OutdoorHub
Leucistic, Piebald, and Albino: What’s the Difference?
At first glance my eyes tried telling me a small gull was scouring the grass below our birdfeeders, but I couldn’t imagine what a gull would find worth eating out there so I moved toward the window for a better look.
The grayish-white bird was pigeon-sized, but I’ve never seen a pigeon at our feeders either, so I kept examining the bird for recognizable features. Then I noticed its head was disproportionately small for its body. Suddenly everything made sense.
Our backyard bird was a leucistic mourning dove. That is, its plumage lacks melanin, making it look diluted or faded. It’s...
Quiz: Can You Correctly Identify These Exotic Types of Ammo?
The basic science and technology behind ammunition has changed little in the past 100 years. After all, there is still gunpowder, a bullet, and a casing. As disappointing as it is to some, we've still got a ways to go before we get to anything fancy like directed energy weapons (or practical ones at any rate).
However, a closer look at modern ammunition will reveal a wealth of innovation, whether it's to make bullets faster, more deadly, prevent over penetration, and so on. Many designers have sought to go beyond what is conventional and revolutionize firearm design, as is the case with...
Florida Bear Eats 20 Pounds of Dog Chow, Falls into Food Coma in Backyard
What do you do if a massive black bear breaks into your garage, steals your dog food, and then takes a nap on your lawn? If you live next to a professional wildlife trapper, the answer should be obvious.
Bob Cross, a retired 72-year-old firefighter who now owns a critter removal service in Lake Mary, Florida, says he gets these calls like that the time. However, when his next-door neighbor called him over on Saturday to deal with an estimated 500-pound black bear, he knew he was going to have to sit this one out.
"That's a big bear. That's a huge bear," he told Read more »
Video: How Effective Are Broadhead-tipped Shotgun Shells?
You've heard of the bullet-tipped arrow, but have you seen the broadhead-tipped shotgun round? No, it's not a joke. This round was designed as a "low kinetic energy hunting projectile" and purports to have less recoil, less noise, and the same effectiveness as a regular slug. How it works is that the "bullet" is actually reminiscent of a mechanical broadhead with sharp, pivoting blades. When shot out of a 12 gauge shotgun, the bullet deploys into a broadhead shape for maximum cutting ability.
So how...
Video: Bouncing Mule Deer Loses Its Antlers
Videos of deer shedding their antlers are pretty rare---probably because most hunters aren't out in the woods during the winter.
That means that the shedding process can leave a lot to the imagination. We've seen videos of bucks shaking their heads to shed antlers, and we have seen videos of bucks rubbing up on things. However, this is the first time we have seen a mule deer prancing to drop its antlers.
While it looks pretty practical and effective, the visual of a prancing deer losing its antlers is very entertaining.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSNvgZB-wL4...
Kansas Police Discover Massive 60-pound Carp in Drainage Ditch
When Jamie Schmidt, the animal control officer for the Olathe Police Department, received a call about a four-foot-long, dead carp in a drainage ditch, she thought it was a joke.
“I was in disbelief when he told me it was four feet,” Schmidt told the Kansas City Star. “I know how men like to tell fish stories. I was sure it would be a lot smaller.”
It was smaller, but not by a lot. The 3.5-foot grass carp weighed about 60 pounds and was so heavy that Schmidt had to drag it to her truck by wrapping it...
The 3 Things That Actually Matter When Evaluating a Gun
My recent blog ("Shooting Groups; the Big Lie") focused on how little value "shooting groups" has in judging practical accuracy of most firearms. It's mostly mythology designed for marketing and industry norms, and has become a standard for judging the “accuracy” of consumer firearms. Unfortunately, how well a firearm groups has little to do with its construction outside purpose-built, precision arm.
They say more about the shooter than the gun; they can be valuable, but seldom in...
Australian Government Declares “War” on Feral Cats
Australia's feral cat problem has gotten so bad that the government is now planning a cull of massive proportions. According to a five-year plan recently unveiled by environment minister Greg Hunt, the Department of the Environment is planning to cull at least 2 million cats by 2020.
Feral cats are a major invasive species in Australia and are considered one of the top threats to native mammals and birds. The felines also prevent wildlife agencies from reintroducing threatened...
Video: Angler Captures Epic Battle Between Mink and Seagull
An angler fishing in Ontario's Stoney Lake decided to put down the rod and pick up the video camera after he spotted what appeared to be a mink attacking a seagull.
Mink will occasionally target gulls for food, but not normally. Seagulls can be a little too large and powerful for most minks to handle, but as you can see in the below video, the bird was firmly on the defensive for the duration of the fight.
We're not sure how the fight ended, but it appeared that the seagull did manage to fight the mink off. If we were this angler, we'd probably think about moving off. The last thing...
Survival Scenario Snacks: Lizards, Snakes, and Turtles
This week on our exploration of edible critters, we're going to talk about what is probably one of the least-recommended food groups: reptiles. While reptiles tend to be high in protein and easier to catch than some other animals (namely birds and mammals) they are also more likely to be toxic, venomous, or just downright disgusting. A finely seasoned and roasted rattlesnake may be an exotic treat, but in the wild you are going to want to be as far away from one as possible. Nothing spells disaster like a diamondback bite with no supplies and no way of reaching a hospital, and...
