ScentLok introduced the BE:1 Trek Heated Base Shirt, featuring Carbon Alloy® odor-adsorption technology and three heating pads powered by the new 7.7V Compact 5000mAh Power Bank. The shirt is designed to keep hunters comfortable in cold weather while maintaining scent control.

Fish Monkey and Hunt Monkey, founded by Tim Mossberg, now hand-test every pair of waterproof gloves using custom pneumatic equipment to guarantee 100 percent waterproof products. The brands upgraded from previous testing methods that found less than 2 percent defects to ensure absolute quality for anglers and hunters.

Oklahoma's deer archery season opens October 1st, allowing hunters with proper licenses to harvest up to six deer, with no more than two antlered. The archery opener also applies to elk, pronghorn, black bear, and turkey. Complete regulations are available through Oklahoma Fishing & Hunting Regulations and the Go Outdoor Oklahoma mobile app.

Beretta USA celebrated its 500-year milestone by honoring long-tenured employees in Italy, recognizing staff with 20 to 46 years of service. General Manager Cristian Capelli praised employees for their decades of dedication in building Beretta's U.S. manufacturing operations and shaping the company's evolution.

The Benelli M2-G1 Tactical shotgun earned a 4.54 overall score in the National Tactical Officers Association's Member Tested and Recommended Program. Five NTOA members evaluated the tactical shotgun across multiple categories, praising its Rear Piston Operated gas system, reliability through 500+ rounds, and combat-ready features.

Staccato 2011 announced that elite SWAT teams from more than a dozen U.S. states have registered for the 2026 Staccato National SWAT Championship, presented by Trijicon, taking place Sept. 25–27 at Staccato Ranch Vegas in Pahrump, Nevada. The event will feature up to 60 law enforcement teams competing for a $150,000 prize pool, with the championship team earning $50,000.

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation partnered with Ducks Unlimited and Quail Forever to acquire 377 acres of wetland habitat at Drummond Flats Wildlife Management Area in Garfield County, expanding restoration efforts for waterfowl and upland game.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is accepting submissions for the 2026 Nebraskaland Magazine photo contest starting Oct. 1 through Oct. 31. Photographers of all skill levels can submit photos in four categories: Macro, Flora/Fauna, Landscape, and Hunting and Fishing, with winning photos published in the January/February 2027 issue.

The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and the National Rifle Association filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Beckwith v. Frey, challenging Maine's firearm waiting period law. SAF argues the First Circuit's decision improperly revives interest-balancing rejected by Heller and Bruen, contending that waiting periods burden constitutional rights and require historical justification.

The Second Amendment Foundation secured a major victory in Harrington v. Crawford after school district officials admitted that searching plaintiff Jack Harrington's vehicle violated his Fourth Amendment rights. The search occurred solely because Harrington lawfully owned a firearm, despite never bringing it to school. SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut emphasized that exercising Second Amendment rights cannot waive Fourth Amendment protections or create reasonable suspicion of crime.

Idaho Fish and Game conservation officers are investigating the unlawful harvest of a 6x6 bull elk on September 12 in Unit 31. The elk was transported from Adams Creek drainage in an early-2000s white Toyota Tacoma. Anyone with information can contact the Southwest Regional Office at 208-525-7290 or the Citizen's Against Poaching Hotline at 1-800-632-5999.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks game wardens are investigating a mule deer buck shot and wasted on private land five miles north of Hardin on September 8-9. The incident occurred before rifle hunting season began on October 24, and all meat was left unused. Tipsters can contact tipmont.mt.gov or 1-800-TIP-MONT for a potential $1,000 reward.

Idaho Fish and Game is investigating the illegal killing and waste of a bull elk discovered on Sellars Creek Road in Bingham County between September 4-5. The elk was shot multiple times with a centerfire rifle during an archery-only season, with only antlers removed. Contact Senior Conservation Officer Mitch Newhouse at 208-576-1752 or the Citizens Against Poaching hotline at 1-800-632-5999.

