Trijicon REAP-IR Thermal Riflescope Receives NRA Golden Bullseye

Wixom, Mich. — Trijicon Inc., global provider of innovative aiming solutions to military, law enforcement and individual consumers, is pleased to announce that the Trijicon REAP-IR thermal riflescope has been selected to receive a Golden Bullseye Award as the 2018 American Rifleman Optic of the Year.

The Golden Bullseye Award is an acknowledgement of the finest products available in the shooting sports, and Trijicon is honored to be the recipient of this notable award. The Trijicon REAP-IR is manufactured at the company’s Electro Optic Division located in Auburn, California.

“The Trijicon REAP-IR is one of our most popular thermal scopes”, said Stephen Bindon, President of Trijicon. “Receiving this distinguished and prestigious award is an exceptional honor and we are so very appreciative.”

There are four models of the Trijicon REAP-IR, with optical magnifications from 1.5-4.5X and digital magnification of 8X. Outstanding image quality, intuitive controls, and durability distinguish the REAP-IR, making it an exceptional choice for the most demanding applications. Read more

Optics

Winchester Varmint X Shotshells

By Glen Wunderlich

If you are up for a challenge, hunting coyotes in Michigan is hard to beat.  Although many of the canines are killed during deer season as opportunistic targets, it is quite another matter to actually call them into range and to make that perfect shot.  However, Michigan hunting regulations have changed over the past few years and now give predator hunters some options that can prove to be effective.

 

Hunting from elevated platforms or blinds is now legal but certain restrictions apply for night hunting; it is best to check the game laws before heading afield.  However, shotgun hunting is legal any time of the day or night and can be used in stands above ground.

 

Most people think of shotguns and suitable loads as being a rather short-range proposition and that’s true in a relative sense.  Compared to centerfire calibers or even rimfires, shotguns minimize any chance of ricochets or otherwise errant shots that could be problematic – especially when one cannot see what lies beyond the range of a lighted firearm.  Defining a target at long range in the dark – even with modern LED lights can be difficult.  For this reason, among others, shotguns may be a viable option.

 

A couple of years ago at a media event, I got a first-hand look at a patterning target shot at 60 yards with Winchester’s then-new shotshell offering in its Long Beard XR product and couldn’t believe the size of the tight pattern.  Naturally, when Winchester unveiled its new “Varmint X” line of shotshells, I had to see how these new shells patterned.  The results were impressive.

 

Winchester’s Varmint X® Line now includes a 12-gauge shotshell with Shot-Lok® Technology.  For hunters that hunt in heavy cover, such as is common in Michigan, shotguns can be an ideal choice as either a primary firearm or a close-in option when hunting with a partner outfitted with a rifle.

 

Shot-Lok Technology includes a liquid gel that surrounds the pellets in the shot cup and then hardens. When fired, the shot launches from the barrel nearly perfectly round as the hardened resin fractures and disperses like any shotshell buffer. The result is extremely tight, long-range patterns.

 

Hunters have been able to achieve reliable patterns much farther out than standard shotshell loads of the same gauge and shot size.  In fact, an ardent varmint hunter in Arizona that I know has taken one coyote as far as 90 yards with this ammo, although a follow up shot was required to dispatch the varmint.

 

The new Varmint X shotshell load is available in a 3-inch offering loaded with 1½ ounces of plated BBs that leave the muzzle at 1,300 fps. At 40 yards and beyond, hunters can expect to deliver up to 12 inches of penetration combined with enough devastating knockdown power to handle the largest coyotes, foxes and more.  Current pricing at www.Midwayusa.com puts the ammo at about $14 per 10-round box – far less than other high-tech offerings.

 

In testing at 40 yards with my Browning Silver shotgun and factory Browning turkey choke, the load put 72 pellets in a 30-inch circle out of the total of 73 pellets in the load! 

Patterning Target Winchester Varmint X Shotshells 12 Gauge BBs

In addition, 9 pellets hit the 5 ½-inch bull’s eye.  At 50 yards, this load printed 65 pellets in the 30-inch circle, while still placing 8 of them in the 5 ½-inch bull’s eye.  For reference, BB lead shot is .18″ diameter with a pellet weight of 8.75 grains and to date Winchester’s only option in the new configuration. 

