American Shooting Journal - March 2022 by Media Index Publishing Group

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A M ERIC AN

SHOOTING JOURNAL Volume 11 // Issue 6 // March 2022 PUBLISHER James R. Baker GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Andy Walgamott OFFICE MANAGER / COPY EDITOR Katie Aumann LEAD CONTRIBUTOR Frank Jardim CONTRIBUTORS Jason Brooks, Cassidy Caron, Scott Haugen, Phil Massaro, Mike Nesbitt, Paul Pawela, Nick Perna, Dave Workman SALES MANAGER Paul Yarnold ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Mamie Griffin, Kelley Miller, Mike Smith DESIGNER Lesley-Anne Slisko-Cooper PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Kelly Baker WEBMASTER / INBOUND MARKETING Jon Hines, Jon Ekse INFORMATION SERVICES MANAGER Lois Sanborn ADVERTISING INQUIRIES ads@americanshootingjournal.com

ON THE COVER US and international pistol competition champion Frank Garcia is the founder, owner and operator of Universal Shooting Academy, “one of the premier shooting facilities in the country and one of America’s best-kept secrets.” (PAUL PAWELA)

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American Shooting Journal // March 2022

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CONTENTS

VOLUME 11 • ISSUE 6

FEATURES

LAW ENFORCEMENT SPOTLIGHT: NOT WITHOUT A FIGHT “Going down swinging is always better than just going down.” That may have been in the mind of Colorado cop Ashley Ferris as she faced a madman who had already killed several people in a senseless shooting spree and also just wounded her. Nick Perna tells the story of what happened next.

DO YOU KNOW THE WAY TO (AVOID) SAN JOSE? Second Amendment advocates aim to hit control-Z on San Jose, California – a longtime hub of the high-tech industry – where the mayor pushed through a gun insurance mandate and annual fee on firearms: They’ve taken him to federal court. Dave Workman details the legal proceedings in the works.

BULLET BULLETIN: H.S.T. BULLETS MAKE FOR HAPPY HANDGUNS, HANDGUNNERS Even with all of today’s great self-defense options, this Federal bullet line “sits at the top of the list” for our ammo expert, Phil Massaro. He shares results from ballistic gelatin testing performed with his .45 ACP, and details all the other calibers HST bullets are available in.

SELF-DEFENSE TRAINING: THIS BLADE’S A BETTER BACKUP ARM Our Paul Pawela is always on the lookout for interesting new knives for his firearms/edged weapons self-defense training courses, and during the recent Blade Show in Atlanta he came across Skallywag Tactical’s MDV Plus One knife. Find out why Pawela proclaims it “a stroke of genius.”

ROADHUNTER: TIME TO DO YOUR TURKEY HOMEWORK March offers Western hunters a great opportunity to scout out gobblers ahead of the spring season, and nobody knows that better than our Scott Haugen. If you follow his advice on patterning flocks, reading sign and running trail cameras, “By the time opening day arrives, there should be no doubts,” he writes.

CHASING RAMS, CHASING DREAMS After years of guiding sportsmen in search of trophy big game in the rugged wilderness of Alberta and the Northwest Territories, Cassidy Caron had her chance to pursue a Dall’s ram and bag the fourth of Canada’s wild sheep quartet. Lace ’em up tight for a high mountain adventure – one that also led Caron to open an exciting new chapter in her professional life!

BLACK POWDER: TODAY’S .40-CALIBER CARTRIDGES Variants of yesteryear’s .40-65 Winchester are enjoying a “new life” in black powder cartridge rifle competitions. Mike Nesbitt is no stranger to the range and he walks us through what’s available today.

(PAUL PAWELA)

COVER STORY

FRANK GARCIA:

WORLD PISTOL CHAMPION AND UNIVERSAL SHOOTING ACADEMY FOUNDER

Frank Garcia might not have the name recognition of some pistol champions, but he has won over a dozen and a half competitions around the world, and he’s also the founder, owner and operator of Universal Shooting Academy, simultaneously “one of the premier shooting facilities in the country and one of America’s best-kept secrets.” Paul Pawela shares Garcia’s story and details about his central Florida academy.

(DR. DONNELLY WILKES)

AMERICAN SHOOTING JOURNAL is published monthly by Media Index Publishing Group, 941 Powell Ave SW, Suite 120, Renton, WA 98057. Display Advertising. Call Media Index Publishing Group for a current rate card. Discounts for frequency advertising. All submitted materials become the property of Media Index Publishing Group and will not be returned. Copyright © 2022 Media Index Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher. Printed in U.S.A.

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

YOUR MUST-STOP BEFORE HUNTING & FISHING ON PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND, ALASKA KNOWLEDGEABLE STAFF WILL LET YOU KNOW WHERE, WHEN AND HOW!

Custom Guns Gary Reeder announces his second book on handgun hunting. 256 pages on all aspects of handgun hunting, many in full color. John Taffin, America’s finest gun writer has this to say about Gary Reeder... “There is a long list of men, handgun hunting heroes I have been privileged to know, such men as Skeeter Skelton, Bob Milek, Lee Jurras, Steve Herrett, Larry Kelly, J.D.Jones, Hal Swiggett, Mark Hampton, John Linebaugh, Hamilton Bowen, and of course, Gary Reeder. All of these men are giants when it comes to handguns, and no one has had more effect today than Gary Reeder. There became a moment when Gary decided to become a handgun hunter, however he did not stop there. Besides building fine custom handguns he developed his own line of GNR cartridges and inspired others to be handgun hunters. Gary has made 16 trips to Africa and in this book, as in his previous book, you will share many of his experiences. Gary is a custom gun maker, which means he is in the business to make a living. However, he is a man who gives of himself to help others. Personally, I know him to be a man of great talent, simple honesty, a big heart and a humble spirit. I am proud to call him friend.” Gary Reeder’s second book Hunting Handguns and their Cartridges is available for $40. Signed copies are also available at no extra charge. Gary Reeder Custom Guns 2601 7th Ave. East, Flagstaff Arizona. 86004

CONTENTS

ALSO INSIDE 91

COMPANY SPOTLIGHT: HIGH ADVENTURE IN THE OZARKS A Missouri free-range big game ranch in business for nearly 40 years offers hunts for over 30 species, plus lodging, fishing and more.

DEPARTMENTS 21 23

(HIGH ADVENTURE RANCH)

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

Gun Show Calendar Competition Calendar

HUNTING • FISHING • RAFTING • TRAIL RIDES • Located in beautiful Bonners Ferry, Idaho • Over 125 years of experience in the area • HUNT elk, deer, bear, mountian lion, and wolves in the Northern Rockies • FISH for rainbow trout on the Kootenai River

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PRIMER

GUNSHOW C A L E N D A R

C&E Gun Shows

March 5-6

Columbus, Ohio

Westland Mall

cegunshows.com

March 12-13

Hickory, N.C.

Hickory Metro Convention Center

March 19-20

Raleigh, N.C.

NC State Fairgrounds

March 26-27

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus Expo Center

March 26-27

Harrisburg, Pa.

PA Farm Show Complex

March 5-6

Tucson, Ariz.

Pima County Fairgrounds

March 5-6

Ventura, Calif.

Ventura County Fairgrounds

March 12-13

St. George, Utah

Dixie Center

March 12-13

Queen Creek, Ariz.

Barney Family Sports Complex

March 12-13

Ontario, Calif.

Ontario Convention Center

March 19-20

Prescott, Ariz.

Findlay Toyota Center

March 26-27

Las Vegas, Nev.

Las Vegas Convention Center

Florida Gun Shows

March 19-20

Palmetto, Fla.

Bradenton Convention Center

floridagunshows.com

March 26-27

Fort Myers, Fla.

Lee Civic Center

RK Shows

March 4-6

Richmond, Ky.

Madison County Fairgrounds

rkshows.com

March 5-6

Marietta, Ga.

Cobb Co. Civic Center

March 12-13

Bristol, Tenn.

Bristol Motor Speedway

March 12-13

Springfield, Mo.

Ozark Empire Fairgrounds

March 19-20

Topeka, Kan.

Stormont Vail Events Center

March 19-20

Somerset, Ky.

The Center For Rural Development

March 26-27

Kansas City, Mo.

KCI Expo Center

March 26-27

Gainesville, Ga.

Salon El Imperial

Real Texas Gun Shows

March 12-13

Taylor, Texas

Williamson County Expo Center

therealtexasgunshow.com

March 19-20

Gonzales, Texas

J.B. Wells Expo Center

March 26-27

Orange, Texas

Orange County Expo

tannergunshow.com

March 25-27

Colorado Springs, Colo.

Colorado Springs Event Center

Wes Knodel Gun Shows

March 12-13

Centralia, Wash.

Southwest Washington Fairgrounds

Crossroads Of The West Gun Shows crossroadsgunshows.com

Tanner Gun Shows

wesknodelgunshows.com

Note: With COVID-19 restrictions uncertain, always confirm events before attending. To have your event highlighted here, send an email to kaumann@media-inc.com.

americanshootingjournal.com 21

PRIMER

COMPETITION C A L E N D A R

usashooting.org

March 4-6

March 11-13

March 19

March 10-12

March 23-27

March 30-April 3

March 11-12

March 25-26

April 7-10

March 5-6

March 12-13

March 19-20

March 12-13

March 19-20

March 26-27

March 4-6

March 18-19

April 1-3

2022 Shotgun Junior Selection Part II - Trap Kerrville, Texas

SoCal Practical Shooting Grand Opening Match Piru, Calif. uspsa.org

gssfonline.com

2022 Alabama Sectional Midland City, Ala.

Ouachita Regional Challenge XII Monroe, La. Emerald Coast Glock Classic III Holt, Fla. Illinois Horse Fair Shoot Springfield, Ill.

cmsaevents.com

idpa.com

March 4-6

2022 Shotgun Junior Selection Part II - Skeet Kerrville, Texas

2022 Roadrunner Shootout Clovis, Calif. Ozarks Classic Billings, Mo.

Delaware State GSSF Challenge VII Bridgeville, Del. River Bend Ballistic Challenge XV Dawsonville (Canton), Ga. 2022 Southeastern Regional Championship Perry, Ga.

Lance Ujifusa Memorial Nevada State Championship Las Vegas, Nev.

March 19-20

March 12

March 24-26

2022 Arizona State Championship Catalina, Ariz.

NTCSC USA Shooting Rocky Mountain Regional Match Colorado Springs, Colo.

USPSA Multigun Nationals Clinton, S.C. 2022 Area 6 Championship Salisbury, N.C.

Northern California Glock Challenge XIV Yolo, Calif. Glock’s On The Brazos III College Station, Texas

Flickerwood Spring Shootout Jackson, Mo.

