Innholdsfortegnelse for Nr. 3 - 2020 i Outdoor Life

hunting@outdoorlife.com CALIFORNIA BLACKTAILS “There he is, moving through the Zinfandels. Wait. Wait. He’s heading toward the Cabernet block. We can cut him off in the old vines behind the tasting room.” This may be the strangest hunting dialogue I’ve ever recorded. I’m in the back seat of Ryan Newkirk’s Ford F-350 pickup, which is raising a roostertail of dust as we baja around dirt roads on his family’s California vineyard to cut off blacktail deer moving through the vines. I’m a wingman on this particular hunt. My buddy Craig Boddington is in the front seat, and he’s ready to bail out the moment the pickup stops, his Mossberg Patriot sitting to his left, barrel down, bolt open on a full magazine. It might not be Alabama’s piney woods or Wyoming’s…

ONE OF MY FAVORITE grouse quotes is attributed to author Frank Woolner: “Guns and dogs don’t kill grouse, legs do.” True, though sometimes killing a limit of ruffies or sharptails is as easy as lacing your boots. Other times, all you have to show for your effort is a face slapped by greenwood branches, arms raked by thorns, and whirring wings beyond a veiling screen of popple. The stories here are about those kinds of grouse hunts, the ones that don’t feature gentle woods or reliable birds. These stories conform to another quote. “The first time you hunt blue grouse, it’s out of curiosity,” my buddy said, massaging his blistered feet on the tailgate of my pickup. “The next times, it’s for revenge.”—Andrew McKean 1. MOUNTAIN GROUSE Cascade Range’s cinder-cone…

WATCHING A MASSIVE bass blow up on a topwater frog bait is one of the most thrilling moments in all of fishing. In a single instant, you get to witness the power, aggression, and speed of our most prominent and willing freshwater predator. The ferocious strike always seems like a miracle, and yet it’s totally inevitable on the best bass water around the country in late summer and fall. To consistently get more strikes on a hollow-body frog bait, you’ve got to understand the frog as a prey species—it skitters across lily pads and grass mats with sporadic kicks, and then it pauses in an opening between the vegetation, twitching those legs ever so slightly. This is one of the great advantages of a frog bait—you can fish a small…

YOU AND I COULD DRINK A LOT OF ROOT BEER AS WE DEBATE the relative merits of conserving wildlife habitat on public versus private land in America. Efforts on public land have more enduring value, you say, because the places and wildlife that benefit from conservation initiatives are accessible to all Americans. Sure, I might counter, but the best soil, the most reliable water, and the most habitable landscapes in the country are privately owned. There’s a reason all that public land you love is public. Relatively speaking, it’s not especially productive. Directing habitat conservation efforts to private land will have deeper and longer-lasting effects. But while we debate over our frosty mugs, other folks are figuring out that it’s not an either-or proposition. It’s possible to conserve both public…

I WAS STANDING IN A LONG LINE THAT snaked through a maze formed by Tensa-barrier stanchions, those portable stands with retractable webbing used by the TSA, concert stadiums, motor vehicle departments, and other venues that want to funnel large groups of people in an orderly fashion. I glanced at the sheet of paper in my hand, a form with dozens of check boxes with my personal information filled in at the top. It was the size of a menu at a 24-hour Greek diner. Everyone in the crowd around me, mostly men and most wearing something decorated with camo, held identical applications. I didn’t need to be a mind reader to know their thoughts: Maybe this year. We were in a broad, carpeted hallway in the Salt Palace Convention Center…

EDITOR’S CHOICE SIG Cross $1,780 sigsauer.com This new gun from SIG is the real deal. It’s not just a bolt-action thrown into a chassis with AR-15 dimensions. The Cross has attained the elusive goal of being a portable mountain rifle (8.5 pounds scoped), with a hefty dose of battlefield DNA thrown into the mix. The stock adjusts every which way for a custom fit, and it folds down so the rifle can be carried in a pack. The three-lug action is snappy and quick. It runs great from the shoulder and is crazy accurate. With few exceptions, this 6.5 Creedmoor was a one-hole gun, shooting nearly all types of ammo in tiny clusters to the same point of impact. The tight tolerances on the mag well helped it feed flawlessly…

NO RIFLE CAN be all things to all people, but that isn’t going to stop the Sako S2o ($1,800) from trying. This hyper-modular rifle can be reconfigured and customized through a lengthy list of available add-ons. It has two basic modes—a hunting rifle with a narrow fore-end and thumbhole buttstock, and a precision rifle with a beefier, flat-bottomed fore-end and tactical/competition buttstock with a vertical grip and adjustable cheekpiece. But even these can be mixed and matched since the stocks and fore-ends are separately swappable. Common to both configurations is a three-lug action fed by a detachable single-stack magazine, an integral Picatinny rail, a user-adjustable trigger, and a fluted barrel that is threaded at the muzzle. As with all Sakos, the action cycles and feeds with flawless assurance, and the…

