Massive Land Gift in Osceola County, Florida

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Thanks to the tremendous generosity of Elisabeth DeLuca, more than 27,000 acres of iconic Florida prairie and wetlands habitat have been permanently protected through a unique partnership between Ducks Unlimited (DU) and the University of Florida.

The land was donated to the University of Florida by Elisabeth Deluca, and a conservation easement was set up through DU’s land trust, Wetlands America Trust. The easement will protect important wildlife habitat and natural values on the property in perpetuity.

“This Kissimmee Prairie landscape is in the Everglades headwaters, yet at the edge of central Florida’s tourism and development core and is now a permanently protected piece of the conservation puzzle,” said DU CEO Adam Putnam. “For generations to come, students and researchers will make new discoveries alongside migrating waterfowl, endangered red cockaded woodpeckers and grasshopper sparrows on this massive outdoor laboratory. Future ranchers, waterfowlers, nature lovers and wildlife scientists will be able to apply what they’ve read in textbooks to what they’re observing on the landscape, thanks to Elisabeth DeLuca. This partnership between the University of Florida and Ducks Unlimited benefits waterfowl, wildlife and millions of Floridians who value clean water and the protection of the natural landscape.” Read more

Wildlife

CZ-USA’s 557Bolt Action Rifle

There are few things more dependable than a quality made, rough-and-tumble bolt-action rifle. It has long been the preferred action of hunters around the world, and it’s been the goal of gunmakers to build rifles that are both accurate and as rugged as possible.

That’s what CZ-USA has done with the new version of its popular 557 bolt-action rifle, the 557 Eclipse. This no-nonsense hunting gun is built around the gunmaker’s precision push-feed action. It is mated to a 20.5-inch CZ barrel, cold hammer-forged and lapped in the CZ factory, ensuring unparalleled accuracy and a long shooting life.

The 557 Eclipse retains the original 557’s American-pattern stock with a strong pistol grip, a slight palm swell and a high, flat comb. Furnished in black, glass-reinforced polymer stock instead of wood, the Eclipse features a Soft Touch surface finish that will stand up to the harshest weather conditions and the roughest treatment while providing a non-slip grip.

This rifle possesses the accuracy CZ is known for, and at the same time, is an extremely affordable bolt-gun option for many hunters. The 557 Eclipse is available chambered for today’s most popular hunting cartridges: 308 Win., 30-06 Sprg, and 6.5 Creedmoor. The 6.5 Creedmoor version includes a muzzle with 5/8×24 threads for a suppressor or brake. All models feed from a 5-round, internal magazine with a hinged floorplate and come with 19mm dovetails for the scope rings’ rock-solid mounting. Read more

Firearms

Henry Repeating Arms Introduces 32 New Rifles and Shotguns

RICE LAKE, WI – American gunmaker Henry Repeating Arms is announcing a large transition in their product catalog with upgrades for their Wisconsin-made lever-action rifles and shotguns and new calibers and configurations for their H015 Single Shot firearms. In total, the announcement is replacing 29 “legacy” models in favor of newly upgraded versions and adding 3 new Single Shots to the Henry lineup.By popular demand, Henry Repeating Arms is replacing all steel-framed centerfire lever-action rifles and shotguns to include a side loading gate while still retaining the removable tube magazine based on the original Henry rifle patented in 1860. This open-ended magazine design, first introduced with the Henry H024 Side Gate Lever Action in 2019, provides owners with the ability to conveniently load the magazine and keep it topped off through a port in the receiver and safely unload the magazine by twisting out the inner magazine tube. The transition applies to all of Henry’s .30-30 and .45-70 rifles, .410 bore shotguns, and revolver caliber Big Boy rifles in their blued steel, All-Weather, and Color Case Hardened finishes that do not already include a side loading gate. Read more
Firearms

SAF, NRA File Appeal Brief in Federal Challenge of WA Gun Control Measure

BELLEVUE, WA – Attorneys representing the Second Amendment Foundation, National Rifle Association, two Washington state gun retailers and three private citizens have filed an appeal brief with the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in their challenge of gun control Initiative 1639, a measure adopted two years ago in the Evergreen State.

The 45-page brief asserts I-1639 “infringes the rights protected by the Second Amendment and enjoyed by law-abiding adults of all ages. The interstate sales ban violates the Interstate Commerce Clause.” A district court judge in Tacoma dismissed the case in August, and plaintiffs promptly filed notice of appeal with the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court in San Francisco.

