Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2017 i Petersen's Hunting

It’s the one month of the year I look forward to the most. Not only because so much is happening, but also because it is the harbinger of so much more to come. In July, fall seems too far away to even contemplate, and the doldrums of a sweltering August day don’t make thoughts of hunting appealing. But like old age slowly creeping up on youth, one day you wake up on a September morning, stroll outside to sip coffee, pee in the bushes alongside the garage and your bare feet will be met by something new on the grass—not quite frost, but more than summer dew. It’s not so much that it requires shoes, but it’s enough. Enough to know fall is coming. Breathe in the air, the coolness…

BULLET BASICS Created by molecularly fusing a copper jacket around a perfectly swaged lead core, Fusion projectiles are perhaps the ultimate development of the traditional cup-and-core hunting bullet. Because the construction method basically bonds the jacket to the core, Fusions are tough and resist jacket/core separation. The construction method is also immaculately precise, resulting in a superbly consistent bullet that tends to shoot way out of its price league. TESTING GROUND An acquaintance shot a Utah muley with the bullet pictured. He took the buck at about 70 yards with a .270 Winchester. The estimated impact velocity was 2,900 fps. FIELD PERFORMANCE Impacting just behind the quartering-to shoulder, the 130-grain Fusion plowed through some 20 inches of bone, muscle, and vitals before coming to rest against the hide in the…

The headlamp casts a red glow on the game trail that winds up the steep slope, and with each step I can feel my heart rate climbing, my calves knotting up, and my lungs stretching a little more than they want to at this early hour. Early hunting season can bring a series of regrets about inadequate preparation for the season. Gear, ammo, and tags can be purchased on-line and delivered to your door or picked up on your way out of town, but shooting skills and fitness are two aspects of hunting that take time to develop. You often hear hunters say that the first few weeks of the season are just training for the rest of the fall, but each day in the field is valuable, so why…

SOUS-VIDE SMOKED ELK WITH SMOKED CHERRY REDUCTION This multi-step recipe does take some time, about 3 hours at a minimum. But the results are well worth it, especially with the addition of a smoked cherry reduction. Also, the smoke/sous-vide/sear process works on any wild game, from elk backstraps to deer steaks to duck breast. Just adjust the sous-vide time accordingly to match the thickness and preferred doneness of the meat. INGREDIENTS 1 chunk of elk back- strap, 8–10 inches long Cabela’s Open Season Seasoning 3 tbs. butter 4 garlic cloves, smashed 2 thyme sprigs DIRECTIONS 1. Set up a smoker to smoke over low temperature (around 150–170 degrees). Preheat your sous-vide immersion circulator to 129 degrees for rare or 134 degrees for medium-rare. 2. Season the backstrap with all-purpose wild-game…

WILDERNESS HUNTS require tremendous preparation, everything from securing tags and scouting to setting up camps and practicing with your rifle. For most hunters, though, this is all a labor of love, an essential part of the backcountry experience. Perhaps you’ll be working with a team of close friends, a guide, or an outfitter, or maybe you’re planning on hunting solo. Whichever way you go, a wilderness hunt can be an unforgettable adventure. For a small percentage of hunters each year, though, backcountry hunts turn into a nightmare. It can happen in an instant: a misstep in steep, rocky country; an errant slip of a sharp skinning knife; a plunge through ice that was too thin to cross. Medical emergencies are not reserved for wilderness hunts. You could be injured in…

KEITH RUSH appeared as a ghostly apparition in the darkness. His horse carried him through deep snow out of heavy timber, and he rode up to us with purpose. I have no idea how he found us walking in the dark forest. “Where the hell you guys going?” he asked. “To the horse trailer,” I answered. “Wherever that is.” “You ain’t headed to the horse trailer,” he said, with a touch of disbelief in his voice. “You’re headed to Idaho. The horse trailer is in Montana, and it’s eleven miles away.” I couldn’t see Keith’s face to see if he was smiling. The only light was from the stars. I struggled a couple yards in the deep snow to look up through an opening in the tree canopy and looked…

Bruce, Bruce, Bruce…have faith in us! We would never alter a photo to make a rack bigger. That muley on the cover is all natural! That’s why we published a feature on hunting Mexico: Mega-racked mule deer roam the deserts of northwestern Mexico, and they often sport racks that are wider than they are tall. Thanks for reading PH! —KP JOINING THE DEBATE I thought I would add my two cents to the debate over returning federal lands to state control. Here in Pennsylvania, we have a large amount of state game lands that are managed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Unfortunately, the state has not allowed the price of general hunting licenses to increase since 1999. To raise revenue, the Game Commission has created all sorts of new tags…

WHERE: Colorado WHEN: September 2016 BOW: Mathews Switchback XT SCORE: 348-4/8 HUNTER: Kevin Smithhart However, in a few cases hunting has been eliminated. The National Park Service administers dozens of monuments, even though the land was originally managed by the Bureau of Land Management or the U.S. Forest Service. “Superintendents with the Park Service have some discretionary authority to allow or prohibit hunting in monuments,” says Wild Sheep Foundation Senior Conservation Director Kevin Hurley. “They can ban it if they want to.” That’s exactly what happened in the Castle Mountains National Monument, a 30,000-acre swath of bighorn sheep and mule deer habitat bordering Mojave National Preserve in California. When it was established, there was nothing in the proclamation that either preserved or banned hunting. It wasn’t mentioned at all. Hunting…

