Sportsmans News

The 2012 Shot Show was another great success.  The Las Vegas Sands Expo Center hosted the big event with over 60,000 vendors, suppliers, retailers and the media stolling the the floors in search of the newest innovations for the coming year.  Watch for our March issue that will feature some of the newest products to watch for at your local Sportsman’s Warehouse.  We even hit the shooting range last Monday to try out some of the best new guns on the market.  I can’t wait to get my hands on the new Browning A5 Shotgun as a new addition to my gun collection.  The new design is sleek and smooth and if the time I spent with it on the trap range is any indication, game birds on my hunting trips this fall better watch out!

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Here is the video you have been waiting for. We caught up with Red Jacket Firearms owner Will Hayden at the SHOT Show and got a brief interview with him. Sorry about the sound quality, but the camera lacked an external microphone. I will be heading to Baton Rouge in February to get a better meeting with him and his crew and tour the Red Jacket shop. Watch for that interview right here. Thanks to all of you who helped us get the interview.

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Today at the Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trades (SHOT) Show, media were given the chance to test fire some of the newest guns introduced by manufacturers. One stand out was the newest small pistol by Ruger chambered in .22 LR. The SR22 is a double action semi-automatic pistol. It has a small frame, great double action trigger, with a super light single action follow up.

Built on a small frame, the SR22 has interchangeable grips to accommodate those with small hands as well as those with larger mits. The gun is incredibly accurate and for fun we took our turns shooting at a silhouette steel target set out at 100 yards. I’ll take 4 out 10 shots with a 3.5 inch barreled .22 at a 100 yards any day.

This gun is full of features and I expect that it will be a big seller for Ruger in the coming months. Look for us to do a more comprehensive review in an upcoming issue of Sportsman’s News.

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I have spent the last couple of days on the show floor of the annual Archery Trade Association show (AKA. ATA) in downtown Columbus, Ohio. This is an absolutely awesome show to see all the new gear hitting the archery market. Many years ago the bow manufactures started rolling out the next year’s model of bows in October the year before so there isn’t the hype about new bows that there once was. However, Bowtech still waits for this show to roll out their latest and greatest. They didn’t disappoint again this year. They rolled out the Insanity which has two different models. One is a 32 inch axle to axle bow with super fast IBO of over 350 and a longer 35″ model. We did get to shoot them, but not in our own testing facility. It was impressive to say the least. Bear Archery also had a great new addition to their line in the Anarchy model. It is a little lighter than last years Carnage and a little longer. This bow was a dream to shoot and unlike a pro shop bow like the Insanity, this one will be able to be purchased at Sportsman’s Warehouse and it is guaranteed not to disappoint. Bear has also rolled out a great bow called the Widowmaker which is a woman’s model bow with a ton of versatility. There is definitely too much great stuff to list in a blog post, but we will be doing our March issue of Sportsman’s News about new products we see at these shows with more detail. Make sure you pick up your March issue of Sportsman’s News in your store location or visit us back on line.

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Do you wish you were going to the Archery Trade Association, Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trades (SHOT) Show or the Outdoor Retailers Winter Market? Well, we are going and the staff of Sportsman’s News Magazine will be providing updates on new products, the latest gear, and anything we find interesting, right here in our blogs. Keep checking back through the next week for updates. We’ll keep you abreast of all of the cool things coming up for 2012, including an exclusive interview with Will Hayden of Discovery’s Sons of Guns television show.

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Congratulations to Bomber, the winner of the December Gun of the Month drawing for the M&P 15.  Bomber has has 736 posts, putting him in 4th place in the posting standings and giving him 30 entries in the drawing. Bomber, give me a call at the office at (435) 865-1680 so we can arrange to ship you your prize.

And for those of you who didn’t win, we still have another chance if you join the NRA through this link. If you join through us, it is only $25. And if you are already a member, you can renew and they will add the extra year onto your current membership. Right now the odds of winning are about 1:40. Also, if you purchase a gift membership, send me an email to info@sportsmansnews.com with your screen name, your real name, and the name of the person you bought the gift for so when I get the report, I can give you an extra entry. Good luck.

http://sportsmansnews.com/join…..son-mp15t/

By Dan Staton

MS, PES

I know, you do not have the luxury of spending hours in a gym. You don’t have much for home workout equipment and perhaps you’ve found it difficult to stay the course of an exercise program.  You’re not alone.  So check out the following home grown workout plan, all you need is to carve out 20 minutes.  You can bust this workout in your basement, garage, shop, or your bedroom. And while a weight-free workout may sound easy, the home grown variety will challenge every muscle in your body.  The result will be an overall improvement in your General Physical Preparedness (GPP), which is the cornerstone to being the best outdoorsmen you can be.  GPP equates to being able to hike into any backcountry hole, drag a buck by yourself, hang a half dozen stands, or show up to elk camp a few pounds lighter.  Nature does not discriminate whether you’re young, old, in shape, or out of shape.  You’re better off walking into the woods this fall with a conditioned body.  Best of all, you can start today while the year is fresh. Continue Reading

