Moose Season is what I look forward to every year. For our family, a full freezer of red meat is depended upon. During the September season, hunters in Alaska who are on a 10-day hunt will get one great opportunity at a legal bull. Sometimes, however, not at all.
Like a boss, this buckskin wearing bad boy was a showmen, a soldier, and last but not least a mighty hunter. What’s more impressive than him earning the Congressional Medal of Honor during the American Civil War, or taking 4,000 plus bison in a year in a half to feed Kansas Pacific Railroad workers, is that his legacy and memories live on and are enshrined in Cody Wyoming as if the man never died. As the saying goes, “Hero’s get remembered, but Legends never die.” - The Sandlot
You bought a new shotgun, and now you need shells for it. So you run down to the local gun shop to buy some. But then you see all the mumbo jumbo on the box--Dram Equivalent? Ounces? Shot Size?--and uh, you’re confused! Well, don’t be. Instead, read this!
If you’re searching for a more capable round in terms of terminal performance, and don’t mind larger-framed guns and added recoil, then don’t neglect the 10mm Auto.
If you bought a handgun for concealed carry purposes—great job! Bear in mind that learning to use a firearm for self-defense involves much more than simply shooting bullseyes on a range, where everything is easy. After the fundamentals—proper stance, grip, sight alignment and trigger squeeze—are mastered, try these two defensive drills.
So far, this season has been a tough one for me. I had my target buck come in after dark during bow season. The last time I saw him was a month ago… that is until the other night when he showed up on someone else trail camera six miles away!
Although no one can control what animals do, we can control how we prepare and how we react in the moment. If you can avoid making these three common hunting mistakes you will be well on your way to enjoying a successful hunting season.
Don’t get me wrong, I eat what I harvest and I love getting more meat for the freezer. But I believe that hunting is not just “getting meat for the freezer”, it is about so much more than that - so why do I hunt?
First off, if you know anything about me or have followed me on social media for a while you know that turkey hunting is hands-down my favorite type of hunting - there’s just something about a beard that I dig! Just kidding, but I do love how interactive it is and the fact that it is a great way to introduce new hunters to the sport is icing on the cake!
From brown bears to blacktail deer and everything in between, Alaska puts the “Big Game” in the Winchester Expedition Big Game Long Range lineup.
Hunters often flock to the Lone Star state to dial in on whitetail deer and mule deer. When the Winchester crew visited Texas in January, they had their sights set on antlers. But the hunters got a firsthand look at the wild pig problem in Texas…and got the chance to take a shot at swine.
I’ve run on and off for all my life and wanted to list some must-haves and some leave-at-home-suggestions for those of us who like to run outside. Too, today more than ever before, safety is a huge concern for runners and really anyone who enjoys the outdoors.
Some of these are no-brainers while others are little hacks I have picked up on when I lived in the city. Please feel free to leave any of your suggestions in the comments below as it’s always good to share safety ideas with one another.
If you’re like me and always struggle with gift ideas, I put together some of my FAVORITE items that have changed hunting for me…and they may do the same for you.
Many lessons are learned from our own mistakes, but you don’t always have to make a mistake to learn. For example, so many issues can be avoided by simply being prepared. This means putting in the time before the season to ensure you have given yourself the best possible chance at success.
It’s heartbreaking for a hunter to land the shot, but not locate the buck. We know the scene: The blood trail stops. The search slows. You finally have to admit to yourself that maybe that bruiser is gone……and steals some of your pride and ego right along with it. The trek back to the truck empty-handed can feel like a walk of shame. But there’s no real shame in it, because it happens to the best of us.
The time has come.
When the rut is on, it’s on. A flip is switched. The big bucks move, while you stay still in the stand…hoping all of your hard work will pay off. If you’re shooting Winchester, reliability and power will be delivered every single time. But you need to make sure you’re in the stand when those bucks are on the move.
I can’t count the number of times people ask for advice on this topic so I decided to write a blog about it addressing what I do and have learned to ask over time.
The skills involved in safe shooting, whether at paper or steel targets or flying clay ones, are the same as those prized in many other athletic disciplines: concentration, hand-eye coordination, breath control. Those, along with the wish to acquire the knowledge to handle and shoot firearms proficiently, are what make the thought of shooting so attractive to so many who have yet to give it a try.
Are you ready for hunting season?
Now there is Foster and Matt Bartholow, the Hardy Boys of the Amateur Trapshooting Association.
