Innholdsfortegnelse for April/May 2018 i Petersen's Hunting

LATE LAST year, at an antique store in Maine, I picked up about a dozen old issues of Petersen’s Hunting . There was a pile for the taking—one buck apiece—and I regret not buying them all. But with a few flights ahead of me, the logistics of getting all those magazines home limited my shopping spree. The issues I did buy dated from the late 1980s into the early ’90s, and the masthead of editors and contributors reads like a who’s who of the outdoor writing world. Wootters. Sit-ton. Sundra. Coogan. Adams. Robb. And, leading the charge throughout this run, Craig Boddington, who served as the editor of Petersen’s Hunting from 1983 to 1994, an impressive 11-year tenure. With the exception of our founder, Bob “Pete” Petersen, no other name…

BULLET BASICS Engineered to provide .375-bore shooters with a bullet light enough to drive fast yet tough enough to drive deep, this homogeneous gilding metal projectile features an aerodynamic-enhancing boattail and a polymer tip that aids fast expansion and protects the bullets nose from damage while in the culling belt and rifle magazine. It can be handloaded to admirable velocities in the .375 H&H and similar cartridges, and Hornady provide fast factory loads in its Superformance line. TESTING GROUND Former Guns & Ammo editor Richard Venola took a giraffe with the bullet pictured. Giraffes feature exceptionally thick skin—a function of maintaining blood pressure in the extraordinarily long legs and neck—and incredibly massive bones. As a result, they can be very hard to kill cleanly. FIELD PERFORMANCE Fired from Venola’s .375…

KNOWN AS THE “Father of Modern Bourbon” Col. Edmund Haynes Taylor Jr. was among the first to use all copper lines and tanks at his O.F.C. Distillery along the banks of the Kentucky River. Today, Buffalo Trace Distillery makes whiskey on the very spot where Taylor s distillery once stood. In fact, the company still uses some of the rickhouses he built nearly 150 years ago. They also rely on his recipes and techniques to bottle the Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr. line of bourbon and rye. COLONEL E.H. TAYLOR JR. SMALL BATCH: A blend barrels around seven years old, this bourbon is Bottled in Bond at 100 proof. The nose gives up butterscotch, oak, vanilla, and dried fruit, while vanilla and oak shine on the palate. Small Batch finishes nicely…

Every big-game hunter worth his salt has read Use Enough Gun, Robert Ruark’s classic book on hunting big game. The premise of this collection of safari stories is that you should “use enough gun” for the game you are hunting. When it comes to choosing a firearm for defense against a charging bear, what is enough gun? Last summer, I spent a week taking a class with employees of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Geological Survey—people who routinely spend time in some very remote country. Found in this country are bears of three different varieties: black bears, brown bears (the grizzly and the coastal brown bear), and polar bears. Any of these bears are capable of having…

Darkness slowly dissolved, tinging the rolling reaches of grain fields the color of wine and leaving pools of lingering darkness in the canyons and hollows. My spotting scope finally resolved a moving black dot far down-country into the massive form of a lone boar slowly working his way from the pecan groves in the valley bottom to his bedding ground in the brushy canyons above. Humpbacked, reclusive, and wild, this was the sort of boar I’d come to California’s central coast region for. Hunting hogs here is far different from the massive herds of southern hogs lured to timed corn feeders. Early settlers brought domestic pigs to California in the 1700s, but the feral population traces its wilder roots to the 1920s, when an enterprising soul loosed a bunch of…

One needs only to look overseas to get an idea of other ways to utilize venison burger. From Turkish adana kebapi to cevapi from the Balkans to the whole variety of meat pies that go by various names—pasties, bierocks, and empanadas, just to name a few—ground meat makes up the majority of meat-eating diets around the world. One of the tastiest ways to use burger is in this recipe, which originates from Laos. (Thai-inspired versions exist as well.) The balance of burger, chilies, limes, and herbs, all wrapped in a crunchy lettuce or cabbage leaf, is a treat for hunters bored with standard burgers and sausages. INGREDIENTS ½ lb. ground venison 2 tbs. canola oil 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 large shallot, diced 1 serrano chili, seeded and diced 1…

THEY CAPTURE our heart, our psyche, our spirit. The white-tailed deer is a wonderful game animal. Small game and waterfowl are blessings given to us on this earth. Bears are different. An eastern whitetail hunter, sitting in a treestand, may hardly notice when does and small bucks pass by. If a bear wanders through, he will remember it the rest of his life. Bears appear throughout folklore and mythology. The Greeks gave us Callisto, who was transformed into a bear and then became the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear. Native American folklore is rife with stories of bears, which they saw as keepers of dreams because bears sleep through the winter. The Big Dipper constellation was seen as a bear in Native American and Hebrew tradition. Part of this…

