Do you know this guy?

I’m guessing most of us do.  Some uf us may even meet him when we look in the mirror.

He’s that guy who lives and breathes hunting.  It’s the topic of conversation when he’s in a crowd.  It’s on his television when he’s at home.  It’s the subject of his magazines, the books on his shelves, and there’s a good bet that it’s what’s for dinner.

If you recognize this person, or if you know someone like him, show him your appreciation (or your irritation) with the Rather Be Hunting Guy bobblehead, complete with audio!  Or you can stuff his (or her) stocking with the line of comic books, or a bumper sticker with his tagline, “Working for the man, hunting when I can.”

It’s a funny, and inexpensive gift for the hardcore hunter on your list.

The good folks there sent one for me to check out, and I’ve got to say it sort of cracked me up.  I immediately knew who would be getting one of these for Christmas this year.  It fits him to a tee.  I think his wife will agree when she sees it… although I have a feeling she’ll lose that sense of humor soon enough, when he sets it off at 0-dark-thirty on Christmas morning before heading out to the tree stand.

Back in early October, some of you may remember I went down to Georgia to do some night hunting for hogs with the guys from JagerPro.  We were trying out Winchester Ammunition’s new lead-free offering, the Razorback XT.  On the hunt we were using the 150gr. .308 Winchester in semi-auto AR-style rifles and some pretty impressive thermal imaging scopes.  But you can read all about that on the original post, or at the JagerPro website.

Anyway, on that trip I was only able to take one hog, but he was a whopper!  At 276 lbs., this boar would have proven to be a trial for any bullet.  From a little over 215 yards (when the shooting started), we hit him at least three times in the body and knocked him down twice before putting him down for good with a shot through the head.  Thank goodness for semi-automatic rifles and low recoil!

One of the bullets had quarted in from the rear, passing through the thoracic cavity and lodging in the large bone of the front leg.  That’s pretty serious penetration, and most bullets (especially lead) would have blown up on impact with the big bone.  Well, in the mail yesterday I received the spent bullet from this boar.  Check it out below.  That’s pretty danged good, especially for such a light bullet.  I haven’t weighed it, but I’d be willing to bet it’s pretty close to the original 150 grains.

During the hunt, and even afterward, there were a lot of discussions about the need for a heavier bullet, and maybe putting it in something a little heftier, like a 30-06 or .300 Win Mag.  For my own part, if I were designing something for hog hunters, I would have looked for something like a 180gr 30-06 over the .308.  But in retrospect, it’s hard to knock the performance of these “little” bullets.

It was a dark and stormy night.

No.  That’s not quite right.  Actually, it was more of a generic sort of sunny afternoon.  A light breeze ruffled the plum and lemon trees.  A pair of mourning doves whistled into flight.  In the not-so-distance, someone had their car stereo turned up until every bolt and buckle rattled and buzzed.  A child laughed down the street, playing the innocent games of childhood.

But here, in my backyard, a scenario of deadliest doom was playing out.

I’d heard the rustling in the jasmine earlier.  Thinking that damned skunk was back, I grabbed the Benjamin Marauder and snuck out the side door.  I’d put an end to this pest!  I eased around the storage bin, rifle at the ready.  I captured a flash of movement under the fruit trees along the fenceline and eased into position.

I don’t know if it was the smell that hit me first, or the gurgling snort.  But it had to be scent or sound that set my brain into action, because I simply wasn’t buying what my eyes were selling.

A huge boar faced off at me across the yard.  But he wasn’t a normal hog.  His flesh was rotting from his scarred up body.  Bloody drool and maggots dripped from the open maw.  The sound he was making was something like a snarl, but it was a liquified, gooey rendition, as though his whole throat was full of phlegm or gore.  This was a zombie hog!

I dropped to the ground and set up the Benjamin.  This wasn’t the time to stand and be shocked.  Another second and he’d charge!

I leveled the crosshairs between his eyes and let fly with a .25 caliber pellet.  The Marauder spoke true once again, and the shot went right where it was supposed to.  As fast as it started, it was over.

This exciting, backyard zombie hunt was brought to you, in part, by the good folks at Birchwood Casey.

