All Outdoor

The latest version of Springfield Armory’s popular XD pistol is poised to hit a gun shop near you before long – and it’s smaller than its predecessors.

One of the questions that often then arises is what is the best manner to carry a handgun in a vehicle that is both readily available and also concealed to any outside prying eyes? If the vehicle driver does not wish to be wearing the gun on their person inside the vehicle, he has to look for a place to stash the gun inside his car or truck.

Very few experiences can compare to a spring turkey hunt. During this time of year the sport can be challenging, exciting, and in a lot of times, addictive. When a gobbler sounds off up close, or one is strutting just out of range, even the most advanced and experienced hunter’s heart start to pound without control. One of the reasons is that a turkey’s senses are one of the keenest in the woods – their sight and hearing are among the best. Due to a turkey’s nature to flee at the slightest sign of danger, one wrong move could mean the difference between coming home empty handed or walking back with a turkey draped over your shoulders. This is the challenge that makes turkey hunting so intriguing and why so many new hunters take to turkey hunting each year.

OK, so I feel like the guy in the room who doesn’t get the joke. Why was that funny, or, in this case, why is everyone so nuts over .300 AAC Blackout? I am really really quite confused by the widespread infatuation with the cartridge, and I really don’t get it even after owning and shooting the round.

So my sister-in-law, as it turns out, is a closet gear geek.  This weekend she showed me well deserved pride — her load out, much of which she had made herself.  She was planning a two day solo hike and was prepping her stuff.  She uses a hammock to sleep in and made herself a very nice underquilt.  As we were sharing gear tips, I asked her what knife she was carrying and she told me she had a $1.00 Wal-Mart “Knife”, or as Mike Stewart, the owner of Bark River Knife and Tool is fond of calling them “a knife shaped object.” 

Every outdoors enthusiast needs a basic tool kit to carry with them on each adventure. Think back to how many times you were caught broke down or found something in need of repair when outdoors. Better build yourself a good tool kit and be prepared for anything.

During my Ruger 10/22 Sporter Redo build, I used the newer Burris Timberline 4.5-14×32 scope. I’ve since been extremely impressed with what it has delivered. This build was purely and simply a trick shot betting machine to take money from friends, family, and acquaintances, and it works wonderfully. Part of that subdued look is the compact Timberline scope which gives big advantages is a very small package.

There is a unique Burger King Restaurant on – of all places – Grand Cayman Island in the azure-blue and beautifully-tropical Caribbean Sea. Although not far south of Castro’s socialist Cuba, nor far north of impoverished Honduras, Grand Cayman is a clear-water gem, truly one of the garden spots of the Western Atlantic.

Bushnell is excited these days. The reason? Outdoor Life magazine has decided that one of Bushnell’s rangefinders is a Great Buy.

A recent USA Today article says that “Chipotle is asking customers not to bring firearms into its restaurants after gun-rights advocates brought assault-style weapons into a downtown Dallas store during the weekend.”

What, exactly, is “enough gun”? This question was posed by the famouse African hunter/writer Robert Ruark, originally of North Carolina but his last years were spent living in London. To over simplify Ruark’s answer to this question, “enough gun” is having sufficient or perhaps more than adequate cartridge power and terminal ballistics to take care of the task at hand. Of course, he was talking about elephants, lions, and tigers and such. Even so, the point is very well made.

This week’s KnifeTests.com video is technically an axe test; it’s also a field test, rather than a destruction test. I think this is a nice change of pace from the other KnifeTests.com tests we’ve shared so far, especially with impending summer activities requiring the use of an axe. Info on this axe is hard to come by, but web consensus is that it’s a durable and reliable item like other Busse products.

In this 6-part video, Noss uses this axe for typical tasks–digging a hole through brush; cutting wood of various sizes into campfire-size pieces; and chopping a substantial tree trunk in half. The axe performs accordingly, and withstands two days worth of frequent chopping. Noss also includes footage of a nighttime camp out, and uses the axe to keep firewood accessible.

Check out the field test below. View the playlist by clicking the “Playlist” tab in the upper left corner. Catch up on previous destruction tests at KnifeTests.com, and check back every Tuesday for a new test.

This is already a scary situation, but adding a camera and filming to the mix would make it worse. I don’t know how he kept a steady hand!

This guy seems a little crazy but his blades are definitely sharp. Thoughts anyone?

If you are handpicking vegetables and looking to go natural with your garden (minimal fertilizer), then this would be a fun thing to try.

Bringing along a furry friend seems a natural fit for a day exploring trails in the wilderness; after all, if you’re going to enjoy nature, why not bring along your animal companion to share it with? For most hikers, this means bringing along a canine. But a subset of outdoor enthusiasts believe that felines, too, can get in on the action.

In the knife world awesome, mind-blowing feats of craftsmanship generally trickle down from the custom world to the production world.  It is a slow process… that is, unless you happen to own some of the most advanced CNC machines in the world, have the flair of an Italian painter, and the gear design chops of Michael Pensanto (aka Molleta).  In that case, you produce three of the finest (if not the first) integral folders in the world, three years in a row.

Most hunters will agree that the first step in any successful deer season is proper scouting. The deer herd has relaxed from last year’s hunter activity and they are acting normal again. Don’t let this piece of the seasonal puzzle fool you into a false sense of security, though. To put a trophy on your wall next season, you will need a lot of information and you will have many things to consider before you can begin to put together a winning strategy.

If you hike or camp mostly during hot weather seasons, then this may be an interesting hammock option for you. It seems like a simple yet effective design for easy carry and transportation.

The video is not in English so you can find out more about the product here.

Have you ever wondered why AK47 sights are marked to 1000 meters? The rifles themselves are 3-4MOA weapons at best, and the short sight radius limits effective aimed fire to a rather short range. The explanation is simple enough: AK47 and its derivatives were never intended as “one shot, one hit” rifles, but rather as a cross between a submachine gun and a light machine gun. Notch and post sights work great for tracking motion up close as they don’t obscure the target much. The machine gun role, for which neither AK47 nor the RPK light machine gun derived from it were ideal, presupposes creation of beaten zones. A slightly trained Soviet or Third World soldier wasn’t expected to make a precise and rapid shot against a barely visible foe, but could be counted to rip off a short burst in the correct direction and possibly hit something within a meter or two of the point of aim. This is why the range adjustments make sense: they aren’t for hitting the target outright, but rather to make sure the shots land within some reasonable proximity of the enemy. If the bullets don’t produce a casualty, they would at least allow allied troops to maneuver and close in relatively safely.