Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
Sleepy Hollow State Park is offering many events for families to enjoy during the month of May. Outreach Coordinator Michelle Trowbridge will be leading the following birding, hiking, geocaching and history programs: Read more
By Glen Wunderlich
With spring turkey season upon us, every hunter would like to be able to pattern the birds’ activity before deciding on an ambush site. Scouting is a great way to begin, but finding time to hide and watch is difficult for anyone attempting to make a living. That’s where assistance from the Day 6 PlotWatcher Pro camera comes in.
This compact trail camera is designed to perform surveillance work during daylight hours and is just the ticket to scout in absentia. And, so far, I like what I’ve seen.
Imagine watching an entire field from sunrise to sunset through a review process that takes mere minutes. Time is money and this camera pays dividends after the one-time retail price of approximately $250 is paid plus the cost of an SD memory card of $15 to $30 and eight AA batteries.
The PlotWatcher is a time-lapse camera Read more
BEAVERTON, Ore. – Redfield® is offering a limited run of 1,000 U.S. Marine Corps M40 edition riflescopes through SWFA Outdoors. These OD green, 3-9x40mm riflescopes feature a Mil Dot reticle, a tactile post on the power selector, and have an appearance that is more authentic to the original USMC M40 riflescopes used in the Vietnam War. Read more
Later today, the U.S. Senate is expected to begin debate on gun-control legislation including The Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act, S. Amdt. 715, proposed by Sens. Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Toomey (R-Pa.) that will hurt our industry and infringe upon your Second Amendment Rights. Your senators need to hear from you now!
The Manchin-Toomey Amendment, which is co-sponsored by anti-gun Sens. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Kirk (R-lll.), would effectively shut down all storefront National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) checks on weekends by requiring that gun show checks must be COMPLETED before any store check can be completed. Read more
Hunter’s Specialties Scent-A-Way products were recently named the top odor elimination brand by Southwick Associates.
Southwick Associates conducts internet based annual surveys of hunters and shooters to determine the top brands in categories ranging from rifles, archery, tree stands, optics, hunting accessories and others. The results were tallied from over 35,000 responses on HunterSurvey.com and ShooterSurvey.com. Read more
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) has announced a Steel Target Grant Program to provide support for shooting ranges that plan to begin or expand Ruger Rimfire Challenge target-shooting events. A total of 26 steel target grant packages worth $30,000 are available, with targets suitable for both indoor and outdoor target shooting ranges. Read more
The Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) recently helped establish three wildlife management cooperatives that unite public and private hunting lands for better deer habitat and hunting thanks in part to a $50,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). The three cooperatives – two in Oklahoma and one in Michigan – are built on and around National Wildlife Refuges and encompass nearly 65,000 acres of public and private hunting land.
Wildlife management cooperatives (WMC) are groups of neighboring landowners or property lessees working together to improve wildlife and/or habitat management programs. The grant to establish the three new WMCs was announced last September, and as of late March, all three Cooperatives have now been launched:
· The Shiawassee Flats QDM Cooperative, which surrounds the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Michigan, was formed on March 12 and includes 25 individual landowners and 12,039 acres.
· The Washita River Deer Management Association, which surrounds Washita River NWR in Oklahoma, was formed on March 26 and includes 12 individual landowners and 40,311 acres.
· The Deep Fork Deer Management Association, which surrounds Deep Fork NWR in Oklahoma, was formed on March 28 and includes 15 individual landowners and 12,484 acres. Read more
NEW YORK, NY – A ClubCrown is an innovative and exciting way to personalize and improve the look and style of any golf driver, wood or hybrid. ClubCrown in now pleased to offer Mossy Oak’s two most popular designs, Break-Up® and Break-Up Infinity®.
“At ClubCrown we have received thousands of requests for Mossy Oak designs,” said Andrew Glaser, ClubCrown CEO. “It is our mission at ClubCrown to bring every golfer in America the ClubCrown design that they most desire. With the large number of golfers who also love Mossy Oak, this great partnership brings us a big step towards that goal.” Read more
Overland Park, Kan. – Uncle Mike’s, a leading provider of shooting accessories for more than 60 years, has launched the Ultimate Tactical Sweepstakes, a prize package that includes a Daniel Defense rifle, Bushnell Tactical optics, and tactical accessories from Butler Creek Tactical, Millett, and M-Pro 7. Read more
DNR advises caution to prevent spread of oak wilt disease
April 15, Tax Day, is also the beginning of the yearly window when oak wilt can be transmitted from diseased to healthy red oak trees, the Department of Natural Resources announced today.
According to Dr. Robert Heyd, forest pest management program manager for the DNR’s Forest Resources Division, oak wilt is a serious disease of oak trees – mainly red oaks, including northern red oak, black oak and pin oak. Red oaks often die within a few weeks after becoming infected. White oaks are more resistant, therefore the disease progresses more slowly.
“The normal time-tested advice is to prevent oak wilt by not pruning or otherwise ‘injuring’ oaks from April 15 to July 15,” Heyd said. Read more