ThinkingAfield.org

SOUTHPORT, Conn., Feb 24, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE-RGR), announced today that for 2009, the Company reported net sales of $271.0 million and earnings of $1.44 per share, compared with sales of $181.5 million and earnings of 43c per share in 2008.

For the fourth quarter of 2009, the Company reported net sales of $63.9 million and earnings of 31c per share, compared with sales of $58.5 million and earnings of 28c per share in the fourth quarter of 2008.

The Company also announced today that its Board of Directors declared a dividend of 6c per share for the fourth quarter, for shareholders of record as of March 12, 2010, payable on March 26, 2010.

Chief Executive Officer Michael O. Fifer made the following comments related to 2009:

— Our firearms sales grew from $174 million in 2008 to $267 million in 2009 on the strength of new product shipments and overall robust firearms demand, particularly in the first half of the year.

— Estimated sell-through of our products from independent distributors to retail in 2009 increased by approximately 40% from 2008, and 86% from 2007. This annual growth substantially exceeds the 10% and 25% growth in National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) background checks over the same periods. Comparisons of NICS checks from period to period are often used as a proxy for consumer demand for firearms.

— In response to the significant increase in demand in 2009, the Company increased production in 2009 by 56% from 2008, and 101% from 2007. This increased production was facilitated by the Company’s implementation of lean manufacturing, an ongoing process that started in 2006.

— Cash generated from operations during 2009 was $46.7 million. At December 31, 2009, our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $55.7 million. Our pre-LIFO working capital of $104.0 million, less the LIFO reserve of $38.7 million, resulted in working capital of $65.3 million and a current ratio of 3.0 to 1. The Company has no debt.

— In 2009, capital expenditures totaled $13.8 million. We expect to invest approximately $10 to $15 million for capital expenditures during 2010.

By Glen Wunderlich
Outdoor Columnist
Member Professional Outdoor Media Association

Hunting coyotes by conventional means has provided me with hours of satisfaction over the years, most of which have been quite humbling, however. I understand that trapping can be effective but it’s never been my thing. Hunting them with hounds is another means many hunters employ. But doing so requires plenty of land to be legal, because dogs don’t pay attention to private property rights. My experiences usually revolve around calling and marksmanship, but not always.

Years ago, on a warm and sunny afternoon in Shiawassee County, I set up for some woodchuck action in an alfalfa field not far from home, when I noticed a peculiar sight. Beyond the recently cut hay field several hundred yards from my position, a red-tailed hawk dived repeatedly over the fallow portion of the field. I couldn’t see what the object of its attention was because the weeds concealed its target. Moments later a coyote appeared in the open and I decided to dispatch it with my Ruger .300 Winchester magnum stoked with 110-grain Hornady spire points. Suffice it to say it did the job.

When I shared the experience with neighbor, Bob Bott, he didn’t believe me. “There’s no coyotes around here,” was his response. So, I took the Canis latrans to him for a first-hand look. He still didn’t believe me and said it was a fox. Bob, rest his soul, was wrong.

Coyotes are found in all parts of the continental United States and in all 83 counties of Michigan. Since then, I have taken a number of them, although several were killed while hunting deer. Even though punching out a coyote, while on stand for deer, is sure to put a temporary end to any whitetail chances, most hunters I know will do it anyway because of its carnivorous nature, which knows no bounds.

In January 1997 I had an opportunity to hunt with Bob Patrick in the remote wilderness of the Eastern Upper Peninsula. Bob was coyote crazy and a master caller. He made his own mouth-blown calls from exotic woods and brought them to life like an accomplished musician would. He wore a coyote hat, sewn together from parts of two coyotes by his friend, Tom Osborne of Pickford. His clothing was camouflage from head to toe. His face was painted like an Indian chief and he stunk from of a blend of animal lure he concocted himself and took great pleasure from folks at the bank, who never made him wait in line.

