ThinkingAfield.org

Hal Shouse Starts Hog Control Company

December 16, 2019 Glen Wunderlich

(SMITHVILLE, GA) – From extensive crop damage, to native game and habitat destruction, wild hogs can cost landowners anywhere from several hundred to tens of thousands of dollars. Hogs plow through dirt, like man made farm implements, tearing up anything in their path. They will eat everything, including other animals, especially the young ones. Fawns won’t run, when they are only a few days old, and are quickly gobbled up. Clutches of quail or turkey eggs are a tasty treat. Wild hogs are not only competing for the food the native species needs to survive, but actually preying ON the native species themselves!

Hal Shouse, a navy veteran, and founder of HogSWAT, has created a solution to help control the overpopulation and damage caused by these wild hogs.

HogSWAT is a Tactical hog control company located in southwest Georgia that offers fully guided nighttime hog hunts, year-round using the best thermal optics and AR-15’s available. HogSWAT offers their service to local farmers, who are being terrorized by wild hogs…FOR FREE! Read more

Hunting

Bergara B-14R Rifle Available

December 16, 2019 Glen Wunderlich

Lawrenceville, Georgia – Bergara Rifles is pleased to announce that their Bergara B-14R .22 LR Rifle is now shipping.

Whether it’s for use in the surging popularity of .22 competitions or as a .22 rifle trainer, the new B-14R, with Bergara’s legendary reputation for accuracy, is going to be a game changer in the rimfire world.

This new rifle is built on a full scale REM700 footprint, including a 90 lift and longer bolt throw. These features allow shooters to have the same size and feel to their centerfire rifle and accommodates the use of other REM700 compatible stocks, bases, and triggers.

Because the B-14R is based on a full-size receiver design, it also provides a perfect platform to allow any shooter the ability to customize their rifle with all kinds of compatible accessories already in the market. The B-14R features a 10-round magazine modified single stack .22LR design that is built to similar dimensions as a standard short action AICS mag. Read more

Firearms

Wicked Ridge Invader 400 Crossbow

December 16, 2019 Glen Wunderlich

Mogadore, OH. Wicked Ridge Crossbows, known for producing top value, precision performance crossbows, introduced its new Invader 400 model at the 2020 ATA Trade Show in Indianapolis, IN. The next generation of the best-selling Wicked Ridge Invader models is an incredible 40 feet-per-second faster than its predecessor. Proudly built in America, it features an ultra-lite stock with built-in cocking device that allows you to effortlessly and accurately cock your crossbow and is designed for the ultimate in handling, durability, and maneuverability.

“The Invader has been our best-selling Wicked Ridge model for over 10 years,” said TenPoint® CEO, Rick Bednar. “The new Invader 400’s performance, cocking devices, and scope take this model to a new level of value.”

Built to perform in the tightest of shooting situations, the narrow 185-pound bow assembly consists of a lightweight riser and machined aluminum limb pockets fitted with new 11” WRX™ double-laminated limbs. Powered by NEW speed designed, 5S Cams™ and DynaFLIGHT 97 string and cables, the bow assembly measures a narrow 15-inches wide and drives an arrow down-range up to a blazing 400 feet-per-second. Read more

Archery

Michigan: shoreline protection work continues at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park

December 13, 2019 Glen Wunderlich

Efforts continue to protect eastern entrance road to Michigan’s largest state park

Work begun in August to protect the main east access road to Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park is continuing in the face of violent late fall storms off Lake Superior.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Ontonagon County Road Commission have teamed up to protect County Road 107 to ensure continued east access to the 60,000-acre park and its signature attractions.

The DNR is not typically involved in county road projects but is in this case because of the road’s importance to the park. About 80 percent of the 1.6-mile stretch of affected county road has less than 20 feet of shoreline between the lake’s edge and the road.

“Without this main accessway, should a road washout or undermining occur, visitors to the park’s east end may be required to take an 80-mile detour, via west end entry, or be prevented altogether from reaching numerous points of interest,” said Eric Cadeau, a DNR Parks and Recreation Division regional planner.

Some of those points of interest include the Lake of the Clouds overlook, Union Bay Campground and the park’s ski area. Read more

Wildlife

Watch on Live Camera As a Baby Albatross Grows Up

December 13, 2019 Glen Wunderlich

Cornell Lab zooms in on a Royal Albatross nest in New Zealand

Otago, New Zealand & Ithaca, New York—Millions of people from around the world can now witness a rare sight in real time: a Northern Royal Albatross pair nesting and raising their chick. The live views originate from a coastal albatross colony in Otago, on South Island, New Zealand, and are made possible by a new partnership between the country’s Department of Conservation (DOC) and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

The Cornell Lab’s B ird Cams website now carries the popular Royal Cam which will continue to be hosted by DOC on a windy hilltop near the ocean. Viewers will see a 21 year old male bird (identified as OGK, with orange, green, and black leg bands) and a 25 year old female (YRK, with yellow, red, and black bands). YRK laid her egg on November 14. Look for hatching to begin on the live cam in late January and early February. Chicks usually fledge in September and will remain at sea for several years before returning to the breeding grounds. Read more

Wildlife

SIG SAUER “WILDCraft South Africa” Video Series

December 13, 2019 Glen Wunderlich

NEWINGTON, N.H. – SIG SAUER, Inc. is pleased to present the WILDCraft Video Series featuring the SIG SAUER Electro-Optic Ballistic Data Xchange (BDX) Rangefinder and Riflescope system, OSCAR8 Riflescope, and SIG SAUER Elite Copper Hunting Ammunition. Season One of the WILDCraft series is now streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.

