Update:

FCI staff would like to apologize to our members for the long lapse between newsletters. The reason for this lapse will become clear in this newsletter, but we felt the time has come to share some of our long-range plans with our members. We thank you for your patience and your support. We do want you to know we have been watching what has been going on in the fight to preserve our rights and for the first time since FCI was founded, this year has been very quiet on the political front and we've used that time to reorganize our mission statement.

MOU with NRA:

John Sigler, Reid Woodward and Mike Krei

In January of 2009 while at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas, President Reid Woodward of the Fifty Caliber Shooters Assn., Inc. (FCSA), Mike Krei of NRA's Sport Shooting Division and John Sigler, then President of the National Rifle Association (NRA) signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that joined the two organizations together in an effort to advance and promote the fifty caliber shooting sports in America. . One of the side effects of the MOU was to strengthen even further our already strong and effective ties with the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) in our fight to protect the legislative rights of the fifty caliber community. Having ILA join us in the legislative fight was an incredible step forward and has improved our chances as well as the resources available to us to better accomplish our job.

With the signing of the MOU, FCI immediately began focusing on how to better improve and expand services where we could. As a result, since January FCI has been undergoing a long process of refining our mission, reorganizing our resources and expanding the services we can now provide to the fifty caliber community. This is the primary reason you haven't heard from us since earlier this year. We want to assure you the doors of FCI remain open with a mission to continue our role in the never-ending fight to protect our 2^nd Amendment rights and at the same time expand our role to become the 'go to' reference source where the media and other professional organizations can quickly get accurate answers regarding the .50 BMG.

We are (and have been) in the process of modifying our mission to meet the new demands that our sport faces. Our plans are being worked out closely with the leadership of FCSA and as we refine our mission, we will keep you informed about the precise direction we are going.

Reorganization:

NRA President John Sigler, new FCI/FCSA Spokesman

One of the changes we want to announce will be occurring immediately. A proposal has been made to our good friend and strong supporter Mr. John Sigler to join the Board of Directors of FCI as President. As many of you know John Sigler has been a strong voice in support of the Fifty Caliber Community since he shot his first 50 caliber rifle in Reno, NV in 2002. Now that he has stepped down from his term as President of NRA, John has the time and can make the commitment to be an active participant in our fight to protect our sport. John has accepted an offer to join the FCI Board of Directors during the annual BoD meeting at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas and will assume the responsibilities of being the "Voice for the Fifty Caliber Community". John will assume the role as primary spokesperson and media contact for FCI & FCSA as well as Legislative Director and President of FCI. I will stay on as Chairman and will be responsible for fundraising, newsletters and running the FCI office.

Other Recent Changes:

In addition to having John Sigler join FCI, Our Executive Director Keith Pagel, has recently accepted the position of Editor of the Very High Power magazine over at FCSA and I have been re-elected to another term of office as a member of the Board of Directors of FCSA. I was also re-elected to a 2^nd term on the Board of Directors of NRA. All of these appointments and overlapping relationships help us to maintain the needed communication between each of the organizations that help us to protect our 2^nd Amendment rights. We are all in this fight together and the stronger the relationships are between each of the organizations, the better chance we have to meet the challenges that are coming.

Thank You:

FCI wants to say thank you to everyone who is reading this. If you're reading this, sometime during the past ten years you've taken the time to fill out a coupon and send us a check for $25. Your unswerving support over these long years is what has kept our doors open. We want to tell you thank you very much. You've never let us down and your support is a key to our success and very much appreciated.

Keith Pagel and I monitor all of the incoming mail from our members. Over the past ten years we've both come to recognize certain names of people who send their contributions as well as many who write us a letter. Many of these people we have never met. We've just come to recognize their names and see them as dedicated supporters of something we all believe in. We just wanted to be sure you know how we feel. We really appreciate the support we've received over the years. And as the Chairman of this organization I just want everyone who has stood behind us to realize something. The fifty caliber community is a very small part of the shooting sports in America. We are a "niche" group and that's why the anti-gunners picked us out as easy prey back in 1999. They thought we would just roll over and be an easy target for their filth. Well, that didn't happen and it didn't happen because of your belief in what we do and your support. You need to be proud of that. We've held the wolf at the door for ten years and we continue to develop support and build on relationships throughout the shooting community. We continue to get stronger and we continue to get better at how we do our job. That again is because of your help and support. Without your belief in FCI and our cause, this would not work. And that's why we wanted to say THANK YOU!

What's Coming:

If you've seen our flyer for our current fundraiser, you know what we are thinking. This is "The Gathering Storm" time period. Our country is faced with the toughest challenges to our individual freedoms that the American Republic has ever faced, bar none. How much we let Barack Obama get away with in the coming months will be the measure of how bad it will get.

Like many of you, I attended my Congressman's 'Town Hall Meetings' over the summer. I was privileged to attend one hosted by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) here in OKC. During the meeting (heavily attended by SEIU people supporting Obama), Senator Coburn was very casual when he commented, "President Obama didn't lie to us about what he wants to do to America, we just didn't listen to what he was saying." I think Senator Coburn was exactly right. All we have to do is look at what he's done since being elected and I think we can see clearly what his intents are.

Right now, the big crisis facing America is trying to stop this Health Care Bill from passing. You may think this has nothing to do with your rights as gun owners but it does. Buried deep within these bills that are coming out of the back rooms of the democratically controlled Congress is subtle language and aggressive funding for programs that will impact all of us.

I haven't been able to obtain an electronic copy of the latest Health Care Bill by Reid & Pelosi, (2000 pages), but I suspect there is language in that bill they don't want us to see either. The Obama administration is attacking the American Way of Life from every direction. Each of these attacks has a direct affect on our individual freedoms and that includes our 2nd Amendment rights.

I can't help but believe these are very dangerous times. Please get involved in what is happening at your local and state levels. Let your Congressional Representatives know your feelings. Let's not let what happened in Europe in 1938 happen here.

EDM Arms Windrunner Model 96 Bolt Action .50 Caliber Rifle: