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Here, you’ll find coverage of hunting, fishing, adventure sports and other military competitions. Outdoor columnist Ken Perrotte, an avid hunter and fisherman, handles our field coverage, profiling the best new gear and hottest hunting spots from southern Georgia to South America and beyond. Check out his stories and more here.

Get the details on tunnel flying
Wanna try tunnel flying? Here’s your preflight briefing:
Free fallin’
RAEFORD, N.C. — For folks like Tim D’Annunzio a former jumper with the Army’s Golden Knights parachute team, the desire to fly has matured into a lifelong fixation. Free fall...
First flier
As a young fella working in the research lab at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Jack Tiffany spent countless hours testing the performance of various aircraft components inside the...
Hard Corps marathon runners
A list of active, Reserve and retired Marines who competed in the Marine Corps Marathon:
Thousands put the military in the Marine Corps Marathon
More than 8,000 current, former and retired members of the armed services participated in the 2007 Marine Corps Marathon, run on Oct. 28 in and around Washington D.C.
NavAdmin 265/07: 2007 Army/Navy game spirit spots on CBS
1. This year’s Army/Navy game is scheduled for Saturday, 1 December 07 at M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Md. CBS Sports will televise the game and will once again accept “go Navy”...
Marine chefs beat out rival teams in cookoff
WASHINGTON — Military cooks from across the world gathered on a street outside the Marine Barracks Sept. 28 to determine which branch would hold bragging rights for the next year for the best...
Navy football looks to extend winning ways
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Naval Academy head coach Paul Johnson has established a winning tradition since he took over a program that had losing records in 18 of the 20 seasons before he arrived.
Record shot put throw earns former soldier spot in Paralympics
With a record-breaking shot put throw, a former Army specialist is the first severely injured veteran of the Iraq war to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.
Marine completes 250K Gobi Desert adventure race
Over one week in June, Marine Cpl. Paul Johnston lost nearly 10 percent of his body weight as he trekked across China’s desolate Gobi Desert in a 250-kilometer endurance race, according to a
Do you have an Army-Navy story to share?
It may not be the most important game in terms of national standings. But during times of war, the annual Army-Navy football game...
Disabled Iraq veterans stay in the race
Andy Hatcher ran his first marathon seven months before being deployed to Iraq in September 2004. Losing his right leg in combat three months later could have ended his running career, but Hatcher is...
Make your move at Armed Forces Chess Open
The military’s elite chess players are in the last days of training before the Interservice Chess Tournament, an invitation-only competition to be held June 10-16 at Marine Corps Air Station...
In this race, you’re lucky if you finish
FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — The road to glory begins at a scuffed-out starting line on a hard-packed dirt road high above the roar of the rushing Gauley River, so far back in the woods you almost...
Are you ready to take the Wilderness Challenge?
Nothing like a bumpy, grumpy, 14-mile hump through the mountains of West Virginia to get the blood flowing.
Brit-Marine boxing battle ends in 4-4 draw
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — If it was supposed to be an exhibition fight, no one told James Ronan.
Kan. man sending used golf gear to troops
LAWRENCE, Kan. — A sudden warm snap has many Kansans dusting off the golf clubs and preparing to hit the links. But it has brought a different idea to the mind of a Lawrence golf shop owner.
Military snipers needed for North American championship
Thirty of the best sniper teams from the military and law enforcement communities will gather in Meridian, Miss., in March for the North American Sniper Championship.
Guide to military sports
If you’re into sports — and we’re guessing that you are, considering how the military attracts avid athletes —there’s a place for you to compete, or at least get a fix...
Army dominates in sniper contest
FORT BENNING, Ga. — Army teams dominated the sixth annual International Sniper Competition, which ended Nov. 2, by sweeping the top five spots at the end of the intense six-day event.
Rangers win sniper competition
FORT BENNING, Ga. – Staff Sgts. Joe Lynch and Michael Rach, of 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, at Fort Benning have shot their way to the top of the sixth annual International Sniper...
Army leads sniper competition
FORT BENNING, Ga. – Army Staff Sgt. Joe Lynch and Staff Sgt. Michael Rach, of 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment , took the lead last night in the sixth annual International Sniper...
Army marksmen lead at sniper competition
FORT BENNING, Ga. — The Army Marksmanship Unit held on to its lead yesterday — the second day of the sixth annual International Sniper Competition.
Nordic walking is not very hip — but easy on the hips
Save the snotty comments. The Nordic walkers have heard them all.

