Southwick Associates has compiled a listing of hunters and shooters preferred products and activities in 2006. Compiled from the HunterSurvey.com service, it reflects the input of 15,424 hunters and target shooter surveys in 2006. In 2006, the top brands and activities were:
Top game species: deer
Top shotgun sport: trap and skeet
Top rifle brand: Remington
Top shotgun brand: Remington
Top muzzleloader brand: CVA
Top handgun brand: Smith and Wesson
Top scope for firearms: Tasco
Top blackpowder brand: Pyrodex
Top bow brand: PSE
Top game call brand: Knight and Hale
Top knife brand: Buck
Top scent brand: Tinks
Top target brand: Shoot-N-C
HunterSurvey.com is a monthly online survey of hunters and target shooters nationally providing industry and policymakers with information on outdoor trends and activity. Over 65 hunting and shooting product categories are tracked along with hunting and shooting activities engaged.

Missoula, Montana - Outdoor Writers Association of America , The Voice of the Outdoors, has completed the revision of its Outdoor Reference Manual. The publication is now available for purchase.
The new manual is intended to supplement the Associated Press Stylebook and Webster’s New World Dictionary, filling in gaps in outdoor-related terminology not found in either of these publications.
“This book will help even the most knowledgeable outdoor expert because it spans so many areas of outdoor endeavor,” said OWAA President Jim Low. “Whether you need to know the plural of ‘crappie’; the proper style for ‘.30-06′; if ‘alewives’ are adfluvial, amphidromous or anadromous; what ‘cross-track error’ is when using a global positioning system; or what a sailor means when he refers to a ‘cuddy cabin,’ the OWAA Outdoor Reference Manual will come to your rescue. It is indispensable for anyone who writes about the outdoors.”
OWAA’s Outdoor Reference Manual was revised last in 1995. Thanks to the hard work of the 2005-06 Reference Manual Committee, chaired by Kay Morton Ellerhoff, revision was completed early in 2006. In June, copies of the new publication were shipped to Lake Charles, La., in time for OWAA’s 79th annual conference. Numerous conference attendees traveled home with copies of the Outdoor Reference Manual in hand. Future updates and revisions are planned every three to four years.
The Outdoor Reference Manual is available to both OWAA members and nonmembers; however, OWAA members can buy copies at a special, members-only price. Bulk orders of more than five copies are discounted. The manual can be purchased via OWAA’s Web site; visit OWAA’s online store for complete pricing and ordering information.
Since its inception in 1927, OWAA has become the largest and oldest association of professional outdoor communicators in the United States. OWAA’s mission is to improve the professional skills of its members, set the highest ethical and communications standards, encourage public enjoyment and conservation of natural resources and mentor the next generation of professional outdoor communicators. The national headquarters is located in Missoula, Mont.
To learn more about OWAA, “The Voice of the Outdoors,” call 800-692-2477 or visit www.owaa.org.

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - Continuing to blaze a trail of success, the Professional Outdoor Media Association is on the verge of marking yet another milestone. POMA is about to crest the 400 member mark. In addition, the organization announced the establishment of the Corporate Partner Advisory Council.
“We’re excited about our growth, but we’re not surprised,” explained POMA President, J. Wayne Fears. “. During its first year, POMA proved to the industry that it is the premier business organization for traditional outdoor sport media professionals. POMA offers a wide range of cutting-edge benefits to its members and is cultivating a partnership between media members and industry professionals never before enjoyed in the outdoor industry.”
POMA’s media members support and promote the heritage of hunting, fishing, shooting and the traditional outdoor sports through writing, photography and other means. By doing so, members hope to educate the general public about these sports and encourage more participation in them.
“POMA’s mission is one that all members of the fishing, shooting sports and trapping industries can easily support,” Fears added. “POMA understands that a team effort is required to ensure the future of both outdoor communications and the traditional outdoor sports. As our tagline says, ‘Together, we can do great things.’”
“POMA’s commitment to bringing the industry together to take outdoor communications and thus participation in the traditional outdoor sports to new levels is evidenced in POMA’s establishment of the CP Advisory Council,” reported Vickie Gardner, vice president of Alpen Optics and POMA’s recently elected CP board member.
“The council will focus on projects that connect media members to the wide range of editorial content and expert resources available through POMA’s association/bureau and manufacturer members — POMA’s Corporate Partners. The council will also advise POMA’s board of directors on important industry-related issues.”
POMA serves its membership by helping members grow professionally, improve their skills, better their working environments and enhance their businesses through services like:
The Business Discounts Program that provides discounts on meaningful business services and products,
Money Line, which alerts members to money making opportunities such as job openings, market listings, grants and more,
Monthly business-related TeleSeminars focused on everything from marketing and finance to communications and photography,
The POMA Stock Agency focused on selling member-generated images, content and broadcast segments,
Business-building education delivered electronically through TechTalk and TradeTips,
CP Corner, a real-time, online information delivery system that allows Corporate Partners to provide news and product information directly to POMA members.
Upcoming POMA Events
January 11 — 14, 2007: Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trade Show, Orlando, Florida. Press conference and membership meeting, Friday, Jan. 12, 11 a.m. Presentation of POMA/NSSF Grits Gresham Communicator of the Year Award.
January 18 — 20, 2007: Archery Trade Association Show, Atlanta, Georgia. Press conference and membership meeting. Major industry announcement planned.
July 11 — 13, 2007: ICAST Show, Las Vegas, Nevada. Press conference and membership meeting. Major industry announcement planned.
August 2 -4, 2007: POMA 2nd Annual Business Conference. Minneapolis North, Minnesota. Members arrive August 1 and depart August 5.

