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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

Phillies' Werth bashes three homers in win over Jays
Jayson Werth homered in his first three at-bats and tied a Philadelphia Phillies record with eight RBI against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night.
Bryant, Lakers finish off Jazz with Game 6 triumph
Kobe Bryant scored 34 points and Los Angeles held off a furious rally by the Utah Jazz for a 108-105 victory Friday night, putting the Lakers in the Western Conference finals for the first time in...
Angels take first game in battle of L.A.
Joe Saunders bounced back from his lone loss of the year and Vladimir Guerrero drove in two runs without a hit to help the Los Angeles Angels beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 Friday night.
Belichick: Walsh's allegations are 'absurd'
From staff reports
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick vehemently denied former video assistant Matt Walsh's claims that the team had an aggressive relied on deception during his tenure.
George stuns former heavyweight champion Byrd
Shaun George stunned Chris Byrd in the former IBF and WBO heavyweight champion's first pro fight as a light heavyweight, stopping him in the ninth round Friday night at Cox Pavilion.
LeBron, Cavaliers push Celtics to Game 7 limit
LeBron James scored 32 points 19 in the second half and the Cleveland Cavaliers forced a decisive and fitting finale to this home-sweet-home playoff series with a 74-69 win Friday night over the...
White Sox fire three scouts following investigation
The Chicago White Sox fired director of player personnel David Wilder on Friday along with two other scouts in the club's Latin American operation.
Byrd takes advantage of easy conditions to take lead
Jonathan Byrd took advantage of soft fairways and receptive greens at TPC Sugarloaf on Friday, shooting his second straight 6-under 66 to take a three-stroke lead in the AT&T Classic.
Paterno says he feels good after hospital visit
Penn State coach Joe Paterno shrugged off a medical scare and said Friday that he feels fine after going to the hospital this week to be treated for dehydration. He even suggested he'd like to coach...
David Mathis leads at 14-under at BMW Charity Pro-Am
David Mathis shot a 7-under 65 on Friday to take a two shot lead at the Nationwide Tour BMW Charity Pro-Am.
Kyle Busch gets some help to take All-Star Race pole
By Seth Livingstone, USA TODAY
Sprint Cup Series points leader Kyle Busch, with a lot of help from his friends, qualified on the pole for Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint Cup All-Star Race. Busch, the final car to qualify, knocked...
Canada beats Sweden to advance to world hockey final
Rick Nash broke a 3-3 tie midway through the second period and Mike Green added another goal with seven seconds remaining, leading Canada to a 5-4 victory over Finland on Friday and into the ice...
Bean, Goodes share first-round lead on Champions Tour
Andy Bean and Monday qualifier Mike Goodes shot 7-under 65s on Friday to share the first-round lead in the Champions Tour's Regions Charity Classic.
NFL owners may opt out of labor deal next week
By Dave Goldberg, AP Football Writer
NFL owners could opt out of their agreement with the players union next week, leaving open the possibility of a 2010 season without a salary cap.
Notes: Fond All-Star farewell planned for Jarrett
By Seth Livingstone, USA TODAY
Saturday night's All-Star Race is expected to be the final Cup Series event of Dale Jarrett's illustrious career. And Jarrett says money won't change his mindset. "I hate to use the word never, but I...

Hunting and fishing

Have guns, will travel
In some respects, flying with sporting firearms has been easier since Sept. 11, 2001. Tighter controls of checked firearms by the airlines and Transportation Security Administration lessen the chance...
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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Armor of God
High-relief coin is 1 3/4" (44mm) and made of antiqued bronze. Pays tribute to the brave service members risking their lives every day. Military Appreciation Month - Save 10%