Cal State Championships Bakersfield, Calif.

Coastal Carolina Challenge 2022 Bolivia, N.C.

April 1-2

TN State IDPA Championship Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.

Note: With COVID-19 restrictions uncertain, always confirm events before attending. americanshootingjournal.com 23

Frank Garcia might not have the name recognition of some pistol champions, but he has won over a dozen and a half competitions around the world, and he is also the founder, owner and operator of Universal Shooting Academy, simultaneously “one of the premier shooting facilities in the country and one of America’s best-kept secrets.”

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

Frank Garcia

World Pistol Champion and Founder of Universal Shooting Academy STORY AND PHOTOS BY PAUL PAWELA

“Here I am on the road again. There I am up on the stage. Here I go playin’ star again. There I go, turn the page.” –Bob Seger, “Turn the Page”

“

urn the Page” is an eerie ballad about the lonely life on the road for a musician. But with very few lyric changes, the song could easily be an allegory for the service member or dedicated overseas protection contractor. Haunting words in the song describe the conditions that are truly known only to those types of professionals, who know what it means to serve, to sacrifice, to fight, and to be miles away from family and friends for long periods. Only these types of professionals

know what it’s like to prepare one’s body and soul to fight against the evil monster known as war. To put every ounce of energy into being the very best, and the training never stops, neither with time nor age, for the two are always constant. Only these types of professionals lie in bed trying to decompress from the day’s activities with gunfire ringing in their heads, simultaneously thinking about and trying to forget everything that war brings with it – the ugliness and the memories and the nightmares that

will last a lifetime. Only these types of professionals will reflect on the right and wrong of it all, justifying if the experience was worth the risk and the permanent damage to the body that took its toll over years of hard and intense training. The damage to the soul of witnessing the fatalities of the enemy, the friendlies, and the one that cuts the deepest, the combat buddies. Sunrise to sunset, every day they turn the page and do it all over again. And then there is the nagging debate in the head as to the reason why.

As Garcia fires, targets fall at his 25-acre academy, located in central Florida and not far from some of the region’s major tourist draws. americanshootingjournal.com 27

The answer is simple. Because they are the best at what they do. They know what the stakes are: life or death. Not only for themselves but for their fellow servicemen who depend on them to get them home alive to their families. Our service members take on all these responsibilities because they are true leaders and rock stars in every sense of the word. EVERY WORD WRITTEN above fits the description of Frank Garcia. Garcia is an international and US

pistol champion grandmaster. He is not a household name like many other world champions, but he has won over 18 pistol shooting competitions all over the world, including the World International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) championship. Garcia is also the founder, owner and operator of Universal Shooting Academy, one of the premier shooting facilities in the country and one of America’s best-kept secrets. The world-class training facility in central Florida includes over 25 acres, complete with 24 dedicated

competition bays, a 100-by-50-yard tactical training bay, a 700-yard sniper range, a pneumatic reset steel popper shooting bay, as well as a stocked pro shop for all shooters’ needs. Garcia’s dream was to build a world-class shooting range for worldclass shooters in the same way that weightlifting gyms are built for worldclass bodybuilders. He succeeded! Not only has every major world champion shooting competitor shot there in one match or another, but a more impressive lesser-known fact is that Universal Shooting Academy has

Scenes from Universal Shooting Academy during this year’s Florida Open. The site features “24 dedicated competition bays, a 100-by-50-yard tactical training bay, a 700yard sniper range, a pneumatic reset steel popper shooting bay, as well as a stocked pro shop,” according to author Paul Pawela.

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

been the home training grounds for America’s most elite special operations military and law enforcement personnel for over three decades. Garcia has personally given advanced marksmanship and high-performance shooting instruction to the highest echelon: tier-1 law enforcement and military special operations forces engaged in combating terrorism. Nothing is slowing that pace down, as six government contracts have been booked for 2022 and they are still coming. Some may ask, what makes Frank

Garcia so very special? The answer is his vast knowledge, training and overwhelming experience that very few people have. Not only is Garcia a true master and champion world-class shooter, but he himself also has realworld tactical operator experience. And one of his most outstanding features that makes him rise above the rest is that he is truly a humble man who is devoid of ego. This rare characteristic is the remarkable quality that enables him to translate his knowledge to those he trains for better clarity, and the results speak for themselves.

Universal Shooting Academy has trained over 30,000 people from all walks of life, producing several world shooting champions, and most importantly, training a vast number of real-world door-kickers who have gone on to save countless lives. Garcia will never get the full credit that he deserves, but then again, that has never been what has driven him; it is his passion for the sport that continues to motivate him. BE IT COMPETITION or selfdefense, to be the best requires total

americanshootingjournal.com 29

Seeking self-defense instruction, Bob and Dr. Joan Galliven were directed to Garcia by a friend. Since then, the couple has blossomed, entering shooting competitions.

dedication and massive amounts of practice. In the competitive world of USPSA, for example, a good competition shooter must be able to do the following: • Have the ability to shoot five rounds a second (or more) into the center of the target, 7 yards distant;

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

• React from the start buzzer, draw a pistol from the holster, and fire an accurate shot onto a target in about one second; • Have the ability to reload a gun in one second; • Accurately engage targets at any distance that is presented, from arm’s length to 50 yards away; • Accurately engage targets while moving; • Accurately hit targets that are moving; • Accurately engage targets from awkward and uncomfortable positions; • Accurately analyze, strategize and memorize potentially extremely complicated courses of fire and be able to execute them perfectly to plan; • And accurately perform all the above-given tasks while under intense stress and pressure. Similar requirements are needed for self-defense shooting, be it for personal protection or hostage rescue. The development of technical excellence supports tactical effectiveness.

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The goal in a real-world gunfight is extreme performance on demand and under extreme stress, responding to an attacker in a quarter of a second per shot. You need one-half to threequarters of a second to start firing a gun if the gun is in hand, no matter the specific location or orientation of the gun, and another 1.5 seconds to cross a 21-foot span of distance. Then it is potentially half a second to 30 seconds to reach incapacitation/ unconsciousness due to blood loss. Garcia understands that the solution to high-performance shooting under stress is to prepare. Thus his training facility allows students to experience simulated tactical situations in order to cultivate a high level of technical skill under stress. He also encourages all his students to participate in competitive shooting. Garcia’s philosophy on shooting is “Train in shooting like you’re going into combat and simulate the combat as realistic as possible.”

“(Garcia) has managed to convince many people that shooting is a heck of a lot more fun than golfing,” writes Pawela, who also notes the academy serves as a training ground for elite special operations and law enforcement personnel.

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

HE HAS BEEN on the cutting-edge of the shooting industry from the very beginning, which explains why so many trainers and shooting facilities have copied his winning formulas. One would think his clientele would have diminished with both the pandemic and severe ammo shortage, but they would be wrong. As far as the ammo shortage goes, Garcia has professionalgrade bullet-loading machines at his facility to accommodate both professional shooters and his students with match-grade bullets that have been used by just about every worldclass shooter that has shot major matches at Universal Shooting Academy. No matter what length or duration of training, a student who trains with Garcia can expect to shoot 1,000 rounds a day. Garcia trains students from across the spectrum, but the academy is quite popular with professionally retired persons in their golden years. He has managed to convince many people that shooting is a heck of a lot more fun than golfing is, and it serves a higher purpose in the self-defense arena to boot. Prime examples of this are Bob Galliven and his wife Dr. Joan Galliven.

Bob is a retired professional Wall Street man and Joan is a retired specialized doctor. With growing concerns about high crime and traveling throughout the country, they felt the need to learn how to defend themselves. A friend recommended seeking training from Frank Garcia and Universal Shooting Academy. The Gallivens have become seriously dedicated students of Garcia’s. For the past two years, they have traveled up from Miami once a month to shoot and/or train at Universal Shooting Academy. Now this couple in their 70s is shooting major competitions together and they love it. As their shooting abilities grow stronger, so too does their love for one another. And if Garcia has his way, as soon as he can convince the powers that be to create a division for Dr. Galliven, he is sure that she has the discipline to be his next world champion. As a professional instructor and journalist, the criteria that I look for in a shooting instructor or shooting school are the following: • The instructor must be a standout

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

throughout the shooting community; • The school should be a standout facility; • And the school should be close to some type of civilization. (Some wellknown shooting schools are out in no man’s land, where the closest store is 35 miles away.) FRANK GARCIA IS an icon in the shooting industry, a rare man who is truthful and humble to a fault. A man who knows what it takes to become a world shooting champion and knows what it takes to make them. He also knows what it takes to train elite counterterrorists because he has been there and knows exactly what they need. Garcia chased the American dream and personally built one of the most impressive shooting training facilities in the country. Not only is Universal Shooting Academy hard to beat in terms of training, but it is hard to beat in terms of location: only a 90-minute drive from Disney World, Sea World and Universal Studios. Where better

to go for a family vacation? In the United States, we have the best combat warriors in the world because we are hands-down the best shooters in the world. We have men like Garcia to thank for that. What is a warrior by definition? A fighter, a man of action, and one who understands that the true battle is a spiritual one, in which the fight is with the enemies of self-knowledge or rationalization. The apparent fierceness of the warrior stems from caring for others. Putting others before oneself is the ultimate source of a warrior’s courage. Caring for others is what makes Garcia the man he is. He is truly both dean and professor of the Harvard School of High-Performance Shooting. He is center stage, playing the rock star of shooting and doing what he does best: making more world champions and combat warriors. There he goes again, turn the page. Editor’s note: For more info, go to universalshootingacademy.com.

L.E. SPOTLIGHT

NOT WITHOUT A FIGHT Wounded by suspect, Agent Ferris returned fire, ending his deadly rampage in Colorado. STORY BY NICK PERNA PHOTOS COURTESY OF LAKEWOOD POLICE DEPARTMENT

t ain’t over till it’s over. This rings true in sports as well as in real life. We all love a good come-from-behind win, whether it be a football team coming back in the fourth quarter, or a fighter down in the scorecards who rallies in the final round. Much more than that is the importance of never giving up, especially when faced with great adversity. This has an altogether different meaning when facing a life-or-death experience. Quitting means dying. Fighting may mean dying too, but at least the attempt has been made. Going down swinging is

Active shooter Lyndon McLeod.