WILDCraft is a four-part video series, hosted by Richard Mann, chronicling the journey of a group of gun writers and editors on a hunt led by professional hunter Geoffrey Wayland through the Fort Richmond Safaris in the mountains of South Africa’s Northern Cape.

Throughout the WILDCraft series hunters train, and utilize, the SIG SAUER Electro-Optics BDX System which combines traditional hunting equipment with technology. BDX is a fully integrated rangefinder and riflescope system that utilizes Applied Ballistics Ultralight and Bluetooth™. The free SIG BDX app for Android and iOS systems allows for ballistic profiles to be established, and then communicated via Bluetooth™ to any SIG SAUER KILO BDX rangefinder. When targets are ranged, the ballistics are combined with distance to target, slope, temperature, and pressure to precisely calculate the shooting solution. This solution is displayed in the rangefinder and is also shared instantly with any SIERRA3BDX riflescope, instantly illuminating the exact holdover dot on the reticle in the riflescope. BDX™ is simple, fast, and intuitive – just connect the dot. Read more

Ammunition, Firearms, Hunting, Optics

Bergara 6.5 PRC and .300 PRC Calibers Now Shipping in B14 Series Rifles

December 13, 2019 Glen Wunderlich

Lawrenceville, GA – Bergara is excited to announce two new exciting calibers in the popular B-14 HMR and Ridge models are now shipping. Bergara feels that these new high-performance calibers provide their customers with what they have been asking for. The B-14 Rifle was designed with the purpose of offering customers a feature-rich hunting / match rifles ideal for longer range big game hunting, varmint hunting, and also a versatile target shooting rifle. The Bergara B-14’s are built in Bergara, Spain, at the same factory where all of our Bergara barrel blanks are manufactured.

Like all Bergara B-14 Series rifles, they are affordably priced and packed with features. rifle a unique cosmetic appeal. All B-14 rifles are guaranteed capable of producing sub-1.0 MOA groups or less at 100 yards using factory match grade ammunition.

Firearms

The M&P Shield EZ Pistol in 9mm

December 12, 2019 Glen Wunderlich

Smith & Wesson introduces the next evolution of the personal protection pistol

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Smith & Wesson Inc. today announced that it has expanded its award-winning M&P Shield EZ pistol series to include the new M&P9 Shield EZ, chambered in the popular 9mm caliber. Built for personal protection and every day carry, the M&P9 Shield EZ further expands the M&P Shield EZ pistol platform, which was released in 2018 and features an easy-to-rack slide, easy-to-load magazine, and easy-to-clean design.

Lane Tobiassen, President of Smith & Wesson, said, “When the M&P380 Shield EZ was released in 2018, we received overwhelmingly positive feedback on the easy-to-use features of the innovative pistol platform. From that point on, we knew we would expand the M&P Shield EZ line with a pistol that incorporated the same features, chambered in the powerful and popular 9mm caliber. The new M&P9 Shield EZ is easy-to-rack, easy-to-load, easy-to-shoot and easy-to- clean, appealing to a wide range of consumers seeking out these popular features in 9mm. With over three million M&P Shield pistols adopted by consumers, we believe the ‘M&P Shield’ name has become synonymous with personal protection. This much anticipated release is the next evolution of the personal protection pistol.”

Built for personal and home protection, the new M&P9 Shield EZ pistol is the latest addition to the M&P M2.0™ family and features an 8+1 round capacity and a 3.675” barrel. The M&P9 Shield EZ pistol ships with two 8 round magazines that feature a load assist tab for quick, easy loading, as well as a picatinny-style equipment rail to accommodate accessories. The pistol also features an optimal M&P pistol 18-degree grip angle for a natural point of aim, white-dot front and adjustable white-dot rear sights, and a light, crisp trigger. The MSRP on the M&P9 Shield EZ pistol is $479. Read more

Firearms

Wicked Ridge Unveils New Rampage 360

December 12, 2019 Glen Wunderlich

Mogadore, OH. Wicked Ridge Crossbows, known for producing top-value, precision performance crossbows, introduced its new Rampage 360 model at the 2020 ATA Trade Show in Indianapolis, IN. Featuring a built-in cocking device that allows you to effortlessly and accurately cock your crossbow, shooting up to 360 feet-per-second, and starting at $459.99, the Rampage 360 is the premiere entry-level crossbow on the market.

“The new Rampage 360 is the best crossbow available for under $500,” said TenPoint® CEO, Rick Bednar. “What truly separates this crossbow from its competitors is its built-in cocking device, American-Built quality, and out-of-the-box accuracy.” Read more

Archery