Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
North Logan, UT- Anarchy Outdoors, a leading industry innovator and supplier of precision rifle components and other high-performance firearms accessories, has introduced Throw Levers for scope magnification adjustment selectors. Their latest in a series of innovative products, the Throw Levers let shooters almost instantly change the scope magnification as the situation requires. Read more
RICHMOND, VA — This afternoon the Virginia House of Delegates voted 51 – 48 in favor of passing House Bill 961, Delegate Mark Levine’s (D-45) “assault firearm” and suppressor ban. All 45 Republican Delegates voted against the bill. They were joined by Del. Lee Carter (D-50), Del. Steve Heretick (D-79), and Del. Rosalyn Tyler (D-75), with Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler (D-21) abstaining. Now that the bill has passed the House, it will move to the Senate for consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The suppressor provisions of House Bill 961 were amended in Committee on Friday, removing the confiscation provision that was previously included. Should the bill become law, anyone who possesses a federally registered suppressor in Virginia prior to July 1st would be able to legally maintain possession of their property. However, the acts of importing, selling, manufacturing, and purchasing suppressors would be prohibited for civilians after enactment. For this reason, among others, HB 961 remains a bill that the American Suppressor Association strongly opposes. Read more
COLUMBUS, Georgia, Feb. 10, 2020 — ? The MOJO® Handwarmer in Realtree Timber Camo is designed to keep your hands toasty warm and nimble when you’re hunting in frigid weather. Read more
LEWISTON, Idaho – – CCI Stinger isn’t just a great load for pinning down varmints. It’s also been one of the top choices of YouTube shooting sensation 22plinkster. That’s why we’ve introduced a special-edition “Stangers” load named for his signature drawl. Shipments of this new product have been delivered to dealers.
YouTube shooting sensation 22plinkster is a familiar face to fans around the world. His collection of more than 400 videos featuring rimfire trick shots and other entertaining shooting demonstrations has to date attracted more than 583,000 subscribers and garnered more than 94 million views. Read more
In just a few days, the DNR will begin the changeover to a new system for selling hunting and fishing licenses, hunting applications, and ORV and snowmobile permits online and at retail agent locations statewide. The changeover starts Saturday, Feb. 15, and the new system will go live at noon Tuesday, Feb. 18.
During the changeover, all licenses, permits and applications will be unavailable for sale – both online and in retail stores. If you’ve been planning to pick up a license or permit for the coming weekend, don’t wait. Please plan ahead, or plan to wait until after noon Feb. 18. (However, select dealers across the state will be selling preprinted ORV licenses and ORV and snowmobile trail permits while the system is down.) Read more
BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today threw its support behind a new effort by President Donald Trump’s administration aimed at improving school safety with the launch of a dedicated website to provide information to help local school districts shape their own strategies.
The SchoolSafety.gov website is described as a “one stop shop for resources, best practices, federal programs, and grants for school safety.” President Trump met with families of students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who died in the tragic Feb. 14 shooting almost two years ago.
“We think this is a step in the right direction,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, “because it focuses on actual school security without proposing restrictions on law-abiding firearms owners that would not improve school safety, nor would they have prevented the tragedy in Parkland. Read more
ATHENS, GA – The Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) today released its 12th annual Whitetail Report, a comprehensive update on the status of white-tailed deer including deer harvest trends through the 2018-19 season, the most recent hunting season with complete deer harvest data available from most whitetail states and Canadian provinces. That season, the national percentage of yearling bucks (1½ years old) in the total antlered buck harvest fell to 30%, the lowest ever recorded.
“The fact that less than one in three antlered bucks shot today is 1½ years old is amazing,” said Kip Adams, QDMA Director of Conservation. “The result is that deer populations are more socially balanced, and of course hunters are seeing and harvesting more adult bucks. The average percentage of the buck harvest that was 3½ years old or older was 37% in 2018, which is by far the highest percentage ever reported.” Read more
NEWINGTON, N.H. – SIG SAUER, Inc. continues to expand its line of premium-grade Elite Copper Hunting ammunition with the addition of 6mm Creedmoor. Featuring an 80gr all-copper bullet that delivers deep penetration and consistent 1.8x diameter expansion with maximum terminal ballistic performance, the 6mm Creedmoor Elite Copper Hunting ammunition is a highly accurate load for hunting numerous species of medium-size game.
