Scott Einsmann is Outdoor Life’s gear editor. He oversees the gear team’s editors and writers who are subject matter experts in bows, knives, hunting, fishing, backpacking, and more. He lives in Richmond, Virginia with his wife and two bird dogs. Read the full article here

This article was originally published by Lance D. Johnson at Natural News.  The relentless chant of “safe and effective” has been drilled into the public consciousness for over three years, a hypnotic mantra used to justify unprecedented mandates and societal pressure. But what if this foundational claim was never rooted in robust, long-term clinical science? What if the entire narrative was built on a carefully constructed illusion, one that ignored inherent risks and manipulated data to push a global vaccination campaign that has since been linked to a staggering number of injuries and deaths? A closer examination of the original…

Gen. James Mingus is currently vice chief of staff and has not publicly said he plans to step aside. He has been in the job less than two years, and it is typically a tenure that lasts at least three years.Officials in the Army and Hegseth’s office would not offer any details on Mingus’ apparent ouster and the effort to promote LaNeve, who is now Hegseth’s top military aide.Maj. Peter Sulzona, a spokesman for Mingus, told The Associated Press by email that he would not comment on pending nominations but that Mingus “will continue to execute the duties & responsibilities…

Sign up for the Outdoor Life Newsletter Get the hottest outdoor news—plus a free month of onX Hunt Elite. The Department of Interior will likely cut another 2,000 jobs from the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Geological Survey, Department officials announced Monday in a court filing. The planned cuts were announced in the middle of a government shutdown, but according to sources familiar with the situation, the reduction in force, as it’s called, has been planned for months. A U.S. District Court judge ruled last week that the layoffs could not proceed…

Today we’re kicking off a showdown between two different double rifle bags. On one hand, we have the long-established brand 5.11 with its 36″ Double Rifle Case, versus the relative newcomer Savior Equipment with its 36″ Camo Urban Warfare double rifle bag. Gear vs. gear, who takes the crown? Read on as we hit tech specs, then hands-on use. It’s 5.11 vs Savior Equipment time! TL;DR: Side-by-side hands-on test of the 5.11 36″ Double Rifle Case and the Savior Equipment 36″ Camo Urban Warfare double rifle bag — both hold two full-size rifles up to 36″, but 5.11 is lighter and streamlined, while Savior is heavier-duty with…

The head of the Department of Homeland Security signed off on the purchase of two private planes that cost four times as much as the amount previously requested, according to a statement from the House Appropriations Committee Democrats. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is spending $200 million on a pair of Gulfstream G700 private jets for the U.S. Coast Guard, despite the fact that an earlier funding request said the service only needed one plane that would cost $50 million.The New York Times reported the figure was closer to $172 million based on public documents the publication said it accessed from…

Sign up for the Outdoor Life Newsletter Get the hottest outdoor news—plus a free month of onX Hunt Elite. The caribou is one of Alaska’s most iconic big game species — an animal that occupies the dreams of many hunters. Caribou have always mesmerized both sportsmen who dream of hunting Alaska, and the people who fill their freezers with them each year. The spectacle of a migrating herd of thousands of caribou is something to behold, and as powerful today as it’s ever been. If there is anything to be said about caribou, it’s that change is constant. Populations and…

President Donald Trump on Monday acknowledged his project to demolish the White House East Wing to add a $250 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom.The building’s many reconstruction and remodeling efforts since construction began in 1792 have drawn media, congressional and public ire. This one has been no different. Trump’s mention of the project, on the day the demolition began, came at an event honoring the Louisiana State University and Louisiana State University at Shreveport baseball teams.“Right on the other side, you have a lot of construction going on, which you might hear periodically,” Trump said.The long-touted project was addressed by White House…

Ukraine’s ruler, Volodymyr Zelensky, has an aide who gave some interesting advice to the civilians suffering under the country’s blackouts. Timofey Milovanov,  a member of the advisory board of the Ukrainian state nuclear company Energoatom and an adviser to the presidential office, said that people should manage stress, meditate, and blame Russia. “How should one prepare?” Milovanov posited. “First of all, mentally and psychologically,” Milovanov wrote. “Breathing exercises are the simplest method. Inhale for four seconds, hold for four, exhale for four, and pause for four. A few such cycles send the brain a signal that everything is under control.”…

Every now and then, a product shows up that straddles the line between genius and pure novelty, and you’re not sure which side you’re rooting for. That’s about how I feel about the new GunsmokeArsenal Ready Rack Cigar Tube, a machined aluminum accessory designed to mount right onto your M‑LOK or KeyMod rifle rail. Yes, you read that right. It’s a cigar holder. For your rifle. The tube is actually fully machined from aerospace‑grade aluminum, finished in milspec Type II anodizing, and built with the same precision you’d expect from a quality optic mount. The O‑ring‑sealed, knurled cap keeps your cigar dry in rain, sand,…

The U.S. Air Force conducted what it called a “bomber attack demonstration mission” in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility last week, according to information newly released by the service. Three B-52H Stratofortress bomber aircraft flew off the coast of Venezuela on Oct. 15. The flight of the bombers first came to public attention due to open-source flight tracking data and has since been described by the Air Force as a bomber attack demonstration. Air Forces Southern shared images of the mission on its Facebook page, adding that it was intended to demonstrate “U.S. commitment to proactively deter adversary…

Sign up for the Outdoor Life Newsletter Get the hottest outdoor news—plus a free month of onX Hunt Elite. If you’re ever seeking advice on bear hunting you’re likely to hear one of two common, and conflicting, schools of thought. One of these is to aim for a bear’s shoulders to break them down and avoid a lengthy or even dangerous tracking job. I’m not sure how this bogus theory on shot placement has lingered as long as it has — probably because it does work sometimes — but it’s some of the worst shot placement counseling you could possibly…

