OutdoorHub
Spotted Gar Discovered in Chicago for the First Time
Fisheries biologists from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (DNR) spent last week searching for Asian carp in Chicago waterways, but instead found an ancient fish that has never been seen in the area before. DNR biologist Frank Jakubicek has seen walleye, crappie, tilapia, and numerous other fish come in through the North Shore Channel, but he said that catching a spotted gar was an unexpected treat.
“It was a lucky catch and we were able to get it in the boat,’’ Jakubicek told the Read more »
Judge Denies Wyoming Wolf Management Request, Season Suspension Upheld
On Tuesday US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson refused a request from the state of Wyoming to return management of its wolf population to the state's Game and Fish Department. Earlier in September Jackson ruled that Wyoming's wolves be returned to federally protected status, calling the state's current management plan inadequate. In response, Wyoming Governorn Matt Mead signed an emergency regulation to address Jackson's concerns as a bid to restore the state's...
Pope and Young Club Announces Potential World Record Caribou
The Pope and Young Club announced on Thursday that a new woodland caribou is under consideration for the title of archery world record. Newfoundland bowhunter Jeff Samson harvested a massive bull late last year with an initial entry score of 376 and 7/8. If that score is verified, it will beat the current record---which has stood for more than 48 years---by a whopping 31 points. Stalking the caribou was no easy task, and Samson said he had to get within 15 yards of the animal before making the shot.
"[Caribou] are pretty witty and they...
A Hometown Arsenal: Dakota Tactical
Dakota Tactical is one of the most highly regarded names in the Heckler & Koch (HK) firearms enthusiast community here in the United States. The premium manufacturer of roller delayed blowback (often called “roller lock”) guns is a favorite of many HK fans. Search around and you’ll find nothing but gleaming praise of Dakota Tactical products in print publications and online forums.
But where did Dakota Tactical come from? How could a notoriously critical, niche firearm community so quickly come to laud a company that...
Photo: Live Coyote Found in Car Bumper
Coyotes get just about everywhere, but one Illinois man hardly expected to find one on the inside of his bumper. Mark Armour, a train conductor working in Waukegan, found a crowd gathered around his car last Friday and discovered that a live coyote was lodged in the grill of the vehicle. According to the Lake County News-Sun, Armour says he struck something on the way to work but did not see anything behind him on the road. He probably should've checked the front of his car as well.
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California Governor Signs New Gun Control Provisions, Vetoes “Ghost Gun” Bill
On Tuesday, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a host of new bills relating to firearm ownership in the state, including one which would allow police to seize firearms from "at-risk" individuals. The governor also vetoed SB 808, popularly known as the "ghost gun" bill. Sponsored by Senator Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), the bill would have required homemade or self-assembled guns to be registered with the Department of Justice, restricted the sale and transfer of these firearms,...
Complete Your AR-15 at Home with Defense Distributed’s Personal CNC Mill
Cody Wilson made global headlines last year when he produced the first working 3D-printed pistol, which he called the "Liberator." The files for the single-shot pistol were downloaded more than 100,000 times before the US Department of Defense locked his website and removed the files. That did not stop other 3D-printing pioneers from exploring what the technology could offer the world of gunsmithing, and numerous designs for firearm parts, accessories, and even whole guns surfaced in the...
Video: 5 High Adrenaline Buck Fights You Have to See
Bucks in the rut are astoundingly single-minded individuals, and their priorities essentially boil down to two primal directives: 1) find a doe and 2) show other bucks who's boss. Not every hunter gets a glimpse of the latter, but the sharp crack of an antler-on-antler confrontation is unmistakable. Bucks have been known to barrel straight into a hunting party, disregarding the hunters entirely as they struggle to dominate their rivals. Like many other species in the animal kingdom, male deer have to prove their strength and prowess against other bucks in order to keep territory and have a...
Parsons and Kavajecz Set the Record Straight on New Walleye Fishing Technique
Fishing forums have been abuzz about the mostly-used-for-ice-fishing bait Gary Parsons and Keith Kavajecz used to deliver a one-two punch finish at the Bays de Noc walleye tournament off Michigan's Upper Peninsula (U.P.) in early September. This out-of-the-box technique is oft misunderstood, and Gary Parsons sets the record straight for walleye anglers who care to know the real deal.
“People [were] summarizing our technique as casting a Jigging Rap, but it wasn’t,” said Parsons. He and...
Pipe Bomb Discovery Prompts Pennsylvania Officials to Suspend Hunting in 7 Areas
A recent development in the search for suspected cop killer Eric Frein convinced the Pennsylvania Game Commission to shut down all hunting and trapping across seven townships in the state's northeast. The Game Commission initially warned hunters in the area to be extra cautious when the state archery season opened this Saturday. The discovery of two pipe bombs allegedly left by Frein on Tuesday, however, prompted wildlife officials to instead announce a...
