Petersen's Hunting back issues from December 2004:
Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
Dec 01, 2004 ... An October letter regarding Layne Simpson's piece on the .410 (August) lit a bit of a fire among .410 fans. Who knew there were so many? A sampling: My family has used the .410 for grouse for the past five years or so, and we haven't lost a grouse yet. I will never go back to ...
Species switch.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
Dec 01, 2004; ... In reference to the "Coues Cult" sidebar in Craig Boddington's article in the Bonus Deer Issue, you refer to the Coues deer as Odocoileus hemionus couesi ....
Not so great.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
Dec 01, 2004; ... I continue to hear stones and read articles on how great antler restrictions are, including in Minnesota. In the short term, the results are excellent, which I won't dispute. In the long term, though, hunters will remove most/all mature deer--especially those with the best ...
All to himself.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
Dec 01, 2004; ... I wanted to thank David Hart for misinforming everyone about the effects of the moon on the whitetail rut--now I'll have the rut to myself. There is some outstanding research done by Charles Alsheimer, who has it right--and it's verified by the last five years of my ...
Magnum prejudice.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
Dec 01, 2004; ... Enough of the graphic descriptions of what happens to soft, tender shoulders after firing a magnum rifle. If you can't handle the recoil of a magnum, then you shouldn't use one. Since when is an enhanced capability to precisely place ...
Staying home.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
Dec 01, 2004; ... I am writing you on the eve of Michigan's first dove season in 100 years. I have to tell you that I will not support this particular dove season. Although many sporting organizations helped with the fight, none of them are very happy with the end result--none, that is, but the Michigan ...
The call of the wild returns: resurgent gray wolf populations could mean new hunting opportunities.(Expeditions)
Dec 01, 2004; ... When European settlers first arrived in North America, they found a vast wilderness that was home to some 400,000 gray wolves. Over the next several hundred years, so many gray wolves were killed that, by the middle of the 20th century, they were on the brink of extinction. Now, thanks to ...
Big brother is listening: two-way radios are great in the field--just be careful what you say.(Expeditions)
Dec 01, 2004; ... As part of a plea agreement stemming from a charge that he illegally used two-way radios during a deer hunt, outdoor television personality Donald "Babe" Winkelman agreed to write a column on hunting ethics and pay a $200 fine, according to Associated Press reports. Winkleman's column runs ...
The secret life of deer: antler cams promise to be the latest in wildlife video surveillance.(Expeditions)
Dec 01, 2004; ... Reality TV might take a new twist if an Ohio man fulfills his dream. Dan Parrott, executive director of Wildlife Live, is planning to install tiny wireless video cameras into whitetail deer antlers so he can provide high-speed streaming video to anyone who wants to take a peek into the ...
Sunshine bears: counting Florida's bruins and hoping for a hunt.(Expeditions)
Dec 01, 2004; ... Over a year ago, Brad McNaughton co-founded the Central Florida Bear Hunters Association, which today has nearly 400 members. That's surprising, considering Florida hasn't had a bear hunt since 1996. McNaughton explains that most members are sportsmen who know first-hand that Florida has a ...
Public relations 101: making our case and getting credit for doing good.(Gresham on Guns)
Dec 01, 2004; ... Does your gun club have a media committee? It should. There should never be a shooting match, a "day at the range," shooting lessons or any activity that is not preceded by a news release to the local papers, radio stations and television stations. If we neglect this ...
Prairie dogs not threatened.(News Notes)
Dec 01, 2004 ... Varmint hunters can breathe a sigh of relief now that the prairie dog is being removed as a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act--thanks to new data available to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Old information suggested that disease, chemical control and other factors ...
Busted on bear patrol.(News Notes)
Dec 01, 2004 ... In what could be a precedent setting case, a New Hampshire man has been convicted of shooting a black bear out of season. The bear was eating out of a backyard bird feeder (to which it had been returning regularly) when it was shot, Fish and Game repeatedly instructed the complaining ...