Agent Ashley Ferris of the Lakewood, Colorado, Police Department.

always better than just going down. ENTER AGENT ASHLEY Ferris of the Lakewood Police Department in Colorado, just west of Denver. Agent Ferris faced off against one of the most dangerous threats known to law enforcement, an active shooter. On December 27, 2021, gunman Lyndon McLeod went on a shooting spree. During his murderous rampage, he managed to kill five people and wounded another. He had exchanged gunfire with the police at two different locations during his rampage. McLeod, an exceptionally sick and demented individual, had written books under the pen name of Roman McClay. In these books, he fantasized about murdering people. On the day of the massacre, he dressed as a police officer

as a ruse to gain entry into a tattoo parlor, where his intended victims were located. He knew his victims, and even wrote about murdering them in his hyperviolent novels. It is still unknown what the actual motive was. Agent Ferris encountered the 47-yearold McLeod as he was actively trying to shoot more victims. As the suspect approached her, Ferris ordered him to drop his weapon. He refused. Instead, he shot Agent Ferris in the abdomen. Agent Ferris ended up on the ground, with McLeod quickly approaching. As he neared her, preparing to administer a final blow, Ferris reacted. She fired her service weapon at McLeod, striking him. McLeod died at the scene from his injuries, and the shooting spree was over. americanshootingjournal.com 37

FERRIS WAS IN the hospital for almost 10 days, recovering from her wound. She was released on January 6, and was met with a jubilant crowd of officers, family and supporters. “If not for the heroic efforts of Agent Ferris and other law enforcement, this incredibly violent tragedy could have been worse,” said the Lakewood PD in a Facebook post. “Today Agent Ferris was released from the hospital with the support of her family and her family at the Lakewood Police Department. Thank you Agent Ferris. You’re our hero.” In an example of the dichotomy that is so common in law enforcement, Agent Ferris was a recipient of the Lakewood Police Department Lifesaving Award in 2018 for saving a person by doing CPR when they weren’t breathing. By taking a hit and still staying in the fight, Ashley Ferris saved her own life that day. But, more importantly, she saved the lives of others who would have been targeted next. If she’s like most cops I know, she did it to protect the public, not herself. We never know what we are truly capable of, especially when faced with a life-or-death situation. We may wilt or we may triumph. Most will never know. Agent Ferris knows.  Editor’s note: Author Nick Perna is a sergeant with the Redwood City Police Department in northern California. He is a frequent contributor to multiple print and online forums on topics related to law enforcement, firearms, tactics and veterans issues.

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

Do You Know The Way To (Avoid) San Jose? After mayor pushed gun insurance mandate and annual fee, his California city got sued. STORY BY DAVE WORKMAN

lmost immediately after anti-gun San Jose, California, Mayor Sam Liccardo pushed through a requirement that gun owners obtain liability insurance and pay an annual gun fee to the city – to offset costs of so-called “gun violence” – the city was sued by a gun rights organization. Following Mayor Sam Liccardo the council’s initial vote on January 26, a second vote was required for ratification. That occurred on February 8, according to Rachel Davis, a spokesperson for the city. She said the two ordinances – one dealing with the fee and the other with the insurance requirement – will take effect in August.

Because of that, more lawsuits are likely to follow, and Golden State gun rights activists are convinced that the insurance and fee requirements are unconstitutional. Although California does not have a specific right-tobear-arms provision in its state constitution, ever since June 2010 when the US Supreme Court handed down an affirmative ruling in the case of McDonald v. City of Chicago, the state and its political subdivisions have been subject to the Second Amendment. The McDonald case – brought by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) – incorporated the Second Amendment to the states via the 14th Amendment. But civil cases challenging gun control laws on federal constitutional grounds frequently take lots of time, and in the 9th US Circuit, which covers all of the Western states, gun rights cases can drag on and on. The

court makeup is still tilted toward liberal judges, despite some key appointments by former President Donald Trump. Police officials have said that they won’t be actively enforcing the regulations, but if they come in contact with gun owners, they will ask for proof of insurance and whether the fees have been paid, according to published reports. While it did not file the first legal challenge to San Jose’s ordinance, the California-based Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) promised to take action before the council approved the new regulations. The group called the new mandates “burdensome, unconstitutional, and prohibited by California law.” The state does have something of a preemption statute, which is how SAF has twice successfully litigated against gun bans by the City of San Francisco. One of those lawsuits also involved the

San Jose, located near San Francisco, is a longtime hub of the high-tech industry, but the recent passage of two gun-related measures has Second Amendment advocates hitting control-Z via the federal court system. (THIS IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK; INSET: US SENATE, OFFICE OF SENATOR KAMALA HARRIS)

americanshootingjournal.com 41

“The city could find itself drowning in legal actions, potentially costing more in attorney fees than the gun ‘fee’ could bring in revenue,“ writes author Dave Workman. (SHUTTERSTOCK)

National Rifle Association. The current action against San Jose was launched by the National Association for Gun Rights. BEFORE PUSHING AHEAD with the antigun regulations in late January, Liccardo bylined an op-ed published by the Los Angeles Times, in which he acknowledged, “We anticipate that a barrage of lawsuits from the firearm industry and gun rights advocates will follow.” The mayor has offered all sorts of justifications for his campaign against gun owners. “To be sure,” Liccardo has argued, “the Second Amendment protects the rights of citizens to own guns, but it doesn’t require the public to subsidize gun ownership.” Then there’s this: “Imposing a modest annual fee on gun owners can support underfunded domestic violence and suicide prevention programs, gunsafety classes, mental health services and addiction intervention.” In his op-ed, Liccardo admitted, “These new laws won’t end all gun violence.” Indeed, according to Second 42

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

Amendment activists, the new requirements will likely have no effect on the crime rate because they target the wrong people: law-abiding citizens. As noted prior to the council’s action by San Francisco’s KGO, the local ABC affiliate, the gun control scheme “does not address the massive problem of illegally obtained weapons that are stolen or purchased without background checks.” Criminals, who typically are disqualified by their records from even possessing firearms, certainly won’t be paying any fee on guns they’re not supposed to have, and they will not be purchasing liability insurance for the same reason. Once again, honest citizens get penalized for crimes they don’t commit. That sort of cockiness comes from watching the way gun rights lawsuits are treated by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. While Second Amendment cases frequently are won at trial, or when appealed to the traditional three-judge panel, affirmative decisions are almost automatically challenged and subjected to an en banc rehearing before a full panel of federal judges, which

invariably rules against gun rights. Then the appeal is sent to the US Supreme Court for possible review. Liccardo, a Democrat, is simply playing the odds. There are an estimated one million citizens in San Jose, among whom the Washington Examiner recently said could be some 50,000 gun owners. That makes for a formidable bloc of potential litigants. The city could find itself drowning in legal actions, potentially costing more in attorney fees than the gun “fee” could bring in revenue. Gun owners living outside the city might simply not spend any money with any businesses inside city limits. They might take other actions, perhaps even a class-action lawsuit. There are several possibilities, and nobody has yet suggested finding pro-rights candidates to challenge Liccardo and members of the city council at the next election; a long shot, but not impossible.  Editor’s note: Dave Workman is an award-winning outdoor writer and firearms journalist who writes a regular column on guns and hunting for sister publication Northwest Sportsman.

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BULLET BULLETIN

Among the premium handgun bullet choices, Federal’s HST is high on the list of the best.

H.S.T. BULLETS MAKE FOR HAPPY HANDGUNS, HANDGUNNERS

Even with all of today’s great self-defense options, Federal line ‘sits at the top of the list’ for our ammo expert.

STORY BY PHIL MASSARO • PHOTOS BY MASSARO MEDIA GROUP

hould you ever be in the unfortunate position to need a handgun to defend your life or the lives of your loved ones, I hope you have the best ammunition available. Perhaps unfairly, the handgun projectile is asked to perform in a large number of different scenarios, and to neutralize a

threat immediately. Just exactly what that scenario may be can vary from a one-on-one confrontation to a home invasion to many other nightmare scenes, so when you pick your defensive projectile, you want something tried and true and that has met all the qualifications that the military and/or law enforcement have set. For me, Federal’s HST is the best I’ve come across; it checks all the boxes I need it to check, and for reasons

I’m about to outline, it is held in high regard among all factions of the handgun community. Federal is about to celebrate their centennial, and if anything has been proven over the course of the last century, it’s that Federal strives to meet the demands of the market. They have a long history of developing their own projectiles, for both handgun and rifle, and were the first to embrace the designs of boutique component americanshootingjournal.com 45

BULLET BULLETIN manufacturers in their ammunition, and continue to do so to this day. That said, Federal’s own engineers have been as busy as a hive of bees over the last few decades, and many of their developments have become personal favorites, none more so than the HST. WHAT, EXACTLY, IS the HST? Pull up a

chair, and allow me to explain. Simply put, it is a jacketed hollowpoint bullet, but there is so much more to it than that. The HST is the brainchild of Federal’s Tom Burczynski, who also designed the Hydra-Shok bullet. Now, there are no flies on the HydraShok, but Federal had seen room for improvement.

Designing a hollowpoint bullet that functions properly in the wide variety of situations in which a handgun bullet will be employed requires much more than simply drilling a hole in the nose, and one of the problems of earlier designs was “plugging.” When impacting certain types of materials – namely thick clothing and/

FEDERAL AMMUNITION SPONSORS BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB’S 31ST BIG GAME AWARDS

ederal Ammunition has signed on to be the Centennial Sponsor of the Boone and Crockett Club’s 31st Big Game Awards to be held July 21-23 in Springfield, Missouri. The event recognizes the biggest heads, horns and antlers from North America entered into the Boone and Crockett Club’s record book during the last three years. The 31st Big Game Awards coincides with the centennial anniversary of the National Collection of Heads and Horns, as well as Federal’s 100-year anniversary as one of the largest ammunition manufacturing companies in America. “Federal Ammunition is proud to be the Centennial Sponsor of the 31st Big Game Awards to celebrate the synergy between our 100 years in business and the conservation of the nation’s wildlife species,” commented Jon Zinnel, Federal’s conservation manager. “Federal has long supported conservation efforts both through the excise taxes we pay on the sale of ammunition as part of the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration program, as well as through philanthropic support of conservation and advocacy organizations. We are excited to celebrate the successes of hunters having the opportunity to hunt amazing animals only because of extraordinary efforts to conserve them and the habitat on which they depend.” When the National Collection of Heads and Horns was dedicated in May 1922, Boone and Crockett Club

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

member and the collection’s original curator William T. Hornaday noted, “The National Collection of Heads and Horns was founded and formed as a duty owed to the American people and to the vanishing big game of the world. … As wild animal extermination now is proceeding all over the world, it is saddening to think that 100 years hence many of the species now shown in our collection will have become totally extinct.” However, most of those North American species have not gone extinct and in fact have thrived thanks largely to sustainable wildlife management and the consistent funding provided through the excise tax paid by companies like Federal Ammunition. In response to public interest generated by the National Collection of Heads and Horns in the 1920s, and increased interest in the recovery and conservation of big game species, the club established an official measurement and scoring system for trophy big game. The National Collection and the measurement system were initially conceived to record species of North American big game thought to be vanishing. As conservation efforts began to pay dividends and populations recovered, so did the number of mature male specimens. Wildlife managers and others in the scientific community soon recognized that the system was an effective means of tracking the success of new conservation policies and programs. Trophy entry into the Boone and Crockett Club’s records program

now occurs during three-year periods, followed by a public display of the finest trophies entered in each category and the Big Game Awards banquet. “The nation’s awakening to the conservation crisis a century ago led to the passage of legislation supported by the Boone and Crockett Club, including the excise tax paid by the shooting sports industry that has largely bankrolled our conservation successes,” commented Tony A. Schoonen, chief executive officer of the Boone and Crockett Club. “It is fitting that the centennial of Federal and the centennial of a display that helped to raise that awareness coincide. I have had the pleasure of working with Federal for over 20 years and their commitment to conservation is significant and very real. We are happy to have Federal as our Centennial Sponsor of the 31st Big Game Awards so that we can celebrate our conservation successes together.” The public display of the 31st Big Game Awards mounts will open on May 1 and will be part of the Bucks and Bulls exhibit within the wildlife galleries at Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium in Springfield, Missouri. Travel and ticket information to view the display this summer can be found by visiting wondersofwildlife.org. Information about attending the 31st Big Game Awards events in July will be posted on the Boone and Crockett Club website at boone-crockett.org as event details are finalized.