This fast, flat-shooting cartridge has a high ballistic coefficient allowing it to push through wind with less drag and drift, increasing accuracy at longer ranges. Muzzle velocity is 3,300 fps and muzzle energy is 1,935 ft-lbs. Read more
By Glen Wunderlich
Charter Member of Professional Outdoor Media Association
When it comes to accuracy in a firearm, many variables contribute to results – especially when afield and separated from the shooting bench. The trouble is that when target groups are not as tight as desired or expected, we begin to search for the cause. Some shooters may blame their troubles on the firearm, while others point to the ammo and still others rightfully look into the mirror; it could be any or all of the above. But, how good is good?
Like most of us, I tend to push for perfection, although there is no such thing in shooting any more than there is in golf. Anybody ever heard of a score of 18 on the links? Although it doesn’t happen and never will, it doesn’t stop any golf whiz from buying new clubs, balls, lessons and so forth.
However, perfection afield is really not that difficult to achieve providing the shooter does his or her part. After all, just about any firearm is capable of producing 6-inch groups out to reasonable ranges. As bad as that may sound, medium to large-sized game animals have kill zones of 8 inches and up – large enough to allow for certain deviations no matter the cause.
I recall handing over a high-magnification scoped rifle to an old timer, who promptly put it to his shoulder, as he peered through the expensive glass. “This thing moves around too much!” he exclaimed; obviously, it moved only as much as he did. What made him hand the rifle back to me was the fact that he was given instant feedback without ever firing a shot.
High-magnification scopes will do that and are quite useful for that purpose, although possibly problematic afield. Even the person that is innately steady will be able to see the slightest movement, as the crosshairs dance about – courtesy of the faintest heartbeat.
Anyone observing the Olympic Biathlon athletes while shooting will notice barrel movement, as they shoot bull’s eyes down field. These athletes don’t have time to settle down, because they are competing against the clock, and must, therefore, time their trigger squeezing with calculated movement to consistently hit the tiny targets. As amazing as these shooters are, the average hunter doesn’t have to learn these skills.
Technology has given the competitive shooters a tool that could also help the hunter striving for better shooting skills. The new Mantis X2 is a small, powerful precision sensing device that tracks the minutest of movements, collecting thousands of datapoints per second. Once rail-mounted, it analyzes shooter movements, and sends the data over Bluetooth to the MantisX app for smartphones and tablets. The app provides real-time analytics and coaching tips to improve shooting mechanics and is available at mantisX.com for $99.
If a hunter doesn’t have the advantage of instant feedback during practice target shooting sessions, he’ll never know how to adjust or what to adjust for that matter. He will fiddle with the firearm, scope, ammo, rest or any other means to shrink those groups never actually realizing the root cause of his troubles.
However a shooter develops skills, it’s paramount to know the causes of movement or he will forever chase his tail in his quest for perfection.
Colona, IL – Rock River Arms, one of the industry’s most respected names in Modern Sporting Rifles and pistols, expands their series of semi-autos chambered in 9x19mm with the new BT92152. Designed to work with GLOCK® style magazines for optimal cross-compatibility with GLOCK® back-up carry pistols, the 4.5-inch BT-9 Pistol with SBA3 Arm Brace takes personal defense systems to new levels.
The 4.5-inch BT-9 is based on RRA’s billet aluminum lower receiver with a GLOCK® magazine-compatible flared magazine well. Integral to the lower receiver is a unique winter-style trigger guard that offers comfortable room for the trigger finger when wearing tactical or cold-weather gloves. The pistol includes RRA’s latest extruded aluminum upper receiver and comes standard with RRA’s 4.25-inch pistol length lightweight free-float M-LOK-compatible handguard.
Featuring a 4.5-inch chrome moly, 1:10 twist barrel with a Smith Vortex flash suppressor (1/2-36 threads), the BT92152 pistol incorporates the SB Tactical SBA3 pistol brace (with 5-position LOP adjustment) plus RRA’s overmolded A2 pistol grip and two-stage trigger for an ultra-compact and highly portable AR-platform 9mm pistol ideally suited as a home- or personal-defense firearm. Read more