Petersen's Hunting September 2021

THERE ARE FEW THINGS that stir my soul more than that first glimpse of an aspen leaf turned gold against the backdrop of a dark, pine-covered mountain. It’s a sure sign fall is upon us, and it always takes me back to one of those magical moments hunters so often experience in the wild. It was mid-September as I snuck through a wide stand of aspens high in the Rocky Mountains. A flicker of movement stopped me in my tracks. Two velvet-antlered mule deer casually walked along the edge of the trees, unaware of the presence of a predator. Not that I was any threat to them. Though I carried a bow in my hand, my pocket held a license that was good only for elk. Still, I took the opportunity…

The smell of leather, canvas, saddle grease, and horses holds a special p ace in my memory and reminds me of the fall, of my childhood, and, most of all, adventure. Hunting partners come in all shapes and sizes. S me of the best: the four-legged kind. Hunting with stock of any kind offers an adventure all its own. I equate the relationship of a packer and their stock to that found between wingshooters and their trusted hunting dogs. While horses and mules aren’t seeking out your game, they are the muscle behind the operation. Every year I yearn for the opportunity to cinch down the saddle and strap the panniers tight. I can’t describe the feeling of mounting a horse in the backcountry; it’s primal, to say the least.…

I don’t spend much time in a hunting blind. Instead, I prefer to take my hunt to the game. Give me a good spot-and-stalk opportunity, and I’m one happy hunter. In addition to stealth, punching a tag requires the ability to shoot fast and accurate. Here are my three tips for ensuring the freezer gets filled each fall. 1 SIT, BOY. SIT. For many hunters, there are two default positions when it comes time to shoot: go prone or drop to one knee. Both work, but tall cover can cause problems when shooting prone, and kneeling doesn’t provide the most stable platform. Instead, get your butt to the ground. If you can cross your legs “Indian-style,” rest an elbow on each knee. If cross-legged isn’t possible, bring both knees up and tuck…

Have you ever had a piece of gear that carried—and I mean “carried” in the literal sense—more memories than others? My Stone Glacier Solo on the Xcurve frame has seen it all and has been a great companion on many hunts. I remember one night in November two years ago. I had a mule deer strapped to my back and Missouri Breaks gumbo caked to my feet. My good friend Paul Kemper and I were trudging along in the dark just hoping to hit the truck sooner than later. The weather had turned from cold and snowy to warm and rainy, transforming the surrounding area into a mud pit. We were covered in the stuff. I am sure my pack still holds remnants of the mud to this day. I had…

BULLET BASICS This bullet is the epitome of modern hunting projectile design. It has a solid rear half like its ancestor, the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, and a bonded front lead core. It always creates the ideal mushroom shape, retains most of its weight, and penetrates deeply. A boattail, a composite tip, and a low-drag secant profile give it excellent long-range performance. The tip initiates expansion at very low velocities. As a result, the Terminal Ascent holds together during fast, up-close impact speeds and penetrates deeply, and it mushrooms reliably even at very low, long-range impact velocities. TESTING GROUND In one of the most important shots of my life, I fired this bullet 561 yards across a canyon and through the shoulders of a 14-year-old Rocky Mountain bighorn ram. Muzzle velocity from my…

If you want to put a face on the national ammunition shortage, then it would look a lot like my friend Jason. A little pudgy in the cheeks, a little red in the neck, with a scraggly mustache in the middle. Jason has a storage unit full to overflowing with ammo. There’s more 5.56 and .308 match ammo in there than most rifle ranges see in a decade of slow-fire matches. There’s even more 9mm and .40 S&W. And he has cases upon cases of shotgun shells, from No. 9 target loads to heavy pheasant and waterfowl shells. Cases of .22 long rifle are stacked along one wall. He still snatches up more ammo every time he gets the chance. Jason also gets the big picture, which is that all the ammo…