BULLET BULLETIN

The 230-grain Federal HST in the celebrated .45 ACP. Author Phil Massaro says he can’t think of a better stopping combination in an everyday carry gun.

An upset recovered from ballistic gelatin; note the level of expansion and sharp edges.

The .45 ACP 230-grain HST load; note the skives on the jacket and on the interior of the hollow cavity.

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

or gypsum used for sheetrock – some hollowpoint bullets will have the cavity at the nose plug up with that material, and act much like a full metal jacket bullet, failing to expand at all. This can invariably result in overpenetration and small wound channels, neither of which are a desirable result. So Burczynski decided that his new bullet would have both its copper jacket and lead core skived at the nose in order to see the bullet open routinely and reliably. Instead of chemically bonding the jacket and core, a cannelure would be employed in order to keep the bullet’s components together, and what you see is a defensive bullet that retains 95 to 100 percent of its original weight, with expansion nearly double the caliber, capable of handling a number of different barriers while still saving your bacon. Recovered projectiles look like some sort of nightmarish metallic flower, with sharp petals that will neutralize the threat through both extreme tissue damage and the immediate transfer of energy. I HAD THE opportunity to test the HST at the Federal Ammunition plant in Anoka, Minnesota, shooting the projectiles into bare ballistic gel; gel covered with varying layers of clothing fabric; and through sheetrock into gel. We grabbed a good 1911 clone chambered in .45 ACP, and a few boxes of 230-grain HST ammunition. Into bare gel, the HST gave 12 inches of penetration, expanded over double its original caliber to measure an even inch, and weighed 228

A 230-grain .45-caliber HST in ballistic gelatin, with an impressive wound channel.

americanshootingjournal.com 49

BULLET BULLETIN

The HST as upset in bare ballistic gel. Expansion is wonderful and weight retention is in the 99-plus-percent range.

grains after recovery. Next, we draped several layers of clothing, including swatches of cotton T-shirt, flannel shirt and winter coat. The new material did have an effect on the bullet’s performance, though not nearly as much as other handgun

The .38 Special +P load – designed for the “Micro” line, optimized for short-barreled guns. See the HST bullet seated flush with the case mouth.

bullets I’ve tested. The clothing restricted expansion slightly, with the recovered projectile measuring 0.82 inch, increasing the penetration to 14 inches. You could think of it this way: the faster a bullet expands (without physically being stopped by a hard

The author chooses HST for his 1911, based upon its performance in bare gel, and through clothing and drywall.

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

barrier) to a wide diameter, the less penetration you’ll have because the diameter of the expanded projectile will effectively act as a parachute, restricting penetration. For example, a full metal jacket nonexpanding projectile will offer a small wound channel yet very

americanshootingjournal.com 51

BULLET BULLETIN For the fans of the diminutive .380 Auto – which is often housed in wonderfully concealable guns – a bullet as reliable as the HST changes the cartridge’s capability.

Massaro’s favorite defensive handgun load: the 230-grain Federal HST in .45 ACP.

impressive penetration. This might not be the ideal performance inside your home, as overpenetration could wound or kill innocent people within the house. Where other hollowpoints have plugged and failed to expand when penetrating thick clothing, the HST opened time and time again, with effective yet sensible penetration. Recovered bullet weight was 227 grains. Last, we used a section of drywall as a barrier in front of the ballistic gelatin, as I was extremely curious to see how even the least of barriers

The Federal HST will only enhance the performance of the .40 S&W, giving excellent terminal ballistics.

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

would affect the projectile. As this was a hard substance – even if not extremely thick – I anticipated that penetration would be reduced, but only if the bullet opened properly. I wasn’t disappointed. Though the sheetrock reduced penetration to 8 inches (I was personally pleased with that reduction), the HST still opened to a diameter of 0.81 inch, retaining 228 of its original 230 grains. I was sold on the HST, and it remains my daily carry ammunition to this day.

BUT EVEN THE best designed hollowpoint bullet isn’t worth a hill of beans if it won’t feed reliably. Federal has taken considerable steps to design a nose profile that is feed-ramp friendly, and I’ve yet to meet a handgun that wouldn’t feed HST ammo routinely. Furthermore, Federal loads the HST ammo in corrosion-resistant nickel-plated cases to keep things clean and functioning properly, no matter how many times the ammunition may be handled on a dayto-day basis. The HST is available in both

americanshootingjournal.com 55

BULLET BULLETIN standard and “Micro” loading in the Personal Defense ammunition line – the latter being optimized to perform in the shorter-barreled handguns so popular for concealed carry. Options include Federal’s new .30 Super Carry (100 grains), .380 Auto (99 grains Micro), 9mm Luger (124 and 147 grains standard, 150 grains Micro), .38 Special +P (130 grains Micro, seated flush with

the case mouth), .40 S&W (180 grains), 10mm Auto (200 grains) and .45 ACP (230 grains). New for 2022, the Personal Defense line has been extended to include the .327 Federal (104 grains) and the .357 Magnum (154 grains). Federal’s engineers have taken the time to optimize each of the HST designs for its cartridge/velocity combination, such as nose profile,

New for ’22, Federal has extended the HST line to include the proprietary .327 Federal cartridge.

As if the .357 Magnum wasn’t impressive to begin with, it is now available in the 154-grain HST for 2022.

depth and length of skiving, and bullet weight, in order to ensure the best performance is delivered from your handgun, including changing the bullet for the Micro series developed for shortbarreled handguns. Sadly, at least to me, the HST isn’t available in component form, but perhaps that will change soon. While accuracy can assuredly vary from handgun to handgun, my experiences have shown that even the worst results from HST ammunition were perfectly acceptable, and that the velocities and group sizes were consistent. Federal’s primers have served me very well over a career of hunting globally, as well as carrying a defensive handgun on nearly a daily basis, and their proprietary primer sealant keeps the powder dry, no matter how long you carry that ammo, even in the humidity of summer or the cold of winter. I will be the first to say that our ammunition and projectiles are the best they have ever been, and that there are many sound choices on the market, but in my personal opinion the Federal HST sits at the top of the list, and is carried in my gun to this day.  56

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

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Self-Defense TRAINING

THIS BLADE’S A BETTER BACKUP ARM If your handgun fails in a fight, Skallywag Tactical’s MDV Plus One knife is specifically designed to complement a firearm’s deadly capabilities, ‘a stroke of genius,’ says self-defense expert. STORY AND PHOTOS BY PAUL PAWELA

s Americans, we have always been part of a gun culture first, but we have also understood that if the gun failed for whatever reason, the blade could be an immediate backup. The blade is a brutal weapon, and while American citizens tend to be hesitant about using and/or facing an edged weapon in a fight, there have been many documented instances of a knife or edged weapon coming into the affray rather quickly when it became a matter of life and death. Certain objectives must be set when establishing a knife tactical training program. First, you must help people overcome the overwhelming fear of edged weapons being used on them, and second, their squeamishness about using a blade on a bad guy if necessary. In my training program, Assault Counter Tactics, the handgun and knife are taught as conjoined life safety rescue tools. Two classic examples are used to make solid points throughout training. The first

Self-defense instructor and author Paul Pawela is always on the lookout for new knives for his courses, and while at this year’s Blade Show he came across Skallywag Tactical’s MDV Plus One (bottom; the red knife is for training).

is John Henry “Doc” Holliday, the famous Western dentist-turnedgambler who suffered badly with tuberculosis. Due to his fatal disease, he weighed between 125 and 150 pounds and was described by frontier lawman Bat Masterson as “a weakling who could not have whipped a healthy 15-year-old boy in a go-as-you-please fistfight, and no one knew this better than himself, and the knowledge of this fact was perhaps why he was so ready to resort to a weapon of some kind whenever he got himself into difficulty.” Guns and knives saved Doc

Holliday in over a dozen gunfights and several knife encounters. And nothing hits closer to home than discussing one of my wife’s friends whose full-grown daughter was viciously attacked in an attempted kidnapping/rape/possible murder. She was greatly overpowered by the man, whose size, height and weight dominated her own. But the woman fought with every ounce of strength she had, and in a last-ditch effort to save her own life, she utilized her car keys to jam into the neck of her attacker, killing him. In the aftermath

americanshootingjournal.com 59

SELF-DEFENSE TRAINING of this horrible situation, she realized she would have fared far better if she carried a gun or knife, or both! SHE ALSO WOULD have benefitted from a proper self-defense training program. Unfortunately, the self-defense world is full of imbeciles who train people in hand-to-hand techniques that are truly worthless or rely on “less lethal” items like mace spray, pepper spray, stun guns or tasers. When one’s life is at stake, we are talking about justified deadly force and that warrants using guns and knives, period. Of all the professions in the world, the ones where skullduggery or chicanery should never be tolerated are the medical and martial endeavors, including military, law enforcement and self-defense/self-preservation. The rationale is that lives are at stake in all these professions. There can be no room for error. Yet the martial arts community is full of charlatans who prey on members who need spot-on information. These civilians need the info to be reliable, accurate and fast. If it sounds like I am picking on the martial arts community, maybe I am and maybe I am not, but the facts I state may hurt the field’s feelings. The entire martial arts community has a strong resentment against guns. Why? Because it was superior weapons (usually guns) that conquered those

MDV Plus One with its knife sheaths.

