Indholdsfortegnelse for July 2022 i American Outdoor Guide

I’m not going to tell you there’s one overall best gun for all situations. You know how the question is usually posed: “If you could only have one gun, what would it be?” That always makes for a great debate, but usually a debate that ends in an uneasy truce without any firm, unanimous conclusions. I’ve always believed that to be properly prepared for hunting, survival, and self-defense you should have a minimum battery of firearms that includes a shotgun, centerfire rifle capable of taking large game, a .22 rimfire rifle, a centerfire handgun chambered for a defense-appropriate cartridge, and a .22 handgun. While guns in those categories would cover most of your firearm needs, it’s doubtful that you would be carrying all of those at any one time. In…

I am a firm believer that in the school of the woods, simple is better. I’d rather make it than take it. Here are five projects to try out next time you want to get some dirt time and create something useful. 1. GRILL A grill made from sticks is one of the most useful and easy camp kitchen implements that’s fun to make. Utilizing green wood from a freshly blown down tree, a thicket of witch hazel, willow, or alder, procure a branch with a natural Y. Thin and springy is what we’re looking for, and if it has three separate branches like a trident, it makes it easier. These parts should be thin enough to tension cut with a sharp knife by bending the branch/sapling and placing the…

Mosquitos have become more of a challenge every summer, and with them a higher risk of mosquitoborne illnesses such as West Nile virus, malaria, and the Zika virus. Regardless of the more serious concern of combating life-threatening sickness, the itch from mosquito bites isn’t any fun while camping or just being outdoors with young children. Come summer, families are itching to get out and enjoy vacation, not the itch of mosquito bites. Although most spray on insect repellents contain synthetic compounds, such as DEET or picaridin, there is now a growing demand for natural alternatives for children. This demand has led a pair of friends (and camp-loving dads), Gary Tramer and Michael Jankie, to create BuzzPatch, from their larger line, The Natural Patch, to ward off mosquitoes on the trails.…

Are you ready for some overseas adventure? Regular contributor, bushcraft expert, and experienced world traveler Reuben Bolieu will be your guide on how you can add hiking and camping to your next international journey. Look for his timely tips in an upcoming issue of AOG Boundless. Maybe a look at your budget – ours too – means we’ll be staying closer to home. In this uncertain economy and certain rising prices, are you thinking more about long-term self-reliance? In an upcoming issue of AOG Boundless, we’ll present some suggestions on the best critters you can raise on your own little homestead. You might not have money to burn, but one of our monthly DIY projects will surely save you some money and get your fire started at the same time…

1 CALLING IN THE HOGS For hunters, summer can be a time to sort through deer and turkey hunting gear or daydream about past hunts and those to come. But it can also be a great time to hit the woods searching for wild hogs, especially in cooler evenings when porkers are often more active during those warmer months. Convergent® offers two significant assets to help summer hunters: the Sidewinder Weapon-Mounted Game Call and the Wild Hog Pro app. The Sidewinder Weapon Mounted Game Call mounts directly to a hunter’s firearm. The call can also secure a smartphone on its back with the integrated phone mount, leaving the hunter with both hands free to call in and take out the hogs. The compact and lightweight 9.6-ounce Sidewinder electronic call is…

Ever been on the trail in one part of the country and felt you had everything you needed, only to bring that same trusty setup to a different region and feel woefully unprepared? Maybe you’re used to hiking the Pacific Northwest, so you’re always stocked with extra socks for when the ceaseless drizzle puts your waterproof boots to the test. Maybe you skimp on carried water because you know the next stream is just around the bend. While extra socks usually aren’t a bad thing, that water strategy certainly won’t be adequate for the deserts of the Southwest. Each region requires a different plan of attack. According to National Geographic, a biome is characterized by its vegetation, soil, climate, and wildlife. Though there are various sub-categories within America’s biomes, there…

Unmanned warfare has been a boon to the strategic plans of overseas engagements in hostile territory. With operators and airmen safe at a great distance, a squadron of drones armed with cameras, rockets, or even supplies can scout locations, make contact with lost patrols, observe enemy movements, and strike dangerous targets without putting Americans in harm’s way. It has proven successful by the government for years, and the practice of using drones as your eye in the sky can be used effectively on your land, homestead, farm, and even suburban property. Using unconventional methods to achieve your goals is an act of creativity and ingenuity. Perhaps your property is too large to keep tabs on it without using up a great deal of time and effort traversing it, or maybe…

Make no mistake about it, I love my big knives. But on most of my outings, I’m not limited to one knife as my only tool. When I head to the woods, I’m not barefoot, naked or afraid. I’m usually prepared with everything I need because I want my time there to be enjoyable and not a survival challenge. As part of that “prepared” philosophy, I’m more apt to pack a mid-sized knife, a saw, and either an axe, a hatchet or a tomahawk. That size knife is better for intricate tasks, and a good saw, together with a tool designed specifically for chopping, do a much more efficient job of turning big wood into small wood. Recently, I had a chance to work with a couple of odds-on favorites…

Post-World War II Los Angeles was an economic boomtown and a target for nuclear annihilation by the Soviets. The population of Los Angeles in 1950 was nearly two million people with double that living in the expansive county that stretched some 50 miles across. To evacuate that many people, the infant freeway system could only rely on three narrow highways out of town. To alleviate this, it was decided that the best method was to construct a series of roads over the San Gabriel Mountains to the Mojave Desert beyond. The people of Los Angeles, in the event that they must evacuate ahead of some impending doom, were left to rely on themselves. A real-world example of this fate happened in Houston in 2005. Hurricane Rita struck just weeks after…

Well, we’re about a month into summer. Right about now is when parents start to get desperate to get their children outside. This happens for one of two reasons. Either the parent is tired of the incessant, “I’m bored” coming from their mini-me, or they realize they’ve not so much as seen their child in the last three weeks because said youngster has been holed up in their room like a political prisoner, albeit one with high-speed internet. Getting them outside to burn off some energy and get some sunshine is great. Doing so while also teaching them valuable skills is even better. You can kill two birds with one stone by coming up with your own summer camp sessions. These don’t require a big investment in supplies and most…

A NEW SOLUTION Until a short while ago, to find out if a campsite was open, you would have to make a call to the campsite or check its website, then if that location was closed, contact the next campground and so on. There was no Expedia or Airbnb for the camping industry, or one place online where campgrounds could share and display their availability. Enter Arvie. “We are disrupting the campsite booking industry to make campers’ lives easier and more predictable,” said Mark Petersen, founder and lifelong RV enthusiast. “Our mission is simply to make all those disconnected booking platforms work better together, and in one place, for the camper.” Arvie is a new subscription-based camping resource. To be more specific, the platform is a campsite search engine offering…