All Outdoor

When it was shown at IWA earlier this year, folks went nuts.  The Nirvana is Spyderco’s first integral knife, meaning the handle is made of a single piece of material, in this case titanium.  It is also their first collaboration with the very popular Canadian knife maker Peter Rassenti.  The Nirvana also has the potential to be the most expensive Spyderco ever made.  Recent leaks indicate that MSRP is going to be a wallet-busting $750.  This means the Nirvana will street for around $500-$600.  In a line up that includes the Delica at around $60, this is a huge sum of money.  I am not sure any knife, from a purely utilitarian perspective, can justify that price tag, but the Nirvana has a good chance of selling well.

Recently, a friend of mine got his first sure-nuff long-range hunting rifle, and I joined him at the range to fire it for the first time. It’s a Savage Model 111 “Long Range Hunter” chambered for 338 Lapua.

This morning, I hit the range with a friend to shoot a couple of his new rifles. One was the brand-new Savage A17, which I wrote about during this year’s SHOT Show. To sum it up, the A17, developed jointly by Savage Arms with CCI ammunition, was touted as the first-ever commercially viable semi-automatic rifle chambered for the diminutive 17 HMR cartridge. My good friend Art has been waiting for a semi-auto 17 almost since the 17 HMR was invented, so he got one. This was its first trip to the range.

This is one outdoor activity I can’t get enough of, and it’s with a product called Musical Targets. Quite simply, they are steel targets that produce musical tones when you shoot them. I’m making a bunch of YouTube videos of all sorts of different songs.

Here’s my latest one where I’m shooting the “Marines’ Hymn” (From the Halls of Montezuma) which is the official hymn of the United States Marine Corps. Below are some of the earlier vids I made, and stay tuned for more to come.

I’m also taking song requests, so hit me up in the comments!

If ever there was a campfire debate among preppers, this is one of the best ones. Like any spirited conversation comparing one firearm caliber against another one there are pros and cons on both sides of the fence. Rarely does anyone really win the debate, because each person has to decide for themselves which tool works best for their particular situation.

Jeff Freeman was one of the head designers for Gerber, the knife and tool giant. His aesthetic, a clean and bold take on traditional shapes, permeates the line even years after he left. Since leaving he started his own knife company, Freeman Outdoor, and there his penchant for conventional shapes with striking updates is finally matched by great materials and superior machining.

Unlike service rifles which are usually issued in standard, pre-set configurations to all users, personal weapons can be customized for best fit. One of the most important elements of the fit is balance. A typical AR15A2 has a 20 inch heavy barrel and a light plastic forend with stamped heat shields. Despite the lightweight forend, that rifle is fairly front-heavy, with the center of balance further removed from the shooter by the long stock. That works great for deliberate long-range fire from supported positions, as the rifle moves very little on recoil.

Fox News reports that on June 10, 2015 Uber announced a no weapons policy for drivers and riders.

Uber Technologies says it is banning firearms of any kind during rides arranged through the Uber platform, and drivers or riders who violate the rule may lose access to the platform. The rules also apply to Uber’s affiliates.

Their competitor Lyft also enforces the same policy.

According to Lyft’s website, if a driver or rider is found to have a weapon in a Lyft vehicle they’ll be barred from the platform regardless of local laws on weapons possession.

In April of this year, an Uber driver with a concealed carry permit defended himself and fellow Chicago pedestrians from a shooter. He was legally permitted to carry and no charges were filed against the Uber driver. I wonder how many people would have died if that driver was not there at that moment?

This is exactly what you shouldn’t do. This is beyond dangerous should never ever be done.

This is pretty amazing. The fish is so comfortable, I’ve never seen anything like it.

By now, you probably know more than you’d care to about Dylann Roof, the young man who murdered nine people in a widely-reported attack at a South Carolina church. He supposedly wanted to start a race war… Obama and his ilk want to use this to make another attempt at disarming Americans… the killer is white and the victims are black (I say they’re all Americans and color shouldn’t matter, but I seem to be in the minority – pun/irony intended).

Planer Boards are being more and more popular each year. In fact, they seem to be replacing the use of outriggers. Why? You can put more lines out, and to make it even better, you can put the lines further out from your boat! Below is a list of parts you’ll need to build your own. Yes, it’s really that simple–and worth it!

I reviewed the Valet here, and man was that a nice little knife. It had some fit and finish issues and some fiddly parts, but it is a very good EDC. In Benchmade’s line up, one that ranges from conservative to put-you-to-sleep-boring, the Valet wasn’t an innovative bright spot, but it was smaller than 99% of Benchmade’s blades and it was executed well.

Blade Show, the knife industry’s biggest gathering, was a little over a week ago, and the awards were given out on Saturday night. I thought it might be fun to bring you those winners with some analysis. There are two groups of winners, production knives and customs. I’ll take a look at both and hopefully give you some insights

I had my first concealed carry epiphany several years ago. I was in an off downtown area of the city in a high traffic area at a gas station just off a main travel artery. As I was pulling the gas pump handle out of the tank cap of my vehicle and turned around to hook it back up to the pump, I bumped into a disheveled man that had crept up behind me. I mean nearly touching me.

Have you noticed all the new cutting edge CQC self-defense ammo on the market now? The whole “tactical” wave, with its focus on personal protection, concealed weapons carry, one-on-one armed confrontations, and a host of other issues, has brought out numerous new loads for handguns used under these conditions.

Here’s how to hunt gophers the intense way. A last resort when you have hundreds with no other solution.

**Please watch at your own risk. The trap is put to the test and shows everything.

Nighthawk T4 pistol was recommended to me by Tatiana Whitlock, a nationally known firearm trainer and designer of 3D targets for self-defense practice. Having tried several compact and subcompact 9mm 1911s, I had low expectations. Previous examples of this category kicked more than I expected, especially since their weight was also greater than reasonable for a smaller carry gun. However, Tatiana was emphatic in recommending T4 as one of the best choices for female shooters, and I gave it a try.

As they say there is no time like the present. Deer hunting season is long over and thoughts are already turning to getting back to the woods this fall. Turkey hunting is gone, as is small game and bird hunting. You could still pop a varmint or two if you were to be so inclined, but most hunters are turning to fishing by this time of year. But let’s look ahead anyway.

Is there an ideal barrel length for a handgun to carry concealed? One would suppose so, but then there ought to be some flexibility depending on an individual’s personal preferences and what works best for carry and drawing the weapon.