Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2024 i Game & Fish East

I admit that I probably focus too much time on whitetails and other big-game species in the fall to take full advantage of the bird hunting that the season offers. A few upland trips are all that I seem to put together most years. It’s a quality over quantity thing, though, as I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad day hunting birds. Can’t say the same for deer. Bird hunters across the country herald the coming of September, as in many states it marks the start of the upland season. Doves are usually the first birds, followed by woodcock and ruffed grouse in the Northeast, prairie chickens in the Midwest and prairie grouse in the West. Pheasants and quail come later, though they’re at the forefront of hunters’ minds…

The .300 AAC Blackout cartridge emerged a decade into the 21st century. While functionally a short and weak version of the .30-30 Win., the cartridge’s cool name and excellent suitability for suppressed shooting made it a hit. Seemingly over-night, a plethora of new bolt-action and semi-automatic rifles were offered in .300 Blackout. Simultaneously, it seemed, the suppressor industry swelled. Today, suppressors are one of the fastest growing segments of the firearms industry, and not only are they selling like never before, they’re also changing the makeup of the modern bolt-action rifle. THREADS Not all that long ago, a threaded muzzle on a factory-built rifle was considered an upgraded feature. Today, it’s essentially standard, and few new rifles—regardless of caliber or chambering—are offered without threaded muzzles. This is because most…

Truth be told, until recently I’d rarely gone out to specifically hunt turkeys during fall. Sure, I went a few times during my 25-year love affair with the bird, but typically I’d buy fall tags hoping to fill one while in the middle of whitetail pursuits if a hapless turkey happened to amble by. I managed to kill a couple that way and enjoyed the bounty, nonetheless. However, there’s a master’s level of outdoor chess to be enjoyed once you engage in the fall turkey game. It’s challenging and rewarding—and possibly as good as turkey hunting gets. I’m super thankful I don’t have to choose between whitetails and turkeys. Over the past few years, the choice has been made for me because of my circumstances. Where I live in the…

Bears are built somewhat differently than deer. They have much thicker hides and denser bones, making proper shot placement even more important. Even with a firearm, you should only take broadside or quartering-away shots. Otherwise, a shot that might kill a deer will only wound a bear, leading to a long, frustrating and potentially dangerous night of tracking.…

Slowly and carefully, I eased across the hardwood ridge. It felt as if it took an eternity to make even one simple step. My eyes continuously scanned the treetops, and I took each stride through the bed of dried leaves with the utmost care. The quarry may have been a gray squirrel weighing all of one pound, but I moved as if I were hunting bull elk—slowly, carefully, no broken sticks or other noise. The goal was to gain range before they knew I was there. If you don’t think a super-stealthy approach is necessary when squirrel hunting, guess again. In a lot of ways, this is the essence of still-hunting for squirrels. Where I live in Appalachia, we inherited this form of hunting from the likes Daniel Boone and…

In the world of East Coast salt-water fishing, casting from the surf with your feet firmly planted in the sand is as basic as it gets. Yet, surf fishing is not quite that simple. Fish abound, from stripers to blues to fluke, but as with any fishing, the more you learn about it the more involved it can get. Here are some surf-fishing basics to get you started. TARGET-RICH ENVIRONMENT Without a doubt, surf fishing’s epicenter is the East Coast—aka the Striper Coast—from Maine through North Carolina. Boulder fields, jetties and sandy shores all attract striped bass, considered the No. 1 gamefish in the surf. In spring and fall, striped bass, along with bluefish, migrate up and down the Eastern Seaboard, following the 58- to 65-degree water gradient as they…

Occasionally Shane and his father fished Lake Guymon, which was usually packed with anglers and especially recreationists during the summer months. It seemed a little strange to Shane that they’d wade into the mass of people on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, but as they pulled into the busy parking lot and witnessed the chaos of the three-lane boat ramp, his father’s motive was revealed. “The thing about a public boat ramp is, you’ve got to block out all the noise and just focus on the task at hand,” said Shane’s father. “Don’t worry about what other people are doing, because plenty of them don’t know what they’re doing either.” “Oh no,” said Shane nervously. He had only recently received his driver’s license, although he wasn’t totally green when…

TIME TO HUNT! September brings a variety of hunting opportunities across the country, from upland birds to archery bucks. Look in our “Hunting” section to get expert advice on almost any method for a wide range of game. BINGE ON BASS Our video series “Bass Crash Course” continues to expand with new episodes to help you catch a wall-hanger, including “Offshore Cranking for Lunkers.” Find all episodes under “Special Collections.” NEW PATH FOR CZ In “Range Report: CZ 600 Alpha Hunting Rifle,” Darren Choate reports that CZ’s new-generation bolt gun is a modern blend of technology and ergonomics at a comfortable price point. WORLD-RECORD ELK When Timothy Carpenter tagged a giant elk last September, he didn’t know the world would notice. It did. Read more: “World Record Roosevelt’s Elk Smashes…

