Battlefield to Backwoods: How the Military Impacted Hunting

In this week’s No Lowballers presented by GunBroker, we’re talking about how military technology impacted the way the modern outdoorsman hunts today. We dive in with an integral part of the hunting industry: optics. Allen starts with Leupold, who at one point in time was the largest provider of small arms optics for the US Military. He tells us about the differences between optics that are military spec and optics that are consumer based with some military features. Logan spends some time talking about the Nydar Model 47 Shotgun sight, which is based on a military aviation sight, that was scaled down for shotguns. Next, Allen speaks on military bolt-action surplus rifles that were modified into hunting rifles. These guns were very inexpensive, which led to hundreds of thousands of these guns being sporterized. This conversation led us to Logan sharing a book from 1963, called “How to Convert Military Rifles” or in Logan’s words “How to Destroy a Military Firearm.” These books covered multiple different makes and models of military rifles and every step on how to convert them to a deer gun. Have you ever run across one of these sporterized rifles? We’d love to know if so! Brad brings up the modern sporting rifle field and how the AR-15 is a modern take on sporterizing a military rifle. From small game all the way to big game, the AR-15 has become a staple in the outdoor industry. Offering a ton of customization options and versatility, the AR-15 style rifle has boomed in the outdoors with many companies offering options specifically built for game and ready for consumers to take the woods. We end with a conversation on the first recruits in the Revolutionary War being men who grew up hunting. Brad speaks on how the Lewis & Clark Expedition looked specifically for rugged outdoorsmen and how those skillsets later converted well over to military. Allen ends up going through some amazing options for modern sporting rifles available on GunBroker. If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a rating and review!! The No Lowballers podcast explores the history and heritage of firearms. We hope to expose you to the vintage guns of the golden age along with newer, modern guns, specialty items, and a few other odd balls along the way. Jump in and come along for the ride! The show launches every Thursday morning. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.