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Hello OL readers!
If you're new to our blogs secion or haven't been here in a while, we have some news. We've cleaned up our blogs section, and divided them by interest. The blogs we currently host are as follows:
The Gun Shots
Strut Zone
Big Buck Zone
News Hound
Gone Fishin'
Be sure to comment on what you read, and what you'd like to read in the future. When you're done reading the latest news from our editors, return to outdoorlife.com!
 Here's the next installment of our gun test preview. This week, OL editor Todd Smith profiles the latest shotgun from Winchester, the Super X3. This autloader created a lot of buzz in the gun industry, and the testers enjoyed it on the sporting clays course. For the complete results of the 2006 Gun Test look for the June/July issue of Outdoor Life.
Also, a new video from the shooting range will be posted next week. To watch this one, click on the image.
Click here to watch other gun test videos.
Pennsylvania decided in January to allow hunters the option of pursuing turkeys with crossbows this season. That regulation went into effect with the opening of the season on May 1. Many states proposed or introduced the use of crossbows for deer seasons (which raised the ire of some traditional bow hunters), but Pennsylvania is one of a handful of places that opted for crossbows during turkey season as well. Would you use a crossbow or stick with more traditional methods?
 A ranch hand in Colorado was sucker-punched by a black bear after he left an outhouse. While the man was answering the call of nature, the black bear made a meal of his lunch. When the ranch hand stepped out, he walked right into an angry bear.
One punch from the bear and the ranch hand was knocked more than 10 feet. He made it to his car, but the bear was on his tail. The bear then chewed on the car’s tires and sniffed around the windows. The ranch hand must not have felt too threatened because he reportedly took pictures with his cell phone before leaving the area.
 To combat aggressive animal activities in two Arizona counties, a bill was presented to the governor that would outlaw feeding wild animals. If signed into law, a $300 fine would be given to anyone caught giving food to wildllife in Maricopa and Pima counties.
Several animal encounters, including incidents with mountain lions, have been tied to food being left for everything from squirrels to coyotes. According to the Arizona Republic, state biologists have been seeking the power to cite animal-feeding offenders for a couple of years. The governor is expected to act quickly on the bill.
Six people who protested last year’s bear hunt in New Jersey were found guilty of obstruction in a municipal court. During the final day of the hunt they jumped a police barricade at Wawayanda State Park. The defendants claimed the fence was built arbitrarily, therefore compromising their rights to freedom of speech. The judge disagreed, and handed them each a $350 fine, plus court costs.
During the trial, the prosecutor asked that each defendant be given the full fine of $1000. However, the judge sympathized with the actions of the protestors, telling them that he understood they had acted out of a sense of moral outrage.
The northern migration of Asian carp moves like the slow drip of a lethal IV. A grass carp, one of four Asian carp species loose in American waters, was recently caught in the Lower St. Croix River near Prescott, Wisc. Though grass carp have been caught in the Mississippi River between Minnesota and Wisconsin, this fish was found in waters previously thought to be carp-free. This particular species consumes up to 40 percent of its weight in aquatic vegetation per day. Such an appetite could destroy the habitat for native fish.
 Here's the next installment of our gun test preview. This week, OL editor Todd Smith profiles a new shotgun from Mossberg. For the complete results look for the June/July issue of Outdoor Life.
For now, we'll be posting a new video from the shooting range each week until we run out of clips. To watch this one, click on the image.
Click here to watch last week's video.
Deer traditionally take a lot of blame for destroying vegetation and wilderness habitat. Now for one area of the Rocky Mountain National Park, elk are the culprit. In an effort to save aspens, willows and beavers in the area, the park suggested culling the herd of 700 animals annually.
Rangers would enter the park at night, using silencers to trim the elk population. Night shooting is considered the best option because it won’t disturb people enjoying the park during the day. A fence could be erected, as well, to protect nearly 550 acres of young aspen.
A handful of environmental groups, including the Wilderness Society, say wolves should be reintroduced. Rob Edward of the conservationist group Sinapu, told the Denver Post that wolves would make the elk wary and mobile. This could restore the natural balance of nature, instead of placing the burden on man to maintain the herd.
Driving is becoming too dangerous. First we were warned to be on the lookout for drunk drivers. Now we have to watch for drunk deer, too. Well, not drunk in the literal sense, but a recent report from Ottawa’s National Wildlife Research Centre noted that animals are temporarily debilitated when they ingest road salt. The effect is similar to intoxication. And the impaired functions can be triggered with as few as five pieces of salt.
Scientists say that the high level of salt toxicity in sodium chloride is to blame. Two Canadian provinces, Alberta and Saskatchewan, are investigating alternatives to road salt. Who needs a food plot now, when all it takes is a road saltshaker?
A black bear attacked a hunter, causing severe injuries, before being shot and killed by another hunter in the area. The events took place just outside Olympic National Park.
The victim suffered a compound fracture in his arm, a broken hand and bite marks. Though he lost a significant amount of blood, he is expected to make a full recovery.
According to local state troopers, this is a rare attack for this area. Most wildlife encounters involve cougars, not bears.
As a build-up to the newsstand debut of the 2006 Gun Test, we're going to be posting a lot of videos shot during the test. This first one is at Jim Carmichel's workshop. Editor-in-chief Todd Smith is narrating, explaining how some elements of the new guns are tested.
Look for the complete write-up of the year's best guns in the June/July issue.
Before he became the Vice President and before the recent hunting accident episode, Dick Cheney was on the receiving end of a stray shotgun blast. Either Bob or Dick Forrest peppered Cheney (the twin brothers aren’t certain who shot) while hunting with friends in New Mexico in the ‘90s.
Cheney did not sustain any injuries, though Bob Forrest told the Associated Press that the shooting offended the V.P. “[Cheney] said, ‘You guys watch where you’re shooting!’”
 What’s the best way to catch fish? Corn? Worms? A realistic artificial plug? A well-tied fly? Nonsense. If you really want to fill up a stringer, use dynamite. Or, on second thought, don’t.
The practice of explosive fishing is illegal, well, almost everywhere. But that didn’t stop a few fishermen in Russia from setting out to stun some perch. What did stop them was the dynamite accidentally going off inside the train they were taking to their hot spot. No passengers were injured, the train suffered minimal damage and no fish were caught.
 Add another bird to the grand slam. Scientists discovered fossils in southern Utah that appear to be a prehistoric version of the modern-day turkey. Named Hagryphus giganteus, the creature stood seven feet tall and could run upwards of 25 mph.
Don’t expect to see one on opening day in your state. The dinosaur, which was a meat-eating raptor, roamed the western reaches of Canada and the United States about 75 million years ago.
We wonder how long the beard could’ve grown on a 7-foot bird? Or how about the spurs? They probably resembled miniature elephant tusks.
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