Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2015 i Outdoor Life

OUTDOOR LIFE: How did your interest in firearms begin? ASHLEY HLEBINSKY: It was a circuitous route. I didn’t grow up around firearms. When I was 18, I wanted to be a doctor and went on a Civil War medicine tour at Gettysburg. They discussed how the evolution of firearms changed battlefield medicine. I started studying historical ballistics and got an internship at a military museum in Pennsylvania. They had a Civil War Enfield on display, and carved into its stock was the name of every battle the soldier who owned it had fought in. So firearms became less about history to me, and more about the stories of the people behind them. I got hooked and learned how to shoot. OL: What kind of shooting do you do? AH: The…

FIELD TEST gear@outdoorlife.com Over the last decade, the fishing industry has experienced explosive technological growth. Today’s bass fishermen electronically see under docks in vivid, threedimensional detail. Pro anglers pre-fish tournaments on screens from their cockpit seats, practically eliminating the need to wet a line. When it comes to sciencedriven enhancements, tackle makers are hustling to stay in step with the competition. Rod designers manipulate carbon on a supramolecular scale, and their work lets us cast farther and with greater accuracy than ever before. Advancements in metallurgy and materials science have produced substances from which smoother, quieter fishing reel gear trains and drags have been created. Such changes aren’t just for show. These products are all lighter and more ergonomic, which means we can fish longer with less fatigue. For 2015,…

1 DUAL MAGNETIC CONTROLS The use of both magnetic and friction casting controls has been standard on many baitcasting reels for decades. In fact, reels that feature one or the other have become less common than those that tout both. However, the Bass Pro Shops CarbonLite’s dual magnetic casting controls—in addition to a separate friction control—allow fishermen to dial their line-management precision to a whole other level. 2 TRIGGER HOOK KEEPER Few things are as frustrating as a poorly positioned hook keeper (see “Our Pet Peeves,” p. 26). By placing it in the tip of the handle trigger on their new casting rods, Lew’s and Wright & McGill have eliminated the chance of it getting in the way when you’re fishing. 3 LINE-WEIGHT INDICATOR Remembering which pound-test line is on…

Including the Shimano Stella FI in our field of spinning reels would have been like testing a Bugatti Veyron against mid-size sedans. However, this marvel of engineering (priced like a work of fine art at $790) deserves a few words. Seeking unparalleled smoothness, project engineers placed bearings on or polished every friction-producing surface in the reel, resulting in a nearly effortless retrieve. Meanwhile, the reinforced frame eliminates power-robbing flexure when fighting fish. Oversize, precision-ground polished gears transfer power from the handle through the transmission with no energy loss, thanks to the seemingly impossibly tight tolerances and fit. Large drag washers support the spool, while a proprietary wave spring applies consistent pressure. The result is absurdly good resolution across the full drag friction curve for the best payout system you’ll find…

Imagine how little a student would progress if every time he raised his hand in class, the teacher punched him in the shoulder. Without a positive response, no student, 9 to 90, ever learns his lessons and in fact will quickly backslide. That principle applies to learning how to correctly shoot a hunting rifle, too. Any significant kick hampers a student from moving forward. A young hunter who has been socked in his skinny shoulder a dozen times has little focus on trigger control or a steady aim when dreading the impending punch. Instead, he cringes and yanks the trigger. Practicing before deer season this year, my son Dylan gripped the stock of his Mossberg .308 Winchester like it was an ax handle, worried about shooting well and anticipating the…

7 ESSENTIAL SKILLS ROD ALNE has spent the better part of four decades navigating high-pressure situations in some of the world’s most demanding and unforgiving locales. He served with the United States Air Force’s elite Pararescue units for 27 years, including stints in both Iraq wars and in Afghanistan. He’s summited some of the world’s tallest peaks, including Mt. Rainier, the Matterhorn in Switzerland, Mt. McKinley (twice), Mexico’s Popocatépetl volcano (three times), and Mont Blanc in France (fi ve times). He’s even competed in two grueling multi-day Eco-Challenge adventureraces. Now, he’s parlayed his experiences into a career as a Special Operations Forces training instructor based out of Butte, Montana. Since 2005, his The Peak training program has equipped the nation’s elite military units, law enforcement, wilderness professionals, and outdoor enthusiasts…

It all started quite innocently. One Sunday my wife and I embarked on an early morning drive in South Africa’s renowned Kruger National Park. Catherine is a seriously keen wildlife photographer, and I’ve come to realize there is indeed some truth to the saying, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” Therefore, I often venture forth into one of Africa’s greatest wildlife areas with a Canon camera instead of my cannon of a .505. The main roads in Kruger are paved blacktops, which retain heat overnight. Big felines know this, and they often drape themselves on the warm asphalt. So, the secret to seeing lions and leopards is simply to jockey yourself into position so you’re the first through the gate and down the road. We managed this feat that…

Speed versus precision. In dynamic shooting situations— whether you’re hunting or in competition—you’re going to have to trade one of these goals for the other. Often the decision is based on shot distance. Targets up close can be taken much faster than those that are football fields away. A puzzle for shooters has been how to cut the time it takes to transition between the two. Competitive shooters have a couple of ways to tackle this. One is to attach a lever to the magnification ring of their riflescope so they can toggle from low to high magnification. The other is to employ a second set of sights on the rifle that they can look through by tilting the stock or otherwise repositioning their head. These methods work, but both…

