For many Kentucky outdoor fanatics, Winter months between December and March are times for side projects around the house, cleaning and re-cleaning gun(s) until they shine like a mirror, and organizing your tacklebox(es) while you itch for the Spring spawn. If this is you, you are missing out on some of the best parts of the outdoor season. Something I like to do is head out to my favorite hunting ground and walk the land, looking for any signs of deer or turkey. To be more specific, I'm looking for warn game trails, tree rubs, droppings, and grazing areas for my target game animals. Finding these signs will give you a better idea of how the animals are moving through the area, and how you can adjust for a better hunt next season.
Another important note is that deer and turkey will typically take the easiest route to get to their destination. By knowing this, Winter is the best time to set up barriers to push these animals to your more desired hunting areas. This past Fall, my father and I went out to do some tracking and noticed that a line of trees had been recently cut down for power lines, blocking the old game trail. The deer had diverged from this path, making a new one at an opening about 50 yards away. What we realized is, by clearing and setting up barriers, we can create a bottleneck to funnel deer and turkey right through our desired shooting window. Based on this adjustment, the chance of seeing a deer or turkey in these areas will be greatly increased.
Also, based on the funneled area, place your deer stand or blind accordingly. While bow hunting for whitetail, I prefer stands to blinds because they reduce the chances of your scent being picked up by down-wind deer. Scent-Loc is a good way to cover your human scent, but it is still not fool-proof. It can also be a safety concern to hunt on the ground, unprotected from big bucks in rut. There are a few stories every year about hunters being injured or killed by charging deer, I'd prefer not to become one of those stories. Regardless, take advantage of the hunting downtime to trim any branches back which might be blocking your viewing area (be careful not to cut away too many because it acts as cover and breaks up your silhouette along the tree line).
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Finally, fishing in the winter time is one of my favorite things to do outdoors. I love suiting up in my camo coveralls, 2,000 gram thinsulate boots, alpaca wool socks, and insulated face-mask, and braving the cold (although it is important to recognize that hypothermia strikes swiftly and should be a definite precaution). There is not nearly as much boat traffic out on the water, which also means there is a lot less fishing pressure. This is a great time to find those hard to find honey-holes. Fishing in a couple of the more popular Kentucky water bodies, Lake Cumberland and Laurel River Lake, trolling is a way of life. In Laurel, this would most likely be for rainbow trout or smallmouth, while on Cumberland, the fish of choice is striped bass. Anyway, while trolling for these fish, mark some good structure areas on a map or gps. If you don't have much success trolling, come back and hit some of these spots with the lure of your choice (depending on the type and depth of the structure) and pull in some lethargic lunkers.
So when the cold weather has you down and you're feeling the winter blues, strap on some warm clothing, fill up a thermos, and get outdoors. Otherwise, you're going to miss the potential catch or hunt of your life.
Bison Designs has developed and released a new survival bracelet. The bracelet is made up of 15 ft. of woven, 550-test paracord, and contains a flint clasp and 1-in. blade, burried in the paracord. Although these objects aren't ideal for your everyday hike and campout, they would be great tools in the event that you'd need to tie, cut, or start a fire. 
Here is an awesome new article from Bass Resource about river bass fishing!
A 24 year old war hero named Daniel Rodriguez promised a fellow soldier that he would return to college to play division 1 football. His fallen friend was killed during a shootout in Afghanistan, in which Daniel was also injured. He received a bronze star for valor and a purple heart, for his heroic actions during combat. While he was stationed in Afghanistan, the soldiers "had nothin". He mentions that sometimes the soldiers would fill ammo cans and curl them for exercise. Back home, in the U.S. has been following his own workout routine (based on the one he did in Afghanistan), training, running routes, and drilling the books, to be able to get back into a division 1 college to live up to that promise he'd made. His workout is somewhat unconventional, involving lots of exercises that use his normal body weight. He also hired a production company to develop a highlight tape for him to send to colleges, in search of a scholarship. 
Field and Stream put together a manly slideshow of the best knives of 2012. There are 12 slides, each one telling a bit about the knife. Some of these blades look like you could accidently cut off the end of your 12-gauge if you dropped them on the barrel.
The Cook-Air is the latest product in grilling technology. It is a wood and electric element heated grill that can really pump out some heat. Also, for the perfect tailgate party, it comes with a warming rack, wood pucks (to smoke the food as it cooks), as well as a cigarette lighter adaptor. Did I mention that it is made of top quality stainless steel and can be powered with 8 "D" batteries? 
Steve Sanderson and Sandia's Titus Appel have devised a new fiber optic cable that carries both electricity and data. The cable is still in the early stages of overall development, which means it is expensive as hell and it doesn't pack enough heat to power your computer or television, yet. But in situations where copper cable is not a valid power/data source, this cable is the bee's knees. An example of such a case would be for explosives, aviation, and medical devices, where a power surge, short, or lightning strike could spell disaster. 
Eli pulled out another close one in the 4th quarter. Just when I thought Tom Brady was going to blast off, Eli took control of the game late in the 4th, charged his team down the field, and scored, leaving less than a minute remaining for the Patriots. I can honestly say, I was very surprised by his top-notch performance. I didn't expect such a great game out of Eli, who is constantly overshadowed by his older brother, Payton. 
If you've ever picked up a 12 pack of your favorite micro-brew before the big game and haven't had time to chill it before the game, here is an article that answers the beer drinker's prayers. Spoiler alert, it includes The Instant Beer Coldifier, crucial for any manly beverage.
Les Carpenter of Yahoo Sports published a very well written article about Bill Belichick's secretive assistant named Ernie Adams. Ernie has a beautiful football mind, and apparently doesn't forget anything about the sport that he has seen or learned. He is a mystery to everyone except Bill Belichick, with whom he keeps a very close rapport. 
Tim Walmsley, a hunter from Central Illinois shot and killed a potential world record whitetail on December 1st, 2011. His typical 8-point frame grosses 192 3/8, and he nets 184 7/8 as an 8 point after side-to-side deductions. What a deer!
Wegner, the brand behind the Swiss Army knife, is coming out with some new wearable survival gear. This new line of gadgetry, called HypeX, simplifies multiple tools into a simple, solid piece of metal around the owner's neck. It has a cool, sleek look to it as well, as shown in this image of the "Wyss" tool..jpg)
Finally, fishing in the winter time is one of my favorite things to do outdoors. I love suiting up in my camo coveralls, 2,000 gram thinsulate boots, alpaca wool socks, and insulated face-mask, and braving the cold (although it is important to recognize that hypothermia strikes swiftly and should be a definite precaution). There is not nearly as much boat traffic out on the water, which also means there is a lot less fishing pressure. This is a great time to find those hard to find honey-holes. Fishing in a couple of the more popular Kentucky water bodies, Lake Cumberland and Laurel River Lake, trolling is a way of life. In Laurel, this would most likely be for rainbow trout or smallmouth, while on Cumberland, the fish of choice is striped bass. Anyway, while trolling for these fish, mark some good structure areas on a map or gps. If you don't have much success trolling, come back and hit some of these spots with the lure of your choice (depending on the type and depth of the structure) and pull in some lethargic lunkers.
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have built a prototype bullet that can guide itself to hit a target over a mile away. Unlike most bullets, this one is shot from a non-rifled gun, which is typically grooved to spin bullets out of the barrel. The self-guided bullet exits the barrel much like a dart would leave your hand. This release allows the bullet to calibrate it's adjustments must faster, at up to 30 times per second, which means that it actually is more accurate at longer distances.
