Ranew’s Firminator Disc Harrow: A Plow for All Conditions

Milner, GA – If you want to do the job right you should use the proper tool. Building food plots involves several very different tasks, each of which calls for specific and quite different tools. Furthermore, each site is unique, which means the best tools will have a certain degree of versatility. The engineers at Ranew’s have all this in mind when designing the Firminator – one tool that’s the right tool for almost any job. The disc harrow component emphasizes that being designed for the specific task of turning soil but with enough built-in versatility for almost any site conditions.

For starters, there’s no need to disk the soil with other equipment first. The Firminator will do every part of the preparing and planting process from start to finish. A wide range of angle and pitch adjustments allows you to perform many different functions for a variety of site and soil conditions.

Change the pitch by shortening or lengthening the top link adjustment of the three-point connection. Shortening leans the Firminator more heavily onto its disk assembly for a deeper cut. Mid range settings give you varying degrees of disk depth while still allowing the cultipacker to maintain good ground contact and continue breaking apart clods while leveling and firming the soil. Further lengthening allows disks to be carried up off the ground so the cultipacker can roll on the soil with additional frame weight to firm up the seed bed prior to planting small seed, and provide better seed-to-soil contact during the seeding pass.

Adjust disk angle aggressiveness to suit and loosen your particular soil type and situation easily by removing a pin and sliding the pivoting disk beam to one of many holes on an arc. Adjustments allow you to choose from straight, 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-degree angle settings for almost any soil condition imaginable. Use the straight or minimal angles for lightly opening thatch and soil to perform over-seeding without disturbing existing forages in no-till seeding situations. If a minimal till operation is desired, the angle and pitch can be adjusted to slightly cut through top litter without disturbing the soil excessively. Or, for new sites that may be choked with debris or a dense layer of sod you can set aggressive disk angles along with a heavy forward tilt of the entire unit for deeper disk penetration. Read more
General

Alaska: Kayakers Rescued with No Life Jackets, No Exposure Suits, Food or Water

JUNEAU, Alaska — The Coast Guard rescued two stranded kayakers Friday when they became stranded after paddling from Juneau to Couverden Island.

A Coast Guard 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Station Juneau picked up the kayakers from the northern tip of Couverden Island at approximately 10 p.m., then brought them to where they were parked near Statter Harbor in Auke bay. There were no injuries reported.

Watchstanders in the Sector Juneau command center received the initial phone call from one of the kayakers at approximately 9:15 p.m. requesting assistance. The kayaker indicated that he and another male friend had become exhausted after an approximate 9-hour, 23-mile paddle in their 10-foot kayaks. He expressed concerns about running out of daylight, having no lifejackets, no exposure suits, no warm clothing, no food, water, survival equipment, nor means of communication aside from a cell phone running low on battery.

“These kayakers made several all-too-common mistakes before heading out on the water yesterday,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Theodore Bach, Station Juneau response boat coxswain for the case. “They were lucky to have enough cell phone battery left to call for help. As the weather begins to warm up each spring, it is very common for boaters to head out on the water unprepared for the conditions. The water temperature is still frigid and the air temperatures at night still dip into the 30s. Hypothermia is just one way that Alaskan boaters die each spring.” Read more

General

Kowa Sporting Optics Offers Free Webinar on Phonescoping

Please join the Kowa Sporting Optics team for a FREE webinar on Phonescoping – taking super-telephoto wildlife images & video with your smart phone through a spotting scope or binocular. During this webinar our digiscoping experts will cover everything you need to know to begin taking crisp images utilizing the full capabilities of the powerful magnification of a spotting scope which provides nearly 700% more zoom than most wildlife photography rigs with a 400 mm lens as example. While most commonly used for wildlife photography, phonescoping also has practical applications for industrial inspection of transmission towers & bridges, for surveillance, and at the range among other uses. Our instructors will not only cover all the basics but help you shorten the learning curve by reviewing common pitfalls and coupling errors.

Join team Kowa and the experts at PhoneSkope and learn to take the best images with your phonescoping gear! Saturday, May 9th at 12 PM Eastern time.

Click here to register your spot for this free event! Read more

Optics

Michigan: fuelwood permits are free in 2020; apply online now

Michigan residents now can apply online for a free permit to cut fuelwood from dead and downed trees in approved areas of Michigan’s state forests.

Fuelwood season will begin May 1, a month later than usual, because of statewide Department of Natural Resources office closures due to the COVID-19 virus.

DNR staff recommends that you visit the site where you plan to cut before applying for a permit. The quality and quantity of dead wood varies by location. Current maps of areas where cutting will be allowed are available online. The permit form is at Michigan.gov/Fuelwood. Print it, complete it, and carry it with you when you are cutting wood. If you have already submitted an application and payment, your check will be returned to you along with your permit. Permits are good for 90 days after they’re issued; all permits expire Dec. 31 regardless of issue date. Read more

General

Leupold Announces Black Ring Version of Freedom RDS

BEAVERTON, OR — Leupold & Stevens, Inc., provider of the world’s most rugged, lightweight, and clear riflescopes and reflex sights, is pleased to announce that its award-winning Freedom RDS (Red Dot Sight) is now available in a Black Ring model. Originally featuring the company’s trademark Gold Ring around its objective bell, the RDS will now have an all-black finish similar to the company’s Mark 5HD, Mark 6, and Mark 8 riflescopes.

