Friday, we head into our annual hiatus to recharge, refresh and gear up for the coming year. It’s been quite a year. We’ve had new product rollouts debut on the wires, we’ve added Shooting News Weekly, our consumer service (no-charge subscription here), and we’ve had a lot of help in providing content for our service.

Friends in the industry retire soon – two come to mind immediately, including Bob Radecki – National Sales Manager for GLOCK, and “Gen1” Instructor Chris Edwards, also of GLOCK and GSSF. They have our best wishes for a long, happy retirement.

According to people in manufacturing and sales, there’s been a rebound in the revolver market –not just defense-type guns – and lever-action rifles. Meanwhile, the SIG P365 line continues to expand and gun makers continue to push striker-fired 9mm sidearms into the market – from the service and service-compact lines to micro-compacts, a good many new shooters enter firearms ownership with these classes of firearms.

We’ve seen some victories – some in legislatures, but some striking wins in the courts – as well as some “better luck next time” cases. We’ve seen the New York NRA case head to a close and we wait to see how the organization will reform. It’s clearly not the “terrorist organization” that New York Attorney General James said that she would “dismantle.” While she declares victory, it looks like the court may have merely turned it back over to the membership.

That remains to be seen.

In its place during the legal wrangling, other organizations have stepped forward. As others have noted, it’s appropriate to give – what you can – but putting it all in the hands of one organization isn’t enough these days.

An election took place this year. And what an election. Some history was made, like it or not. While 2020 was effectively reversed, it seems some of the down-ballot – in certain places, like those still counting only days ago – didn’t follow the trend. How that will play out in the federal legislature remains to be seen.

But it seems the pendulum hit the end of its leftward travel and it seems to be wandering back toward center. This isn’t a national trend alone, but it appears that the US election has sent reverberations through the world.

A recent distraction has been the mysterious drones. Flying over New Jersey – and one might well ask the point of that – certain videos I’ve seen clearly depict the approaches to one or more large airports. The drone footage I’ve seen has well-lit objects, flying at night, with the silhouette of the common fixed wing aircraft.

I haven’t seen all the potential evidentiary video – there are only so many hours in the day and I’ve recently acquired another descendant, something taking precedence over national panic.

I still can’t help but recall stories of a radio broadcast that created a similar panic, many years ago.

Speaking of “news,” it seems there’s growing support for a person accused of committing the murder of an unaware victim -- while there’s the “patellar reflex” (h/t, Stephen Wenger) regarding depraved murder at a Wisconsin school.

I believe most of our readers have been exposed to the surveillance video of a health insurance CEO murdered on the streets of Manhattan by a person armed with a silencer-equipped handgun. That the handgun failed to function – and that the shooter would go to the trouble of mounting a can to a pistol, then commit the murder in front of an eye-witness who was outside for a smoke, within feet of the event – tells a lot about the practical skill of the offender. More chilling, if that’s possible, is that many people have taken to social media calling the man accused of the crime a “hero,” among other accolades. They imply the victim deserved it.

That’s not us. The taking of human life is abhorrent to all except the depraved; if that human is completely unaware there’s a fight or is otherwise helpless to exercise self-defense, it’s worse. Remember – what you post on social media never truly disappears. If someone needs it, it’ll be found.

You’re not going to like the results.

Meanwhile, other evil parties used the killing of a child and a teacher at Abundant Life Christian School in Wisconsin. Not even waiting for the victims to cool, the usual perpetrators of political expediency and bad taste began to “dance in the blood.” Their solution? Punish those who are completely uninvolved, the American gun owner.

Using a playbook dating back to 1911, with the Sullivan Act – named for a rackets-involved state senator, their solution is always to “ban stuff” (something that worked so well with the Volstead Act), treating symptoms instead of the underlying disease.

This is something we can do without and it’s something I hope vanishes in the new year.

What’s coming up for the wires? More coverage about the industry and our areas of interest, even more new products as we careen headlong into SHOT Show.

Meanwhile, I’ll add my voice to those of all from the Outdoor Wire Digital Network in wishing all – including our subscribers, corporate members, advertisers – the merriest of Christmases and a happy, healthy and productive New Year.

-- Rich Grassi