Innholdsfortegnelse for Fall 2018 i Outdoor Life

shooting@outdoorlife.com This year’s Outdoor Life optics test included spotting scopes with binocular eyepieces, binoculars with lightning-fast rangefinders, and several new brands elbowing into this crowded category of gear. There are only so many ways to tweak a binocular or a spotting scope. But this year’s field of riflescopes indicates there are at least a dozen ways to modify a magnified rifle sight, including adding sophisticated electronics, inserting light-activated reticles, beefing up turrets, and even pairing your riflescope with your phone through Bluetooth. In terms of innovation and accuracy-enhancing technology, riflescope design is in hyperdrive, with product introductions this year that will help you shoot better, whether your target is a big-game animal or a distant steel gong. Nearly half the scopes in this year’s test are built for long-range target…

shooting@outdoorlife.com SOME WINGSHOOTERS ARE WILD-BIRD SNOBS. I get the appeal, since I’m lucky enough to live in a place with an abundance of sword-tailed roosters that grow armorlike feathers late in the season, skittish Huns that are prone to flushing wild in the wheat stubble, and grouse that dust on old logging roads in the steepest elk country you’ll ever see. But I’ll never look down my nose at a well-run outfit with planted birds. They are great places to work young dogs and hunt with older companions who can’t hike the uplands the way they used to. And they provide bird-shooting opportunities to thousands of sportsmen who otherwise cannot access wild birds. Plenty of hunters get to experience a bit of each. And though both types of hunts involve…

Squirrels rustle leaves. Bucks snap twigs. Bull elk crack branches. And on a still mountain morning, that crack is a turbo charger that floods your bloodstream with adrenaline. That crack might mean you’re busted and the herd is about to unleash pandemonium across the hillside. Or it might mean the bull you’ve been tracking has stood in its bed to offer a shot before bolting. Three decades ago, on my 16th birthday, the crack meant the herd bull was approaching. My father and I had hiked 3 miles into the Idaho backcountry to hear a bugle at daybreak. Over the next six hours we stalked closer, with Dad drawing in the bull with bugles from a homemade call constructed out of PVC pipe. At noon, we heard the crack. We…

Shooting a limit of roosters on public land is a lot harder than it used to be. Bird numbers are down across most of pheasant country, and hunters who use public ground have taken the hit the hardest. To be successful, you’ve got to switch up conventional tactics. So forget easy fencerow pushes and big drives across grass fields. If you want to kill roosters, focus on large stretches of heavy cover, and that means cattail sloughs, says Anthony Hauck, director of public relations for Pheasants Forever, who spends about 50 days each season chasing public birds with his two cocker spaniels. Think Big Hauck looks for a string of public lands that run together for at least a half section, but a full section is even better. The bigger…

The most tedious part of hunting Canada geese is driving long miles to scout and asking for permission to hunt private ag fields. But when the first blast of winter hits and freezes marshes and ponds, geese flock to rivers to roost and loaf, opening miles and miles of opportunity to the public-water hunter. This is Cabela’s pro staffer and waterfowl nut Jonathan Lewis’ favorite time to chase honkers on his home turf in New York and Pennsylvania. A quick side note: Check local water-access laws (they can be complicated) because many states allow you to hunt from a boat if it can be concealed by vegetation, or from shore if you stay below the normal water-level line. Hit the Bars Lewis keys in on island gravel bars or points…

Sure, everybody and their cousin knows about the local WMA—it’s crowded with hunters and light on game. But how about the Walk-in-Access area just a few miles down the road, or the university land in the next town over? Some of the best hunting opportunities take a little extra research to uncover, so we’ve compiled data that offers a glimpse into how much access is really out there. But there are also significant threats, like plans to transfer federal land to the states. Those issues deserve a look, too. Hunting on Public and Private Lands (2016) Here’s where hunters nationwide head afield. The relationship between federal land ownership (below) and private land hunting in the East and West (right) isn’t a coincidence. Federal Land Ownership, by Region (2015) The 11…