 

A coyote on the move can present a difficult challenge to any shooter, but toting that shotgun afield can be a great equalizer.

Hunting

Deer Birth Control Put on Hold in Michigan

By Glen Wunderlich

A moratorium on the sterilization of wild game species in Michigan is now in effect, after Governor Snyder signed House Bill 5321 this month.  Four years from now, the DNR, NRC, and stakeholders  will have analyzed available data in an effort to determine if sterilization is an effective method to manage an over-population of deer based on outcomes from Ann Arbor’s current test project.

The bill would amend Part 401 (Wildlife Conservation) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to prohibit the Department of Natural Resources, until April 1, 2022, from issuing a permit authorizing the sterilization of game.  

The bill also would require the Department to submit, to the standing committees of the Senate and House of Representatives with primary responsibility for natural resources issues, two reports on the results of research under any permit authorizing the sterilization of game issued before the bill’s effective date. A preliminary report would have to be submitted by December 31, 2020, and a final report by March 31, 2022. The reports would have to include any recommendations for legislation, including whether and how sterilization of deer should be authorized as a manner of taking game.  

The bill would allow the Natural Resources Commission to establish, in or adjacent to urban areas with a high concentration of deer, special deer management zones for which a higher number of deer kill tags would be issued.  

The bill also would allow the legislative body of a municipality, by ordinance, to adopt a firearm hunting distance requirement shorter than the 150-yard requirement under Section 40111, as part of a deer management plan. The 150-yard requirement would not apply in circumstances addressed by the ordinance. (Section 40111 prohibits an individual from hunting with a firearm within 150 yards of an occupied building, dwelling, house, residence, or cabin, or any barn or other building used in connection with a farm operation, without obtaining the written permission of the owner, renter, or occupant of the property.)

Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) Deputy Director Amy Trotter said this is a victory for sportsmen and women across the state.  “MUCC firmly believes that the proper management of game species in Michigan belongs to its citizens who pay, through licensing dollars and other methods, to manage these species,” Trotter said. “We have worked this bill hard since its inception, and the passage of this bill to the governor’s desk is a testament to the grassroots process and engagement that MUCC brings to the table.”

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has been pushing communities and state agencies around the country to adopt sterilization as a way to prevent urban bow hunting or future culling to manage deer. The DNR approved this permit under the guise of “research” with no input from the public and it actually runs counter to the DNR’s own approved urban deer management policy.

The current Ann Arbor permit appears to be an attempt to satisfy anti-hunting and anti-culling stakeholders – always the common denominator with HSUS, which has pushed the sterilization and fertility control efforts in Ann Arbor and elsewhere.

Four years from now, we’ll have the opportunity to determine if factual results matter.

Wildlife

Amy Trotter Becomes Executive Director of MUCC

Yesterday, Michigan United Conservation Clubs Executive Board named MUCC Deputy Director Amy Trotter the next executive director of the organization. Dan Eichinger submitted his resignation and was appointed as the new director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources by Governor-elect Gretchen Whitmer, effective January 1st. He served as MUCC executive director since 2014.

“We are honored to have one of our own be selected to such a prestigious position like DNR director,” said MUCC President George Lindquist. “Dan’s passion for policy and conservation is something we are sure he will carry to his new appointment, and we look forward to working closely with him in his new post.”

Lindquist said the transition from Eichinger to Trotter as executive director will run smoothly because of Trotter’s institutional knowledge and policy background with the organization.

“Amy has dedicated most of her professional career to conservation and Michigan United Conservation Clubs,” Lindquist said. “The board is confident Amy will continue to build on the foundation Eichinger built and help to make MUCC a 21st-century conservation leader.”

Trotter said it is always hard to lose someone as passionate as Eichinger, but she looks forward to working with him in his new position to help promote and enhance MUCC’s position regionally and nationally.