If you compare the Bartholows to the Hardy Boys as they shoot their way to singles-, doubles-,*handicap-*, and team-championship fame, then the event where they have had the most spectacular impact, the Grand American World Trapshooting Championship in Sparta, Illinois, a summertime institution for more than a century, could be thought of as the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally of trap–an appropriate analogy for two brothers from Rapid City, South Dakota, only 30 miles from Sturgis.
Exhibition shooting has a strong history in America. The sport continues to evolve and grow. Legendary exhibition shooters have helped paved the way for professionals nowadays, including brothers Steve and Aaron Gould.
Passion is packaged in all different ways. The Gould Brothers’ passion comes in the art form of precision: shooting exactly when and where they want, and doing it in style. Their impeccable, show-stopping shooting skills have earned them the reputation as the “World’s Best Exhibition Shooting Team.”
If you’re going to be the best, you need to use the best…which is why the Gould Brothers use Winchester.
You don’t need experts to teach your children about everything. Parents teach safety when it comes to everyday situations, like the swimming pool or crossing the street. Parents start their children down the correct path in life in these areas and many others.
This year, my eldest son Tim who is 19 has worked instructing in pistol and carbine courses in Utah with Tactical Performance Center. Not only has he taught competition shooters, but also brand new shooters, law enforcement and military. While some kids get a job at their local Dairy Queen, there are jobs out there that can help a youth grow not just his or her bank account, but skills with people and situations that most young people won’t ever have to tackle.
Winchester Ammunition has been recognized as the choice of champion shooters for generations. Shotgun competitors have depended on the quality of Winchester AA shotgun shells since 1965, while Winchester has been proud to see the heights to which those shooters can ascend with the brand’s’s ammunition in their guns.
Frank was born in the “Cornhusker” state of Nebraska in 1988, and he was nine when he began shooting with his dad. When Frank’s passion for shotgun shooting began, Frank was particularly attracted to sporting clays.
This is the basic principle, but while using this formula, we realize there are different types of sight picture. Each has a place, depending on the target and style of shooting. From close paper targets we see in some competitions, to refined shots requiring accuracy and finesse, there are different ways we use sights. There is a need to understand what YOU need to see to make those shots.
The question then becomes, home much are you willing to spend in effort? Dry fire can help even the newest shooter because they will learn safe gun handling habits, how to move with a firearm, how to change magazines, transition, “see faster” - all without the need for ammo or travelling to and from the range. So grab your empty gun, mags, holster and mag holders and let’s check out some simple dry fire exercises to help you improve your handgun shooting.
When it comes to turkey hunting, every step counts. One forgotten move could be the difference between bringing home a fan of feathers or letting that gobbler live to see another day.
The Keefers use the innovative Winchester Pattern Board App to get a clear picture of their shot pattern.
Birds of a feather flock together….until one steps out of the pecking order. During Paul Sawyer’s wild turkey hunt in Oklahoma, he witnessed what happens when the bird’s natural instincts come into play.
The signs are there: The snow has melted. The mercury is slowly—but surely—rising. The days are longer, the monthly calendar has flipped to April, and the faded brown grass is brightening back to green.
If you haven’t hunted for turkeys yet or are a beginner, you have come to the right place. However, I must warn you…once you hunt for turkeys you will be hooked! Hunting wild turkey may look easy on TV shows but it is no easy feat to get an gobbler to follow your plan. From gobblers running to your setup right off the roost, or struggling to get that big gobbler to commit to coming into gun range…each hunt is different and comes with its own set of excitement and challenges.
One of the reasons I love hunting new places and with new people is because it allows me to experience different styles of hunting and learn new tactics. Being able to connect with people and approach conversations not only with an open mind and a willingness to learn, but also an eagerness to learn is what makes my hunting experiences fun!
…drinking behavior until Memorial Day weekend. I don’t think that the majority of us really know what is involved with “corning” a hunk of meat.
You may not know that “corning”, or more accurately called “pickling” can be done with any antlered game meat or waterfowl. Actual corn plays no part in the process.
Below I am going to walk you through three of the most popular treestand styles and some of the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Every single mount has a backstory, an adventure, a memory that I will cherish forever. But when space becomes limited, I decided to start looking for alternative methods to hang mounts. Lowering the number of animals I mount would be one option, but I was still hoping for an alternative- and I found it.
I serve people snow geese often, but I don’t tell them it’s snow goose until after they’re just about done eating it. I did have one guy tell me that snow goose was, by far, the best tasting goose out there. He told me about how he cut the breast fillets into little strips and then marinated them in teriyaki sauce for 2 days. After that he wrapped the marinated goose in jalapeno, cream cheese and bacon. I’m fairly certain that you could do the same thing with a piece of your shoe and it would taste about the same.