OutdoorPersonals.com is the perfect place for outdoor enthusiasts to find other singles and activity partners who share their passion of the outdoors.
Springfield, OR - Henricks Outdoors, LLC , a leading publisher of niche Web sites that cover fishing, hunting, and other outdoor activities, has launched Outdoor Personals , a 100% free, full-featured dating and community Web site for sports and outdoor enthusiasts. OutdoorPersonals.com allows people to find others who share their passion of the outdoors, either for dating or to locate friends for camping, hiking, fishing, biking, RVing, and other outdoor-related activities.
“We are excited about this launch as we explore new markets and respond to the explosive growth of our network. While we recognize that there are plenty of dating Web sites available, only a few cater specifically to the outdoor market,” says Jeremy Henricks, owner and founder of OutdoorPersonals.com. “We plan to take this to the next level by providing outdoor enthusiasts with a safe, fun environment for meeting other like minded singles and friends online, while offering tons of great features at no cost to standard members.”
Standard membership at OutdoorPersonals.com is 100% free. Members can upload profile photos and video/sound introductions, search for other members, contact other members, and chat online . Members also get their own blog, polls, photo albums, and other personalized features. In addition, OutdoorPersonals.com offers dating tips, articles, instant messaging, and more. In the coming months additional features will be introduced to enhance the online dating process and make it easier for singles to find their match.
OutdoorPersonals.com will be tightly integrated throughout the entire network of outdoor-related Web sites published by Henricks Outdoors, LLC, and a radio advertising campaign will kick off later this year within select U.S. cities to increase membership.
About Henricks Outdoors, LLC
Henricks Outdoors, LLC is a leading publisher of niche Web sites for the fishing, hunting, and outdoor industries. Hunters, anglers, gun owners, and other outdoor enthusiasts use our online destinations to communicate, research, plan, and prepare for their next outdoor adventure. We also provide advertising, marketing, and promotional services to retailers, manufacturers, and other companies within the outdoor industry.
Our network includes www.HuntTheOutdoors.com, www.FishTheOutdoors.com, www.OutdoorHits.com, www.DiscussTheOutdoors.com, and others. Please visit www.HenricksOutdoors.com to learn more.
Contact
Jeremy Henricks, Henricks Outdoors, LLC, 541-554-2439

