Bob Frye: Short-barreled revolver still viable, fun to shoot
Perhaps they get paid by the bullet fired. The heroes — and the villains, too, to be fair — in contemporary action movies all carry high capacity firearms as a matter of course. They lug around spare magazines like they’re nothing, as well. And brother, do they pull the trigger....
Outdoor extras, including a campfire recipe pairing peaches and bacon
Gear of the week Gear name: Power Armz Company: 4id (everybodyshops.com/power-armz-led-safety-armband.html) Gear type: Lighted armbands Product description: 4id’s Power Armz are a favorite of runners and cyclists because their bright light, which can be set to flash or shine continuously, are powerful enough to make them noticeable and therefore safe....
Large online hunting license sales mixup still being corrected
This is what a snafu looks like. More than a month after 2019-20 Pennsylvania hunting licenses went on sale, tens of thousands of people who purchased theirs online still are waiting to receive them. Licenses bought online are supposed to be printed within 24 hours, mailed immediately thereafter and arrive...
Fisheries surveys show lakes on the rebound for tiger muskies, yellow perch, more
So you want to catch some fish, huh? Well, here’s a tip. Start by casting your line where the fish are. Pretty sage stuff there, I know. Confucius-esque, almost. But if you want to catch fish, you’ve got to know what waters the fish call home and in what sizes...
Outdoor extras, including a tip on archery practice
Lure of the week Lure name: Dartspin Company: A Band of Anglers (abandofanglers.com) Lure type: Soft plastic Sizes and colors: Available in a 5.5-inch model in 18 colors, including black ’n blue, green pepper, solid pearl, purple pearly, glow, copper mine and see-through clear gold. Target species: Largemouth and smallmouth...
The great bait debate ends for Section 3 of Spruce Creek
It was, in some ways, an outrageous amount of debate for so little water. But, finally, a decision was made. Anglers who want to fish what’s known as Section 3 of Spruce Creek near Franklinsville in Huntingdon County can do so year-round. They must release any fish they catch. And,...
Tips on choosing the right sleeping bag for your outdoors trip
The evidence is there, in every household, hiding in plain sight in the silverware drawer. Look at the butter knives. At least one will be slightly bent at the tip. And how did it get that way? Because you or someone like you used it as a screwdriver. Hey, been...
Hiking safety key no matter how short the trip
It’s not who you think it is. Each year, park and forest rangers, volunteer firefighters, emergency medical technicians and other search-and-rescue personnel take to the woods to save people in dire straits. There’s never a shortage of them. Yet rarely are the rescued backwoods wanderers, exotic, high-adventure explorers who roamed...
Outdoors extras: Must-have sunscreen and an easy-camp quiche
GEAR OF THE WEEK Gear name: Stay Put Company: Sawyer Gear type: Sunscreen Product description: I’ve turned my wife into a paddler. She doesn’t fish, but she loves taking her kayak to cruise rivers and lakes. Unfortunately for her, the same sun that makes me tan burns her relentlessly. So...
Fisheries surveys show the mighty Susquehanna fine for channel catfish
So you want to catch some fish, huh? Well, here’s a tip. Start by casting your line where the fish are. Pretty sage stuff there, I know. Confucius-esque, almost. But if you want to catch fish, you’ve got to know what waters the fish call home and in what sizes...
Outdoors extras: Making stew and setting up trail cameras
LURE OF THE WEEK Lure name: Butterfly Float’N Harness Company: Northland Fishing Tackle (www.northlandtackle.com/) Lure type: Crawler harness Sizes and colors: Available in two blade sizes, 7/8- and 1 3/8-inch, and 12 color combinations, including blue shiner, clown, electric perch, Wonderbread, pink lemonade and purple tiger. Target species: Walleyes and...
Senate Bill that would expand Sunday hunting faces obstacles
The battle is not over. Pennsylvania state Senators recently approved, by a 36-14 vote, an amended Senate Bill 147 that calls for allowing hunting on three Sundays each year. Supporters called it a victory, albeit a smaller one than they envisioned. But it remains far from a done deal. Questions...