The Tenzing TC 1500: The Perfect Daypack for the Treestand Hunter
I’ve been searching for the right pack for a while now. Lately it seems like pack manufacturers want to build a pack that will reach a wide range of potential users, so they make compromises in order to sell more packs. I’ve been looking for a pack that is specifically designed for the guy who mostly hunts from a treestand, and carries with him the typical assortment of gear that a treestand hunter takes along. This includes things like a rangefinder, SD cards, a windicator bottle, a camera, a phone and/or a tablet, a jacket or rain gear, and so on---you get the idea.
I may have finally...
Austrian-made Super Boat is 4 Watercraft in 1
The designers of the Kormaran boast that they did not simply develop a new boat---they say they've invented an entirely new class of boat. That is hard to argue as the Kormaran, built by the Austrian-based company of the same name, essentially transforms into four different types of watercraft. This is done using hydraulic arms that can fold and unfold the boat like an origami figure at the press of a button. The Kormaran has six distinct modes, the most important of which can transform the boat from a monohull to a catamaran, trimaran, and even hydrofoil.
You can see a demonstration of...
Software Startup Powderhook Tackles the Access Problem
These days finding a place to eat is as easy as talking to your phone, and renting a car requires just a few clicks of your mouse. Given the era of technological advancement we live in, no hunter or angler should have a problem knowing where they can set up a treestand or dip their lines. But unfortunately, sportsmen and women still run into that problem, even in the age of smartphones. Eric Dinger, the co-founder and CEO of software startup Powderhook, says the problem is ludicrous. For the past year and a half Powderhook has been working to compile a...
Suppressor-ready Hunting Rifles Becoming the Norm
Twenty years ago if you wanted to mount a noise-moderating suppressor on your hunting rifle, it meant a trip to a machine shop and a long explanation. Now, manufacturers from Ruger to Marlin are cranking out standard offerings aimed at sportsmen and target shooters alike that are set up from the factory to accept your favorite screw-on “can” of choice.
Problems of yesteryear
In the 1930s silencers, and any other device meant to muffle the sound of a firearm were lumped in under the National Firearms Act (NFA) as Title II weapons, along with short-barreled rifles and shotguns, machine...
Video: What It’s Like to Have a Tracer Shot at You
Here's one viewpoint of a gun shot that you definitely don't want to see. In this video below, 22plinkster shoots a .22 LR tracer round at a camera protected by a layer of bulletproof glass. Of particular note is that because of the ensuing pyrotechnics, you can actually see the bullet spinning before it hits the glass.
http://youtu.be/drmEmoz7d40
Another uploader posted a video of what getting shot at with an arrow would be like, and it's just as frightening.
http://youtu.be/ro4P8mpIEfQ...
Pennsylvania Bow Season Set to Open Saturday, Hunt for Suspected Cop Killer Continues
Many Pennsylvania bowhunters are eagerly awaiting the start of the state's archery season this Saturday, but law enforcement and wildlife officials are urging hunters in the Poconos to be extra careful. The famed Pocono Mountains area is a hunting hotspot, but it is now also the site of a frantic manhunt for a suspect that police believe to have killed one state trooper and seriously injured another earlier this month. Officials say that a gunman ambushed two officers on September 12, resulting in the death of State Police Corporal Byron Dickson and the wounding of Trooper Alex Douglass....
Photos: On the Timney Triggers Factory Floor
If you’re in the business of eking every last bit of performance out of an already fine-tuned product, you need a relentless (bordering on obsessive) sense of attention to detail.
Looking at the factory floor of Timney Triggers, the company's compulsive behavior quickly becomes apparent. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “you could eat off the floor” before. At Timney Triggers, you really can. Well, actually you can’t, because eating off the floor would get it dirty. This place is seriously clean and polished. Even the brass outlet...
Interstate Batteries Camo LED Focus Lite: A Whole Lot of Light for a Little Bit of Cash
The Interstate Batteries story began in the early 1950s when a man named John Searcy started selling car batteries out of the back of a red Studebaker pickup truck in Dallas, Texas. Over the years, they started manufacturing other types of batteries and selling them in their retail stores, Interstate All Battery Centers. By the 1980s, Interstate All Battery Centers had locations in all 50 states and Canada. They have continued to grow, and they are offering some really great products to go alongside their various automobile battery lines. I recently had the opportunity to field test one of...
The BAREBOW! Chronicles: Last-day Success!
Next to wild sheep meat, moose is my favorite table-fare of all the game animals in North America. Since my first two hunts for Alaska-Yukon moose (1990 and 1992) had produced high adventure in the Northwest Territories but no meat for the freezer, it finally occurred to me that perhaps I should try hunting them in either Alaska or the Yukon. Therefore, in the spring of 1996, I booked a hunt for mid-September of 1997 with Kurt Lepping, who operated out of Wasilla, Alaska. I had previously hunted Alaska brown bear with him.
Although I hadn’t yet focused my vision on the goal of the Super...
Video: Fawn Plays in Leaf Pile with Girls
The young deer in the footage embedded below seems to enjoying playing around in a leaf pile just as much as the girls like its company. Wildlife officials do advise parents to be careful of how close they let their children get to wild animals, as there always is the danger of picking up parasites or even being injured.
But sometimes there's no harm in having a little fawn.
http://youtu.be/DRZouV16vbw...