historically in response to the country’s own expansion in size. The Judiciary Act of 1869 restored the Court’s size to nine members, where it has remained ever since.
September 25, 1775, Capturing of an English Traitor
In 1775, Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold, and the Green Mountain Boys successfully captured Fort Ticonderoga from British soldiers. Later that year, and after aborting a poorly planned and ill-timed attack on the city of Montreal, he was captured by the British on September 25, 1775. After being identified as an officer of the Continental Amy, he was taken prisoner and sent to England to be executed.
He spent the next two and a half years as a British prisoner, enduring harsh conditions in British castles, New York City jails, and on prison ships known as hulks. He was exchanged in May 1778 and wrote A Narrative of Col. Ethan Allen’s Captivity (1779), a work that lambasted the British government for his treatment. His writing became second only to Thomas Paine’s Common Sense in influence on popular American thought about the conduct of the war.
September 26, 1918, the Meuse-Argonne offensive opened WWI
At 5:30 on the morning of September 26, 1918, after a six-hour-long bombardment over the previous night, more than 700 Allied tanks, followed closely by infantry troops, advanced against German positions in the Argonne Forest and along the Meuse River. The initiative was to be the beginning of the end, of WWI.
September 26, 1820, Boonesboro Frontiersman Dies
On this day, pioneering frontiersman Daniel Boone dies quietly in his sleep at his son’s home near present-day Defiance, Missouri, unofficially ending the colonial period of the United States. The indefatigable voyager was 86.
Boone was born in 1734 to Quaker parents living in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Boone’s family eventually settled in the Yadkin Valley of North Carolina. There the young Daniel Boone began his life-long love for wilderness and developed his passion for the outdoors. He quickly became a superb sharpshooter, hunter, and woodsman.
As an adult, he was never satisfied to stay put for very long. He opened the route that became known as Boone’s Trace between the Cumberland Gap and a new settlement along the Kentucky River called Fortress Boonesboro. After years of struggles against both Native Americans and British soldiers, Boonesboro eventually became one of the most important gateways for the early white American settlement of the Trans-Appalachian West.
Made a legend in his own time by John Filson’s Boone Autobiography and Lord Byron’s depiction of him as the quintessential frontiersman in the book Don Juan., Boone became a symbol of the Western pioneering spirit for many Americans. Boone moved even further west in 1799. Finally settling in Missouri, he lived out the rest of his life doing what he loved best: hunting and trapping in a land still largely untouched by the Anglo pioneers who had followed the path he blazed to the West.
September 26, 1944, Slaughtering in Arnhem
On September 26, 1944, Operation Market Garden, a plan to seize bridges in the Dutch town of Arnhem, failed, as thousands of British and Polish troops were killed, wounded, or taken prisoner. This was the idea of British General Bernard Montgomery, which turned out to be a disaster. Most American generals were opposed to Operation Market Garden, but the plan went forward as a courtesy to the British.
September 27, 1939, Warsaw Falls to Nazis
140,000 Polish troops are taken prisoner by the German invaders as Warsaw surrenders to Hitler’s army. The Poles fought bravely but were able to hold on for only 26 days.
On the heels of its victory, the Germans began a systematic program of terror, murder, and cruelty, executing members of Poland’s middle and upper classes: Doctors, teachers, priests, landowners, and businessmen were rounded up and killed. The Nazis had given this operation the benign-sounding name “Extraordinary Pacification Action. Hundreds of thousands of Poles were driven from their homes and relocated east, as Germans settled in the vacated areas.
This was all part of Hitler’s master plan. Back in August, Hitler warned his own officers that he was preparing Poland for that “which would not be to the taste of German generals”–including the rounding up of Polish Jews into ghettos, a prelude to their liquidation. All roads were pointing to Auschwitz.
Click here to view the entire calendar.
All classes and events are open to the public & all range members, unless otherwise noted.
