Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2020 i Game & Fish East

I’LL PROBABLY take some ribbing for writing this, but I think smartphones are one of the most useful, perhaps important, developments for hunters and anglers in the past 20 years. When’s the last time you didn’t use your phone to at least check in with someone during a hunting or fishing trip? At a bare minimum, phones allow us to communicate our intentions to interested parties—loved ones as well as fellow hunters and anglers—from the field and water. I can text my wife a pic of the fresh rubline I just found, which, sorry babe, is going to make me just a little bit late for supper while I move my stand. Sending such an update takes seconds, and it’s nearly silent. But, of course, our phones do more than…

I LOVE the look of traditional bluing, but re-bluing a firearm is complicated and requires a lot of chemicals. A more practical option is to refinish the metal and even the stock, frame and grips with a spray-on coating. Spray coatings are much easier to deal with and offer a lot of options in colors and finishes. Plus, they can be applied to just about any material. There is a wide range of spray-on coatings available. Some require curing in an oven while others will cure in the air. Air-cure products I have had good luck with include Cerakote C, DuraCoat and Brownells Aluma-Hyde II. The last two are available in several application options, including rattle cans, which are a fast and easy way to finish a gun. Cerakote must…

MANY ARDENT squirrel-doggers are strictly riflemen. They pride themselves in pinpoint accuracy and taking only head shots, which makes cleaning squirrels easier. The majority use .22 LR rifles, but some prefer the .22 WMR, although the latter has potential to damage more meat. The shotgun has a following for squirrels, too, and is especially handy early in the season when there is a lot of foliage. A squirrel racing through a dense treetop is much easier to bring down with a shotgun. Here are two models, a .22 and a 20-gauge, that seem purpose-built for hunting squirrels with dogs. CZ-USA Upland Ultralight With any shotgun you will carry all day in the squirrel woods, weight should be a primary factor. No matter how good the hunting is, you will carry…

Consistently delivering accurate shots is no easy assignment. The shooter must possess a disciplined trigger pull and great form. Of course, a quality shooting platform is also critical. CZ has built a strong following by making feature-rich rifles to exacting tolerances, and offering them at very reasonable retail prices. I recently used the CZ 457 Varmint chambered in .17 HMR, and it was simply a treat to shoot. The 457 Varmint features a cold-hammer-forged bull barrel and pillar bedding that keeps it accurate no matter the conditions. The trigger is delightful, adjustable for both travel and pull weight—a real plus on a rimfire. Barrels are swappable between .22 and .17 for those who want to shoot both calibers. If you’re shopping for a quality rimfire rifle with high-end features that’s…

Ice-fishing rods of yesteryear were little more than too-short, too-stiff versions of second-rate open-water rods. If you’re missing bites or losing fish through the ice, then your troubleshooting sequence should begin with your rod. Traditionally, ice-fishing rods have been manufactured from solid graphite blanks for sensitivity—needed for light-biting panfish—or solid fiberglass blanks for toughness. These two blank materials still serve as the foundation for most commercial, and even hand-made custom, ice rods. However, notable advances in manufacturing techniques, and the smooth transfer of technology once reserved for open-water rods, has resulted in the arrival of contemporary ice rods that will help anglers detect more bites and catch more fish. The Croix Custom Ice series from St. Croix Rod, for example, includes incredibly lightweight rods made from tubular graphite blanks, as…

GOLFERS ARE fond of saying, “drive for show, putt for dough,” emphasizing the importance of the short game. The same can be said for river walleye fishing during the winter, which is another short game. Much of the fishing is below the boat; casts, when made, are short and precise. No need for a long rod. Shorter spinning rods excel, like St. Croix’s Eyecon ECS63MXF, a 6-foot, 3-inch stick that functions superbly in this situation. Its light weight is welcomed when holding a vertically fished jig-and-minnow for hours as well as when snapping blade baits. The cork/EVA handle doesn’t hold the cold like metal reel seats, another plus during cold winter days.Also worthy of mention is the new 5-foot, 8-inch Eyecon ECS58HF, dubbed the “Heavy Metal,” a rod that should…

WITH ALL the attention given to shooting at distance, ballistic coefficient (BC) gets talked about a lot. It seems like there’s a race between ammo companies to see who can create a hunting bullet with the best BC. The reality is that for many hunters, BC is not that important. However, many have fallen victim to this need for speed, and practically speaking, speed is all that BC represents. Let me explain. A bullet’s BC is a number generated by a mathematical formula that reflects the projectile’s estimated ability to overcome air resistance in flight. The larger the number, the less susceptible the bullet is to drag imposed by the atmosphere. Ballistic coefficient has very little to do with a bullet’s ability to damage tissue or kill an animal; it…

