2007 InterMedia Outdoors Editor's Roundtable, Day 2

January 03, 2011 By Ben OBrien

We learn about the latest and greatest from Insight Technology, Ruger, Hornady, Bushnell, Doublestar, MTM CASE-GARD, MOXY, and Aimpoint

By Aaron J. Decker

Editor's Note: New firearms, ammunition, optics, gizmos and gadgets are all a part of the 2007 InterMedia Outdoors Editor's Roundtable held at the Pike-Adams Sportsman's Alliance Park (PASA) in Barry, Illinois. Designed for the editors and writers that make up InterMedia Outdoors, the Editor's Roundtable is held twice a year and provides magazine, internet, and television staff an inside look at different products the shooting and hunting sports industry is offering for the current year and beyond.

INSIGHT

The Insight presentation, given by Allen Howe and Kevin Tapia, was actually given Monday night instead of Tuesday morning. With the dark and humid night skies of Pike County Illinois being a better backdrop for night illumination and laser sighting systems, a decision was made to have Insight present Monday evening instead of Tuesday morning.

Using one of Insight Technology's infared night vision scopes, one can easily see the hot spots of this vehicle.

The New Hampshire based company is booming right now as a result of fulfilling several military contracts that provide product that helps our fighting men and women overseas do their job better. Howe gave a twilight demonstration on a couple of their next generation products.

Insight Technology manufacturers the M3X Tactical Illuminator for the military and it features a Slide-Lock interface that allows for mounting the light sans tools. The H2X Typhoon is an Insight manufactured flashlight that is as rugged and durable as they come. It features multiple modes (constant, momentary, strobe, dimming, and lockout) and is programmable so that it will turn on the same way time after time.

After his brief discussion of current products, the writers and editors in attendance were invited to run through an IPSC course using the Insight Products for an on-hands look at how the products performed in low-light conditions. It was a treat for many in attendance to get to use military and LE only products that are normally only in the hands or on the weapons of our soldiers and law enforcement officers in dangerous situations.

CONTACT: www.insightlights.com

RUGER

After a night's sleep and quick breakfast, the writers settled in for Ruger's presentation Tuesday morning that started promptly at 7:30 a.m. The hour for some might be deemed too early to talk about guns, but not with this group!

The Ruger M77 Hawkeye has been a succesful selling rifle for Ruger in 2007.

Ruger recapped a couple of items that were introduced last year and hinted a few items that could be coming out early next year, but we'll have to wait on that announcement at a later date.

The Ruger M77 Hawkeye has been doing really well for Ruger. The Hawkeye features a rounded, slimmer profile that has many consumers wondering if the rifle is lighter than previous model, according to Ruger PR manager Ken Jorgenson.

"I'll be at a trade or gun show and enthusiasts will pick up the rifle and say that it's actually lighter, but it isn't, it's just with the rounder and slimmer profile, the rifle seems lighter, but in fact, it isn't."

One type involves Hornady Vice President of Sales and Marketing Wayne Holt standing up in front of the writers and editors in attendance and making fun of someone from the InterMedia Outdoors sales division (usually it's G&A publisher Chris Agnes) for 10 minutes and then telling us what he's brought to shoot in a brief, 30 second span.

Or there's the other type presentation, which involves Holt still spending 10 minutes making someone's life miserable with an embarrassing story (this time it was InterMedia Outdoors National Sales Manager Jim McConville) and then doing a detailed, 15 to 20 minutes presentation that's full of never-before-seen products and announcements.

Holt presented the latter this go around and had several interesting items to show us. Unfortunately, I had to promise not to release the information until it was closer to the National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesales show that takes place in November.

I can release a few nuggets of information on some awaited product line. The Grand Island, NE based company has started shipping the .450 Bush Master (250-gr. SST w/ FTT) and the 450/400 Nitro Express 3" (400-gr. RN and 400 gr. FMJ-RN). Look for the cartridges at a dealer near you. As well, the company has started to manufacture a .450 3 1/4, which will be available next year.

There's a lot more to talk about with Hornday, but we'll just have to be patient for a bit longer, but know that www.gunsandammomag.com will have full coverage of the announcements in late October.

CONTACT: www.hornady.com

BUSHNELL

Darin Stephens and Mark Schaeffer got the Bushnell presentation kicked off. The company will celebrate its 60th birthday in 2008 and is having a banner year, in large part, to the increased sales in their binoculars and riflescopes.

The Bushnell Elite e2 binoculars were designed to "hit a retail price point under $500, while still offering an elite caliber product," said Schaeffer.

Mission accomplished. Glasses are available in 8x42mm and 10x42mm sizes and have a bevy of features and specifications that any enthusiast will appreciate in their glass.

The way digital image technology has advanced in the last 5 years, trail cameras have become an extremely powerful (and easy to use) tool in seeing what's walking in the woods. A camera like Bushnell's Trail Scout Pro offers everything you'd want or need in a trail camera and more. Night vision capabilities, audio and video recording features, and a moon phase calendar built into the camera are just a few of the features available on the Trail Scout Pro.

Accessories are an option as well, like the Trial Scout Solar Panel, which based on testing, will extend your battery life forever if you're using the Bushnell recommended rechargeable batteries.