Our first set overlooked a frozen lake and when the unsuspecting coyote came looking for a meal, he died of lead poisoning on the ice. Conditions worsened after that and a half inch of ice over two feet of snow made stealth impossible. Nonetheless, I learned a lot from Bob.

Later I used the beautifully crafted, Birdseye maple rabbit distress call from Bob to call in a Shiawassee County coyote for my friend, Doug Schaberg on a nearby farm. Although Doug muffed the opportunity, I was proud to have used my cherished call so effectively.

The coyote mates from mid-January to as late as April and that puts them in season right now. Mating season makes them vulnerable to calls such as challenges this time of year, but the rabbit distress is always a good choice, too.

While the mouth-blown calls can still bring ’em in, I prefer my electronic FoxPro caller for a number of reasons: 1) It doesn’t make mistakes, 2) Calls can be changed with the push of the transmitter’s buttons, 3) It focuses attention away from me and onto the caller and/or decoy.

Electronic callers don’t necessarily make hunting more effective, because there’s still plenty of ways to goof up. But early mornings or late evenings, there is no better way to test one’s skill matching wits with the crafty coyote.

By Glen Wunderlich
Outdoor Columnist
Member Professional Outdoor Media Association

No matter how good any hunting show is, getting outdoors and making memories afield beats them all – even if the harvest is down or non-existent. This year’s annual crow hunt held plenty of promise, as Matt, Shawn, and I piled into the front seat of the pickup to play tricks on the wariest critters alive. With our new custom-grade, magnum 9-shot loads, we were ready for action. And, the black beasts never disappoint in that regard.

Beyond the 3-inch magnum shotshells, I had experimented with a new Undertaker choke tube in my Browning BPS and found some improvement in pattern density over my Mossberg turkey gun. The Mossberg is completely camouflaged and sports an extra-full choke and had done a fair job of dropping the crafty crows from the clouds. But, its 2-shot magazine was nearly impossible to reload in the heat of action. The Browning would give me a little more firepower capacity, but I wasn’t going to tote it afield without first checking the new choke’s pattern.

At 40 yards it peppered 743 pellets in a 30-inch circle or about 67 percent of the total payload. The catalog description for the Undertaker choke said it would produce “up to” 90-percent patterns but in my short-barreled rig, it fell substantially short. Still it was an improvement over the 676 pellets from the same load in my Mossberg. I then field-tested the firearm on some local black marauders, and although I dropped a couple, I missed many more. That got me thinking.

I read online that a common mistake is that some crow hunters are over-choked. So, before the annual hunt with the boys, I inserted a modified choke tube. Who knows? Certainly not I.

Off the three of us went to a picked cornfield, where the crows were already buzzing atop mature conifers in the distance. We set out a battery-powered Crowbusters flapping-wing decoy just above the snow and snuck into the fence row. The FoxPro caller screamed its fight song and I quickly switched the remote transmitter to the crow distress call. The shotguns sprayed lead east and west and our first victim plummeted unceremoniously to earth. Then another and another. Matt and Shawn were warming up their barrels, as I remained maybe a bit too concealed, while never firing a shot. I followed another potential target along the ventilated rib of the Browning, when it took a hit from Shawn. The crow quickly regained momentum and turned my way. The maneuver became its last mistake.

Shawn had gone 3 for 3 with his venerable Browning Auto 5, while I added one for good measure. Matt struggled to get on the board but he was not to be denied a bit later. We were all hiding amid some relatively short white pines between two stands of hardwoods when Matt punched one out of the cold, gray sky.

I’d rather not say how many shots we took during the hunt; heck, nobody really wanted to know anyway.

Suffice it to say that the furious action cured our collective case of cabin fever – even if there’s enormous room for improvement.

By Glen Wunderlich
Outdoor Columnist
Member Professional Outdoor Media Association

I have learned that several hundreds of thousands of non-essential Washington government employees were ordered to stay home, as a result of recent record snowfalls. In addition, congress was shut down.

Since no government is better than the current administration, where can we order more snow?