Why put so much effort into practicing an exercise that appears as easy as putting a barbell on your shoulders and squatting down?
Two simple reasons: 1.) safety and 2.) effectiveness. The barbell squat is a powerful compound exercise that can pack on muscle in the legs, glutes, core, and even upper back. It can also be utilized as a conditioning movement to help burn off those holiday calories. It is also one of those exercises that if done improperly, can lead to injury (but this can be said about pretty much anything we do in the gym!).
He and his friends would harvest tons of coyotes each season with my brother and I being pulled through fields in a sled with dad on snowshoe. This was what we loved and this is what I still love it to this day. Even though the tradition of coyote hunting in our family hasn’t changed, the ammunition and technology sure has.
What’s a sounder? It’s a large group of hogs. I was going to go with a “pack,” but I knew that wasn’t correct. They are sexually mature at 6 months of age and they have between 1 and 2 litters of 5 to 6 little piggies each year. They have no real natural predators and they reproduce faster than we can kill them. They also cause billions of damage every year in the United States. So, what’s the solution to the wild hog population explosion? I think the answer is obvious.
Winchester has employed their shot-lok technology enabling you to get the most out of your ammunition. I was lucky enough to test it out at this year’s SHOT Show Media Day in Las Vegas. Needless to say, I was very impressed. What is your favorite gun/ammo combination for tom turkey? Want to see how it works…click on the video!
It’s just not my thing. Go there the day before or after and choose from their normal menu and there’s probably no waiting. A few years ago, we started our own holiday tradition of inviting another couple or two to our house for Valentine’s Day. The steak and lobster is at least as good as any restaurant and the wine is considerably better.
Two questions I often get asked are why do some people seem to find all the sheds and how can one be more effective? This comes down to a few important aspects in my book.
First, shed hunt where the animals are.
Fortunately, the darker-fleshed ducks can still make great table fare with just a few extra steps and some additional time to tame the more “pronounced” flavored game meat.
Lean, dark-fleshed ducks and geese have a deeper, earthier flavor as compared to an otherwise fat and lighter-fleshed mallard or pintail. It should come as no surprise that ducks and geese are what they eat.
This time, I won’t be the one hunting however. Two young South Dakota boys will be taking part in the late-season youth-hunt for does. Quite frankly, I can’t wait! South Dakota participates in the Youth Deer Mentored Big Game hunt. I’m a huge proponent of programs such as this.
…some animal parts manage to last a year or two longer than they probably should. Of course, the purpose of putting a label and a date on everything that goes into the freezer is so you know what the heck it is after it has been packed along with 100 other packages.
The one thing that came unexpected were the comments I received from fellow hunters questioning why on earth I would ever need or want a suppressor on a hunting rifle. I understand that everyone seems to have an opinion online, but I didn’t expect this from hunters.
It is also becoming more popular among hunters. This means that it is an easy to find factory load with more options all the time. Wanting to learn what all the buzz was about, I decided to order my own Winchester 6.5 Creedmoor to see if it lives up to all of the hype.
Not that you have to be a hunter to know how to prepare wild game. I’ve never killed a cow, but I can cook one, although preferably not the whole animal at once. If the recipe author mentions “catching” wild game, he or she doesn’t hunt. OK, maybe they’re trappers, but I don’t think that’s the case.
Figure out how to beat the weather, and the non-stop action of coyote hunting will truly amaze you.
Having the right gear is always helpful, but sometimes it takes a little hard work and suffering before knowing what gear is truly helpful. I’ve put in a lot of time and learned the hard way on things that make a difference in the field. So, skip a little of the heartache and add some of these items to your gear bag to make your season more comfortable and successful:
It adds moisture, flavor and mellows out, not disguises, the natural flavor of waterfowl. I do not cook a duck or goose without first soaking it overnight in brine.
Those of us who have discovered how much better the Thanksgiving turkey tastes after a brine bath for 24 hours know that the bird will not only cook a little faster, it will also bemore moist and flavorful than an unbrined bird.
The last thing you want to do when the temps drop and the hunting heats up is stay at home because you aren’t prepared for the chilly temps. I’m not saying everyone has to go out and buy all new arctic gear and apparel, but there are a few easy tips you can do to stay warm and make your hunts more enjoyable.
…sharing some easy step-by-step progressions for some exercises that have become staples of my training.
For starters, let’s start with arguably one of the best back and arm exercises: the pull-up. For those of us who are pull-up challenged and looking to improve, here are some simple progressions to get you on track! Depending on your fitness level, you may be able to skip over some steps.
Try some of these tips to end your season with a strong finish and make the most of those days in the blind.
