AMERICAN RIFLEMAN has been the foremost objective voice on firearms and the shooting sports. Now the editors of American Rifleman have put all that expertise and experience together in a weekly television magazine for shooters, by shooters. “American Rifleman Television,” which debuted in January 2003 on The Outdoor Channel, follows the general editorial approach of the magazine, but with a few twists. In short, it’s a shooting show like no other. It is designed to appeal to the interests of firearm owners, shooters, hunters and collectors.

AMERICAN RIFLEMAN, with familiar faces and names appearing on camera, such as Editor In Chief Mark A. Keefe, IV, Senior Executive Editor Brian C. Sheetz, Managing Editor Chad Adams, Field Editor Michael O. Humphries and National Firearms Museum Senior Curator Philip Schreier.

There are 26 new episodes of the weekly half-hour show, and it airs exclusively on The Outdoor Channel three times a week throughout the year:
Saturday at 9:30 p.m., Wednesday at 5 p.m. and Monday at 9 a.m. EST. Following is a description of segments that will appear on the weekly show offering something for everyone.

DATA & COMMENT FIELD EVALUATIONS 
Just as generations of NRA members have come to rely on the magazine’s “Dope Bag: Data & Comment” section for the objective, unvarnished truth in the description of new firearms, so, too, will the show’s “Data & Comment Field Evaluations” cover new rifles, shotguns, handguns and other shooting equipment. Evaluations are made using the same unbiased criteria used in the “Dope Bag.” In evaluating and shooting the guns to be reviewed, we sought the most interesting and visually exciting venues we could find to wring out each firearm’s performance. Basic information as to how the guns operate, their features and their context are provided. Just as in the “Dope Bag,” a description of the gun’s features is shown in a specification table that scrolls across the screen as it is evaluated. There will be two Data & Comment Field Evaluations per episode, and we promise to keep a good mix of all the many new firearms available in this segment.

FIREARMS HERITAGE 
One of many things that sets American Rifleman apart is the magazine’s coverage of historical firearms—and that’s the case with “American Rifleman Television” as well. In preparing the show, we have sought out the nation’s top experts and authorities on various significant arms to provide not only a history and description of famous firearms from our past, but their context as well. You’ll see familiar names and faces such as American Rifleman Contributing Editor Bruce N. Canfield, Garry James, Philip Schreier, North-South Skirmish Ass’n National Commander and distinguished Civil War arms authority Jerry Coates and many, many more. Guns like the Springfield 1861 Rifle Musket, to the Browning Auto-5, to the Mauser 98, to the Colt 1851 Navy will be covered with archival footage and photographs.

NATIONAL TREASURES FROM THE NATIONAL FIREARMS MUSEUM 
Hosted by National Firearms Museum Curator of Educational Programs Philip Schreier, this segment is an inside look at significant guns from the National Firearms Museum collection. It takes some of the most interesting arms on display in the museum and shares these “National Treasures” with the entire nation—not just those able to visit the facility in
Fairfax, Va.

I HAVE THIS OLD GUN ... 
The closing segment of each show features “American Rifleman Television’s” panel of firearm authorities from all over the country providing the background, history and an approximate value for guns brought to the panel by individual NRA members at the NRA National Gun Collectors Show in Kansas City, KS. On the panel are Executive Field Editor Garry James, Blue Book of Gun Values author and publisher Steve Fjested, NRA Director and arms historian Jim Supica, Phil Schreier, and other distinguished arms authorities including Ron Peterson and Frank Sellers. The guns featured range from the common to the extremely rare. Keep your eye on this segment as the guns described—and appraised—might be similar to ones in your collection. We’ll keep you posted on where our panel will appear next.

Regardless of where your particular interests lie, no doubt you’ll agree that there’s something for everyone on “American Rifleman Television.” Join us!

HOW TO GET THE OUTDOOR CHANNEL 
Based in Temecula, Calif., The Outdoor Channel—since 1993—has been the only national cable television network dedicated to providing the best in traditional outdoor programming to American viewers. The Outdoor Channel is available to every cable provider in the country and is sometimes carried as part of the basic cable package or an advanced digital cable package. If your cable operator doesn’t currently offer The Outdoor Channel, call or write them and ask for it. Now, if you don’t have cable or your cable operator won’t add the channel, you have the following options. In October 2002, The Outdoor Channel signed a deal with DIRECTV and is now available as part of their “SPORTS Pack” or it can be added individually (“á la carte”) to any existing package for only $1.99 a month. The Outdoor Channel is also available on DISH Network as part of the “America’s Top 150” package or “á la carte” for $1.99 a month. It might even help persuade your cable operator to carry the channel if you tell them you are considering a switch to either of these services. For more information on availability of The Outdoor Channel, just visit its website at www.outdoorchannel.com. It even has a downloadable sample letter to send to your cable operator!