Day Three at the 38th Annual Safari Club International Hunters Convention for me started very early this morning with some great interviews about some of the newer gear from Sitka Gear.  The guys showed us the Cold Front Gear and their new pack and after what I saw at the ATA Show I cannot wait for the new gear for 2010 to hit the shelves...We will have the video interviews up here on HuntingLife soon.

I sat in on a conservation meeting and filmed a bit about the work being done in Newfoundland Caribou research with Shane Mahoney and I am looking forward to the opportunity to interview him tomorrow.

We got to chat with some great folks from BLM about the current situation in regards to the wild burro program and what thier plans are for the future.  We filmed a great interview and we will have a story for all of you on this breaking situation in regards to this management situation in the next week.

LAS VEGAS -- With firearms and ammunition sales having surged last year in a struggling economy, there were many positive signs this week at the industry's annual trade show -- the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show -- that indicated sales will remain robust in 2010.

The show's return to Las Vegas sparked a rise in attendance over the previous year, with buyers packing exhibit booths to review products and then placing orders on the latest shooting, hunting and outdoor gear.

Overall attendance was 58,444, only several hundred shy of the show's all-time record set at the 2008 Las Vegas Show and more than 11,000 above last year's show in Orlando. The show attracted an all-time high of 31,280 buyers, and the 1,804 media professionals attending established a new record.

The SHOT Show filled the Sands Expo & Convention Center for four days, January 19-22, reaffirming its stature as the world's premier exposition of firearms, ammunition, outdoor and tactical apparel, optics, cutlery, camping and related products and services. The show is owned and sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearms industry's trade association.

Today was all about personal enjoyment at the Safari Club International Hunter's Convention.  We stopped by and saw the great folks at Sitka Gear to schedule an interview with them tomorrow where we are going to talk about the Coldfront System.  We are going to have a very busy day tomorrow with some great stories on some of the wonderful projects being worked on by SCI in the conservation world.

We then sat in on another great seminar and headed over to see Jack J. Jansma of Wingshooting Adventures where we got to talk with him about some of his amazing collectible and bespoke firearms and trips to Hungary, Bolivia and Scotland.  If you ever get the chance to meet Jack, he is an amazing wealth of information and one of the nicest guys I have had the pleasure to meet.

We then took a really long walk tonight and literally walked by every single booth at the show today looking for great products to review, great outfitters to add to HuntingLife.com, some wonderful art, amazing mounts and we got to meet some wonderful people who are amazing experts at what they do......Is it any wonder why we love coming each and every year to the SCI Convention.  The Hunts, The Art, The Taxidermy, The Gear, The Clothing, The Seminars, The People.....

Can you tell we are having a blast?  We are living the Hunting Life!  If you are at all interested in one of the greatest outdoor, hunting and conservation shows in the country, get a membership to SCI and book your flights and hotel rooms for 2011!!!!

Today was a whirlwind of activity as the 38th Annual Safari Club International Hunter's Convention kicked off to great fanfare as Governor Haley Barbour and SCI President Lawrence Rudolph cut the red ribbon and declared the convention open to the members.  With over 25,000 members expected to attend this years convention the vendors, speakers and staff were abuzz with excitement.

This is my third trip to Reno as a press attendee to cover the convention floor and blog on the conservation issues that are effecting our hunting rights, heritage/traditions and wildlife across the world.  Every year I am overwhelmed on the first day of the convention and this year was no different.  After walking about a third of the event, I stepped off of the floor grabbed a great polish sausage and headed over to catch a seminar with Gil and Vicki Ash of ShotgunLife.com and I learned more about shotgun lead in 30 minutes then I have in a lifetime of shooting and do it yourself learning.  I look forward to getting to spend some more time learning from Gil and Vicki and if you get the chance to see these two in action in a seminar or in one of thier great classes...Run dont walk... they are Exceptional.

Today was all about getting a feel for the show and getting to see some new products and vendors and tomorrow we will be sitting down and learning more and doing some interviews over the next couple of days.  We did shoot some video today but the lack of firewire cable is preventing us from getting those videos posted until early next week.

We did get to spend a good amount of time in the Leupold Booth today playing with the new archery range finder the Vendetta.  This great rangefinder attaches to your bow with a trigger and allows you automatically judge the distance with your top pin and then adjust accordingly so you never have to wonder whether you have the correct range.  At a retail price of $299.00, I am hoping for one of these for my birthday. These are so new they are not even on the market yet.

We look forward to bringing you more SCI coverage and pictures as we make it through the week.  We are having a blast living the Hunting Life!!!

Kevin McNeil dropped us a quick note and I thought I would share it with all of our readers:

Check out Blue Sky Outfitters Listing Here on HuntingLife.com

Hello Fellow hunters,
 
We have the opportunity to lease some Peace River Mule deer tags for 2010 season. 
 
Peace River Alberta Mule Deer Rifle Hunting
Alberta, Canada is one of the premiere spots in North America for trophy mule deer and we are in the best location within Alberta, the Peace River region. It went on a limited rifle draw several years ago and the hunting has become incredible. In Peace River you can hunt beginning September 17 when the deer are in their bachelor groups or in the November rut. Both are equally good hunts.
 
The hunt dates that I recommended are either, November 15-20 or November 22-27 2010.

