Sportsman's News Digital Edition March 2016 by Sportsman's News

SportsmansNews.com

March 2016

Volume 12 Issue 3

Big Antlers In The Big Horns of Wyoming By Mike Deming

wo hours into our first morning of the hunt, my guest, Justin Leesman of ALPS Outdoorz said, “I’ve seen more mature whitetail bucks today than I’ve seen in 10 years of hunting at home in Missouri”. That’s a pretty bold statement, but one I would have to agree with. We were hunting prime rut dates in November and had seen well over 25 mature bucks since daylight. It was obvious that we were in for a great week of hunting. Choosing a destination, as well as an outfitter to burn your hard earned bonus points with, can be a daunting task. When you only get one point per year, per species and you want to make the most of it, you definitely want to make the right choices. Big continued on page 5

Justin Leeseman of ALPS Outdoorz was able to connect on a huge whitetail buck the first day of the hunt. He said he had seen more mature whitetail bucks the first four hours of the hunt than he had seen in 10 years of hunting at home.

Leupold Mark AR MOD 1 Award-winning tactical functionality and durability PAGE 2

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

The Leupold Mark AR Mod 1, Tactical, Durable, Affordable

By Dave Domin

nless you have been hiding under a rock for the past few years, you should know that tactical style weapon systems have been all the rage lately. Like them or not, they have entrenched themselves in the hunting and shooting community and will not be going away anytime soon. Tactical style weapons go by many names; black guns, modern sporting rifles, AR’s, precision rifles, long guns, and sniper rifles. Call

them what you will but most of us will agree, regardless of what we call them, they will all perform better with a quality scope installed. But what kind of scope? A tactical scope of course. Tactical scopes have been around for decades and during that time they have undergone drastic changes in functionality and durability. These changes came at a price. Can you guess what that is? You guessed it, price. Sometimes a few thousand dollars or more. That is why Leupold developed the Mark AR MOD 1 line of riflescopes. A scope line that delivers tactical functionality and durability at a price that won’t have you dipping in to that home equity line of credit. Leupold’s Mark AR MOD 1 line of riflescopes offer four magnifica-

tion ranges. The 1.5-4x20 and 3-9x40 options are ideal for close to mid-range scenarios that require rapid target acquisition and the 4-12x40 AO (Adjustable Objective) and 6-18x40 AO are perfect for long range target identification and shot placement precision. This is the reason that they were awarded the 2015 Golden Bullseye Award for Optic of the Year by NRA’s Shooting Illustrated. The features of the Mark AR MOD 1 are plentiful and we will cover them for the remainder of this article. So, let’s begin. First off, glass. This seems to be the driving factor when making a riflescope decision. With Leupold’s history of making quality shooting optics, offering the highest light transmission, clarity and resolution in the industry, this should be a no brainer. The Mark AR line of riflescopes feature the exclusive Multicoat 4 lens coatings. These coatings will direct more light to your eye, and minimize reflections on the outer eyepiece, making the most out of the available light, so you can make the most out of your shot.

Reticles - there are five to choose from, depending on the scope model. They consist of three non-illuminated versions, the Duplex, Fine Duplex, and Mil Dot, and two illuminated versions, the FireDot-G SPR, and FireDot-G TMR. Since I mentioned illuminated reticles, let’s discuss. The Mark AR MOD 1 features Leupold’s proprietary FireDot illumination system in green, which is what the “G” stands for. This is a special daylight bright, push button, illumination system that offers six intensity settings and Motion Sensor Technology (MST). MST you ask? This technology automatically deactivates the illumination after five minutes of inactivity, yet reactivates instantly as soon as any motion is detected. This feature extends battery life of the CR2032 battery, so the Mark AR MOD 1 is ready when you need it. Pressing and holding the illumination button for 3 seconds will turn the power off, for those times when you won’t get to shooting for a while. continued on page 8

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

Words From The Publisher

By Michael Deming

he March 2016 issue marks the one year anniversary of the Sportsman’s News Pro Membership Sweepstakes. At the completion of this month, we will have given away $300,000 worth of guns, gear and world class trips. The success of this program has allowed us to add even better trips for 2016 and 2017. Some of our big, once-in-a-lifetime trips that are already posted and up for grabs are the desert bighorn sheep hunt in Sonora Mexico, a boat hunt for brown bears and we have even secured a Kodiak Island brown bear hunt for the future. We are in the final phases of adding a couple more sheep hunts to the rolls and as always, we will have great elk, deer and antelope hunts throughout the year during the best dates with the best outfitters. During the 2015 year, we got a lot of feedback from people who wanted to see more fishing trips. We picked the very best trips we have ever been on and we usually do these trips for two, so you can take your spouse, a buddy or anyone you like along on these trips. We think you will be very happy with the selective trips that we are rolling out. Every time we do a drawing, we add another adventure to the next year’s prizes, so make sure you save the promembershipsweepstakes.

