Sportsmans News

Mike Wiatrowski of Lexington, KY is the winner of the Sportsman’s News Smith and Wesson June Gun Giveaway. He wins the Bodyguard .380. Mike entered the gun a month giveaway by registering for the Sportsman’s News Forum. Everyone who registers receives one entry and is given an additional entry for every 25 posts in the forum. Mike won out of more than 3,200 entrants. Register for the forums today for your chance to win next month’s gun, the Walther PPQ 9mm. The drawing was done electronically and is certified by Random Picker. Click the logo below for details on the drawing methodology.

We at Sportsman’s News Magazine are dedicated to bringing you the best outdoor content on the planet. Part of that is awesome gear reviews, which has the byproduct of leaving us in possession of a ton of outdoor gear. The main place we give that gear away is on our Facebook page. You can click here to find it. If you want to win some of the best gear in the field, make sure you click on the “Like” button at the top of the page. Also, since most of our gear give aways are tied to reaching a certain number of fans, telling your friends to “Like” us actually increases your odds of winning as it increases the number of give aways we do. On our Facebook Page you will find links to the pages of many of our manufacturers of great outdoor gear who are often doing their own contests. Adding the Sportsman’s News Facebook page is like opening a doorway into the prize giveaway universe.  You will also find fan-only videos, special articles and posts, and information on all of our upcoming contests including free trips and guns. You can even chat with the staff of Sportsman’s News and Sportsman’s News Television. Visit us at www.facebook.com/sportsmansnews to win tons of free gear.

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The Sportsman’s News Team of Kent Danjanovich, Rick Rosenberg, Colby Labrum and Clint Neilson made the trip north of the boarder in search of giant northern pike, big lake trout and world class walleye. You can tell by the smiles in these photos that the trip was a rousing success! Watch for the full story in the August issue of the Sportsman’s News.

By Mike Poe
Owner and Manager

Comanche Creek, a 501(C)3 nonprofit Texas Corporation established to benefit the membership of the National Wild Turkey Federation’s association of the physically challenged “Wheelin’ Sportsmen”, is offering sales of hunting and lodging packages to the general public for the first time. Continue Reading

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I have never been much of a Budweiser fan. I prefer dark, flavorful beers that you drink just under room temperature. But, I will be raising an ice cold Budweiser or two this evening in honor of the Here’s to the Heroes promotion Bud is running in conjunction with the Folds of Honor Foundation. A portion of every frosty draft beer, up to $2 million, will be donated to the Folds of Honor Foundation, an organization that helps family members of fallen warriors with financial difficulties. I can’t think of a more worthy reason to have a cold frosty one. Please join me in raising a tall frosty glass to those who have given their all for this nation, and in the process, help those they left behind.  Sounds like a win, win, win to me. Please drink responsibly. Learn more about Folds of Honor by clicking here.

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The gun giveaway for June is the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard .380. In order to enter the contest to win the gun you have to register for the Sportsman’s News Forums. You receive one entry for registering and an additional entry for every 25 posts in the forums. Posts are cumulative so they add up from month to month and don’t go away at the end of the month.  A review on the gun can be found by clicking here. The forums can be found by clicking here.  Good luck and keep up the posting. Make sure you congratulate last month’s winner Kevin Stuemke of New Mexico.

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Click here for the Sitka Gear website.

By Kent Danjanovich
Senior Editor

Summertime is here and it is time to head out with the family for some fun in the sun.  Of course, a little time always must be set aside for a little fishing for both young and old, so the Sportsman’s News Team has put together a little info on some of the newest products on the market, as well as some of the tried and true “fish catchers” that have been around for years.  Make sure you stop into your local Sportsman’s Warehouse and check in with the experts in the fishing department for some more tips and ideas for “must have” fishing tackle that will make your trips a lot more successful this year! Continue Reading

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By John Bleh
Sportsman’s News Pro Staff

For many fly fishermen, one of the great attractions of the sport is the variety of methods and species you can chase with a fly rod. Lots of anglers like to fish dry flies, nymphs and streamers and do so all in one trip. Different water types can add even more to the fun – lakes, rivers, ponds and small streams; hike-in mountain brooks and high-country lakes or world famous rivers. You can fish from a boat, raft or wade fish.  Usually though, when you plan a trip, you have to make a few choices and focus on just one kind of fishing. Well, hold on partner, because there’s a lodge in Colorado that offers a huge range of fishing and it’s all easily accessed from one central location.