“I look forward to leading the organization I have been dedicated to for the last 11 years,” Trotter said. “Dan and I have known each other for at least a decade, and we are both committed to ensuring that the agency and conservation and hunting, fishing and trapping groups are working together to conserve our natural resources and protect our outdoor heritage.”

Trotter started with MUCC in 2007 as a resource policy specialist, then policy manager and has served as deputy director since 2015. Prior to joining MUCC, Trotter was a consultant for natural resources at Public Sector Consultants, a non-partisan public policy research firm in Lansing.

Trotter earned a Bachelor of Science from Michigan State University in Lyman Briggs School-Environmental Science and Management and an additional Bachelor of Science in Resource Development-Environmental Studies and Applications. She also completed the Natural Resources Leadership Project and the Michigan Society of Association Executives’ Academy of Association Management.

Trotter is from Cheboygan, Michigan and resides in Haslett with her husband Marc and two daughters. She enjoys spending time with her family in the outdoors, including camping, waterfowl hunting and is dabbling in native plants and periennial gardening. She is also a longtime member and volunteer for Ducks Unlimited.

Since 1937, MUCC has been committed to protecting the rights of hunters, angler and trappers in Michigan.

Fishing, Hunting

Police Seek Help to Solve Hunter’s Murder

Avid hunter shot, killed and then robbed of his gear including his firearm.  To my knowledge, the case remains open…GW

Please share! We want to get the word out as much as we can. Someone out there knows something and we urge that person or anyone else with information to come forward so we can bring some closure to the family.

Bath Township Police Detective Miller – 517-641-6271
Crime Stoppers – 517-483-7867

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General

Lame Duck Politics in Michigan

Legislative Roundup from MUCC

  • SB 1035 – Property tax exemption for charitable sportsmen’s clubs — Unfortunately, this was our biggest loss this session. When everything shook out, townships, municipalities and school districts were able to swing votes their way citing the unknown, potential loss of revenue. MUCC learned on Thursday morning that we were not going to have the votes in the House to get this to Gov. Snyder. This issue will continue to be a top priority for MUCC in 2019 as we look to rework the bill and make it feasible for all those involved. It will require reintroduction with a new bill number and must go through the process all over again.
  • HB 5321 – Moratorium on the sterilization of game species in Michigan — Gov. Snyder signed Rep. Cole’s bill into law earlier this week, and it was a bill that Michigan United Conservation Clubs helped to craft and get across the finish line. HB 5321 did meet resistance, but the compromise language provides a four-year moratorium preventing the DNR from issuing “research permits” that allow the sterilization of game species. After four years, it will be up to the DNR, NRC and stakeholders to decide if sterilization is an effective method of managing game species using the “research” outcomes gained in Ann Arbor during the city’s ongoing sterilization project. MUCC is optimistic that scientific research will not validate sterilization as an effective tool for the management of game species, and that hunters will continually be the primary managers of Michigan’s game species.
  • Michigan Pheasant Hunter Initiative — MUCC was informed early this morning that our request for supplemental funding did make it into the final budget bill, SB 601. The supplemental appropriations bill will now head to Gov. Snyder who will have the ability to sign, or line-item veto certain parts of the the legislation. This initiative was a 2017 MUCC resolution that passed unanimously through our Annual Convention. The initiative looks to create more pheasant hunting opportunities on state lands in Michigan.
  • SB 1211 —  Dubbed Casperson’s “wetland destruction act” — Initially, MUCC was opposed to this bill along with numerous other conservation groups throughout Michigan. In its final form after midnight today, MUCC, along with many of our partners who have worked tirelessly on this bill, stands neutral. Most of the language weakening wetland protections that raised flags throughout the environmental and conservation communities has been removed. MUCC Deputy Director Amy Trotter said, “Sportsmen and environmental organizations teamed up together on direct and grassroots advocacy to drain the ‘wetland destructions act.'” Currently, this bill is awaiting Gov. Snyder’s decision.
  • HB 5854-5855—Voluntary Wetland Restoration Program. Not to be confused with the above, this proactive legislation spearheaded by Ducks Unlimited, sponsored by Reps. Howell and Bellino and supported by MUCC heads to the Governor to create a program to streamline permits for voluntary wetland restoration work done by an agency or non-governmental organization.
  • SB 1145 — This bill would have allowed the harvest of lake trout by commercial fishermen, which has been prohibited since the 1960s. This Sen. Casperson bill, if passed, could have had serious ramifications for not only lake trout, but also could interfere with the upcoming tribal negotiations on the Great Lakes Consent Decree beginning next year. MUCC stood with the charter boat industry, Trout Unlimited, the Michigan Steelhead and Salmon Fishermen’s Association, and Hammond Bay Area Anglers in opposition and stopped this bill from coming out of committee. We look forward to working together in 2019 on comprehensive updates to the commercial fishing law.
  • SB 1258-1259 — Unfortunately, the recreation passport opt-out was a late-introduced bill that never got legs in the House, after passing the Senate last week. This legislation would have every vehicle automatically pay for the recreation passport unless the owner opted out, potentially raising more funding for state and local parks operations and maintenance. MUCC will continue to look for long-term funding opportunities to ensure our parks and recreation infrastructure can be maintained into the future.
  • SJR O, SB 763, SB 931-932 — This package introduced by Sens. Casperson, Hansen and Booher, in its final version, was widely supported by the conservation and recreation community and made changes to capture the next rollover of the oil and gas revenues, currently going into the State Parks Endowment Fund (SPEF), to put them back into the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund once SPEF reaches is cap. SJR O will be a constitutional amendment on the 2020 ballot to increase the flexibility of the funding to invest in both land acquisition and recreational development projects.
  • HB 6123— After yet another battle earlier this year over potentially dangerous changes to our water withdrawal law, this bill led by Michigan Trout Unlimited seeks to reauthorize the water use advisory council to make recommendations to the state on improvements that can be made on the use of data and models, and to the process for using the water withdrawal assessment tool. MUCC supports this legislation that was sent to the Governor this morning.
Fishing, Hunting

