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Thompson Center Venture Rifle Recall Notice
S&W Issues Recall Notice PRODUCT: Thompson Center Venture Rifle.

Thompson/Center Arms T/C Venture Rifle

Thompson Center Arms

ROCHESTER, NH --(Ammoland.com)- DESCRIPTION OF THE HAZARD: During an internal technical review, Smith & Wesson determined that some of the sears used on Venture rifles produced from August 1, 2011 to October 28, 2011, may not have been manufactured to specification.

Because the sear is an important part of the firing mechanism, we are asking that all of the rifles produced during this time period be returned to Smith & Wesson so that the firearm can be inspected by our technicians to ensure that the rifle operates in a safe and appropriate manner.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRODUCT INVOLVED: This recall applies only to Venture rifles manufactured from August 1, 2011 to October 28, 2011. To determine if your rifle is affected, please reference the serial number list located at www.smith-wesson.com/venturerecall or by calling Smith & Wesson directly at 1-800-713-0356. If your serial number does not fall within the list of affected serial numbers, your rifle is not part of this recall.

REMEDY/ACTION TO BE TAKEN: STOP USING YOUR RIFLE. Any unintended discharge of a firearm has the potential to cause injury, and we ask that you stop using your rifle until we have an opportunity to inspect the sear to make certain that there is no condition which will allow the rifle to fire without the trigger being pulled. To facilitate the inspection and repair, if necessary, of your rifle sear, please contact Smith & Wesson’s customer service department to receive instructions and a prepaid return label for the return of your rifle to Smith & Wesson. When you return your rifle to Smith & Wesson, be sure to attach the completed information card received from Smith & Wesson, so that your sear can be inspected and repaired, and returned to you as quickly and efficiently as possible.

VERIFICATION OF CORRECTIVE ACTION: When your rifle sear is returned, you should note a punch dot on the trigger assembly. This punch dot is confirmation that your sear has been inspected and the hazard has not been found or has been corrected.

CONSUMER CONTACT: Please contact Smith & Wesson directly at 1-800-713-0356, or at venturerecall@smith-wesson.com to arrange for the inspection and repair, if necessary, of your rifle.

Filed under: Firearm News, Shooting Industry News by Ammoland No Comments »

Coffee Talk with Julie Golob, and Her Julie-Double
By Tom McHale

Julie Golob and Her Julie-Double Shooting the Heck Out of Stuff (Original Photos: Yamil Sued)

My Gun Culture

USA --(Ammoland.com)- Today we continue our quest to speak with fun and interesting people in the shooting industry. We’d like to thank Julie Golob, coffee aficionado, for sharing some time with us. In case you don’t know, in addition to roasting her own Major Power Factor coffee, she also shoots at a lot of things. So we hear…

My Gun Culture: Congratulations on completion of your first book: SHOOT – Your Guide to Shooting and Competition! How on earth did you find time to do that? We’re guessing you had the laptop out between stages at Bianchi. Or did you have a Julie-double competing at some of the matches?

Julie: Thanks so much! You know… the Julie-double was a great idea at first until I realized she didn’t write so well and she didn’t win matches! I had to let her go in Colby Donaldson style and tell her she “fired her last shot.” In all seriousness though, writing a book turned out to be much more difficult than I ever imagined it would be. I had to tackle it like I would a checklist to stay on track. There were definitely a lot of late nights and I am so glad to be done reading all the different sports’ rulebooks!

My Gun Culture: We’ve had similar troubles. Fembot Julie-doubles are great at shooting but kind of lousy at office work. If you had to pick one piece of advice from your new book “Shoot” that you’re most passionate about, what would that be?

Julie: What I want people to take away from the book is that safety is first and foremost whenever dealing with firearms and to go ahead, get out there and try your hand at shooting. There are so many shooting sports and I believe there’s one suited for everyone. Go for it, be safe and have fun!

My Gun Culture: While flying over Montana recently, I could have sworn I smelled coffee beans roasting. Any ideas why?

