Outdoors category, Page 30
Outdoors notices for March 24, 2019
NOTICES Outdoors RIFLE/TRAP LEAGUES • In the Pittsburgh and Surburban Rifle League on March 13, Frazier-Simplex (13-0) defeated Irwin Post 228 (0-12), 1,445-1,126, and Dormont-Mt. Lebanon (10-3) beat Allegheny (5-8), 1,478-1,448. Murrysville (4-9) had a bye. Frazier-Simplex’s John Husk shot a 299 for the high score of the week. Irwin’s...
Outdoors Xtras: Eat’N up, venison rice, bobber talk
Gear of the week Gear name: Eat’N Tool Company: CRKT ( Gear type: Utensil Product description: When it comes to backpacking, where weight it so important — shoot, some people cut most of the handle from their toothbrush to save an ounce — equipment that serves multiple purposes rules. Enter...
Spring gobbler tips from ‘Turkey Man,’ Eddie Salter
Turkeys have taken Eddie Salter all over the map in the past five decades. He’s hunted the birds in 33 states. But then, his life has revolved around the birds forever, it seems. The Greenville, Ala., native known as “The Turkey Man” started hunting turkeys at age 8 and killed...
Tips on releasing fish so they survive to breed again
You’ll feel good. Not outright heroic, maybe, but certainly noble to some degree, believing you’ve done right by conservation and fishing. And maybe you have. Releasing fish you’ve caught can help sustain wild populations and, in the case of stocked fish — like all of those hatchery trout being released...
Pennsylvania hunters set 14-year record for deer harvest
Pennsylvania hunters posted their highest overall deer harvest in 14 years in 2018-19, but the buck harvest seemed to take a hit because of bad weather on opening day, the Pennsylvania Game Commission said. The game commission said hunters killed 374,690 white-tailed deer during the 2018-19 hunting season, which closed...
Outdoors notices for March 17, 2019
• Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania is holding an outing at 9 a.m. Wednesday at Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve. Join a naturalist for a free walk on the reserve’s trails. Register online at aswp.org/events/8220. • Three Rivers Birding Club is holding a Woodcock Walk outing at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Meet...
Outdoors notices for March 17, 2019
NOTICES Outdoors RIFLE/TRAP LEAGUES • In the Allegheny Valley Rifle League on March 8, Clymer (12-6) beat Murrysville (7-11), 1,168-1,164, and Butler (15-3) defeated Fort Hand (2-16), 1,172-1,163, in the A-team standings. In the B-team division, Clymer (15-3) beat Murrysville (4.5-13.5), 1,155-1,124, and Butler (15-3) beat Fort Hand (1.5-16.5), 1,149-1,080....
Outdoors Xtras: Some Melee, biking tips and a syrupy recipe
Lure of the week Lure name: Melee Company: Booyah (booyahbaits.com) Lure type: Bladed jig Sizes and colors: Available in two sizes — 3/8- and ½-ounce — in black/blue, brush fire, green pumpkin, river killer, royal pumpkin, white and white/chartreuse. Target species: Largemouth and smallmouth bass. Technique: The Melee is a...
Camping when campfires are prohibited
They’re as dramatic as they are rare. Lightning strikes are magnificent in an otherworldly, catastrophic way. They’re all power and speed and destructiveness. Some even cause wildfires. But, in that regard at least, they’re far outdone by the mundane, the ordinary, the common. Or, the all too common. Lightning and...
Musky fishing tips from a Hall of Famer
It seems like a simple recipe, really. Joe Bucher — longtime host of “Fishing with Joe Bucher” and a 2002 Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame inductee — believes there are just three ingredients to consistently catching big muskies. They are knowledge, skill and effort. “It’s isn’t luck,” said the...
Outdoors extras: A tip for better outdoor photos
Gear of the week Gear name: Hunt X10D Company: ElimiShield ( Gear type: Scent control spray Product description: Hunters, and especially those who need to get close to game, like archers, know all about the need to control scent. Well, here’s a product that claims to be able to make...
The Thompson/Center Venture Predator a real shooter
Shoot it? Heck, for a while it wasn’t certain I could load it. The folks at Thompson/Center sent me one of their Venture Predator rifles in .223 Remington to test and review. The gun has been around for a while now, and I’d been a fan from afar, having seen...
Outdoors notices: Week of March 11, 2019
• Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania is holding an outing at 9 a.m. Wednesday at Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve. Join a naturalist for a free walk on the reserve’s trails. Register online at aswp.org/events/8220 • Franklin Regional High School is hosting a Sustainable Backyard Workshop seminar from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m....