Fish Michigan’s Inland Lakes Now
No one seems to really know how many inland lakes there are in Michigan. Estimates typically run in the 9,000 range. But if you consider anything over one acre a lake (something most of us would call a pond), there are more than twice that many. But suffice it to say that the state that enjoys Great Lakes waters on six sides---all three sides of two separate peninsulas---has no shortage of water inland either.
The Great Lakes, of course, account for more than a fifth of the world's fresh surface water. So it’s only natural that when people think of Michigan fishing, they equate it with...
Drought Conditions Lead to Unprecedented Fishing Restrictions in Oregon
Effective this past Saturday, Oregon wildlife officials have enacted a number of new fishing restrictions in light of ongoing drought conditions. The move is nearly unprecedented, but officials hope it will reduce pressure on fish already stressed by high water temperature and low stream flows.
According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW), fishing hours have been curtailed on most of the state's rivers for salmon, trout, steelhead, and sturgeon. In some streams, these species will off-limits...
Video: Firing the Insane Full-auto 10mm Glock
Do you think you could handle a full-auto 10mm Glock 20?
Sixteen rounds of full-power 10mm getting launched downrange about a half second is certainly more than we could accurately shoot. Many shooters have a hard enough time firing one 10mm round at a time, so this might be uncontrollable for any mere mortal.
Regardless, this video is pretty fun to watch. We want one of our own for the office.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYI3diEZhmo...
Study: Deer May Be Afraid of the Color White
Hunters may have noticed that the color white often provokes an immediate---and highly visible---response from deer, and a new study from two researchers in Wyoming suggests that deer may actually be afraid of the color.
The study was conducted by Corinna Riginos and Morgan Graham over a three-year period and funded by the Wyoming Department of Transportation as part of a program to assess and prevent deer-vehicle collisions. In their research, Riginos and Graham tested the effectiveness...
Video: Cobra Chases Down and Attacks Chameleon
Are a chameleon's camouflaging abilities any match for a deadly cobra?
As this interesting clip from National Geographic shows, the answer to that question is a resounding no.
The video shows us a life-and-death battle between a chameleon and a zebra spitting cobra. While chameleons are renowned for their exceptional camouflaging abilities, they are no match for a cobra's sense of smell or deadly venom.
https://youtu.be/kDEaxWC1tRc?t=63...
Video: Peaceful Fishing Outing Turns into Violent Brawl for Two Bears
At first glance, these two bears on the edge of Brooks Falls in Alaska's Katmai National Park can be mistaken for old fishing buddies. Hunched together and leaning into the water, the two almost seem downright friendly with one another---until one wrong step launches both animals into a quick but brutal brawl.
Each swipe of those paws can deliver crushing force and a bite from a brown bear is strong enough to break bowling balls.
Both fighters in this case happened to be bears and not fragile humans. Having pushed his opponent off the falls, the dominant bear soon notices that the...
Angler Catches State Record Tiger Trout, Second Largest in World
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) confirmed last week that a new state record tiger trout had been caught. On May 5, 53-year-old Kelly Flaherty caught a 18.49-pound fish on Bonaparte Lake near Tonasket in Okanogan County. The angler, who was visiting from Idaho, used a worm and egg to lure the titanic trout in.
“The fish skyrocketed out of the water,” said Flaherty. “As soon as I hooked it, I was whooping it up, while a crowd gathered around the whole time.”
Flaherty and his family came to the lake every year as...
Hidden Camera Experiment Asks “How Young is Too Young to Own a Gun?”
ABC's What Would You Do? recently aired a segment in which a father is criticized for buying his seven-year-old son a gun for his birthday. In the hidden camera experiment, the pair starts looking over some .22 rifles and other firearms when they are loudly confronted by a woman who says the boy is too young to own a gun and all but yanks the weapon out of his hands.
Thankfully, nearly everybody involved is an actor---except for the other customers looking on in disbelief. As the show asks, will the customers defend the father, or side with the instigator?
Well, seeing as it...
Video: Pro Surfer Attacked by Great White Shark on Live TV
Professional surfer Mick Fanning was competing in the finals of the J-Bay Open in South Africa when the unbelievable happened---a great white shark attacked him in the middle of the last heat.
In the clip below, you can see the 34-year-old Australian man catch a glimpse of a shark fin behind him and then start frantically kicking to escape the beast.
The competition, which was being broadcast live across the world, was immediately halted as medical and patrol watercraft swooped in to pull Fanning to safety.
https://youtu.be/xrt27dZ7DOA
According to the Read more »
Photos: 15 More Taxidermy Fails That Will Make You Cringe
In the world of taxidermy it can be quite hard to tell what is a joke, and what is simply an awful mount.
Unlike our previous taxidermy fail lists, the 15 critters below are neither overtly funny or downright frightening. They just make us cringe a little bit.
You can see our delightfully hilarious taxidermy fail list here or our scary---actually quite terrifying---taxidermy list Read more »