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

The blade comes with two carry options – sheath and clip. Pawela likes to put his on a reinforced chain that hangs around his neck, which facilitates a quick draw, as shown elsewhere in this article.

communities that espouse their rendition of “martial arts.” Here are some hard truths to support this fact. Many would argue that jiu-jitsu is one of the most dominant arts in the country, and what the Gracie family from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has done to catapult its popularity is truly an impressive feat. However, in the book Breathe: A Life in Flow by Rickson Gracie, the family’s greatest undefeated fighter admits that his own father, the creator of Gracie jiu-jitsu, was no match for men with guns when henchmen shot at and pistol-whipped him.

A few more truths: The US Army created the .45 ACP 1911 handgun to deal with Filipino warriors, guns ended the Boxer Rebellion in China, guns defeated warriors in Japan, and it was guns that defeated the great Indian warrior tribes. As a current Florida Department of Law Enforcement certified trainer, I have seen disappointing results with tasers and pepper spray when police have tried to arrest subjects. And if those products fail law enforcement, who receive hours of training with those tools, then I have little to no confidence in the marketed versions

SELF-DEFENSE TRAINING of the same items that are sold to civilians who get zero training. Once again, even in basic classes at Assault Counter Tactics, students are taught gun and knife tactics. The average civilian can learn enough in one day to last them a lifetime if they have their heart set on it! ALWAYS LOOKING FOR better tools that will complement my training program, while attending this year’s Blade Show in Atlanta, Georgia, one of the booths I ran into was that of the fine men of Skallywag Tactical (skallywagtactical.com). Time does not permit me to go into all their great knives or their great training programs. However, I will state that I immediately fell in love with their Skallywag Tactical MDV Plus One knife designed by Michael Donvito. Donvito is a special operations trainer and part of the professional dedicated team of Skallywag, which has been training our elite military and law enforcement for some time now. To get straight to the point (no pun intended), at first glance the MDV Plus One looks like a rather simple design. But look closer. The knife was designed to specifically work

Pawela terms being able to hold the knife in either hand while holding your primary weapon “a stroke of genius. ... The logic is that if the gun fails to go bang for whatever reason, the MDV is right there,” he states.

in tandem with the everyday carry handgun, a stroke of genius. Why? Because the MDV can comfortably be carried in either the nondominant hand or the dominant hand while holding the primary firearm at the same time. The logic is that if the gun

fails to go bang for whatever reason, the MDV is right there. Secondly, the MDV was designed to be a stabbing weapon and in a deadly force scenario, stabbing the eyes, neck, throat, chest (heart or lungs), stomach, kidney or liver will bring an end to a

The author uses the story of an actual attack on a family acquaintance by a far larger person to impress upon his students the importance of stabbing tools. When used on eyes, neck, armpits (middle), liver (right) or other body parts, they can help end a potentially fatal encounter fast.

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

SELF-DEFENSE TRAINING

One second – that’s how long it took in this sequence from drawing the MDV Plus One from its sheath to stabbing.

fatal fight in mere seconds. Third, under duress the human body automatically does certain things. For instance, our hands automatically close with a crush grip. The MDV was designed with that in mind because the user will be able to deploy the knife from its sheath and 64

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

use it under stress in a second or less. The MDV was designed to have the perfect grip, proven with the 3-inch space in the knife. With this type of grip, no opponent is going to take the MDV away, period. Lastly, I have always stated that no matter how great the knife design is,

if it has a crappy sheath then the knife is worthless. The MDV comes with not one but two different knife sheaths and both are pretty special and ingeniously designed in their own way. One of the sheaths was designed in conjunction with the curvature of the hooked blade. When placed in a pants

SELF-DEFENSE TRAINING pocket, the knife can be pulled to come out of the sheath, or the sheath can stay with the knife and be used just as an impact weapon. Then, when necessary, it can separate from the sheath. With or without the sheath, what a brilliant feature. The second sheath comes with a sturdy clip that can be mounted just about anywhere. My favorite way of carrying the MDV is on a reinforced chain and using it for a neck knife. The total knife length of the MDV is 6¾ inches, and it is light, weighing around .20 pound. The MDV also comes with a pretty cool training knife, to boot. In my opinion, the Skallywag Tactical MDV Plus One is one of the greatest new everyday carry personal knives. And I look forward to training with Skallywag Tactical soon. And that’s my two cents!  Editor’s note: Author Paul Pawela is a nationally recognized firearms and self-defense expert.

Another feature of the Skallywag edged weapon is that you can reload your gun with it still in your hand.

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

The blade can also be easily utilized by a disabled person.

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ROAD HUNTER

In many regions throughout the West, hen turkeys move to higher elevations to nest, and rest assured, where hens go, toms won’t be far.

TIME TO DO YOUR TURKEY HOMEWORK

March offers Western hunters a great opportunity to scout out gobblers ahead of the spring season. STORY AND PHOTOS BY SCOTT HAUGEN

s it had done most days over the past two months, the lone tom strutted and gobbled its way along the ridge. This time was different, though, as it was opening day of spring turkey season. A logged unit separated me from the tom by 200 yards, and at the bottom of the cut, I had a pair of decoys in place: a strutting tom and an upright hen. Tucked into a briar patch 20 yards from the decoys, I let out a soft yelp on a

diaphragm call, then watched as the tom quickly stacked its wings, sprung into the air and coasted downhill, sticking a landing right next to my decoys. In less than five minutes of hunting, my tag was filled. “That didn’t take long” was a comment that caught my attention on a social media post I’d made about the hunt. I smiled and thought, “If you only knew.” I first learned of that big tom four months prior, when I set up trail cameras on the ridge. I always run my trail cameras on video mode so I can see and hear what’s happening. By opening day, I had logged dozens of

hours scouting this bird, so to say my spring hunt “didn’t take long” couldn’t have been further from the truth. TURKEY FLOCK TRANSITIONS As a former biology teacher, I approach my hunting from a scientific angle. With turkeys, this means locating birds in large winter flocks and tracking their movements and behavioral shifts with each passing day. In March, turkey behavior is rapidly changing. Toms go from tolerating one another in bachelor flocks all winter, to establishing dominance through posturing, to fighting in an effort to americanshootingjournal.com 71

ROAD HUNTER gain breeding rights. Throughout the West, big country impacted by snow, rain, even high winds and sunshine, can influence turkey behavior. A tom’s mind is consumed with breeding this time of year. Hens are also intent to breed, and once they start laying eggs, they turn reclusive. While the urge to reproduce is what makes spring turkey hunting so special, don’t forget that turkeys must eat, drink, take

dust baths and roost. When I started turkey hunting over 30 years ago, one of the biggest mistakes I made was focusing too much on the breeding cycle of turkeys, neglecting a turkey’s daily survival needs. In many Western states, turkeys move to higher elevations as spring progresses; hens often move to high ground to nest in seclusion. I’ve witnessed hen movement from the

Author Scott Haugen has been hunting turkeys throughout the West for over 30 years, and credits much of his success to preseason scouting efforts. He took this tom last spring, after many weeks of scouting the area.

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

Coast Range into the Rocky Mountains, and toms always appear to follow them. At the same time, many turkeys are year-round residents in low elevations, where food is easy to get and predation is light. Preseason scouting reveals if you’re hunting homebody birds versus turkeys on the move, and thus provides an efficient starting point. Hens should be a primary target when scouting this time of year. The height of turkey breeding is about one month prior to the start of hunting seasons. However, peak breeding can see delays, most commonly due to weather. Keeping track of daily tom and hen movement this time of year is important, as is monitoring behavior shifts among toms, from passive to aggressive. Exactly how a turkey behaves and when behavioral changes occur can vary from year to year, even drainage to drainage. I used to think turkey behavior shifts were dictated by photoperiodism, as with big game, but after years of experience afield, I believe much of a spring turkey’s behavior is dependent upon weather conditions more so than light levels. Many years I’ve seen the height of the breeding season delayed when conditions were cold and wet; other years I’ve seen it well underway in late February. Turkeys don’t always behave in a specific way, day in and day out, year after year, and I think the big rugged land and diversity of habitats throughout the West impact this. Exposure to severely cold late winters and delayed springs also affects turkey movement and behavior, which is why scouting is important. UNDERSTANDING SIGNS When scouting, you don’t have to see turkeys in order to succeed. A good place to start is with tracks. A mature tom’s track will measure up to 5 inches from the back toe to the tip of the long middle toe. A hen’s track will be about 4 inches; a jake’s falls in between. The size of a turkey’s track changes with age and the older a tom, the bigger and

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ROAD HUNTER By monitoring tom behavior and watching hen flocks in late winter and early spring, you’ll learn a lot about where to focus hunting efforts.

If you want to increase the odds of filling a turkey tag, preseason scouting is important, and using trail cameras, critical. Here, the author sets his favorite trail camera, a Stealth Cam model DS4K.

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

thicker its feet become, often revealing swollen knuckles. Loose feathers on the ground also tell a story. The breast feathers of toms are edged in black, while a hen’s breast feathers are tan or off-white on the fringe. Tom and hen droppings also differ. The droppings of toms are usually in a J-shape, while a hen’s droppings are typically coiled and commonly contain more white coloration. Find signs of toms and you’ll know where to focus hunting efforts. If you come across a hen and tom track together, look closely. If there are no drag marks made by the tom’s primary wing feathers while strutting, follow them. If they’re traveling in a fairly straight line with little sign of pausing, you’ve likely found a hen temporarily away from her nest in search of food. Once that hen goes back to her nest, there will be a lone tom eager for

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ROAD HUNTER

Preseason scouting missions don’t require seeing birds in order to be a success. Finding sign, like these tracks, can also reveal a lot about what’s happening in the turkey woods.

companionship, so mark that spot. By nature, toms visit the same strutting area day after day, gobbling and calling to attract hens. Strutting grounds are great places to focus hunting efforts. When you take a mature tom from a strutting area, return later in the season, as another tom will have likely taken over the location. Locating strutting grounds during preseason scouting is a solid approach with high success when it comes time for the hunt. Strutting grounds, roost trees and pathways connecting the two should be pinpointed while scouting. Locating multiple toms is wise in case you need a backup plan or have multiple tags to fill. One of the biggest clues to help fill tags is inspecting the crop of the first tom you take. Once you tag a tom, open its crop to see what it’s been eating and 76

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

hunt amid those food sources. Early in the spring, you’ll often find grass and clover, while later in the spring, the diet shifts to grass seeds and insects. Preseason scouting will reveal where these food sources will be. SCOUTING TOOLS Trail cameras are your eyes in the woods when you’re not there. I use trail cameras year-round for turkeys, always setting them on video mode. Still pictures allow you to count birds and size up toms, but photos miss a lot of what’s happening. Capture a photo of a lone hen and that’s all you see. But get a 10-second video of a hen and you might hear multiple toms gobbling behind the camera, or notice birds moving in the background, or capture an aggressive hen strutting like a tom.