For every person concerned about self-defense,
concealed carry license holders, and concealed carry instructors.
Please click here for details on how to sign up.
Don’t wait to sign up – it’ll fill up fast!
Black Powder rifles with iron open sights; flintlock rifles or smooth bore. Open to the public. Registration at 7:30 am. Adults: $20, Juniors under age 18 – $15. Walk-ins welcome: $25, Juniors $20. CONTACT:
Thomas Fahrenbach at tef1@att.net, or Tom Spurlock at tom.spurlock@outlook.com
Sept. 24 – ISRA Academy’s offers NRA Basic Class
Sept. 24 – Glock Fall League, Range 11
Sept. 24 – Basic Illinois Concealed Carry Renewal
9-21 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Women’s Team Pistol Practice – Range 1
9-22 No classes
9-23 8:00 am – 8:00 pm Troop SeaScout Ship #4107 – Range 1, 2, 6, Pavilion
8:00 am – 6:00 pm Advanced Tactical Pistol – Range 11 & Clubhouse – CANCELLED
10:00 am – 1:00 pm Basic Pistol Marksmanship – Range 8
9-24 8:00 am – 6:00 pm Advanced Tactical Pistol – Range 10 & Clubhouse – CANCELLED
8:00 am – 5:00 pm ISRA Academy NRA Basic Pistol Class – Clubhouse, Range 1
8:30 am – 12:00 pm Glock Fall League – Range 11
1:00 pm – 5:00 pm Basic IL CCL – Range 10
9-25 No classes
9-26 11:30 am – 7:00 pm Tuesday Night Irregular Rifles – Range 3 & Pavilion
9-27 8:00 am – 5:00 pm F-Class Rifle League – Range 3
8:00 am – 7:00 pm Benchrest League – Range 4
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Women’s Team Pistol Practice – Range 1
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Paper Steel League – Range 11
Interested in joining a league?
Just show up 15 – 30 minutes early.
Thank you for being a member!
If you are not an ISRA member, join today!
Donate: https://isra.org/support-us/
Visit: www.isra.org
Upcoming Meetings: https://isra.org/isra-activities-and-events/
Upcoming Range Events: https://isra.org/the-range/#range-calendar
While the gun show information shown in this email is believed to be accurate – sometimes changes occur. This is provided for informational purposes only.
September 23 National Civil War and Collector Arms Show, DuPage County Fairgrounds, Wheaton
September 23 – 24 Chillicothe Sportsmen’s Club Gun & Knife Show, Chillicothe
Sept. 30 – Oct. 1 Central Illinois Gun Collectors Assoc. Sangamon County Fairgrounds, New Berlin
October 8 Kane County Sportsman’s Show, Kane County Fairgrounds, St. Charles
October 22 McHenry County Gun Show, McHenry County Fairgrounds, Woodstock
October 28 – 29 Sauk Trail Gun Show, Bureau County Fairgrounds, Princeton
November 4 – 5 Decatur Gun & Knife Show, Decatur Conference Center, Decatur
November 4 – 5 ECA Hunting & Trade Shows, Belle-Clair Fairgrounds, Belleville
November 4 – 5 Kankakee Gun & Sportsman’s Show, Kankakee County Fairgrounds, Kankakee
November 12 Kane County Sportsman’s Show, Kane County Fairgrounds, St. Charles
November 19 McHenry County Gun Show, McHenry County Fairgrounds, Woodstock
November 25 – 26 Central IL Gun Collectors Association, Sangamon Co. Fairgrounds, New Berlin
November 25 – 26 Sauk Trail Gun Show, Bureau County Fairgrounds, Princeton
November 26 – Lake County Gun & Sportsman Show, Antioch VFW, Antioch
December 2 – 3 Will County Gun Show, Will County Fairgrounds, Peotone
December 2 – 3 Chillicothe Sportsmen’s Club Gun & Knife Show, Chillicothe Sportsmen’s Club House, Chillicothe