In my mail yesterday, I received a long-awaited package.  In it were about 40 of the new Birchwood Casey “Darkotic” targets.  I mentioned these after seeing them at the SHOT Show back in January, and with Halloween peeking over the pumpkins, I thought it would be fun to see if I could get my hands on a bunch.

To be sure no one felt left out, the company has provided a pretty awesome selection of zombies, from “Drainpipe”, the sewer rat to “Shopping Spree,” the mall rat.  I received a small selection, but I had specifically asked for extras of “Smokehouse”, the zombie hog.  Big surprise, huh?

So what’s up with zombie targets?  Good question… if you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years.

Zombies have taken a pretty phenomenal place in the popular  consciousness lately.  I’m not quite sure how it started, but it’s got to be one of the best marketed memes in recent history.  The living dead have gone from the stuff of B-grade movies and teen-rated video games to the topic of conversations in otherwise staid company.  In the world of guns and hunting, there have been a pile of columns and blog posts related to the perfect “zombie gun”, while college kids are leveraging the social networks to organize campus-wide, zombie invasions.  Even the CDC Office of Public Health and Preparedness has published a guide to prepare the living for the impending zombie apocalypse, along with several other documents and presentations.

Hornady ammunition has taken it to an even higher level, with the recent introduction of the Zombie Max (Z-Max) ammunition… specially designed for shooting zombies!  They’re even rolling television commercials for the new loads, at least on some of the hunting television channels.  According to the disclaimer on the Hornady site, this is real ammunition and not a toy.  I think it would be a hoot to keep a couple of boxes around, but right now I really don’t know a lot more about it.  Anybody tried any of it yet?

In the meantime… the targets are going to be a kick in the pants to play with.  They “splatter” on impact, so it’s easy to see your accuracy… and to ensure those zombie-killing head-shots.  I may not be taking the zombie apocalypse as seriously as I should, but I’ll be getting plenty of practice over the next few weeks… you’ll know because you’ll probably hear me giggling.

As I mentioned the other day, I’m finally getting a chance to work on some of the projects and gear reviews I’ve been planning… building a budget hog rifle, and trying out the Benjamin Marauder .25cal air rifle.

The new Savage Axis, “budget” hog rifle got it’s first trip to the range over the weekend, but that one has had to go back to the workbench.  I’ll give it another go soon, after I’ve worked out a few challenges.

The other project, though, the Benjamin Marauder is off to a roaring start!  I have raved about this rifle since I first shot it at the SHOT Show this past winter.  The quiet power and screaming accuracy tickled every part of my gun-loving soul, and I couldn’t wait to sit down with one on my own time where I could really put it through the paces.

The rifle and accessories arrived at my doorstep a couple of hours before I took off on my last work trip to Spokane, so all I had time to do was open the box and drool a little before rushing off to the airport.  I couldn’t wait to get home and put it all together.

Assembly wasn’t bad, as it was mostly just a matter of mounting the Centerpoint 3-12×44 scope.  I tried to boresight the thing, but apparently the muzzle diameter is a little bigger than the .25 caliber bore.  Nevertheless, I figured at 20 yards (the longest shot I could get at my little “range”) I’d be able to get on paper and dial it in easy enough.

I have a pair of SCUBA tanks that I will be using to charge the rifle.  I’d never worked with a PCP (Pre-Charged Pneumatic) before, but the instructions were clear and simple enough.  The Marauder is designed to take up to a 3000psi charge, but the factory settings limited my initial fills to 2000psi.  According to the manual, that should be plenty sufficient for most hunting and target shooting purposes.

Loading the Marauder’s rotary magazine with eight pellets was also simple enough.  I got a little impatient at first, in my eagerness to shoot I tried loading the mag without reading the manual.  It’s not that tricky, but it wasn’t really intuitive.  After a few tries, I grabbed the booklet and learned what I needed to know.

I was ready to shoot.  I grabbed my old Black Hole archery target and set it up at about 20 yards, with a redwood privacy fence behind it.  I took a big sheet of cardboard, and stuck some Shoot-n-See pasters (1″ circles) on it.  On the second shot, I realized that my pellets were hitting the fence!  This thing was sending those pellets right through that archery target and embedding them deeply into the wooden fence slats!  Now granted, the target is pretty old, but it still stops arrows from my Mathews without much complaint.  I couldn’t believe the power and penetration.

