Outdoor Life — The Source for Hunting and Fishing Adventure

Matt Watson captured this footage while shooting The Ultimate Fishing Show off the coast of New Zealand. This from the Youtube video posted earlier this month: "After battling a huge swordfish to the surface on his trusty handline out off the coast of Northland, New Zealand, Matt Watson finds himself in a race with a gigantic mako shark to secure his prize catch and get it aboard his little boat in one piece!" [ Read Full Post ]

The popularity of shed hunting has grown greatly over the last several years, and many trainers are developing programs to teach dogs to search out and find antlers. Three years ago, Tom Dokken started developing products to use in training, and then a hunt-test-like program to inject some fun and competition into the scene.

This year, on April 13 and 14, the third NASHDA World Shed Championship took place in Northfield, Minn. The North American Shed Hunting Dog Association runs qualifying events just like a retriever or pointing dog hunt test, with pass/fail standards. “The whole idea is for events to be fun, for people to run their dogs and create good camaraderie,” said Dokken. “Most people are more than happy to share training tips and offer encouragement. In qualifying events, you’re not competing against anyone; you just have to find six antlers in 15 minutes.” [ Read Full Post ]

Many do-it-yourself ATV and UTV owners change the exhaust on their vehicles, and for good reason: a better exhaust system will create much more power. But changing the exhaust on a carbureted machine brings on some secondary issues that need to be addressed in order to keep the engine running properly.

The exhaust pipe on your quad is tuned specifically for the machine. Not to mention, it is also custom shaped in the pattern needed to fit your machine without interfering with any other components. If this pipe or its silencer is altered in any way, (whether it is bent in an accident or manipulated by you) it can impact the engine's performance.

Here are some tips for tweaking your ATV or UTV exhaust: [ Read Full Post ]

If you are fortunate enough to live within the native range of birch trees, then you have a lot of interesting survival options at your disposal. Birch can provide you with firewood and containers, and the right species of birch can even be turned into a tea and sweetener.

Fire
For friction fire building with birch, you can use the dead and dry branches for your drill and fire board. These materials are effective, but not quite as easy to use as willow or cedar. By far, the best fire related use of birch comes when you burn the papery curls as your fire starter. This birch paper is like a stepping stone between tinder and kindling. Whether wet or dry, these birch bark curls will burn strong, creating a black oily smoke. Any birch species that produces papery bark will be useable, but the white birch (aka paper birch) is the most effective. You’ll need an open flame like a match or lighter for best results in lighting the bark. Spark-based fire starting methods are not particularly effective for lighting the bark strips. [ Read Full Post ]

In 2009, PETA harshly criticized President Barack Obama for swatting a fly during a televised interview.  The animal rights – and apparently insect rights as well – group   condemned the merciless act even going so far to label the moment as an "executive insect execution.”

Four years later, PETA is showing that its outrage wasn’t politically based by denouncing a Republican for the same action. On Friday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s office posted a video showing the Garden State’s Number One smashing a spider on his desk in front of a group of visiting school children. Christie bragged about his actions in a Tweet that read, "Earlier today I saved a few school children from a spider #nobigdeal #toughdayattheoffice." [ Read Full Post ]

Towns in Georgia and Texas adopted resolutions in late April requiring the head of every household to own a working firearm and ammunition, both non-binding symbolic gestures passed to show support for the Second Amendment.
               
The town council in Nelson, Ga., about 50 miles north of Atlanta, on April 29 passed its Family Protection Ordinance, requiring the head of every household to own a gun and the ammunition to feed it. It exempts felons and those with certain disabilities, and it comes without penalties for noncompliance.
               
According to Bob Adelmann of The New American, Nelson officials say they adopted the ordinance to "make a statement to local criminals scoping out the place, as well as to government officials looking to push federal restrictions on gun ownership." [ Read Full Post ]

Toby Burke, a wildlife biologist for Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, was on a bird watching excursion along the Alaskan Kasilof River Beach with his family when they spotted a brown bear in the distance.

At first they didn't think much of the sighting, and soon enough the bear disappeared among some sand dunes. But the bear reappeared at close range and started heading right for Burke, his wife, their 7-month-old baby, 8-year-old son, and 11-year-old daughter. [ Read Full Post ]