A tubular red dot sight built for performance and versatility, the new RDS is available in two models: One features capped precision ¼-MOA click adjustments, the other a precision exposed BDC elevation turret that ships with measurements out to 500 yards for standard 55-grain .223 Rem. ammunition. The RDS is designed to install easily with an included mount that sits at the optimal height for use on AR-style rifles. A third version, featuring the capped precision ¼-MOA click adjustments, will be available without the included mount. A 34mm maintube allows the RDS to be mounted using any appropriately-sized rings. Read more

Optics

FN Awarded Joint Foreign Military Sales Contract for M16A4 Carbines

(McLean, VA) FN America, LLC is pleased to announce that the company has been awarded a five-year, firm-fixed price Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract to supply M16A4 carbines through the U.S. Army. The contract was a split award with another company and has a potential value of up to $383 million.

Throughout its history, FN has been one of the largest suppliers of small arms to the U.S. military. In addition to the M4 and M4A1, the company currently holds contracts for the FN M240 medium machine gun and its variants; the FN MK 46, MK 48, MK 17 and MK 20 SSR for USSOCOM, and various other contracts. Read more

Firearms

Hunter Nation, WLBA File Brief to Protect Constitutional Right to Fish in Wisconsin

Outdoor Groups Say Evers’ Order Infringes on Constitutionally Protected Rights While Causing Economic Hardship for thousands of Small Outdoor Businesses

Two non-profit organizations that work to protect the rights of anglers and hunters in Wisconsin announced today that they are filing an Amicus Brief with the State Supreme Court on behalf of their members to protect the constitutionally protected right to fish that they say has been infringed upon by Governor Tony Evers’ Emergency Order deeming thousands of businesses as non-essential.

Hunter Nation and the Wisconsin Lakeshore Business Association called the Governor’s order that has shut off access to fishing for thousands of professional fishing guides, charter boat captains and their clients as “arbitrary and capricious and a clear violation of our constitutionally protected rights” in the brief they filed today.

Hunter Nation President and CEO, Luke Hilgemann said, “Fishing is a multi-billion-dollar industry that employs more than 30,000 folks in the Badger State. For the Governor and his administration to claim that fishing guides and charter boat captains are “non-essential” has put these small business owners at risk of losing everything and blocked their customers from partaking in our long held outdoor traditions.” Read more

Fishing

A Peak Migration Map and Radar Tech

A map of the continental United States showing lines of peak migration dates, prepared using more than two decades of bird migration information by the Colorado State University AeroEcology Lab.
Peak bird migration periods in many areas of the southern United States are fast approaching according to information analyzed by the Colorado State University AeroEcology Lab. Today, scientists can forecast the timing of peak migration using a range of radar, acoustics, and citizen science data including eBird. While this is exciting information for birders, this and other data can also be used to identify where the greatest risks of exposing migrating birds to light pollution that subjects them to potential collisions with buildings and window panes, especially in large cities.The accompanying map produced by the Colorado State University AeroEcology Lab depicts a coarse rule of thumb to guide your efforts to experience massive migration of birds that stretches across the nation that you can experience at home and anywhere you happen to be in the Lower 48. The contour lines represent constant dates of peak migration, all of which were derived from more than two decades of radar data. (See https://birdcast.info/scientific-discussion/the-picture-is-worth-six-millions-scans-and-three-billion-birds-peak-migration-timing-for-the-contiguous-us/ ) AeroEcology staff notes that one of the highlights of studying bird migration in the era of Big Data is the opportunity to characterize patterns at large spatial and temporal scales that involve billions of moving birds! Read more
Wildlife

Switch to a May Feeding Plan

A first-year male Orchard Oriole can get you scrambling for your field guide to identify that bird. To improve your chances of attracting orioles to your feeding station, be prepared to provide grape jelly and sliced oranges.
Jelly feeders for orioles tend to be small cups, which are fine during most of the “oriole season,” but you may need to upsize to a small bowl to provide ample jelly for a week or two during May migration. You will enjoy the variety of plumages of orioles you may attract, such as this young Baltimore Oriole.
By keeping at least one seed feeder active during May, you may attract migrating towhees or native sparrows, such as this large Harris’s Sparrow. By providing fresh water and a variety of bird foods, you will be rewarded during May.
In addition to your usual hummingbird feeder, you may like to try adding a small window hummingbird feeder to get even closer views of these dynamos. This Aspects Gem Window Feeder is available from Duncraft.

With the return of feeding station favorites including goldfinches, hummingbirds, orioles, and a variety of migrants that are looking for a feeding and watering stopover site, May is an exciting time at feeders across the continent. But if you haven’t already transitioned to a Spring Feeding Station Plan, now is the time to activate a May Feeding Plan. It’s easy, but you don’t want to miss out on any of May’s exciting birds as they transition to summer nesting areas – maybe even into your neighborhood. Read more

Wildlife

Michigan DNR to allow open burning; permits still required

Just over a month since it suspended open burning across the state in response to COVID-19 concerns, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced that it will begin issuing burn permits.

“We’re going to issue burn permits based on local fire risk and weather conditions, just as we have always done,” said Dan Laux, fire section supervisor for the DNR’s Forest Resources Division. “We still expect people to practice social distancing and use good sense to prevent the possible transmission of the COVID-19 virus.”

Laux said that firefighters, now with a month of experience during the COVID-19 emergency, have better protocols in place to slow the spread of the virus.

The DNR issues burn permits online at Michigan.gov/BurnPermit if weather and fire danger conditions are favorable. In most of the southern Lower Peninsula, burn permits are issued by local fire departments and local government offices. Make sure to check local regulations before you burn. Read more

General
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