TWO OF THE most interesting introductions in the shotgun world this year are a pair of high-performance autoloaders. The Renegauge ($1,449) is a whole new product category for Savage Arms. It is a rugged scattergun targeted at serious waterfowlers and turkey hunters who otherwise would be looking at high-end semis from Benelli, Beretta, Browning, and Remington. It is gas operated and incorporates a pair of valves, tucked on either side of the barrel at the tip of the fore-end, that regulate the amount of gas going to the piston that cycles the action. It’s tuned so light target loads can cycle the bolt using all the gas they generate. The valves are designed so that with heavier loads, they vent excess gas out of the system. This self-regulating feature accomplishes…

NOTHING WEATHERS the shifting trends in the handgun market better than the compact carry pistol—and for good reason. These midsize pistols are ideally sized for filling both duty and concealed-carry roles. They can handle 90 percent of the tasks of their full-size big brothers, yet can disappear beneath a T-shirt. Three of our five picks are shining examples of the midsize carry pistol, sharing optimal dimensions, 15-round magazine capacities, and excellent ergonomics. The remaining two are ideal if compromises must be made to accommodate capacity limits and restrictive clothing, or if deeper concealment is needed. In general, the following models offer the highest ratio of concealability and shootability, and are as suitable for your nightstand as they are for concealing within your waistband. 1. SIG SAUER P320 X-COMPACT RX •…

fishing@outdoorlife.com I’ve fished for 35 years, across four continents, but I have only a single taxidermied specimen to my name. It’s a 14-inch largemouth from 1987. But when I hoisted it out of the water one fine summer day at the age of 6, it was the biggest fish I had ever seen. I could barely breathe. With a few minor variations, my bass story is one shared by millions—if not tens of millions—of anglers. It’s no overstatement to say that the bass, more than any other fish, underwrites America’s angling imagination. America and the bass have enjoyed a symbiotic relationship for more than a century. It was the bass that led Americans to develop their own fishing style, independent of the Europeans, from those early explorers who tethered plugs…

SPEND ENOUGH TIME at any boat ramp from Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Texas to Mille Lacs Lake in Minnesota and you’ll hear a common complaint: “Man, it’s getting harder and harder to catch a bass.” Your buddies will want to blame fishing pressure. And while real cause-and-effect is tricky to pin down, there is some good science to support those claims that bass may actually be getting tougher to catch. LETTING ’EM GO AND WATCHING ’EM GROW Before we dig into the research, a quick history lesson. Sixty years ago, bass fishing was primarily a Southern thing. Many new reservoirs had growing largemouth populations, plus good habitat that was easy for anglers to identify. Bass fishing was excellent—for a while. But over time, catch rates began to decline. Angler harvest…

As soon as the 6 GT was unveiled, I knew I wanted to run it in competition, so I put in an order with George Gardner and his crew at GA Precision. I opted for GA Precision’s three-lug Tempest action, which has a short, smooth bolt throw. It feeds from doublestack AW magazines, which have the advantage of being compact, making them less likely to get hung up on barricades and other obstacles. The stock is a Manner’s Gap T2A, which has a broad fore-end, comfortable dimensions, an adjustable cheekpiece, and excellent grip geometry that incorporates a useful thumb shelf for the trigger hand. The fore-end was inletted for an Ingenuity Gunworks rail that takes quick-release adapters. The adapters let you position your tripod or bipod anywhere along the rail…

GUN BUYERS AND gunmakers both have a fascination with lightweight rifles that extends well beyond the actual need for a sub-6- or 7-pound firearm. Even hunters who never encounter vertical terrain love the feel of shouldering a wispy rifle built with carbon fiber, light alloys, and slender barrels, and they are willing to pay a premium to own one. But making a good feather weight rifle is a tricky thing. Though actions constructed with aluminum and titanium can weigh less, they have a hard time running as smoothly and reliably as a rifle made from plain, old-fashioned steel. And even when steel is used, if a lot of material has been cut away, accuracy and performance can suffer. If you actually plan to do a mountain hunt or just have…