Bushnell also as a full line of slick GPS units that get better with each generation. The ONIX200CR allows users to download satellite images, topo maps and aerial photography all with a touch of a button. The ONIX 400 takes it step further and allows all of the above as well as XM Satellite weather info or whatever XM satellite channel you'd desire. Howard Stern? You bet.

And from the "I've seen it all" category: Bushnell is now offering Travel Tunes, a camouflaged coated portable stereo that the outdoor enthusiast can dock his ipod into. No word on whether you can mount it in your treestand or not.

www.bushnell.com

DOUBLESTAR/J&T DISTRIBUTING

Over 30 years ago, Jack Starnes started J&T Distributing in Winchester, Kentucky as a way to support his passion for firearms. His initial offerings included Colt products and reloaded ammunition, and things have grown tremendously since.

The company is well known for its AR-15 do-it-yourself kits in addition to offering more than 5,000 parts for the tactical shooting enthusiasts.

In 1999, Starnes' wife, Teresa, decided that the company should begin to manufacture its own line of black guns and as a result, Doublestar was born.

Doublestar offers 20 different black gun rifles from the AR family that are chambered in 5.56, 9mm, 6.8 SPC, 7.62x39, .300 Whisper and .204 Ruger. All of the guns are built from the ground up per customer specifications, and according to company literature, Doublestar "can trick out weapons with just about any 'toy' a solider, police officer or shooting enthusiast could want."

In addition to its Doublestar side of the business, J&T Distributing also owns ACE Ltd., a California-based buttstock company and H.G.W., a molding company that manufactures the J&T line of CAR and M4 handguards.

www.star15.com

AIMPOINT

Aimpoint is growing, growing, growing...and that could be to the benefit of the outdoor enthusiast. The laser sighting company has been so busy fulfilling its military contracts that management feels the company needs to get back in tune with the hunting community. The technology that drives the Aimpoint aiming mechanisms was developed as a hunting tool before being recognized for its capabilities in the tactical arena. A new arm of the company has been created to try and translate the needs of the US hunting market to the Swedish run company. According to Aimpoint's Brian Lisankie, "The company is doing a huge investment in the hunting marketplace." It should be interesting to see what comes of it.

Two items to talk about here: The COMPM4 and the MICRO H-1.

The COMPM4 is the latest version of the Army's M68 CCO (close quarters combat optic). Over 129,000 units are already in service and diving into the features here explains why it's being used by our nations finest. One thing of note...any guesses on the battery life? Try eight years of continuous on. That's amazing.

The MICRO H-1 is a tiny little sight that can be mounted about anywhereâ€¦even a vent rib of a shotgun. Weighing only 3.6 ounces in standard configuration, the MICRO H-1 only has a battery lifespan of five years with continuous on!

CONTACT: www.aimpoint.com

MTM/CASE-GARD

Most shooting enthusiasts are familiar with MTM/CASE-GARD products. The company manufacturers injection molded products for the shooting sports industry. Items like gun cases, ammunition boxes, vises, and target stands are a few of the items that are a part of the MTM/CASE-GARD inventory.

One item that's new for 2007 is the Shotgun Hunter Case. The case will hold more than 100 rounds in a durable constructed case that would be right at home on a dove hunt. With the case also comes a clip-on belt attachment that will securely hold 25 shells on your hip for easy access while hunting. When the weather is just too hot for a vest, this might be a solution.

CONTACT: www.mtmcase-gard.com

MOXY

I'm not going to pretend to be a molecular scientist in explaining the science behind the Moxy Scent Elimination System. All I can say is that it's pretty dang cool.

According to H.S. "Rock" Gib

boney the Moxy Scent Elimination System is an"ionized super-oxidant" that eliminates all existing odors plus totally eradicates all odor-causing mechanisms.

After hearing Gibboney's speil, I'm a believer in the new scent elimination system and would venture to guess that the technology behind this will prompt most outdoor enthusiasts to have one of these units in their home or at deer camp. Perhaps both.

The patented Moxy system takes oxygen from the air and generates highly unstable, supercharged, O3, O4, and O5 molecule bundles, attaching them in multiple clusters to a specialized, super-oxidized metal ion, which enables Gibboney to program the newly-formed, predatory Moxy Molecules for:

1) Energy density

2) Life expectancy (time duration)

3) Direction at specific targets (bacteria etc.)

Simply put, the Moxy Molecule attacks the bacteria, mold, fungicides, viruses etc. that cause things to stink and eliminates them.

To demonstrate this, Gibboney took a sweaty t-shirt from a zip lock back that he had exercised in the night before. He placed the bag in a black plastic garment bag and attached his Moxy unit to the bag and began pumping the Moxy rich oxygen into the bag. A scant twenty minutes later, the shirt was completely odor free. Now imagine a sweaty, messy pile of camo that you've worn for three days straight in deer camp and you get the idea of how great this product could be.

In another example, he had a volunteer rub onion on his hand and then hold his hand over the Moxy oxygen that was being pumped out by a Moxy Generator. After 30 seconds or so, the onion smell was completely gone.

The Moxy Molecule isn't ozone (O3) and isn't harmful to humans or "anything with lungs" according to company literature.

The unit will retail for $299.99 and will be available in 2008.

CONTACT: Moxy Products, (352) 572-2961

Make sure to check back for the Day Three recap. Representatives from Ruger (handguns), ATK, Steiner and Xenonics will be presenting at the InterMedia Outdoors Editor's Roundtable