MATT MORRETT Staff, Zink Calls and Avian-X When he was only 16 years old, Matt won his first World Turkey Calling Championship and has since won the Junior and Senior Grand National Turkey Calling contests and the World Friction Turkey Calling Championships five times. WILL PRIMOS Founder, Primos Hunting At five,Will was ready to tag along on family hunts. At 11, he made his first duck call. In his early 20s, he was making diaphragm turkey calls from beer cans. By 1976, he was selling his calls in sporting goods stores. Skipping over years of hard work, the rest, as they say, is history. BILL SAUNDERS Founder, Bill Saunders Calls and Gear Obsessed with hunting since school age, Bill learned to call from hunting, watching, and listening to birds. He’s…

A FLASH of red appeared between the tall grass. Did I imagine it? No. There it was again. The unmistakable bobbing head of a curious gobbler was moving cautiously toward our hiding spot. As the wisest gobblers do, he moved slowly, meticulously, soundlessly. I was flush against a tree. Sitting next to me was Lauren—the 11-year-old daughter of Mike, the Chief Executive Officer of the company that owns this magazine (a.k.a. my boss). I had volunteered to guide the young hunter on a turkey hunt—her first hunt ever. We were also filming it for Petersen’s Hunting Adventures TV. So, no pressure, right? We had hunted hard all morning. There was a close encounter at daybreak, but only distant gobbles since then. With only 15 minutes of legal shooting time left,…

HISTORY Designed in 1915 specifically for Savage’s lever-action Model 99, the .250 Savage—a.k.a .250-3000—featured a strongly tapered case and was the first cartridge to break the 3,000- fps barrier, the Holy Grail of bullet speed, using an 87-grain softpoint bullet. It proved effective and popular for whitetail deer. Later, the .250 Savage became the parent cartridge to arguably the most popular predator-hunting cartridge ever—the .22-250—and itself was tweaked and “improved” by handloaders by blowing out some of the taper and by steepening the angle of the shoulder to increase capacity. APPLICATION In an accurate rifle, the old veteran .250 Savage is an outstanding deer and antelope cartridge out to 300 yards or so, although the original 87-grain projectile weight isn’t the best option. A streamlined 100-grain version provides a bit…

SPRING IS called mud season for a reason. Thawing snow and temperamental weather turn the woods into a wet, mucky mess, which is why knee-high rubber boots are de rigueur for bear and turkey hunters. Here are four of the best that will pass the messiest conditions April showers bring. LE CHAMEAU CONDOR ZIP LCX Synonymous with country sport across the pond, Le Chameau has raised the bar on knee boots with these split-leather models. Refined looks match an elevated price, making wearers hesitant to get muddy, but these are working boots. Fully waterproof to the top, they are fitted with proprietary, five-layer liners that are also breathable. That prevents the clammy feeling common with all-rubber Wellingtons. They’re also easier to get into than other slip-on rubber boots, thanks to…

The west shore of Hudson’s Bay was the easternmost extension of Ursus arctos . Depending on where he’s found, we call him grizzly bear or brown bear—or brown/grizzly bear. Elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere, he’s called the Eurasian brown bear—and there is a lot of elsewhere. The great bear was once continuous from the Iberian Peninsula across Europe and Asia, and one offshoot, the Atlas bear, was found in North Africa. Today, numbers have shrunk, and they have vanished from many areas; the total world population is estimated at 200,000. I’ve hunted this bear in North America and Asia, but the European brown fascinates me. I think it goes back to my high-school reading of Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls , when guerilla leader El Sordo reminisces about taking…

California’s lead-free regulations require the use of non-toxic bullets. While the science behind the lead free regulation is questionable, the R&D behind today’s lead-free homogeneous projectiles, such as Nosler’s E-Tip, is not. Monometal bullets provide outstanding weight retention for deep penetration coupled with excellent expansion—perfect for big, tough gristle shields on gnarly old hogs. One of the best recent introductions is the 120-grain 6.5 Creedmoor version. Exiting the muzzle at around 2,850 fps, it’s accurate authoritative, and mild to shoot. I’d confidently use it on big game up to and including elk. $38 per 20; nosler.com…

