The Satuit Nimrod

News Around The Club

Our fiscal year begins Tuesday, September 1st. In a departure from normal, we will hold the September meeting on that day. This will also be Key Night when we change the locks; new keys are free, replacements are $5.00. Dues must be paid by this date. Range access fobs will be turned off for those not up to date with dues.

During the September 1st. meeting we will adjourn for a Bylaw Change Meeting. We have only achieved a quorum at our monthly meetings once in 2026! We are approaching 500 members and have grown too large to consistently make a quorum as laid out in the current Bylaws. The Board of Directors (E-board) had to step in and vote in new members at their monthly meetings, along with taking over the general running of the club. The proposed changes we will be voting on will codify how the club is run by the Board of Directors going forward. This will also bring us into line with how the vast majority of sportsmen's clubs, like ours, are run.

Another important date in September is Monday, September 21st when we will hold our Annual Meeting and Election. The Chairmen of the various committees give their annual reports and we elect officers for the new fiscal year. A Nominating Committee was formed at the August E-Board meeting meeting. The positions open are displayed on the large green chalkboard. You can write in your name on the chalk board under the position in which you are interested or contact the Nominating Committee.

What Happened To The July Edition?

The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed there was no July edition. Your editor tripped in the parking lot in June and injured his left knee and leg. After a few hospital stays, his knee is nearly back to normal and he can sit at his desk again.

Skeet and Trap

The new skeet machines have been installed and are running well. Thanks go out to Bill O'Neil for the work he put into researching and procuring the machines.

Skeet  shoots on Sunday from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm and Wednesdays from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm.
Trap shoots on Tuesdays from 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm and Saturdays from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm.

End times may be rolled back if there is no interest — best to shoot early.

Pistol

We shot six relays in August's "Miss and You're Out!" match. Winners were: Relay 1 – Phil Lennon, Relay 2 – Paul Fig, Relay 3 – Dick Martin, Relay 4 – Ed Hunnifeld, Relay 5 – Sue Lennon and Relay 6 – Dick Martin. Relay 5 was interesting in that it pitched Sue Lennon against hubby, Phil Lennon, in the shoot-off on the Quick Draw target that establishes a winner. In true "Phil Lennon" form Phil was in a hurry, rushed the shot, and missed! Sue took her time in hitting the plate, thus showing Phil the error of his ways.

The Pistol Committee will hold a "Lucky Bullseye" Pistol Match on Saturday, September 19th starting at 10:00 am. The course of fire for this shoot involves two paper targets. The first is a standard  Bullseye Target the second is a Lucky Target, the same as we use at the Turkey Shoots. The scores of the two targets are added together with the Lucky Target adding a measure of randomness to the shooter's score. The Bullseye Target is shot with 10 rounds from any range-legal pistol — single hand hold; the Lucky Target is shot with 5 rounds from a rimfire pistol — single or two hand hold.

No prizes, just bragging rights. $5 buys you an afternoon of shooting fun!

Cowboy Action Shooting

The Gunnysackers will be holding a Cowboy Action Shoot on Saturday, September 26th starting at 9:00 am.

This is the busy time of the year for Cowboy Action Shooting. Our little band of cowboys and cowgirls will the hitting the dusty highways and byways of this fair land to participate in state and local shoots far and wide, including the Maine State Championship and the Nationals in Oklahoma.

Safety Course

The monthly Safety Course is given on the first Wednesday and Thursday of the month. The next course will be given on October 7th and 8th. Register here.

Range Orientation Class

The next Range Orientation Class will be given on Sunday, October 11th at 9:00 am. This class is mandatory before you can access the pistol range. Register here.

Quotes of the Month

"Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property… Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them."

~ Thomas Paine. American Founding Father, philosopher, and political activist (1737–1809)

"Because you won't get gun control by disarming law abiding citizens. There's only one way to get real gun control: Disarm the thugs and the criminals, lock them up, and if you don't actually throw away the key, at least lose it for a long time."

~ Ronald Reagan.

"Nothing wrong with shooting…as long as the right people get shot ."

 ~ Clint Eastwood

Commerce Dept. Explains Why Unconstitutional Microstamping is Also Ineffective

This article appeared on August 31, 2026 in NRA-ILA.

On August 12, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) sent a letter to U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology Chairman Brian Babin (R-Texas) reiterating what gun rights supporters have long understood – that firearm microstamping is a flawed and ineffective policy.

The purported theory behind “microstamping” is that firearms could be equipped with a firing pin or other internal firearm part that could imprint unique microscopic identification marks (alphanumeric characters) onto ammunition cartridge cases when the gun is fired. Each firearm and its corresponding markings would be entered into a computerized database accessible to law enforcement before leaving the factory. According to microstamping proponents, when police recover a spent ammunition case from a crime scene they could then examine the markings on the case and use that information to identify the firearm used in the incident, as well as its owner. Gun control advocates seek to mandate that whatever firearms they aren’t insisting be banned at the moment be equipped with this technology.