After more than four decades, the Yellowstone grizzly bear is being removed from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) after population benchmarks have been farexceeded, deeming them recovered by federal wildlife biologists. The lower United States once was home to 50,000 grizzly bears, but over the centuries, their numbers were reduced, leaving Yellowstone and the Lower 48 with only 136 wild grizzlies. In 1975, the federal government placed grizzlies on the ESA. After 42 years of sound management, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem population of grizzly bears has surpassed recovery goals, reaching roughly 700, and proved that the population is stable and growing. Additionally, the Greater Yellowstone grizzly bears, which generally roam Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, have gradually expanded their occupied habitat by more than 50 percent . The U . S.…

MOST DEER HUNTERS will never see a droptine buck in the woods, and those who do are haunted forever. Only a very lucky few ever get to hold such a trophy in their hands. The rest of us will have to settle for a shot of one of these new tipples from Droptine Spirits. Not that such a fine liquor should be considered “settling,” as either bottle is worthy of adding to your trophy collection. PERSIMMON & APPLE MOONSHINE The sweet blend of fall’s fruit, along with a little cinnamon and what I suspect is clove and nutmeg, goes down so easy you’re half into the bottle before you know it. Unlike harsh white lightning, this refreshment comes in at a comfortable 50 proof, and a sip settles in like…

Backpack hunting wilderness country is the freest, most independent method there is. Nomadic in nature, it enables you to go and live where the game is without the constraints of a base camp, horses, or vehicle. However, knowing what’s necessary and what’s surplus can be daunting, because today’s high-tech super-gear clamors to be included. Knowing what you really need is key to keeping your pack light yet effective and to maximize your mobility, safety, success, and comfort. I divide my gear lists into three subcategories: items needed for safety (emergency gear), items needed for success, and items needed for comfort. If I must shave items to shave pounds, I do it out of the last category. As long as I’m safe and have the gear and body fuel necessary to…

In November of 2016, a guy killed a monster whitetail in Oklahoma. After the official measurement, it became that state’s No. 2 all-time non-typical. Coincidentally, a few days later the editors of this magazine asked me to write a story on the biggest bucks taken around the country in 2016, as it was proving to be a banner year. So I found the guy and sent him a message. I figured he’d be happy to immortalize the story and photos of his record-breaking hunt by documenting it in a national hunting magazine. I figured wrong. “What will Petersen’s Hunting do for me?” was his reply. He wanted cash. I went back to the editors of this magazine and reported. It wasn’t the first time they’d heard this—and in fact I…

Survival situations often depend on your ability to reach help, and in many areas the only communication option is a satellite phone. SPOT Global Satellite Phone features a backlit color display with four-line, 12-character LCD and illuminated buttons for making calls in complete darkness. This phone comes with a U.S.-based number and offers excellent voice quality and fast handheld data speeds that will allow you to connect quickly from even the most remote areas when you need assistance. Battery life is four hours of talk time (36 hours on standby). The phone itself is just over five inches long and weighs seven ounces, so it doesn’t add a lot of bulk to your pack. This phone will act as your lifeline to emergency care if you are injured or lost…

A bill to sell more than three million acres of federal land was withdrawn in February, but the battle over public land rages on. This time, national monuments are in the crosshairs. President Donald Trump ordered a review of 27 monuments created since 1996. They include about 11 million acres of land and thousands of square miles of ocean. Trump’s executive order directs Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to consider a number of items, including whether they were appropriate designations in the first place. There seems to be little consensus on Trump’s intentions. Does he want to eliminate those monuments, scale them back, or change the rules used to create them? One thing is certain: Even national monuments are not immune from political discourse and partisan division. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)…

HISTORY Developed in the 1940s, the 7mm Weatherby is arguably the most practical, balanced cartridge with the legendary hot-rod name attached to it. Based on a standard-length belted case rather than the long, .375 H&H-length case, it is less overbored than its siblings, so, as a result, barrel life is better. But it’s no slouch. With a chamber pressure significantly higher than the 7mm Rem. Mag. and around four percent greater internal case capacity, the Weatherby version outperforms its more pedestrian cousin by 100 to 200 fps even though there’s little apparent size difference. APPLICATION When loaded with tough, controlled-expansion bullets designed for penetration, the 7mm Weatherby is adequate for all North American big game, although it’s marginal for the biggest bears. Loaded with a sleek, soft bullet pushed fast,…

THROW A DART at a map of the United States and there’s a good chance you’ll hit public land. There’s an even better chance that public land is open to hunting. More than 150 national forests, millions of acres of Bureau of Land Management land, dozens of military bases, and hundreds of national wildlife refuges are filled with everything from deer and turkeys to ducks and antelope. If it’s a legal game animal, you can hunt it on federal land somewhere in America. You can even hunt exotics, such as gemsbok (White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico,) sika deer (Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia), and sambar (on St. Vincent NWR in Florida). There’s no question that much of our public land sees more than its share of hunting…

Dark Angel Medical has designed a compact emergency trauma kit for outdoor enthusiasts. Known as the D.A.R.K. (Direct Action Response Kit), it contains color-matched trauma shears, vacuum-sealed nitrile gloves, HALO seals, one four-inch Israeli bandage, gauze, a Mylar blanket, Ten Tac-Med Tips Assessment Card, and much more. Multiple colors are available, and you can upgrade the kit to include rip shears, a decompression needle, and many more items depending upon your needs. The Gen 3 nylon pouch is compact and keeps all the items readily accessible, and there are multiple attachment options for carrying the kit in the field. Each of the kits is customizable, so you can purchase a D.A.R.K. that is designed with the features and accessories you want and is light enough and small enough that it…