I’ve always been the kind of guy who looks at camouflage clothing as not always necessary. Growing up in Texas and as a rifle hunter I often find myself putting on a camo jacket or shirt and some bluejeans and call it good. In a lot of instances that has worked well and nothing more was needed. When hunting outside the stand however, it is a necessity that I have never spent real money on. I’ve always been a guy that went to the big box store and bought the cheapest clothing only to have it be done in a single hard season. For very cold weather, I have a tan set of coveralls that were made by Walls back in the late 90’s. They have been my go to cold weather friends since I got them after high school. When I discovered Walls acquired the 10X brand of camo clothing, I took a closer look. Continue reading “10X brand camo clothing sets the bar extra high”
Author: Jason Hallmark
Ruger American Predator with Boyds Gunstocks makes the perfect combination.
I have been using a silencer to hunt for the past 8 or so years. I made the decision that I would never hunt without a can so long as I have one and it is legal to do so. One of the things that a can does that is annoying, is it adds weight and length to a rifle, especially gas guns. I have been searching for a lightweight bolt gun that did not break the bank and shoots well for some time now. I was searching new rifles when I came across the Ruger American series and noticed that the Predator line comes pre-threaded. I have access to some pretty spendy guns, but most of them are pretty heavy, and those that are not are not yet threaded for a can. I decided to pick up a Ruger American Predator in 6.5 Creedmoor to match the build up I am doing on a Ruger Precision Rifle with the same chamber.
Continue reading “Ruger American Predator with Boyds Gunstocks makes the perfect combination.”
Danner High Ground boots are the best for a Hunter
When hunting, an often overlooked detail is the overall comfort of your footwear. As hunters, we don’t mind roughing it and being miserable to find our quarry. But for the sake of your physical well being, a quality set of boots can mean the difference between filling your tag or going home early with an injury.
Earlier this year I realized I was going to hunt in Montana for Mule Deer and Colorado for Elk. This combined with a lot of time in South Texas looking for Deer and pigs along with a little time in West Texas hunting for Predators. I knew I needed a new set of boots to hike all over the mountains and in all conditions.
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Fishing with Brandon Blanch in Seadrift Texas
As someone who has been married a long time, I can tell you it’s important to find common hobbies for you and your spouse. I recently had a conversation with my wife Stefnie about fishing, which she explained she would like to do more of. Stefnie grew up fishing lakes and rivers with her dad, but never along the coastal waterways. Stefnie has hunted with me before but I’m not much of a fisherman. So I contacted a friend of mine, Brandon Blanch, to see about introducing my wife to the world of coastal fishing. Continue reading “Fishing with Brandon Blanch in Seadrift Texas”
Best Lights for a Jeep come from Rugged Ridge
If you spend anytime in the dark off road, hunting, wheeling, fishing or whatever then you know how important it is to have quality lighting. I have a 2000 Jeep Wrangler (TJ) that I use daily. From commuting on the interstate to hunting in South Texas this is my do all vehicle and I have learned that being able to see in the dark is critical. My TJ came equipped with factory fog lights and for a time they worked very well. Several years ago, I had an unfortunate encounter at 60mph with a little 8 point buck which rendered my fog lights broken. Since that time, I realized that lighting was very important, but it was not until I started really using the Jeep that I found the need for lighting to be critical. I sourced some very cheap China made LED fog lights and mounted them in the fog position, and for the price they work well enough. However, they are flood lights not a spot and do not throw the light very far. For this, I contacted the experts at Rugged Ridge and picked up some A-Pillar mounts and lights. Continue reading “Best Lights for a Jeep come from Rugged Ridge”
Superfeet Insoles – Make mediocre shoes awesome!
In the days leading up to SHOT Show 2016 I was making preparations like other attendees. I had been given fair warning that the 4 day event was hard on your feet, knees and ankles as the area to cover is quite large. I decided to purchase some new comfortable walking shoes and went to my local shoe store. I had decided on a decent looking pair of Sketchers that were constructed in a way that made me think they would last longer than just the 4 days of SHOT.
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SHOT Show 2016
Holy smokes! As a first time attendee of SHOT I will tell you it is massive. It is literally overwhelming with the number of vendors. 2016 is going to be a very exciting year for us here at TON. We have plenty of activities planned and some of the best people in the industry are going to be going with us.
Predator Calling in Ozona TX using Thermal
Calling for predators is simply cool! I’ve hunted for the last 30 years and will say that using thermal optics while calling predators has to be one of the coolest experiences I’ve had. It is definitely a different way to hunt and requires a little bit of work to get it right, but once you’re on it, it is a lot of fun!
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Once in a while, all the bucks come by at once
I’ve been hunting for 30 years, and I’ve never had an experience like this. It was a long work week knowing I had 3 whole days to be at the lease. Finally, Friday came and me and my boy left out after a lunch around 1pm. We arrived at the lease just over an hour later and started making preparations. I noticed the temp was around 80° but a breeze had temps dropping and an overnight low was supposed to be in the low 60s. I knew heading to the blind it was to be successful as we saw all kinds of activity on the way out. Continue reading “Once in a while, all the bucks come by at once”
South Texas Arms STA-LR in .243 Win
Some time back I had a conversation with Brandon Sneed, owner of South Texas Arms, about a lightweight full frame AR purpose built for hunting. We both understand that there is only so light you can go, and we want premium components which sometimes bring some heft with them. In addition, we considered what calibers are available and decided against the standard .308 that is found in most full frame AR rifles. We both agree that .308 is great on medium game like deer and pigs but a bit much for a coyote gun. We considered 6.5 Creedmoor, but a lack of variety and overall availability of factory ammunition had me looking for a new option. I can’t remember who suggested .243 Winchester, but it was a clear choice with its huge popularity and variety of available factory ammunition. .243 Winchester has been around since 1955 according to Wikipedia and was even designed around the idea of a dual purpose varmint and medium game cartridge.
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