Understanding gun control advocates’ civilian disarmament agenda, gun rights supporters are aware that this “theory” is merely another means of imposing prohibitive costs and other prior restraints on exercising Second Amendment rights.

Any debate over the efficacy of firearm microstamping technology should be moot on constitutional grounds.

In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the U.S. Supreme Court made clear that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms “‘in common use at the time’ for lawful purposes.” As none of the hundreds of millions of firearms Americans own and use for self-defense, hunting, target shooting, and other lawful purposes utilize this technology, the right to acquire, keep, and bear firearms without microstamping components is protected by the Second Amendment.

Moreover, in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022) the Court’s held that for a firearm regulation to pass constitutional muster it must fit within the text, history, and tradition of the Second Amendment right. The opinion stated,

[w]hen the Second Amendment’s plain text covers an individual’s conduct, the Constitution presumptively protects that conduct. The government must then justify its regulation by demonstrating that it is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. Only then may a court conclude that the individual’s conduct falls outside the Second Amendment’s “unqualified command.”

It should be obvious to all that there is not, and could not be, a historic tradition of requiring the manufacturing and sale of firearms that impart distinguishing alpha numeric characters onto ammunition casings, with the government keeping a database by which to track such firearm ammunition casing characters to individual firearms.

Still, the Court’s clear commands haven’t stopped anti-gun lawmakers. California, New Jersey, and New York all have laws requiring microstamping in some form upon determination that the technology is viable or available.

Further, directly athwart the Court’s emphasis on “historical tradition,” microstamping proponents have stressed the gun control scheme’s “innovative” quality.

In a February 28, 2024, press release announcing his finding that microstamping technology was viable, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin declared, “This technology gives law enforcement an innovative tool.” Another official from the attorney general’s office was quoted in the release as stating, “Attorney General Platkin has made this work a priority, and he recognizes that solving such a far-reaching problem requires bold steps and innovation.” A 2022 press release from gun control group Brady (formerly Handgun Control, Inc.) quoted Platkin referencing, “innovative policies and legislation like microstamping.”

On their websites, gun control groups Giffords and Everytown have described microstamping as “an innovative technology.” Addressing microstamping mandates, Everytown noted, “the California and New York laws are innovative.” In 2020 Brady President Kris Brown said, “microstamping is another such innovative policy that other states should take up.”

The NIST examined microstamping as a policy matter. In drafting the letter, NIST inspected the literature on microstamping to provide “a comprehensive summary of the best available evidence in the field.”

The letter explained that whether microstamping technology can reliably operate as intended has not been proven. NIST noted that “researchers found that legibility is inconsistent and that transfer rates vary by firearm and ammunition type.”

The letter also explained,

The Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners (AFTE) and the New York State (NYS) Firearm Technical Working Group (TWG) note that firing pins naturally wear over time. Furthermore, firearms produce residues such as propellant (gunpowder) and primer particles that can accumulate in the microscopic engravings, potentially obscuring the code.

…

Studies showed that firing pin motion, such as repeated strikes and drag, during discharge, can significantly impact the readability of microstamps.

…

Forensic science organizations and industry groups have voiced concerns about the technology’s inconsistent performance across different firearms and ammunition.

Then there is the most obvious flaw in the microstamping gun control scheme - circumvention.

The letter noted,

The technology is highly susceptible to deliberate circumvention. Microstamps on firing pins can be defaced or obliterated with basic household tools such as a sharpening stone, hammer, or small file. The research demonstrated that the firearm remained fully operational after removing the microstamp. Furthermore, because firing pins are replaceable parts, a user could easily swap a microstamped pin for an unmarked aftermarket version. It is important to note that replacing a firing pin can be part of routine maintenance or accommodate an owner’s preference. No realistic mitigation strategy currently exists to address these modifications, and critics argue this vulnerability undermines the technology’s effectiveness as a crime-solving tool.

Addressing the research on how criminals obtain firearms, NIST explained,

Further concerns point to government research that shows that “criminals do not typically obtain firearms through retail sources, opting instead to acquire firearms through theft, ‘Off the street/underground market,’ or ‘from a family member or friend, or as a gift’”. Therefore, efforts to trace back to the original purchaser may not lead directly to the perpetrator, limiting their investigative value.

Microstamping requirements are bad law, and as the NIST made clear in their letter, also flawed policy

Club Calendar

EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING

Tuesday, September 1st – 7:30 pm

MONTHLY MEETING also KEY NIGHT and BYLAW CHANGE MEETING

Tuesday, September 1st – 8:00 pm

SKEET

Sundays: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm.
Wednesdays: 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm.

TRAP

Tuesdays: 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Saturdays: 10:00 am – 1:00 pm.

PISTOL
Miss and You're Out! Pistol Match, Saturday, August 29th, 10:00 am.

COWBOY
Cowboy Action Match, Sunday August 30th, 9:00 am.

SAFETY COURSE

Wednesday, September 2nd –7:00 pm & Thursday, September 3rd  – 7:00 pm. Register here.

RANGE ORIENTATION CLASS
Thursday, September 3rd – 5:00 pm Register here.