Fisheries surveys show Delaware River holding wild brown, rainbow trout
So you want to catch some fish, huh? Well, here’s a tip. Start by casting your line where the fish are. Pretty sage stuff there, I know. Confucius-esque, almost. But if you want to catch fish, you’ve got to know what waters the fish call home and in what sizes...
Study aims to show if West Nile virus affects wild turkey populations
How would this be for a twist: Across the country, hunters can pursue turkeys in spring and again in fall. Yet, perhaps, the most dangerous time for the birds might be late summer. That’s not hunting season. That’s bug season. Researchers are looking at whether mosquitoes that carry West Nile...
Camping essentials to make every trip memorable
Like the old gray mare, my memory ain’t what it used to be. Oh, I packed the sleeping bags on our last camping trip. The pillows, though, never made it to the Jeep in the driveway, let alone the campground five hours from home. They were sitting on the couch,...
Expanded Sunday hunting could come to Pennsylvania as early as this fall
It seems now not a matter of if but when. On June 26, two days before taking their summer break, Pennsylvania state Senators approved an amended Senate Bill 147, perhaps — and as of yet, only perhaps — paving the way for expanded Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania. Right now, hunters...
Outdoors Extras: “Double Action” targets, breakfast recipe and weekly tip
GEAR OF THE WEEK Double Action Gear type: Target Sugg. retail price: $12.99 to $24.99, depending on size. Company: Double Action Targets (everybodyshops.com/self-sealing-hit-indicating-cool-weather-black-green-target-double-action-targets.html) Available options: These are available in 4- and 6-inch models. All have a strap to use in hanging them from target stands. Product description: Self-healing targets aren’t...
Fisheries surveys show a musky mixed bag
So you want to catch some fish, huh? Well, here’s a tip. Start by casting your line where the fish are. Pretty sage stuff there, I know. Confucius-esque, almost. But if you want to catch fish, you’ve got to know what waters the fish call home and in what sizes...
Solo canoes, pack boats becoming more popular with paddlers
As boats go they often are overlooked, or at least have been in recent years, as evidenced by the ebb and flow of consumer wants and demands. But perhaps that is changing. Solo canoes and more especially pack boats — a canoe-kayak hybrid — are, if not surging in popularity,...
Fisheries surveys show lakes with lots of bass, channel cats
So you want to catch some fish, huh? Well, here’s a tip. Start by casting your line where the fish are. Pretty sage stuff there, I know. Confucius-esque, almost. But if you want to catch fish, you’ve got to know what waters the fish call home and in what sizes...
Study says changing values will impact fish and wildlife management
It’s more evidence of a coming storm, perhaps. Fewer Americans than ever hunt these days. It recently hit a 25-year low. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report, released in 2016, showed that 11.5 million Americans hunted. That was 4.4 percent of the population. If that sounds like a lot,...
Wildlife watching from water a real treat
There’s no official name, so far as I know, for the portal that took us into another world. But it hides behind a tricky entrance. We arrived at the state park boat launch mid-morning of a weekday. It’s summer, and school is surely out everywhere, but still, the crowd was...
Outdoors extras: Rattling bait and a twist on s’mores
LURE OF THE WEEK Lure name: Wameku Shad 70 Company: SPRO Lure type: Lipless crankbait Sizes and colors: Available in a 2.75-inch, ¾-ounce model in eight colors: crawfish gold, crawfish chartreuse, chrome shad, purple rain shad, Rayburn craw, matte sexy shad, delta craw and black back gold. Target species: Largemouth...
Sunday hunting could come to Pennsylvania as early as this fall
It seems not a matter of if, but when. Next week, the state Senate is expected to vote on an amended Senate Bill 147, paving the way for Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania. The original version called for allowing hunting on 14 Sundays, 10 in fall and four in spring. Sen....
‘Hike to Hunt Challenge’ offered by Backcountry Hunters and Anglers
Every hunter, man or woman, who ever has stopped halfway up a hill, gasping for air, drenched in sweat, pulse racing, attached to a rope with a dead deer at the other end, has said it. I’ve got to get in shape before next season. Well, here’s your chance. Backcountry...
