August 6, 2026

Thursday Bulletin – August 6, 2026 Executive Director's Message Richard Pearson A Brief History Of The Winchester Junior Rifle Corps President Theodore Roosevelt established the National Matches and the Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice in the Appropriations Act of 1903. The Appropriations Act also established the idea of state associations to promote marksmanship. The purpose of those associations was to train civilians in marksmanship prior to service in the United States Army. The Illinois State Rifle Association was formed almost immediately thereafter, making it the first, or one of the first, associations formed. When Roosevelt was forming the First United States Volunteer Cavalry in 1898, he discovered that the best marksmen were in the civilian population, not the United States military. His goal was to enshrine principles of marksmanship in civilian groups, not the military. It worked. Excellent marksmanship is not a skill learned in a few hours—it...

July 30, 2026

Thursday Bulletin – July 30, 2026 Executive Director's Message Richard Pearson Civilian Marksmanship Program Announces Sale Of M14s Excerpt from Article by Cam Edwards of bearingarms.com  To read the entire article, CLICK HERE. The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) has offered military surplus rifles for sale to members of CMP-affiliated clubs for many years. After approvals from the Army and ATF, it has been announced that the CMP will soon start selling over 100,000 historic M14 rifles to American citizens with the first sales now expected to occur in late 2026. The CMP revealed that the rifles will be modified to be "permanently and irreversibly semi-automatic rifles," and will be "fully compliant with CMP enabling legislation authorizing the transfer and sale of military surplus .30 caliber rifles." This could open the door to apply the same logic to the millions of surplus 5.56 firearms (M16A1, A2, A4s, etc.) in military storage,...

July 23, 2026

Thursday Bulletin – July 23, 2026 Executive Director's Message Richard Pearson Litigation Update Usually, this time of year is as dull as can be as far as litigation goes but not this year.   Here are the reasons.  The Seventh Circuit, which is the federal appeals court for Illinois, has ruled the Cook County semi-auto ban constitutional. The Supreme Court of the United States ( SCOTUS ) was requested to issue a writ of certiorari to the Seventh Circuit, and it has done so.  A writ of certiorari is an order from a higher court to a lower court to send a certain case up for review. The lawsuit is Viramontes v Cook County, which has been combined with a Connecticut lawsuit, Grant v Higgins. Connecticut has a similar semi-auto and magazine ban. The Seventh Circuit has also ruled the Protect Illinois Communities Act ( PICA ), the Illinois semi-auto...