Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2019 i Petersen's Hunting

THE MOVIE A River Runs Through It, which came out while I was an English undergrad at the University of Nebraska, exerted a strong influence on me. No, I didn’t buy a flyrod and move to Montana (though sometimes I wish I had). It wasn’t the epic scenes of fish rising to elegantly presented flies on beautifully lit rivers that struck me. Instead, it was a scene about writing that really hit home. Early in the movie, adolescent Norman Maclean struggles through the “School of the Reverend Maclean,” while learning to “write the American language.” Maybe it was my Scots-Irish upbringing, but I fully understood the idea that the “art of writing lay in thrift.” Young Norman is visibly dispirited when Reverend Maclean hands back his writing with the instruction,…

HISTORY Introduced in 2008, the .416 Ruger was designed to perform akin to that of the bigger-cased, longer .416 Rigby and .416 Remington Mag, yet fit into .30-06-length rifle actions. Utilizing the non-belted .375 Ruger as its parent case, it is the most efficient .416-caliber big-bore. Since the cartridge case’s body is as big in diameter as the belt on traditional magnums, it has greater internal capacity than a similar-length belted version. APPLICATION Only Hornady loads factory ammo, offering a 400-grain DGX (Dangerous Game eXpanding) bonded-core bullet and a like-weight DGS (Dangerous Game Solid). The softnose is suited for use on big, thin-skinned game, from giant northern bears to Cape buffalo, and the solid works wonderfully on pachyderms and for follow-up shots on buffalo, hippo, and the like when full-length…

Three different optics are necessary to effectively and efficiently hunt the West’s wide-open, rugged, vastly diverse terrain: a rifle-scope, a binocular, and a spotting scope. Before diving in, there is a fourth “optic” that’s just as critical: a rangefinder. However, the argument can be made that because a rangefinder’s primary purpose isn’t actually optical but is, rather, electronic computation and because many of the best hunting binos today carry onboard rangefinders, I don’t include them as a stand-alone optic. So here’s an exploration of what makes the best of the breed stand out. RIFLESCOPES If you never shoot beyond 300 yards, any scope appropriate for whitetail hunting across the nation will serve just fine. But you will give up many excellent opportunities. Alpine-country mule deer, cross-canyon elk, and plains-inhabiting antelope…

Public-land hunters don’t need convincing as to “why” electric bikes are not only cool, but also one of the most versatile off-road vehicles outdoors enthusiasts can own. We were early adopters, reporting on the advantages of E-bikes several years ago and have been repeatedly singing their praises ever since as innovation keeps improving the product year after year. Simply put, electric bikes can get you in farther, faster, and more stealthily than anything else on two wheels. While this has been a category of constant evolution, the latest offering from QuietKat has taken the technology and refinements to new heights. The first thing you will notice about the QuietKat Warrior 1000 is the much more seamless integration of the battery compartment into the main tube. A short while ago, E-bikes…

Dan Harrison has seen it more times than he cares to detail. “A family moves out to the country, buys a place with some acres, and decides they need a horse” said Harrison. “Now, I agree with that. Everybody needs a horse” Harrison speaks with an easy drawl and wears a felt cowboy hat, except in the hottest months, when he switches to a straw lid. “But horses are expensive. Hell, hay is expensive. It costs $18 a square bale by the time it gets to the local feedstore. When these folks realize they can’t afford to feed a horse, they’re in a bind. They can’t sell it for anywhere near what they bought it for, so they turn it loose because they don’t know what else to do” Harrison,…

Americans are used to thinking of parcels of property as two-dimensional blocks. We have carved landscapes into counties, townships, sections, and acres, and especially in the West, our public lands conform to the same rectangular geometry. But a growing field of research indicates that, at least to the wildlife we love to hunt, land might be better described in the shape of snaking lines or, at least, irregular polygons. The research is looking at big-game migrations, and early results indicate that when it comes to routes that best benefit migrating wildlife, we should be thinking of landscapes in at least two additional dimensions, adding elevation and time to our squarish view of the map. Big-game migrations are getting a lot of attention lately, thanks in part to technology. The ability…

Quail were plentiful in the farmlands and river bottoms of my youth. They weren’t our primary quarry—we were rabbit hunters—but we could normally count on a covey or two flushing wild at our feet as we followed the beagles through heavy cover. Those explosive flushes were always met with a volley of shots from everyone in the party, and quail was a tasty accompaniment to our favorite fried rabbit Sunday morning breakfasts. Even back then there were rumblings of trouble. My grandfather, father, and uncles all spoke of days when every patch of grass or tangle of briars concealed a covey. Limits were common, even without bird dogs. By the time I headed off to college in the early 1990s, a covey flush was a rare thing. National Audubon Society…

