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December 24th, 2009
The NRA’s NRA Women On Target Hunting Progam organizes a popular series of women-only outdoor adventures every season. Currently, there are 11 Women on Target hunts planned for 2010. For a woman looking for a “no-stress” hunting holiday guided by skilled outfitters, this is an excellent choice. Starting as $276 for a two-day duck hunt, many of these events are quite affordable, so they would make a unique Christmas present for a female family member or your favorite lady shooter. CLICK HERE for Women on Target hunt details and pricing.
NOTE: One spot is still available for the combo hunt at Addisson Ranch in Oklahoma. Ladies will have a chance to stalk and shoot Whitetail Doe, Wild Hog, Coyote, and Bobcat.
| 2010-2011 Hunting Excursion Schedule |
| Whitetail Doe, Wild Hog, Coyote & Bobcat |
Oklahoma |
January 1-3, 2010 |
| Feral Hog Hunt and Bass Fishing |
Texas |
January 22-24, 2010 |
| European Pheasant and Walk up Hunt |
Michigan |
March 5-6, 2010 |
| Rio Grande Tom Turkey |
Texas |
April 9-11, 2010 |
| Alaskan Black Bear, Wolf |
Alaska |
August 17-23, 2010 |
| Pheasant & Chukar |
Nebraska |
October 22-24, 2010 |
| Mallard & Wood Duck |
Michigan |
October 22-24, 2010 |
| Whitetail Doe/Spike, Axis Doe, and Hogs |
Texas |
October 22-24, 2010 |
| Whitetail Doe/Spike, Axis Doe, Rio Grande Turkey (Tom/Hen), Hog |
Texas |
November 12-14, 2010 |
| Whitetail Doe/Spike, Axis Doe, Rio Grande Turkey (Tom/Hen), Hog |
Texas |
December 10-12, 2010 |
| Whitetail Doe, Hog, Coyote & Bobcat |
Oklahoma |
December 31, 2010 and January 2, 2011 |
December 19th, 2009
 Hunters take note. Right now Cabelas.com is running a huge promotion on camo and blaze orange clothing, with with prices slashed up to 70%. For example, Cabela’s Dry-Plus® ES1 Maximum Raingear Jacket (Real-Tree Camo) is marked down to $49.99, $100.00 off the regular price. The price of a blaze orange fleece vest is now just $8.80 compared to $22.99 regularly. Quiet, packable microdenier Rain Suede camo pants are marked down to $49.88 from $139.99. And these are but a few of the many dozens of items on sale.
You probably won’t find a wider selection of deeply-discounted, name-brand camo and blaze clothing on the web. Though this sale you can get fully outfitted, from head to foot, at big savings.
CLICK HERE for Cabela’s Hunting and Outdoor Clothing Blow-Out SALE.
November 22nd, 2009
 David “Dirt” King, the owner of Midsouth Shooters Supply, is profiled in American Rifleman’s December 2009 issue. King has a fascinating personal background. Dirt King was raised near Reelfoot Lake and the Mississippi River in the northwest corner of Tennessee, and spent several years as a singer and keyboard player in nationally-known touring and recording bands. In his early teens he started off in rock bands, and later performed with big name country stars like Hank Williams Jr., and Carl Perkins. CLICK HERE to read article.
After his early career as a musician, King became a professional hunting and fishing guide in Tennessee. His guiding experience gave him insight into the outdoor industry and the gear that worked best for real hunters and anglers. Armed with that knowledge, King purchased Midsouth Shooters Supply in 1995 (the company was founded in 1969). King has built Midsouth into one of the nation’s most successful outdoor enterprises (and one that has supported 6mmBR.com from the very beginning). His company now boasts over 30 employees, who sell, pack, and ship millions of dollars of merchandise every month. Somehow, Dirt King also finds time to produce and co-host the popular Hunting University TV show.
You can read more about David “Dirt” King in Jim Wilson’s article profiling Midsouth’s owner. And in case you’re curious about the “Dirt” nickname, King told Wilson that, “That’s just a name that I got when I was a kid, and I’ve never been able to get loose from it.”