From MUCC:

Legislation that would require the Natural Resources Commission to issue an order establishing a one-year moose hunting season passed committee with little fanfare this week. Senate Bill 1013 (Sen. Jason Allen, R-Traverse City) would also create a seven-member “Moose Hunting Advisory Council” within the Department of Natural Resources and Environment that would be required to prepare recommendations as to whether the moose hunting season should be expanded beyond one year, taking into account the season’s effect on the moose population and potential economic benefits to the state.

MUCC supported the bill, testifying that studying the viability of a sustainable Michigan moose hunting season will re-open a chapter in the history of Michigan’s outdoor heritage through a process appropriately guided by sound scientific management principles.

Contacts: Jennifer Kleitch 989-785-4251, ext. 5430 or Mary Dettloff
517-335-3014

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment today announced it
will conduct a survey in the northern Lower Peninsula Feb. 16 through
March 12 to detect the presence of gray wolves in this area of the
state.

Survey teams will be searching areas where the public reports observing
a wolf or wolf tracks during the survey period. Priority will be placed
on the most recent reports and reports with potential wolf evidence.

“The purpose of the survey is to both verify the presence of wolves
where we have previously confirmed animals and to detect new occurrences
in other areas,” said DNRE Wildlife Biologist Jennifer Kleitch.
“Given the low probability of observing a wolf or tracks in the
Lower Peninsula it’s helpful to have as many eyes looking as possible.
That’s why public reports are important.”

The DNRE is asking the public to report wolf sightings that occur
during the survey period to the Gaylord Operations Service Center at
989-732-3541, ext. 5901. Observation reports can also be submitted
online year-round at www.michigan.gov/wolves. The Web site also contains
identification information for wolves.

“It’s imperative that observations are reported in a timely manner
so we can work with fresh evidence. If the public finds what appear to
be wolf tracks, they should preserve the physical evidence and disturb
it as little as possible or take a photo of the tracks with a ruler,”
Kleitch said. “If someone has a photo or video of a wolf in the Lower
Peninsula, we’re interested in that as well.”

Wolves began naturally returning to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula via
Canada and Wisconsin in the early 1990s. Since that time populations
have increased and continue to expand their range. Evidence of range
expansion into the Lower Peninsula came when a gray wolf was
accidentally killed in Presque Isle County in 2004. More recently, the
DNRE verified two wolf observations in 2009 in the northern Lower
Peninsula as a result of a video and trail camera photo taken by
Michigan citizens.

The DNRE is partnering in this survey effort with USDA Wildlife
Services, the Little Traverse and Grand Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa
Indians, and Central Michigan University.

Contacts: Steve Schmitt 517-336-5040 or Mary Dettloff 517-335-3014

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment found no traces of
chronic wasting disease in deer tested in 2009.

“That’s good news,” said DNRE Veterinarian Steve Schmitt. “We
haven’t found anything since 2008 when we found that positive deer in
a captive facility. But you can never really give up the testing. You
always have to be on guard.”

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), an always fatal neurological disorder of
the deer family, was found in a white-tailed deer in privately owned
facility in 2008 in Kent County. The DNRE began wide-scale testing for
the disease with mandatory testing of all deer taken from the
nine-township area immediately surrounding the infected facility.

The department tested a total of 1,134 deer in 2009, including 937 from
Kent County – 790 of them from the nine-township area. All tested
negative.

“Since 1998, the DNRE has tested more than 32,000 deer, 1,000 elk and
50 moose and we haven’t found anything,” Schmitt said.

Despite the finding, Schmitt said it is important that the DNRE
continue the mandatory testing in the nine-township area.

“CWD is a like a terrorist attack,” Schmitt said. “It’s one of
those things you always have to guard against.

From the NRA-ILA

On February 22, a new law on guns in national parks takes effect. The new law repeals a National Park Service rule that has long prohibited Americans from possessing firearms in national parks for self-defense.