I stuck an old piece of foam behind the target, and wrapped the whole thing with an old carpet runner.  That should stop it.  I fired a couple of shots, and didn’t hear the sound of pellets hitting wood.  Relieved, I proceeded to zero the rifle… a process that really didn’t take too long.  After about four or five adjustments, the next two shots went dead into the bullseye.  I fired another shot and it went right beside the other two.   (Turns out the Marauder was still shooting right through all of that padding and embedding pellets in my fence… oops!). 

I reloaded the magazine, and took a shot.  This time, my pellet dropped about an inch and a half below the bull.  I tried again and hit almost the exact same place.  I flipped the rifle over and checked the air gauge.  Sure enough, it was down into the yellow, a little less than 1500psi.  Hmm… it went through almost 500psi in about 10 shots.  The gun was still packing a whallop on the target, but the pellet was definitely dropping faster.

I pumped the gun back up and reloaded.  Picking another dot, I started shooting.

12 shots later, it looked like this.  Even though this is only 20 yards, I think that’s pretty danged consistent.  Consider that I was shooting from my Vanguard bipod (no bench), sitting on a concrete walkway.  This is definitely not my old Red Ryder!

One of the big things I want to do with this rifle is take it turkey hunting (it’s legal in CA to hunt turkeys with a .20cal or larger air rifle).  I had my doubts about the kind of accuracy that would require, but after shooting a few dozen shots with this thing, I have no doubt I can head-shoot a turkey at 20-30 yards.  I’ll be shooting a lot more before the November season arrives, but I already have a pretty high level of confidence in this gun.

You’ll probably be hearing more about the Marauder as I take it out for ground squirrels, and maybe for rabbits.  The gun is pretty heavy for serious field carry, but I think I can find places to use it where I won’t have to hike too much.

I mentioned a while back that I had a few projects in the pipeline this summer.  Well, truth be told, it’s taken me longer to get some of them going than I’d intended.  I guess that’s a side effect of working for a living.  I wish I could kick back and write about hogs and hunting all the time, but that hardly pays the bills.

Nevertheless, I’ve managed to get things going, and while I haven’t taken any of my projects to completion yet I do think it’s a good time to tip my hand a little.

The first project is building the budget hog rifle.  I know everyone can’t go out and drop a couple of grand on a hunting rig, and you really don’t need to.  With that in mind, and with the good fortune to win a Savage Axis 30-06 at a banquet this past winter, I thought I’d see how inexpensive a good, workable hog hunting rig could come together.  You’ll get all the details later, as I’ve still got to take this thing to the range and I want to put some meat on the ground with it too.  But it’s come along pretty well, and I believe I’ve got the whole thing ready to roll for under $400.

Along with the new rifle, I’ve got two new lead-free ammo offerings to put through the paces.  As you can see in the photo (I hope), the good folks at Barnes sent me a couple of boxes of their new Vor-TX ammo.  While the initial offerings are in the typical chamberings, the company does plan to start loading more calibers.

I also finally received a few boxes of the Winchester Power Core 95/5 ammo.  The Power Core line is intended to offer an economical, lead-free option, and should be priced much lower than the currently available lead-free ammo.  I’ll be taking some of this stuff to the range this weekend, and will be using it on my next depredation trip as well.  I’m hoping that this will be the first step toward seeing some affordable, lead-free ammo on the market.

In addition to the hog rifle, I was able to convince the good folks at Crosman to let me try out the Benjamin Marauder, a PCP (Pre-Charged Pneumatic) air rifle in .25 caliber.  They were even kind enough to include a Crosman, Centerpointe scope and 600 pellets.

I’ve got the whole thing assembled now, so I just need to get my SCUBA tanks over here and charge it up.  I have a whole box of Shoot-n-See targets just waiting to show us all how sharp this thing shoots.