Justin was gone. A moment ago he’d been right behind his dad, sidehilling the ridge to get in position above the bachelor herd. But sometime in the last five minutes the teenager had slipped away into the scrub. Ted Sheedy thought of their emergency radios, switched off for the stalk. Baffled, he backtracked to see where the hell his son had got to.¶ He found trampled sagebrush where Justin had settled prone behind his rifle, but no Justin. Meanwhile, the rams were feeding out of sight into a side draw. The only thing to do was wait. ¶ It was still shooting light when the sheep came pouring back out of the draw. Ted hadn’t heard a shot, but here they were, running right past, eight or nine dust-colored rams,…

▪ You’d almost forgotten last deer season, hadn’t you? Then a few weeks ago, your buddy got his shoulder mount back from the taxidermist and was texting you trail camera photos of all the good bucks under his stands. Looks like he’s in for another awesome year. But all of his bragging reopened the old wounds from last November. Now you have flashbacks of bucks snorting in the distance and dreams of arrows stuck in trees. Those haunting words from your cousin—“I don’t see no blood”—are stuck in your head like the lyrics to a bad pop country tune. Spend more than a weekend in the deer woods and you’re bound to screw up a few opportunities. You can make excuses and then repeat the mistakes this year. Or you…

TENNILLE, GEORGIA THTM WRITE US! IF WE USE YOUR STORY, YOU’LL GET THIS BOOK! “This Happened to Me” has been a fixture of OL since 1940. We’ve compiled our readers’ most hair-raising misadventures in a single volume. You can pore over the 183 pages of this action-packed book knowing you’re in good company. Copies are also available for purchase at outdoorlife.com/THTMBook. » We publish true adventures. Send yours to THTM@OutdoorLife.com. Only those used will be acknowledged.…

MORE BOWHUNTERS than ever are shooting hybrid broadheads, and for good reason. They combine the “it will always cut” reliability of a fixed-blade with the massive cutting diameter of a mechanical. In putting these five hybrids to the test, some of which are brand-new, we found a suite of broadheads that fly great and cut huge holes in stuff—but with enough differences among them to make things interesting. 1. BLOODSPORT GRAVEDIGGER $40 for 3 bloodsportarchery.com The Gravedigger flew well and the blades were sharp. Consistency between each head was excellent. The fixed blades have a 1-inch diameter, and the mechanical blades open to 2 inches. The retention system was mildly concerning. Instead of relying on O-rings or bands, users “tune” deployment by adjusting a tiny hex screw. 2. MUZZY HB-TI…

You could look at the lineup of riflescopes in this year’s test and draw two conclusions. First, there’s little for the average deer hunter who won’t shoot much beyond 100 yards. Second, the optics industry is promoting unethical hunting behavior by peddling scopes—some with electronic brains—that facilitate shooting out to 1,000 yards and beyond. But here’s another way to look at this year’s crop of new optics: All the technology inside these scopes can make you a better shot and a more ethical hunter at any range, as long as you know and obey the limitations of your gear and recognize when it gives you an unfair advantage over the animals you pursue. Put another way, it’s the brain behind the scope—not the one inside it—that controls and limits its…

IF YOU WANT TO experience a bit of ballistic magic, take any large handgun cartridges—the magnums in particular—and run them through a carbine-length rifle barrel. As impressive as they might be in a revolver or large-framed semi-auto, these bullets shift into beast mode with a longer barrel to charge down. That’s what makes the Model 89 lever-action from Big Horn Armory an effective thumper for thick cover and close quarters. Chambered in 500 S&W, which is hardly a slouch in Smith & Wesson’s X-Frames, the M89 elevates the capability of what is already our most potent handgun cartridge. The M89 I tested, also called the Spikedriver, has an 18-inch barrel and, compared to the 101 ∕2-inch tube on my Smith & Wesson Performance Center revolver, jacks up the muzzle velocities…