By Mike Deming

“There’s a Monster Right There Dad” were the words that came out of my 8-year-old daughter Taylor’s mouth as we sat in our double bull blind opening morning of the Utah muzzleloader season.  I grabbed my CVA Accura and slowly pivoted to the right hoping to see the huge framed 180 class buck the owner had told me about, frequenting the orchard.  I could see a forked horn and a 140 class 4-point, but nothing that I considered a monster.  The 4-point was having a staring contest with us at 15 yards as I scoured the trees for the 180 buck.  I asked Taylor if that was the “Monster” looking at us and she confirmed with “DEFINITELY”!  “Is he a shooter” I asked, “ABSOLUTELY” was her response.  Her excitement was very obvious, but a shot didn’t present itself. Continue Reading

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By Ralph Crystal

Alaska!  The name alone triggers the imagination.  Who hasn’t dreamed of exploring the last frontier, the “Great Land”!

If you cut Alaska in half, it would make Texas the third largest state.  It has 17 of the 20 highest mountains in the United States and 19 peaks over 14,000 feet, one of which is Mt. McKinley, the highest mountain on the North American continent, standing at 20,230 feet above sea level.  There are 29 active volcanoes, days with 24 hours of daylight, some with 24 of night, over 100,000 glaciers, three million lakes, more coastline than the lower 48 states combined and the Aurora Borealis, the spectacular Northern Lights Show! Continue Reading

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By Craig E. Kimball

Normally, an over the counter hunter, I decided to use my preference points and hunt public land in Colorado near my longtime friend and former student, Mark Alward. He had described this area as tough to get to with plenty of elk and a fair number of bulls in the 250 to 300 class. Having shot a few bulls already in that range, I was hoping for something bigger. As always, the preparation began long before the hunt with tuning, shooting from various positions in varying conditions, calling practice; and, of course, antelope hunting. Spot and stalking speed goats in open terrain sharpens the senses and skills. Continue Reading

Glen Bradley climbed out of the Suburban and drew down on the big boar crossing the logging road.   The first shot connected and the big bear headed for thick cover.  Our guide closed the distance to where the bear went into the cover in seconds and found him climbing a big pine in hopes of escaping.  Glen made one final shot and the seven-foot bear fell thirty feet out of the tree to end a great hunt.  Glen was the lucky winner of the 2009 “Great Hunt Giveaway from Sportsman’s Warehouse and Sportsman’s News Magazine. Continue Reading

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By Kevin Orton,
Worldwide Trophy Adventures Application Specialist

As you all know the 2011 hunting season is behind us and what a year it was.  Some of the biggest animals in history have hit the dirt.  However what is most important for all of us hunters is that we get our plan together now for the 2012 hunting season.  The application process starts this month and you have no time to waste in order to make sure you are maximizing your opportunity to go hunting.  So what I want to do in this article is give you a short state by state run down of what you need to be prepared for when you apply in that state. Continue Reading

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By Dan Kidder
Managing Editor

For a low cost yet reliable self defense gun, look no further than the Smith & Wesson Sigma SW40VE. Featuring an ergonomic 18-degree grip angle, a 14+1 capacity, stainless steel slide with two-tone coloration, and some of the most innovative internal safety mechanisms on the market, the Sigma brings reliability and performance into range of most budgets. Continue Reading

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By Kent Danjanovich
Senior Editor

Gods Lake is world renowned as one of the most prolific fishing waters found anywhere on earth.  Each year, travelers from around the world venture to its waters in search of giant northern pike, lake trout, brook trout and walleye.  This area of Canada is unique in the fact that many of the waters in the continuous flowing river system travel from south to north, which results in water levels staying constant or even increasing throughout the summer months, resulting in wonderful fishing opportunities.  My first trip to Gods Lake took place this past July with Greg Dick and his staff at Elk Island Lodge and believe me, it won’t be my last! Continue Reading

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What’s your goal for 2012’s angling season? What, you don’t have a fishing goal? New Year’s Eve has worn off and “The Ball” has dropped, yet you have no angling goals? Talk about dropping the ball! Continue Reading

By Mike Deming

As I made my 23rd stalk with my bow in hand in just 3 days, I knew that I was experiencing something special.  I was on a 10,000 acre private ranch hunting antelope with A Double J Outfitters. I was experiencing exactly what owners Rusty and Chris Bogers said I would when I booked the trip.  “You will get 7 to 10 stalks a day at bucks in the 68 to 75 inch range” was the exact comment I remember.
Our job is to travel the world and evaluate outfitters operations.  We search for the best the world has to offer for our readers and this is one such place.  I was able to put my tag on a great 13” antelope that scored right at 70”.  Everyone in camp had similar opportunities and we were 100% success on archery. We had great accommodations and food that rivaled the best cowboy cooking the west can provide. Continue Reading

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