Idaho Fish and Game's McCall Fish Hatchery is closed to the public through Nov. 29 for construction improvements. Tours remain available by appointment with staff. Upon completion, visitors will enjoy enhanced parking, upgraded interpretive signs, live salmon video streams, and an elevated spawning observation platform.

The Gulf Council will hold a virtual meeting of its Shrimp Advisory Panel on October 15, 2026, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT. The panel will review shrimp fleet effort estimates, federal permit analyses, and Shrimp Amendment 20 addressing penaeid shrimp status determination criteria.

Idaho Fish and Game modified fall Chinook and steelhead bag limits effective September 17 to protect natural-origin fish populations. Fall Chinook anglers may only keep adipose clipped adults with a three-fish daily limit, while steelhead limits vary by river system with restrictions on larger fish sizes.

Montana lifted the angling closure on Section 5 of the Big Hole River due to improved flows from weekend rain. Annual spawning closures on the Big Hole River from Dickie Bridge to the Jefferson River, along with sections of the Ruby and Beaverhead rivers, will begin October 1.

Georgia's Department of Natural Resources received an Exempted Fishing Permit from NMFS for a 14-day red snapper season Oct. 9-22, 2026, in federal waters. Private anglers must use VESL electronic reporting and maintain a one-fish daily bag limit. The pilot project tests state-led data collection with potential for a December season if fish remain available.

Idaho anglers set three catch-and-release state records in August for lesser-known species: Neil Benoit caught a 6.5-inch redside shiner on the Salmon River, Joe Levin landed a 26-inch Utah sucker on the South Fork Snake River, and Rylee Dragon caught a 20.5-inch tench from Lake Coeur d'Alene.

ODWC is hosting a Field Day on September 26 at Atoka Wildlife Management Area for new rifle hunters. The program includes classroom instruction and live-fire training covering firearm safety, sighting in rifles, cleaning, range etiquette, and hunting locations. Participants must have a valid Oklahoma hunting license; space is limited to 40 attendees.

The Montana Fish & Wildlife Commission has closed Black Bear Management Unit 411 to all black bear hunting effective one-half hour after sunset on Thursday, September 24, 2026.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game's Salmon Region is hosting a free youth pheasant hunt for ages 10-17 on October 10, 2026. Participants will learn pheasant biology, shotgun safety, and hunt with experienced bird dog handlers. The event is sponsored by IDFG, the Lemhi Rifle Range, and the Cockrell Family Ranch.

Idaho House Bill 939 restricts hunters from using thermal imaging, night vision, transmitting trail cameras, and drones for big game and game bird hunting between August 30 and December 31, 2026. Exceptions apply for hunting predatory wildlife, retrieving wounded animals, and monitoring traps. Idaho Fish and Game urges hunters to review official regulations rather than relying on AI or search engines.

Vermont's ruffed grouse hunting season runs September 26 through December 31 with a daily limit of 4 grouse, while woodcock season runs September 26 through November 9 with a daily limit of 3. All migratory game bird hunters must register with the Harvest Information Program through the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.

Youth Waterfowl Weekend is set for September 26-27 in Montana, allowing licensed hunters 15 years old and under to hunt ducks, mergansers, geese, and coots statewide. Eligible participants include 12-15 year-olds with hunter education accompanied by a nonhunting adult, and certified apprentice hunters 10-15 years old with a mentor at least 21 years of age.

Lawrence G. Keane, Senior Vice President & General Counsel of NSSF, has been appointed to the Hunting and Shooting Sports Conservation and Access Council to advise the U.S. Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture on wildlife conservation and hunting policy.

Starting the week of September 21, the Charcoal Segment of the Boise River Wildlife Management Area will close for approximately three days while Idaho Fish and Game applies herbicide via helicopter to treat invasive annual grasses including cheatgrass and medusahead rye, improving big game habitat and reducing wildfire risk.

Whitetails Unlimited recognizes the 54th National Hunting and Fishing Day on September 26, 2026, celebrating over 55 million sportsmen and women who have raised more than $57 billion for conservation. WTU President Jeff Schinkten emphasized the organization's commitment to supporting outdoor heritage and natural resources.