It’s opening day of duck season in Wisconsin, and somewhere at a public boat ramp right now, there are two grown men arguing. Camo waders buckled down, faces painted, headlamp beams turned on high, neck veins bulging. Their disagreement might go a few different ways (“I was here first,” “You’re going to be too close to our blind,” “I scouted this last week”), but it’s always the same problem: Each guy wants to claim a little piece of marsh that we all own. But that’s not happening here. The pre-dawn hours of my opening day are pitch-dark and dead quiet. Dad and I take a beat-up johnboat that’s older than I am out to a sliver of peat bog that connects two little lakes. There’s plenty of duckweed in these…

HUNTING IN WILD-LIFE REFUGES USFWS is opening 380,000 acres across 40 National Wildlife Refuges to new hunting opportunity, including: • Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge North Dakota • Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge Oklahoma • Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge Oregon SLEEPER SPOTS Here are just five types of underrated hunting grounds 1. Aquatic Management Areas Minnesota, for example, has 198 that cover about 6,000 acres. 2. University Lands Clemson University (17,500 acres), Cornell University (5,300 acres), Purdue University (1,600 acres), and a handful of other schools allow hunting on their property. 3. Indian Reservations Rosebud in South Dakota, Crow in Montana, and Winnebago in Nebraska offer great bird-hunting opportunities to nonmembers. Buy licenses through tribal fish and game departments. 4. Army Corps of Engineers Lands In Texas alone, 188,000 acres…

WE GATHERED AROUND a square of turf in the dark with a cold firepit in the center and small open-faced huts on two sides, their openings facing the middle. The other side of the square was a patch of dirt. This was where the trucks and vans that had ferried us to this spot in the Polish countryside were parked. The large field surrounding us had trees along its edge that showed ink-black against the outline of the still-dark sky. The hint of dawn in the east was muted by clouds. We were a polyglot band of hunters. English was the language most of us had in common, though it was delivered in thick accents that originated in Italy, France, Poland, Norway, Germany, Ireland, New York, and Texas. As far…

As I slide Pastor Bob Ford a fresh PBR, I notice that his hands look like he’d just wrestled a meat g rinder. The day before, Ford had shredded his hands on cactus and barbwire while chasing mountain cottontails. “I hope they heal by Sunday,” Ford says. “My parishioners don’t like taking communion from bloody hands.” Methodist pastor Bob Ford, nicknamed the Beagle Bard for his fondness for writing about the hounds, is from State College, Pennsylvania. He’s hard to miss even among the grizzled journalists at the writer’s event where I met him in Montana. With a stature reminiscent of his days as a tight-end playing college football and a beard suggestive of ZZ Top, Ford’s passion is rabbit hunting. I’d first heard of mountain cottontails only a few…

CARIBOU ARE AMONG NORTH America’s most cyclical biggame species. Using tree-scar evidence, researchers say that populations of Quebec caribou have yo-yoed widely over the last 200 years, responding to weather and predator numbers. That caribou are fickle creatures is about all that stakeholders can agree on. The engines of population dynamics? Depends on who you ask. And I asked a dozen people, including ministers with Quebec’s Ministry of Forestry, Wildlife, and Parks, who declined to comment. In general, government officials attribute the decline to a bit of everything, including hunting, changes in vegetation, and climate change, which has likely limited the habitat on the tip of the Ungava Peninsula where caribou go to calve. Traditionally, this area has been devoid of blackflies and wolves during calving season. But changes in…

Long-range shooting is a hot trend in hunting, driven by improvements in rifles, optics, and ammo. I’m a poor long-range shot. I don’t practice at those distances and so have no business shooting game at extended ranges (to say nothing about what can go wrong at such distances with even the most proficient shooter). But there are more fundamental reasons why I try to get as close as possible when I’m hunting. In our annual optics test (p. 34), you’ll see that there is an arms race among companies to build riflescopes that use rangefinding technology, Bluetooth, smart reticles, and phone apps to make it possible for hunters to shoot accurately at ranges that would’ve astounded our fathers and grandfathers. Equipment that aids in making a clean, quick kill—the primary…