Stay tuned…

A couple of weeks ago, amidst the flurry of work and travel, I received a package from Vanguard products.  Vanguard isn’t a new company, necessarily, but one I hadn’t really heard much about.  With a little research, it turns out that they’re a pretty large supplier of sports optics, cases and bags, and a few other accessories.

As usual, and because I’m really just a big kid, I ripped open the box right away.  Inside, I found Vanguard’s Equalizer 2QS bipod.

I’m a big fan of using stabilization systems for field shooting, and I’ve spent a fair amount of time preaching against shooting offhand (except under ideal conditions and when necessary).  There’s just no excuse for swaying and wavering on the shot when there are several excellent products available to steady your rifle.  For most of my hunting I carry a monopod, which was the result of my personal search for a portable, effective platform.  I’ve tried shooting sticks, bipods (not the Vanguard), and even a safari-styled tripod.  All of them had their pros and cons, but I had particular issues with the bipod.

While the bipods I used were quite effective under the right conditions, it seemed that those conditions were never quite right when I was actually hunting.  The ground was always too steep, the brush too thick, or the bipod was never the right height.  No matter how I adjusted the danged things, the minute the prey moved and I had to reset, I had to adjust everything all over again.  For hogs especially, but even for deer and elk, there is seldom a lot of time to be adjusting your shooting platform… especially if you’re at reasonably close range.

The other thing I didn’t like about the bipods I tried had to do with the attachment to the rifle.  The Harris bipod I tried first (one of the leaders in the industry) was permanently attached, which put it in the way most of the time while negotiating thick brush and narrow trails.  It also added a good bit of weight to the front of the rifle, throwing off the balance for offhand shooting.

The other bipod I bought incorporated a bayonet-style attachment, so at least I could pull the legs off for hiking or maneuvering.  However, it still required the attachment of the mounting block, which was both ugly and a little unwieldy.

After a lot of frustration (and a couple of missed opportunities caused by the bipod’s interference), I finally removed the bipods from all of my rifles except my .17.  With the bull barrel and 4-16x scope, the bipod makes sense on that one.  Plus, when setting up on ground squirrels or target shooting, I don’t have to keep moving around.  I can get the bipod settled on a nice, flat spot, and never have to adjust it at all.  But most of my hunting isn’t like that at all.

So I’m not the world’s biggest bipod fan.  Oh well, let’s take a look anyway…

The Equalizer 2QS is a rail-mount bipod with a picatinny-style mounting block that attaches to your front sling post.  The bipod legs are on a quick-detach assembly so that they can be removed from the block with a quick twist of the adjustment knob.  The one I received is the Equalizer 2QS, with legs that telescope from 13 3/4″  to 28 3/8″ using friction nuts to control the extension.

Attaching the bipod to the rifle is pretty simple, as long as you’ve got a regular sling stud or post on the forearm of your rifle or shotgun.  Everything you need, including two mounting bases and even the Allen wrench is included in the package, so you don’t even need to go to the tool box.  I decided to mount this unit on the new Savage Axis 30-06 that Kat won at the California Waterfowl banquet, since I’ve sort of decided to make this my “project gun”.  The attachment was no problem at all.

The first thing I noticed was that the Vanguard bipod was a bit lighter than the last unit I tried, weighing in at just over a pound.  The mounting block is still a little bulkier than I like, but it barely affects the balance of the rifle.  The bipod itself, of course does add weight forward and makes a clean swing with the rifle a bit of a challenge.  I wouldn’t recommend leaving the bipod attached if there’s a possibility you’ll need to swing on running game.

The connection between the bipod and the mount swivels and allows a good bit of play up and down, so it allows you some flexibility to adjust elevation.   You can also pivot about 30 degrees in either direction.  This is handy if the target is moving laterally across your field of view, as long as you don’t have to reset the bipod feet on uneven ground.

Because this unit adjusts to over 28″, the bipod is high enough to shoot from a sitting position.  That’s important to me, since I often hunt in places where the ground is covered with low bushes and rocks.  I also find it more comfortable than stretching out on my belly in the cactus, rocks, or mud.  The downside to a tall bipod is that stability tends to decrease the further you get from the ground.  Nevertheless, with the Equalizer fully extended I still felt plenty stable for hunting purposes.