November 19th, 2009
Hornady Manufacturing has just announced its new line of “Superformance” hunting ammunition. Hornady claims that, “across the board” the new Superformance ammo will deliver “100 to 200 fps higher velocities than any other standard ammunition currently available.” Hornady also claims its Superformance ammo delivers increased velocities “WITHOUT increases in felt recoil, muzzle blast, temperature sensitivity, fouling or loss of accuracy.” Hornady President Steve Hornady says this is “a whole new standard in ammunition performance… We are going to be able to raise the velocity of almost any [hunting] load you’ve ever used… by 100-200 fps.” Surprisingly, the marketing materials even claim that Superformance ammo delivers higher velocities with “no increases in barrel wear” — something that runs contrary to common sense.
Rather amazing claims are being made for this new Hornady ammo. Are such claims to be believed? Well, when AccurateShooter.com tested Alliant Reloder 17 powder last year we confirmed that it could deliver 100-200 fps more velocity than most popular powders, in some cartridges. Presumably, Hornady is employing propellants with technologies similar to Reloder 17. Hornady’s marketing materials state that it is using “ultra progressive” “21st Century” propellants for the new Superformance ammo. Hornady has also brought out a line of GMX® mono-metal bullets that feature two deep cannelures for reduced bearing surface. It is well-established that this kind of bullet design can yield higher velocities, particularly in the big-bore calibers with heavy bullets.
 So… the velocity claims may be bonafied, though we would expect the velocity gains will vary among the cartridges. Some chamberings will benefit from the new propellants more than others. And only half the Superformance ammo line-up features GMX bullets, the other half being loaded with more conventional SST® bullets.
How about the claims regarding recoil? The claim that Superformance ammo can deliver 100-200 fps more velocity without any more recoil is questionable. Hornady can’t alter the laws of physics. If a bullet of given weight has a higher muzzle velocity, it MUST produce more recoil than the same bullet moving slower — provided that the propellant charge weight (and rifle weight) are held constant. The only way Hornady can achieve higher velocities without increased recoil is by either: 1) reducing bullet weight; or 2) reducing the powder charge (or gas-related recoil). Hornady could hold recoil constant if its new propellants achieve the higher velocities with a reduced powder charge compared to “conventional” loads.
Hornady has issued an 11-page technical report that provides support for many of its marketing claims. Authored by Hornady Senior Ballistician Dave Emary, the report features some interesting test results, summarized in graphs. Regarding the recoil question, Emary argues that “Recoil … has parts to it that are not commonly understood. The fundamental misunderstanding of recoil is that the recoil is over when the bullet leaves the barrel. In truth, the vast majority of recoil occurs after the projectile exits the barrel. By far the greatest percentage of recoil is produced by the force of the gases and propellant residue/ejecta leaving the barrel.” Emary cites test results showing that “approximately 85 – 90% of the recoil happens after the projectile has left the barrel”. If Emary is correct, then Hornady might be able to achieve higher bullet velocities without enhanced recoil, provided the gas-based force is reduced.
We strongly recommend you read Emary’s report. CLICK HERE to download Superformance Ammo Report.
Hornady plans to release a complete line-up of Superformance ammunition for twenty chamberings: 243 Win, 6mm Rem, 257 Roberts, 25-06, 6.5 Creedmoor, 270 win, 7×57, 7mm-08, 280 Rem, 7mm Mag, 308 Win, 30 TC, 30-06, 300 RCM, 300 Win Mag, 338 RCM, 338 Win Mag, 375 H&H, 375 Ruger, and 458 Win Mag. CLICK HERE to review all the available calibers and bullet options for Superformance ammunition.
October 7th, 2009
The National Shooting Sports Foundation’s educational campaign on modern sporting rifles has created a new video that explains how (and why) AR-platform rifles are suited for hunting, varminting, and other sporting uses. The campaign is designed to reach a wide audience in the hunting and target shooting community, with emphasis placed on educating sportsmen whose preference for traditional-looking firearms can lead them to misunderstand AR-15-platform rifles and to even describe them as “assault weapons”. This can inadvertently lend support to elected officials and organizations who want to ban these rifles.