The U.S. Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) has joined the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) as a Diamond-level corporate partner. The partnership combines SAF's legal action protecting Second Amendment rights with USCCA's education, training, and legal defense services for its 860,000 members nationwide.

Nick Mundt, co-host of Bone Collector, joins Michael Waddell on The Michael Waddell Podcast to discuss hunting experiences, the value of wild game, and camaraderie in hunting camps. Mundt emphasizes that memorable experiences and friendships outweigh trophy size, while reflecting on his 20-year journey with Bone Collector and partnerships with hunting camps including Vatos, Milk River, Blake's place, and Ike Rainey's Giles Island.

Derya Arms USA announced that its Derya MAX 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun is the firearm used on Drone Kalkanı, a Turkish counter-unmanned aircraft system. Two Derya MAX shotguns mounted on a pan-tilt turret fire together to neutralize mini and micro drones, including fiber-optic-controlled aircraft that electronic jamming cannot stop.

Hardcore Waterfowl introduces its Rugged Series Redhead Duck Decoys, foam-filled one-piece decoys designed for early-season redhead hunting. The set includes 4 drakes and 2 hens with WhaleTail™ Keel technology for natural movement, priced at $119.99 MSRP.

Winchester has been selected by the U.S. Army as the Second Source provider for small caliber rifle ammunition, covering 5.56mm, 7.62mm, and .50 caliber ammunition. Brett Flaugher, president of Winchester, and Jim Williams, vice president of Military Programs and Business Development, highlighted the company's commitment to delivering high-quality ammunition to the U.S. Military.

MDT is expanding its ORYX Chassis System to three long action platforms: Ruger American LA, Remington 700 LA CIP, and Savage LA CIP. The aluminum chassis features V-block bedding, free-floated barrel, adjustable buttstock, AICS magazine compatibility, and M-LOK slots. Available September 22, 2026 through MDT dealers and mdttac.com.

Barnes Bullets launches two new 8.6 BLK factory ammunition offerings: a 200-grain TAC-TX in VOR-TX for supersonic hunting and a 300-grain Sierra MatchKing in Suppressor Series for subsonic use. The expansion follows SAAMI's formal acceptance of 8.6 BLK and collaboration with Q, LLC, the cartridge's developer.

Range Ready Coffee has been announced as the official coffee sponsor for the 22nd annual Industry Day at the Range, taking place January 18, 2027, at Boulder Rifle and Pistol Club in Boulder City, Nevada. The event, held the day before SHOT Show, provides media and attendees with hands-on product demonstrations from top shooting sports brands.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will host a public meeting on October 15 from 6-8 p.m. at Sun Retreats Ocala Orange Lake to discuss FWC activities and conditions on Orange, Lochloosa, and Newnans lakes. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection will present on harmful algal blooms.

Field & Stream TV, operated by Outdoor America, and Safari Club International announced a content partnership bringing SCI-produced programming to Field & Stream TV's FAST channels, uniting the network's outdoor lifestyle content with SCI's decades of ethical hunting and wildlife conservation storytelling.

Florida may soon be home to two very different experiments in raising fish for the American seafood market—one 40 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and the other, already in operation, inside a giant building south of Miami.

Ocean Era, a Hawaii-based mariculture company, has received final approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its Velella Epsilon demonstration project, moving a proposed offshore fish farm closer to reality.

The project would place a single large net pen in federal waters about 40 to 45 miles southwest of Sarasota. The pen would contain as many as 20,000 red drum, native to the Gulf, which would be grown for about 12 months before harvest.

At an 85 percent survival rate and an estimated harvest weight of 2.75 pounds per fish, production would be about 46,750 pounds.

That is a small amount of seafood by commercial aquaculture standards, and Ocean Era describes Velella Epsilon as a demonstration project rather than a full-scale commercial fish farm. The idea is to find out what happens when fish are raised in a large offshore enclosure while measuring the effects on the surrounding marine environment.