The best trail cameras I’ve used are Stealth Cam DS4Ks, and I like hanging them 2 to 6 feet high, pointing them down a trail, not perpendicular to it. You want to study birds moving toward or away from the camera, not capture a fleeting side glimpse of one. Watching video clips will reveal a lot more than a simple photo can, and the more trail you can capture in the shot, the better. My second best scouting tool is a spotting scope. Using a spotter, or high-powered binoculars, will allow you to locate, size up and study turkeys from afar. When scouting, the goal is to find turkeys without being seen. Come opening day, you don’t want birds knowing you’ve been watching them, for an educated tom is hard to fool. By the start of the turkey season, you should have multiple toms located, have strutting grounds marked, know the whereabouts of jakes for future seasons, be aware of where hens are, and understand what’s happening in the courting, breeding, feeding and roosting behaviors of birds. Scouting reveals a lot about turkeys and once the season starts, the last thing you want to do is waste time looking for a place to hunt; that should be done well before opening day. Also, be sure to have all your calls conditioned and ready to go. Get all gear in working order and pattern that shotgun so you know your effective shooting range. If bowhunting, practice shooting from angles you’ll encounter from inside a ground blind. By the time opening day arrives, there should be no doubts if you’ve done your homework and scouted. You know where the toms are and how they’re behaving, and you have confidence in your gear and ability to call. The rest comes down to connecting on the shot, then sinking your teeth into one of the best-tasting upland birds in the country.  Editor’s note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s bestselling book, Western Turkey Hunting: Strategies For All Levels, visit scotthaugen.com.

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

CHASING RAMS, CHASING DREAMS

After years of guiding sportsmen in search of trophy big game in the rugged mountains of Alberta and the Northwest Territories, a huntress has her chance to pursue a Dall's ram and bag the fourth of Canada's wild sheep quartet – and open a new chapter in her life.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY CASSIDY CARON

he saying “It’s in your blood” has true meaning. Ever since I can recall, I was drawn to the wilderness. I remember being in kindergarten and

going grouse hunting with my father. I recall running down the gravel road after he had shot a bird, eager to be the one to seize it first, feel its warmth in my small hands, see every detail of its beautiful feathers. This was never about loving the kill. There was something in me, even at Cassidy Caron has prowled for game in mountains like this since she was 8 years old. “There was something in me, even at that young age, that recognized the ancient bond between man and prey. Something primal. Something sacred. Destiny calling,” writes the 33-year-old who now runs her own outfitting service.

that young age, that recognized the ancient bond between man and prey. Something primal. Something sacred. Destiny calling. americanshootingjournal.com 79

Caron with her dream ram, a Dall’s sheep she bagged in Canada’s Northwest Territories with South Nahanni Outfitters.

I grew up in the Rocky Mountain region of southern British Columbia. My father, an avid hunter, took me on my first big game hunt when I was 9 years old. We rode our horses into the mountains one October day and camped in a tent overnight. It was foreign, uncomfortable and cold, but not scary. We did not even see an animal but I couldn’t wait to go again. The very next year, my father took me on a fly-in hunt for Stone’s sheep in the vast wilderness of northern BC. At 10 years old, I had never even been in an airplane. The bumpy ride in an aircraft that was approximately the age of my grandfather was an experience that stays with me. I vividly remember the pilot giving us a breakfast of very greasy bacon and eggs right before the flight. My younger self struggled for the entire two-hour 80

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

flight to keep from throwing up. I was terrified that if I puked my father would never invite me along again! To this day, I have never been sick in an airplane, though there have been many stomach-churning flights in my guiding career. And I still refer to greasy bacon as “pilot bacon.” Every summer after that, my father took me hunting for sheep in the wild mountains of our province. At the age of 12, I took my first mountain goat, braving the snow and ice-covered cliffs of the high Rockies in November to do it. My father and I had a pact to never, ever tell my mother what we really did out there, for fear she would not let me go along anymore.

IN WESTERN CANADA we are

blessed to have four species of wild sheep. The elusive Stone’s sheep, the mighty Rocky Mountain bighorn, the

iconic Dall’s sheep and the California bighorn, which is sparsely populated and found in dry, desert-like terrain. Each species is extremely challenging to hunt, and therefore extremely addicting. By the time I was 16 years old, I had been able to take part in multiple successful hunts for every sheep species in Canada, and for mountain goat. Sheep hunting is mentally and physically challenging in ways that one who has never done it cannot imagine. It takes you to the last frontiers of unconquered wilderness, where endless mountains, stretching for hundreds of kilometers, guard small pockets of the game you seek. The weather almost never cooperates. I have hunted in 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) and -25 degrees Celsius (-13 degrees Fahrenheit). I have been stuck in tents – reading the same book three times, running low on food provisions, and almost having bed sores from laying on a thin air mattress in the same two positions – for days and days, waiting for rain or snow storms to pass. I have climbed mountains all day many, many times only to sneak over the top to see that the rams we were hunting had moved 4 kilometers away because they decided the grass looked better over there. The highs and lows of hunting sheep are what make it so addicting. If you can endure the misery, the reward at the end is an experience that I have yet to match hunting anything, anywhere in the world. I have found that while fitness is important, being mentally tough is what makes the difference between succeeding and failing on a difficult hunt. Hunters and clients who can prepare themselves for hard conditions, being constantly uncomfortable and understanding the possibility of hiking many hard miles without seeing any game, are the ones who do not reach a breaking point.

EACH SHEEP SPECIES

presents its own set of challenges. While Dall’s sheep are arguably the “easiest” and most affordable to hunt, they are located in the most

Having guided over 40 successful hunts for Dall’s, the author knew where to start looking for the species after a storm passed. Glassing from “the knoll” an hour’s climb above camp with her Zeiss spotting scope turned up four rams in thicker cover.

remote areas of North America and not easy to access. To hunt a Dall’s ram, you will have used a horse, a small airplane, a helicopter – or a combination of all of those – to find yourself a million miles from anywhere. But if you can get there, Dall’s sheep are more numerous than the other Canadian sheep and you will most likely be the only human hunting them in a very large area. Stone’s are very similar to Dall’s, however they are located in a smaller geographic region that is not as remote as most Dall’s sheep terrain. For this reason, and the fact that they live up to their name “stone” and are difficult to spot, they are a harder sheep to hunt. Bighorn sheep are a whole different animal. Inhabiting terrain south of Stone’s and Dall’s sheep, bighorns are more elusive than their smaller cousins. The southern mountains are bigger, taller and have more trees on them than the mountains to the north. To harvest a bighorn ram, the curl of its horn must extend to its lower eye. Many big rams break their

The hunter/guide’s 10-year-old ram was a true timber ghost of South Nahanni.

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

horns before achieving this. There are fewer bighorns than thinhorns and they are highly sought after by hunters. Bighorns also have to contend with more predators, such as cougars, than thinhorns do. For these reasons, in my opinion, the Rocky Mountain bighorn is the hardest species in the world to hunt successfully.

WHEN I DECIDED that being a professional hunting guide was what I needed to do, it was hard for me to get a job. At 21 years old, I had been on dozens of successful mountain hunts for sheep and goats. However, being a 5-foot-4 female phoning for jobs guiding the hardest, most extreme hunts in the world, I did not get many calls back. There are more females in the hunting industry now, but at that time, it was quite unusual. I finally got my break with Brian Martin at Asian Mountain Outfitters. He had a bighorn concession in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and I worked with him for several seasons. I found my soul when I started

guiding in Canada’s Northwest Territories. I worked there for seven years, the majority of which was spent with Sunny and Werner Aschbacher of South Nahanni Outfitters. The Northwest Territories are Canada’s last frontier and one of the most remote locations on the planet. The game outnumbers the human residents. For up to 90 days straight per year, I would live in a remote camp, mostly in a tent with the odd day in a cabin in “main camp” after a successful hunt. I guided many Dall’s ram, caribou, moose and wolf hunters there. As a BC resident, I had taken several Rocky Mountain bighorn, Stone’s sheep, and one California bighorn on hunts as a young girl with my father. Later, I went on extreme solo hunts between guiding jobs. To this day, I have taken three bighorns on solo hunts, a feat I am not sure has been matched by any other female hunters.

WHEN 2019 CAME around, I

had successfully guided over 40 Dall’s sheep hunts in the NWT, although the Dall’s remained the one Canadian ram I had not taken myself. As an avid sheep hunter, it was really important to me to hunt a Dall’s. For my 30th birthday, I was determined and finally in a position to buy my own hunt. It still took another few years to make it happen in the place where I had guided so many Dall’s sheep and had so many happy memories. When the time came for my hunt, I had guided two great rams already that season for happy clients. As the helicopter blades churned through the air, I felt my own stomach churning. It was strange; I had guided and hiked so many miles over the years here at South Nahanni and yet now, all of a sudden my nerves were getting the best of me. It felt as if it was the first hunt I guided here, all over again. My heart felt in tune with the rhythm of the chopper blades. “Whomp, whomp, whomp!” Werner saw me off and gave me the customary “good luck” fist bump as he closed the chopper door. My arm felt like an overcooked noodle.

DESTINATION HUNTS

AS WE SET up camp, the clouds

Despite being sick, Caron was all smiles as it began to set in what checking the box at the top of her bucket list really felt like.