NOT ALL OF this year’s rifles fit under a tidy theme, which is good news since it speaks to the variety of 2020’s offerings. The Ruger Hawkeye Long-Range Target ($1,279) is built around the venerable M77 and shows that, even today, a Mauser-style extractor and fixed ejector are still relevant. The Long-Range Target in 6.5 PRC comes with a heavy-contour 26-inch barrel, and the rifle’s weight (11 pounds 1 ounce) dampens recoil and makes for pleasant shooting. The rifle was able to sustain its accuracy even during long shot strings where the barrel got hot enough to cook pancakes. Winchester’s XPR Renegade Long Range SR ($1,069) is another rifle built for going the distance. It’s a beefy fellow, with a Grayboe stock that features a wide fore-end, dual swivel studs…

SHOOTERS IN THE market for an over/under shotgun won’t hesitate to dig deep into their wallets for a new double, so to those readers I present this trio as good options to blow your kids’ inheritance. The Browning Citori Gran Lightning ($3,329) is the latest in the seemingly endless line of Citori shotguns. Fans of these Brownings are deeply loyal to the platform, and they’ll have good reason to be excited for this newest iteration. The monobloc receiver features three panels of engraving that cover nearly all the metalwork except for the radiuses between the sides and the bottom. Ours was a 28-gauge with 28-inch barrels and a rounded grip, a great combo for both targets and birds. Other gauges and barrel lengths, as well as a pistol-grip stock, are…

EVERYONE WANTS TO BE a precision rifle shooter until it’s time to do precision rifle stuff, like throwing ridiculously accurate powder charges. Dispensing powder for precision shooting can be a drag because you need the charges to be accurate, preferably to within a kernel or two of powder, but you also want them fast because it’s a high-volume proposition. Those things don’t normally go hand in hand. Between old-school volumetric powder throwers and expensive electronic setups, dispensing powder quickly and accurately can seem like it’s part voodoo ritual and part Jet Propulsion Laboratory project. RCBS developed the Matchmaster digital powder scale and dispenser to provide the necessary level of accuracy and speed for precision rifle shooters in a relatively affordable, user-friendly package. Normally, to get the needed precision and volume…

IN ANOTHER LIFETIME, Wayne Carlton might have been a carnival barker. He has that way of hooking you, yodeling or catcalling to catch your attention in a crowd and then keeping it with a slightly ribald joke or curious turn of phrase. You might recognize Carlton, 76, from his career as a pitchman for Hunter Specialties, his Southern accent purring from beneath a cowboy hat as he describes how his latest call will turn trophy bulls inside out and bring turkeys running from the next township. He’s back in business with his Native by Carlton brand (nativebycarlton.com), and he still has plenty to say. Outdoor Life: You have talked about setting the stage for a conversation with elk. What do you mean by that? Wayne Carlton: When you blow a…

IT’S NOT THAT BASS PRO Mike Iaconelli had an issue with being outfished; he just wanted to know why his Japanese host was smoking him, like 4 to 1, during a 2017 trip to Tokyo’s famed Lake Biwa. Frustrated and curious, Iaconelli confiscated his host’s rig and found something he’d never seen—a leadered punch shot. This became the inspiration for his collaboration with VMC hooks, and three years later, they introduced the aptly named Tokyo Rig. VMC’s proprietary model consists of a welded ring that links a rolling swivel line tie, a technique-specific hook (wide gap, flipping, or worm), and a 2 1⁄2-inch leader connected with another rolling swivel. Slip a weight onto the leader, turn the tip 90 degrees to prevent slippage, and you’re ready to fish. The Tokyo…

THERE HAVE BEEN SOME INCREDIBLY BAD predictions made in the last eight months. Guessing what the future might hold has become such a crapshoot that many folks have simply given up trying at all. But when it comes to hunting and fishing, we’ve got plenty to look forward to. One of the unforeseen silver linings of the coronavirus crisis is that more Americans are putting a priority on self-reliance, killing and butchering their own meat, and finding value in nature. There are still plenty of challenges ahead, but here’s one hopeful prediction: Hunting and fishing just might be on the brink of a resurgence in this country. So, what the hell? Let’s lean into the future. It sure beats looking back.…

THE TERM “SPACE AGE” DOESN’T PACK THE DESCRIPTIVE punch that it once did. After all, it dates to 1957, when the Russkies launched Sputnik, a 23-inch metal sphere, into orbit, scaring the bobby socks off the rest of the world. However, there’s no better label for the new material that’s been developed by Polar Rifle Barrel for Ultimate Arms and other gunmakers. It derives from a magnesium alloy that has been used on space shuttle rocket boosters, so it is not only super light, but it dissipates heat like nobody’s business. During the forging process, the barrels are cryogenically treated (hence, “polar”) to reduce friction, which minimizes heat buildup, improves barrel life, and should help with accuracy. I had a chance to try out a couple of the first firearms…

