Author: Braxton Taylor
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has again started pushing for deferred resignations and early retirements among Defense Department civilian workers as he seeks to slash 50,000 to 60,000 jobs — 5% to 8% of a workforce that includes thousands of veterans.Hegseth signed a memo Friday to restart a deferred resignation program that emerged out of billionaire Elon Musk’s “Fork in the Road” email, which went out to all federal employees in late January and offered them a chance to walk away from their jobs while still getting paid until October.The memo said the Defense Department, the largest federal agency, was giving…
Put Your Optics to Work for You on Your Next Hunting Trip Hunters invest hard work, dedicate valuable time, and go the extra mile to do their part to make a hunt come together. Gear is put to the test, as well as the strength and endurance of a hunter’s body and emotions. It’s critical, when a hunt comes together, to have the best tools and equipment that are right for you and your hunt. Choosing the right optics is a paramount decision for big game hunting, especially hunting big country like the vast expanses of the west. An investment in quality optics…
Nominees for three top Department of Veterans Affairs jobs faced scrutiny Tuesday over the VA’s plan to cut its workforce by 83,000 — an effort some lawmakers say will negatively affect services to veterans.During a confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., Senate Veterans Affairs Committee members praised the military service and civilian accomplishments of retired Army Capt. Sam Brown, a combat-wounded veteran selected to lead the VA’s burial benefits department; Marine Corps Reserve Lt. Col. James Baehr, nominee for general counsel; and Richard Topping, a former Army infantry officer and judge advocate general, to serve as chief financial officer.But they raised…
Bow Hunting Axis Deer It was early August on the Hawaiian island of Lanai. I’m with my good buddy Randy, his son Gatlin, and our guide Alec for a three-day Axis deer hunt as we labored over maps and strategized our hunt for Hawaii’s most coveted big game species. Spot And Stalk Hunting For Axis Deer Spot and stalk hunting for Axis deer in Lanai is simply tough. In many circles, they are regarded as the most challenging big game animal to get within bow range. This is partly because Lanai’s Axis deer have no other predators other than the…
Building Hunting Arrows | Element Archery For years I’ve shot the same arrow setup and as of late I’ve been contemplating changing that arrow setup. With the recent trend and growing awareness of increasing an arrows FOC and the benefits that it brings I’ve decided to change my arrow set up this season to increase arrow weight and achieve a much more desirable arrow FOC. What is Arrow FOC and Why is it Important? The acronym FOC stands for front of center and it is the percentage of an arrow’s total weight that is in the front half of…
“CCI Uppercut answers the call for self-defense with power and precision, and our new 22 WMR load delivers peak performance across all platforms,” said Steve Monniere, CCI’s Rimfire Product Line Manager. “Uppercut is CCI’s first-ever rimfire product line designed for defense and will undoubtedly be some of our most popular loads.”The difference in CCI Uppercut lies in its exclusive projectile. Unlike the simple lead round nose or copper-plated hollow points typical of most rimfire ammunition, Uppercut’s jacketed hollow point bullet features nose skiving that initiates full and reliable expansion while retaining the weight needed to hit critical penetration depths. Plus,…
Browning Maxus Shotgun Review An all-around shotgun is a must-have item for outdoorsmen and women. From waterfowl hunting to upland game or turkey hunting to small game pursuits, a dependable shotgun that is both accurate and functional is a critical piece of hunting gear. Choosing the right shotgun for your fall and winter hunts takes consideration and diligence and affects your success in the field. Ultimately, it also instills confidence in your shotgun’s dependability and in yourself. The Browning® Maxus is a feature-rich shotgun built with state of the art materials on a proven action, and it is designed to be on target when a shot presents…
The 2023 hunting season was filled with lots of highs and a few, I wouldn’t call them lows, but disappointments. I don’t need to kill an animal to call a hunt successful or enjoyable, but sometimes you’re just bummed with a lack of opportunity, especially with a tag that isn’t over the counter and you can’t get every year. I started the year early with a late-season Iowa muzzleloader tag for whitetails. We had one good day of weather and then it changed, getting warm and I never had an opportunity at a buck. In fact, I only saw one buck that was mature and he stayed…
Growing concerns about the future of the United States’ relationship with NATO countries—fueled by Donald Trump’s overtures to Russia and attacks on Ukraine and Denmark—have spurred European officials to meet behind the scenes to discuss scenarios and build plans to replace American defense goods, according to a European diplomat with knowledge of the discussions. But those increasingly intense discussions have highlighted a central fact: replacing American military might would not be easy, fast, or cheap. “Nobody actually wants to be autonomous. They all want to keep the ties with the Americans. Always have and always will,” the diplomat said.French president Emmanuel…
2024 was a pretty memorable year. Every hunting season has peaks and valleys, and this one was no exception, but it seemed to have many more peaks than other years. I typically look forward to the hunting season starting with turkey in the spring, but this year, I had a pretty special trip to start things off: Jason Matzinger and I went to Patagonia to hunt Red Stag. We had been following a friend of ours who guides in Patagonia and the quality of free-range stags they were taking. We had hunted with Joaquin in 2017 and stayed in touch…