NSSF President Steve Sanetti writes, “We ask everyone who values their gun ownership rights to correct misunderstandings about the use and operation of these modern sporting rifles. If we let misinformation go unchecked, we only assist those who would ban ownership of these and other types of semi-automatic firearms, like your duck-hunting shotgun. We can’t let that happen.”
September 8th, 2009
Remington Arms offers a handsome collection of photographic “wallpapers” you can use as backgrounds for your computer’s desktop. There are dozens of high-resolution photos, all free for the downloading. Below is a sample from the 2009 Wallpaper collection.
Remington Wallpapers are available in 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768 and 1280×1024 pixel sizes and can be used on both PC and Mac computer systems. After downloading each file to your computer, you can set the image as your desktop background via your system control panel (or, with some operating systems, just open the picture file, right click on the image, and designate the photo as “desktop background”.)
Be sure to look through the wallpaper collections for years 2008 and earlier, as well as the current 2009 collection. There are 12 wallpapers per year. Below are previews of images from the past five years (2004-2008).
CLICK HERE for 2008 and Older Wallpaper Sets.
Photos © copyright Remington Arms Co., All Rights Reserved.
September 5th, 2009
 Over 12,000 visitors attended the first-ever Huntfest in Alberta, Canada. Hosted August 14-16 at the River Cree Resort & Casino (Enoch, AB), WildTV’s Huntfest 2009 featured exhibits from gun- and ammo-makers, optics manufacturers, plus outdoor guides and outfitters. This was more than just an indoor trade show. Huntfest offered outside archery lanes, plus a large dirt track set up for ATV demos. The ATV track gave visitors a chance to ride the latest models and Parkland Bowbenders Archery Course was packed all weekend, putting over 700 kids through the practice lanes.
Hunting experts were on hand including Ralph & Vicki Cianciarulo, Cody Robbins, and Les Johnson from Predator Quest. Chris David and the guys from Hunting Chronicles, Jason & Kevin Spenst and Lain Roth, rounded out the Speakers Stage line up. There was also a special Cooking Demo area offering tasty free samples to visitors. Last but not least, a display of mounted trophy bucks was provided by Artistic Antlers.
Huntfest was so successful that organizers hope to bring the event to more Canadian cities next year. Show Manager Shaun Vlodarchyk stated: “There is definitely potential for this event to go nationwide, with a strong possibility of multiple cities for 2010. Keep watching Wild TV to see the latest updates this fall.”
August 8th, 2009
Tactical, Smacktical. FNH USA is trumpeting the “tacticality” of its new FN TSR “Tactical Sport Rifle”, but what we think they’ve created is a great hunting rifle for small deer, coyotes and other medium-sized game. The TSR comes in two versions — the TSR XP USA (.223, 7.62×39), and the TSR XP (.308 Win, .300 WSM). Both models feature a Win m70-type action with controlled feed, an olive drab Hogue over-molded stock with aluminum bedding block, and a one-piece steel MIL-STD Picatinny rail with built-in elevation. And yes, that nice rail is standard. The factory trigger adjusts from 3 to 5 pounds.
Compact 7.62×39 XP USA features 20″ Fluted Barrel
The smaller XP USA version, as chambered in 7.62×39, is most interesting to us. There are few other US-made bolt action rifles in this popular caliber. The XP USA features an ultra-short action and weighs 8 lbs., 11 ounces. (Why is that action based on the Model 70? Well, for starters, FNH now owns Winchester Arms and builds Model 70 actions in its South Carolina plant.) With a fluted, 1:12″ twist, hammer-forged 20″ barrel, this 7.62×39 looks to be a very handy, ergonomic, and versatile rifle.
We’ve used the Hogue over-molded stocks which feature a grippy, rubberized surface. Some folks don’t like the rubbery feel, but for field work, we’ve found the over-molded surface easy to hold and really secure in wet or snowy conditions. We like the idea of a very short action, combined with 5-round (7.62×39) or 6-round (.223) capacity, with hinged floorplate. We think the 7.62×39 is more than adequate for small deer. It’s hitting power rivals that of the classic 30/30, one of the most popular deer cartridges of all time.
If you prefer a bigger caliber, or detachable box magazine (DBM), you can order the medium-action TSR XP version in .308 with 4-round DBM, and either 20″ or 24″ barrel. Fitted with the longer barrel, the XP in .308 is a full pound heavier than the more compact 7.62×39 XP USA.
