All Outdoor

In the event of a SHTF situation, those of us with pets need to be prepared to safely treat and transport them. Many pet owners will agree with me when I say that pets are an important part of a family, and should never be left behind when there are steps you can take to train them to respond quickly to emergencies. In the past, we’ve covered gear and resources you can use to acclimate your dog or cat  to long walks, car drives or bug-out situations. This is training you can do easily with your furry friend, especially if you integrate it into your day-to-day life, so that if the time comes, they’re emotionally and physically ready.

Blade Show happens to be the same weekend as my four-year-old son’s birthday, so for the fourth year in a row I haven’t gone. That said, the internet provides you with great perspective, and I was lucky enough to have a few friends go and give me the lowdown on the year’s biggest knife show. There was a lot of interesting stuff shown off and tons of news tidbits, but here are the highlights.

I first read about Levang linear compensators back around 2000. It was a legal muzzle device under AWB rules, and I considered adding it to an STG58. In the end, the STG ended up with a bare muzzle, and I gave it no more thought until the last year when I borrowed a Levang-equipped AR15 at a range in Texas.

Bushmaster M17S rifle dates back to Charles St. George’s Australian original from the mid-1980s. While innovative, the rifle was heavy and clumsy. I handled one briefly in the late 1990s and decided against the purchase.

Having used vz58 carbines for three years now alongside of AR, AK and M1 carbines, I have an opinion of their place in the line-up. Just to sum up the design: vz58 is a gas-operated 7.62×39 carbine with machined receiver, tilting block lock-up, using lightweight proprietary magazines.

There are few in the gear world with as devoted a following as Ethan Becker.  His designs have gone from company to company more than once, and each time the Becker faithful (known as Beckerheads on knife forums), have followed him.  He is the closest thing there is in the gear world to a sage, with a breadth and depth of knowledge that is amazing.  But all of this is based on the simplest of tools–a Becker fixed blade.  His designs are simple for the same reason that river rocks all have the same shape–they are crafted over time and polished to perfection.  The Becker Necker is a great small fixed blade, but this review focuses on one of his two big choppers, the BK9 (the Machax is the other), currently being produced by Ka-Bar Knives.

You don’t have to be a writer to include a notebook in your everyday carry (although for those of us who are writers, it’s a no-brainer). Despite the many great note-taking apps available for smartphones, there’s something satisfying about the tactile experience of jotting down thoughts, lists and more into a notebook. The problem is that there are so many cool notebooks on the market, so how do you choose just one? Here are some of our favorites.

In 1965, 42 year old Stephanie L. Kwolek developed an especially hardy synthetic fiber, known today as Kevlar. On June 18, Kwolek passed away at the age of 90, but her invention lives on as one of the most reliable materials used in military armor. Kwolek made her discovery while working as a chemist for DuPont, which applied Kwolek’s research to the development of Kevlar synthetic fiber. As such, Kwolek was credited with the invention of Kevlar due to her part in its creation.

Gear and apparel company Fossil has got the classy-rugged style down pat. And they’re celebrating their 30th company anniversary with some beautiful limited edition watches and products. I like Fossil because they make high-quality gear that’s not so expensive that it’ll drain your bank account, and their watches are a nice option for everyday wear.

Crowdfunding services like Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, or GoFundMe (and many others) are great places to buy unique products unavailable in stores. In the past few years, the popularity of crowdfunding has exploded, and it’s become the first step for many aspiring gearmakers to launch their businesses. Crowdfunding, in part, has allowed for manufacturing to become a realistic goal for those who want to design and develop their own products in-house. This is especially good for supporting USA-made products, and it helps empower makers to become business owners.

ThinkFactory Media is casting a new TV show, and your family might be just what they’re looking for. Here’s the skinny.

Full automatic (machine gun rates) of fire are fun, but practically and tactically speaking not especially useful beyond a putting a giant grin on your face.

Doe: buck ratios are a hot topic among whitetail hunters. There are many fallacies and misunderstandings regarding these ratios, so I’ll clearly define what they are, how they are measured, and what they mean to your deer management program.

The founder of the Marine Corps Intelligence Activity and former CIA hand Robert David Steele is predicting Arab Spring-style revolutions in the US and UK, and that the 1% will be overthrown. He puts it this way in a must-read interview in The Guardian:

Interested in making a fishing lure out of an old kitchen spoon? Check out the video below and you may find yourself running to grab all the spoons you own!

This morning, a cosmonaut on the International Space Station wielded a knife–in space. This morning, NASA streamed footage of cosmonauts of Expedition 40 conducting a space walk at the ISS. One cosmonaut pulled out their trusty knife to complete tasks, and if you’re like me, I was instantly curious to know what kind of knife it is. Referred to as a “cutter” in the livestream, a friend of mine speculated that it’s a simple boot knife but we have been unable to identify it. These photos here aren’t clear enough to discern many details, but check ‘em out:

A while back, I linked a good piece by Tactical Life on the M16. The site now has a similarly in-depth feature out on the venerable M14, which is still finding plenty of use as a Designated Marksman Rifle in today’s military.

Extremely hot days and hunting don’t always mix –- especially when there’s meat or game to protect, game to find, or you find yourself racing to get back to your coolers. Hunting in the heat can be dangerous for the meat and for you. Hauling game miles to your coolers is challenging even for the most experienced hunters.

As a father of four, I keep all firearms and ammo locked up 24/7 — the only time there’s an exception is when my concealed carry gun is on me or in transit to the range. Often, I hear people say that they don’t have a safe because they don’t have the physical space, or the cost of a safe is too great. For those people, Stack-On has a solution with its In-Wall Steel Cabinets. These cabinets meet stringent California Department of Justice standards, take up zero space, and are all under $100.

Shed hunting is one of those unusual hobbies many folks hear nothing about. It’s like hunting for arrowheads without the prideful moment of believing you could be an archaeologist when you find one.