Category: General

Ranew’s Firminator Disc Harrow: A Plow for All Conditions

Milner, GA – If you want to do the job right you should use the proper tool. Building food plots involves several very different tasks, each of which calls for specific and quite different tools. Furthermore, each site is unique, which means the best tools will have a certain degree of versatility. The engineers at Ranew’s have all this in mind when designing the Firminator – one tool that’s the right tool for almost any job. The disc harrow component emphasizes that being designed for the specific task of turning soil but with enough built-in versatility for almost any site conditions.

For starters, there’s no need to disk the soil with other equipment first. The Firminator will do every part of the preparing and planting process from start to finish. A wide range of angle and pitch adjustments allows you to perform many different functions for a variety of site and soil conditions.

Change the pitch by shortening or lengthening the top link adjustment of the three-point connection. Shortening leans the Firminator more heavily onto its disk assembly for a deeper cut. Mid range settings give you varying degrees of disk depth while still allowing the cultipacker to maintain good ground contact and continue breaking apart clods while leveling and firming the soil. Further lengthening allows disks to be carried up off the ground so the cultipacker can roll on the soil with additional frame weight to firm up the seed bed prior to planting small seed, and provide better seed-to-soil contact during the seeding pass.

Adjust disk angle aggressiveness to suit and loosen your particular soil type and situation easily by removing a pin and sliding the pivoting disk beam to one of many holes on an arc. Adjustments allow you to choose from straight, 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-degree angle settings for almost any soil condition imaginable. Use the straight or minimal angles for lightly opening thatch and soil to perform over-seeding without disturbing existing forages in no-till seeding situations. If a minimal till operation is desired, the angle and pitch can be adjusted to slightly cut through top litter without disturbing the soil excessively. Or, for new sites that may be choked with debris or a dense layer of sod you can set aggressive disk angles along with a heavy forward tilt of the entire unit for deeper disk penetration. Read more
General

Alaska: Kayakers Rescued with No Life Jackets, No Exposure Suits, Food or Water

JUNEAU, Alaska — The Coast Guard rescued two stranded kayakers Friday when they became stranded after paddling from Juneau to Couverden Island.

A Coast Guard 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Station Juneau picked up the kayakers from the northern tip of Couverden Island at approximately 10 p.m., then brought them to where they were parked near Statter Harbor in Auke bay. There were no injuries reported.

Watchstanders in the Sector Juneau command center received the initial phone call from one of the kayakers at approximately 9:15 p.m. requesting assistance. The kayaker indicated that he and another male friend had become exhausted after an approximate 9-hour, 23-mile paddle in their 10-foot kayaks. He expressed concerns about running out of daylight, having no lifejackets, no exposure suits, no warm clothing, no food, water, survival equipment, nor means of communication aside from a cell phone running low on battery.

“These kayakers made several all-too-common mistakes before heading out on the water yesterday,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Theodore Bach, Station Juneau response boat coxswain for the case. “They were lucky to have enough cell phone battery left to call for help. As the weather begins to warm up each spring, it is very common for boaters to head out on the water unprepared for the conditions. The water temperature is still frigid and the air temperatures at night still dip into the 30s. Hypothermia is just one way that Alaskan boaters die each spring.” Read more

General

Michigan: fuelwood permits are free in 2020; apply online now

Michigan residents now can apply online for a free permit to cut fuelwood from dead and downed trees in approved areas of Michigan’s state forests.

Fuelwood season will begin May 1, a month later than usual, because of statewide Department of Natural Resources office closures due to the COVID-19 virus.

DNR staff recommends that you visit the site where you plan to cut before applying for a permit. The quality and quantity of dead wood varies by location. Current maps of areas where cutting will be allowed are available online. The permit form is at Michigan.gov/Fuelwood. Print it, complete it, and carry it with you when you are cutting wood. If you have already submitted an application and payment, your check will be returned to you along with your permit. Permits are good for 90 days after they’re issued; all permits expire Dec. 31 regardless of issue date. Read more

General

Michigan DNR to allow open burning; permits still required

Just over a month since it suspended open burning across the state in response to COVID-19 concerns, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced that it will begin issuing burn permits.

“We’re going to issue burn permits based on local fire risk and weather conditions, just as we have always done,” said Dan Laux, fire section supervisor for the DNR’s Forest Resources Division. “We still expect people to practice social distancing and use good sense to prevent the possible transmission of the COVID-19 virus.”