Sports headlines from USAToday.com

Jazz hold off late Lakers push to even up series
Andrei Kirilenko blocked Kobe Bryant twice in overtime and converted a three-point play with 35 seconds remaining as the Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-115 on Sunday, tying the Western...
UCLA women win fourth straight water polo title
Tanya Gandy scored twice and UCLA's top-ranked water polo team finished another undefeated season with a 6-3 victory over Southern California in the championship game of the NCAA tournament Sunday....
Small-ball Twins belt three HRs in 9-8 win over Red Sox
So much for small ball. Craig Monroe went 2-for-4 with two of light-hitting Minnesota's three home runs and four RBI, and the Twins hung on for a 9-8 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night.
Garcia quiets critics with playoff triumph at TPC
By Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAY
Sergio Garcia ended the longest victory drought of his career Sunday by making a clutch par putt to force a playoff and hitting the island green 17th on the first extra hole to defeat Paul Goydos in...
Spurs sock Hornets 100-80 to tie series at 2-2
Tim Duncan had 22 points and 15 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the New Orleans Hornets 100-80 on Sunday night to even the Western Conference semifinals at 2-2.
Penguins hang on to clip Flyers for 2-0 series lead
Maxime Talbot, a sometimes overlooked fourth-line forward on a team renowned for its stars, scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period and the Pittsburgh Penguins took a two-game lead...
Florida headlines field for NCAA softball tournament
By Andy Gardiner, USA TODAY
Top-ranked Florida earned the No. 1 seed and leads four additional seeded Southeastern Conference teams into the 64-school NCAA Division I softball field announced Sunday night. The Gators (62-2)...
New controversy rocks USC as Mayo allegations surface
By Jack Carey, USA TODAY
Southern California, which has been dealing with the fallout from allegations former Trojans football star Reggie Bush and his family received nearly $300,000 in illicit cash and benefits while he...
Upstart A's lead AL West, look golden so far in 2008
By Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY
Their highest-paid player has yet to take the field. Their most talented pitcher just made his first appearance in more than a month. Their power production, batting average and fielding percentage...
Cleveland's current playoff run brings back memories of first
By Gene Farris, USA TODAY
This looks familiar. Washington. Then Boston. Would it be another miracle? Cleveland Cavaliers fans remember the team's Miracle of Richfield back in 1976, when the franchise, making its first playoff...
Dixon knows pole is no Indianapolis 500 guarantee
By Gary Graves, USA TODAY
A day after winning the Indianapolis 500 pole position, Scott Dixon had another reason to smile Sunday at soggy Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He and the 10 drivers who qualified Saturday can spend a...
Mendenhall's arrival gives Steelers dynamic duo
By Jim Corbett, USA TODAY
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians stood beside each other inside the team's draft room April 26 when Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones took his turn at the...
Defense provides big boost for Red Wings
By Kevin Allen, USA TODAY
The players who can't crack the Detroit Red Wings' defensive corps may say as much about its quality as those who do have a place in the top six. "We have a kid named (Jonathan) Ericsson, and I can't...
Versus might take shot at puck tracking for NHL telecasts
By Michael McCarthy, USA TODAY
The NHL and cable TV partner Versus are talking about introducing "puck-tracking" technology as early as the 2008-09 season, executives from the network and the league told USA TODAY. Tracking would...
This baseball season hardly what was supposed to happen
By Mike Lopresti, Gannett News Service
The baseball season hits the first-quarter pole this week even if the weather has been so lousy, they'll need Tommy John surgery soon for some of the guys who roll the tarp and we have here the...

Hunting and fishing

Top guns
A young woman examining a display of heavy-duty gun safes at the 2008 SHOT Show in Las Vegas was overheard asking a grizzled dude, who looked like he just left the streets of Deadwood, circa 1890, if...
A wild moose chase
Hunting guide Bill Chapman was a tad shaggy after living for months in a wall tent in north-central British Columbia’s majestic Rocky Mountains.
Gunning for rays
PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — High-performance military aircraft aren’t the only winged beasts with great destructive potential around Maryland’s Patuxent River Naval Air Station and the...
Land a rod-breaking bas in northern Alabama’s lakes
LAKE GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — Are you looking for a lake where the term “hawg bass” comes to life? If so, you should settle your crosshairs on northern Alabama, where some of the...
How to choose a tree stand
For white-tailed deer hunting, one of the most useful tools is the one safely and comfortably supporting your backside: the tree stand.
Argentina offers the wing hunt of a lifetime
"Tranquilo. Tranquilo, amigo."
Vintage weapons find new life with hunters
When our patriot forefathers answered the first calls to arms for militias and the fledgling Continental Army, the muskets they toted were often the ones kept in their homes for hunting and defense.
What to look for in a vintage weapon
Just cradling a 100-year-old military rifle in your hands -- staring down the cool blued barrel and feeling the warmth of the aged wood -- has its own rewards for the shooting and hunting fan.
Virginia's Potomac region a duck hunter's dream
The thin sheet of ice crackled beneath the aluminum johnboat carrying three heavily clothed hunters, one eager young Labrador retriever and dozens of duck decoys from the sandy launch point to the...
Great guns for female shooters
Anyone who still thinks big-game hunting is exclusively an outdoors gentlemen's club needs to think again. Women make up one of the fastest-growing segments of the community of hunting and...

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Final Salute
Final Salute is a stunning tribute to the brave troops who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan and to the families who continue to mourn them. Military Appreciation Month - Save 10%