The Up North Journal Team has officially kicked off our crossbow review for the 2009 season.  We recieved the new 2009 Excalibur Phoenix crossbow in yesterday’s deliveries.  I was excited to get things rolling when the box arrived so I tore into it not knowing what to expect. Read the rest of this entry »

     Another year has come and gone for the UNJ crew and we now embark on year number three!  This week we cover the newest hunter in the group here in Michigan with my youngest son celebrating his 10th birthday this weekend and recieving his first hunting rifle!  We then head to the shooting range to tear some targets with the kids.  I finally get to do some much anticipated ammo reloading in this week’s episode along with Mikey covering some of his fine taxidermy tips in Mikey’s Game Bag!  Be sure to check out this week’s show and listen in for the up coming week’s activities by going to our Podcast site for the free download or you can play it directly from the site.

    I finally got around to putting my new reloading equipment to good use.  This last week I made a trip to the local gun shop to pick up a set of shell holders for my Lee Quick Priming tool.  Today I got around to finishing up a full set of cartridges for my .40 caliber Beretta 9000S pistol.

Read the rest of this entry »

     I can finally say spring is here!  Tonight when I got out of work at Midnight, it was so warm out that I no longer needed a jacket outside!  Not only that, I could drive home with the windows down what a great evening.  When I arrived at the house and stepped out of the car, it was then that I knew officially that spring had arrived in Michigan.  Why you ask, I could hear the toads, frogs and every other creature of the night singing their songs in the warm night air.  I was a sound that I haven’t heard in probably six months! 

     I stood outside in the back yard with my dogs just listening and enjoying the night sounds of nature in the warm night air.  The only thing that could make it any better is to be in the fields and woods either turkey hunting or searching for ground hogs!  Yes my friends spring is officially here, get out and enjoy it before it is gone!

     Ok people, there is no longer any excuse for you to not join the NRA.  They are making this as simple as can be!  Click here for the FREE NRA one year membership!  No catch, no gimicks, just simply register today for the one year basic membership into the biggest group that is in Washington D.C. fighting for your rights as well as on a state and local level. 

     Here is a link to what they are currently working on, on our behalf around the nation!  Now make the decision to join today to help the cause in the fight for OUR Second Amendment Rights!

WARNING

     I just read about a person having problems with .22 cartridges not firing properly, on a hunting forum I belong to.  Here is what the issue that he was having:

“I have got a bad box of Brand X .22 long rifle shells they seem like they have bad powder or something, first time this has ever happened to me.  One will fire right then one might fire like half power and some even sound like they hardly clear the end of the gun.”

     This should be a good reminder for us all, that if you ever hear anything that doesn’t sound right when firing your weapon, STOP!  Clear the firearm, then safely and carefully make sure that the barrel isn’t obstructed!  A strange sounding round could be a squib round lodged in the barrel.  If you were to fire another round behind an obstruction, it could be disastrous not to mention deadly!

     If you continue to have problems with the ammunition, stop using it all together.  Take it and dispose of it properly.  Also take the numbers off of the box, then call, write or e-mail the manufacture so they are aware of the situation.  Who knows they might even send you a replacement box or a voucher to buy a new box.  Trying to save a box of bad ammo isn’t worth risking your firearm or life over, Don’t use them!

     It is that time of year again, spring has sprung and the critters are crawling out of their winter dens!  Woodchucks, groundhogs, ground grizzlies or whistle pigs, what ever you want to call them they too are starting to show themselves. Read the rest of this entry »

     Since I’ve started blogging over the last year or so, I have been to numerous hunting and outdoor fourms looking for unique stories or items to write about.  I have even posted some things on several of these forums.  The problem I have found with most of the sites today is, that they are full of know it alls.  It never ceases to amaze me, the amount of slamming, bashing, name calling, and just out right rudeness of a lot of people who post on these message boards.

     With that said, I have been a member of a fairly new hunting forum for about four months now.  I was amazed at just how friendly these people were and how happy they are to share information with all their members.  It is what I would call a breath of fresh air!  There isn’t any bashing of other people, companies or products.  They will discuss the pluses and minuses of products, but no outright bashing of them.  There isn’t any swearing or even any questionable content allowed on the site, it is KID FRIENDLY!  I allow two of my kids to use the site regularly, since it is moderated 24 – 7!  I haven’t posted this recommendation until now because I wanted to make sure that they were what I thought they were, and just like I thought it is a great place to be! 

     I attended an event in March with a group from this site in Illinois for a antler shed hunt.  What an awesome expereince and friendly group of guys.  They treated us like family and showed us a great time.  We spent two days with about 20 people from the site chasing the big racks of southern Illinois, eating some good food, and spreading some good stories by the campfire!

     I recommend that if your looking for a friendly place to go hang out, pass along some good information or looking for some good information stop over at the Talk Hunting website and give them a try and make some new friends.  I have seen quite a few of my friends stopping in and becoming members and they all love it.  Another great feature of the site is that they have monthly contests to give away sponsor products which consitsts of numerous give aways each month.  So sign up today!

  With episode 106 posted this weekend, the Up North Journal crew is celebrating two years of podcasting.  It all began on April 25th, 2007 with the first episode of Up North Journal.  During these two years we have watched Little Mikey grow and become quite the accomplished outdoorsman that he has become today.  This weeks episode is a special episode with a few friends from Striaght Creek Calls along with the group Team Weekend Dreams talking a little turkey hunting.

     Mikey also discusses his first adventure into the world of taxidermy.  Be sure to download and checkout this weeks episode to see what the Up North Journal has been upto and what they are planning for the upcoming week.  You can find the show at their podcast website.

     I spent an afternoon with Paul Penix of PSE archery last week talking about an archery product that I hadn’t heard much about.  It was from a company called Scorpion Venom and they make bowstring cleaner, bowstring fluid, bowstring wax, crossbow rail lube, cam and serving lube, and whisker biscuit spray. 

     The biggest selling feature of each product is that they are scent free!  You can use these products to maintain your bow or crossbow and there is no need to worry about putting something on your bow that will leave an odor.  While we were talking about these products I had the camera rolling during our discussion and each video shows the main products for maintaining your bow and bowstring.  The Bowstring Cleaner video is part one of the string maintenance videos, part two is the bowstring fluid video. Take a Look:

Scorpion Venom Whisker Biscuit Spray

Scorpion Venom Bowstring Cleaner

Scorpion Venom Bowstring Fluid and Cam & Serving Fluid