YEARS AGO, NETFLIX WAS THE only game in town, conveniently delivering DVDs to our doorstep through the mail. Today, there are countless streaming services making more and better content available at the click of a button. The hunting and fishing communities have (finally) caught up to this digital revolution. Beyond the traditional, and highly formulaic, hunting shows, viewers want authentic content that’s about the entire hunting experience, from the camaraderie to breaking down and cooking wild game. Steve Rinella (and the smart people running his company) capitalized on this shift in 2015 when his show MeatEater started streaming on Netflix. You can still find it on the Sportsman Channel, but why would you want to do that when you can stream it commercial-free? Now, there’s a whole group of show…

I GLASS THE FRIGID CANYON BEFORE ME, looking for mule deer on a late October afternoon. I’m hoping to spot an old buck traveling from his high National Forest summer basin to wintering grounds somewhere out there. This is western Wyoming, and “out there” means the general direction pointed out by a local rancher who has spent 68 years watching these deer. The migrating herds would be headed for Bureau of Land Management lands to the south, where spring green-up (hopefully) arrives in time to ward off the ghosts of winter starvation each year. It took 26 failed applications before my name was finally pulled from the state’s lottery and I was awarded this rare deer permit. But that’s a short amount of time compared to the 12,000 years these…

DEER HUNTING YEAR-ROUND IS A PIPE DREAM IN MOST PLACES. No matter how hard you hunt or how many states you hit, you have to hang it up eventually. But in the manicured backyards of Virginia’s multimillion-dollar neighborhoods, it’s deer season every day. Taylor Chamberlin discovered this almost by accident. After teaching himself to bowhunt in college, the Northern Virginia native moved back home to join the family real estate business and start his own family. Living in a rural area wasn’t an option. Eventually, he found a military base that allowed hunting, even though deer were scarce. On the long drives there and back, he’d spot whitetails browsing through neighborhoods, nibbling on expensive landscaping. “I remember thinking, Why am I driving past all these deer to find deer?” Chamberlin…

My first impression of hunting was watching maggots crawl out of a small buck’s eyes as he lay in a friend’s backyard in central Wyoming. I couldn’t have been more than 3 or 4 years old. That night, as we ate venison tacos, I tucked most of the meat away in a napkin to throw out later. My family didn’t hunt, and it wasn’t something I understood. Even after college, when my boyfriend told me over instant chat that he’d shot a deer, I called him a Bambi killer and slammed my laptop closed. He wasn’t bragging; he just wanted me to know. And I wasn’t a vegetarian. I understood, on some level, the hypocrisy. But I couldn’t understand why he wanted to kill something, or how someone I loved…

Our bow test has always been about performance, and the reality is, compound bows are at the peak of what’s possible. “From an efficiency perspective, you’re putting in a certain amount of energy when you’re pulling a bow that you can’t get back out of it,” says Patrick Harrell, a professional engineer and senior associate at Stress Engineering, an Ohio-based company that is our annual partner in this test. Efficiency reflects how much energy from the draw is transferred to the arrow; the more efficient a bow, the better. “If we could get 90 percent efficiency out of a car, we’d be getting hundreds of miles per gallon. Bow manufacturers are paying premiums on technology to get the 1 or 2 percent efficiency that’s left. It’s going to be hard…

Unlike in the vertical bow world, crossbow change isn’t subtle. The power generated by the top-tier bows in our test is staggering. The runner-up in this year’s test, for example—the TenPoint Vapor RS47o ($2,900)— generates 191 foot-pounds of kinetic energy from a 466-grain bolt moving at 430 fps. That’s the most powerful crossbow we’ve ever tested. (For perspective, the fastest compound this year produces about 85 foot-pounds of energy.) “One side effect of compound bows being so efficient is that everyone has arrived at the same general design,” says Patrick Harrell of Stress Engineering. “But crossbows don’t have the same constraints. There are lots of ways to store energy with them that don’t work with a compound bow.” This includes varied limb configurations (solid or split, forward or reverse draw),…

Fog hung in the air, obscuring the old-growth pines ahead and settling into the hollows of the mountainside. On the breeze, I sniffed for the barnyard odor I’d caught a moment before—the faint scent of elk. My footfalls were silent on the moss. At that moment, there was nothing else in the world—I was focused only on the smell of elk in the drifting fog. Well-meaning folks have told me that my singular focus on hunting becomes uncomfortably intense during certain points of the season. They tell me this as a sort of common courtesy, the way you might warn someone that their passenger-side tire looks a little flat. But those same folks know that I’m singularly good at putting meat in the freezer. I don’t say that to toot…