Select Cabela’s retail stores to offer Kawasaki power sports products
Cabela’s, the World’s Foremost Outfitter and a leading ATV/UV accessory retailer, will now offer, at select retail stores, Kawasaki ATVs and Mule Utility Vehicles. The two companies recently entered into an agreement making a number of Cabela’s destination retail showrooms officially licensed Kawasaki dealerships. In addition to selling Kawasaki power sports products, each licensed location will also offer a complete service department which can perform warranty work and will be staffed by full-time trained technicians.
“Cabela’s and Kawasaki are a natural match,” said Dennis Highby, President and CEO of Cabela’s. “We’re excited to offer sportsmen another way to enjoy the great outdoors, enhancing Cabela’s position as the World’s Foremost Outfitter.”
“ATVs and utility vehicles are an important part of the Cabela’s lifestyle,” said Doug Zingula, Director of Hardgoods for Cabela’s. “This agreement will complement our growing line of ATV and UV accessories and better serve the needs of our loyal customers. We’re proud to partner with Kawasaki, a brand widely recognized as a leader in the industry.”
The current agreement allows Cabela’s retail stores in Sidney, Neb.; Owatonna, Minn.; Dundee, Mich., and Kansas City, Kan., to sell both ATVs and Mule Utility Vehicles. Hamburg, Pa., will sell Mule Utility Vehicles exclusively. Each of these locations will offer a complete line of accessories including installation.
About Cabela’s Incorporated
Cabela’s Incorporated, headquartered in Sidney, Nebraska, is the world’s largest direct marketer, and a leading specialty retailer, of hunting, fishing, camping and related outdoor merchandise. Since the Company’s founding in 1961, Cabela’s- has grown to become one of the most well-known outdoor recreation brands in the world, and has long been recognized as the World’s Foremost Outfitter. Through Cabela’s well-established direct business and its growing number of destination retail stores, it offers a wide and distinctive selection of high-quality outdoor products at competitive prices while providing superior customer service. Cabela’s also issues the Cabela’s Club- VISA credit card, which serves as its primary customer loyalty rewards program.

Does your retail store sell cookbooks? Here’s a chance to buy a case of the handsome new “Wild Fare and Wise Words,” while supporting a great cause. The book is a 160-page hardback, seasoned with outdoor tales, and contains recipes for all manner of fish and game.
For every case sold , the publishers will contribute $10 to the Outdoor Journalist Education Foundation of America . An National Shooting Sports Foundation supported organization, OJEFA helps students explore careers in outdoor communications.
To order, call 800-358-0560 and be sure to mention the NSSF.

Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton tendered her resignation, effective April 1, ending a tenure that began on Jan. 31, 2001.
In a press release issued by the Department of the Interior, an excerpt from her letter of resignation cites her and her husband’s desire to achieve goals in the private sector, “closer to the mountains we love in the West.”
In a Denver Post report, Andrew Card, White House chief of staff, confirmed that the president would like to fill the post with a Westerner with Coloradoan Norton’s pro-development perspective. The president offered praise to Norton, stating, “Gale Norton has been a strong advocate for wise use and protection of our nation’s natural resources and a valuable member of my administration.”
Read Norton’s resignation letter to President Bush.

Rock star and outdoors enthusiast Ted Nugent told the New York Daily News this weekend that a run for the Michigan Governor’s Office in 2010 is in his plans. “I could have won in ‘06,” said Nugent of the election, which was won by Democrat Jennifer Granholm.

NSSF is reminding all gun owners and outdoor enthusiasts that end-of-the-year contributions to the Firearms Safety Education Foundation and the Council for Wildlife Conservation and Education are tax deductible and will help in distributing safety and conservation videos in schools nationwide.

With a number of new outreach programs and an increasing presence in the political arena, NSSF has become a more diversified and responsive industry trade association than it was a decade ago. To underscore those changes and reaffirm its dedication to America’s shooting sports and hunting heritage, NSSF has adopted a new logo that better reflects its purpose. “We are not the same industry trade association that we were 10 years ago. Our challenges are broader and our programs are more responsive. We wanted a new logo that visually reflects all that our organization encompasses today. I’m very pleased that we’ve captured our core mission in a bold and creative new logo,” said Doug Painter, president of NSSF.
The NSSF Web site has also been revised and visitors should find it to be a more easily navigable resource. NSSF members will be receiving high-resolution logos on CD-ROM. NSSF members with immediate needs may contact dmoran@nssf.org. When requesting the NSSF logo, please specify which of the following formats are needed: Mac or PC, two color, full color or black and white and JPEG, EPS or PDF.