Ducks
Hunt Big Water—Smaller bodies of water are freezing up so ducks will head for larger rivers and lakes where water is still liquid. Hunt from a boat blind, set a layout blind on a sandbar or set up on a finger of land jutting into the body of water and set your decoys close.
Perhaps you may have learned that the legs and thighs from pheasants and turkeys are tough, sinewy and unfit for table fare. In some respect, you’re right, but it is probably because you cooked whole birds and discovered that, if the breasts are just cooked and not overcooked, the other parts aren’t fit to eat.
And why not? Not only does the hunter see these creatures as competitors for the game animals they wish to keep in abundance, but the varmints also present an opportunity for additional time in the woods by hunting them year-round in most places, night in most places and can sometimes even get them access to lands that would otherwise be closed to them for other types of hunting.
Those, in turn, gave me days of hunting adventure you can’t tie a bow around or put under a tree. Cottontails in the woods. Fox squirrels raiding the corn bins. And — best of all — big, white-tailed jackrabbits racing over the pastures and cornfields. South Dakota’s winter landscape was the ultimate rifleman’s training ground, and those 22 Long Rifles made it all possible.
Winchester has devoted an incredible amount of time and energy to help hunters and shooter be the most effective they can possibly be. One of the most noticeable changes is the extensive range that’s been proven to be effective for turkey hunting with LongBeard XR. This also goes for waterfowl hunting with Blind Side and continues on through with DeerSeason XP, Varmint X, AA TrAAcker, and the list goes on.
Snow is on the ground, Christmas lights are up, and reindeer are on roof tops. Speaking of deer… Here are 3 ways to use antlers when decorating for the holiday!
And as many times as they had all made the exact same dishes, they relied on well-worn recipe cards to make sure that everything was cooked just right. When I mentioned that they could probably get the job done without the recipe cards, they gave my future mother-in-law a look that said, “We don’t really like this kid.”
Because it will make you a better shot. And it could save the day if you’re faced with a puzzling set of shooting conditions. Ballistic calculators are computer programs based on physics. Scientists have long known what happens to projectiles thrown through the atmosphere.
If that person is an avid shooter or hunter, then Winchester-branded merchandise is the perfect solution sure to bring that special person in your life a smile to their face on Christmas day. Here are some top choices for this holiday season.
Getting feathers to fall can be a hard-core task when it comes to waterfowl hunting. As the weather shifts from bad to worse, waterfowl warriors know it's time to scan the skies. Sleet, snow, rain, hail, and cold push the birds to use their wings, and hunters head out to bring them down.
And many times, the hubs or bars are also damaged. Usually I don’t like to take blinds out of the field until the season is completely wrapped up. That can be late Dec or even mid-January depending on the state I’m hunting. Once a blind is up, deer get used to them so the last thing I want to do is take them down to avoid snow damage.
One of the great things about fresh, never frozen meat is you can prepare easy freezer meals for those days when you are in a rush but want to have a delicious breakfast without all the time it takes to make it. Here are 2 quick and easy meals you can prepare in advance for breakfast when you are on the go.
Add some onions, celery, carrots and any other vegetables that make you happy. Top the whole mess with a pile of whipped potatoes and pop it in the oven. In about thirty minutes, it’s dinner. Mom used to make something she called “Hamburger Pie.” It was a big hit with dad and the three boys.
This is a list that I used to purchase gifts for my own family and friends and hope there may be something that could spark some interest for that hard to buy for person in your family.
S4 Gear Bino Harness– This is a binocular harness that keeps optics dry, clean and at the ready. It fits most styles of binoculars and not only makes it much more convenient, but also keeps binos snow and water-free so you can see regardless of weather conditions.
When it comes to sealing the deal, there are a few tricks I keep up my sleeve to utilize when the time is right.
Never let deer know they are being hunted
It may sound like a no-brainer and pretty simple, but it takes discipline. After gun opener, deer seem to be on edge. So, I keep the location I hunt low pressure and take every precaution to be stealthy in hopes that deer use my section of property as a safe haven.
Maybe we can clear some confusion if we take a hard look at the old 300 Winchester Magnum and the newer 300 Winchester Short Magnum to gain a clearer understanding of what they do. First, both of these powerful magnum rounds exist for the extra reach and punch many shooters demand. North America and Africa harbor good to excellent numbers of large, tough, antlered or horned animals.
I’ve always been a huge fan of late season hunting for whitetails. This can be a very productive time of the year. Below are four proven tips that I’ve used to find success as seasons begin winding down.
