Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2020 i Petersen's Hunting

IF THE numbers hold out, this fall will mark the first opening day for many new hunters. Across the nation, states have seen a marked uptick in the number of people interested in learning to hunt and, in some places, a sharp increase in license sales. In Colorado, applications for big-game licenses were up more than 15,000. Sales of turkey permits were up 60 percent in New York last spring. And in Kansas, combination fishing/hunting license sales have increased by 30 percent as of late June. (Read more about how interest in the outdoors has spiked on page 13.) I’m curious to see how that trend rolls out as we go through the hunting season. Did numbers peak last spring when grocery store shelves were bare, or will the increased…

While state wildlife agencies around the nation closed their spring bear and turkey seasons, along with many fishing seasons, to non-resident hunters and anglers earlier this year, Tennessee was not among of them. In fact, Tennessean recreationists who had questions about their ability to fish and hunt in the midst of COVID-19 restrictions looked no further than their governor for permission. “We were lucky, compared with other states” said Jenifer Wisniewski, communication chief for Tennessee Wildlife Resources, of the initial outbreak in March. “Our governor specifically encouraged Tennesseans to get outside, and that included hunting, fishing, boating, hiking” Looking ahead to the fall’s seasons, given her state’s initial response to the pandemic and social-distancing guidelines, Wisniewski doesn’t expect widespread closures or restrictions. In fact, based on the surprising surge in…

BCA AND THE BLM Most hunters in the West are familiar with the color of Bureau of Land Management property on maps of public land. (I call it unripe apricot.) There’s a lot of it, some 245 million acres, and in many cases, it’s federal land because nobody else wanted it. Much of this rangeland is lonely, dry, and windy, occupied with grazing livestock for most of the year and maybe a few pronghorn antelope or sage grouse. “These are areas where sportsmen’s values and priorities take precedence over other uses.” But there’s a new designation of BLM land that will start to show up on maps of central Montana and southwestern Idaho over the next few years. It’s called Backcountry Conservation Area, or BCA, and it’s a land-use designation…

As Shakespeare did not write: “There are pigs, and rumors of pigs.” One or another of America’s 10 million feral hogs has been spotted in each and every of the Lower 48 states, deep into Canada, and north to south in Mexico. Feral hogs have the highest reproductive rate of any large mammal. Pressured, they become wary and nocturnal, and increase can quickly be exponential. Hogs are not established everywhere, but there are many breeding populations. In some areas, hog hunting surpasses deer as the most popular pursuit. Other populations are less known, and sport hunting isn’t always used as a control method. Nebraska’s Game and Parks Commission admits that feral hogs are established in four counties. Kansas sits just north of Oklahoma’s 900,000 feral hogs. In Kansas and Nebraska,…

Contrary to what some wild-country hunting savants claim, your boots are not your most important hunting asset. Nope. Your most important hunting asset is your attitude. Even with massive, copious blisters, you can still park yourself atop a ridge near camp and glass and—in a small way—continue to hunt. Furthermore, I believe your rifle is your Numero Dos asset (if it’s broke, meat will not be made). But those boots do score right close, in the top three most critical gear items vital for backcountry hunting success. Pick ’em carefully, prep ’em righteously, and you’ll be able to work ’em wickedly. FINDING THE RIGHT FIT Feet are not created equally. Big feet, small feet, wide feet, narrow feet, high arches, fallen arches, splayed toes. Unless you’re wearing properly fitting boots,…

3 WAYS TO START SMALL ON BIG GAME. DARKNESS LOOMED as 16 mule deer marched into a standing cornfield nearly 200 yards away from my pop-up blind. A beautiful buck had accompanied the clan a few days earlier. I clenched my T/C muzzleloader a bit tighter—just in case—with only several minutes of legal shooting light remaining. Then he appeared. I dropped to my knees, propped my muzzleloader on the shooting sticks, and prepared for the somewhat-long shot. My rangefinder read 183 yards. I inhaled deeply, mouth-grunted to stop the trotting buck, then increased pressure on the trigger as the reticle steadied on his ribs. Again, he started trotting, so I eased up and adjusted slightly, then stopped him again. This time, billowing smoke curtained the air between us. When it…

