Wilson Combat Introduces the Full Size and Compact X-TAC Elite 1911, available in 45 ACP, 9mm and .38 Super.Enhanced by Wilson Combat gunsmiths for daily carry and hard use training, the X-TAC Elite is a unique choice for shooters looking for a practical 1911-style custom pistol that comes standard with multiple cutting-edge cosmetic and tactical performance options.
The legendary Wilson Combat X-TAC tread pattern is known for rock solid traction and high round count shooting comfort. Coupled with performance options like our reload-enhancing one-piece Bullet Proof® Magwell and carry options like the concealment hammer and grip safety the X-TAC Elite has all the right custom features and striking good looks. Other options like perfectly executed top and rear of slide serrations cut down glare on bright range days. Extra detail is lavished on the X-TAC Elite slide with machined carry cuts, ball endmill cuts and a heavy machined bottom slide chamfer that enhances cosmetics, streamlines your pistol’s profile and reduces sharp edges. Read more
Flushing, MI – Carbon Express, an industry leader in precision archery equipment, introduces the X-Force Blade to its successful line of crossbows.Designed to bring category-leading performance to entry-level crossbow hunters, the X-Force Blade crossbow delivers speed, repeatable accuracy, and more than 86 foot-pounds of kinetic energy in a package that’s lighter than its competition. The X-Force Blade is designed to go anywhere and hunt anything. “We recognized the need for a fully featured product that would deliver a great hunting experience,” says Lou Riley, President of Eastman Outdoors. “The X-Force Blade will appeal not only to new crossbow hunters, but those transitioning from other hunting pursuits as well.”
With high-end features such as an aluminum rail, adjustable butt-stock and customizable fore grip, the X-Force Blade crossbow combines customizability with enduring performance for the accuracy that hunters demand. Read more
ANOKA, Minnesota –– Practical hunters seeking freezer-filling performance at an affordable price trust Federal Power-Shok rifle ammunition. New Power-Shok Copper delivers the same devastating dependability in a non-lead bullet. Shipments of this new product are now being delivered to dealers.The hollow-point copper projectile provides deadly downrange accuracy and creates large wound channels. Its design also ensures consistent expansion and efficient energy transfer, while the all-new Catalyst lead-free primer fuels the most efficient and reliable ignition possible.
New Power-Shok Copper loads also feature Federal brass and are available in a variety of the most popular hunting calibers. Read more
At long last it’s official: The .22 rimfire ammo shortage is over. Little by little the big supply houses, such as MidwayUSA, Brownells and Cabela’s, are getting more and more quantities of some America’s favorite, inexpensive plinking ammo; it’s even showing up in local hardware stores. The new normal means inexpensive in relative terms, however.
It doesn’t seem that long ago when we could pick up a box of 50 rimfire rounds for under a buck. Now, that same ammo has skyrocketed to about 4 times as much or more! Compared to any centerfire fodder – or, for that matter, even the more quality-controlled rimfire target and match offerings – the lower-cost rimfire rounds are today’s bargain for economy-minded shooters.
If you’ve contemplated introducing a youngster to shooting, the .22 rimfire is a great way to begin. Month after month, the new rimfire firearms have been introduced, although some of them are mere variants of other models. Nothing wrong with that, but I wondered how popular any new gun would be, if ammo was unavailable. With supply catching up with demand, we are about to find out.
One of the more innovative .22s introduced during the ammo shortage is the Mossberg Flex-22 Youth. I had an opportunity to try one out a couple of years ago, when Linda Powell of Mossberg brought one to the shooting range at a media event. I found it to feed reliably and with an inexpensive red dot sight, it was downright fun to shoot. With a free-floated barrel, grooved receiver scope rail and 10-round magazine, the approximate cost of $200 seems reasonable. But, the Flex stock system makes it a gun that can be adjusted to fit a youngster’s length of pull, as he grows up – a decided advantage over fixed-stock platforms.
Noise and recoil can turn off a beginner and neither is a concern with the little .22s, although the use of hearing protection is still warranted. Sub-sonic, target, standard velocity, or match ammo brings the noise level down, as well, and is readily available and well-suited for the beginner. And, that’s how 6 year-old Landon got his start.