CA ammo Bill is back.(News Notes)
Dec 01, 2004 ... A bill requiring buyers of ammunition to provide, among other things, a home address, phone number and thumb print to merchants has been passed by the California legislature. At press time, Senate Bill 1152 awaited ...
Turkey decoy debate.(News Notes)
Dec 01, 2004 ... Alabama hunters are awaiting a final decision on the use of decoys for turkey hunting this spring. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' Advisory Board approved the decoy use in July, but the change is subject to the Legislative Procedures Act and is ...
Ruffled feathers: Minnesota waterfowlers voice their frustrations with the DNR.
Dec 01, 2004; ... A recent survey finds that many Minnesota duck and goose hunters don't think their opinions and ideas are terribly important to the Department of Natural Resources, although the agency is trying to establish better lines of communication. The survey was conducted after the 2002 ...
Tamer tastes.(Cook Shack)
Dec 01, 2004; ... You can "tame" the taste of gamey meat with a proper blend of spices and marinades. Two things that help are using a syringe to inject marinades directly into the meat and using only the freshest herbs and spices. Experiment with different flavors such as juniper berries, rosemary, ...
Sleep on it: how to pick your best night's rest.(Extreme Hunting)
Dec 01, 2004; ... Friends and I have been on many hunts during which, sad to say, we never fired our rifles, but none during which we never crawled into our sleeping bags. Rest, lots of it, is as essential as food in order to maintain your body at optimum performance levels, and the right sleeping container ...
.375 H&H Magnum: is it really for North American game?(Rifles & Reloading)
Dec 01, 2004; ... Arizona's late elk season was barely an hour old, and I was glassing a five-point bull on the opposite slope of a small canyon north of Flagstaff. Neighbor Ralph Simpson had the elk tag and a Winchester Model 70 in .375 H&H Mag. Ralph had inherited the rifle from his brother who lived in ...
Para what? Parallax is a vexing little problem every hunter should know about.(Tech Corner)
Dec 01, 2004; ... Small changes sometimes have large consequences. For premium riflescope design, one such change is the recent trend of moving the location of the parallax focus feature from the objective lens to the central adjustment turret. Traditionally, parallax compensation on higher-magnification ...
Most exciting hunt?(Ask Mossy Oak[R])(Advertisement)
Dec 01, 2004; ... What was the most exciting hunting trip you have ...
Too young?(Ask Mossy Oak[R])(Advertisement)
Dec 01, 2004; ... I would like to know if you think seven is too young for me to take my son deer hunting. It would be in an elevated box blind, so his movements and such would be concealed. T.R., Broken Arrow, OK * It really isn't for me to say. Only you should be in a position to ...
Low-recoil '06.(Ask Mossy Oak[R])(Advertisement)
Dec 01, 2004; ... I have a .30-06 and like to hunt elk with it, but I don't like a lot of recoil. What would be a good load with plenty of knockdown power and not a lot of kick? C.C., McMinnville, OR * At last, an honest man who admits recoil isn't ...
.458 Win. or Lott?(Ask Mossy Oak[R])(Advertisement)
Dec 01, 2004; ... I am considering rechambering my .458 Win. Mag. to .458 Lott. However, I recently saw that Hornady loads a "hot" .458 Win. Mag. at 2,260 fps. The .458 Lott amino from the same company is only 2,300 fps. Am I missing something? T.L., Centreville, MS * The .458 Win ....
Bear stoppers.(Ask Mossy Oak[R])(Advertisement)
Dec 01, 2004; ... What gun would you want to shoot a charging brown bear or really big black bear at 10 feet? J.K, Drexel Hill, PA * I think a 155mm howitzer would be best. Seriously, I think you could stop any bear with a .30-06--or a 12-gauge slug--if ...
African plains game.(Ask Mossy Oak[R])(Advertisement)
Dec 01, 2004; ... I'm planning a safari for African plains game. Can you recommend cartridges and bullets? I have a 7mm Ultra Mag and am very confident with it, but I also have a .30-06. K.M., Mount Sidney, VA * Either cartridge will do just fine on non-dangerous game up to ...