The thing I really do not like about the Equalizer is the length adjustment mechanism.  The friction nuts are too slow for rapidly changing field situations.  Keep in mind that I don’t really get into the 400-500 yard hunting.  At those longer ranges, you often have a little more time to set up.  However, in situations where you need to drop and shoot, twisting the nuts to adjust the bipod height requires precious seconds.  It’s also a bit difficult to adjust from a shooting position.  There’s a lot of room for error in the event that you fail to sufficiently tighten the nut, since the leg may slip at a critical moment.

One other thing that would make the product a little more attractive would be to provide some sort of holster or belt clip for carrying the bipod when it’s not attached to the rifle.  As I’d mentioned previously, I don’t like hiking through the brush with the bipod sticking up with my muzzle.  It will catch on every inconvenient snag.  Fortunately, the quick disconnect makes it easy to take the bipod legs off, but then the problem becomes where to put them for easy access.  They don’t fit in your pocket, and if they’re stuffed in a backpack they can be pretty hard to get out in a hurry.

All in all, the Vanguard Equalizer bipod has a place in the market.  I’m obviously not a big fan of bipods for my own use, but if you are familiar and comfortable with these tools, it’s a pretty good system at a competitive price.  For the varmint or target shooter who doesn’t have to move around too much it’s a really good way to stabilize your rifle.  Properly engaged on solid ground, the Equalizer provides a very steady rest, and still allows you enough flexibility to adjust for a good shot. And that’s really all you can ask from a bipod.

After a brief issue with the DVD drive on my laptop, I’ve had the opportunity to review a couple more products from the 2011 SHOT Show. 

First is a new video game from game-maker/distributor, Mastiff Games called “Reload”.  At the show, Mastiff had a demonstration of several of their games, which include titles like Remington’s “Great American Bird Hunt” and Shimano’s “Extreme Fishing”.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend.  However, I did get in touch with the company later and was able to get a review copy of “Reload” for the PC (it’s also available for Wii).

As it says on the game cover:

Split second reflexes, nerves of steel and total focus are just part of what it takes to win in this fast paced, pulse-pounding package.  Challenge your friends, grab your weapon, and enter a world where speed and skill decide your fate.  Just don’t forget to reload.

Reload is a target shooting game.  You start out with basic target shooting drills that get more and more difficult as you move up.  Some of it is accuracy, some is speed, and some is both.  Nothing particularly novel there, but I did find it to be a lot of fun… at first.  And then it got hard.  I got stuck.  Then I got frustrated, and that made it even harder. 

So let me back up first and be clear.  I enjoy the occasional computer game, but I’m not what you’d call a hard-core gamer.  I’m not real good at the fast-action shooters, and don’t really have the background to just figure these things out.  I suppose reading the directions would have helped, but really, who reads directions?  Isn’t a completely intuitive user interface a key goal in game design? 

In the case of “Reload”, I was able to jump in and start playing right away without spending time on complex instructions or reading Help files.  After I went back to the instructions and tips, I did learn a couple of tricks that made gameplay easier and improved my scores, but I think I could probably do OK learning on the fly.  I like that in a game. 

I’m also not sure playing on a laptop in my recliner is exactly the environment they had in mind when they put this game out.  Aiming with the touchpad is not nearly precise enough.  Fortunately, I was able to connect a mouse and that helped steady things.  I also read enough of the instructions to find out there’s actually a keystroke that “holds your breath”, and that helped too.  Still, once things got fast and furious, I just couldn’t keep up.  After an hour or so of gameplay, I’m still stuck at a fairly low level… far from the cool stuff that’s supposed to happen later in the game, like hostage rescue and sniper missions. 

It’s hard to criticise a game when the biggest problem is the player, and really, I don’t have anything particularly negative to say anyway.  It’s actually kind of fun, and I intend to load it up on my desktop PC and keep at it from time to time until I get it figured out.  However, I have a feeling that’s gonna take awhile and I thought I should get this review out while the game is still fresh on the market. 

