Innholdsfortegnelse for December/January 2021-22 i Petersen's Hunting

According to my extensive field research, the world of matrimony is equally divided into couples who say the strength of their union is built around shared experiences and those who say they’ve remained together precisely because each partner has their own outlets. When it comes to my hunting partners, their thinking is decidedly toward this-is-my-thing exclusivity. It’s not that spouses aren’t welcome at hunting camp—they’re just never invited. That may be an expression of our evolutionary history. Anthropologists suggest men “hunt wild game as a form of status signaling or ‘showing off’ to provide reproductive benefits.” But what about the growing number of women who hunt? Are they similarly displaying their reproductive potential? Thankfully, a number of married couples are taking this topic off the table by hunting together as…

Roy Weatherby was one of the architects of the Magnum Era movement, but few hunters know that his namesake company has been selling shotguns almost as long as they’ve been selling rifles. Today Adam Weatherby, Roy’s grandson, is at the helm of the brand, and the first new shotgun released since the company’s move from Paso Robles, California, to Sheridan, Wyoming, is taking the inertia-operated shotgun world by storm. The 18i is an elegant shotgun available in three different configurations: the 18i Deluxe, the 18i Waterfowler, and 18i Synthetic. These guns are built by Marocchi in Brescia, Italy. Like other inertia guns, the 18i’s operating system is exceptionally simple and consists of three primary parts: a bolt body, a rotating bolt head, and a heavy spring. When the bolt moves…

There’s another season that peaks just after the first of the year: sport show season. And after last year’s cancelled events, 2022 will be an epic reunion with manufacturers, outfitters, and other outdoor friends and family. If I had to pick only one show to attend, it would be the Safari Club International Convention, to be held in Las Vegas on January 19-22. The world-class taxidermy displays alone are worth the modest price of admission, but the SCI Convention holds so much more. Whether you want to book a once-in-a-lifetime big-game hunt or get info on the top wingshooting lodges here in the States, the convention marks the gathering of the best outfitters from around the globe. There are also aisles and aisles of new gear for the field and…

There are dozens of practical knots that will secure your gear outdoors. Here’s a look at two simple, versatile knots: the half hitch and the clove hitch. Half Hitch: The half hitch is the simplest overhand knot and is used to “hitch” one item to another. Wrap the rope’s working end (the end of the rope being tied) around a tree or post and wrap the free end around the standing end (the portion of the rope that isn’t being used to make the knot) and pull tight. The half hitch isn’t a secure knot on its own, but it forms the basis for other, more versatile and secure knots. Still, it’s the fastest and simplest way to lash anything. Clove Hitch: The clove hitch consists of two half hitches.…

CONSERVATION SUCCESS is most often tied to addressing challenges for a positive outcome. That’s the nature of the business. When it comes to wild sheep conservation, the No. 1 challenge remains disease transmitted from domestic sheep. The bogeyman is called Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae, or M.ovi for short. If an individual wild sheep, often a wandering juvenile ram, comes in contact with an infected domestic sheep, often a ewe (you get the picture), and the ram returns to his own clan, the result can be devastating. The first to go is spring lambs. Not all adults die. Some can become what is known as chronic shedders, passing M.ovi on year after year. Before long, recruitment within a given herd falls to next to nothing. Since 1977, the Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) has…

Statistically, hunting is not especially dangerous, certainly not compared to stuff like deep sea diving or paragliding. There are inherent risks just in living, and the past pandemic year has proven that I can stay home only so long without giving up or going stir-crazy. Human nature being as it is, we focus on the sensational, such as getting run over by a buffalo. Realistically (and statistically), greater risks probably stem from things that have little direct connection with hunting: vehicles on bad roads, sudden illness, and anything to do with horses. The main thing: Bad things can happen to good people, even in the best of circumstances, at any time. Are you prepared to handle emergencies? PLAN AHEAD It doesn’t matter if you’re hunting deer close to home or…