WHEN HUNTER education classes are in session across America’s Deer Belt, I’m one of the thousands of volunteer instructors who get the privilege of spending a few hours in front of a classroom of wide-eyed and slightly fidgety students. Those of you who graduated from these courses a full generation ago knew them as “hunter safety” classes. The focus of the instruction was on muzzle control, knowledge of the different types of firearm actions and how to prove they are safe. (That’s the subject of a trick question, by the way, since we know guns are simple tools that can never be either safe or lethal. It’s the operator who makes them one or the other.) For nearly every American hunter, these courses were the gateway to becoming a certified,…

IF YOU use natural deer-urine products in your hunting strategy, you should pay close attention to developing rules in the states in which you hunt. An increasing number of states are limiting or banning the use of natural deer and other cervid urine, citing concerns about chronic wasting disease (CWD). The bans have not come without controversy over how CWD is transmitted and how it may be controlled. These bans have been fueled in part by a recommendation from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), which is the governing body of all the state game and fish agencies. AFWA has published a set of best management practices for chronic wasting disease, and one of the recommendations is a ban on natural urine products. A similar recommendation has come…

STREAKS OF pink across a gray horizon allowed Shane to make out the silhouette of a deer as it crossed a frosty cutover. Perched on a single notched board wedged between two low branches in a pecan tree, the boy raised his muzzleloader but struggled to see its sights. It was just too dark. Three minutes seemed like three hours before antlers on the deer’s head became visible. A 6-pointer! The buck quartered toward him, 35 yards away, with its head down feeding. Its chest was exposed. Shaking big-time now, Shane placed the bead on the largest area of the buck’s chest. He didn’t remember pulling the trigger, only the roar of the muzzleloader and the thick gray smoke that hung like a blinding fog in the windless air. When…

PEOPLE ARE understandably big fans of labels. We like things categorized in tidy silos for quick identification and a common frame of reference to share with those in our interest groups. The terminology, colloquialisms and pursuit-specific vernacular we bestow upon the gear we use, the animals we pursue and the techniques we employ have become a language all its own. And then there are fishing rods. Benjamin Franklin said, “Beauty, like supreme dominion, is supported by opinion.” Well, if beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then so, too, must be the designation given to a medium-heavy rod. Or a medium-light. Or a medium-fast or … you get the idea. See for yourself: Visit your favorite tackle retailer and take a walk down the racks of rods. An Abu…

A THICK stand of beech saplings grabs at my sleeves and tries to hold me back as I detour around a large blowdown, but I won’t be deterred. Just ahead the dogs are making a racket, treed in a big red oak. I hear brush breaking to my right as my buddy hurries to get to the tree as well. With heart rate and respirations increased, I feel the old familiar pull—the pull that drives the hunter when his dogs are treed. They plead to me with persistent barking. “We’ve got ’em right here!” they seem to say. “Hurry up!” The excitement of the dogs is infectious, and I hurry as much as I can. I think about how the pull that brings me to the tree dates back to…

THERE WAS a time when a round fired meant food for the table. Today, hunting is more about sport and fun than food, but hunters still must strive for a good shot to generate an ethical kill. That ability means accuracy, even when pursuing small game in the late season, such as squirrels. Of course, when temperatures get really cold, accuracy often suffers for a variety of reasons, such as bulky clothing and even cold air. It can be downright difficult to comfortably line up sights through layers of clothing to tag a target through the dense air of late winter. There are ways, though, to obtain one-shot accuracy regardless of how far the mercury dips. To do this, hunters must take a look at their equipment, both on their…

FOR ANGLERS across the ice belt, and particularly in the Northeast, crappies are one of the most popular panfish targets on hard water. Predictable locations for finding large numbers of crappies, and a general willingness to feed consistently beneath lakes’ frozen caps, contribute to countless successful papermouth excursions every winter. Once the shallow bite associated with the first-ice period subsides, crappies settle into a routine that you can easily learn and use to your advantage. Take lots of notes because your midwinter crappie class is now in session! CRAPPIES LIKE IT DEEP During midwinter, a significant fraction of any particular lake’s crappie population will be found in deep water—but not necessarily the deepest water available. Let’s break down crappies’ preferred depth range based on the size and overall depth of…

Standard trout-fishing waders and jackets are not going to cut it for cold-weather offshore saltwater excursions for pollock and other deep-sea favorites. Anglers can expect winter weather at its worst, and department store bargain outfits won’t get the job done. To make the most of your time in the Northeast’s coastal waters in winter, the Simms Challenger insulated fishing bibs are warm, waterproof and designed for long days on the wild, wind-swept ocean. Heavy-duty zippers at the legs and chest make getting into and out of these made-for-saltwater bibs a snap. For extreme cold and wind try Simms’ hooded Challenger insulated jacket is lined with PrimaLoft Silver insulation. Storm flaps, hand warmer pockets and a storm hood combine to provide maximum protection from persistent winds, icy salt spray. MSRP: $299.95,…