Hoppe’s announced the introduction of “Pillow Packs”, which are individual servings of Elite Gun Cleaner and Elite T3 gun oil for use in the field. The idea is to have an easy to carry way to clean and protect your firearm when you are away from the comforts of your workbench at home.
For those of you with kids, Pillow Packs are not Pillow Pets. So, don’t buy these when they ask for those this Christmas.
I ran across an old post on how to butcher a deer at Everything Hunting. The blog hasn’t been updated in a long time, but the information is still good. If you can butcher your own meat, you look at saving some significant money.
Rolling out in 2012 is the Winchester Razorback XT line of ammunition designed for hog hunting. Initially, the Razorback XT will be loaded in .223 and .308. The .223 will use a 64 grain bullet with a muzzle velocity of 3020 fps. The .308 load will use a 150 grain bullet with a velocity of 2810 fps.
Two thoughts. First, hunting wild pigs is really catching on, and it is nice to see the industry keeping up with the needs of their customers. The Razorback XT might be the first line specifically developed for hogs, but I don’t think it will be the last.
Second, I hope to see a .300 BLK round in the line soon. The .300 BLK cartridge is really gaining a lot of traction in the shooting world. From what I hear, a lot of people shooting the .300 BLK think very highly of it as a hog cartridge. I think Winchester could sell a few boxes of it.
I imagine we will get to see the Razorback XT ammo at the 2012 SHOT Show.
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Fall is upon us and the deer are rapidly approaching the peak of the rutting season. The Rocky mountains and the northeastern states have already experienced their first heavy snows of the year, and other areas are experiencing the cold rain that comes as the weather patterns change from the heat of summer to the cold of winter.
If you’re planning on entering the woods to hunt, or are simply going to be out in the elements, you need to make sure that you have the proper gear to keep you warm and dry. To help keep you comfortable, I wrote this review of the Field & Stream Field & Stream hydroProof Ultra outerwear.
I am truly blessed to live in a part of the country that boasts some of the biggest trophy bucks on the record books, but I also live in an area where the weather can go from 70 degrees one day to below freezing the next! Usually that brings some form of precipitation along with it. Having the right outerwear is crucial to a successful hunt, and is just as important as my selection of rifle and ammunition.
So it’s early November and all over the country hunters are in the fields stalking that buck of a lifetime. The cool air has arrived, leaves are falling, and some areas of the country already have snow. Rifle season has already begun in some areas, and in others the opening of the rifle season is fast approaching.
One of the most important things a hunter or sport shooter must do is make sure that their rifle is zeroed. The need for zeroing goes for shooters using iron sights, scopes or other optics. Iron sights and red dot optics are their own animals, so I want to focus in on shooters using scoped rifles.
Something I realized recently is that many shooters aren’t aware of the easiest and quickest way to zero in their scoped rifle. Particularly if you have just had the scope mounted to that rifle. Some people think that having a rifle “bore” sighted is sufficient to make the rifle shoot on target.
The new Hornady Heavy Magnum turkey shotshells are the latest move by the company to expand its offerings for shotgun shooters. (Another recently released shotshell was the Z-Max for zombies…but that is a whole different bird.)
The heavy magnum turkey shotshells are 3″ magnum, 12-gauge shells loaded with 1.5 ounces of nickel-plated #4, #5 or #6 shot. All of the loads propel the shot at 1300 fps (at the muzzle).
The Hornady shells use the VersaTite wad to make for dense patterns, ensuring clean kills to 50 yards. The patterning is so effective in fact, that Hornady states shotguns work best with normal improved cylinder or modified chokes rather than more expensive custom turkey chokes. So for the average turkey hunter who doesn’t want to invest a lot into his or her hardware, these loads may be a real money saver.
Ruger is running a survey on building the perfect SR-556 for predator hunting. I guess this tells us ‘what’s next’ for Ruger.
New field loads from Federal have been introduced. Federal states the loads are designed for small upland bird hunting, and are also good for practice or field training using clays.
Fusion introduced four new centerfire rifle cartridges designed specifically for deer hunting. The new cartridges are available in .22-250, 7mm-08, 7.62×39, and .35 Whelen. The bullets used are boat-tailed soft points designed for deep penetration.
From Fusion:
Fusion® Centerfire Rifle
The modern deer hunter requires the toughest and most accurate and lethal ammunition available. Fusion® technology gives the next generation deer hunter an affordable option for all disciplines of modern deer hunting. This year the centerfire rifle line gets four new offerings. Known for its devastating power and accuracy, Fusion has 37 rifle loads now available in 2010.Features & Benefits
- Copper jacket is electro-chemically applied to the core through a sophisticated and refined molecular application technique
- Perfectly uniform jacket
- Boat-tail design means great accuracy
- Skived, pre-programmed nose provides consistent expansion
- Maximum weight retention for deep penetration
Just in time for 2010 spring turkey seasons, Nikon introduces the new 1.65-5x36mm TurkeyPro Shotgun Scope with Ballistic Turkey Reticle (BTR) available in Realtree APG, Mossy Oak Break Up or matte black to match your shotgun’s finish.
The new BTR reticle is designed to work as a ranging tool as well as an aiming device. The BTR’s circle within a circle construction allows shooters to use convergence to know when a turkey steps into range. Hunters simply place the small circle, on low power, or the large circle, on high power, to cover or subtend the turkey from head to wattles at 40 yards. The center circle acts as the aiming point and allows the shooter to still “see” the exact target spot even on low power.
The innovations with this turkey scope don’t stop with the reticle system. The TurkeyPro also features a removable Anti-Reflective Device (ARD), a first for turkey hunters. “Using an ARD in a turkey-specific scope is a first but it makes perfect sense given a turkey’s amazing eyesight and spooky nature,” said Jon Allen, General Manager Nikon Sport Optics. “The new TurkeyPro uses input from some of the country’s best turkey hunters and is the first scope to combine all those years of experience into one scope.”
Five full inches of eye relief means hunters can comfortably and safely mount this scope on even the hardest kicking magnum shotguns. With a super bright exit pupil of 7.2mm and Nikon’s multicoated lens you can hunt right up to roost time. The durable one-inch tube features hand turn ¼-MOA adjustment and a 50-yard parallax setting. Multicoated lens provide 92% Light Transmission for excellent low light performance.
The new TurkeyPro BTR is available in Realtree APG or Mossy Oak Breakup with a MSRP of $279.95 or in a matte finish with an MSRP of $249.95. All feature the new Ballistic Turkey Reticle and will be available in plenty of time for spring 2010 hunting seasons.
