Michigan Grouse, Woodcock Off to A Great Start

A month into grouse and woodcock season, early reports from hunters suggest that the season has started out with a bang.

“Avid grouse hunters are indicating the season appears good, dependent on location,” said Department of Natural Resources upland game bird biologist Al Stewart. “This earlier part of the season always proves to be a unique challenge, with leaves still on the trees, but leaves are now starting to fall and the woodcock migration has started.”

Michigan’s small game hunting season, which includes grouse season, opens annually Sept. 15. Woodcock season varies from year to year, due to the woodcock’s federal migratory bird status, and this year opened Sept. 19.

“Some areas of the Upper Peninsula are reporting flushing six grouse an hour, with woodcock being four to five per hour,” said Stewart. “Northern Lower Peninsula flushes are more sporadic, and everyone’s experiences are always different. In the end we look back at all reports, on a larger scale, to see trends.” Read more

Hunting

Stag Arms Now Offering Limited Edition Upper

NEW BRITAIN, CT – Stag Arms is excited to announce a limited edition run of upper halves for this holiday season. Stag Arms President Mark Malkowski stated “We wanted to offer something new and fresh for this holiday season, so using our customer’s feedback on what they liked the most with our products, we were able to create the Model 3LEH & 3LEHL.” These limited edition uppers come standard with 16″ 4140 steel 1/9 twist chromed lined barrel, a free floating Diamondead VRS-T handguard and rail height gas block for mounting any sights. The plus package upgrade is available on these models for an additional $75 to provide a 1/7 twist barrel, HP/MP tested bolt and M-16 bolt carrier. Read more

Firearms

Tru-Fire Introduces the Thor Release

SUPERIOR, WI— Tru-Fire, the leading archery release brand, has introduced the company’s lightest, zero-travel-trigger release to date, the Thor. This hammer-throw-style release is extremely responsive and highly customizable to accommodate the needs and preferences of both competitive archers and bowhunters.

The new Thor release is easily convertible for left- or right-handed shooters. It also can be configured as either a 3-or 4-finger setup by simply removing a screw & finger section. This release offers multiple-position trigger customization, as well as trigger-travel and trigger-pressure adjustments. The trigger pressure is adjustable from a range of 4 to 26 ounces without the need to change springs or disassemble the release. Read more

Archery

Monster Smallmouth Sets New Michigan State Record

Previous state record had stood since 1906

Greg Gasiciel with his state-record smallmouth bass (Oct 2015)The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has confirmed a new state-record catch for smallmouth bass. This marks the sixth state-record fish caught so far in 2015.

The existing state record for smallmouth bass was broken Sunday by Greg Gasiciel of Rhodes, Michigan. Gasiciel was bait-casting with a green grub when he landed a 9.33-pound, 24.50-inch smallmouth bass from Hubbard Lake in Alcona County. Read more

Fishing

Montana Decoy Releases Decoy Guide 2.0

Montana Decoy is proud to announce the release of its newest whitetail decoy and setup guide, the Whitetail Decoy Guide 2.0. This guide not only offers advice on decoy setups for every phase of the rut, but also demonstrates the proper use of scents and calls, as well as offers advice from some of the most well-known names in the hunting industry. When you download the FREE guide off of our website (www.montanadecoy.com), for a limited time you will instantly receive a promo code that will give you 15% off your next order from Montana Decoy. Read more

Hunting

Steyr Arms Releases Another Batch of White AUG A3 M1 Rifles

BESSEMER, AL — Due to overwhelming consumer demand when Steyr Arms launched a limited run of White AUG A3 M1 rifles in March, the company announced today that it has received another batch of white furniture sets, and another limited batch of new White AUG A3 M1 rifles will begin shipping to dealers and distributors nationwide this week. The White AUGs proved to be immensely popular, selling out in a matter of days.

“We grossly underestimated the demand for the White AUGs,” said Steyr Arms CEO Scott O’Brien. “Our phone lines and social media accounts lit up as soon as word got out about the initial shipments to dealers and distributors, so we turned to our parent company in Austria to produce another batch of furniture. We are now working feverishly to build complete guns.”

The White AUG A3 M1 will be available in a Short-Rail version, a High-Rail version as well as an Optics version with either a 1.5X or 3X integrated scope. The AUG A3 M1 Optics version has a more traditional AUG scope tube with exceptionally bright and clear optical elements, modernized with the addition of three Picatinny rail sections to accommodate accessories like a close-quarters holographic sight. With 16 numbered slots, the High-Rail version was designed to accommodate the widest range of optic choices, and the 11-slot Short-Rail version was designed for use with a reflex sight or a longer-eye relief optic. Read more

Firearms

Browning Introduces X-Bolt Varmint Stalker Model

Adding to the extensive line of X-Bolt rifles, Browning introduces the new X-Bolt Varmint Stalker model in 2015. The new rifle will feature Mossy Oak® Brush® camouflage to hide from keen-eyed predators. The new rifle also features a heavy sporter contour barrel in non-reflective matte blued finish.

The new X-Bolt Varmit Stalker will be available in 204 Ruger, 223 Rem., 243 Win., and 308 Win. calibers with a 24″ barrel length. The Varmit Stalker in 22-250 Rem. will feature a 26″ barrel length.

Other standard features found on all X-Bolt rifles include a detachable rotary magazine, adjustable Feather Trigger, 60° bolt lift, bolt unlock button and Inflex Technology recoil pad.

Suggested Retail: $939.99.

For more information on Browning products, please visit the website at www.browning.com.

Firearms

Endangered Cranes To Pass Through Oklahoma Soon

Whooping cranes, the tallest and one of the rarest birds in North America, will soon be migrating through Oklahoma to their South Texas wintering grounds.

To better understand the migration paths and habitat of this endangered bird, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation works with other member agencies of the Central Flyway Council to track the birds as they pass through the United States. Read more

Wildlife
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