Petersen's Hunting October 2021

WE ALL HAVE that one friend who turns into a completely different person this time of year. He goes dark for weeks, only to reappear around Thanksgiving. Or, if you do see him, he’s got that 1,000-yard stare. When you bump into him (usually at the Git-n-Split at 5 a.m. on the way to the field), he speaks of target bucks and moon phases. He might text you shadowy, trailcam photos of “Big Daddy,” “Swamp Donkey,” or some other aptly named deer that he just can’t catch during daylight hours. In short, this guy is obsessed. And while he claims to love deer hunting, he’s turned it into something that, in my opinion, is less than fun. Don’t get me wrong. I have addictions. In my younger years, it was turkeys…

The arrow has been loosed or the bullet has been sent down the barrel, and now you have the big buck you worked so hard for lying at your feet. Now it’s time to get him in the freezer. If you never butchered your own meat, this may be the year to try it. While it may be intimidating at first, the reward is unlike anything else. And it’s another way to continue the comradery of hunting season with your best partners. The first time I butchered a big-game animal was out of neccessity; my college-student budget didn’t have the excess cash to pay for a bull elk to be sent to the processor. My best friend and hunting partner showed up at my house with with ice-cold beer and…

CAPTURE HIGH-QUALITY FIELD PHOTOS IN THREE SIMPLE STEPS. “Grip ’n’ grin” photos often carry a negative connotation—both in and out of the hunting community. However, when they’re done correctly, photos of your trophy can capture your hard work and success with a single click. In a world driven by photos and social media, the ability to take respectable photos of our hunting endeavors has never been more important. Implementing these three tips will result in higher-quality field photos that forever capture your mountain memories. 1 SLOW DOWN This is the single most important aspect to getting good field photos. Take a deep breath and soak in the moment of success. Taking a quality field photo requires time—and you only get one crack at it. So take a lot of pictures and review them…

As a youngster, I packed extra cartridges in a homemade ammo belt. It wasn’t pretty, but it served. Sort of. The cartridge loops eventually got a bit loose. My rifle stock sometimes bumped against the exposed rounds and got scratched. And the ammo in the belt always seemed to be dusty when I went to load it into my rifle. Much as I love them, classic Western-style cartridge belts aren’t all that good for hunting. Eventually, I discovered Galco Gun-leather’s Stalker Cartridge Wallet. Over several decades and a lot of products tested, it’s proved to be the best spare-ammo carrier I’ve ever used. Made of Latigo cowhide colored a dark and lustrous tone that Galco calls “Havana Brown,” it hangs on your belt, secured by a sturdy 2.25-inch-wide belt loop. Unsnap the top…

BULLET BASICS Nosler’s version of a monometal hunting bullet, the E-Tip features copper-alloy construction with a deep hollow nose covered by a composite tip. The tip protects the bullet’s nose from accuracy-robbing damage and initiates expansion on impact. A boattail aids aerodynamics, and a computer-engineered profile maximizes the ballistic coefficient. Not only is the E-Tip legal in lead-restricted hunting areas, it’s a very effective, accurate bullet in its own right. TESTING GROUND Hunting partner Colton Heward used the bullet shown here on a big free-range kudu bull in South Africa. It was the heat of the kudu rut. Five days of hunting turned up just one good bull, and Colton took the shot after a long, rigorous stalk. FIELD PERFORMANCE Exiting the muzzle of his .270 Win. rifle at about 2,950 fps, the 130-grain E-Tip…

Chris Johnsrud might not be a bird hunter but for his dog, a hairy-faced Griffon named Chewy. Chewy came to him as a rescue a few years after Johnsrud, frustrated with difficulty finding access to birds, had cased his shotgun. But Chewy had so much prey drive that Johnsrud renewed his hunting license, mainly to satisfy his dog. “It’s what he was built to do, to hunt,” said Johnsrud. “I felt like I helped him fulfill something so basic to him only to remember how basic it is to me, too.” Johnsrud’s experience is no surprise to A.J. DeRosa, the founder of Project Upland. The group has quantified this catalytic effect of dogs on both new and resurgent hunters and has enlivened the data with testimonials from hunters like Johnsrud. “There is a measurable…