Coyote crazy.(Ask Mossy Oak[R])(Advertisement)
Dec 01, 2004; ... I'm interested in hunting coyotes, but don't know what gun to use. I have a .270 I use for deer, but I have been told it would do too much pelt damage. D.A., Buffalo, MN * If you shoot relatively tough bullets designed for larger game, pelt damage won't be an issue ...
What's on the web?
Dec 01, 2004 ... The Internet has created unique opportunities for learning more about the sport of hunting and for fostering a sense of community for hunters across the country and around the world. And Petersen's Hunting's website should be your first stop when you're looking for the latest and greatest ...
Double (no) trouble: Weatherby resurrects its side-by-side.(Shotgunning)
Dec 01, 2004; ... After a recent false start with a Spanish manufacturer, Weatherby is finally in business with a side-by-side double, this one built by Fausti Steffano of Brescia, Italy. During a recent wingshooting safari in Argentina, I used the 20-gauge Athena D'Italia (Athena from Italy) quite ...
The longest yards: are we asking too much from our guns?(Muzzleloading)
Dec 01, 2004; ... I still believe the essence of muzzleloading is in using hunting skills to get close enough to game to smell their breath and not in long-range shooting, but to be perfectly truthful, I have taken long shots. I had a big bull caribou in Manitoba last fall that I had been after for hours ....
The western hunting rifle: with the variety of guns and calibers available today, who's to say if choosing just one gun is easier or harder?
Dec 01, 2004; ... Over the years I've written dozens of stories about the "ideal" rifle and cartridge for pronghorns, elk, mule deer and so forth, but up until now I've never been asked to write about the "western big game rifle." When you think about it, the topic makes perfect sense. After all, how many ...
Behind the book: trophy stories from Boone & Crockett's 25th Big Game Awards.
Dec 01, 2004; ... The trophy you've dreamt about for years and hunted for days is at last within your sights. You squeeze the trigger but barely feel the recoil as you instinctively chamber another round. No need; the animal is down. And then, those reassuring words from your guide, "He'll make book ....
An undiscovered trophy.
Dec 01, 2004 ... Back in 1961, Lavonne Bucey-Bredehoeft was only 12 years old when she shot what was to become the 2nd Award for a nontypical mule deer, yet it took 41 years for her incredible accomplishment to be acknowledged. "My father, George R. Bucey, got me started hunting when I was a ...
Money ain't everything.
Dec 01, 2004 ... Although bighorn sheep are often considered a rich man's trophy, this year's convention proved the exception to that theory. David Nygard from Billings, Montana, had been applying for a bighorn tag for more than 20 years before he finally got drawn. When he did, he began studying the ...
Perseverance pays.
Dec 01, 2004 ... Guinn Crousen, a hard-driven 61-year-old businessman from Dallas, Texas, lives to hunt Rocky Mountain bighorns--or so it would seem. He recently sold his aerospace parts company, he told me, just so he could devote more time to hunting. During the last two years he spent almost ...
A younger brother's first moose.
Dec 01, 2004 ... Gary Rose is in the enviable position of working as a wildlife biologist for the Double D Ranch in Rosanky, Texas. Part of his job involves hunting with his boss throughout the world. Ask him where he has hunted and he starts naming countries like a travel agent: Tanzania, Zimbabwe, ...
More record tales.
Dec 01, 2004; ... The 1st Award muskox chased Craig Scott 20 feet after he shot it, before it finally tumbled over and died. His guide calmly walked over, looked at it, and said. "Yup, it's big." He was right; it set a new world's record, scoring 129. Robert Ortiz took his 3rd Award muskox, which ...
Mystery of the late rut: four strategies for capitalizing on your big second chance.
Dec 01, 2004; ... If the best gifts are the ones that surprise you the most, my buddy Tad Brown had sent me a whopper. The gift was the deep, booming roar from the Thompson/Center Encore he carried. As the echoes of that shot faded into the thick cedars lining the Platte River. I smiled and stretched in my ...
