Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2023 i Game & Fish East

I still get chills when I remember my first encounter with a bugling bull elk at close range. Hunting northern New Mexico with a muzzleloader, I shadowed my guide, Troy, through the cedars as he occasionally blew a cow call. The day wasn’t an hour old when a bull responded just down a low ridge, and we hustled, quietly with the wind quartering across our foreheads, to close the distance. We had gone 300 yards or so and then stopped to listen. Hearing nothing, Troy hit the cow call again, and the bull screamed in our faces. The response was so loud that it seemed like the bull was standing on our toes. I had heard plenty of gobblers sound off within mere yards before, but this was something else.…

Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past few years, odds are you’ve caught wind of the tree-saddle movement. If you believe even half of what you’ve likely heard about these odd contraptions, you’ve probably been led to believe they are the single-greatest invention since the digital trail camera. Admittedly, I’ve used saddles for a while and, in fact, employed one long before the current saddle hoopla took root. After several seasons using a saddle setup in a handful of states, I definitely have an opinion based on experience. And? They’re just OK. Surprised? Well, I am quite certain my less-than-enthusiastic opinion on them will raise a few eyebrows from the die-hard proponents of saddles. However, that’s just the way I feel about them. In some situations, saddles are…

I rolled into a camp after midnight one season. I pitched a small tent next to my truck and tried getting some sleep as it had been a long drive. About 3 a.m. bugling bulls awoke me. I couldn’t get back to sleep, anxiously awaiting sunrise. I hunted all day and didn’t see or hear an elk. The same thing happened the following night, and again I hunted the area and didn’t see an animal. On the third night I got up when I heard the elk. I followed them and could even see them in the glow of the full moon. I learned those elk were traveling 3 miles every night to feed, returning to their bedding area in the middle of the night. Over the years I’ve scouted…

WHITETAILS Mechanical Recommendation RAGE HYPODERMIC Grains: 100 Number of Blades: 2 Cutting Diameter: 2” Fixed-Blade Recommendation WASP HAVALON HV Grains: 125 Number of Blades: 3 Cutting Diameter: 1 3/16” Mechanical or fixed? One hundred grains, 125 grains or larger? Today’s bowhunters have a wide array of broadheads to choose from—even ones designed for hunting specific species. But what is the best way to go? There is no easy answer, and I’m not fool enough to think the question will be put to rest here. The debate has been going on far too long, opinions are firmly set, and there are too many variables in play. However, one thing we can all agree on is that a broadhead must provide a good flight pattern, proper penetration and lots of cutting and…

It can be said I love hunting deer. Same for turkeys. But when it comes to hunting bears, I have a deep passion. I killed my first bear more years ago than I like to admit on the side of a spruce-covered mountain just south of Jackman, Maine. The hunt took place over bait, and the experience and thrill of seeing the bear sneak in with barely a sound and provide an upclose muzzleloader shot opportunity got under my skin. Baiting is a productive method of hunting bears, but here in the East only two states, Maine and New Hampshire, allow the practice. As bear numbers increase and more states open or expand hunting opportunities, a tactic growing in popularity is calling with mouth calls and, where legal, electronic units.…

The afternoon hunt in Roanoke County, Va., proved fascinating. After climbing into my hang-on stand around 3:30 p.m., I observed a flock of turkeys feeding through the field adjoining the stand. An hour later, a sow black bear and two cubs also checked out the opening. But when a mature doe graced the surroundings around 5:30, I felt that old familiar rush of adrenaline that means so much to bowhunters. The doe finally paused to browse on a forb, and that was when I touched the crossbow’s trigger. The shot felt right, and as the whitetail ran up a slight incline, I could tell she was about to fall. When she did, the season’s first venison was soon on its way to the freezer. The next weekend I tagged another…

Pity the recent hunter education graduates this month, brand new hunting licenses in their pockets and gleaming new shotguns on their shoulders. They are over-ready to use both in the dove seasons that open in 41 states on Sept. 1. Why should you pity these particular humans? Because the dove opener, the day that may send more American hunters into the field than any other day of the year, is so fraught with expectation and disappointment that few new hunters come out of it unaffected. For some, the fast action and communal spirit of wingshooting cements a lifelong passion for hunting. But for other beginners, it’s just too chaotic for their liking, and they associate all other methods of hunting with the cacophony and undirected energy of a dove field.…

If bass and walleyes were enemy submarines, they’d now be directly in the sights of the many anglers using forward-facing sonar (FFS), the amazing, “steerable” live sonar that allows anglers to pick their targets and deliver lures to them in real time. When the bite is dialed in, it’s basically video-game fishing: See the target, put your lure in front of it, reel in the fish. While it’s sometimes not that simple, often it is. Many pro-level bass and walleye tournaments that occur when fish are offshore are now won by anglers who use forward-facing sonar as a major part of their strategy. And it’s becoming increasingly rare to find a guide who doesn’t have one of these units mounted on the bow of his boat. Even when the graphed…

