Innholdsfortegnelse for December/January 2019-20 i Petersen's Hunting

BULLET BASICS Federal’s Edge TLR utilizes construction rooted in the legendary Trophy Bonded Bear Claw to achieve best-in-class penetration coupled with massive expansion. The rear half is solid gilding metal (95 percent copper, 5 percent zinc), and the soft lead frontal core is bonded in place. A boattail, a hollow composite tip, and an ultra-sleek profile provide a very high ballistic coefficient. That hollow composite tip collapses inward on impact, enabling the Edge TLR to expand reliably and dramatically even at slow impact velocities—an outstanding choice for long-range hunting. The solid rear half with bonded-core front, means it never comes apart or fails to penetrate even when impacting at extreme velocities up close. TESTING GROUND I used the bullet to shoot a massive, old, 54-inch kudu bull in Namibia. As…

We’ve come a long way from those old fluid-fueled handwarmers (though they’re still great, too). Now Zippo offers an electric alternative in the HEATBANK 9S, with a quick-recharge battery that outputs up to 120 degrees of finger-roasting heat. One charge can last nearly all day, and the heat radiates from each side of the compact case. It also serves as a backup battery for USB-charged devices. $50 ; zippo.com This innovative outerwear captures the hunter’s body heat, using proprietary insulation to actively retain and return warmth for all-day late-season sits in extreme cold. Ultra-warm and über-quiet, the ArcticShield HEAT ECHO SHERPA FLEECE JACKET is backed with a full fleece lining. An extended hem at the rear prevents breezes from blowing up the backside. Stretch cuffs also seal in the heat…

It’s nearly midnight in Sparky’s “Jokers Wild” bear camp in Idaho. Sunset was at 9:10; I was “legal” until 9:40. At exactly 9:23 a nice, chocolate-colored black bear stepped out of the woods. I watched this bear until shooting light ended, but never reached for my rifle. Right now, with “midnight quarterbacking” in effect, I figure I had rocks in my head. But I am me, and you are you, and we each have reasons for taking (or passing) a shot. That was a very acceptable black bear. I was there in the hopes of killing a nice black bear, and here was the perfect chance right in front of me. Reasons not to shoot: I’ve taken several black bears. More importantly, thanks to trail camera magic, I knew this…

SKULL HOOKER LITTLE HOOKER The Little Hooker gets deer and antelope skulls, as well as hog heads and other smaller trophies, off the table or floor and onto a well-deserved place on the wall. $35; skullhooker.com STORM SIGHT TARGETS Don’t wait for sunny and 70 degrees for a day at the range. Storm Sight are the best targets going, with an all-weather, two-sided design that won’t flap in the wind or disintegrate when wet. $12; riteintherain.com CCI COPPER-22 Legendary CCI quality in a Cali-compliant, non-lead design, Copper-22 rimfire ammo has a unique copper-poly bullet moving along at 1,850 fps that hits hard on small game. $11; cci-ammunition.com KUIU DRY BAGS The quickest cure for OCPD (obsessive-compulsive packing disorder). From little ditty bags to large gear bags fitted with handles, KUIU…

KUDOS TO DAVID DRAPER FOR “AGAIN, HALF AS LONG” IN THE OCTOBER ISSUE. IT IS A CONCISE AND WELL-WRITTEN BIT OF ADVICE. I RECALL PASSING A 350-YARD SHOT AT A MULE DEER BUCK AND EVENTUALLY KILLING HIM AT 40 YARDS. THE EXCITEMENT OF THAT HOUR STALK IS STILL PALPABLE. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 350 AND 40 IS A LOT MORE THAN JUST YARDAGE. THANK YOU. JEFF ARNOLD Via Email Mr. Arnold, I appreciate the kind words regarding my recent “Editor’s Letter.” It really came to mind for me a few weeks ago when I had a grizzly bear in my scope at 200 yards. Instead of taking him then, I cut the distance to just 74 yards. Talk about a thrill. I hope more hunters heed my advice this fall. Thanks…

HISTORY A refinement of the long-necked .30-03 Springfield cartridge, the“Ought-Six”featured a shorter neck and a light, fast, 150-grain projectile. Introduced in 1906, it went on to become America’s favorite hunting cartridge. Its success was due to two things: the unprecedented ballistic performance it provided servicemen in the Great War and its profoundly versatile, authoritative performance on big game. Originally fielded in battle in the bolt-action Model 1903 Springfield, then in the legendary M1 Garand during WWII, the .30-06 earned a place in soldiers’ hearts. Upon returning home, they customized surplus battle rifles or commissioned custom bolt actions chambered in .30-06. The rest, as they say, was history. APPLICATION With lightweight .30-caliber projectiles in the 150-grain range, the .30-06 is superb for deer-size game. For elk and moose, pick a heavier,…

A TRUE CLASSIC never goes out of style, and there are few footwear designs more traditional than the time-tested bird boot. Russell Moccasin makes some of the best boots for sportsmen, right here in the USA, and have been doing so since 1898. The Signature South 40 Bird Shooter is the epitome of their design ethos: build a better boot that is lightweight, durable and, ultimately, fits the wearer like the proverbial glove. They feature a double-vamp design with outer layers of WeatherTuff leather hand-wrapped to cover the soft, waterproof Agua Tan leather linings. All this is stitched to tough bullhide leather midsoles, which sit over moderately aggressive, yet flexible, Vibram 360 outsoles. Sandwiched in between are cushioning Poron foam inserts to make walking miles and miles of thick cover…