Werner, on the ground, ducked down as the helicopter lifted into the air, giving me a thumbs up as we sped off into the mountains. Normally, at this point with a client I would be pumped and ready for adventure, but at this moment I was paralyzed by nervous anxiety. The weather had been awful all season. We had been plagued by rain and fog and every previous hunt had been a nail-biter, going to the last days to get clients their rams. As we headed toward my hunting destination, the 84

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

clouds loomed ominously. My gut twisted as the chopper dropped us off and lifted back into the air. It left me and my “guide” for the hunt, a promising trainee named Anton, with our small pile of tents and gear on a desolate gravel bar. The clouds were swirling around and we could not see much of the mountains surrounding us. I wondered if we would be able to find sheep in the limited time I had for my hunt before my next client came in.

began to lift. Realizing that we had a window, Anton and I set off to a big knoll where we could do some glassing. After an hour’s climb, we settled at the top of the knoll. The fog had lifted enough to see the tops of the ridges, which I combed with my Zeiss spotting scope. Suddenly, a white flash caught my eye in the timber far below. I dialed in and sure enough, there were four rams, and amazing rams they were! I could not believe my eyes! I had to pinch myself; all four were huge. While it is not uncommon to find rams in the timber, especially after a big storm, it is very hard to hunt them there and they tend to relocate a lot. With night falling, we hiked back down to the tents. I had a hard time sleeping, wondering where these rams would be by morning. My alarm went off, shaking me from a deep sleep. I was covered in sweat. I got dressed and crawled from the tent, and upon standing immediately realized I was sick! Perhaps it hadn’t just been nerves at play the previous day. Over the years, I have had numerous clients get ill during their “hunt of a lifetime.” While I was always sympathetic, it’s very hard to see people come all this way only to lose a chance at their dream hunt to illness. And here I was, thinking “I’m going to puke!” at the moment I had waited my lifetime for. The good side was that the sun was out, and the storm was long gone. Anton was eager to go and obviously so was I, though I felt I had to hide the fact I was nauseous. We began the hike up to the knoll that we had spotted the rams from the night before. After an hour, we reached the top and I set up my spotting scope, wiping a sheen of sickly sweat off my brow. I scanned the area where we had last seen the sheep. Empty. A heavy panic settled into my churning stomach. We glassed another 20 minutes and finally I found a flash of white in a small rockslide near where we had last seen them. It was the four rams! They were not in an easy place

DESTINATION HUNTS

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to stalk, low on the mountain and surrounded by a protective ring of small trees. After studying them for a while, I came up with a plan I was confident could get us on them. I was concerned if we waited until they were in a better position, it might be never. The rams had likely been pushed into the cover of trees from the weeklong storm. Many times, once the weather cleared, I have seen rams start walking and never stop. I felt the urgency to act fast.

WE DESCENDED OFF the

glassing knoll and into a creek bottom. I was excited about the hunt but feeling more sick by the minute. We stopped by the creek in the bottom of the valley to fill our water bottles for the steep climb up to the sheep. Anton was standing beside me discussing our plan when, without warning, I puked. It was horrible and a little vomit splashed on his leg. In all my years of guiding, I have never been puked on! I was so embarrassed! But we had a ram to shoot, so let’s go! It took longer than

it should have to get up the mountain because I was feeling so ill. Finally, we edged out of the timber and I could see the sheep 140 meters away, still bedded. The stalk had been perfect. I set my rifle over my pack as a rest and surveyed the four rams until it was obvious which one I should take. I waited patiently for him to stand and one shot from my Sako 7mm finished it clean. It was a beautiful morning and truthfully one of the most beautiful rams I’ve ever seen! It brought tears to my eyes as it sank in that after so many years of helping others achieve their dreams in the wilds all over Canada, I had finally completed a huge dream of my own. I had taken all four of the wild sheep in Canada. Taking this ram in South Nahanni was a symbolic way to close a chapter of my life. You cannot live in the places I have lived and work for the people I have worked for and not leave a piece of yourself behind in these magical places. However, you take a piece of that with you, too. I gained a wealth

of knowledge working for some of the best outfitters in the industry, and the next logical step was to become an outfitter myself. Now, at the age of 33, I have purchased my own 3,500 square miles of hunting territory in northeast British Columbia. Compass Mountain Outfitters is an endless unexplored wilderness, home to moose, elk, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, black bear, grizzly bear and wolf. Sharing these amazing places with people from all over the world who bond over a shared love for the wilderness and pursuit of the wildlife that inhabits it has always been the best part of my job. I can’t wait to take on the next decades of adventure and meet many more interesting people along the way. Curiosity is just a start. I encourage you to dive in and chase your dreams. Let’s see you out there!  Editor’s note: For more information on Compass Mountain Outfitters and hunting in BC, visit compassmountainoutfitters.com.

DESTINATION HUNTS

Alaska Elite Outfitters –

Conquer The Wild

laska Elite Outfitters (AEO) was started by Mike Vanstrom, who is an experienced hunting guide and fisherman. Born and raised on a farm in Southeast Minnesota near Rochester, he grew up on the farm, spending his summers fishing and his falls bow and rifle hunting whitetail deer throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin. After moving to Alaska in 2002, he began packing that same year and began guiding in Alaska in 2004. Michael is an avid rifle and bow hunter and has guided in Alaska for many years, where he has led hundreds of hunters and fishermen through the Alaskan wilderness for their adventure of a lifetime. Taking his lifelong passion for hunting and fishing, he specializes in trophy brown bear, moose, and king and silver salmon adventures. Past clients that continue to come back can vouch for Michael’s expertise, knowledge of the area, and the guarantee of a great Alaskan experience.

Alaska Brown Bear Hunt AEO utilizes various hunting methods to harvest Alaska brown bears. Besides hunting moose carcasses, spot-and-stalk hunting, and floating the river where they travel, they also utilize several calling methods to bring big bears in close. AEO also utilizes vantage points for spot-and-stalk hunts as these bears move from denning areas to the river drainage. Hunting by jet boat, they travel up and down the river corridors. Hunts are conducted in Southwest Alaska in the Game Management Unit 17 near Bristol Bay. Their bear hunting season is open for over nine months per year. As a result, AEO offers four months (April, May, Au-

In addition to that, they set you up with all the gear, bait and freezer boxes, as well as fish cleaning and packaging, for your fully guided fishing trip.

gust and September) of prime bear hunting opportunity. They hunt brown bears in the spring and fall every year with a limit of two bears per year. Their historical success rate is 75 to 80 percent, depending on the year and weather. Alaska Moose Hunting AEO offers a fully guided top quality moose hunting experience. By taking a limited number of hunters into their vast area, they keep the quality high. AEO efficiently uses jet boats for hunting the trophy bull moose in the area. Cow calling, bull grunts and brush thrashing are the primary methods of getting big bulls within gun and bow range. Moose hunts are held in early September during the pre-rut, when the bulls are very receptive to calling. Alaska King Salmon Fishing Alaska Elite Outfitters provides its clients with a fantastic opportunity to fish on the famous Nushagak River for the most massive Alaska king salmon (Chinook) run in the world. King salmon fishing packages are all-inclusive once you arrive in the main camp, 20 miles downriver from Ekwok, Alaska. In the field, AEO provides three meals a day plus snacks for all their guests.

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

Hunting and Fishing Camp Alaska Elite Outfitters is located overlooking the Nushagak River. There is a wooden cooking lodge at the hunting and fishing camp, with a stove, freezer, refrigerator and icemaker, where meals are prepared and served. The field has showers with hot running water and electricity for clients to clean up at the end of the day. Their main hunting camp is a wooden cabin with kitchen, steam bath and outhouses. The other main hunting camps are tents with wood stoves or propane heaters. Contact Mike Vanstrom, owner-operator, at 218-434-0068 or email mike@ alaskaeliteoutfitters.com to reserve your adventure. For more information, visit alaskaeliteoutfitters.com.

DESTINATION HUNTS

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estled in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in Missouri, High Adventure Ranch offers all of the excitement of western big game hunting without the costs and hassles. Be prepared for a fair chase hunt! With over 3 square miles of prime natural habitat, our ranch provides challenges to even the most seasoned hunter, but our experienced guides and “No Game, No Pay” policy practically ensure that you won’t go home empty handed. In addition, High Adventure’s hunting season is year-round, allowing ample time to fit the most demanding schedule. While our whitetail, elk, wild boar and red stag hunts top our hunter’s most popular lists, hunters from around the world have visited our ranch, hunting everything from American bison, black buck, fallow deer to Spanish goats and African game. So, whether you desire a 10-point whitetail mount for your trophy room or simply the thrill and challenge of taking down one of our many elusive big game animals, High Adventure Ranch guarantees memories of an unparalleled hunting experience that will bring you back again and again.

We are 8,000 miles closer than New Zealand. We are in Missouri and have red stag.

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COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

HIGH ADVENTURE IN THE OZARKS

Missouri free-range big game ranch offers hunts for more than 30 species, plus lodging, fishing and more. STORY BY JASON BROOKS PHOTOS BY HIGH ADVENTURE RANCH

here comes a time in every hunter’s life when they start to think of hunting something new. Maybe a trip to Africa for kudu, impala and springbok, or an adventure to New Zealand for red stag. These hunts are often “once in a lifetime” for most hunters, who save up and plan for a trip to a far-off land. In recent years, excursions like this have been difficult with the current climate of Covid and travel restrictions. But what if I told you there was a place right here in the United States that you could drive to and hunt those same animals, along with many other African, South American and even big game animals of the Rocky Mountains, all in a mild climate and complete with a hunting lodge that serves great food? All of this is found at High Adventure Ranch, located in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri. I RECENTLY HAD the opportunity to talk with Charles Puff, founder and ranch owner, and our conversation quickly turned to why he established his ranch back in 1983 with so many game animals. Puff admitted that, like most hunters, his passion for the outdoors started when he was young. At age 9, his neighbor took him out hunting and by age 12, “There were only three things I wanted: to learn how to dance, how to swim and to kill a 100-pound elephant.” Puff explained that a “100-pound” elephant meant taking a bull that had tusks weighing 100 pounds each. For me, it was a

International travel restrictions have made it hard to get to New Zealand and its huge-antlered red stag, but the species has been available all along right here in the US at Missouri’s High Adventure Ranch.

As befitting the Ozarks, the ranch’s “most popular deer hunt” is for whitetails, and the place is “loaded” with eight-plus-pointers. americanshootingjournal.com 91

Company SPOTLIGHT

If horned critters are more your style, High Adventure Ranch features mouflon, Hawaiian and Corsican rams, along with Jacob’s four-horn sheep – sure to make a killer European mount.

quick lesson in African hunting; for Puff, it was reminiscing about his life and the hunts he has been on. He did eventually do all three things, and the elephant drove his passion for hunting. Wanting to bring those kinds of experiences to hunters in the US at Axis deer are considered by some to offer the best-tasting venison to be had, and they too can be hunted on this free-range operation that encompasses over 2,000 acres in rolling hills two hours southwest of St. Louis.