IT’S THE SATURDAY BEFORE Thanksgiving, and I’ve drawn reservation number 1 in the lottery for a duck blind at a decent state wildlife area near Los Banos, California. Gathering my gear around 1 a.m., the day hands me the first of many choices: Which dog will accompany me? Sky is an 8-month-old male chocolate Lab who I’m trying to give as much reallife experience as possible. Stormy, also a chocolate Lab, is 5 years old, and her experience would come in handy in the thick marsh. Stormy gets the nod. The weather forecast calls for the possibility of fog, but the drive down Interstate 5 is clear. I stop in Santa Nella for gas and lock Stormy in the camper shell before going inside the station. It’s a habit I…

FISHERIES SCIENTISTS TYPICALLY SEEK answers to questions that relate to conserving and managing our aquatic resources. While their efforts create better angling opportunities for all, only occasionally do their studies provide information that directly helps anglers catch fish. That’s why the latest in gamefish research is so compelling: These studies will help you put more and bigger fish in the boat this season. But be forewarned: You might have to do a little strategic thinking. CAN BASS REMEMBER LURES? More than 40 years ago, two studies attributed the declining catch rates of largemouth bass in small ponds to their ability to learn. More recent research has found that fishing quickly affects the trout catch rate, too. However, is it possible for a creature with a brain the size of a…

Timber-strewn reservoir backwaters couldn’t be any further removed from idyllic Bermuda bonefish flats, yet a growing number of largemouth bass lovers are now propelling their boats in a manner found on the flats: using the modest push pole. Whether utilized independently or in conjunction with a trolling motor, these lanky beams of fiberglass, metal, wood, or PVC give anglers the ability to stealthily approach bass in structure-filled waters. This is crucial when bass are on spring spawning beds, but it will help you lower the boom on wary fish the rest of the season as well. Here’s how. BE A SNEAK: When sight-fishing bedding bass or frogging shallow, weedy waters, Tennessee FLW pro Wesley Strader often forgoes his trolling motor and Power Poles, opting instead to silently push his boat…

WHAT ABOUT BOB? It’s a deceptively simple design—a high floating sphere that suspends a fishing hook in nearly any depth or type of water— but the history of fishing bobbers is littered with intrigue and scores of one-off designs intended to catch more fishermen than fish. A DIZZYING VARIETY JAMSONS WHISTING BOBBER This fl oat makes a shrill noise when a fish strikes. BOB-ER-LITE: Fish-activated illumination makes it easy to see at night. SHELL BOBBERS: These high-riding floats mimic shotshells. “Ready, Aim, Fish” is the tagline of manufacturer Fishing Ammo. NAKED MERMAID: This scandalous bobber was introduced in the 1940s. 1886 YEAR THE JUMPING JACK BOBBER IS INTRODUCED. THE HUMAN-SHAPED FLOAT FLAPS ITS ARMS WHEN A FISH BITES #2,820,317 U.S. PATENT NUMBER AWARDED TO HARRY BASIL IRWIN, FATHER OF THE…

The Patriot heralds a new direction for Mossberg, one that the company is excited about, and rightly so. This rifle is the finest gun Mossberg has built recently both in terms of its performance and its aesthetics. The latter observation is the more evident of the two. The Patriot doesn’t have a typical Mossberg look. I’m not sure there is a kind way to put it, but pretty rifls with sleek lines have not been a hallmark of the company to date. The ATR, 4x4, and MVP Flex rifles, to offer up some modern examples, have their virtues, but sex appeal is not among them. The Patriot, in contrast, has a readily identifi -able classic American look. The company crafted the stock along the lines of the Winchester Model 70.…

Peenting woodcock, peeping frogs, drumming grouse: spring harbingers come in many forms. Nothing, however, signals the arrival of spring like the first gobble of the season. On one subfreezing late-March morning 15 years ago, my buddy Kevin Kilgore and I were determined to be ready to greet it. Spring unofficially arrived shortly before 6 a.m. as we stood along a snow- encrusted field edge. I owl hooted. “There’s that son of a gun,” Kilgore said, pointing to a hilltop a quarter mile distant. “Been in the same dang tree since Ma Thompson died. That’s the first time I heard him. Can’t tell you how many days I’ve hunted him. There’s no calling him in!” It wasn’t until I calculated the years since Ma’s passing that I came to a realization…

When you are standing on an ice sheet that’s 36 inches thick, it seems absurd to think that spring is in the air. But it was. And I could feel it. It was the last week of March, and Pete Palony and I had planned our trip to Minnesota’s famed Lake of the Woods to be here at this precise time. This sprawling inland sea is home to massive numbers of huge pike. The first flag went off a half hour into the day. A pike attacked a live sucker pinned 6 feet off the bottom in 14 feet of water. Within minutes, 14 pounds of thrashing fish hit the ice. We released it after a couple of quick photos. Then one of the cisco-baited tip-ups went off. I set…

Catfishing has come a long way, baby. Once upon a time—like five years ago—the most common approach to catching all species whiskered was to sit on a bucket and throw something stinky in the water. Now, tournament catfishermen (yes, there are high-dollar derbies for catfish) are employing remote-controlled trolling motors, drift socks, side-imaging sonar, and complicated rigs to target blue cats. We talked to two veteran catfish gurus who use a combination of old-school and high-tech methods. However, we forced each to pick a side and detail his most productive tactic. ▪ OUTDOOR LIFE: What is the best way to locate blue cats on a massive fishery? CHAD FERGUSON: If you are talking about fall through winter, it’s pretty simple where I live. All you have to do is drive…