Landon’s first shots with a vintage Marlin model 81 and Hawke scope
I broke out some ancient CCI CB shorts – ammo that is about a quiet as ammo gets. Of course, it doesn’t have the power or velocity of even sub-sonic target ammo, but when sighted in properly, it is a good short-range alternative for a newcomer. Landon’s first shot was about an inch from the bull’s eye and the second shot was perfectly centered. We then moved on to some reactive steel rimfire targets and the young man didn’t miss from the sturdiness of a solid sandbag rest.
It wasn’t long before I loaded some sub-sonic ammo into the tubular magazine of my 79 year-old Marlin model 81 bolt gun. The youngster began thinking he was the greatest shot alive, as his confidence grew. Oh, he still missed at times, when he wanted to peek at the results before pulling the trigger. I explained that he had to keep looking at the target after shooting and he got the message. The concept was now cemented and a new shooter had emerged.
I don’t know who was having more fun between us but it didn’t matter. It was just plain fun!
CHOTEAU – Mike Madel of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has been amazed at the number of grizzly bears heading east from the Rocky Mountain Front this spring.
“This is probably the spring of all springs in terms of grizzly bear movements out onto the high plains and the river bottoms. I have never seen as many sub-adults way down the Marias river, down the Teton, Muddy Creek,” Madel said.
Grizzlies historically roamed eastern Montana’s prairie, but in the last century diminished to smaller, more mountainous areas of Montana.
B&C’s latest book makes it easy to score your whitetail deer… and all the other 37 categories—from walrus to moose!
While the definition of a successful hunt is left to its participants, the Boone and Crockett Club scoring system remains the benchmark for identifying mature big-game animals and healthy big-game populations.
In the Club’s newly revised edition of How to Score North American Big Game, the definitive Boone and Crockett scoring system is explained in detail using simple, straightforward language and more than 100 new color illustrations and diagrams by noted wildlife artist and B&C Official Measurer Chris Lacey. This new edition is spiral bound for durability providing easy, lay-flat reading with a pocket integrated into the back cover for safe keeping of score charts and notes. In addition the book delivers chapters on the Club’s history and its records-keeping program, as well as an expanded chapter on category boundaries enhanced with detailed, full-color maps from onXmaps.
SPECIAL OFFER! Use promo code SCORE20 when you order online and save 20 percent off the regular retail price of $34.95. Read more
Grab all the tools you’ll need, then line up those busted, leaky and anchorless decoys. They’ll be off of the disabled list in no time. Save the painting for last. Restore reliability and bring back bling to your blocks with these simple tips Read more
The R/V Tanner is the DNR’s newest research vessel and is busy collecting valuable fisheries information on Lake Huron.
The R/V Tanner’s remotely operated vehicle, shown here, will help the DNR determine the abundance of fish species in Lake Huron.
DNR’s newest research vessel features unique technology to learn more about Lake Huron fish populations
Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to be used on R/V Tanner
This month the Michigan Department of Natural Resources will begin assessing Lake Huron fisheries with the latest addition to its Great Lakes large vessel fleet – the R/V Tanner. Read more
Today, there’s a plethora of small handguns chambered in .380 ACP. There are so many that it’s easy to forget that Diamondback Firearms LLC of Cocoa, Florida, has been setting the pace for .380’s since 2009, when it was first introduced as a revolutionary DB380 micro-compact semi-automatic pistol.The polymer-framed DB380 was well ahead of its time, featuring the patented “Zero-Energy” striker firing system with a mechanical firing pin block, a steel magazine catch to secure real windage-adjustable sights.
The DB380 continues to set the standard for small, concealable handguns. The steel trigger with dual connection bars allows for a crisp, five-pound DAO trigger pull. The DB380 features a slide and barrel, designed to be strong for more durability with less felt recoil. Read more
Grand Island, Nebr.- Starting August 15, 2016, Hornady® will offer a free box of Critical Defense® ammunition with the purchase of a Hornady Security® RAPiD® Safe. Products included in the Safe & SecureSM promotion are the new RAPiD® Safe 2600 and 2700 (Items 98175 and 98170), as well as the original RAPiD® Safe (Item 98150). Read more