The only way Harmon, my nephew, knew to hunt deer was to sit over a food plot and hope for a buck to walk by. I wanted him to experience some boots-on-the-ground still-hunting during the rut, so we sneaked to a bluff overlooking an oak hollow. We set up almost like turkey hunters with our backs to a tree below the bluff ’s crest. About 15 minutes later, I saw a deer through the woods, perhaps 100 yards, quartering away from us. I elbowed Harmon. There was no chance of a shot, so I blew on the grunt tube as if I were Dizzy Gillespie. The deer stopped, changed direction, and fast-walked toward us. It was a young seven point, and I whispered to Harmon that if he liked the…

BULLET BASICS Norma’s Bondstrike bullet is Europe’s first step into the world of long-range hunting projectiles. Designed with a composite tip, a boattail, and sleek profile, it’s engineered for maximum aerodynamics. The 180-grain, .30 caliber boasts an outstanding G1 ballistic coefficient of 0.615. A lead core is bonded to a beautifully formed jacket, which tapers thin at the nose to enable expansion even at low-impact velocities to thick at the base to keep the bullet together during close, high-velocity impacts. TESTING GROUND Tim Brandt used Bondstrike in his .300 Win. Mag. for an aoudad hunt in Texas. These wild sheep are known for toughness and provide a challenging test for a bullet. FIELD PERFORMANCE Brandt shot a big ram at 32 yards, anchoring it in its tracks. The bullet impacted…

In the backcountry, you want a knife that can field dress an elk as easily as cut a length of rope, which is why fixed blades like the Damascus Skinner from BEAR & SON are so beneficial. Replaceable blades are fine for a few specialized tasks, but they aren’t as versatile, and Lord help you if that old folder Grandpa gave you loses its edge at spike camp. The India Stag Bone handle leads into a 2 3/8-inch blade that fits into a leather sheath. The knife is backed by a lifetime warranty. $208; bearandsoncutlery.com Riflelike accuracy from a muzzleloader at 300 yards and beyond? That’s what the CVA Paramount was built for. And although you may never have to take a shot that long, this bolt gun (coupled with…

Quail may be my favorite wild game. Tender, succulent little morsels of goodness, the cooking possibilities are nearly endless. TIP: Always take a few extra minutes to pluck your birds. A quick swirl in 145- to 150-degree water makes plucking a breeze. There’s a lot of meat on those quail legs and thighs. While whole quail can be fried, roasted, or grilled, and one of our favorite ways to cook whole quail is to roast them on a spit over an open fire. It’s a quick and easy way to prepare a meal, and it’s perfect for hunting camp. The birds get a sprinkle of herbs and spices, then basted with a mixture of soy sauce and sorghum molasses for a sweet and salty flavor.…

With an entire week dedicated to all things deer hunting, #DeerWeek 2019 airs Sept.16-22, from 7 p.m.-12 p.m. EST on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Featuring the best deer hunting programming on TV, #DeerWeek will be hosted by Jeff Danker and country music star Jon Langston. Additional programming can be streamed direct on MyOutdoorTV throughout September, all brought to you by Academy, Can-Am, Kimber, and Old Trapper. For a complete schedule and more information, visit deerweek.com…

Rugged and dependable. That’s the kind of gear you want with you no matter what you’re hunting or where you are headed. For my hunt in the Texas Trans-Pecos, I was armed with one of Ruger’s newest offerings: the American Rifle in Go Wild camo. This variant of the extremely popular American Rifle series features a synthetic stock dipped in the aforementioned multi-terrain Go Wild pattern. Fitted with a 22-inch semi-heavy barrel, the muzzle is factory threaded, and a muzzle brake is a standard feature. Ruger’s adjustable Marksman trigger along with Power Bedding contribute to the rifle’s ability to shoot tight groups with Hornady’s 6.5 Creedmoor Precision Hunter load featuring 143-grain ELD-X bullets. In addition, a Picatinny mounting rail comes standard. The package tips the scales at a very easy…

EVERYONE HOPES to set the bar high and shoot a bruiser, but it may not be the best game plan for a general unit. To help you hit that goal periodically throughout your hunting career, you should be looking into the future. By purchasing preference or bonus points in popular elk states, you can slowly work your way toward a hunt in a premier elk unit. Regrettably, the process of procuring preference or bonus points is a time-consuming chore. For the harried wage earner or parent, it means giving up leisure hours for painstaking paperwork. Expect up to an hour or more of time spent on researching and applying for preferential treatment in future draws for each state you target. It also requires you to hit various deadlines that begin…