Mountain rifles are a breed apart. Disciples of the type are drawn to a combination of ultralight weight coupled with extraordinary accuracy—cost be darned. They know these two characteristics often make the difference between climbing high enough and shooting well enough. Magnum cartridge performance is also valued, but magnum rifles traditionally weigh more. So semi-fast standard-size cartridges ranging from the 6.5 Creedmoor up through the .280 Ackley Improved—which provide magnum-like 7mm performance—are popular. Until now, true magnum ballistics has been a relatively unrealistic expectation in a sub-five-pound hunting rifle. Weatherby just introduced a rifle/cartridge combination that successfully bridges the divide. The Backcountry, built on the company’s super-sleek, light, small-diameter, six-lug version of the Mark V, is initially chambered for an all-new Weatherby cartridge: the 6.5 RPM. Importantly, it’s a true…

As a small-farm land manager and country homeowner with more chores and pet projects than weekends available to accomplish them, I think an ATV is primarily a utility tool that needs to be available to work whenever it’s called on, whatever the conditions. Unflinching reliability and versatility are key, as is user-friendliness for the wide variety of riders I may need to enlist to help perform work and get tasks accomplished safely and efficiently. In my world, a strong, dependable ATV is a true force multiplier, while a misguided choice in quads can leave you frustrated and exasperated—and I’ve experienced both ends of the spectrum. This past winter I set out to build the ideal four-wheel work companion to handle five primary home and ranch jobs: snow plowing, field fertilizing…

Regardless what your truck thermometer indicates, the minute you begin hiking to a stand or overwatch location dressed in your George Costanza puffy coat, you’ll sweat. To avoid starting your hunt in a failing condition, you need to pack all of your insulation and hike in a state close to naturist. Begin the strip down in the truck with the heat set on low once you hit the road. You’ll also need more than a daypack to pack in your pile of layering, so plan accordingly. Your large, elk hunting backpack is likely a better transportation solution. Your cold-weather layering system should include a base layer, an insulation layer, and a waterproof wrap. A polyester base layer aids in wicking moisture away from your body. Without that, your sweat can…

THERE’S NO question about it. The 6.5 Creedmoor is the hottest-selling cartridge I’ve seen in my career. Suddenly, almost everybody has at least one rifle chambered in it, and those who don’t, want one. Apparently, it’s a magic cartridge: “Dead-flat to 400 yards. Knock an elk down at a half-mile.” Uh, no. For sure, the 6.5 Creedmoor is an awesome little cartridge, but it does not defy the laws of physics. The 6.5 Creedmoor, with its .264-inch bullet, was designed as a long-range target cartridge because at modest velocity with low recoil, it could take advantage of the 6.5’s heavy-for-caliber bullets, and with a short case designed for accuracy, it could handle long bullets in a short bolt action. It shoots flat as 2,700 fps cartridges go—because of its aerodynamics—but…

Hilary is possibly the most unlikely hunter I could conjure up: a young suburban woman from Brooklyn, more comfortable with Instagram than with Remington. I honestly worried about which end of the shotgun she’d point toward the turkey. We found ourselves on the Clear Fork Ranch in Texas by a mix of accident and purpose. We worked together—she in the home office of another magazine, I as a field editor—and she had asked a couple times about my photos and stories of hunting. I blurted out, as a matter of habit and good manners, that she was welcome to come along on my next trip. Her response knocked me off balance. “OK,” she said. “I’d like to learn how to hunt.” That was the “accident.” The “purpose” was an invitation…

On detailed land-ownership maps of Colorado, state trust parcels show up as an inviting bird’s-egg blue. But on the ground, any indication that they’re accessible to the public is conspicuously absent. That’s because, for some 1.7 million of the state’s 2.2 million acres of state trust lands—even those otherwise accessible by a highway or other public thoroughfare—there is no open or free access to hunters, anglers, hikers, or mountain bikers. In this regard, Colorado is the outlier compared with its neighbors. In Montana, the purchase of a hunting license provides access to the state’s 3.6 million acres of accessible state trust lands. Another 1.5 million acres of school trust land in Montana are inaccessible to the public, according to the digital mapping company onX and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership…

If you’ve read many hunting magazines lately, you may be under the impression that the only cartridges that exist are 6.5mms or overbore .300 magnums. Both are great and useful categories of cartridges, but neither is ideal for every purpose. Another entire family of big-game cartridges exists that gets little to no press and includes some of the very best rounds on earth for medium to heavy game at reasonable ranges. I’m talking about the medium bores, those very useful cartridges that lie between the .30 and .375 in bullet diameter. They just might be the perfect big-game cartridges. The term “medium bore” is inexact at best, but my definition includes everything from the .303 British, .318 Westley Richards, .338-06, .350 Rigby, .358 Winchester, and the .35 Whelen. It also…

Do you know a hunter who always kills great bucks in the rut but rarely shoots anything in the late season? I do. And I think I know why. It’s likely because this guy is in love with his comfortable and productive rut stand so much that he has a hard time hunting anywhere else. He’s a one-trick pony who’s killed too many great bucks in one place to believe his chances are better somewhere else in the late season. But what he doesn’t understand—what good late-season hunters know—is that the woods have changed. What was a great food source earlier in the year has dried up, so deer are forced to alter their patterns. Mature bucks abandon their reckless drive to breed and return to the reclusive animals they…