Julie: You did??? Well it wasn’t from my house! Book writing and training kept me from that hobby this year but now that you mention it that’s on my winter to do list. I LOVE it! I even roasted batches for Christmas gifts one year with signature roasts – double tap roast, powder burn, etc. in major and minor power factor, of course! If you love coffee and you’ve never had fresh roasted beans, I highly recommend it!

My Gun Culture: Just hypothetically speaking, if your daughter follows in your footsteps, but winds up shooting for, oh, say Team Glock or Team Sig, will you still attend her wedding?

Julie: Absolutely! You just won’t see any of those plastic gun key chains as wedding favors, the reception won’t be at the Sig academy and the mother of the bride will be in Smith & Wesson blue with a splash of Benelli red, of course.

My Gun Culture: Speaking of weddings, we couldn’t help but notice that your maiden and married names both start with a “G.” Call us skeptical, but doesn’t this mean you didn’t have to change the monograms on your towels? This wasn’t a marriage of convenience was it?

Julie: Too funny! It’s actually more than just the ‘G’ part. I only had to drop the “ski” and add a “b.”  I remember when I first met him, I thought, “wow… our names are so similar!” I prefer to think that it means that we are meant for each other though.

My Gun Culture: Recently you won the USPSA Ladies Revolver Championship, making you the only competitor in history to win National Championships in all six USPSA divisions.  Some people are saying this is a result of you possessing all five Sankara Stones from Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom. As these stones are known to help fight the forces of evil, that seems to be a plausible explanation. While there are no current USPSA rulings related to use of Sankara Stones, many are concerned about the precedent. How do you respond to these accusations?

Julie: Yes, I admit to having connections in the government, but when I put in the request to acquire the five Sankara stones to commemorate my wins in five divisions of USPSA it just made sense. After all, they were just sitting there in that big warehouse next to the Ark collecting dust. Even with the shipping, excise tax and dangerous goods fees it was well worth it and come to find out, tax deductible! I admit to having an edge over the other person in consideration, to house the stones. Some guy named, Robert Leatham had also applied. Who’s that guy? But, being former AMU (Army Marksmanship Unit) I had the edge. To anyone who has a beef with it, you carry those things around in your shooting bag at a Nationals. They may “glow” and all, but they easily weigh fifteen pounds each. Add to it the ammo, water, snacks, etc. I had to train for months just to carry my bag! Truth be told, I am sending them back.  I’m all into the number six now.

My Gun Culture: We’ve noticed that you’ve been competing in 3 Gun Competitions recently. If there were a 5 Gun match, what would your other two choices be?

Julie: That’s easy! Machine gun, preferably the gatling gun and then a cannon shoot. I SO want to shoot a cannon.

My Gun Culture: I have a great lead for you on that. Last spring, the folks at LuckyGunner.com hosted a mega-shoot event and I was able to shoot a Napoleonic Field Artillery cannon. Shoots a 12 pound cannonball you know, and does a heckuva job on old cars. I think it would work great for you, but you’d have to talk the folks at Smith & Wesson into springing for a pretty hefty 4 wheeler to lug it around the matches…

We’d like to thank Julie Golob for taking time out of her busy schedule shooting the heck out of various things to do this interview. We hope you enjoyed learning a few new and interesting things about the only woman, man, or child to win National Titles in all six USPSA divisions. Don’t forget to check out Julie’s new book, available for pre-order now!

About: Tom McHale describes himself as a conservative gun-totin’ bible-clingin’ literary assault dude who enjoys finding humor in just about anything. His web blog My Gun Culture is an irreverent, twisted look at gun news bordering on the ridiculous. It covers shootin’ stuff, loud noises, defending your own, the occasional mall ninja, and about 200 years of the American way. “These are the (partially) true stories of… My Gun Culture” says Tom. Visit: www.mygunculture.com

Filed under: Competitive Shooting News, Featured Articles, Shooting Industry News by MyGunCulture No Comments »