The initiative prohibits young adults ages 18-20 from purchasing and owning so-called “semiautomatic assault rifles,” which it defined as literally any self-loading rifle, regardless of caliber. Tens of millions of semiautomatic rifles are in use today by law-abiding citizens of all ages for a variety of endeavors including hunting, competition, predator and varmint control, recreational shooting and personal/home protection. Read more

Gun Control

Test of Unmanned Surveillance Craft Completed off Hawaii

HONOLULU — The Coast Guard completed a 30 day demonstration and evaluation of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) off Oahu in early November.

The focus of the test was to explore how current and emerging technologies might be used to enhance maritime domain awareness in remote regions. The test also showed ways USVs with assorted sensor capabilities might support the Coast Guard’s many missions around the globe ranging from search and rescue, to law enforcement.

“It’s clear that autonomous technology is a growing industry, and has great potential to enhance Coast Guard operations,” said Cmdr. Blair Sweigart, the demonstration’s director from the Coast Guard Research and Development Center. “Combined with artificial intelligence algorithms, unmanned systems could be a game changer.”

During the test the Coast Guard examined USVs from Saildrone and Spatial Integrated Systems to understand their capabilities and effectiveness. The USVs participated in a variety of operational simulations to detect and alert the Coast Guard to both legitimate and nefarious behavior. Read more

General

Alliant Powder’s 410 Propellant for Smallest Sub-Gauge

RADFORD, Virginia –– Alliant Powder, a leading manufacturer of smokeless powder, released a new propellant that is the only flake powder specifically designed for the demanding needs of .410 bore skeet and field loads. Shipments of improved 410 are being delivered to dealers.

The new 410 powder’s efficient formulation delivers low charge weights and optimum loading characteristics. The flake granulation yields excellent charging characteristics while minimizing annoying bar leakage. It all comes together for superior patterns and consistent performance—shot after shot, lot after lot. Read more

Ammunition

SIG Issues Safety Recall Notice for Cross Bolt-Action Rifles

NEWINGTON, NH — Sig Sauer, Inc. is announcing a safety recall for the CROSS Bolt-Action Rifle, and consumers should immediately discontinue use of the rifle. This recall applies to all CROSS Bolt-Action rifles currently manufactured.

Sig Sauer has viewed an online video that presents a single CROSS Bolt-Action Rifle with a potential safety concern. This gun has been returned to Sig Sauer and upon evaluation it has been confirmed that the rifle exhibited a delayed discharge after the trigger was pulled. Sig Sauer has decided to issue a safety recall in order to implement a modification to the firing action to address this potential safety concern. Read more

Firearms

Utah’s Missing A Metallic Monolith

In the last edition before the Thanksgiving holiday, we told you about the mysterious monolith Utah wildlife officers spotted during an aerial bighorn sheep count in a portion of southeastern Utah. The metal monolith, approximately 12 feet tall, kicked off quite a round of speculation as to its origins. One school of thought attributed it to the late sculptor John McCracken. Whatever the source, it appears the monolith has returned to it. On Saturday, officials said it had been taken down- but not by them. No word- yet- on who, what, why, when or where…

General

The BirdSpotter Photo Contest

Enter your feeder bird photos in the BirdSpotter photo contest, and vote for your favorites too. This close portrait of a male Northern Cardinal was photographed Bob Vuxinic.
How can you beat a spread-wing photo of an Eastern Bluebird? Mary Santangelo took this stunning photo at her feeding station in Effingham, Illinois that ranked as one of the Grand Prize winners in last year’s Bird Spotter photo contest. 2 Attachments

Each year, Wild Birds Unlimited co-sponsors the popular BirdSpotter photo contest in conjunction with Project FeederWatch. You can win a number of prizes, and every other Monday a new BirdSpotter photo challenge will begin. Whether you submit photos or not, you can always view the photos submitted and vote for your favorite. The first Category is “Birds with Food, or at the Feeder” which continues through November 26th, followed by Category 2: “How many species can you get in one photo?” that runs from November 30 to December 10.

What’s in it for you? You get to enter your favorite photo in each two-week challenge, you get to vote for your favorite photo; and if you win, you can get one of the quality prizes provided by Wild Birds Unlimited stores and the Cornell Lab. You could win a $100 or $250 gift card for purchases of your choice at Wild Birds Unlimited stores plus a Lab prize.

For all the information and a list of all this season’s challenge topics, see https://feederwatch.org/birdspotter2020-21/#weekly-categories and for more information about Wild Birds Unlimited stores and online shopping, see https://www.wbu.com/

Wildlife
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