If you expect to toss some seeds on the ground and watch them grow into a big-buck Shangri-la come November, you might as well just throw some cash in the trash, too. Because if you don’t prep your ground before planting at the right time, you’ll just be wasting time and money. Trouble is, most of us aren’t farmers —we don’t know what to plant or when to plant it. We’re hunters who want to improve the herd’s nutrition and maybe take a homegrown buck next fall. So here are the basics about what you need to know for sowing a successful food plot. Steve Scott is vice president of the Whitetail Institute and an expert on food plots. His company makes numerous products to attract, hold, and nourish deer.…

Eastern North Carolina grows giant black bears. The largest was taken in 1998 and weighed 880 pounds. There are three reasons why they get so big: 1. WEATHER : There are usually no harsh winters in eastern North Carolina, and the bears never lose the massive amount of weight other North American bears do during hibernation. 2. FOOD : Commercial farms in the coastal region of the state offer an all you can eat buffet of wheat, peanuts, corn, and soybeans. 3. SWAMPS : The wetlands that cover much of this region in the state offer vast swamps that make a great refuge for bears. Typically, the bears stay in the cover of the swamps during the day and venture out into crop fields at night. Hunters may try to…

The do-all mapping system for hunters that showcases public and private lands, trails, campsites, and more is adding another layer with turkey hunters in mind. OnX Maps has teamed with the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) to bring a nationwide layer that features color coding based on turkey records per county. The layer was built using over 23,000 submissions from NWTF members since 1982. OnX users will be able to see number of entries, top scores, beard length, weight, and spur length by county. If you're an avid gobbler chaser, download this layer and gear up. onxmaps.com…

IN THE BEGINNING... The Weatherby Hunting and Conservation Award, loosely called the “Weatherby Award” or just “the Weatherby,” was first presented to Herb Klein at a small gathering in Dallas in 1956. In the postwar era, Klein was one of the best known of a new generation of globe-trotting hunters. The second and third Weatherby Awards were presented to Outdoor Life’s Jack O’Connor and Field & Stream’s Warren Page. Both were well-known and well-traveled hunters. From there, the Weatherby sort of took on a life of its own. Roy Weatherby put together a selection committee to make recommendations for both nominees and winners, but the final selection fell to Roy. Presentations were made at a black-tie dinner in Beverly Hills, and the gala itself was Roy’s party, by invitation only.…

The discovery of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in free-range whitetail and mule deer in Montana last November was met with swift and decisive action. Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (MFWP) carried out two special hunts in December and January. They weren’t aimed at eradicating the disease. Instead, the agency wanted to get a better handle on infection rates. Six mule deer and one whitetail tested positive. So far, MFWP has more questions than answers, including a critical one: How will the cash-strapped agency pay for CWD monitoring efforts? “We were fortunate to receive a grant last year through Pittman-Robertson funding for $1 million over the next five years, but that is a very small amount and unlikely enough to do what we feel is necessary,” says John Vore, MFWP game…

With a worldwide population of at least 200 000, the brown/grizzly bear is considered a species of “least concern.” However, trade is restricted by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Legally taken European brown bears may be imported into the United States—but only from countries that are signatories to the CITES treaty, subject to seasons and quota. As with all sport-hunted animals taken in foreign countries, in order to bring a bear home, hunting licenses and veterinary certification are required, and to these must be added CITES authorization. Local outfitters routinely arrange this paperwork. Croatia Romania and Sweden are CITES nations, but not all countries within the brown/grizzly. bear’s huge range belong to the treaty.…

Backstraps get all the glory, followed closely by a set of fresh tenderloins. Round roasts and sirloin steaks receive their due as well. Me? I’m particularly partial to the tougher cuts, with shanks being a favorite. Of all the meat that makes up a deer, elk, or other big-game animal, it’s these cuts hunters clamor for. They post trophy pics of them on social media—holding whole elk loins out for the camera and carefully plating bone-in chops, hoping to get all the “likes” on Instagram. Despite the glamour shots of game, the meat hunters actually eat the most is the grind: that not-so-pretty pile of trimmings that gets minced into bits and made into hamburger patties, tacos, meat loaf, and more. Fact is, ground meat is the foundation of the…

Getting the most out of your food plots requires one simple thing, yet it’s the step that most hunters skip. Farmers don’t plant without knowing the exact composition of their soil, and hunters should follow suit. Before turning dirt and stocking up on seed, take a soil sample by digging up a few shovelfuls from your plot location and mixing them in a bucket. For $10-$15, the local extension agent or government agricultural office can provide detailed information on pH and nutrient levels, along with advice on what soil amendments will ensure the most productive plot. Many seed companies, including Whitetail Institute, also provide mail-in soil testing kits that will start a hunter’s food plot strategy out on the right foot with results available within a few days. $14;…