Laux said that firefighters, now with a month of experience during the COVID-19 emergency, have better protocols in place to slow the spread of the virus.

The DNR issues burn permits online at Michigan.gov/BurnPermit if weather and fire danger conditions are favorable. In most of the southern Lower Peninsula, burn permits are issued by local fire departments and local government offices. Make sure to check local regulations before you burn. Read more

General

Michigan: Silver Lake State Park ORV Area Set to Open June 3

Contact: Jody Johnston, Silver Lake State Park manager, 231-721-5858

Visitors to the Silver Lake State Park ORV Area in Oceana County can tentatively plan for an opening date of Wednesday, June 3. That decision is in response to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s extension, through May 15, of her “Stay Home, Stay Safe” Executive Order (announced Friday) and the operational functions and preparation time associated with opening for the season.

The popular ORV scramble area typically opens April 1 each year. However, DNR parks and recreation staff recognized in mid-March that the coronavirus situation likely would cause serious delays, and at that time the department postponed the opening date to May 1 and also closed many amenities at state parks and recreation areas.

To prepare the ORV area for the riding season, tasks such as opening and cleaning bathrooms, hiring and training seasonal staff, maintaining infrastructure and making changes to safely reroute dune traffic will be completed once nonessential work is permitted. Staff is tentatively scheduled to begin working May 15 and the prep work is anticipated to take about three weeks. Read more
General

Federal Kubota Sweepstakes

ANOKA, Minnesota – – Whether it be deer or ducks, bulls or bears, scouting or sighting in: Federal Season is always in full swing. That is why Federal teamed with Kubota to give away a SideKick UTV that gets you, your gear and Federal Premium ammunition to the range, the field, and everywhere in between.

“We are very excited about this Sweepstakes, as it is one of the biggest prize packages Federal has ever done,” said Federal’s Sr. Brand Manager Brian Anderson. “Kubota is a great company with high quality products, and we are proud our brands have engaged together for this valuable giveaway.”

The SideKick UTV grand prize package also includes a big Federal-branded merchandise package including a shirt, hat, gun case, campfire ring and much more. Those entering can also opt-in to receive periodic emails about new products and special offers from Federal and Kubota.

The 2020 Federal Kubota Sweepstakes is open and offered only to current legal residents of the 48 contiguous United States and District of Columbia, who are at least 18 years of age or older (or 19 for residents of Alabama and Nebraska) at the time of entry. The Sweepstakes started April 14, 2020 and ends on July 31, 2020. The Random Drawing will take place on or about August 5, 2020. No purchase necessary. Limit one entry per entrant.

For details on how to enter, complete eligibility requirements, prizes, odds of winning, and full official rules, visit www.FederalKubotaSweeps.com. Read more
Ammunition, General

Most National Parks, Wildlife Refuges Remain Open

U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt

America’s public lands belong to the American people. In normal times, many of us regularly visit national parks, wildlife refuges, and other recreational sites spread out across more than 500 million acres of land managed by the Department of the Interior.

The nation’s public lands range from urban parks with roller-skating pavilions to iconic and popular venues for hiking, sightseeing, biking, hunting, fishing and other recreational activities.

But these are certainly not normal times.

President Trump has led and coordinated an “All-of-America” strategy to combat the coronavirus pandemic and slow the spread of the virus. Read more

General

AFTCO Buy-One, Give-One Fishing Mask Program

Santa Ana, CA – After the CDC updated their guidance recommending that all citizens wear a non-medical cloth face covering, AFTCO received an avalanche of requests for our fishing face masks. This opened our eyes to the far-reaching need for masks of any type. We also realized there will be a lot of masks that end up in the trash bin when this is all over.

We are in a unique position to address the urgent need for masks while keeping waste at a minimum. Our reusable fishing face masks perform double duty as CDC recommended cloth face coverings and functional UPF 40+ sun masks. In addition to selling our masks online at reduced prices in order to get them in hands of the public ASAP, we wanted to go one step further. After looking at many successful 1:1 give-back models, we felt compelled to create AFTCO’s own Buy 1, Give 1 Fishing Face Mask Program. Each mask purchased results in a donation to a community member in need. Read more

Fishing, General

Face Masks Available from Fishing and Hunting Gear Manufacturers

Minneapolis, MN – The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced on Friday new guidance to Americans regarding the use of cloth face coverings to reduce the spread of coronavirus. An excerpt of the CDC’s specific guidance appears below:

We now know from recent studies that a significant portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms (“asymptomatic”) and that even those who eventually develop symptoms (“pre-symptomatic”) can transmit the virus to others before showing symptoms. This means that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity—for example, speaking, coughing, or sneezing—even if those people are not exhibiting symptoms. In light of this new evidence, CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.