Ruff and ready grouse: winter in the Alleghenies is a good time and place to learn a few lessons from the brown bomber of the forest.
Dec 01, 2004; ... I hope my Pennsylvania friends will forgive me for saying this, but their state bird sometimes pulls the craziest stunts. Just as you begin to think you have the ruffed grouse figured out, you decide all over again that you never will. This grand bird of the forest seems to become even ...
The need to feed: food sources are the key to finding pressured bucks.
Dec 01, 2004; ... On opening day, most deer are running for their lives, and finding them is often a matter of setting up in the right travel corridors. As the weeks progress, however, and the relative calm of the late season sets in, deer begin once again to structure their lives around finding food. ...
The pocket survival guide.(Survival & Safety)
Dec 01, 2004; ... As a search and rescue professional and avid outdoorsman, J. Wayne Fears has been there and done that when it comes to wilderness survival. His compact guide is a no-nonsense approach to getting home safely when ...
Midland GXT450 radios.(Survival & Safety)
Dec 01, 2004; ... Boasting a 12-mile range and 22 channels, these four-watt radios are just the ticket for hunting parties that need to stay in touch or communicate with base camp. They feature access to ...
Adventure Medical Kit.(Survival & Safety)
Dec 01, 2004; ... The folks at Adventure Medical Kits are serious about backcountry first aid and just as serious about assembling comprehensive kits that are easy for everyone to use. At just 15 ounces and 6 1/2x4 1/2x3 inches, the Day Tripper fits nicely in a daypack and has all the supplies you'd need ...
Survival stuff.(Survival & Safety)
Dec 01, 2004; ... It's the little things that sometimes help the most, and that's the case with Labrador Outdoor's Mega Mini Kits. Each box contains a small instruction booklet and useful items for when you're stuck in the woods. The Survival Cup and Hydration Manual features a 32-page mini book on ...
SteriPEN.(Survival & Safety)
Dec 01, 2004; ... Dump your iodine, forget about boiling and leave the filter at home: SteriPEN purifies water by using UV light to destroy bacteria, viruses and protozoa. The same technology has been used for more than 60 years to purify municipal, medical and bottled water supplies. The SteriPEN puts this ...
Do-all buck buster knife.(Great Blades)
Dec 01, 2004; ... This knife is really three tools in one, providing all that's needed for field dressing big game. The rounded cutting edge can skin hide and carve meat. The gut hook unzips the body cavity and the unique fork design uses ...
Buck Short Revolution.(Great Blades)
Dec 01, 2004; ... At the push of a button, the Short Revolution revolves its 2 1/2-inch stainless blade from within the handle to the "open" position, ready for use. When the blade is closed, the other end has a clip, much like a ...
Benchmade Griptilian.(Great Blades)
Dec 01, 2004; ... This combo set matches up Benchmade's Griptilian folder with the company's Rescue Hook. The Griptilian is an awesome 3.4-inch blade that smoothly opens from a molded handle with (as the name implies) aggressive texturing for a sure grip. The Rescue ...
Browning field dressing ombo.(Great Blades)
Dec 01, 2004; ... Browning's cleaver and saw make short work of dressing game. Strong, full-tang AUS-8A stainless steel blades really hold their edge and the cleaver is available with or without a gut hook. The saw is ...
Field test: Mossy Oak Apparel's APX.(Mossy Oak APX)
Dec 01, 2004; ... Comfort and function in hunting clothing revolves around a simple strategy: Move moisture away from the skin and, at the same time, keep moisture and wind from penetrating the exterior. That's best accomplished by dressing in layers--nothing new there--but what many people fail to realize ...
Galco S.A.O. holster.(Gun Accessories)
Dec 01, 2004; ... Galco's Single Action Outdoorsman beautifully crafted leather holster is great for carrying a single-action hunting revolver afield. It can be worn strong side or cross draw on a belt up to 1 3/4-inch wide. The firearm is ...