Governor Bob Riley and Conservation Commissioner Barnett Lawley announced today that Alabama’s state parks will house evacuees from Hurricane Katrina through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA is supplying trailers that will serve as long-term housing to evacuees who register by calling 1-800-621-FEMA. Several hundred trailers are on their way to several state parks today, according to FEMA.
Alabama’s 22 state parks have a total of 2,500 campsites and more than 350 rooms in lodges, chalets and cabins across the state. Modern campsites have water and electrical hookups, and some have sewer hook-ups as well.
Commissioner Lawley said that the Conservation Department is more than happy to make the space available for FEMA to use. “If there’s anything that we can do to help out, we’re willing to do it, even if it means making every room available,” he said. Lawley said that some tourists who had reservations at state parks have already called to cancel them in anticipation of evacuees needing the rooms. “With the popularity of our parks during the fall season, that’s a small but extremely generous thing to do,” he said. “We hope that when this emergency situation is over that those who canceled will take the time to visit our parks once again.”
Lawley said he anticipates that the parks will host Alabamians as well as evacuees from Mississippi and Louisiana. “Alabama has had several large disaster situations, including Hurricane Ivan in 2004. We’ve depended on neighboring states to help us in the past, and now we’re going to do everything we can to assist the people who need help.”
The use of Alabama state parks for evacuees will be for an unknown period of time. Officials stress that evacuees must register with FEMA first to be assigned to one of the parks. The parks are not set up to handle people arriving without prior approval from FEMA.
Following is a list of state parks and the number of campsites, family units and rooms available.
Park
Modern Campsites
Family Cottage
Rooms
Buck’s Pocket
36
 
 
Cathedral Caverns
 
 
 
DeSoto
78
22
25
Joe Wheeler
116
26
75
Lake Guntersville
364
35
 
Monte Sano
89
14
 
Cheaha Resort
73
15
30
Lake Lurleen
91
 
 
Oak Mountain
150
10
 
Rickwood Caverns
13
 
 
Wind Creek
625
 
 
Blue Springs
50
 
 
Chewacla
36
6
 
Chickasaw
8
 
 
Florala
23
 
 
Frank Jackson
26
 
 
Lakepoint Resort
190
40
40
Paul M. Grist
6
 
 
Roland Cooper
47
5
 
Bladon Springs
10
 
 
Gulf
468
21
 
Meaher
12
 
 
Total
2,511
184
170

Overland Park, KS - Bushnell Performance Optics, Inc., the worldwide leader in sports optics, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Michaels of Oregon Co., a leading manufacturer of outdoor, hunting and shooting accessories. This acquisition broadens the Bushnell product offering in the outdoor market with the addition of the Uncle Mike’s®, Hoppe’s®, Butler Creek®, Stoney Point®, Uncle Mike’s Law Enforcement™ and Blackwater Gear™ brands.
“Michaels is a market leader within the hunting, shooting, and law enforcement product categories and we are excited about how these product lines will complement the Bushnell current offering of premium sports optics products,” said Joe Messner, President and CEO of Bushnell Performance Optics. “This should be a seamless transition and we do not expect any disruption to the service both companies provide their customers,” added Messner.
“The similar culture of these two companies, along with their leadership positions in the marketplace, make for a perfect match,” said Dennis Pixton, President and CEO of Michaels of Oregon.
Bushnell is a privately held company funded by Wind Point Partners, a private equity investment firm. This acquisition is the fifth in the past five years for Bushnell. The Bollé® and Serengeti® premium eyewear brands were acquired in 2001, along with Moonlight night vision products. The Tasco® sports optics brand was added in 2002.
“The addition of Outdoor Accessories to the existing Bushnell product platforms of Sports Optics, Outdoor Technology and Premium Eyewear broadens the scope of our company and allows us to better serve more of our customers’ needs,” said Messner. “With the acquisition of Michaels, Bushnell will introduce a new corporate name, ‘Bushnell Outdoor Products.’”
The parties have signed a definitive purchase agreement and the final transaction is expected to close by the end of August.
Bushnell Performance Optics, Inc., is a global manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer products. Headquartered
in Overland Park, Kansas, the company is a leading supplier of high quality sports optics including binoculars, telescopes, riflescopes, laser rangefinders, night vision, ski goggles, sunglasses and safety glasses marketed under the Bushnell, Tasco, Bollé, and Serengeti brand names.
Michaels of Oregon Co. is the leading manufacturer of hunting, shooting, and law enforcement accessories. Headquartered in Oregon
City, Oregon, the company also has offices in Meridian, Idaho, and New Ulm, Minnesota. Under the brand names Uncle Mike’s, Uncle Mike’s Law Enforcement, Butler Creek, Hoppe’s, Stoney Point and Blackwater Gear, Michaels of Oregon manufactures and distributes holsters, slings, swivels, gun cases, belts, gun cleaning products and other hunting, shooting, military and law enforcement gear.