However, visions of big bucks dance through my head along with hearing my dad’s voice say, “You’re not going to shoot anything if you’re not out there.” So, I gear up and head out. Through trial and error, I have found some simple yet inexpensive and effective ways to fend off the cold and hunt comfortably in the field for longer durations. Here are my tips and tricks to stay warm in the field this late season:
If you’ve ever taken a bite into a fresh, unsweetened cranberry, you know that the taste is nothing like what you get from something that’s been made with cranberries. Cranberry sauce, chutney, relish and, of course, the cranberry juice that occasionally floats on top of a vodka drink have all been sweetened or they would taste sour.
Think about it, the bullet only has a few inches of barrel to travel down so the slightest dip in the barrel or flinch of the shooter can alter the trajectory drastically in just a few short yards of travel. To improve your ability to fire a handgun accurately, focus on these three aspects of grip for better trigger control and, ultimately, a better aim.
But not the 308 Winchester and 300 Winchester Magnum. Here there is such a performance differential that one must seriously consider what each does and which hunting applications each handles best. So let’s dig in. Both these popular and vastly different cartridges throw .308-inch diameter (30-caliber) bullets. The big difference is their powder capacity.
In many sports, training includes some aspect of learning to focus exclusively on the task at hand, filtering out distractions. In endeavors such as putting, basketball free-throws, billiards and pitching, athletes practice blocking out all distractions and using visualization…
I put in so much time during the off-season training and throughout the season scouting and hunting that when the moment of truth comes…I want no excuses. Winchester introduced Deer Season XP because they wanted to ensure deer hunters had something specific to their needs. This round was designed with only one thing in mind: dropping big deer in their tracks.
With so much to do and so little time, I like to have recipes on the back burner (pun intended) that I can turn to when I am in a time crunch. Here are a few quick snacks that the entire family will enjoy. The best part is both recipes share the same 3 core ingredients!
Let’s face it, we’ve all had some pretty funky venison. Hopefully, any unpalatable dishes you prepared in the past resulted in a learning experience. Sometimes we gain as much knowledge by making mistakes as we do by our successes, a concept I’ve reminded my 20-year old son about for years. In my formative years as a wild game cooker, I had some remarkable culinary failures.
Big on Optics: Quality optics, both in the form of binoculars and a scope, are your best friends in low light scenarios. A good pair of binos in the 8x to 10x range, but with a larger objective, can help gather more light and make creatures almost invisible to the naked eye easily identifiable in low light.
The result is you can hold the crosshair in the right spot, but it could really be pointing an inch or more off that spot at 100 yards. This isn’t a big deal, but as distance increases, that one-inch difference expands to 2 inches at 200 yards, 3 inches at 300 yards, etc. For precision, long range shooting, a tiny big of parallax in a scope can result in significant misses.
The rut. An instinct-driven, chaos-filled craze. The time of year when whitetail bucks have one thing on their mind, and one thing only. They seek a willing doe-in-estrus. The need propels them through the fields and forest with persistence.
Don’t be a hobbyist in the area of defensive skill development. It is great if you gain pleasure from knowing that you are better able to defend yourself or your family if you need to. But, if the only reason that you train is because you enjoy it, you will inevitably start compromising your training… you’ll start deferring to techniques that you perform best in the training environment, not the ones that would serve you best in a fight.
I’ve been in camps where everyone is so exhausted by the time dark comes that food preparation is the last thing anyone cares about. When this is the case, I’ve found a great solution: freeze dried meals. Most people think that freeze dried food would be a last resort or something that is less than desirable to eat. This may have been the case years ago, but this is an area that has really come a long way!
It’s true comfort food that greets you with an inviting aroma as you open the door. No waiting for dinner. Let’s eat! The bigger challenge is to roast a venison hindquarter and have it come out medium-rare like sliced roast beef that you might put into a sandwich. Cooking lean venison isn’t nearly as forgiving as fatty beef. It requires more time and attention, but the end result can be just as delicious as any thin-sliced beef you may have had in a French dip.
Whitetails, mule deer, elk and even small game such as squirrels and rabbits are crepuscular, meaning they feed primarily at dawn or dusk (twilight hours) when night is transitioning to day and vice versa. For this reason, much of a hunter’s time—for sake of this blog, a deer hunter’s time—is going to be spent in the woods, most likely on a stand during…
Another important aspect is keeping yourself warm and comfortable and using the best gear possible. The more prepared you are for the weather conditions, the more you’ll enjoy the hunt. First, when calling or setting decoys remember you’re probably hunting pressured birds. With this, the adage “less is more” holds its own weight. I try to setup in locations where the birds naturally want to be or will be going through. As far as calling, this is absolutely true.