For some bowhunters, September ushers in the first opening day of the year. For others, the start of bow season is still a few weeks away. Regardless of which camp you’re in, this is likely true: There are still a few last-minute tasks to attend to before things get really serious. I admit to fully being in that boat. No matter how much I plan, I seem to be always scrambling to finalize details as a new season begins. There’s also another bit of truth to be had here. With archery seasons rolling, the impacts of momentum and kinetic energy are being felt in game across the nation. I shoot a few arrows a week throughout the summer, so any last-minute tuning task is usually pretty quick because I’m careful…

From a young age, Hal Blood always wanted to figure out the “why” behind what he was seeing in the deer woods. That attitude turned him into a master woodsman, a buck-tracking icon and the author of several books on the subject. Last season, I had a chance to hunt with Blood on both fresh snow and bare ground. Each condition presented a unique set of challenges, but over bare ground, I got to see firsthand how Blood breaks up the woods and uses the “why” behind deer behavior to zero in on big bucks. When most hunters would park themselves in a treestand, Blood is out there walking around, looking for sign and trying to put himself in a buck’s bedroom. Here are a few of the tips I…

Rowdy didn’t have a problem tacking down the woodcock in the alder hell we call the King’s Cover, but I sure was going to have a tough time connecting. The full-leaf canopy kept the September sun at bay, a seep ran down the middle, and that combination concentrated a ton of birds. If I were lucky, I’d fill my eight-bird limit and fish for New Brunswick Atlantic salmon for the rest of the day. And so began another season of chasing woodcock from their northern breeding grounds to their southern wintering grounds, a rite of fall I look forward to every year. As always, I’d follow the flights as far as my wallet would allow. PREFERRED HABITAT Woodcock favor young forests between 10 and 30 years old, with nitrogen-rich soil…

What features should a woodcock gun have? A light and responsive shotgun is ideal for the thick coverts. Shorter barrel lengths of 26 or 28 inches are ideal, as are stocks and fore-ends with less wood. One reason that many woodcock hunters favor side-by-sides is they come with a splinter fore-end and a straight English stock. Lars Jacob of Wild Surroundings in Vermont is one of the country’s foremost gun fitters. “Side-bys with straight stocks are lethal because the design allows the shooter’s front and rear hands to work well together,” he says. “Both wrists are nearly parallel and relaxed. Together they move the shotgun to the cheek in a flat, unstaggered mount. Semi-pistol grips offer some comfort, but the rear hand runs at about a 45-degree angle to the…

I don’t know many people who have unsettled opinions about wolves. Most hunters I know, especially those in the Upper Midwest and West who live among the wild canines, would like permanent permission to hunt them. Animal-rights activists would like us to stop hunting everywhere and want to restore wolves into vacant habitats across the country. Many citizens who live far from the apex predators like the idea of more wolves on the landscape as symbols of a sort of fierce wildness that has been lost across much of America. Those differing viewpoints have moved wolf management from one pole to the other over the last decade, as federal protections have been imposed, then removed, then reinstated, often by court order. The result has been seesaw management that has sowed…

It’s the silence that you first notice. Initially it’s just a feeling that something is different, but you can’t quite put your finger on what it it. The realization arrives slowly, like a Polaroid photo coming into focus: the crickets! That constant, monotonous din you had dismissed as background noise as you sat on your stand has stopped and the woods are dead quiet. That’s how you know there’s a bear nearby, and you fight to contain yourself, moving only your eyes so as not to give away your presence. You rarely hear a bear moving through the woods. When you do, it’s either a sow with reckless cubs or a big boar alerting others to his approach. Otherwise, these black forest ghosts can move without sound, even on the…

Since its introduction in 2008, the Browning X-Bolt has proven itself as a leading big-game hunting rifle and garnered legions of fans from coast to coast. Sixteen years on, the new X-Bolt 2 builds upon the success of its predecessor with 14 different versions ranging in price from $1,100 to $4,000. Last December, I took the moderately-priced X-Bolt 2 Speed on a hunt for Carmen Mountain whitetails in South Texas, and since then have spent some time with it at the range. The rifle’s design characteristics and performance have impressed me both in the field and at the bench. At the heart of the X-Bolt 2 Speed is the highly customizable Vari-Tech composite stock, with its adjustable comb height, length of pull and grip styles. To adjust the comb height,…