PINOPOLIS, S.C. — Dogs don’t usually survive alligator attacks — especially when the reptile is three times the canine’s size.
But Cooper, a 5-year-old golden retriever, is an exception. The spirited dog fought off a 14-foot, 700-pound alligator in a Lake Moultrie canal last month and lived to howl about it.
“I thought he was dead,” said 14-year-old Chase Kierspe of the family pet. “The alligator was huge. I didn’t think he could fight it. He fights me, but that’s all.”
Cooper escaped from the backyard for a swim across the canal and apparently attracted the gator. Chase was cutting the grass when he saw the alligator spying his pet. He threw a cup and a lawn chair at the gator, but it didn’t budge.
Then Cooper leaped and the gator followed. Chase ran and screamed for help.
After it was all over, Cooper had lost a few teeth and had flesh and muscle torn from a front leg and chunks of skin missing from both haunches. The gator suffered bites to its snout.
“I never heard of a dog getting away from an alligator in the water,” said Tom Kierspe, Chase’s dad. “You always hear that they grab them, go under and do the ‘death roll.’”
The state doesn’t keep records of alligator size, but this was “one of the largest if not the largest” the Department of Natural Resources has seen in some time, said Walt Rhodes of the wildlife agency.
The gator’s head and hide sit in Kierspe’s freezer. He has contacted local museums and parks about getting it mounted and is considering applying to get it certified as a state record.
As for Cooper, Kierspe said, “we changed his name to ‘Lucky.’”

Missoula, Mont. - Outdoor Writers Association of America’s board of directors apologized June 17 to its members for the upheaval caused by sending a letter last July to former National Rifle Association President Kayne Robinson. The letter expressed the board’s disappointment for Robinson’s comments made in a speech at OWAA’s 2004 conference in Spokane, Wash.
After the board-approved letter was sent to Robinson, more than 400 members of the 2,000-member outdoor communicators group signed a “letter of dissent” protesting the letter. An ensuing battle within OWAA endured most of 2004 and spurred numerous member resignations.
In conjunction with OWAA’s recent annual conference in Middleton, Wis., OWAA’s board penned an apology to members, which said, “We apologize to OWAA members for a well intended action that has produced unintended reactions. We should have anticipated that people would have seen battle lines drawn because of our action: We did not.” The apology will be mailed to all OWAA members.
At the OWAA membership business meeting held on June 19, members expressed opinions about the letter sent to Robinson, and they emphasized ending the crisis so the association can heal. Several OWAA past presidents were among those voicing opinions to the board, and a letter was read listing nine past presidents who did not approve of the letter sent to the NRA president.
Members then voted to approve all actions of the board over the past year except for sending the letter to Robinson. The motion passed by nearly a 2-1 margin.
At a follow-up June 21 board meeting, the board resolved to offer members who either resigned or did not renew their 2005 memberships the opportunity to reinstate their memberships without application, devoid of late charges, and without reinstatement fees. The offer is valid until Aug. 31, 2005, and includes all former members who were in good standing in 2004, including life members, individual members and supporting members. The board unanimously passed the resolution.
Outdoor Writers Association of America is an international organization that represents a diverse group of professional communicators dedicated to sharing the outdoor experience. Headquartered in Missoula, Mont., the nonprofit’s mission is to improve the professional skills of its members, to set high ethical and communications standards, to encourage conservation of natural resources and to mentor the next generation of professional outdoor communicators.
Media Contact:
OWAA
406-728-7434