To sum up, I didn’t think this game was particularly easy on the PC, but it is fun (unless you can’t handle frustration).  The graphics aren’t bad, the action is paced well, and it’s definitely challenging.  I can see where it would be a blast to play this with family or friends, and that’s where the Wii version might be a better bet than the PC.  I do think I’d like to try a few more of their titles, particularly the hunting-oriented games. 

All is not fun and games. 

The other title I’ve been looking at is the latest edition of the Firearms Multimedia Guide.  I reviewed the first edition of the Guide last year, but they’ve incorporated a few more features.  This DVD is a reference guide that allows the user to look up just about any firearm you can think of (and some you’d never think of).  There are over 50,000 firearms listed on the DVD, with complete specs and information about ammo, available configurations, and other minutiae.  You can even find the MSRP for just about any firearm you’d be interested in purchasing, as well as a list of FFL locations to help you find a dealer in your area.

The biggest upgrade for the new edition is the inclusion of the schematics for over 1500 guns, but there are also new listings and a selection of printable targets too… just for fun.  The price has gone up by about $10.00 this year, as it now sells for $39.95.  That’s still a pretty good price for such an extensive and easy-to-use reference tool although, to be honest, this isn’t really the kind of thing your casual hog hunter might find particularly useful.  But I would consider it a must for the gun nut or gunsmith, as well as for neophytes to the shooting sports. 

Even more importantly, I think this should be a mandatory tool for any writer who intends to write about firearms… especially journalists.  Every newsroom should have this thing, if for nothing other than a quick fact check before publishing yet another story about “.22 caliber shotguns”.  Novelists and fiction writers would benefit from it as well. 

The Firearms Multimedia Guide isn’t something I’d use every day, but I do like having it on my reference shelf for those times when I need a quick source of information about a specific firearm.  And sometimes I just like to browse it for fun, entering some criteria such as caliber or configuration and seeing what comes up.

This is not your grandpa’s BB gun.

Over the course of today’s Media Day At The Range, I shot a lot of pretty cool guns.  I shot big-bore rifles, ARs, slug guns, hand cannons, and even crossbows.  But out of everything I shot, the one that stands out to me now, looking back, was an air rifle.

OK, so it wasn’t a Red Ryder, or even an old Crossman 760 (I still have mine, by the way).  It was actually the newest thing on the Benjamin line.   It’s a .357 air rifle that delivers almost as much energy as a .38spl with a whisper. 

I’d stopped at the Crossman booth to have a look at .22 caliber pellet guns, because I think that would be a blast of a tool for hunting turkeys (totally legal in CA, and perfect for turkeys in populated areas), not to mention the fun it would be for ground squirrels and jackrabbits. 

The first thing I noticed was a couple of really nice-looking rifles on display.  These were no cheap, plastic toys.  Laura Evans, Crossman Marketing Coordinator, saw my curiousity, and before I knew it, I was getting a lesson in the features and functions of modern air rifles.  For example, in the break-barrel rifle I was looking at, they’d replaced springs with pistons, because springs weaken over time.  This should extend the life and power of the rifle significantly. 

Then I started to look at a .25 caliber pre-charged pneumatic (PCP)… the Marauder model.  The PCP airguns have a chamber that is pressurized with air (usually from a SCUBA tank or a high-pressure pump).  The barrel is also completely shrouded, with baffles incorporated at the muzzle to completely muffle the sound.  I’d shot a couple of high-powered air rifles in the past, and I remember how loud they were.  Laura told me that the Marauder wouldn’t be nearly that loud.  Of course, I had to shoot it to find out for myself.

The rifle is a little heavier than I’d expected… somewhere in the 8 lb range.  It was also outfitted with a pretty serious scope.  The heft does help steady the gun, though, and I leveled off at some of the “popper” targets.  On my first shot, the popper fell, but I didn’t notice because I was shocked at how quiet the Marauder was!  It was, literally, a loud whisper.  I fired several more shots (the Marauder loads from an eight-shot, rotary clip). 

I guess the grin on my face told all, and Laura walked over.  “That’s fun, huh?”

Absolutely.  I wanted one right then and there.  The Marauder isn’t cheap, with an MSRP in the neighborhood of $500, but it’s not a toy.  It slings a .25 caliber pellet at around 900 fps which translates to plenty of thump for small game or turkeys.  This may well find its way onto my Christmas list for next year.

