Thompson/Center's Icon bolt-action rifle is available in .30 T/C, a new "short mag" replacement cartridge developed in conjunction with Hornady.
Photo by Ken Dunwoody
May 3, 2007
You might assume this is a slack time of year for us at North American Whitetail. Last deer season is long gone, and next season is still months into the future. But in between there's this mad dash to get everything done for the summer unveilings of our magazine and TV program.
Last week I was in Minnesota, at the production facility for NAW Television, lending a hand on the studio segments of our upcoming episodes for The Outdoor Channel. Co-hosts Stan Potts and Greg Miller handled the on-set duties with their usual flair, and thanks to the folks behind the scenes -- among them Josh Viste, Darin Narlock, Ross Farro, Jeremy Hinkemeyer, Michelle Hengel and Stacey Lantz -- the shoot came off without a hitch. The 2006-7 hunting season was our best since we started our show, and we're confident that excitement will come through on the hunts we'll air this year.
After wrapping up our studio shoot, editorial director Ken Dunwoody, NAW editor Duncan Dobie and I headed to Illinois, to attend the semi-annual InterMedia Outdoors editorial roundtable. There, we joined other editors and writers for magazines in our group for hands-on demonstrations of some of the latest firearms, optics and hunting accessories. Among these were a number of products that will reach your local sporting-goods retailer well before next deer season kicks off.
Ken and I had to get back to the office before the roundtable ended. However, just in the 1 1/2 days we were there, we got a chance to talk with a number of manufacturers and their representatives about what's new in the market. I got to shoot Thompson/Center's Icon bolt-action rifle and examine various new gunsights from TruGlo, as well as the 2007 scope line from Nikon. I also looked over Blackhawk's full-featured backpacks and checked out the ballistics of new ammo from Hornady and ATK. As if that weren't enough, there was even an opportunity to get the specs on some high-powered new flashlights from Surefire. Once again I was reminded of a universal truth in the hunting industry: About the time you think all of the cool ideas have been developed, you realize innovation is still alive and well.
NAW Editor in Chief Gordon Whittington checks out the Icon in .30 T/C, a brand-new cartridge that should be a winner on whitetails.
Photo by Ken Dunwoody
As I write this, NAW editor Duncan Dobie is still at the roundtable, gathering info on a lot of neat products we'll be covering in our magazine and on this Web site in the weeks to come. That coverage kicks off with the July issue, which soon will be coming off the press. Look for it on newsstands in late June.
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