June 17, 2005, Walnutport, PA - At last, the traditional outdoor writer, photographer, videographer, and broadcaster have a professional media organization to call their own. Born out of necessity, the traditional “hook and bullet” media members, joined by shooting sports and angling industries, organizations and associations, have aligned to form a new professional organization aptly named the PROFESSIONAL OUTDOOR MEDIA ASSOCIATION .
The organization got its start when dozens of traditional outdoor writers looking for a professional organization that served their needs met at the 2005 SHOT Show, with a tele-conferencing connection with writers attending the Safari Club International Show. At this meeting, nine respected outdoor writers were selected to serve as a steering committee to determine the need for and set up a new organization. Named by popular vote to the committee were: Jim Zumbo, J. Wayne Fears, Tom Gresham, John Phillips, Betty Lou Fegely, Jim Casada, Bryce Towsley, Tony Mandile, and Laurie Lee Dovey.
Accepting the challenge, the group set about sculpturing an organization that will serve the traditional outdoor press. At a working meeting in Alabama, and through phone conferencing, the committee developed a mission statement, charter, by-laws, membership criteria and elected a Corporate Partners director - Pat McHugh of MPI Outdoors.
The committee determined a slate of nine interim directors, plus a corporate director, were needed to steer the organization during its formative years. To maintain continuity, and to have decades of organizational experience available, each member of the founding committee volunteered to serve as the interim board for one year.
A framework for managing POMA’s affairs was also established and, in cooperation with the Safari Club International and the outdoor industry, a database of potential POMA members was developed.
Now POMA is a reality! Its mission statement says it all: “The Professional Outdoor Media Association, Inc. is a group of individual communicators and Corporate Partners who believe in, defend, support and promote the heritage of hunting, fishing, shooting, and traditional outdoor sports through writing, photography, and other means. By doing so, members hope to educate the general public about these sports and encourage more participation in them. The organization serves the membership by helping members grow professionally, improve their skills, better their working environments and enhance their business.”
POMA welcomes prospective members to its Web site at www.professionaloutdoormedia.org. where detailed information on the organization is found.
All individuals, firms and organizations who join POMA during the first 60 days of the membership drive, between June 18. 2005 and August 17, 2005, will receive the designation of “Charter Member”.

NEW YORK - In the hunting, fishing and camping gear business, where sales growth can be as elusive as a genuine cutthroat trout, three companies are feverishly expanding.
Cabela’s Inc. and Gander Mountain Co. tapped the stock market for cash about a year ago, while privately held Bass Pro Shops Inc. looks ready to give them a run for their money.
The companies are sometimes called “The Big Three,” and each builds giant stores with more merchandise than old-fashioned mom-and-pop shops. Still, collectively, they have less than 10 percent market share.
Outdoors gear sales aren’t growing; in fact, in some segments, sales are declining. But the big three are hoping to beat smaller competitors. Their theory: In retail sectors such as office supplies or home improvement goods, the largest retailers collectively control one-third or more of the market. The three outdoor companies, therefore, should be able to grow by buying smaller players or stealing their share.
The prospect hasn’t set Wall Street on fire with enthusiasm. Cabela’s stock is up only slightly from an initial public offering price in June 2004 of $20 a share. It closed Wednesday at $20.89 on the New York Stock Exchange. Gander is down from its $16 a share IPO price in April of last year, closing at $12.82 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
“Sometimes retailers get too optimistic,” Michael C. May, a spokesman for the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association said. “If everybody feels they can take market share from their competition, they have to either grow the market, or somebody’s going to be disappointed.”
Between the three large companies and several smaller competitors, retail area will increase as much as 35 percent nationwide this year, according to some estimates, on top of a 33-percent increase in 2004.
But wholesale shipments are flat or in decline for the hunting-fishing-camping segment, and Harvey Lauer, who heads the market research firm American Sports Data Inc., says participation in these outdoor activities has been stagnating or declining for years.
But Gander Mountain spokeswoman Shannon Burns says the real fight is for market share.
“The important thing to remember is this is a highly fragmented market,” Burns said.
“There’s a lot of mom-and-pop businesses out there,” she said. “We’re going to take market share from stores that don’t have the assortment” Gander Mountain can carry.
Burns added that a new Gander Mountain store also boosts customer interest in any given region, effectively expanding the market for its goods.
May, of the manufacturers’ trade group, concurs that many of the latest generation of outdoor superstores “are so well designed, they can make the non-outdoorsman into an outdoorsman.”
Gander has 80 stores, the largest number of outlets among the big three, although at an average of 40,000 square feet, they tend to be smaller and more subdued than those of Cabela’s and Bass Pro. Gander is the smallest of the big three in terms of sales, which last year grew more than 30 percent to about $642.1 million.
Gander Mountain also had 27 larger stores as of January. The stores range from 60,000 to 65,000 square feet, and Gander sees a potential for as many as 400 large stores.
Cabela’s, in contrast, operates just 10 stores, but they cover as much as a quarter-million square feet and are billed as destination stores. Indeed, a number of them have attracted real-estate development that sometimes includes hotels to accommodate bus loads of gawking hunters, anglers and campers.
Cabela’s sales grew 11 percent last year to $1.56 billion. About 66 percent of that revenue came through catalog and Internet sales.
Total catalog and Internet sales for Cabela’s last year rose 5 percent. Much of its growth strategy is focused on expanding its megastore network.
Cabela’s sales floors are loaded with hundreds of hunting trophies and a wide array of mounted game. The stores also feature artificial fountains made to look like trout streams, archery ranges and displays of rare firearms.
It seems to work. Cabela’s claims that its typical customer spends up to four hours on each visit.
Privately held Bass Pro Inc. says it invented the giant outdoor store concept and operates a chain of 25 stores that are roughly comparable in size to those of Cabela’s.
Bass Pro sales reportedly grew last year by 14 percent to $1.6 billion, a figure spokesman Larry Whitely neither confirmed nor disputed.
“Our stores are doing sales above the industry average,” Whitely said, adding that the company expects to add six stores to its base this year, and eight in 2006.

