Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2021 i Petersen's Hunting

THESE DAYS, you have to knock on a lot of doors in the hopes of getting permission to hunt private land. From absentee landowners to leased ground, the barriers to publicly accessible private lands are high and numerous. And other hunters aren’t doing us any favors. When private lands become locked to previously open public access, it’s often for a good reason that’s hard to argue. Other hunters ruined the resource by littering, trespassing, off-roading, poaching, and otherwise trashing land they were lucky to have access to in the first place. The more I talk to farmers and ranchers about hunting—or read admittedly anecdotal reports about landowners locking up land that was once enrolled in a walk-in or other public-access program—the more I hear how horrible hunters really are. And…

THE U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California recently granted motions brought by Safari Club International (SCI) and the National Rifle Association (NRA) to intervene in lawsuits challenging the removal of gray wolves from the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) lists. The lawsuits, filed by three anti-hunting organizations, are trying to overturn the 2020 decision by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to remove gray wolves from ESA listing in the Lower 48 states. The delisting of gray wolves, in response to sustainable population recovery, lifts management from federal control and gives it directly to the affected states. This delisting has beneficial implications not only for hunters, but also for farmers and communities living with ever-increasing wolf populations. These lawsuits, which challenge the delisting using baseless claims and…

The conditions were nearly perfect. The antelope buck was feeding calmly, and the morning Wyoming wind was virtually nonexistent. It was obvious these pronghorn felt safe and had not been harassed by hunters this season. We crawled until our cover ran out and set up behind a slight rise in the otherwise flat and barren landscape. The range was a little over 300 yards. Just as I pulled the buck into view through the scope, he turned and showed us his backside and began feeding away slowly. When he finally gave me a shoulder, he was over 400 yards away. Such shots are not at all uncommon in antelope hunting—but for one factor: I was hunting with a muzzleloader. CVA has been a leader in the muzzleloading market since the…

I STARTED my journey into game cookery about 20 years ago. I had just opened my first restaurant in the middle of the English countryside—a picture-perfect pub called the Pot Kiln—and was looking for ways of doing something different. The answer came from a visit to my local game processor who offered to take me deer stalking. This would be the start of a lifetime’s journey—and a passion that consumes me to this day. The secret to great venison is in the cooking and preparation. We follow a rigorous process of hygiene and timings to ensure the shot deer is bled and gralloched (gutted) very quickly, and then placed immediately into a chiller. For best results, skinning and inspection follow 7 to 10 days later. I can’t stress enough how…

BULLET BASICS One of the most proven of the semi-modern hunting bullets, the AccuBond has a lead core bonded to a robust copper jacket, a minimal boattail, and a polymer tip that aids aerodynamics and ensures rapid, dramatic expansion on impact. The 90-grain 6mm version shown is the second-smallest of the line. TESTING GROUND My 10-year-old niece shot a massive 7.5-year-old mule deer buck with the bullet shown. Muzzle velocity from her 6mm Creedmoor was 3,160 fps. Shot distance was 60 yards. The buck was uphill, quartering away, and the bullet took him in the crease behind the shoulder. Impact velocity was an estimated 3,035 fps. FIELD PERFORMANCE On impact, the muley bucked and kicked, classic indications of a vital hit. Dashing over the ridge, it vanished, dropping perhaps 20…

Drop-camp hunts are usually superb because you get clear away from the hordes of other hunters. Also, such adventures are typically fun because the hunting is good and you’re usually out there with a great friend. Unless you decide to go solo. Going solo completely changes the game. Whether you’re transported in by bush plane or boat, you are on your own in a potentially dangerous environment. If the proverbial manure hits the fan, the cavalry is a long way off. And when weather conditions are bad, help can take an eternity to arrive. In Alaska—the quintessential drop-camp destination—challenging weather is the rule rather than the exception. When meat hits the ground, you’re on your own to process and pack it. When you fall and hurt yourself, it’s on you…

Day 30. Though it felt like day 300 at this point. An October breeze warmed my face as I slowly made my way along a sun-dappled trail through the hickory trees. Ohio deer season had opened up a month earlier, and my bow was growing ever heavier in my hand. I had swapped my compound for a recurve and, after months of practice, was determined to kill a deer with it this fall. Yet as each day passed without the opportunity I was hoping for, I became more doubtful of the journey I had set out on. For years, I had hunted with a compound, and it had come easily to me. The need for a new challenge, and the inspiration of hunters who had come before me, had pushed…

WE RODE around a point, up through some of the last scraggly timber, and stopped to glass. Far up on the skyline, visible only through good glass, was a single white dot. The spotting scope confirmed a goat, and just as it turned away and went over the skyline, we ascertained it was a billy. The Rocky Mountain goat is one of the most difficult animals in North America to judge, with just an inch of curving black horn separating acceptable and spectacular. Our glimpse had been pretty quick, but Ryan Counts and I both felt this was not a big billy. Telltale signs are subtle, but he’d seemed a bit too round and fluffy, so probably a youngster. We rode on, up to a saddle descending from the main…

Last year the neighbor next to my hunting property replaced the old fence that had loosely defined our boundary for decades. Deer could easily cross the old, dangling barbed wire nearly anywhere; now, however, it’s five feet tall and as taut as a guitar string. Deer can still jump it or squeeze under it, but they would rather not. We agreed to install a gate so anytime we visited each other in our ATVs we wouldn’t have to use the county road. Two months before deer season I asked if he cared if the gate were left open. He didn’t, so I chained it open and placed a trail cam on the fencepost. A month later I checked the camera. As expected, deer looking to cross into or from my…

I HEARD my first bugle a little more than a decade ago on my first elk hunt. Standing in the pitch-dark mountains, a relative who was teaching me the ropes had just sent a locator bugle into the starless unknown. Moments later, a bull replied from a distant ridge. It instantly captured my heart, and I’ve been elk hunting ever since. In the last decade, I’ve bowhunted elk seven seasons. All were DIY hunts on public land. Until last year, when I got the chance to bowhunt on the White River Mountain Ranch in Hamilton, Colorado. To date, I’ve bow-killed three elk and rifle-killed one. I’ve hunted as many as 25 days and walked a couple of hundred miles on single hunts. I know what it’s like to struggle to…

We love to argue about the best rifles, cartridges, and optics. These are important, but there are lots of excellent choices. It seems to me that the most essential gear includes good, durable outerwear; comfortable, rugged footwear; and a load-carrying device to get your gear (and your sheep) off the mountain. Kuiu (kuiu.com) outerwear is tough and breathable—and you bet I layer up. As expected, the September Montana weather was mild, chilly in the morning and warm at middays. Raingear went in the pack as a last-ditch layer, but fortunately, it stayed there. For footwear, I’m a big fan of Danner, a great old brand, but knowing I needed to be as light-footed as possible and expecting mild weather, on this hunt I wore the new Lodestar boots from LaCrosse…

EXCALIBUR » TWIN STRIKE EXCALIBUR Crossbow’s 2021 flagship crossbow features a design principle never before seen in a crossbow. Two rails, two triggers, and the ability to shoot two arrows without the need to cock the crossbow again. The Twin Strike gives crossbow hunters an advantage in the field they’ve never had: a follow-up shot. Any experienced hunter can appreciate the advantage of a second shot. Excalibur’s Charger EXT Crank comes included with the package. The crank is completely silent and requires just 14 pounds of effort to cock the crossbow. It’s also removable once the crossbow is cocked or you can hunt with it attached. I was able to cock the crossbow without the crank, but it requires a lot of strength and isn’t recommended. Both strings can be…