Whitewater Fishing has engineered its entire technical fishing pant collection around a high-recovery, 4-way stretch architecture, including the Prevail Pant, Everyday Pant, Luswea Jogger, and Horizon Lightweight Jogger. This universal standard eliminates restrictive bulk while providing unrestricted mobility across specialized fabric weights designed for every water application.

Wildlife Research Center® won the 2026 Kinsey's Dealer Choice Award for Best in Category – Hunting Accessory, as voted by Kinsey's dealers. The award recognizes the company's commitment to quality, innovation, and performance in hunting scents and accessories.

The Mule Deer Foundation and Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife celebrated the 20th anniversary Western Hunting and Conservation Expo in Salt Lake City, generating over $8 million in auction proceeds and $2.6 million from permit sales for wildlife conservation. MDF launched its new national campaign "The Vanishing Icon of the West" to address declining mule deer populations across Western habitats.

Gun Owners Foundation's Empowered 2A announces registration is open for National Women's Range Day 2026 on June 6th at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, New Hampshire. The event features live-fire training, Stop the Bleed® training, self-defense instruction, and Second Amendment advocacy education for women, with complimentary Gun Owners of America memberships included.

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department warns that ice conditions on lakes and ponds are changing rapidly due to warm temperatures and rain. Game Warden Major Jenna Reed urges ice anglers to use caution and carry safety gear including self-rescue picks and spud bars when recreating on ice this season.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department reminds shed antler hunters using off-highway vehicles to stay on established roads and trails to minimize habitat damage. Vehicle tracks can take over 100 years to recover, and excessive noise can disrupt wildlife behavior.

Azimuth Technology promotes Roman Hallock to Director of Operations effective March 9th, 2026. With over eight years at the Naples, Florida-based precision manufacturer, Hallock will drive operations strategy and company growth across the defense, aerospace, and military sectors.

FirstSpear launched its Vanguard Program, a strategic initiative to formalize feedback between engineering and operational field teams. The company named former Marine Raider and water survival expert Prime Hall as its lead maritime Vanguard to validate equipment like the AAC Frog Kit and Adaptive Cummerbund in non-permissive environments.

The Brownells Foundation has joined The Double D Foundation's Corporate Partners Program as a Freedom Level supporter. Since its 2021 founding, The Double D Foundation has raised $4.7 million to support shooting sports participation through ammunition, targets, and financial assistance to hundreds of organizations and teams.

The Sportsmen's Alliance submitted comments to the National Marine Fisheries Service supporting exempted fishing permits for Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina to expand recreational red snapper harvest seasons. The applications from state fish and wildlife agencies aim to improve data collection and inform long-term management strategies for the South Atlantic red snapper fishery.

The Bowhunter Podcast featured Josh Johnson, co-owner of Spot Hogg Archery, discussing the company's origin story and new products including the Hogg Father Pro bowsight and ROTI Modular Sight System. Host Christian Berg highlighted Spot Hogg's reputation for durable archery accessories and teased upcoming innovations.

Michigan's 2026-27 ORV season begins April 1. Purchase your license and trail permit to access 4,000 miles of state-designated ORV trails, scramble areas, and eligible roads. Licenses are valid for one year and fees support trail expansion and infrastructure improvements.

FirstSpear has entered a ten-year exclusive licensing agreement with Recon K9 LLC, assuming responsibility for sales, marketing, manufacturing, and distribution of Recon K9's tactical gear for military and law enforcement working dogs. Recon K9 founder Jason Watson will join FirstSpear to continue driving the brand's vision and product development.

European American Armory Corp is expanding its Blue Label shotgun series with a new Youth Model featuring an 18.5-inch barrel, 11-inch length of pull, and .410 bore designed for young shooters. The lightweight aluminum receiver weighs 4.6 lbs with minimal recoil, priced at $519 MSRP.

NEXTORCH announced the eStar 1,300 Lumen Ultra Bright Headlamp featuring dual white and red LEDs, proprietary Claw Optics lens technology, and dual-power compatibility. Designed for hunting, fishing, and professional work environments, the headlamp offers spot, flood, and mixed beam modes with an MSRP of $49.99.

Real Avid launches the Ratchet Rest, an adjustable-height shooting bag featuring Accu-Click technology for precise elevation control and repeatable shooting performance. Available in three sizes for front and rear support, the system is designed for benchrest, long-range precision, and field shooting applications.

Guns.com launches an 11-week campaign running March 16 through May 31, 2026, presented by Walker's, featuring rotating promotions on firearms, suppressors, ammo, optics, and range gear. The campaign includes weekly $100 gift card drawings and three partner giveaways with prizes from Heckler & Koch, Vortex, and 5.11 Tactical, plus training content from competitive shooter Max Michel.

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. announced that world champion shooter Lena Miculek has joined as a Brand Ambassador. Miculek, who has won ten world titles across rifle, shotgun, pistol caliber carbine, and multi-gun competitions, will collaborate on product development, training instruction, and media outreach to empower firearms owners and educate new shooters.