Fish Monkey Performance Face Guard (Note: turn vented mouth feature to the side in this application)
Many anglers and hunters may already have a variety of suitable, cloth face coverings on hand in the form of scent-control facemasks, neck gaiters and multi-functional headwear designed for hunting and fishing. Some of these products offer the added benefits of being antimicrobial, odor adsorbing or moisture wicking.

Many of the companies that make these products are reminding their customers that their face covers provide an effective and economical way to comply with the recent CDC guidelines, while reserving N-95 masks for medical workers and first responders on the frontlines battling this insidious virus.
ScentLok makes a variety facemasks. The Savanna Lightweight Multi-Paneled Gaiter offers Spandex binding and insets for a comfortable, next-to-skin fit; three panels with an articulated nose tab, wicking treatment and Carbon AlloyTM technology for maximum odor adsorption.
Many of the companies Traditions Media represents offer such products, including ScentLok, Gill, Fish Monkey, St. Croix Rod, and Hobie. Of course, there are others. Read more
Fishing, General

Can We Be Protected from Ourselves Too Much?

By Glen Wunderlich

Charter Member Professional Outdoor Media

As each day passes amid these trying days of mandated isolation, we all expect our freedoms to return eventually.  Each of us has fashioned his or her personal means to deal with unprecedented restrictions on mobility and gatherings.  Accordingly, sportsmen and women would seem to have escaped the stranglehold to a lesser extent, because nobody had suggested infringements on simple pleasures such as hunting or fishing.  The noose has since tightened.

Effective at midnight this past Friday, the use of motorized boats in Michigan will be prohibited per an Executive Order (EO) from the governor. This order extends to fishing from a boat with a gas or electric (trolling) motor affixed to it.

A press release from Michigan United Conservation Clubs explains the rationale for the drastic measures, as follows:  In the announcement from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the DNR has written “[It] has received many reports about the heavy use of boat launches across the state and the subsequent congregation of people at these launches in violation of social distancing requirements and in a manner that threatens public health.”

Any hunter knows the most effective way to hit a moving target with a shotgun is to fill the air with pellets and hope for the best.  However, the wise hunter understands there is a certain amount of skill and discretion necessary to hit the intended target without spraying pellets in the line of game that is to be spared.

Take turkey hunting for example.  If a gunner takes aim at a legal gobbler, he must be certain that any shot does not take out adjacent birds, because in Michigan only one bird is legal to kill.  Carelessness can cost a hunter plenty, including fines and the loss of hunting rights in the future.

However, when our governor pulled the trigger on yet another EO, this stroke of the pen contradicted common sense and now prohibits the very type of respite free Michigan could enjoy and were encouraged to participate in by the very same governor.  Outdoor recreation was touted as our safe haven and necessary relief from physical restraints and the mental deterioration related to cabin fever.

While no communication was received in advance of this notice nor does EO 2020-42 specifically address this issue, the DNR states that “Non-motorized boating, such as canoeing, kayaking and sailing, falls within the outdoor activities permitted under the ‘Stay Home, Stay Safe’ Executive Order. However, the use of a motorboat, jet ski or similar watercraft is not permitted for the duration of the Executive Order, which is currently set to expire at 11:59 p.m. [on] April 30.”

Imagine the lives that could be saved if the same approach were to be used to combat traffic fatalities.  For the year 2016, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that 37,461 people were killed for an average of 102 per day.  The simple solution to eliminate all of these related deaths would be to ban driving – a sure cure to save innocent lives.  Horses and mule teams would put a certain end to such accidental casualties.  Ludicrous, you say?

Instead, we applaud the efforts of law enforcement to nab the speeders and reckless drivers.  We take them off the roads; we confiscate their vehicles and driving licenses; it’s called targeted enforcement and is widely accepted as our best tool to minimize risk for us all.

Currently, it is illegal to congregate with any individuals that do not reside within one’s household, and non-compliance is punishable by a civil fine of $1,000.   But, now we cannot fish with a motor on a boat – either electric or gasoline powered – because some folks didn’t obey the stringent mandate.

Although the shotgun approach is meant to save us all, there are sure to be unintended consequences.  And, the only question remaining is how much muscle government will feel compelled to exercise and how much law-abiding citizens will tolerate.

General
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