The project has been nearly a decade in development and has gone through multiple rounds of federal review and environmental challenges. Earlier versions called for raising almaco jack, but the company eventually switched to red drum. EPA's permit has also been modified to address such things as production levels, net material and the mooring system.

The environmental questions are central to the experiment. Fish consume feed, and some feed inevitably goes uneaten. Fish also produce waste. Critics of offshore aquaculture have raised concerns about nutrients entering the Gulf, along with pathogens, microplastics, interactions with wild fish and other possible effects.

Ocean Era argues that an offshore location provides enough water movement and dilution to make the environmental effects manageable and, more importantly, that the demonstration will provide actual field data rather than relying on laboratory models.

The project is not yet a commercial operation. Funding, installation and other regulatory and logistical steps remain before fish can be stocked. Ocean Era has said it hopes to have the pen operating as early as February.

At the same time, about 250 miles southeast of Sarasota, another Florida fish-farming experiment is already producing millions of pounds of fish—but it never puts a fish in the ocean.

Atlantic Sapphire operates a massive indoor Atlantic salmon facility in Homestead. The company calls the operation a "Bluehouse," and it represents almost the exact opposite philosophy from Ocean Era's offshore pen.

The salmon are raised in a land-based recirculating aquaculture system, or RAS. Water is continually filtered, treated and reused, with the company reporting that more than 99 percent of the water is recycled.

The choice of South Florida for Atlantic salmon sounds strange until you look underground. The facility uses deep groundwater sources, including naturally filtered saline water, while sophisticated systems control temperature, oxygen, carbon dioxide and other water-quality parameters inside the tanks.

The salmon never have to cope with the warm Gulf of Mexico, sea lice, ocean storms or the biological variables encountered by fish raised in conventional marine net pens.

The scale is dramatically different from Ocean Era's demonstration. Atlantic Sapphire's Florida operation has a stated Phase 1 capacity of roughly 7,500 to 8,500 metric tons of salmon annually—roughly 16.5 to 18.7 million pounds. The company has plans to eventually increase total production to approximately 25,000 metric tons annually.

The packaged fillets are being marketed by Publix, among others—they’re for sale in our local store here in Guntersville.

 The price is a bit higher than for the salmon that comes from cold water oceanic farms so far—and therein lies part of the problem.

Atlantic Sapphire has experienced fish mortalities, technical problems and substantial financial challenges while trying to make a huge recirculating system work at commercial scale. The company has nevertheless continued operating and improving the facility. During the first half of 2026, it reported increased harvest volume and higher live biomass compared with the same period a year earlier, along with improvements to its water-treatment and cooling systems.

The two Florida projects illustrate the fundamental choices facing the rapidly developing aquaculture industry.

Put the fish in the ocean and let the Gulf provide the water, temperature moderation and enormous volume needed to disperse waste, as Ocean Era proposes. Or keep the fish on land and attempt to control virtually every aspect of their environment, as Atlantic Sapphire is doing.

Neither approach eliminates environmental and economic questions—and Florida is particularly sensitive to both.

The offshore model raises questions about nutrients, waste, escaped fish, wildlife interactions and the cumulative effects if dozens of pens eventually occupy coastal waters. The land-based model eliminates most direct interaction with wild marine life but requires massive infrastructure, continuous water treatment and considerable energy to maintain the proper conditions for a cold-water fish in subtropical Florida. And the price has to become competitive, or failure is certain.

Florida already has a substantial aquaculture research infrastructure, including state and university facilities raising marine fish for research and stock enhancement. What is different now is the scale and commercial ambition of these projects.

For anglers and boaters, the offshore experiment may attract the most immediate attention because it puts a new structure—and 20,000 farmed fish—in the Gulf.

This is not an immediate non-starter because vast schools of adult redfish, 10 pounds and up, naturally swarm in the waters of the continental shelf—the net pen won’t add any significant amount of waste to what’s already there. But what happens if there are dozens of these pens, much larger, a few years down the road?

At the very least, this is an experiment that anglers and environmentalists will want to watch closely for the foreseeable future.

– Frank Sargeant, Editor, The Water Wire