With an entire week dedicated to all things deer hunting, #DeerWeek airs September 14-20, starting at 7 p.m. ET, on Outdoor Channel and Sportsman Channel. Featuring the best deer hunting programming on TV, #DeerWeek will be hosted by Jeff Danker and country music star Tyler Farr. Additional programming will be available for streaming on MyOutdoorTV throughout September, all brought to you by Academy and Old Trapper. For a complete schedule, original recipes, and more information, visit deerweek.com.…

BULLET BASICS Designed for use on dangerous game, the“heavy” A-Frame bullet features a robust H-type jacket and front and rear lead cores bonded in place. A flat base makes the A-Frame forgivingly accurate, and a semi-protected lead tip reliably initiates expansion yet avoids accuracy-robbing damage in the magazine even under heavy recoil. Many savvy African PHs consider the heavy A-Frames to be the very best of the best expanding dangerous-game bullets available. The primary reasons cited are its absolutely predictable expansion and weight retention, both of which lead to visible on-impact effect and deep, straight, bone-breaking penetration. TESTING GROUND This .509-caliber bullet was fired from a PH’s .500 Nitro Express. He was backing a client when things went wrong during a Cape buffalo hunt. The poorly shot bull was about…

Merino wool is one of the best performance fibers, but much of the wool clothing you find comes from overseas. That’s not the Farm to Feet method. The company buys all of their merino from American farmers and uses it to sew the best socks in the business. ELY SOCKS also have copper fibers in the heel and toe for an antimicrobial treatment that reduces odor. With excellent wicking and insulating properties, these midweight socks should take you through the first half of the hunting season. $25; farmtofeet.com Marlin is celebrating 150 years of gunmaking with a special anniversary edition of the popular MODEL 60 . Built with the same 14-round tubular magazine and reliable self-loading action that’s made the .22 rifle a legend, this version sports an upgraded walnut stock,…

Since its founding more than 30 years ago, Trijicon has been synonymous with many things: innovative design, battle-tested durability, high-quality glass, and, probably most of all, illuminated optical technology. In fact, over those three decades, the company has never made a non-illuminated optic. Until now. In an effort to attract more hunters to the brand, Trijicon recently introduced the Huron line of riflescopes that features the same commitment to innovation, durability, and quality, in an optic that’s a bit more affordable than their popular AccuPoint series of scopes. To hit that price point, which should come in at $600 or less on the street, without sacrificing the legendary Trijicon performance, the company departed from its roots by stripping the Huron of any type of illumination. What it did include is…

By September, most states are just a month out from the bow-season opener. Trouble is, no matter how much time you’ve spent afield scouting and installing food plots and/or hanging stands, during the next 30 days bucks will likely change their patterns. To up your odds during the first weeks of the season, you should continue scouting through September, but not so heavily as to alter their movements. Here’s how. HIGH-IMPACT VS. LOW-IMPACT SCOUTING Twenty years ago hunters had less options to actively scout, and most of them were high-impact techniques, such as roaming the woods looking for sign. Today, technology allows us to receive real-time trailcam images even as we sleep. And for up-to-date, low-impact glimpses into the deer woods—intel on which you can formulate an opening day strategy—nothing…

Alpine boots that get hunters to the top of the mountain are typically better known for their performance rather than their comfort. Meindl changes that paradigm with Comfort Fit Extreme hunting boots. While the 11-inch uppers are stiff for maximum support in loose, rocky terrain, the MFS Vakuum memory-foam inserts cradle feet in custom-like comfort. The footbeds are also memory foam, with fleece liners that help wick moisture away from the feet for warmer, blister-resistant fit. The Comfort Fit system is built on a last that allows for more room in front of the boot, preventing toes from pinching on extreme downhills, and creates a more stable base —just what hunters need when traversing boulder fields, scree slopes, and other extreme country. $350; meindlusa.com…