As for the millions of deer hunters across North America who dropped a deer using it in the field, they were convinced. Now it’s been confirmed by one of the most prestigious magazine titles in the hunting and shooting world; Guns & Ammo has named Winchester Deer Season XP as its 2017 Ammo of the Year.
One of my most frequently reoccurring rants concerns the amount of whole muscle game meat that gets ground into burger. I think it’s because ground meat is easier to prepare, it’s more forgiving than steaks and roasts, especially when it’s a bit overcooked. Ground game usually ends up in tacos, meatloaf and, most often, chili.
BC might sound like a bunch of hooey, but it’s really at the heart of bullet performance. With the right BC you can make a light bullet hit with twice the kinetic energy of a bullet twice its weight because doubling a projectile’s velocity quadruples its energy. Doubling its weight only doubles its energy.
Across America, hunters have pursued wild game for decades with Winchester. They have made choices on the perfect caliber, bullet type, bullet weight … choices that have then been proven in the field, when the moment of truth presented itself. They have stepped out beyond their own backyards to find diverse backdrops and hunt thick-skinned, powerful, and challenging opponents.
Time of Year – Over the years, I’ve had the most success with rattling during the peak of the rut. However, that’s not the only time it works. Pay attention to what is happening, and take of your surroundings. Study the behavior of the deer you’re hunting while on stand. See how they interact with each other and take note.
Being new to waterfowl hunting, I decided to turn to hunting guide and Owner of Goose Creek Outfitters and Retrievers, Matt Peel, to help me explore some new tactics to help get more birds on the ground this year.
The stuffing allegedly draws out the evil spirits and adds a fruity and, um…vegetably flavor to the cooked bird. I’m not buying it. Oh, I’ve tried stuffing my turkey and ducks a number of times. It just didn’t seem to make a difference. I know some of you are going to keep doing it the way you’ve always done it. For the rest of you, I’ll continue.
One of the main reasons for this requirement—at least in many areas is the perception that the limited range shotguns possess when compared to rifles makes it safer when hunting is taking place in close proximity to human-inhabited areas. Centerfire rifles are not permitted in the big buck states of Illinois and Iowa, as well as all or portions of East Coast states like Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia. Limits exist in many other areas, too.
Come along on this video blog by Winchester Deadly Passion’s Melissa Bachman to learn how to do it. It’ll take a little sweat-equity, but will surely pay off in spades down the line. We will give you a few hints: cover, food and water. Check out his video to learn more.
Have you ever been so close to a deer or turkey that you could reach out and touch them while out hunting? I have had serval of these experiences when hunting from blinds, there is nothing quite like being “one with nature” and seeing animals up close and personal in their natural habitat! First we must first consider where and what type of game we are hunting. This is key when deciding on the type of blind and camouflage pattern that would be most effective.
My utensils included a fire pit for heat and an assortment of iron, clay and wood pots. It’s not much different than deer camp today, except for the coolers full of ice, sound systems, propane stoves and 500-watt lighting. The few pigs that were brought over the Atlantic Ocean stayed fairly active, growing in numbers to a thousand or more that were maintained at nearby Hog Island.
The whitetail rut one of the most anticipated times of the year. Don’t miss out on this golden opportunity, and don’t flub your chance at a monster when the moment of truth arrives. But to make that moment arrive, try these tips this fall.
For this match, I helped my friend Cyndi get her rifle zeroed and a little practice in, then we headed to the match. First, we checked out what vendors had to offer at side stages with her mother in law Jane. Them we got Cyndi shooting a pistol for the first time since she was last at a ladies event. Then we got ready for the match with things such as loading mags and organizing gear, listening to stage briefs with the other women in our squad, and then shooting.
Take Winchester Blind Side for example. The amount of time, energy and innovation that has been put behind ways to make a waterfowl load better is truly mind boggling. Winchester took something that most people thought was just fine and made it more effective than most people could ever imagine.
Being new to waterfowl hunting and not having a dog of my own, I decided to turn to gun dog trainer, hunting enthusiast and president of Lone Duck Outfitters, Bob Owens, for some knowledgeable insight on what it takes to get a dog ready for the season. We touched on everything from strategies for good conditioning, proper nutrition, and “must have” products to help keep a dog safe and performing at their best while out in the field this fall.
How you slice any hunk of meat can make a big difference at the dinner table. You’ve heard about slicing meat “across the grain.” If you haven’t heard, then you’re probably just not paying attention. Take a close look at a piece of meat, the bigger the better. Notice that the muscle fibers run parallel to each other in long bundles or strands.