CRAWFORD, Texas - With a slight breeze blowing the ponytail that drapes halfway down his back, Ted Nugent draws his bow and aims at one of a dozen lifelike deer figures he uses for practice until hunting season begins.
The arrow pierces the faux animal “right in the vitals” for a clean, quick kill, he says. Then he darts to the gun range on another part of his sprawling ranch, where he sets up bowling pins that soon will be blasted by a hail of bullets - another daily ritual.
At 56, Nugent is ever the “Motor City Madman” - the hyper rock star, avid hunter and outspoken National Rifle Association board member. But the newly relocated Texan can’t help but be amused by his newfound acceptance among more and more Americans.
“Isn’t it fascinating that without compromising a spit, that now those who traditionally despised me and all my NRA, Bambi-slaughtering lifestyle, now realize that my connection to the huge segment of America is something to instead of condemn and run away from, they might want to upgrade their level of that awareness and tap into it,” Nugent said.
Even the Secret Service is on board with him, Nugent told The Associated Press during a recent interview at his 300-acre ranch outside President Bush’s adopted hometown.
Three dozen agents took target practice last month at Nugent’s ranch, he said. They initiated the visit, bringing machine guns and other government-issued weapons and ammunition - and spent hours having fun at taxpayers’ expense, Nugent said with a laugh.
Secret Service officials would not confirm or deny the incident.
” just shooting and shooting and shooting and talking and went down to the river … just like a bunch of guys hanging out, but these were all the world’s greatest warriors, every one of them,” Nugent said.
He moved to Texas two years ago after mold at his home near Jackson, Mich., caused severe health problems for his family.
Nugent, his wife and teenage son chose Crawford, a one-stoplight town of 700 residents near Waco, because of its size and acclaimed school system - not because the president has a ranch there. Also, Nugent had friends in Central Texas from years of hunting trips.
Nugent still travels - his summer tour starts in July - and performs for U.S. troops. He also puts on a children’s camp each summer, goes on African hunting safaris and films his reality television series in which contestants learn taxidermy and sit in a swamp, among other bizarre challenges.
But when he’s home, Nugent is involved in the community. He played “The Star-Spangled Banner” on his guitar at an election-night party.
In January he held a concert in the Crawford school gym, raising more than $30,000 so the marching band could perform at Bush’s inauguration parade in Washington, D.C. He played his 1977 hit “Cat Scratch Fever” and other favorites.
Nugent may not hang out with Bush when both are in town, but the rocker says he has supported him - for the most part - since his first run for governor in 1994.
When Nugent attended a private Washington party after the 2000 presidential election, Bush hugged him and said “just keep doing what you’re doing,” he said.
“It was hysterical as a stamp of approval to all the status-quo, old guard political people that you can be bold and brazen, that you can make a statement … and the president will still embrace you,” Nugent said.
White House spokesman Taylor Gross declined to say whether Bush and Nugent are friends but said “the president appreciates the support of any American that feels strongly about his compassionate conservative agenda and his plans to make America a safer, better place.”
Nugent has developed a friendship with Republican Gov. Rick Perry. He said the two send e-mails and talk regularly. They met a few years ago through a mutual hunting pal, and Nugent plans to help Perry’s re-election campaign next year.
“Ted Nugent is a great American patriot, and the governor is proud to have his support,” said Scott Haywood, a Perry spokesman.
But having Nugent in your corner can be tricky.
Nugent said he was flown to Minnesota last year to introduce Bush at a campaign rally with sportsmen. But he said he was bumped from the event after a radio interview the night before, when he blasted Bush’s immigration policy and Mexico President Vicente Fox.
Nugent said he was “raving about the good part of the president but also being honest about some of the failures. … Somebody’s got to call a spade a spade.”
Nugent made some waves at last month’s NRA convention in Houston, walking on stage with an assault weapon in each hand. In a spirited speech about self-defense, he said:
“I want the bad guys dead. No court case. No parole. No early release. I want ‘em dead. Get a gun and when they attack you, shoot ‘em.”
Two years ago, a Michigan festival canceled Nugent’s concert after he used a racial slur during a live radio interview. But a jury recently ordered the festival to pay Nugent $100,000 in damages, saying it breached their contract. Nugent said he used the word while quoting a black Motown musician.
Nugent says his critics have often tried to use his profanity-laced tirades against him. But increasingly, he says, he’s either hanged them with their own rope or won them over.
“They’ve come to learn to really enjoy my rightness, both my political right-wingness and my correct rightness,” he said. “I have literally taken hard-core, fundraising anti’s and turned them into pro-gun, pro-hunting people - not across the board but enough to make a difference.”
ON THE NET
Ted Nugent: http://www.tednugent.com/