Congress Fails to Reauthorize LWCF

TRCP calls on the 116th Congress to advance these noncontroversial measures in early 2019

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last night, the 115th Congress moved closer to adjourning after failing to advance a wide-ranging and noncontroversial public lands package that had been under careful development by lawmakers for years. Part of the proposed legislation was a permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, key provisions from the Sportsmen’s Act, Pittman-Robertson Modernization, and numerous regionally specific bills.

“These critical measures for our public lands and sportsmen’s access were teed-up and ready to go with broad support, yet Congress still failed to get them across the finish line,” says Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “While we truly appreciate the best efforts of some lawmakers who went to bat for this, we are disappointed to see common-sense solutions kicked down the road yet again.”

Chief among the opportunities missed was a reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which expired on September 30 despite the efforts of an outspoken, diverse coalition of advocates. For more than 50 years, the LWCF has helped conserve habitat and create public access for hunting and fishing all across the nation.

“Permanently reauthorizing the Land and Water Conservation Fund should have been an easy win for lawmakers of both parties,” says Fosburgh. “We still have 9.5 million acres of landlocked public lands in the West, and the task of conserving important fish and wildlife habitats is no less critical, but we no longer have at our disposal the best tool to address these issues.” Read more

General

First Michigan waterways designated as state water trails

Eight waterways totaling 540-plus miles that flow through more than a dozen counties have been selected as the first state-designated water trails in Michigan, the Department of Natural Resources announced Thursday.

The DNR and the Office of the Great Lakes partnered on the effort to finalize this first round of designations, which includes:

  • Central River Raisin Water Trail, 11 miles in Monroe County.
  • Chain of Lakes Water Trail, more than 80 miles in Antrim and Kalkaska counties.
  • Huron River Water Trail, 104 miles in Livingston, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne counties.
  • Island Loop Route, 10 miles in St. Clair County.
  • Flint River Trail, 72 miles in Genesee and Lapeer counties.
  • Middle Grand River Water Trail, 87 miles in Clinton, Eaton, Ingham and Ionia counties.
  • Shiawassee River Trail, 88 miles in Genesee, Oakland, Saginaw and Shiawassee counties.
  • Upper Grand River Water Trail, 91 miles in Eaton, Ingham and Jackson counties.