Sign up for the Outdoor Life Newsletter Get the hottest outdoor news—plus a free month of onX Hunt Elite. Central Ohio is prime whitetail county, with plenty of farmland and scattered hardwoods. Spencer Hartings, 36, has been bowhunting the region, primarily in Crawford County, for more than 20 years. Hartings has seen plenty of big deer in that time, and he tagged a 186-inch buck three years ago. But he’d never seen a piebald whitetail deer up close and personal until the afternoon of Oct. 3. “I’d gotten lots of remote trail camera photos of ‘Ghost’ for several years,” Hartings…

The fatality rate of bird flu has hit 48% in human beings after another death was reported. As of August, there have been 76 human cases and two deaths in five countries in the Americas, according to the organization. There have been 990 patients and 475 deaths across 25 countries, for a fatality rate of 48 percent. Health experts, along with the Pan American Health Organization, are concerned about increased numbers of human infections.  The virus is continuing to mutate and could present a problem as it changes to more easily infect mammals, including humans. “In recent years, there has…

Army officials are looking to expand a pilot program allowing young officers to switch to new job fields in what they’re calling a recognition that Gen-Z troops might value flexibility more than dollars.In November, the service will announce an extension of the Officer Voluntary Transfer Incentive Program (VTIP) to lieutenants in Year Group 23 — a third year of the pilot and one that may see an expansion of the branches and functional areas to which officers looking for a change can transfer.“I think what we understand the generational difference is, ‘I don’t want to sign up to do a…

If America goes to war with China, rocketry may be the U.S. Army’s most important contribution. A conflict across the vast Pacific would be waged primarily by air and sea forces, backed by small contingents of ground troops.But while the Army may not storm Shanghai in a ground assault, it certainly has the ability to strike Chinese territory. The Army has an arsenal of long-range munitions in service or under development, including the shorter-range Precision Strike Missile, the Typhon Strategic Mid-Range Fires system and the Dark Eagle Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon. These missiles can hit targets 1,000 to almost 3,000 kilometers…

Sign up for the Outdoor Life Newsletter Get the hottest outdoor news—plus a free month of onX Hunt Elite. A 17-year-old hunter in Louisiana was killed over the weekend by an apparent lightning strike, according to officials in Union Parish. Officials say first responders found Colton Gauge Honeycutt, of Monroe, deceased in a deer stand sometime after 8:30 p.m. Saturday. He’d been hunting in the woods near the small community of Weldon, and family members had contacted the sheriff’s office after he failed to return home after dusk.   “Investigators believe Honeycutt was killed by a lightning strike when thunderstorms moved…

The majority of ground combat vehicles used by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps are not ready to take part in missions due to a lack of maintenance and shortages of spare parts, warns a congressional watchdog.Vehicles that regularly fail to meet their expected standards of readiness include 18 key types of combat and support vehicles used by both services, including the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, Armored Personnel Carrier, Stryker Combat Vehicle, Abrams Tank, Light Armored Vehicle, Assault Amphibious Vehicle and Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, among others, according to a Government Accountability Office report released last month.Over the last decade, both…

United States ruler Donald Trump says that he doesn’t think it’s possible for Ukraine to win the war against Russia. While Trump said it is still possible Ukraine can win, he doesn’t think that will happen. While speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, Trump said, “[Ukraine] could still win it. I don’t think they will, but they could still win it,” when asked to clarify his position on the conflict. Russia has long said that nothing is going to change the outcome of the war. It doubled down on this recently as the U.S. pondered and threatened to…

Watch full video on YouTube

As the shutdown of the federal government continues with no end in sights, gun-rights organizations are expressing concern that the processing of NFA applications has screeched to a halt, depriving Americans of their Second Amendment rights. Both the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) are calling on Democrat senators to end the shutdown so constitutional rights of citizens are not negatively affected. “The Schumer Shutdown serves as another example as to why the NRA is leading the fight to put an end to the unconstitutional National Firearms Act,” John Commerford, executive director of NRA’s Institute…

After last week ordering the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) to turn their membership lists over to the federal government as part of a court ruling, a U.S. District Court has now vacated that order. The case, Reese v. ATF, challenges the federal law that prevents licensed firearm dealers from selling or transferring handguns to adults under 21. The original judgment limited the organizational relief to individuals who were members of the plaintiff organizations as of the filing of the case, and who were located within the geographical bounds of the 5th Circuit (Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana).…

Tuesday marks National Reptile Awareness Day, a time to appreciate the cold-blooded creatures that have slithered, crawled and snapped their way through human history. For the U.S. military, that appreciation runs deeper than curiosity. From cobras to gators, reptilian mascots and call signs appear on patches, aircraft and unit logos across every branch. These creatures represent qualities service members value most: patience, precision and power.Reptiles embody a primal toughness that resonates with warfighters. A cobra never warns before it strikes. A gator waits still and silent until the right moment. That instinct for timing and discipline mirrors how military personnel…

Sign up for the Quick Strike Newsletter The hottest fishing news, tips, and tactics To date I have targeted muskies on the fly in five states over the course of about twelve years. And to date I’ve yet to catch one. Oh, I’ve had follows and sniffs, but I’ve never even had one fully open its mouth so that I could screw it up after the take. Fly muskies are my bane, but that doesn’t mean I don’t understand why the pursuit is so appealing. Nor does it mean I don’t have the utmost respect for dedicated anglers who are…