Basically a horse or even mules act as a beast of burden when it comes to getting your equipment, you, and your game out. If you have never been to a wilderness elk camp, you wouldn't believe the amount of gear those animals are willing to carrying in. Once you have seen it try imagining to yourself how you'd ever get all that gear up without them. You'll gain a whole new appreciation for these animals despite there sometimes difficult personalities. Thus I realized why it was that the horses and mules got so much extra attention and care from all of us guides, both early in the mornings and late at night when all the "hunters" are heading off for bed.

For an even better appreciation of horses and mules, walk up on a 500-600 pound elk that you just harvested. You will soon realize that you probably wouldn't even have been hunting in that area nor would you be able to get your meat or trophy out, if it weren't for the assistance in hauling and packing by your horse or mule.

Western hunting is deeply rooted with horses and hunting off of them - Its tradition. If you've never tried it, its an experience you will never soon forget. Just to gain a little appreciation for these animals you should still huff and puff over a few ridge tops, then you will realize how far and quick a horse or mule will take you in a third of the time. Driving the Colorado hi-ways the day before rife season opens, gives me a pretty good indication that westerners have figured this out as I see one out of every three vehicles pulling a trailer to go hunt somewhere.

With any piece of land come countless opportunities for improvement. Whether you are looking to improve your land for hunting, farming, or for overall quality of life, there are options available for you. The Natural Resource Conservation Service partnering with the Farm Service Agency provides countless incentive programs that landowners can take advantage of to improve there land.

Some popular programs are Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP), which focuses on different practices per property that can improve the quality of habitat, thus leading to healthier wildlife. For example through my internship with the Indiana NRCS division, I have seen first hand how a person can use their property for quail habitat restoration. Not only is this beneficial for quail, but also provides superb habitat for Indiana’s small game species.  Another route is Environmental Quality Incentive Programs (EQIP), which deals more with the farming and wildlife interaction aspect of management. Commodity crops are considered under this plan and options are available for the consumer to increase the overall productivity of their property. Another popular program is Timber Stand Improvement (TSI). TSI is a great way to improve the health of a forest. A state forester will assess the property, consider the landowners goals, and will develop a plan that will get the most out of the forest according to the landowners desires.

For starters, search http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/ to see what programs are available in your state. The reimbursement process makes it very affordable and practical for landowners to pitch in to the overall conservation and wildlife management movement. The programs mentioned above only scratch the surface, so I urge you to search around the web and see what you can do to improve the number one resource you have, your land.

-Mitch Strobl

Throughout the 2009-2010 deer season, I got to test out a camera tree arm system that was made by Muddy Outdoors.  The season was an especially good season to see what this tree arm system could do. I hit the woods persistently, so I got to take the tree arm out more than enough. The season also offered various weather conditions: Sunny, Rainy, Snowy, and single digit temps.  The system got to be used for all that it could be, and I was lucky to have it in most situations.

I received the tree arm system from Kevin Paulson – CEO and founder of huntinglife.com – after he used it up in Canada on a successful black bear hunt.  When I got it I was excited to get it out in the woods and start messing with it.  At first glance I noticed its attractive camouflage pattern, its small size, and the other remarkable components the arm had to offer.  It has an impressive leveling system, great swiveling techniques, and unbelievable smoothness to ensure level and steady film. At first I was kind of worried due to its small size, but after taking it out a couple times I realized it was still durable and versatile.

I use a Sony HVR-Z7U, which is less than 10 pounds with all of my various accessories.  It is maxing out the capability of the tree arm system… so if you have a larger camera (10 lbs+) then I would maybe consider getting a system that’s a little more durable.  It says on the Muddy website that it holds a max of 10 lbs, but even at that weight you are putting stress on the swivel spots and the arm itself.  I have had to tighten the locks of the leveling system as much as possible to make sure they don’t twist to get the footage “off level”.

Grant Gregory, chairman of the Remington Outdoor Foundation (ROF), announced Jan. 19 that ROF, the leading industry advocate, appointed business leader and outdoor enthusiast Jim Moore as the president of the Foundation.
 
Jim joins ROF after more than 20 years of senior leadership positions with major marketing companies such as Leo Burnett, FCB and McCann-Erickson. He has provided leadership for developing business and brands for Jeep, Cadillac, Compaq Computer, AlliedSignal, American Standard and McDonald's.
 
Jim's longtime interest in the outdoors began by supporting his son in the Boy Scouts when his son expressed a desire to learn how to handle a gun safely.  This initially led to many rounds at the local sporting clays course, and they soon discovered the fields of Michigan and the fine pheasant hunting they offer. Pheasant hunting continues to be a passion today with regular Michigan hunts and an annual trip to England for a week of driven birds. Jim's love of the outdoors extends to being an active skier/snowboarder and bike rider. He also is an active conservationist who takes educational trips to study the remaining tigers in the jungles of Nepal and the Big 5 in the national parks of South Africa.

ACCOKEEK, MARYLAND -- Beretta USA will announce the launch of The Beretta Trident Program for hunting and shooting sports venues on Friday, January 22 at the Safari Club International Convention.

The Beretta Trident Program is a unique, quality rating-system that will reflect an objective assessment of the complete guest experience at a sporting venue. "Until now, no such rating-system has been utilized at hunting and shooting venues," stated Christopher Merritt, General Manager of Beretta USA. "This is one of the rare situations where Beretta has permitted the Brand Name to be used to signify the exceptional quality of another organization."

Branded by Beretta, the Trident Program is the first of its kind and requires venues - offering wingshooting and or shotgun sports - to undergo a detailed and specific assessment of every area that can impact the guest experience. Tridents will be awarded to designate the venue's level of excellence - similar to the Michelin Star program for fine dining.