Space Saver Screwdriver Set.(Gun Accessories)
Dec 01, 2004; ... Quit scratching around for the right Screwdriver. The new Wheeler Engineering Space Saver Screwdriver Set from Battenfeld Technologies has a full-size handle and a comprehensive set of 26 bits, all specially selected for gun ...
Outdoor connection Titan swivel.(Gun Accessories)
Dec 01, 2004; ... The sleek, one-piece body of the metallic Titan Sling Swivel gives it great strength, and its signature brass pin and contoured lines complement the finest of firearms ....
SSI shooting stick.(Gun Accessories)
Dec 01, 2004; ... This lightweight, foldable shooting stick is built like an oversized tent rod, with strong elastic cords running through the center to keep it rigid when deployed. A small telescoping extension holds ...
LaserLyte Universal Bore Sighter.(Gun Accessories)
Dec 01, 2004; ... Sight-in or check zero on rifles from .22 to .50 caliber with LaserLyte's new Universal Laser Bore Sighter. It includes four expandable caliber adapters that allow the laser unit to fit snugly into the barrel of a firearm for perfect alignment with the bore. The unit sends a bright red ...
Filson Uplander field boot.(Field Gear)
Dec 01, 2004; ... Lightweight and rugged, the Uplander is made from oil-impregnated cowhide for waterproof durability. Upper side panels are Filson 22-ounce cotton rugged twill, impregnated with wax for durability and water resistance. A removable cork footbed ...
Leica 32mm Ultravid.(Field Gear)
Dec 01, 2004; ... Introduced last year in 42mm objective sizes, Leica's top-of-the-line Ultravids are now available in more compact 32mm objective models. Available in 8X and 10X, these midsize binoculars boast magnesium bodies and a titanium center axis shaft for lightweight and rugged ...
Leupold compact tripod.(Field Gear)
Dec 01, 2004; ... These days, more hunters are using spotting scopes and high-powered binoculars for judging racks or extensive long-distance glassing, and for that you need a field-ready tripod like the new 43-ounce model from Leupold. It collapses to 15 inches (extended length is ...
Exchanger full head cover.(Field Gear)
Dec 01, 2004; ... This cold-weather hood incorporates a special "heat exchange module" that traps the heat and humidity of exhaled air and then uses it to warm cooler outside air as it's inhaled. By retaining this exhaled heat, the Exchanger ...
Weaver nightview.(Field Gear)
Dec 01, 2004; ... This compact night-vision monocular scope from Weaver uses digital imaging technology to pierce low-light conditions and provide high-contrast images to the user. An infrared light array illuminates images up to 100 yards away ...
Africa adventure.(Stocking Stuffers)
Dec 01, 2004; ... If you've hunted Africa, are seriously thinking about hunting Africa or have even remotely considered going on an African safari, African Hunter II--edited by Peter Flack and our very own Craig Boddington--is a must-have book. It covers 25 countries with in-depth overviews of hunting areas ...
Browning black ice lights.(Stocking Stuffers)
Dec 01, 2004; ... Lightweight lithium batteries operate at temperatures from minus 40 to 140 degrees in these technical lights for the serious outdoorsman. Combination xenon/LED technology allows for the use of a xenon bulb for long-range stream light and LED for flood lighting on close-up tasks. The ...
Gloves in a Bottle.(Stocking Stuffers)
Dec 01, 2004; ... From cold and often dry air to the mess of cleaning game, hunting can be hard on the hands. Gloves in a Bottle is a new lotion that binds with your skin cells to form a protective barrier that keeps out irritants while sealing in what moisture your skin does ...
Realtree videos.(Stocking Stuffers)
Dec 01, 2004; ... New from the Realtree video team is Monster Bucks XII, Volumes I and II. Each boasts 18 hunts and more than 100 minutes of big buck action. Hunts include the use of ...
Happy trails: four experts give their secrets to tracking big bucks in the snow.
Dec 01, 2004; ... Tracking down a deer in the snow and then killing him is one of the toughest ways to bag a buck. To be successful, you first have to be confident in your abilities to navigate through large tracts of rugged terrain, and you have to be able to read fresh deer sign accurately. ...