Innholdsfortegnelse for December/January 2025-26 i Petersen's Hunting

PLANNING and executing the right mix of stories when readers are hyped up to hit the woods is just one of the many challenges when putting together a hunting magazine. Although the cover of this issue teases some late-season tactics for winter whitetails, I’m betting most of our loyal subscribers are reading this before the first snowstorm hits. Maybe it’s not even opening day yet where you live, or perhaps you’ve punched a tag already. Whether you’ve spent several days on stand this season or are just getting ready to hunt, I hope this issue of HUNTING magazine delivers on the kind of content you want, when you want it. The fact is, it’s actually early October as I’m writing this. There’s a freshly killed antelope hanging in my garage,…

When CZ discontinued its 500 series of rifles, I was upset for two reasons. First, I don’t like change. I still haven’t warmed up to ’90s rock. The second reason is that the Mauser ’98 is the greatest rifle system ever devised. Full stop. For CZ to abandon a line of rifles that were based upon Paul Mauser’s masterpiece was unfathomable. That said, I’ve come to appreciate the CZ 600+ for the innovative design that it is. The 600+ American is a well-built, versatile, safe and accurate rifle with some truly innovative design elements. The 600+ action is unlike any other that I’m aware of. Most bolt actions haven’t changed much in the past 100 or so years, but this one really is different. It starts with a six-lug bolt…

You know how a late-season whitetail hunt is supposed to go. After the rut ends, bucks are worn down and looking to replenish lost fat reserves, so they pile into the best food sources. Cold weather gets them on their feet. All that you need to tag a giant buck at the end of the season is the right weather forecast and a prime place to sit, such as a brassica plot or field of standing soybeans. It’s like an early-season hunt but easier, and without all of the sweating, and get this: you can usually carry a rifle or muzzleloader. That’s been my takeaway after 30 years of reading articles and watching television shows about late-season deer hunting. Unfortunately, the late-season hunting that I’ve done myself—which is a lot—almost…

I was teaching fifth grade, and my wife was heavy with our soon-to-be-born son. We had no money, but my bride is a rockstar. It was probably the 10th time in the last two months I’d asked the Sportsman’s Warehouse employee to let me blow the call. He sighed, then huffed, and reluctantly pulled out his keys, not counting on a sale. My wife, while I was in the restroom, bought that call. At the time, the MVP was around $130, and it was money we didn’t have. Two weeks later, at the Colorado State Duck Calling Competition, John David Stanley III beat me out to go on to the World Championship Duck Calling Contest in Stuttgart, Arkansas. One week after my runner-up performance, I shot a five-duck limit, controlling…

No matter where you hunt late-season ducks, certain factors impact calling sequences, volume and what you might be trying to say. Wind speed and direction, habitat, terrain and hunting pressure–especially on public land–all influence how you run a duck call. The number of stagnant ducks in the area versus newly arriving birds from the North, also affect your calling approach. The more wind you face and the more open the habitat, the louder you may need to call in order to capture the attention of ducks. The same is true when hunting pressured birds. But do you need to keep hammering on that call to coax ducks into the decoys? “Late in the season I call just enough to turn the heads of distant ducks, then let the decoys do…

During a recent training event, I had to eat a generous slice of humble pie. The dial-for-distance aiming method I prefer to teach was backfiring, and the beginning-level hunters and shooters in attendance were struggling to understand it. My old friend and fellow writer Ron Spomer was also instructing, and he suggested the old maximum point-blank range (MPBR) system of aiming might be better for those early-onset hunters. Turned out, he was right. I came away from that three-day intensive event with a fresh mindset. For folks that don’t shoot regularly, that don’t have access to a long-distance range, and that rarely shoot at game past 300 yards, dialing for distance isn’t the answer. Accurately dialing for distance requires a better-than-average grasp of ballistics and the ability to run complex…

BACK IN 1775, as John Rigby hammered his first barrel into shape in a dark Dublin workshop, he likely had no idea of the legacy he was creating. Maybe he had the dream, and he certainly had the skills as an artisan, but the gunmaker certainly couldn’t have imagined what Rigby would come to represent 250 years later as an aspirational firearm brand built on legendary quality, premium performance and rugged adventure. Like any good hunting trip, the trail to 250 years wasn’t a smooth or easy one for John Rigby, his ancestors and various principles who somehow kept the gun-maker moving forward over the course of two-and-a-half centuries. The first challenge was the Irish government itself, which seized Rigby’s entire inventory in 1798 in the face of a rising…

The cost of quality hunting optics has soared in recent years in line with upgrades in features and technology as manufacturers have chased the trends in long-range shooting. Thankfully, there are still budget riflescope options available and all that new tech and improved manufacturing is now trickling down to cost-conscious consumers looking for an inexpensive, do-all riflescope. Just one great example of this trend is the new Vortex Crossfire HD line of optics, which maintains value-driven price points with upgrades in features and performance. Vortex Crossfire HD riflescopes are an update of the company’s popular line of Crossfire II optics with a host of modern features. The aircraft-grade aluminum tubes are fitted with a new high-definition optical system that enhances the sight picture and increases resolution. Vortex states all exterior…

WHEN WINTER weather strikes, the warnings go out. Monitor conditions. Do not travel. Stay at home. School is canceled. These alerts and more stream across the bottom of TVs and beep notifications on your smartphone. Heed the warnings, but if the winter threat does not signify death or law breaking by venturing out, before, during and after, consider using the climatic happenings for your whitetail hunting benefit. The advantages and disadvantages of a wintertime event occurring during your hunt are many. Disadvantages need little explanation. Icy roads, deep snow and whiteout conditions rob you of hunting days, especially when officials shut roadways and post “no travel” regulations. The advantages, on the other hand, could aid you in your tag-filling quest. As a na- tive of the north country whitetail zone,…

HUDDLED AGAINST the leeward side of an exposed, jagged rock, I attempted to escape the bone-chilling December breeze as the smell of salt water and gentle break of the rising surf served as a constant reminder that I was a long way from the mountains I call home. The sun was slow to rise, but with it came a scene from your grandmother’s wall calendar as the orange and yellow hues of the morning sun lit up the remote inlet to the Atlantic, surrounded by towering century-old pines and one of Maine’s iconic lighthouses in the distance. While feeling like a proverbial “fish out of water,” the bobbing decoys, light-hearted banter with friends and the Mossberg 940 Pro in my hand gleaned an appreciated familiarity. Maine may be best known…