BISMARCK, N.D. — Tom Gehringer says he has lived in north-central North Dakota for more than 50 years and seen all kinds of wildlife. But never a wolf.
Gehringer and his wife, Judy, said that changed this past Thursday, when they spotted not just one wolf, but three on their property near Greene, about 45 miles north of Minot.
Tom Gehringer said he saw one wolf; Judy said she saw two others.
One wolf was staring at her husband, Judy Gehringer said, and she saw “two more peeking around a Quonset.”
She had no doubts. “They were wolves … they had big, bushy tails,” she said. “And I don’t want to see them back here.”
The couple said one of the animals was black and the other two were dark brown. Wildlife officials said gray wolves actually can be black, white, tan or gray in color.
“He was so close, I could have hit him with a rock,” Gehringer said of the animal he spotted about 50 yards away. “I started up my lawnmower and he took off running.
“He was three times the size of a coyote and I figured he weighed about 100 pounds,” Tom Gehringer said.
The Gehringers run a hunting and camping lodge in Greene. A family reunion and a wedding reception are being held on the property this spring.
The Fish and Wildlife Service reported other recent wolf sightings around the Carter Dam area north of Greene, near Carpio, and near the Canadian border north of Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge. In early February, two wolves were seen near the northern edge of Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge, wildlife officials said.
Fish and Wildlife field supervisor Jeff Towner most wolves spotted in the state are probably from packs in Minnesota or Manitoba, just passing through.

- Ten sportsmen’s organizations, businesses and publications launched the first steps in the defense of bowhunting against new attacks against the sport.
The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance convened a conference call of national bowhunting interests in the wake of the announced merger of the Humane Society of the United States and the Fund for Animals. The newly formed mega-animal rights group declared bowhunting as a primary target.
Participants were provided a report on the combined capabilities of the new animal rights organization. The groups agreed to design and implement a plan to meet and defeat the threat to bowhunting.
“There was widespread understanding of the need to prepare,” said Rick Story, senior vice president of the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance. “There was also widespread agreement that sportsmen have the capability to defeat this threat if we organize now.”
Conference call participants included the Archery Trade Association, Bowhunter Magazine, Bowhunting.net, Bowhunting World Magazine, the Bowsite, the International Bowhunting Organization, National Bowhunter Education Foundation, National Field Archery Association, Pope and Young Club and the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance.
The organizations will meet in January during the Archery Trade Association Show in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance protects the rights of hunters, anglers and trappers in the courts, legislatures, at the ballot, in Congress and through public education programs. For more information about the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and its work, call 888-4868 or visit its website, www.ussportsmen.org.