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Click here to learn more about the Vortex Viper Scope

By Sue Bashista

I never wanted to go north and “freeze to death” on a vacation, but I agreed to go with my husband on a Wild Alaska Cruise; in other words, a fishing trip.  If Larry Csonka and Tred Barta did it, then it was enough endorsement for my husband, Steve and brother-in-law, John.  The arrangements were made a year and a half before at a Sportsman’s Show in Reno, Nevada.  However, this first trip is not the one I want to talk about.  Believe it or not, the first cruise was so great we did it again two years later with our grandsons. Continue Reading

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By Dan Kidder

Managing Editor
Typically when you think of a bodyguard, you think of a big burly dude who will pulverize anyone who tries to get their hands on you. But maybe, like Smith & Wesson, you take a more pragmatic approach. If I had a bodyguard, I would want them to blend in, to appear to not exist at all. I would want them to be more brain then brawn, but also able to handle anything that came their way. Continue Reading

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High End Binos at a Compact Price

Optics is one of the most valuable tools for the western hunter.  Being able to pick up that slightest hint of movement with little or no light could be the difference between the trophy of a lifetime and tag soup.

Optics has improved dramatically over the last ten years and Vortex Optics is leading the charge.  I’m sure most everyone has heard the statement about optics,”buy the most expensive ones you can afford and you won’t regret it”. Sure that statement used to be true many years ago, but Vortex is quickly debunking that myth.  They don’t have an expensive European name that most people mispronounce, but what they pack into their optics isn’t nothing short of top of the line.

The new Razor HD binos for 2011 are as good as it gets and for half the price of some other top end models.  Here at Sportsman’s News, we have had the pleasure of field testing a new pair for the last 30 days and they are nothing short of spectacular.  We had the 10×42 model as our testers, but Vortex puts them out in 12×50, 10×50, 8.5×50, 10×42, and 8×42 models.  So whatever your preference is, you will be able to find one that will fit your needs.  The clarity of these binoculars from edge to edge is extremely impressive.  We are not engineers, but it is obvious that the addition of HD (High Density) extra-low dispersion glass has moved the quality up a notch.  The test models feel extremely compact and lightweight.   They are only 6.5 inches tall and 5.1 inches high and weigh 29.5 ounces.  They will throw out a field of view of 330.8 feet at 1000 yards.  All exterior lenses are protected with ArmorTek which make them extra tough and resist scratching from the many forces we experience in our quest for trophies.  Each unit is sealed with O-rings to prevent moisture from entering the body.  We soaked our test models in the local creek submerged a foot deep for a 12 hour period of time without any problems.  Units are fog proof due to the Argon gas purging process.  The rubberized armor coating and size make them extremely comfortable to hold and durable as well.  One of the changes that we really enjoyed is the roll up eye cups.  They have five different positions and they are very specific stops providing for the perfect eye relief for any type of vision or eye glass wearer.  They are also tripod adaptable which is ideal for long hours of glassing.

As with all Vortex products, the V.I.P. warranty is still the best in the business.  This is an unlimited lifetime warranty.  It doesn’t matter what has happened to your optics or how it happened.  You don’t need to complete a warranty card or worry about providing your receipt.  If something is wrong, Vortex will repair or replace your product at no cost to you.

You can surely spend double or even triple for one of the European counterparts, but why would you.  Get yourself a set of Vortex Razor HD’s and put the other thousand dollars towards your next hunt of a lifetime.

Click here to buy them now.

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By Kirstie Pike
CEO Prois

When it comes to hunting, appropriate clothing becomes paramount in any expedition.  Thermoregulatory features become the key to not only success, but survival.  Cotton is not an option for the hardcore female hunter and performance-driven fabrics become imperative.  Utilizing outdated men’s gear become disadvantageous and layering systems are indispensable.  So how does the female hunter know what apparel systems will provide the best performance for her hunting experiences?  How does she determine what hunting apparel she should purchase among a sea of camouflage?  A good place to start is by gleaning a clear understanding of  the necessary performance features and fabrics to enhance comfort and success in the field.   Continue Reading

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Kayaks have been around for thousands of years.  The Inuit’s stretched animal hides over wooden frames and used those sleek watercraft to chase fish and animals for food on rivers, lakes and in the ocean.  For most of that time, there weren’t many changes in the design or manufacturing of kayaks.  Over the last twenty-five years however, there have been major changes and the Kayaks of today are much different and more plentiful.  A quick search on the web will reveal just how much is out there on kayaking and especially kayak fishing. Continue Reading

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By Bond Isaacson

Having never hunted or even shot a gun until the age of 26, I got a late start to a tradition that most get to enjoy as a boy growing up.  The idea of my sons inheriting the freedom we have to hunt and my guns and land are things that I now cherish.  With my first hunts being primarily for deer, I began to branch out as my kids got older.  In 2000, I took my two boys hunting for black bear in British Columbia and all three of us fell in love with bear hunting.  We have been back many times since and have truly come to love the sport of spot and stalk bear hunting.  After a number of years of black bear hunting, I decided that I would enjoy the opportunity to harvest a grizzly /brown bear.  I had seen the pictures of massive brown bears being taken in Alaska and Russia and the danger involved in a hunt like that and the idea really got my juices flowing. Continue Reading

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