Before I left, Laura wanted me to see something else.  She noticed from my name badge that I am into hog hunting.  “Here’s something you can use for hogs,” she told me. 

On a table in the middle of the tend was a futuristic-looking rifle, set up on a bipod.  At first glance, I thought it was another long-range, sniper gun.  But as Laura directed my attention to it, I realized it was an air rifle!  But oh, brother, what an air rifle!  It’s a .357 caliber.  After a quick introduction to the rifle, and a few shots downrange, I was pretty impressed… even though the unit I was shooting was still in prototype. 

The rifle shoots three different sizes of pellet, from 95 to 140 grains.  It incorporates an electronic power control, so you can dial the power down for multiple shots at targets, or you can dial it to full power to deliver the heavy, hunting bullet with the energy of a .38 special.  I was suitably impressed, and will be following this rifle’s development. 

Of course there were plenty of other cool products at the shoot.  I’ll provide more detail on some of these later, but standouts include:

Savage’s new 116 Bear Hunter rifle – in .300 WinMag, .325wsm (YES!), and .338 WinMag.  The rifle features an adjustable brake that can be turned on or off with a twist of the wrist.  The one I shot was in .300 WinMag, and the on/off brake feature really made a big difference… both in felt recoil and in noise. 

Sako’s Black Bear – chambered in .370 Sako Mag (9.3×66).  It’s a handy, carbine-sized rifle with a really serious round coming out of the pipe.  I shot this rifle with iron sights, and it handled really well at 100 yards.  The .370 does kick pretty good, which can be a challenge in such a light rifle (7 lbs.), but it wasn’t unbearable.  I’d love to haul this thing into the canyons for hogs, or even into the dark timber for a big, bull elk.

Tenpoint Crossbows – I’ve been wanting to learn more about crossbows, so I took the time to stop at the Tenpoint booth at the shoot.  I’d never really shot one, so this was the opportunity to check it out.  With Tenpoint’s cocking assist tool, pulling the 180 lb bow back wasn’t too bad.  There’s also a crank that makes it even easier, although it’s slower and makes a lot of noise.  The bow itself is really pretty quiet, and screaming accurate. 

And finally, my favorite rifle of the day was Ruger’s new Gunsite Scout rifle.  They released a Scout Carbine a couple of years ago, but this rifle takes the short platform to a new level.  Equipped with XS Ghost Ring sights, forward rail, and Ruger scope rings, you have a ton of options for sighting.  The rifle also incorporates a 5-round or 10-round magazine.  Right now, it’s only being offered in .308 win, but that’s a plenty capable round for most American big game.  The muzzle is threaded, and comes standard with a flash suppressor (which makes sense on the short barrel). 

I’ll have photos and maybe more detail on all of these, as well as several others as this week goes on. 

Oh, and on the subject of new products.  My friend, and fellow blogger, Holly (NorCal Cazadora) is offering some really cool, and very artistic, photos.  She’s discovered a great way to highlight the natural beauty of duck feathers, and she’s come up with some unique and beautiful photos.  Check them out over on her site, and if you like what you see, you can buy a couple.

It’s December, officially Christmas season (you can start the music and string the lights now), and time to get serious about doing some shopping.  While the hunters on my list are pretty much covered this season, I thought maybe I could offer some ideas for some of the rest of you by taking a look at some of the products I’ve used and reviewed here on the Hog Blog.

I want to start with a piece of gear that was sent to me in 2009, my Dri-Duck Extreme jacket.  I did a video review on this after a few months of wearing it, and this jacket has become a standard part of my regular, outdoor wardrobe.  It’s waterproof, rugged, and versatile.  I’ve worn this jacket over a t-shirt to ward off the chill of an early season morning, and I’ve also worn it over layers on a 16-degree mule deer hunt at Coon Camp.  It has kept me dry and comfortable in driving rain, drizzling mist, and snow. 

One of the things I really like about the Dri-Duck Extreme (DDX) Storm jacket is that I can wear it anywhere… even to the office.  It’s not fancy, of course, but it’s totally functional whether I’m in the woods, on horseback, or walking through downtown Oakland. 