That is a byproduct of correctly adjusted parallax, but it does not explain the phenomenon nor will merely turning the ocular to bring the reticle into focus correct it. Parallax occurs when the target and reticle are on different planes within the scope.
Nothing is worse than missing birds and then deciding to pattern the gun just to find out that the shot pattern is not hitting what you expected. Finding the right ammunition and choke for the gun you intend to shoot is critical to success in the field. When I am unable to get to the woods one of my favorite things to do is to hit the range, or in my case a nice hilly farm field to sight or pattern guns for the upcoming season.
Barley’s full of fiber and it’s supposed to boost your immune system. It’s also a complete protein that also regulates blood sugar. Why someone hasn’t come up with an infomercial selling barley capsules as a miracle cure for anything that ails you is a mystery to me.
So forget the perfect, all-round bear cartridge. Instead, let’s concentrate on a good black bear round. This is assignment enough because black bears can grow to weigh more than 700 pounds! Most, however, are going to fit into the 150 to 400-pound range, and that’s doable for a great number of cartridges. Before we dive into those, however, let’s pay homage to something even more important — the bullet.
But wind is inconsistent and hard to measure, and as a result, can throw even the best aimed shot off by feet—even yards—depending on the distance of the shot and the speed of the wind. It would be hard to adequately tackle every aspect of judging and accounting for the wind when shooting at targets 500 yards out and beyond, but here are some tips to help you stay on target when the wind is up.
- Quality decoys- Just like turkey or deer decoys, waterfowl decoys can make a huge difference on the overall success of a setup. Quality decoys may take time to purchase but you’ll be very happy in the end. Once you have everything you need, keep them in good shape by cleaning them each year and taking care of them both in and out of the field.
Yes, if you show me a picture of a duck I can identify it immediately. However as with most things in life, learning about it through books and actually testing knowledge in the field when birds are flying at various distances and lighting conditions, it is a whole different ball game! My first couple of trips to the blind resulted in me being more of an observer; watching and learning how to identify each duck as they flew past our setup.
Come along on this Winchester video blog with Becky Yackley to learn how to easily and quickly clean your AR platform rifle. Deer season is fast-approaching…you’ll be glad you did.
Some of us tend to grind up way too much of our good game. There are other options. Before you go grinding up both hindquarters, consider turning the better muscles – sirloin, top round, bottom round – into steaks or roasts. Take a sharp, thin-bladed knife and separate each muscle from the hindquarter. Trim away anything that is not muscle. Give one of the cuts a good soak in olive oil, red wine, garlic and herbs.
Not only are distances away from the shooter and speed of the targets factors a hunter must consider, but having the right shot size for the size of the ducks or geese likely to be encountered is a critical consideration. Common shot sizes used for waterfowl (from smallest to largest) are No. 4, 3, 2, 1, BB, BBB and T shot. Naturally, smaller shot sizes are best suited for ducks, while the larger shot is better for geese and swans.
Ah, but whack that golf ball with a 100-miles-per-hour club swing and you might change your mind. A basic rule of physics is that double weight doubles energy, but doubling velocity quadruples energy. This is what enables us to terminate 1,000-pound moose with bullets weighing less than a half-ounce! Knowing this does little, however, to clear up the confusion over various bullet weights offered in most cartridges.
Although I don’t get much time to hunt with my family anymore, this season I’m getting the best of both words. I’m heading to Saskatchewan at Buck Paradise Outfitters with my dad for an early goose hunt. So what makes these early hunts so great? In my opinion it’s tough to beat hunting with family and hunting birds that have had little to no pressure is a blast.
If mean, if I can’t keep calm when people are watching, what I am I going to do when buck fever kicks in? Luckily for me, I was in the beautiful mountains of West Virginia so a sense of peace filled my veins. As I wrote last week, I was taking a long range shooting course taught by Phil Conklin. Phil is an accomplished instructor who had me hitting long range targets, calculating wind compensation and elevation changes in just a few hours. Most certainly a testament to his teaching ability all on its own.
The type of recipes best suited for a particular kind of stock depends on the critters you used to make the stock. For instance, a reduced stock made from lighter-fleshed upland game is ideal as a replacement for chicken broth or stock. Darker-fleshed waterfowl and antlered game stocks are an upgrade from canned beef broth.
But for many buyers a lot of questions surround not only which firearm to purchase, but primarily, what caliber it should be. Here’s a look at the pros and cons of many of the top defensive handgun calibers available.
Most hunters understand that steep shooting angles alter where bullets strike. If your rig is zeroed at 200 yards on the level and your target stands 200 yards up a steep mountain slope, your bullet will strike lower than usual, right? And if its below you, you’ll shoot high? No? Well, at least half no.