Luth-AR serves as title sponsor for the 2026 Superstition Mystery Mountain 3-Gun Championship, scheduled March 20-22 at Rio Salado Sportsman's Club in Mesa, Arizona. The event expects 400+ competitors and features AR pioneer Randy Luth and Luth-AR Shooting Team members competing in the longest-running multi-gun match.

The Oklahoma State Game Warden Association and Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation are accepting applications for their annual Wildlife Youth Camp, a free five-day residential program June 14-19 at Goddard Youth Camp. Teens aged 14-16 can apply by April 13 to participate in outdoor activities including archery, shooting, fishing, and wildlife law enforcement education.

Nebraska Game and Parks has temporarily closed Clear Creek Wildlife Management Area near Lewellen and Lake McConaughy due to active wildfire management. Public access and airspace above the area are restricted to support emergency responders and aerial firefighting operations.

The Michigan DNR invites public input on a natural resource stewardship plan for Hartwick Pines State Park in Crawford County. A public meeting is scheduled for March 24 at the Ralph A. MacMullan Conference Center, with an online survey available through April 15. The plan addresses protection and ecological restoration of 13 natural community types, including fire-dependent habitats.

Arkansas State Parks invites residents to explore 52 state parks across the state this Spring Break, offering free admission and activities including hiking, fishing, and kayaking. Lodging options range from full-service lodges and cabins to yurts and camping sites, with Secretary Shea Lewis highlighting the accessible outdoor experiences available throughout the Natural State.

Nebraska Game and Parks has implemented an immediate temporary ban on campfires at all state park areas and wildlife management areas due to dry conditions and high winds. Camp stoves using liquid or gas fuel remain permitted, while prescribed burns are temporarily halted.

The High Road Group with Keith Warren released a new hunting video showcasing whitetail deer hunting in Montana's Powder River Basin with Blue Rock Outfitters and co-host Johnny Piazza. The episode features Shaw custom rifles chambered in .300 PRC and airs on the Pursuit Channel and online platforms.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen many companies make the difficult decision to relocate their headquarters. The reasons have been varied, but can generally be boiled down to a few key reasons: rising tax burdens, regulatory pressures and a growing sense they were no longer welcome.

No longer feeling welcome may actually be an amalgam of all the reasons squished down into a single reason. It’s one thing to watch every manufacturing business get burdened with taxes, but it’s another to see your neighbors and workers being legislatively prevented from owning the products they’re making on your assembly lines.

If that sounds like a ridiculous idea, then imagine how it must have sounded to Smith & Wesson when Massachusetts legislators introduced legislation that would ban ownership of the modern sporting rifles that made up a “significant” portion of their business. Workers could make them, but they couldn’t own them.

That Massachusetts legislation was introduced in 2022.  In 2023 S&W relocated their headquarters to Maryville, Tennessee.

Yes, Springfield is still operating, but in a significantly reduced and reconfigured size.

Tennessee hasn’t benefitted solely from Massachusetts’ legislative intransigence. In 2016 Beretta USA moved its manufacturing operations from Acokeek, Maryland to a $45 million state-of-the-art facility in Gallatin, Tennessee. Once again, “socially responsible” legislation (the Firearms Safety Act of 2013) was more important to legislators than tax revenues or jobs.

Gun-friendly states have begun openly recruiting companies. SHOT Show’s Governors Forum is a very good example as governors answer relevant questions while weaving in reasons why SHOT attendees need to give their locations serious consideration as their new homes.

It’s not just major corporations. Both biggies and boutiques are increasingly voting with their feet when facing tax increases, confusing regulatory environments and, yes, an increasing sense of not being welcome. Often the loss is more than simply the companies. Increasingly, employees are relocating with their employers. Reasons cited include everything from job satisfaction to lowered taxes and costs of living that allow them to improve their personal situations along with preserving their employment.

And it’s not just guns. Charles Schwab moved from San Francisco to north Texas. Tesla moved out of Palo Alto and Chevron, the oil giant that began in California left for Texas. Marcus Lemonis says he won’t open or re-open any of his businesses in California. His reasoning was simple:  “California has created one of the most overregulated, expensive, and risky business environments for business.”

Wednesday, another longtime California company announced it was throwing in the proverbial towel on California. Yamaha Motor Company is leaving Cypress, California after 47 years there. The company will be moving its U.S. headquarters to Georgia, unifying their operations into the Peach State.

The reasoning is, once again, familiar: a need to improve profitability and relieve tax and regulatory pressures.

We’re told Yamaha will be selling its 25-acre Cypress property and complete the relocation to Atlanta suburb Kennesaw, Georgia by 2028. The company’s marine and motorsport business facilities relocated to Kennesaw in 1999 and 2019. The Cypress facility housed corporate and financial services on the Cypress property. The move will involve sale of all land, offices, warehouses and fixed assets in California.

Yamaha explained the decision in their announcement as “one of the Company’s key measures aimed at improving asset efficiency and enhanced profitability in the United States.” The company said it is also making structural reforms “in response to cost increases resulting from U.S. tariffs and changes in the marketing environment.”

Relocation decisions for corporations are never easy. But some states are making it easier than others.

As always, we’ll keep you posted.

—Jim Shepherd