Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
My ’48 International Farmall crank-start Cub had sat all winter and needed some exercise. Always fun to polish the rubber. Because the tractor is so light – purposely so designed to go fast – the heavy snow actually puts a good load on the engine making for a rousing romp in mid-Michigan. Read more
Hunter’s Specialties® brings back some of their classic favorite turkey calls for 2015 with the new Retro Series Calls.
The Retro Series World Champion Triple Glass Call has a molded pot for added resonance and it features three layers of glass to produce realistic hen yelps, cutts and purrs. The glass surface is pre-conditioned and ready to play right out of the package. It comes packaged with a rosewood striker.
The World Champion Triple Glass Call sells for a suggested retail price of $29.99. Read more
Birchwood Casey introduces a new line of durable, high quality gun cleaning patches and phosphor bronze bore brushes designed for shooters who want to maintain clean, accurate firearms.
Birchwood Casey cleaning patches feature a durable cross weave pattern that enhances the patches’ scrubbing power. The highly absorbent material is lint free and holds more oil or solvent for quicker cleaning.
Birchwood Casey’s new phosphor bronze brushes provide plenty of scrubbing power for cleaning even the dirtiest bores. The brushes have closed-loop ends with highly flexible bristles that won’t damage the gun’s bore. When used in conjunction with Birchwood Casey Bore Scrubber the new brushes will quickly remove tough copper, lead and carbon fouling.
Birchwood Casey brushes and patches are proudly made in the USA and are available in the following versions: Read more
A Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officer and a deputy from the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department teamed up Monday, Feb. 9, to rescue a 13-year-old boy who fell through the ice on Lake Macatawa while chasing his dog.
At approximately 4 p.m. Feb. 9, the boy, his 16-year-old brother and the family’s two dogs were walking on the frozen surface of Macatawa Lake in Holland Township. Near the Dutton Park portion of the lake, there are open waters due to the warm water discharges from a power plant. The dogs were chasing each other when one ran toward the open water. The 16-year-old secured one of the dogs, while his younger brother continued chasing the other dog as it ran toward the open water. Both the boy and the dog went through the thin ice.
Onlookers at Dutton Park called the Ottawa County Dispatch Center to report the incident while the older brother ran home for help. The dog escaped from the water without assistance.
First responders to the scene included Ottawa County Sheriff’s Deputy Brent Brown and DNR Conservation Officer Gerard “BJ” Goulette. Brown and Goulette approached the victim who was in the water, clinging to the edge of the ice. Brown was successful in throwing a rescue line to the boy. While officers were able to pull the victim onto the ice, he was unable to move further or grasp the rescue line to assist officers. Goulette quickly decided to crawl forward on the ice until he was able to grasp the boy’s arms and drag him back to thicker ice. Members of the Holland Township Fire Department had arrived on the scene at this time and began to render aid to the boy, who was in the water for approximately 10 minutes. The boy was transported and treated for hypothermia. The family dog was also located by fire personnel and appeared uninjured. Read more
A retired Wisconsin marine was awakened by a knife-wielding attacker that had already slashed his throat. His girl friend saved the day with her handgun she handed to the victim, who fired a shot at the criminal, who happened to be his neighbor. Details here…
New This Week – Can Jerry Set a New World Record?
Shooting USA’s Impossible Shots – Jerry’s World Record Reloads
Smith & Wesson Pro Jerry Miculek attempts to set a new speed record with his revolver that may be the fastest reloads ever caught on camera. Plus, Mr. Flintlock, George Sutton tries to flip a coin with a .50 caliber round ball. Read more
Saturday and Sunday make up the Winter Free Fishing Weekend – an annual effort to encourage folks to get outside to experience Michigan’s winter water wonderland. While many individuals and families will head out to fish for free on their own, the DNR is pleased to point out there are numerous organized events scheduled throughout the state to celebrate this weekend as well.
Various counties throughout Michigan will host scheduled events; including Arenac, Baraga, Bay, Chippewa, Emmet, Gogebic, Huron, Ingham, Iosco, Mackinac, Muskegon, Oakland, Otsego, Presque Isle, Roscommon, St. Clair, Van Buren, Washtenaw and Wexford. Please note most events are weather dependent. Read more
PHOENIX – The Arizona Game and Fish Department, Berger Bullets and Nightforce Optics invite the public to attend a presentation to the state of Arizona of a newly constructed building and parking lot at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility, located off W. Carefree Hwy., one mile west of I-17 (just west of mile marker 30).
The presentation will be held Saturday, Feb. 14 at 8:15 a.m. during the SW Nationals long-range shooting competition that hosts 350 shooters worldwide.
“The Ben Avery Shooting Facility is recognized as one of the nation’s top venues for recreational shooting,” said AZGFD Director Larry Voyles. “With the donation by Berger Bullets of a new multipurpose building at the 1,000-yard rifle range, and expansion of the parking area paid for by Nightforce, our long range recreational shooters will enjoy the addition of much needed facilities and a better shooting experience at a world class facility.” Read more
BOSTON, MA – John Jr. and Caroline Kennedy’s childhood sailboat will be part of an upcoming live auction event by Boston, MA based RR Auction.
Built in Massachusetts and mainly used in the Mediterranean, measuring 12 feet long by 6 feet wide. The boat, constructed in the Winter of 1969–1970, exhibits the original builder’s plate on which is stamped, “Old Beetle Cat, No. 1426, Concordia Co. Inc., South Dartmouth, Mass.”
It has been restored to its original colors, with a sky blue deck and a bright yellow hull. The unusually colored original paint became evident when the boat was stripped down to bare wood and was additionally confirmed in a letter from Caroline Kennedy. On the stern’s transom is fastened contemporary cast bronze letters placed in the original drill holes, spelling out the boat’s name as christened by the Kennedys, “Scallop.”
Accompanied by a copy of an “Original Wooden Beetle Cat Boats” 1969–1970 builder’s inventory page. Listed is this boat, confirmed as “No. 1426,” with the owner listed as “Mrs. Aristotle Onassis,” and location of the boat as “John F. Kennedy, Jr, New York & Greece.” Read more
With the totals now official, the top seven harvests in state history all have occurred in the past decade. It’s official: The trend of recent bear seasons taking their place in the Pennsylvania record books continues.
Pennsylvania hunters harvested a total of 3,366 bears in 2014, the seventh-highest tally in state history, the Pennsylvania Game Commission reported yesterday.
With 2014 totals now official, the seven largest bear harvests all have occurred in the past decade.
The all-time high was recorded in 2011, when 4,350 bears were harvested. Hunters harvested 3,510 bears in 2013 – the third-largest harvest on record. Read more