Field & Stream May 2016

I AM THE TYPE WHO READS widely and voraciously, and because hunting, fishing, and the outdoor lifestyle are a big part of who I am, I’m always on the lookout for books that cover this world. Unfortunately the sporting life seems to inspire more mediocre books than good ones, so I was pleasantly surprised when this month I read three very smart and surprising books that I think any outdoorsman would enjoy. The first is Classic Carmichel: Stories From the Field ($50; Safari Press), by Jim Carmichel, who served as Outdoor Life’s shooting editor for more than 40 years. Over the course of his long and illustrious career, Carmichel has traveled the world for hunts that most of us can only dream about. His knowledge of hunting and sporting arms…

In photographing the survival kits for “Save the Day” (p. 45), Jim Golden used the knolling process, in which items are neatly arranged and shot from above. We asked him to explain the method. How do you begin? A: It’s best to have a variety of shapes to work with. My prop stylist and I try to place the biggest items first in a way that feels balanced, then fill in the empty space with smaller ones. Was that a struggle? A: It can be challenging to work with such diverse pieces of gear—the truck kit had everything in it from a lighter to kitty litter. But it was fun figuring out the puzzle. Which item would you have wanted to keep? A: The Eton FRX5 weather alert radio. I’d…

PHOTOGRAPHER: TOM MARTINEAU LOCATION: ST. PAUL, KAN. On a cloudy and calm April morning, Jim Rosckes of Chaska, Minn., took a two-bird limit of Easterns on private land during Kansas’s archeryonly season and carried them out across Flat Rock Creek. After roosting the birds the night before, he set up in a wheatfield 150 yards away. “The turkeys were already gobbling, and I gobbled right back. Then eight hens flew down,” Rosckes says. “Soon, two toms followed. Three hens ran off, but five came toward me, and then the toms came a-running.” He shot one tom as it eyed his strutter decoy. The other started beating on the dead turkey, and although Rosckes’s next shot hit the bird, it ran and lay down 25 yards away. So he grabbed another…

SPACE INVADER “Instructors Are From Mars” (Shotguns, Feb.–Mar. 2016) was great. The tips reminded me that I still have work to do as my daughters’ instructor. Paul Gwidt, Wausau, Wis. WHITETAIL WOES “State of the Deer Union” sums up the deer issue pretty well. Will Brantley, in particular, hit the nail on the head about hunters on social media, and I can’t stand to watch outdoor TV. What bothers me most, though, is that hunters don’t realize that we can be our own worst enemies. I know from experience that killing too many bucks can dwindle deer numbers, and I now see these past mistakes repeating themselves. I just hope the whitetail population recovers by the time my grandsons are old enough to hunt. Milldawg, via fieldandstream.com HOLD YOUR HORSES…

• THE SEASON • SHOTGUNS • ASK PETZAL • THE WILD CHEF • SPORTSMAN’S NOTEBOOK • RIFLES • FISHING • THE TOTAL OUTDOORSMAN • ESCAPES LEGENDARY trout guru Terry Gunn and I stood on the Colorado River’s famous Prop Bar near Lees Ferry, Ariz. It was a blissful May morning, with shirtsleeve temps, a cobalt sky, and the sun barely peeking over the massive Marble Canyon walls—the type of late-spring day when the water just looks right and feels right washing around your waders. The cliff swallows had begun darting over the water, a sure signal that midges were gathering in thick clouds. Suddenly, Gunn’s wristwatch started beeping. “Fish alarm,” he said. “At 9:15 A.M.?” I asked. “Are these rainbows late risers?” “No, they’re wide awake, and we have…

WHEN YOU’RE SHOOTING sporting clays, you’re like the batter, while the person who sets up the trap is the pitcher. Just like real pitchers, every trap setter uses different tricks. Some try to beat you with speed and distance, but the really good ones use deception. Mike McAlpine (claytarget.us) of San Angelo, Texas, has been striking out shooters since 1986 and is one of the best. He’s also a shooting instructor who teaches a three-day class on target presentations and how shooters can read them. Here are some of his best secrets that he shared with me. ILLUSIVE TARGETS McAlpine follows a code in that he never makes shooters miss with short shooting windows, ridiculously long ranges, or targets that are obscured from sight. Many of those shots aren’t the…