THE HUNT was on. For me, it would be a hunt to remember. I invited Bradford O’Connor, Jack O’Connor’s son, to hunt antelope. I’d met Brad at an outdoor expo show in Seattle’s Kingdome, where I had been giving seminars on Western big-game hunting. We hit it off immediately, and Brad invited me to his home for dinner. At the time he was writing a column for a Seattle newspaper. I didn’t know it then, but Brad is also a gourmet cook. He had dozens of copper pots and pans hanging from the ceiling of his kitchen, and that evening we enjoyed a fabulous dinner. Later, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation had me contact Brad in the hopes of securing something that had belonged to his famous father that the…

Of all the retrieves a gun dog might encounter in a well-hunted life, none is more difficult than a wounded honker floating down a flowing river on the verge of freeze-up. Add in several more geese when you and your buddies take down a flock and, well, that’s when a good Lab earns the free room and board it receives the nine months of the year outside of hunting season. Non-hunters might wonder how someone could send their dog into a slush-filled river on a sub-zero-degree day. To which a waterfowler would answer: How could you not? The Lab was literally bred for these kinds of conditions, and holding a well-trained gun dog back from doing what it was born to do is real animal cruelty.…

BULLET BASICS Created as a deep-penetrating, non-expanding companion bullet to the legendary expanding Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, the Sledgehammer Solid shoots to the same point of impact as a like-weight Bear Claw, enabling dangerous-game hunters to swap bullet types as the situation dictates. Built using a massively thick brass jacket with a lead core inserted from the base and bonded inside, the Sledgehammer features a flat nose that optimizes straight penetration and maximizes wound cavity size. A grooved shank reduces bearing surface and thus pressure, allowing maximum velocities and benefitting accuracy. Currently, factory-loaded versions are available in most popular dangerous-game cartridges, and .375 and .475 component versions may be purchased for handloading. TESTING GROUND The bullet shown was handloaded into a .475 Turnbull cartridge used in a customized Winchester Model…

Inspired by the needs of hunters, the new lightweight Waypoint Duffels f rom Kuiu are the ultimate bags to keep gear secure and protected from your home to basecamp. The Waypoint line is offered in three sizes, ranging from 2,800 cubic inches all the way up to 10,400 cubic inches. The bags are also weatherproof, featuring waterproof outer material, water-resistant zippers, and a durable, padded ripstop liner. $199–$299; kuiu.com Columbia’s PHG Buckaboo jacket is the ultimate 3-in-1 jacket for the outdoorsman. With a fully waterproof shell and a zip-in fleece layer, you’re covered in all conditions. You can wear the fleece on brisk fall mornings and the waterproof shell in summer’s warm thunderstorms, and then you can put them together when winter’s cold hand throws storms that call for some…

Ask an old Arizonan desert deer hunter what he likes best to hunt, and the answer will likely surprise you. Whitetail. Coues deer—known among those of scientific bent as Odocoileus virginianus couesi—are perhaps the most fascinating subspecies of whitetail. Also called fan-tailed deer by old-timers or just Arizona whitetails, the little desert deer behave differently than common whitetails and live and thrive in habitat dramatically different than what is typically considered optimal for whitetails. Even a mature buck rarely exceeds 120 pounds. Antlers are compact but frequently gnarly and massive. A good buck’s headgear is nearly always impressive and visually interesting. The Boone & Crockett minimum is “just” 110 inches—which is an outstanding Coues deer indeed. In most of the United States, a 95-inch buck is considered a good deer.…

Flat and fast. That’s what I want in an aoudad rifle. This hunt proved that getting close isn’t always possible, and I was glad to be toting a pair of rifles (Savage .270 Win. Short Magnum and Kimber .280 Ackley Improved) that promised speed, flat shooting, and plenty of knockdown power. Rams are large and can tip the scale beyond the 300-pound mark. My bullet of choice for each rifle was Federal’s Terminal Ascent. What’s not to love? The bullet’s bonded construction will penetrate deep on close targets—and not simply explode—and Federal’s patented Slipstream polymer tip still provides expansion at extremely low velocities. This means on those long shots when speed drops, the bullet will still expand and create a serious wound channel. Weight should also be considered. My buddy…