Take a peek at some shooting and scenes from a weekend match. This match was the Generation III Gun Championship in Lake of the Ozarks, MO. The event is a fundraiser to support youth who compete in 3 Gun, and they even had a shoot-off where juniors (kids under 18) picked adults to shoot a head-to-head stage with them while competitors waited for scores from the match to be tallied. Out of the 209 shooters, there were 31 juniors and 23 ladies competing in this match.
I like to do this at 30-yards as it’s a great way to test out the gun, choke, and ammo combination to ensure perfect patterns when it’s time to hit the field. I always recommend shooting from a lead sled on the bench because it really helps reduce recoil and ensure that shots are consistent, and human error has been taken out.
She described the details of the course to me and how it helped drastically improve her ability to fire long range shots accurately and elevate her overall shooting confidence. As she filled me in on the course, my first thought was how unconfident I would be to put an animal down at anything over 150 yards, let alone 600-800 yards!
From the hides to the nether regions, nothing was wasted. By comparison, think about how much of your wild game gets thrown in the trash. Based on a lifetime of talking to others about how they prepare their harvested game, I’d guess that only a very small percentage of them make the most of their critters. I’m not talking about making coin purses out of venison scrotums, but the tasty shanks and flanks are often discarded.
Veterans of the syndrome recommend all hunters begin their anti-buck fever training as soon as possible. A great way to begin is by working with your rifle until you can operate it with complete function and confidence in the dark. Figure out how you’re going to carry it, get it off your shoulder and into shooting position.
But where the country opens up and mountains rule the terrain, most certainly out West, taking shots uphill or downhill, and sometimes at fairly long ranges, definitely comes into play. Compound that with the interest—and modern capabilities—of shooting longer ranges courtesy of technological advances in optics, firearms and ammunition (think Winchester Big Game Extended Range) and you have a world where considering angles when shooting becomes critical.
The blind keeps weather from becoming an issue if it’s raining or snowing allowing you to sit longer. Last but not least, it’s pretty tough to beat being eye-level with a big buck only steps away from the blind. With all these benefits, it does however take a little work to make them as effective as a treestand, but it can be done by utilizing a few simple tips.
There are many variations of kits, you can buy one that will only have the tools for your specific gun or you can purchase one that includes attachments for various different guns. If you have a kit that has several bore brush sizes, be sure to match the appropriate cleaning brushes with the gun you are cleaning to avoid damage and ensure you have a clean gun once finished!
Team USA, powered by Winchester Ammunition, is off to a great start having earned four medals and five top-10 finishes thus far. Ashley Carroll (Solvang, California) and Derek Haldeman (Sunbury, Ohio) have led the charge as Carroll finished sixth in Women’s Trap and Haldeman finished fifth in Men’s Trap. The two then went on to earn a bronze medal in the Mixed Team Trap event Monday. The Trap Mixed Team event will make its debut as an Olympic event in Tokyo in 2020.
Leaving a dead or mortally wounded animal on the ground in hot weather happens, but we’d all prefer a solid kill shot with an animal that drops dead immediately. Fortunately, we found this one before it got too hot. Since this was a “TV hunt”, part of what it is that I am supposed to do is to show viewers how to cook it, or at least part of it.
Practice shooting from field positions using prone, sitting, kneeling and standing positions with and without assistance from bipods, monopods and the like. Come along on this insightful video blog from Ron Spomer to learn more.
Most accidents happen going in and out of the stand before people are safely strapped in. The good news is this can be avoided simply by using a lifeline. The idea behind a lifeline is to keep you connected from the moment you leave the ground until the moment you return. This eliminates the chance of falling from the tree on the ascent or descent; plus it make things easier when you get into your stand because you’re already connected.
Tall grasses, cornstalks, pine, and cedar work great if they occur in the landscape you are hunting. When collecting materials you will need a folding saw for the larger branches, pruners, and some zip ties for holding everything in place. When covering the blind don’t worry if you cover the windows as you can use the pruners to cut any obstructions out of the way once you get into your blind.
Training with an empty rifle helps shooters forget about recoil and concentrate on proper form and trigger control. They can see where their sights were when the firing pin clicks. So load for the shooter behind his back. When she’s doing everything right, slip in a live round and score!
The Canada goose population in the East and across the rest of its migratory range has exploded. Not to the point of snow geese, but certainly, what they tend to call “resident birds,” those that have adapted to staying put in areas of warmer weather and abundant food and nesting conditions, are quite plentiful.