August 4th, 2009
Roughly 130 competitors have gathered at the NRA Whittington Center for the NRA Smallbore Silhouette Championships held August 2-4. Today the final matches will be held for the Smallbore Rifle Class and Hunting Rifle Class Silhouette Championships.
This year, 13 shooters have traveled from Mexico to compete against some of the best Smallbore Silhouette shooters in the United States. Seven of these Mexican competitors made the 20-hour journey together. Surprisingly however, the Mexican contingent did NOT include Agustin Sanchez, Jr. this year. Agustin, the “Tiger Woods of Silhouette” has won the event for the past six years, but now someone else will take his title. “It’s up for grabs,” said NRA Silhouette Program Coordinator Jonathan Leighton. “There are a lot of good shooters here, so it’s anyone’s game right now.”
Above, Gabriel Guerra of Mexico shoots while Carlos Mercado spots for him. Guerra loves Silhouette shooting for the comradery and the challenge: “I enjoy the mental game, and it’s a very fun sport. You meet nice people, here and in Mexico. I like the friendship of the teams.”
Invented in Mexico, Adopted in America
It’s thought that silhouette shooting began in Mexico around 1914 as a marksmanship contest between Pancho Villa’s men. The sport spread throughout Mexico following the Mexican Revolution, eventually making its way to America in the 1960s. Silhouette shooting started as a centerfire sport, but over the years rimfire silhouette has become more popular. CLICK HERE to read about the history of silhouette competition.
If you’re interested in getting involved in smallbore silhouette, a fun yet challenging discipline, you’ll find a Summary of Silhouette Basics in our Daily Bulletin Archives. You’ll also find more information, including current rules, on the Steelchickens.com website.
Smallbore Silhouette Course of Fire and Rifle Classes
At an official Smallbore Silhouette match, you’ll shoot at least 40 shots, ten each at four sets of 1/5th size standard High Power Rifle Silhouette targets. The smallest targets, the chickens, are set at 40 yards, Pigs are at 60 yards, Turkeys are at 77 yards, and Rams are at 100 yards. (Alternatively, metric distances are used.) Though the rams are the largest targets, hitting them is far from easy. At 100 yards, a little bit of wind will blow you off the target. Two classes of rifles are used in Rimfire Silhouette: Standard and Hunter Class. Standard rifles can weigh up to 10 pounds, 2 oz. (with sights) and have no restriction on trigger pull weight. The fore-end shall not exceed 2 1/4″ wide, and 2 1/4″ deep measured from the centerline of the bore.
July 20th, 2009
We generally don’t put too much stock in awards handed out by print magazines, nor the NRA’s Golden Bullseye awards (which often seem to be the “Golden Ad Revenue Payback Awards”), but we were pleased to see the Sako 85 rifle receive some recognition. The Sako 85 Finnlight stainless model received an “Excellent” rating from Outdoor Life magazine in its annual review of hunting rifles. The Finnlight ST was the only rifle tested to receive an overall rating of 4 Stars, or the classification of “Excellent”. READ Sako 85 Finnlight REVIEW.
Each year Outdoor Life performs tests and offers awards in various product categories. This year 13 new rifle models were tested and more than 3,500 rounds of ammunition were fired. “Our rigorous … testing protocol offers the toughest, most honest comparison of new hunting rifles on the market,” according to John B. Snow, Executive Editor. The Finnlight ST received “A” grades in both Workmanship and Performance. Outdoor Life’s tester wrote: “The proven Sako 85 action is as slick and reliable as they come, and the accuracy of our test sample (in .308 Win.) was impressive, especially in light of the rifle’s unscoped weight of 5 pounds 6 ounces. One of my 5-shot groups using Hornady 168gr A-Max ammo measured a scant .581″. The Finnlight is a rifle you can trust your hunt to, which is about the highest praise of all.”
The complete 2009 Hunting Rifle Test can be read online on the Outdoor Life Website. Guns tested are listed alphabetically below, and you can click the links to read individual reviews:
CLICK HERE to Read 2009 Outdoor Life Hunting Rifle Reviews.
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