Field & Stream September 2016

LOCATION: CANADIAN ROCKIES Mirror Bull ➞ On a late afternoon in September, photographer Don Jones was taking pictures of bighorn sheep in the hills above a large, shallow lake in western Alberta when he turned and saw a surreal scene. “This big animal was so far out from shore, walking in the opposite direction,” says Jones. “I ran down the mountain, probably a quarter mile, just ran forever.” His vest was loaded down with gear: an extra battery, lenses, binoculars. “I’m not a jogger, unless something is chasing me. I got sweaty like a pig—I didn’t want to miss the shot. I was still hustling when the elk turned around and started walking toward me. I didn’t hesitate—just lay down in the mud on the shoreline, like I was a…

FAVORITE SON “Sons of Santiago” (June–July 2016) is the reason why Keith Mc-Cafferty is my favorite FIELD & STREAM writer. Buckhunter, via fieldandstream.com CUBA CONFIDENTIAL “Sons of Santiago” gave satisfying insight into Cuba and its people, and McCafferty’s writing was remarkable. The story showed how fishing is about so much more than what you catch. Magnus Williams, Fort Collins, Colo. TWICE AS NICE This issue proved that F&S is the best outdoor magazine ever. David Draper’s “Escape Routes” showed how regular guys can catch fish and get heartburn at affordable prices, and McCafferty’s “Sons of Santiago” offered a glimpse at a dream fishing location most of us will never see but love to read about. Thanks for showing both sides of the sport. John Harney, Naples, Fla. TROUBLE AT HOME…

NEWS AND STORIES FROM THE EXPERTS THE NEWS WE’D been waiting for was finally delivered—along with a hearty platter of bacon and eggs. Over breakfast, the ranch manager announced that U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell had just decreed the greater sage grouse would not be listed as an endangered species. Our group had traveled hundreds of miles to this camp near Saratoga, Wyo., hoping for the chance to hunt the West’s most iconic upland bird. The announcement was all the motivation we needed to wolf down breakfast, lace up our boots, and hit the field. We started above a valley leading toward the northern edge of Wyoming’s Sierra Madre range. The wide draw had just enough moisture to cut a green line through the sage-covered hills, now gray-brown…

WE HAD TWO HOURS before dark on the eve of Wyoming’s archery antelope opener—plenty of time to check the zero on the new crossbows that were supposed to be waiting for us at camp. They were there all right, but still in their factory packaging and not assembled as we’d expected. After a frenzy of hex-wrench and Leatherman work, we finished putting them together and mounting scopes with 30 minutes of daylight to spare. No problem. In 10 minutes I had my bow—a Barnett Razr Ice—hitting bull’s-eyes with broadheads at 60 yards. The next day, when a big pronghorn buck stopped for a drink at the water hole I was watching, I drilled him through the heart at 40 yards. Everyone else in camp killed a buck that day, too.…

Q: I just bought a Model 71 Beretta .22 that is identical to one I own. Have I crossed some sort of line? —JOE KRISTOFF, NEW HOPE, VA. A: Not unless you run out of money. A friend of mine owned something like 15 pre-1964 Winchester Model 70s in .220 Swift and has lived a productive life anyway. Besides, thinking up justifications prevents the brain from drying out. Q: My son flinches when he shoots his Winchester Model 94 in .44 magnum. Can I condition him to the .44, or do I get something else for open-country deer? —G.B., VIA E-MAIL A: I’d look very hard at a .243. The .44 is obviously too much gun, and it’s not an opencountry load anyway. Q: What’s your favorite movie, ever? —ALEX…

EVERY SERIOUS angler I know has at least one retired lure or fly stuck on a pegboard in the basement, on a shelf in the man cave, or dangling from the garage rafters. Whenever I see one, I have to know its story. Unlike with a bowling trophy, the reason for putting a lure on display isn’t obvious. It’s personal to the angler. Of all my “shelfers,” these three are my favorites. 1 BIRTHDAY BASH: PHANTOM SOFTAIL For two days in Dec. 2010, my friend Mark Modoski and I had been pounding the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania for muskies with guide Red Childress. It snowed the whole time and was the kind of bitter cold that forced us to suck down Advil like hard candy because our…