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 new. But this one is at least different in a neat and fun kind of way. Put a round through it, and the hole closes up on itself. But in the process, the area around the hole changes color. The effect is that you can see where each shot hit, just like on those paper splatter targets that are so popular. Unlike those, though, this is reusable. It’s the heat — caused by friction — of the bullet traveling through the target that causes it to change color. When the target cools, it goes back to its original color. That way, the next time you use it, you fire new rounds and get new colors splotches.
Notable: There is a YouTube video that shows how the target works: youtube.com/watch?v=yyn2p6AWNbA
TIP OF THE WEEK
Forever, it seems, anglers have been taught to look for fish around structure. That makes sense. Many are ambush predators, so a bit of cover — rocks, grass, timber, an overhanging bank — gives them a place to hide while looking for a meal. But there’s one kind of cover anglers too often overlook: shade. Shade alone, perhaps from something hanging over the water, can hold fish. And the shaded side of in-water cover, like a dock, can be especially productive.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Mountain man breakfast
Ingredients
• 2 pounds sausage
• 8 eggs, beaten
• 2 pounds frozen hash browns
• ¼ cup water
• 2 cups grated cheese
Directions
One-pot meals are a huge blessing on campouts, as they make food preparation and cleanup fast and relatively easy. That leaves plenty of time for adventuring. And this breakfast fits the bill for you and the whole gang.
To start, fry sausage in a Dutch oven over hot coals. Crumble well.
When done, take out and place on a paper towel to drain. Leave drippings in the oven.
Brown hash browns in that oil. When they’re ready, spread them out on the bottom of the pan so they form almost a pie crust. Put cooked sausage over the potatoes.
Over that, pour eggs, scrambled with ¼ cup of water mixed in. Top that with cheese.
Put lid on oven and bake everything — using 8 coals underneath the oven and 16 on top of it — for 20 to 25 minutes, or until eggs are done.