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

an affordable price, Puff planned and formed High Adventure Ranch. Since then, the ranch has grown to over 30 big game species with an estimated population of 2,000 animals. Hunters from all over the world are now traveling to Missouri to hunt here,

whether they are looking to go on an exotic hunting adventure or just want to hunt a game species not offered in their home state. While enjoying the ranch, hunters dine together in a large dining hall that serves the same game they will be hunting, such as buffalo chili, elk meatloaf and wild boar sausage. Cabins and a main lodge offer modern accommodations, and the hunts are all free-range on the ranch’s massive acreage which covers 3 square miles of open land. Along with the hunt, there are several ponds and lakes that family members can fish if they don’t want to pursue game. And once your hunt is over, the ranch offers full-service meat cutting, including vacuum-sealing the meat and keeping it in a walk-in cooler until it’s time to head back home. During the early and late summer months, High Adventure Ranch offers family vacations that include a tour of the ranch where you can see some of the animals that call this place home, all in a free-range environment. Axis

DESTINATION HUNTS

Company SPOTLIGHT and sika deer, blackbuck, wild boar, nyla, kudu, eland and many more animals are often seen in the early morning or late evening hours heading to water at the many lakes, all of which are stocked with fish and no fishing license is needed. They do close during the very hot summer months of midJune to mid-July for maintenance on the ranch. IT IS THE hunting that Puff really prides himself on, especially the hunts that are donated to the Wounded Warrior Project, along with other hunts offered to military veterans and disabled hunters. As we chatted about these hunts, Puff’s voice cracked a bit, explaining how helping wounded vets is something he is very passionate about. “My brother was a marine and killed

over there in Vietnam,” he said. “That’s the reason why I started donating hunts to vets; he was always foremost on my mind.” It was his dedication to honoring his brother that led High Adventure Ranch to offer hunts to disabled veterans, but Puff admits that now it is the hunt and seeing how it helps the veterans that really gets to him. “When those hunts are over, you never forget them,” he added. High Adventure Ranch has been around for nearly 40 years, and is established with top-notch guides and staff. “One of my ranch managers has been working here for 39 years,” Puff explained, and added that many of the staff have worked at the ranch for a very long time. When he started the ranch in 1983, he knew of only one other ranch in

Hunters enjoy very high success rates, with trophy whitetail typically taking two days or less, but High Adventure Ranch also has a “no game, no pay” guarantee. Should you not harvest or wound an animal, the trophy fee is waived and you only pay for lodging, food, guide, license and sales tax.

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

Nearby Arkansas is home to the Razorbacks, but the ranch has the huntable kind.

Texas with the kind of hunts that High Adventure Ranch offers. A very unique thing that this ranch promises is the “no game, no pay” guarantee. If you book a hunt with High Adventure Ranch and you don’t fill your tag, then you don’t pay the trophy fee. Not many other places offer that kind of promise. Along with the fact that the ranch is CWD-free – unlike many states – there is no worry of a draw or a license and tag being sold out. Puff explained that many hunters head out West for elk, only to find little public access, highpriced over-the-counter tags or a draw system where you might not even get a tag, and a low overall success rate. High Adventure Ranch offers world-class elk hunting or a cow “meat” hunt – and again, if you don’t fill your tag, you don’t pay – but they also boast a 100-percent success rate on their elk hunts for the past 37 years. It all started when Charles Puff was 12 and he had three wishes: learning to dance, swim and kill a 100-pound elephant. Now he offers hunts to those looking for an adventure or to finally harvest a 200-inch whitetail. Maybe take the family for a vacation or to honor our veterans. You will find it all at High Adventure Ranch in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri.  Editor’s note: For more information, visit highadventureranch.com.

DESTINATION HUNTS

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SHOOTING JOURNAL

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

BLACK POWDER

A handloaded .40-65 cartridge, loaded with a short Brooks bullet.

TODAY’S .40-CALIBER CARTRIDGES

Variants of yesteryear's .40-65 Winchester enjoying a 'new life' in black powder rifle competitions. STORY AND PHOTOS BY MIKE NESBITT

hese days the old .4065 Winchester is really enjoying a “new life” as a cartridge for single-shot rifles used in black powder cartridge rifle (BPCR) competition. One place to see such rifles in action is on the black powder silhouette ranges, where targets are placed between 200 and 500 meters. That’s where the .40-65 really seems to enjoy itself and you can find them in number, right along with the guns in .4570 caliber, as well as other .40s. The .40-65 Winchester began as a cartridge for the Model 1886 repeater. Back then it used a 260-grain bullet over 65 grains of black powder fuel and it was regarded as a fine hunting cartridge for medium-sized game such as deer and black bear. Today it is commonly loaded with bullets weighing 400 grains or slightly more,

with those bullets protruding from the case in a length that would never function through the action of the old ’86, and used in the single-shot rifles. Those single-shots can and do include the 1885 High Wall, the ’74 Sharps, and rebuilt rolling block rifles. We really should start any conversation about .40-caliber rifles with the old .38-40 Winchester. That shoots a bullet of .401-inch diameter, so maybe it should have been called the .40-40. The cowboy action shooters have taken a real liking to the .38-40, which means that a whole lot of repro rifles and revolvers, including some third-generation Colts, are available in this caliber again. Someday we might take a closer look at the .38-40 and talk about loads for it, but for now let’s concentrate on the longer .40-caliber cartridges.

WE’LL BEGIN WITH a cartridge that isn’t too much longer than the .38-40, the little .40-50 Sharps Bottleneck. I know

a couple of silhouette shooters who use the .40-50s loaded with rather heavy bullets sticking out of those short 1 11/16-inch cases. This combination makes for some very comfortable shooting, which makes concentration for the shot easier to maintain. The same can be said about the .40-50 Sharps Straight, which was introduced sometime later but it did not actually replace the .40-50 BN. Today’s versions of the .40-50s use barrels with a groove diameter of .408 inch, whereas in the old days they had groove diameters of .403 to .406, so any loading comments I might have about these and other .40s now will refer to the larger size. Brass for the .40-50 BN can be made from .45-70 cases, while the best cases to use for the .40-50 SS are the old .30-40 Krag. Formed brass for these two calibers can be found at Buffalo Arms Company, but check to see if it is in stock. New rifles are available for the .40-50 americanshootingjournal.com 97

BLACK POWDER

The .40-70 Sharps BN rifle, with a 30-inch barrel.

Sharps, both Bottleneck and Straight, but those are on a custom basis from C. Sharps Arms and other makers. IN THE OLD days there was a .40-60 Winchester, which was one of the cartridges chambered in the Model 1876 Winchester repeating rifle. This cartridge fired a 210-grain bullet and it was actually just a little more powerful than the .44-40. To my knowledge there are no new rifles being chambered for this old round, so we will move on to more popular cases. This brings us back to the .40-65 Winchester. In the 1880s this cartridge had quite a following and it was interchangeable with the .40-60 Marlin, which Marlin chambered in their Model

1881 lever-action repeating rifle. The very same cartridge was also called the .40-60 CLMR, which was used in the Colt Lightning Magazine Rifle, Colt’s large version of their pump-action rifle. Primarily a round for repeating rifles, the .40-65 was also chambered in the Browning-designed Winchester High Wall of 1885 and other single-shots. The .40-65 is simply a .45-70 tapered down to take a .40-caliber bullet. It has the same case length of 2.1 inches. I don’t have a .40-65 of my own, but the idea is very tempting. MOVING UP THE powder charge scale just a little bit more, we come to the .40-70 Sharps Bottleneck. This is a cartridge I do have personal experience with, and

Author Mike Nesbitt’s ’74 Sharps with a paper-patch-loaded .40-70 Sharps BN.

American Shooting Journal // March 2022

my current .40-70 BN is a used rifle made by C. Sharps Arms. This is one of my most comfortable guns to shoot with and it has a nice shotgun butt. This rifle performs rather well, using 70 grains of Olde Eynsford 1F powder under a 370-grain, .410-inch-diameter bullet. I used this rifle as my iron sight gun in silhouette matches and I still favor it for some shooting events. Brass is made from stretched and necked-down .45-70 brass, using Starline cases, and I simply buy my .40-70 BN cases already formed from Buffalo Arms Company. At one time I considered buying a case stretcher and forming dies until I mentioned this to Dave Gullo, the owner of Buffalo Arms. Dave mentioned how much money those tools would cost and concluded that I’d be much better off just to buy the formed cases from him. He was right and that’s where I get my .40-70 BN brass. My tools for the .40-70 calibers include a Ballard paper-patched mold that I do use on occasion, but the grease groove bullets get used much more often. I will say, however, that the looks of the paper-patched loads do give the cartridges more of that “old time” flavor. For my own shooting, a .40-70 Sharps Straight gets used more often. That’s the rifle I use for silhouette shooting, in a High Wall by C. Sharps Arms and sighted with an RHO 6X full-length scope. I won’t say I’m very good at silhouette shooting, but this rifle does allow me to be somewhat competitive, at least on my good days. The .40-70 SS was introduced by Sharps in the late 1870s, but it did not replace the .40-70 BN; both cartridges remained available in the old Sharps catalogs. The straight version has a

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BLACK POWDER This .40-70 High Wall carries an RHO 6X scope.

2½-inch case and it was commonly loaded with 65 grains of powder, so it is sometimes referred to as the .40-65 Sharps. The original bullet for this weighed 330 grains, either “naked” or paper-patched. The bullets I’m currently using are the 370-grain bullets from Accurate Molds’ No. 41-370C, although heavier bullets have been tried. The 2½-inch cases for the .40-70 SS can be made from .30-40 Krag brass, but I am using slightly shortened Hornady .405 Winchester cases for mine. My load with that bullet now uses 60 grains of Swiss 1½ Fg powder. THIS LEADS US to the big .40-90 Sharps Bottleneck, which I have no personal experience with. It was

Close-up of the High Wall with .40-70 SS cartridges, paper-patched and “naked.”

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American Shooting Journal // March 2022

introduced about 1873 and intended to achieve higher velocity than other cartridges, which it did, for long-range shooting. It has a 2 5/8-inch case like the .44-90 Sharps; the .40-90 is an impressive-looking cartridge. New rifles chambered for the .40-90 BN are available today from C. Sharps Arms and it would be an interesting cartridge to do some shooting with. One more .40-caliber cartridge deserves discussion because new rifles are made for it today. The .4090 Sharps Straight is a real long and lean cartridge with a 3¼-inch case. Speaking historically, this cartridge was introduced after the Sharps company had gone out of business. Out of all the .40-caliber cartridges,

the .40-90 Straight could be the one for long-range shooting. Like the .4090 BN, a .40-90 Straight would be an interesting rifle/cartridge combination to try some shooting with, and longrange would be on the agenda. THOSE ARE THE .40-caliber black powder cartridges that new rifles are being made for today. Looking back over this list, if I were to select a .40-caliber rifle/cartridge to use for good shooting today, I’d probably pick the .40-65 Winchester based on the availability of brass plus the fine reputation it has on the target ranges. My rifle of choice would be the High Wall by C. Sharps Arms based on my personal tastes and previous experience with that rifle. 

“Thank you so much for your support over the last 46 years!”

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American Shooting Journal - March 2022

Articles inside

BULLET BULLETIN: H.S.T. BULLETS MAKE FOR HAPPY HANDGUNS, HANDGUNNERS

ROADHUNTER: TIME TO DO YOUR TURKEY HOMEWORK

BLACK POWDER: TODAY’S .40-CALIBER CARTRIDGES

DO YOU KNOW THE WAY TO (AVOID) SAN JOSE?