Pennsylvania fishing license fees and an olive branch
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commissioners are trying to meet anglers and state lawmakers halfway. Or, well, at least 30 percent of the way. Commission executive director Tim Schaeffer recently delivered his agency’s annual report to members of the House of Representatives game and fisheries committee. Much of his commentary –...
Outdoors notices for March 10, 2019
NOTICES Outdoors RIFLE/TRAP LEAGUES • In the Allegheny Valley Rifle League on March 1, Clymer (11-6) beat Butler (14-3), 1,168-1,164, and Murrysville (7-10) defeated Fort Hand (2015), 1,164-1,115, in the A-team standings. In the B-team division, Clymer (14-3) beat Butler (14-3), 1,157-1,141, and Murrysville (4.5-12.5) beat Fort Hand (1.5-15.5), 1,123-1,080....
Outdoor notices: Sunday, March 3, 2019
• Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania is holding an outing at 9 a.m. Wednesday at Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve. Join a naturalist for a free walk on the Reserve’s trails. Register online at aswp.org/events/8220 • Laurel Hill State Park is offering Maple Harvest Tours beginning at 10 a.m., and also...
Outdoors notices for March 3, 2019
NOTICES Outdoors RIFLE/TRAP LEAGUES • In the Allegheny Valley Rifle League on Feb. 22, Butler (14-2) defeated Murrysville (6-10), 1,158-1,157, and Clymer (10-6) defeated Fort Hand (2-14), 1,162-1,150, in the A-team standings. In the B-team division, Clymer (13-3) beat Fort Hand (1.5-14.5), 1,144-1,080, and Butler (14-2) beat Murrysville (3.5-12.5), 1,148-1,109....
Debating how best to confront chronic wasting disease in Pennsylvania
It always has been a matter of when, not if, given the events of the last few years. It’s when. Chronic wasting disease, or CWD, is in Pennsylvania’s elk range. To be clear, no one has detected yet the always fatal ailment that affects deer, elk, moose and other cervids...
Bannock, or campfire bread, connects outdoorsmen and women across time
There’s a timeless connectivity to exploring the outdoors. Eras, circumstances and situations change, of course. The technology hunters, anglers, birders, hikers, backpackers, campers, paddlers and bikers use in the woods and on the water now is much different than what their forefathers carried centuries — shoot, even just decades —...
Outdoors Xtras: Elite lure, freezing fish and bluegill chowder
Lure of the week Lure name: Elite Company: Steelshad (steelshad.com) Lure type: Blade bait Sizes and colors: Available in a 23/4-inch, 3/8-ounce model in five colors: gold, sexy shad, silver, white shad and yellow shad. Target species: Largemouth, smallmouth bass, walleyes, northern pike, muskies, lake trout and salmon Technique: The...
Outdoors notices for Feb. 25, 2019
• Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania is holding an outing at 9 a.m. Wednesday at Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve. Join a naturalist for a free walk on the reserve’s trails. Register online at aswp.org/events/8220. • Forbes State Forest is offering a moderate 8-mile hike in the Roaring Run Natural Area...
Outdoors notices for Feb. 24, 2019
NOTICES Outdoors RIFLE/TRAP LEAGUES • In the Allegheny Valley Rifle League on Feb. 15, Butler (13-2) defeated Fort Hand (2-12), 1,163-1,135, and Murrysville (6-9) beat Clymer (8-6), 1,163-1,162, in the A-team standings. In the B-team division, Clymer (11-3) beat Murrysville (3.5-11.5), 1,147-1,142, and Butler (13-2) beat Fort Hand (1.5-12.5), 1,142-1,080....
Outdoors Xtras: Electronic hand warmer, cash advice and breakfast recipe
GEAR OF THE WEEK Gear name: Zippo rechargeable A hand warmer and a tasty breakfast recipe are a good combination for winter camping. Company: Zippo ( Gear type: Hand warmer Product description: If you know Zippo, you know the company long has made hand warmers that run on lighter fluid...
Think outside the box when calling coyotes
The secret is there’s really no secret. Oh, lots of predator hunters wish it were so. They want there to be a single key, a mystic answer, a largely unknown, otherworldly, hush-hush tactic that regularly brings more coyotes to the gun. So they ask. Over and over. Like seekers after...
Plan ahead for fun-filled camping vacation and to avoid swarms of mosquitos
It was the only vacation that ever made my wife cry. She wasn’t alone. This camping trip had been my friend’s idea — though I admittedly signed on eagerly — and before it was all over, his wife cried, too. Not to be left out, their son and both of...
