Field & Stream October/November 2019

ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO, I interviewed six veterans for a story in F&S. All of them had recently come home for good from tours, and we talked about what it meant for them to get back outside after having been away from hunting and fishing for so long. Even a decade later, I can remember specific moments from each interview, but there’s one exchange I know I’ll never forget. I asked a staff sergeant named Brad Alexander what he loved most about sitting in a treestand. He told me: There’s that point in the morning when it’s dark and nothing is happening and nothing is stirring except for those unseen things scooting about. Then the sun comes up over the ridge, and everything comes to life—birds in the trees,…

Photographer Matt Hansen shot this issue’s cover photo—his first ever for F&S. CK: What was it like watching those two deer battle? MH: It’s always exciting to watch bucks mix it up. The whitetail on the left was running back and forth in the field, picking up the scent of a nearby doe. The other buck came out of the trees and went straight at the buck already out there, resulting in what you see on the cover. CK: What is something a hunter can learn from a wildlife photographer as far as getting into position? MH: It sounds simple, but patience. A lot of people see antlers and panic and rush the shot. This is a good time to do the opposite. CK: I almost forgot to ask:…

• THE SEASON • THE TOTAL OUTDOORSMAN • THE WILD CHEF • ASK PETZAL • RIFLES • SHOTGUNS • FISHING • HUNTING WITH THE ROLL OF EVERY wave, our duck boat lost paint. We were inside a protected harbor, grinding against the rocks of the Point Judith seawall as the 2-foot swells rose and fell. Outside the wall, it was even worse, with white-capped 8-footers smashing the rocks and shore. Sitting in the bow of my buddy’s boat, I could barely see through the seawall’s east gap. A dark line of birds appeared through the snowfall, flying low. “Eiders coming,” I said. “Get ready.” The birds flew directly for the wall, broke left, then came up along the rocks toward us. Then the birds veered back to the ocean,…

THE OLD MAN called the fly the “skull crusher” because the brook trout would come after it so hard and fast that they’d bash their heads on boulders. He tied them with one arm, in the cool of the little store in the shadow of Grandfather Mountain, not far from the creek where he’d first heard of the fly when he was a kid, some 75 years earlier. I thought I knew about the Yallerhammer, arguably the most traditional of the old Southern Appalachian fly patterns, but this was news to me. The region has birthed a number of homegrown fly patterns—among them the Thunderhead, Jim Charley, Sheep Fly, and Tellico Nymph, the region’s true breakout to fame and widespread use. But the Yallerhammer is the fly that seems…

This melty game stew originated centuries ago in Polish hunting camps. Legend has it that a giant kettle of cabbage and sauerkraut would be kept simmering over a fire all morning. As hunters returned with their game, meat would join the pot, and this cycle would continue for days, with the stew constantly being refreshed and reheated. Our version calls for venison and wild boar, but as the legend indicates, bigos welcomes any and all game; goose and rabbit would be great additions. INGREDIENTS 1 small head green cabbage, cored, quartered, and finely shredded1 oz. dried mushrooms2 lb. venison roast, cut into 1½-inch pieces1½ lb. wild boar (or pork) shoulder, cut into 1½-inch pieces1 tsp. olive oil½ lb. slab bacon, diced large (or sliced bacon, roughly chopped)1 lb. kielbasa,…

Q: What’s worse, flying with your gun or borrowing one at hunting camp? —BENNET LEIBER, INDIANAPOLIS, IND. A: Borrowing one at hunting camp, by a narrow margin. It may turn out to be a real horror. Whereas if you fly with your gun, it will probably get there. Q: What’s the worst shooting advice you’ve ever heard? What’s the worst you’ve given? —MORGAN CORNELIUS, LOUISVILLE, KEN. A: The worst I’ve ever heard, and I’ve heard it endlessly, is “Squeeze the trigger slowly and be surprised when the gun goes off.” What a crock. You want to know to the millisecond when the gun is going to go off so you can arrange for it to be on target. The worst I’ve ever given was setting up a brand-new shooter…