The Dri Duck Extreme Storm jacket will make a great gift for anyone on your list who spends time out in the elements.  You can learn more about this jacket and others in the Dri Duck line at the Dri Duck website. 

By the way, if you have a coat or jacket that isn’t shedding water like it should, take a look at the Camp Dry line of waterproofing sprays.  I recently sprayed a regular hunting coat (not waterproof) with the Camp Dry “Heavy Duty” spray before the Coon Camp Springs hunts this year, and once the smell died down (this stuff has a really strong, chemical scent for days after application), I found that the cloth literally repelled water.  In one case, as I was filling one of our 300 gallon water tanks, the high-flow hose popped out and started thrashing around.  I turned my back just in time to take a full blast on the back of my coat.  Nary a drop penetrated!  That’s pretty good performance.  I’ve since worn that coat in drizzle and rain here in the SF Bay Area, and it’s still keeping me dry… almost six weeks after the initial application of spray. 

A can or two of Camp Dry will fit just right in your hunter’s stocking.    (more…)

When I was a kid, options for waterproof or water-resistant outdoors clothing were relatively limited.  Most of the products available consisted of rubberized or waxed canvas, oilskin, plastic, or various combinations of fabric, rubber, nylon, or plastic.  The best of these were expensive… well beyond the reach of a family living on the income of a Coast Guardsman… and none were made for children.  Mr. Gore and company didn’t patent Gore-Tex until I was entering my teens, and apparel made with his miracle material didn’t filter down into our financial bracket for a few years afterward. 

I remember shivering in the stand and duck blind on a lot of soggy, freezing mornings as my hand-me-down coat finally soaked through, and the cold rain joined the cooling sweat (there weren’t many options for breathable fabrics then either).  The very definition of misery was the sensation of cold rivulets running down a hot spine, and the sensation that your body heat was literally being sucked through the clammy garments and dissipating into the icy wind.  The only real solace I could find was the knowledge that my dad was suffering the same discomfort, even if the hard-headed cuss wouldn’t let it show. 

To alleviate this problem, and to “waterproof” boots and pants for extreme weather, we often resorted to silicon-based sprays.   I remember going through several cans of Kiwi’s Camp Dry every hunting season.  This was relatively amazing stuff!  The spray really enhanced the water-resistance of my hunting coats, and could make a pair of leather boots shed water like a couple of ducks.  With a thorough application, even a pair of blue jeans could be water repellant… for a while. 

Since those days, of course, waterproof gear has become pretty standard equipment.   Gore Tex, nylon, Kevlar, and all sorts of new technology have come along to keep us dry, warm, and comfortable.  The thought of spraying down with water repellent has faded into a dim memory for me, and for most of my generation.  But from time to time, I find myself wishing my hunting pants wouldn’t get so wet in a dew-covered field… or that my lightweight coat could repel an early-season drizzle. 

A little while back, I received a press release and an introduction from someone representing the Kiwi Company.  Apparently they’ve updated the old Camp Dry product line, and they wanted to send me a couple of cans of the new stuff to try out.  In the package, I found a can of their Heavy Duty Water Repellent spray and a can of Camp Dry Fabric Protector.  Of course, when the stuff arrived, we were still in the dry season here in Northern CA.  Short of spraying my gear down with the garden hose, there wasn’t any good way to test the product.  But that’s finally changed now, with an apparent vengeance, as we seem to have leaped straight out of summer and into winter.

 I’ll be taking advantage of the opportunity over the coming days up at Coon Camp Springs.  We’ve had a regular mix of snow and rain up there so far, and I expect that will continue over the next couple of weeks.  My plan is to apply a generous spray to my light coat and to a couple of pair of Carhartt work pants just to see how long the water repellent holds up.  The Fabric Protector, by the way, claims to be scent free after drying.  I’m pretty sensitive to chemical smells, though, so this is one thing I’ll put to the test.  The Heavy Duty Water Repellent has a distinctive, chemical odor, so I will probably avoid putting it on anything that I might actually use for hunting. 

I’ll let you know how it works when I return.  Based on the experience of my youth, though, it’s a pretty good product for temporary water resistance.