Petersen's Hunting June/July 2021

DUE TO THE PECULIARITIES of publishing a print magazine, I’m writing this letter in late March and you’re likely reading it in early May. For me, that means I haven’t really gone hunting in more than a month. Oh, sure, I have been chasing end-of-the-migration snow geese, which is the very definition of insanity: doing the same thing every day and expecting different results. But actual hunting has been at a minimum, and I’m starting to develop an itch in my trigger finger. On the plus side, the weather, in fits and starts, has begun to get a bit nicer. We did catch the edge of the big March blizzard that crippled Colorado and Wyoming, but that snow didn’t last long. The dry ground and warm temperatures have given me the…

While filming for Petersen’s Hunting Adventures TV is currently on hiatus, you can still catch up with me, along with co-hosts Kevin Steele, Kali Parmley, and Craig Boddington, on some of our past adventures. My Outdoor TV is an on-demand streaming service that features a near-complete catalog of PHTV episodes, along with a host of all of your other favorite outdoor shows. There’s also original MOTV-exclusives, behind-the-scenes footage, and live events worth watching. You can find more info at myoutdoortv.com.…

You started your March “From the Editor” column by stating that words matter and you know this due to your job as an editor. Why, then, would you immediately go on to suggest that people who use the word “harvest” when referring to the taking of game in the wild are either riddled with guilt about their actions or feel a need to apologize to the anti-hunting factions with kinder words? I am neither guilty, ashamed, nor, frankly, could give a damn what the anti-hunting factions think. While I will absolutely concede that the word “harvest” is most closely associated with crops and agriculture, I found at least 15 or so definitions for the word, including to catch, shoot, trap, etc., fish or game. Normally, I would just keep turning the…

Shawna Roach is like a lot of 7th graders—alternately bubbly, distracted, and deadly serious. All those attributes were on full display during her first Pennsylvania deer season, said her mom, Brenda, who accompanied her in the woods last fall. Parental companionship is a stipulation in the Keystone State, which requires all hunters ages 12 and 13 to be accompanied by a licensed family member 18 or older. But Brenda served another role: impromptu hunter-education instructor for her daughter. That’s because Pennsylvania suspended its formal, in-person hunter-ed courses for first-time hunters because of COVID-19 restrictions. Students were given the option to take an online course and then to spend their first season in the company of a licensed mentor. For Brenda, who hadn’t hunted in years, the experience was educational and enjoyable, if…

Bullet Board BULLET BASICS Engineered to provide reliable extended-range performance as well as close-range integrity, Remington’s250-grainPremierAccuTipmuzzleloader bullet is a polymer-tipped, all-copper projectile. It’s made for use with heavy charges of blackpowder substitute.To ensure the plastic sabot jacket imparts a consistent spin, there’s a shallow groove across the flat base of the bullet, which the malleable plastic sabot bulges into and grips as the bullet accelerates down the barrel.The polymer tip adds aerodynamics and initiates immediate expansion on impact. A massive hollow cavity under the tip enables huge expansion. Monometal construction ensures outstanding weight retention, resulting in deep penetration. TESTING GROUND The bullet pictured here was recovered from a big public-land mule deer. Fired over 135 grains (by weight) of Blackhorn 209, in a Remington M700 Ultimate Muzzleloader, it was superbly accurate, averaging sub-inch groups.…

Cartridge Corner HISTORY In ballistic terms, this may be the single most capable .270-caliber round ever produced and is the newest in Nosler’s line of hot-rod hunting cartridges. Featuring a 1:8.5 rifling twist rate fast enough to stabilize a brand-new crop of high-BC .270 hunting bullets, such as Nosler’s own 165-grain AccuBond Long Range, the 27 Nosler brought the classic .270 bore diameter into the modern era. Like its 6.5mm, 7mm, .30-, and .33-caliber siblings, it utilizes the cavernous .404 Jeffery as its parent case. As a result, it’s an overbore-type cartridge that generates tremendous velocity. Whether the 27 Nosler is relevant and survives and thrives in today’s overcrowded cartridge scene is up to shooters. Barrel life is not long, recoil is stiff, and like all “muscle cartridges,” accuracy can be finicky and…