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I became a shad addict on a quiet backwater creek in eastern North Carolina, just trying to find a way to kill time outdoors until turkey season kicked off. I was pitching a small red spoon from the bank when a hickory shad snatched it and launched itself from the water, twisting and flipping like a tiny tarpon as it tried to spit my lure. When that spoon came flying back at me mid-jump, I did what any self-respecting angler wasting time on a creek bank would do. I kept casting.Hickory shad are famous for their sudden sprints and aerial…

The North-South Skirmish Association (N-SSA) will hold its 153rd National Competition from May 15-17, 2026, at Fort Shenandoah, which is located near Winchester, Va. Member units throughout those days will compete in live-fire matches with original or authentic reproduction Civil War period muskets, carbines, breechloading rifles, revolvers, mortars and cannons. It is the largest Civil War event of its kind in the United States. The N-SSA is the nation’s oldest and largest Civil War shooting sports organization. It has 3,000 individuals that make up its 200 member units.  Each unit represents a specific Civil War regiment or unit and members…

In May of 2024, Hodgdon Powder Company acquired RCBS from Revelyst, which was a segment of what was then known as Vista Outdoor. It looks to be a match made in heaven—after all, Hodgdon is a savvy company when it comes to handloading, and every handloader has probably used Hodgdon powders. But, RCBS has been around for more than 80 years, and you could argue that under Revelyst, it became a bit stagnant, at least when it comes to new handloading products. When Hodgdon took over RCBS, I talked with Joel Hodgdon, and he said all that was about to…

On February 12th of this year, House Bill 652 was introduced in Idaho. If passed, this bill would add a section to Idaho law, declaring hunting as the state’s sport.“This legislation allows Idaho to join a growing trend across the country in declaring a state sport. Whereas Hunting is a bastion of the history and culture of Idaho, both as a source of sustenance and recreation, the state sport of Idaho shall be Hunting,” the statement of purpose reads.But the push to make hunting Idaho’s state sport didn’t start with lawmakers—it started with a fourth grader. Nine-year-old Idaho native Betty…

If the logical application of the rule of law means anything in this constitutional republic, bans on massively popular semi-automatic firearms will be found unconstitutional. That might seem a bold claim to Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D), who, as this is being written, seemed poised to sign a ban on yet another political definition of the term “assault weapon.” This would make Virginia the 12th state with some such ban on some version of the definition of the politically shape-shifting term “assault weapon.” Before stepping into the semantic and legal rhetoric of the potential Virginia ban on sales of America’s…

00:00:01 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide to the fundamentals of better deer hunting, presented by first Light, creating proven versatile hunting apparel for the stand, saddle or blind. First Light, Go farther, stay Longer, and now your host, Tony Peterson. 00:00:20 Speaker 2: Hey, everyone, welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundation’s podcast, which is brought to you by First Light. I’m herrist Tony Peterson. In today’s episode is a reality check on a hunting property and how when we get complacent about our spots, we sometimes end up having no place to…

00:00:01 Speaker 1: Welcome to the news show Mother Liquors. Today we’re covering Colorado’s dumb First Sale band Iowa. This is a different subject subject one Colorado’s dumb first Sale ban Two Iowa is hunting for volunteers who can tell one frog call from another. Three Boi Yanni himself hasn’t caught a disease called seal finger. He’s gonna tell us about it. Four The Red Snapper Wars continue in the American South East. Five Bodycat prices Bobcat prices go through the roof like way through the roof. Six Mark Kenyon has some stuff he’d like to get off his chest.…

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I recently re-read The Wine-Dark Sea by Patrick O’Brian. It is book 16 in the Aubrey/Maturin series. One episode in the novel describes Dr. Stephen Maturin riding a mule into the Andes to meet with conspirators who are plotting the overthrow of the Spanish government in Peru. As Maturin rides higher into the Andes, the temperature falls, and he pauses in his journey to put on a poncho. I suspect that the poncho that O’Brian had in mind as he penned his novel looked something like the one worn by Clint Eastwood in all three films of the Dollars Trilogy.…