NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/708333
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2016 • NEBRASKAland 21 16' for 2016 By Jarrod Spilger Although the 16-gauge used to be a popular shotgun chambering, this classic gauge has recently fallen out of favor, largely due to a scarcity of ammunition and its exclusion from the target sports. All that changed this year when Browning "reintroduced" the 16-gauge, "Sweet Sixteen," A5. While that name may be familiar to many, this new A5 is not the Auto-5 of old. The original Auto-5 was a long-recoil operated autoloader, wherein the entire barrel moved rearwards upon firing to cycle the action. The new A5 is inertia operated. A stout spring inside the bolt compresses upon firing to move the bolt and cycle the action. This is the same system found on Benelli autoloaders, but Browning's Sweet Sixteen is the only inertia powered 16-gauge available. To feed the Sweet Sixteen, Browning also introduced a line of 16-gauge target and hunting loads this year. Personally, I own a 16-gauge Remington 870 Wingmaster which I've used on everything from ducks and doves to turkeys and trap. I also inherited my maternal grandfather's old 16-gauge Stevens single-shot when he passed away. He used it to hunt game birds in his younger years, as well as to protect the chicken coop from mammalian raiders on his farm near Farwell. This spring, gunsmith Wade Bentley of Cairo restored the old single-shot, which had a missing firing pin and cracked stock. I hope to use Grandpa's gun on rabbits and maybe even quail this fall. After all, 2016 is the perfect year to rediscover the 16-gauge. ■ 16' for By Jarrod Spilge Although the 16 chambering, this c of favor, largely du exclusion from the All that changed "reintroduced" the that name may be f Auto-5 of old. The original Auto wherein the entire b cycle the action. Th spring inside the bo bolt and cycle the on Benelli autol the only inertia To feed the S a line of 16-gauge Personally, I own which I've used o turkeys and I also inh 16-gauge S away. He us years, as well mammalian This sprin restored th firing pin Grandp this fal After red "Must... have... Sweet 16!" NPS Turns 100 By Eric Fowler On August 25, the National Park Service will celebrate its 100th anniversary. The movement to protect the nation's special places began long before that, but it continues today with the same mission as the bill signed by President Woodrow Wilson that was meant "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Soon after Euro-Americans began pushing westward, and the words and images of writers, artists and photographers like John Muir, George Catlin and William Henry Jackson describing the wonders they found in their new country spread, citizens began to push for the preservation of those magical places. The movement led to the Yosemite Valley becoming a California state park in 1864, and later a national park, and Yellowstone becoming the world's first national park in 1872. Created to care for those parks and more than 30 others that had been established by 1916, the National Park Service now oversees a system that covers more than 84 million acres and is comprised of 410 sites with 28 different designations. These include 128 historical parks or sites, 81 national monuments, 59 national parks, 25 battlefields or military parks, 19 preserves, 18 recreation areas, 10 seashores, four parkways, four lakeshores, and two reserves. More than 300 million people visited these sites in 2015. In Nebraska, there are three national monuments, a national scenic river, a national recreational river and four national historic trails. Several Nebraska state parks, state historical parks and state recreation areas are located along the trails and scenic and recreational river segments. Many parks will hold special events to commemorate the centennial. For more information on the Park Service, go to NPS.org or FindYourPark.com. ■ The National Park Service in Nebraska • Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Harrison • Homestead National Monument, Beatrice • Scotts Bluff National Monument, Gering • Chimney Rock National Historic Site, Bayard • Niobrara National Scenic River, Valentine to Newport • Missouri National Recreational River, South Dakota to Niobrara and Gavins Point Dam to Ponca • Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, Missouri River, Rulo to South Dakota • Mormon National Historic Trail, Omaha to Wyoming • Oregon and California National Historic Trails, Fairbury to Wyoming aces began