Field & Stream October 2016

LIKE ALL PROFESSIONAL WRITERS, we at FIELD & STREAM try to avoid easy clichés. People use clichés because they’re often true, however, and one kept popping into my head as we put this issue together: You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. I kept thinking about this because as we were working on our cover story about public-land elk hunting (“Your Land, Your Elk,” p. 46), a debate is raging around the idea of transferring the ownership of federal lands to the states. I’ll be blunt: I think this is a disastrous idea, and I’m very worried that some of the hunters and anglers in this country don’t appreciate what an incredible resource our public lands are and don’t understand how easily we could lose them. Our plentiful…

PHOTOGRAPHER: TOM MARTINEAU LOCATION: KUSTATAN RIVER, ALASKA Smooth Landing Ann Martineau tends to let loose a giant “Woo-hoo!” when she hooks a fish—and the very end of a fly-in trip on the Kustatan River was one of those occasions. With the day coming to a close (and the floatplane ready to zip them away), Ann frantically tried to fill her limit of silver salmon while her husband, photographer Tom Martineau, was busy taking photos of their guide, Jake Newton, cleaning fish. When Tom heard a sudden shout, he knew exactly what it meant. “Oh yeah,” Tom said to Newton, “she’s got one.” The two rushed over to Ann, and as Jake stood ready with the net, Tom jumped in the water to capture the moment. “I had no idea how…

EQUAL PLAY I loved “The New Game Changers.” This article underscored what I learned early on: Women are just as capable as men in the outdoors. My own daughter started hunting and fishing at a young age, and it’s great to see more women getting involved in the outdoor sports. Greg Baroch, Ruckersville, Va. As a woman, wife, and mother of two boys, I’m offended by the outdoorswomen reader survey. Instead of promoting the strengths of both sexes, F&S chose to disparage and poke fun at men. For decades, female factions have belittled men and infiltrated traditionally male institutions while proclaiming continued discrimination against women; the double standard is exasperating. If there is such a large movement of outdoorswomen who are offended by men’s behavior, then let them publish their…

TREESTAND TOMES Readers dish on which books keep them entertained while they wait for a bruiser to cruise by THE TRACKER BY TOM BROWN JR. An Apache scout taught the author how to track, and there are so many great adventures in this book about his life in the wilderness. —DAVE WALKER ZIPPING MY FLY BY RICH TOSCHES This book is hilarious and poignant, and speaks to the core of every outdoorsperson. —MARK STEVEN SCHNELL JR. BIG WOODS BY WILLIAM FAULKNER It was interesting to contrast hunting back in Faulkner’s time versus how it is now, while reading the book in my stand. —CODY P. PRIVETTE THE OLD MAN AND THE BOY BY ROBERT RUARK This book is a classic. I count myself fortunate to have had a similar upbringing…

• THE SEASON • RIFLES • THE WILD CHEF • ASK PETZAL • SPORTSMAN’S NOTEBOOK • FISHING • THE TOTAL OUTDOORSMAN • ESCAPES • HUNTING PRECIOUS MINUTES A wood-duck roost shoot can happen in a flash. Make sure you’re ready when the birds come to bed ByPHIL BOURJAILY FIVE WOOD-DUCK DECOYS, a spinner, a bucket, and a gun aren’t much to carry, but that’s all I need to shoot the wood-duck roost. All I’m missing is the most important thing: clouds. If this clear sky holds, I’ll sit until shooting hours end at sunset and unload my gun, and only then, as I retrieve my spread, will the ducks appear. The weatherman has promised me that clouds will come in an hour before sunset. They won’t be black ones laden…

STEYR SCOUT RIFLE Built in collaboration with Jeff Cooper, the original factorymade scout model comes in .223, .243, 7mm/08, and .308. RUGER GUNSITE SCOUT Chambered for .223 and .308, this popular rifle comes in 11 different versions, including left-hand models. SOME GUNS are instant successes. Others require years for their wonderfulness to percolate down to the shooting public. And so it has been with the scout rifle, the brainchild of Jeff Cooper, a hugely influential writer, instructor, Marine Corps officer, and all-around shooter and hunter. Before 2011, there was only one factory-made scout rifle. Since then, Cooper’s idea of the perfect all-around rifle has caught fire, and there are now at least five. He used the term scout to evoke a lone soldier who had to move rapidly and shoot…