A water trail is a designated route on a navigable waterway such as a lake, river, canal or bay, that is designed and managed to create a positive outdoor recreation experience for the user. Water trails feature well-developed access points, often are near significant historical, environmental or cultural points of interest and often have nearby amenities like restaurants, hotels and campgrounds. Read more

Fishing

Nightforce Introduces New Products for 2019

Nightforce Optics has introduced a second focal plane version of their acclaimed ATACR™ 7-35×56 F1, the most powerful ATACR™ riflescope currently offered. “Since we introduced the first focal plane 7-35x two years ago, it has become one of our most popular models,” said Alan Stilwell, North American sales manager for Nightforce. “With its brilliant ED glass, extraordinary resolving power and the virtually indestructible construction that characterizes all of our ATACR™ riflescopes, we believe it is the most precise, powerful instrument for extended-range shooting on the market today.”

The ATACR™ 7-35×56 F2, built on a 34mm tube, provides 100 MOA/29 MRAD of elevation adjustment and 60 MOA/17 MRAD of windage adjustment. Unlike many high-magnification riflescopes, it delivers superb clarity at every power setting, allowing detailed rendering and identification of small targets at extreme ranges. It is offered with either the MOAR-T™ or MIL-C™ proprietary Nightforce reticles. DigIllum™ reticle illumination and ZeroStop™ elevation technology are standard.

“The F1-first focal plane-version has been so successful,” Stilwell added, “that we wanted to make the same unparalleled performance available to those who prefer a second focal plane reticle.” MSRP is $3,100.

 

MIL-XT Reticle

Nightforce has also announced its new illuminated MIL-XT™ reticle, available in 16x, 25x and 35x ATACR™ F1 (first focal plane) riflescopes. It is designed for precision rifle competition, being extremely fast, intuitive and providing precise hold-over and hold-off points. Main lines feature .2 Mil-Radian holds, while each whole Mil-Radian is numbered for fast reference.

Below center, there are .2 Mil-Radian-spaced floating dots at every vertical Mil-Radian. Whole Mil-Radians dots are larger in size for fast counting. Additional marks are also placed at half Mil-Radian increments. Numbers below center vary in size and are placed on each side for easy counting and verification of appropriate hold points.

The MIL-XT™ provides excellent range estimation, rapid target engagements and precise first-shot placement. Combined with the extreme capability of Nightforce ATACR™ riflescopes, it gives the serious competitive shooter every conceivable advantage.

About Nightforce

Nightforce is a leading manufacturer and marketer of premium sport optics and related products, including riflescopes, spotting scopes and accessories. Based in Orofino, ID, Nightforce is known for rugged, high-precision engineered designs that are capable of holding up to punishing conditions. Nightforce has established a benchmark for high-quality, high-performance products that have accompanied soldiers into battle, world champion shooters to the winner’s podium, and helped hunters take the trophy of a lifetime.

Optics

QuietKat 2019

For 2019 QuietKat bikes have a new frame design and upgraded battery system! The new frame features a new battery which loads from the side, and an updated battery management system which provides more efficient power to the motor. The frame has been redesigned to allow for a lower stand-over height, and increased handling performance. This new frame is available in the Apex, Warrior, Predator, and Ambush models. A hub-drive version is available for the Ranger and Rover models. Also for 2019, an all-new 17” frame is available for riders 5’3-6’ tall. This frame features the same quality and dependability you expect from QuietKat, but in a smaller frame design for the Denali, Canyon, Sequoia and Zion models. Colors for 2019 include Charcoal and QuietKat Camo. Our folding bikes get a big upgrade, with the addition of the Ultra-Drive motor on the Voyager, now available in 1000w and 750w versions! The re-designed Bandit model now features a hub-drive system at a great price!

Hunting
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