Sportsmans News

Every year, we head to the field to hunt and film episodes for SNTV.  I often stop at camps to visit with other hunters or talk with them while in the field.  It surprises me to see how many people I find without a rangefinder.  Knowing the exact yardage to your target will eliminate a lot of future misses if you have done your homework at the range. Continue Reading

The company that we know of as Leica started building binoculars over 100 years ago.  It was in 1907 to be exact.  They have developed cutting edge technology since inception with the best German Engineering money could buy. The birding community has known about their quality, chromatic aberration, and clarity for many years.  Guides and outfitters have come to depend on these same qualities which were plugged into the first pair of binoculars with a built in rangefinder as well.   Continue Reading

Great new products for 2012 the staff of Sportsman’s News saw at the 2012 shows.

Bear Anarchy

Bear Archery – Siren Bow

Designed for serious female shooters.

• Speed (IBO): 300 fps
• Weight: 3.8 lbs
• Brace height: 6.75”
• Axle to axle: 31”
• Peak draw weight: 40 lbs / 50 lbs / 60 lbs
• Draw length range: 22” to 27”
• Let-off: 75%
• Strings/cables: contra-band
• Cable slide: slide Continue Reading

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As I peered over the edge, I had a great view of the open hills as well as the willow choked bottoms and fringe which I hoped would hold a good whitetail buck worthy of my Wyoming tag.  I had just settled in for the afternoon when deer suddenly exploded out of their beds on the fringes and weaved back and forth through the cover with their white flags waiving high in the air.  My guide yelled “Buck”!  I immediately went into kill mode and started searching for the shooter buck.  He blew through every opening in true whitetail fashion.  I could see the other deer heading for thick cover as my guide shouted out the yardage.  I quickly adjusted my hold and squeezed the trigger as the big buck piled up from a full run.  What a rush! Continue Reading

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All the hype in today’s hunting and shooting world revolves around long range shooting.  I’m all for it if you practice on a regular basis and have the right equipment.   Night Force has many different rifle scopes available today and I had the pleasure of putting one to the test on a late season Colorado deer hunt.   Continue Reading

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By Mark Boardman
Vortex Optics
Like a pistol firing at the start of a race, the first shots of Wisconsin’s gun opener cracked the crisp mid-November air signifying the season had officially begun. A surge of excited energy filled my body knowing I was in a good spot to capitalize on a buck that either wasn’t yet aware of the current situation, or was fleeing the orange army that floods our woods every year. I was also excited to be testing final production samples of our now-released Viper HS riflescope and Viper HD binocular  – Both of which were going to perform top-notch from everything I could tell during time spent at the range prior to the hunt. Continue Reading

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By Mike Deming

This question will illicit many different answers among a group of hunters.  If you live east of the Rockies and most of your time is spent in a tree stand, then you can probably easily answer this question with a no.   If you are out to experience the love of nature and you are just looking to fill your freezer with some tasty elk or venison, it is doubtful that you will want to spend the money or carry the extra weight.  However, if you spend most of your time in the west and putting a trophy on your wall is the main focus of time spent in the field, you must have a spotting scope with you at all times. Continue Reading

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Making that great shot means knowing how far away your target is. Bushnell has created a great rangefinder for that purpose, but has also created a special version of it to help those who have lost a family member in combat.

The Bushnell Scout1000 Rangefinder Patriot Edition provides rifle shooters and archers with a great piece of equipment, while also donating a portion of the sale to the Folds of Honor Foundation to provide scholarships to the children of fallen warriors. Continue Reading

Every year Vortex comes out with cutting edge new products or revamped old products that keep putting the shooting sport industry clamoring for more.   The new Viper HS 1X4X24 is another one of those great products.  Whether you are an AR style shooter or looking to top your big bore magnum dangerous game gun with some great glass, look no further. Continue Reading

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Picking a rifle scope can be an arduous task unless you know all the features and benefits of each individual scope.  In today’s market, there is so much more to be known prior to making a purchase than price, brand, and clarity.   With the long range shooting sport coming of age, just about every manufacture is tailoring scopes to meet the capabilities of these long range shooters. Continue Reading

By Dan Kidder
Managing Editor

The best glass and multiple coatings make for crystal clear viewing. This is evident in the Alpen Apex bincoluars.

Alpen uses the highest quality BAK4 glass to provide the ultimate in clarity. Their lenses are PXA coated to provide superior resolution and color fidelity. Additionally, a HR prism coating enhances brightness and light gathering. The body is waterproof, sealed, and nitrogen filled to make a weatherproof unit. Continue Reading

By Michael Deming

Everyone has probably heard the saying, “buy the best optics you can afford.”  This is a philosophy that I learned long ago and there is a box of binoculars in my arsenal showing the years of my business success and optics upgrades over the years.   I started buying optics over 20 years ago and the technology and quality has improved by leaps and bounds.   What was the very top of the line optics twenty years ago won’t hold a candle to some of the lower grade models on the market today.  A person can easily spend over $2,000 for some of those top of the line optics and those units are absolutely fantastic, but they are out of the reach of many people, so we have put together a lineup of binoculars that will cost you less than five hundred dollars that are still good quality and will get the job done well.   This field testing has gone on over the past 3 months during our summer scouting trips and here is our opinions based on clarity, low light visibility, weight, and functionality. Continue Reading

In the world of rifle scopes price has come to determine quality. That paradigm may have made a dramatic shift with the introduction of the Bushnell Trophy XLT.

The Trophy XLT features Bushnell’s patented DOA (Dead On Accurate) reticle with Rack Bracket, that easily provides range to target based upon the average size of a mule deer or whitetail’s ears. Continue Reading

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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If you need to travel and want to take a pistol, you need a TSA approved pistol case and among all of the makers of such cases, SKB leads the pack. Continue Reading

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Vortex Optics’ new Viper PST (Precision Shooting Tactical) riflescope series boasts features associated with top-tier riflescopes, yet comes in at a street price under the $1,000 mark.

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