One of Outdoor Life’s central missions has always been comprehensive coverage of outdoor gear, then letting you know what works, what doesn’t, and how products can be improved. We give that same honest feedback directly to manufacturers. We’re now using that expertise to develop our own gear under the name OL Guide Life. We’re not just putting our name on existing products. OL’s experts are involved in the entire process, from concept to design to product testing. The product line starts where many adventures begin: base camp. Whether you’re hunting, or at a lakeside fish camp, or at a campground for the weekend with the family, having a home base that is comfortable and inviting makes every activity more enjoyable. All of the products in the OL Guide Life line…

Our testing protocol took full advantage of the backyard bow-shop mentality, employing readily available items to evaluate key categories under real-world conditions. For accuracy, 3-shot groups with each broadhead from a tuned bow were compared to field-point groups from the same bow at distances of 25 and 40 yards. Sharpness was evaluated with a trio of slicing challenges: taut rubber bands, arm hair, and paper. The bleed-out test paired water-filled milk jugs with a stopwatch. Each broadhead had to hit its respective jug in the same place for the results to count. Consistency in weight between heads was measured using a precision scale, and cutting potential was determined by adding together every possible1 ⁄8 inch of cutting surface on each head. A steel-belted radial tire was used for penetration testing.…

Knowledge and effort. That’s what it takes to successfully hunt public land. You need skills and a good game plan to outwit critters that have adapted specifically to avoid hunting pressure. But know-how gets you only so far. On the level playing field of America’s public lands, a little extra sweat often makes the difference between punched tags and empty game bags. So we’ve put together a mountain of tactics from expert public-land hunters, plus a collection of stories that capture the essence of hunting public ground. We hope the tactics give you an edge this fall and the stories keep the fire burning hot all season long.…

Big muley bucks fed in the valley below, darkness shrouding them from danger. Far from any road and safe from the average hunter, they would likely feed past my ridgetop position in the morning. I snuggled deeper into my sleeping bag, took one last look at the stars, and fell asleep. Tomorrow would be opening day, and I was right on top of the biggest, hardest-to-access bucks in the territory. In today’s era of dwindling mule deer numbers, burgeoning habitat loss, and restricted access, a mature public-land mule deer buck is one of the hardest-won big-game trophies in North America. Bivy hunting is my ace-in-the-hole technique for pursuing old mule deer bucks before the rut gets cranking and bucks become unpredictable. Simply put, I sleep on the mountain with the…

I was halfway up the ridge before dawn revealed the hot track I had stumbled upon. I was hunting a designated wilderness area in New York’s Adirondacks, and while I didn’t have the snow that big-woods hunters dream about, days of heavy rain created unique conditions that made tracks jump out of the saturated duff of the forest floor. The trail was headed vaguely toward my destination—up—so I followed it. It led me to a high saddle, where I noticed a freshly broken branch lying across the tracks, which caused me to take a closer look. A buck’s rack had caught on a piece of deadfall, snapped it, and dropped it across the trail. Game on. The track took me over the saddle into a basin filled with beaver dams,…

MIXING PAIN AND PLEASURE is the recipe behind so many of our most satisfying pastimes. Countless activities are built around a period of suffering followed by a payoff of smug satisfaction that you made it through the self-imposed ordeal: running a marathon, a morning at the gym, temporarily abstaining from coffee, booze, or whatever your vice. But packing a big-game animal out of the woods or mountains stands alone. You’ve already worked and struggled and been rewarded with the terrific payoff of a successful hunt. And then, well before that glow can fade, the real suffering begins. First, let’s be clear about what constitutes a pack out. It’s not dragging the critter 100 yards or so to a spot you can get to with the truck or ATV. If you…

fishing@outdoorlife.com Fish are busy in fall. They’ve got things to do, baitfish to eat, and more comfortable living quarters to find before winter. It’s a time of year when everything is on the move; ’tis the season of migration. That journey might be local, simply transplanting fish from one part of the lake to another. Or it might push fish along hundreds of miles of coastline, ending a fierce bite in one state and kicking it off in another. But the odometer reading for any journey is irrelevant. What matters to anglers is that at some point in autumn, Mother Nature will flip the switch, and those crappies, trout, redfish, or pike will no longer be found at whichever summer haunt had been treating you so well. This shift can…