STAYING SAFE I thoroughly enjoy your magazine, especially the appreciation some of your writers have for traditional blued steel and walnut guns. There’s nothing like the real thing. I am also pleased to see the emphasis placed on hearing protection these days. Years ago, no one paid much attention to the problem of shooting and hearing loss. I never used earplugs until I enlisted in the Army in 1966, and those little rubber plugs did little good. Now we have great options to protect our hearing; too late for some of us. Perhaps more important, however, is vision protection. We see way too many shooters on TV and in print who are not wearing eye protection. A blown primer, flying debris or unburnt powder can have catastrophic results. I recently…

HISTORY This new cartridge was spawned by Hornady’s R&D wizards in response to the military’s need for increased performance in a compact cartridge compatible with AR-15 carbines. Designers necked the 6.5 Grendel case down to 6mm and massaged its shape for ultimate performance, then paired it with a highly aerodynamic 108-grain ELD Match projectile for targets and competition and a 103-grain ELD-X for hunters. APPLICATION Until the 6mm ARC, I thought the 6.5 Grendel was the most versatile AR-15 cartridge anywhere. I still love the Grendel, but in terms of pure performance, it’s been upstaged. The 6mm ARC gives up a trace of bullet weight, but it shoots a more aerodynamic bullet. Faster. About 200 to 300 fps faster. Combined, those two characteristics add up to a lot more performance,…

I shoot my share of rifles, particularly in the context of big-game hunting, but deep down I’m really more of a handgunner. Growing up, most of the Saturdays during my teenage years were spent shooting one or more of the pistols and revolvers I’d funded via my various minimum-wage jobs. Among my most prized possessions was a Colt Gold Cup 1911 that cost me several weeks’ pay back in the mid-’90s. That .45, along with my dad’s World War II-surplus Remington Rand, helped seal my fate as a fan of 1911 handguns. Though the 1911 is arguably the most prolific handgun design of all time, it isn’t seen as the first choice for handgun hunting. Given the availability of quality 10mm Autos made by companies such as Dan Wesson, that’s…

Kentucky’s early September archery deer opener had more of a sweltering summer feel than any signs of the crisp autumn temperatures you’d normally associate with hunting season. My wife and I sat side by side in a pop-up ground blind along the edge of a clover food plot. Our freezer was precariously low on venison, and the first doe to pass in range was hopefully going to remedy that. Just before the end of shooting light, the deer began trickling into the clover. When a nice doe stopped broadside at 20 yards, Cheryl drew her bow and made the shot. The doe whirled, then bolted back into the woods. We heard her crash shortly after. In a perfect world, we’d all have access to a walk-in cooler where we could…

If you’ve never been good and truly lost, profoundly unsure of not only your location but also your fate, stripped of your confidence and certainty of things you thought to be true, then you’ve missed one of the defining moments of an outdoor life. Hell, of any life. I say moments because you already know how the story turns out. Most tales of getting lost have happy (or happy enough) endings. The wandering soul has been found, necessarily in order to share their account with the rest of us, for our vicarious thrill to be so close to one of the timeless conditions of humanity. After all, not knowing where you are is an ordeal shared by early Homo erectus , polar explorers, Christopher Columbus, and an increasing number of…

If one thing sets the Franchi Momentum apart, it would be the ergonomics of the its polymer stock, which is said to have been designed to improve the handling and stability of the rifle when fired from expedient field positions. My rifle’s stock was printed in True-Timber Strada camo, and the barreled action was treated to the currently trending Midnight Bronze Cerakote finish. Like many of today’s offerings, the Momentum features a short-lift, 60-degree bolt with three locking lugs. The one-piece bolt body is fluted and polished bright and is simple to take down for cleaning. The bolt uses a goodly sized extractor and a plunger-type ejector. The cold-hammer-forged barrel measures 24 inches, and the muzzle is threaded and fitted with a brake. My test rifle had a hinged floorplate…