Terry Moore and I were working a brushy pocket in western South Dakota. There were tracks going in, and the wind was into the cover. Something was bound to happen. Yep, sure did. I was on the downhill side when the buck exploded. A gorgeous four-by-four headed for the skyline but didn’t make it. I dropped him on the open hillside. An hour later, Terry shot a big-bodied, heavy-antlered three-by-three. We both used familiar rifles built by mutual friend Lex Webernick at Rifles, Inc. Terry’s was in .280 Rem.; mine in .300 Wby. Mag. Neither shot was far. You could say that Terry’s choice was better than mine. I wouldn’t argue, but regardless of chambering, there is never anything wrong with using a favorite rifle that gives you confidence. I…

Christensen Arms was founded in 1995 by Dr. Roland Christensen, an aerospace scientist, and initially focused on utilizing carbon-fiber materials to create lightweight, high-strength components for the aerospace and medical industries. Driven by his passion for firearms and a desire to revolutionize the industry, Dr. Christensen turned his attention to applying carbon-fiber technology to rifle barrels. In 1997, Christensen Arms introduced its first carbon-fiber-wrapped barrel, setting a new standard for accuracy, weight reduction and heat dissipation. This break-through technology quickly gained recognition and established the company as a pioneer in the field. Eventually, Christensen Arms expanded its product line to include complete rifles based on its success with barrels. These rifles featured state-of-the-art stocks and precision components to offer shooters outstanding performance and accuracy. The combination of aerospace-grade materials…

I doubt we know who first uttered the words, “The .308 is great.” I first heard them from outdoor writer John Barsness. We were in a hunting lodge near Uvalde, Texas, and he was advising a young man on what cartridge to have his first custom rifle chambered in. Since then, I’ve unapologetically stolen those words when offering similar advice. But I’m told the great gun writer John Wootters once wrote something similar in an article about the .308 Winchester. Regardless, those four words are a declaration that is undeniably true. I believe the .308 Win. is the best general-purpose big-game rifle cartridge. You probably don’t agree, and this is partly because cartridge selection is a very personal thing; it’s how we all individualize our hunting tools. Often, relationships between…

I was two days into a seven-day archery elk hunt in the Montana backcountry. On the first morning I had found rubs running along one particular ridge, more than I’d ever seen before or since. The mid-September conditions were hot. By 8 a.m. the thermals were rising, forcing me to keep the high ground above the elk. All the rubs were below me, some more than 100 yards down the hillside. They were easy to see with a binocular in the sparse, young pine forest. I’d hunted the entire length of the ridge, well over 2 miles of it, multiple times. With so many rubs, I moved slowly, calling when it felt right. I never heard a single bugle. After two days of this, I decided to drop down the…

There are three basic components for forward-facing sonar fishing, whether you choose Humminbird, Garmin or Lowrance. First is the monitor—and the larger the better. Ten-inch diagonals and up are preferred; most guides and pro anglers are fishing 12-inch monitors presently, and a few even run 16-inchers. Opt for the largest screen you can afford. The second necessity is the steerable transducer, which comes with a shaft mount. Most anglers mount this on the trolling motor, but because this forces the system to look only in the direction the motor is pointed, some prefer a dedicated pivoting shaft that is raised and lowered separately from the troller. Humminbird now has a remote-controlled unit that mounts on the trolling motor but that can pivot separately from the troller shaft. The third component…

Bergmann’s ecogeographical rule states that the closer to the poles you go, the larger an animal will be relative to other members of its species living closer to the equator. Named after the German biologist Carl Bergmann, who first described the pattern in 1847, this phenomenon is best illustrated by penguins. The emperor penguins of Antarctica are about 3 feet tall and weigh more than 50 pounds. The Galapagos penguins residing close to the equator measure 18 to 20 inches and weigh less than 6 pounds. The Magellanic penguin of Argentina (residing latitudinally between the two penguins mentioned above) stands slightly taller than 2 feet tall and weighs 8 to 14 pounds. The same principle applies to whitetail deer. Generally, the farther north you travel, the larger the body size…

The greatest game dog I’ve known was Nimrod of the Limpopo. His exploits recovering game and fighting with leopards and baboons made him a legend in South Africa’s Limpopo province. I was fortunate to share the field with Nimrod on three safaris. He was a big dog, a crossbreed with some bulldog, some pointer and probably a little Rhodesian ridgeback mixed in. He was relentless on a blood trail and could bring down wounded game as large as wildebeest. Though I didn’t need his services, I never knew of him to fail when supporting other hunters. Nimrod was a one-in-a-million dog, and I doubt another like him will ever follow a trail. Game dogs the likes of Nimrod are not used very often nowadays, especially here in the states. Even…