ARKANSAS SPORTSMAN

'All-Stars' shine in cooler battle

After four years, we've discontinued the annual Ice Chest Smackdown feature, but we held an informal all-star game last weekend.

The Ice Chest Smackdown was a competition that tested the performance of premium coolers during the hottest part of summer. The competitions included Yeti, Pelican, Orion, Igloo Sportsman, Coleman Esky and others.

It was a popular feature, but we discontinued it this year because there is no appreciable difference between today's premium coolers. Yeti was undeniably the best for the first two years, but other manufacturers caught up. The best models retain ice within a few hours of each other. The only differences are price and accessories.

The Ice Chest All-Star Game occurred Friday, in the wake of a wild storm that knocked out power in our area for several days.

On Friday morning, Entergy called with a cryptic recording that made us suspect that power would not be restored quickly. Miss Laura sent me to buy a generator, and I was relieved that a local farm supply store still had a large selection available.

Miss Laura lights fires by grinding pennies together, so I was not surprised when she called to cancel the generator order.

"You can buy a lot of ice for what one of those things costs," she said. "I think eight bags of ice will get us through."

I was disappointed. I have wanted a generator for years, and Miss Laura slammed that window down almost as quickly as she opened it.

My daughter and I went to a convenience store to buy ice. I did not have a cooler in the truck, so I packed the ice bags tightly under my truck shell and hurried back to the house.

A chime on my phone rang to signal a text message. It was from Miss Laura. My daughter read it. "My brother said we can borrow his generator."

Then she called to make sure I got the text. It's not safe to talk and drive, so I ignored the call.

Besides, I just spent $20 on ice, and I was not going to let it melt running all over the county.

Miss Laura was irritated when I arrived home without a borrowed generator, and she was more irritated that I didn't answer the phone.

"You already gave me my orders," I said. "To have altered the mission would have blown 20 bucks."

For you newlyweds, that perfect balance of compliance and compromise is how you make a marriage last 29 years.

We transferred the contents of two refrigerators and two freezers into an all-star roster of coolers. We grilled all of the meat that wouldn't fit into the coolers and had a marvelous feast.

Entergy restored our power Saturday, but we left the ice in the coolers and put them in the sunlight. I emptied them on Monday. Yeti and Pelican still held plenty of ice, just as they did in the second smackdown in 2013.

With the crisis behind us, Miss Laura and I agreed that a generator would be very useful given the fact that power outages are somewhat common in our little corner of Hot Spring County. I found a 3,000-watt model that runs on liquid propane on clearance for $100 less than MSRP.

I thought a propane-powered motor would be quieter than a gasoline-powered motor, but I was mistaken. I'll just have to put it a long way from my tent and run a small air-conditioner with an extension cord.

CWD Update

Brad Carner, chief of wildlife management for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, briefed the commission about chronic wasting disease.

Carner said that 130 deer samples were sent out for testing on July 1, and six tested positive for CWD. All were from Newton County, and all were roadkills.

The wildlife management division has been particularly interested in one deer that tested positive from southern Pope County in April. No other positive samples have been collected in that area, but Carner said there have been few roadkills reported there.

Also, Carner said his staff plans to collect 300 samples from each of the 10 counties in the chronic wasting disease management area. Carner said he expects to collect most, if not all, of the samples in the first weekend of modern gun season on Nov. 12-13. Hunters will be able to take their deer to about 25 collection sites.

Hunters who submit their deer for testing will be given a sample number. They will be able to check their number on agfc.com, to see their deer's test result. Carner said that hunters can eat their deer before they get their result.

"If the deer appears healthy, we encourage hunters to proceed as they did in the past," Carner said.

Sports on 07/21/2016

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