The Coburn amendment, passed last spring by an overwhelming bipartisan vote in the U.S. Senate, will allow people to possess, carry and transport firearms in national parks, in accordance with state law.

However, many details remain to be worked out. Reports indicate that National Park Service officials are debating issues such as the definition of “federal facilities,” where firearms will remain prohibited under a different federal law.

NPS officials are expected to issue further information as February 22 approaches, and some parks have already published information on their new policies. Because state laws vary greatly, before you visit a national park, you should check the park’s website or call the park headquarters for more information. NRA will also provide updates as they become available.

The U.S. Supreme Court granted the National Rifle Association’s motion to participate in McDonald v. City of Chicago on March 2. The NRA’s lawyer, former U.S Solicitor General Paul Clement, will argue on their behalf and divide time with Alan Gura, counsel representing McDonald. The NRA’s brief stresses more conventional constitutional grounds for applying the Second Amendment to the states (called the “Selective Incorporation Doctrine”) than the McDonald brief, which asks the court to overrule a Supreme Court case dating back to the 1800s. The case will test whether the Second Amendment restricts the power of state and local governments to pass gun-control laws.-courtesy National Shooting Sports Foundation

By Glen Wunderlich
Outdoor Columnist
Member Professional Outdoor Media Association

Hunters are always looking for an edge and good ones are always finding new ways to exploit a given animal’s vulnerabilities, while playing within the rules. It doesn’t seem to matter what position on the food chain an animal assumes, in its environment it demonstrates how much keener its senses are than ours. Some may not have the best sense of smell, such as the wild turkey, but its eyesight compares favorably to the finest optics from Germany. The whitetail’s eyes can be fooled by an experienced, motionless hunter, but if that hunter is upwind, the deer is gone in a flash, if he catches the scent in the breeze. Mother Nature has endowed all critters with a certain innate level of protection often mistaken by hunters as smartness; however, the hunter has the ability to top them all, if he exercises his brain.

With the advent of the hunting shows on television, a novice hunter can gain valuable lessons from the comfort of his living room. While I have nothing against books or magazines, trying to understand vocalizations made by animals from printed material proved impossible for me. For example, name the bird that sings this song: Madge, Madge, Madge, put-on-your-tea-kettle-ettle-ettle. Of course, anyone will recognize that description as one belonging to the common song sparrow. Or, not.

That’s all changed forever with shows on Versus, The Sportsmen’s Channel, Outdoor Channel, and others. Watching an expert turkey hunter work a slate call and how he sets up his blind and decoys, just about anyone can catch on with ease. But, a few weeks ago on Outdoor Channel, I was thoroughly astounded by a simple decoying tactic used on a show called “On Your Own Adventures” (www.OnYourOwnAdventures.com). As indicated on its website, the show is dedicated exclusively to non-guided hunting.

Hunt after hunt, I watched in awe as a couple of hunters were successful on government land for bear (without bait), elk, and finally antelope. And, it was the New Mexico antelope hunt that opened my eyes to a tactic I never dreamed of.
Most people consider antelope hunting a long-range proposition, because of the keen eyesight of pronghorns.

But, these guys had a trick to try that even they were unsure of: A cow decoy. That’s right. A black and white cow silhouette with a light framework and a hole in the center used for spotting and shooting. They were laughing and so was I, as the two men closed the distance on on their quarry. Session after session, they approached within a stone’s throw of the wary animals, that were completely oblivious to their potential demise. If I remember correctly, they strolled within 80 yards and harvested a monster pronghorn with assistance from the Moo Cow decoy from Montana Decoy Company. (Check it out online.)

I had seen an archery hunter years ago successfully use a large antelope cutout decoy in the same manner. But, I couldn’t help but think some wild-eyed wacko might take a shot from long range into the decoy mistaking it for a trophy. But, hopefully, nobody is going to mistake a cow for a game animal.

Now I’m wondering how to make one myself to test on the neighborhood deer population.
Stay tuned.