com website to your favorites and see what we are adding after each drawing. If there is something you would like to see in the drawing, please let us know as well. We want to make this the very best outdoor sweepstakes in the world and we can only do that with your help and input. Doing a drawing every ten days gives people something very exciting to look forward to each and every month. The big feedback we have heard this year is that the trips and gear that we give away are truly worth their money. We have started to hear from a lot of our members requesting information about their renewal. When you are two weeks away from your anniversary date, you will receive an email to update your account information and validate your auto renewal. We are trying to make this as seamless as possible, so that no one misses out on any drawings. If you have questions or concerns, please call our office during business hours from 8-5 Mountain Standard Time and we will make sure everything is set up for you. We have now completed our incentive program programming on the website and all the members should see an email on this in the very near future. This has been designed to allow you to enroll your friends and family into the Pro Membership Sweepstakes and earn extra tickets

into the drawing. For every three (3) referrals you provide, you will gain five (5) more tickets in every drawing for the full year. It should make for another exciting year with the sweepstakes. You will all be very excited to see the valuable package you get in the mail when you renew. The March issue of Sportsman’s News has a great article from our team on the new products that caught their eyes during this year’s show season. When you spend a couple of weeks going to shows and seeing what is out there, it can become sensory overload. We also weed through the items to see if they just added a new coat of paint to an old product or if it is something that is truly innovative. There are some pretty cool items headed to the shelves of the Sportsman’s Warehouse stores this year and this is just a glimpse of some of those items. We will be doing some more extensive articles on these items later in the year, once we have some hard-core field testing experience with them. If there are items you have heard about or seen elsewhere that you would be interested in seeing us review, please send us as email at info@ sportsmansnews.com. In the subject line use “New Product Test” and we will look into including these items in future reviews for the year. A quick reminder to all of the people who would like to be included in the Tazin Lake Lodge fishing trip giveaway. You don’t have to write an article, but can if you want to. Another way to win is to log onto the sportsmansnews.com website and a popup will appear, which makes signing up for the free expanded digital edition quick and easy. This autmatically enters you into the free drawing. We will do this drawing later in the year. Good luck and have a great year.

WHAT’S INSIDE

2 Leupold Mark AR MOD1 3 Words From The Publisher 10 Platinum Approved Outfitters 14 Gone Fishin’ Lodge 20 Pacwest Outdoors: Pyke’s Peak 24 Pro Member Update 26 Show Season Staff Picks 31 Fishful Thinker: Hunting Fish 32 Pro’s Tip: Action Cameras 34 Bushnell’s New Lifetime Warranty On A Budget: Bass 36 Adventures Fishing 39 J&J Pro Member Elk Hunt 42 Video Product Reviews 44 Business Directory Game Recipe: Venison 45 Wild Steak Sous-Vide 46 Beretta Nano Sagas: Marsmallow 48 Barebow! Bear 52 Writing Contest: Pushing It

www.facebook.com/ sportsmansnews Become a Fan of Sportsman’s News for Fan Only contests and post comments about Sportsman’s News. Tell your friends.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dave Domin Mark Francis Gary Lewis Chad LaChance JB Spilker Steve Mayer Dennis Dunn Peter E. Popieniuck

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

SPORTSMAN’S NEWS 2322 W. Industry Way Cedar City, UT 84721

PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER Mike Deming President/Publisher 435-669-4624 mdeming@sportsmansnews.com

SENIOR EDITOR Kent Danjanovich 801-231-9838 kdanjanovich@sportsmansnews.com NATIONAL ADVERTISING MANAGER Eric Christensen 435-879-1212 echristensen@sportsmansnews.com MANAGING EDITOR Dan Kidder 435-865-1680 dkidder@sportsmansnews.com EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Lisa Deming info@sportsmansnews.com PRODUCTION MANAGER James Dansie jdansie@sportsmansnews.com

Subscribers should contact Managing Editor for changes of address. Sportsman’s News is published monthly. The entire content of this newspaper is Copyright 2015 © All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written consent of the Managing Editor.

SPORTSMAN’S WAREHOUSE 7035 So. High Tech Drive Midvale, UT 84047

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

BIG HORN

continued from cover Horn Outfitters was our choice for this prime whitetail hunt, but we weren’t leaving this decision up to chance. Big Horn Outfitters was previously known as A Double J Outfitters and when the old owner decided that it was time to move onto other things, his head guide, Rich Sweeney was a great fit to buy his operation. He had already worked the operation for nearly half a dozen years and knew the ins and outs of how things operated. He also grew up in the area and had connections the old owner hadn’t tapped into yet. He partnered with longtime friend and hard core hunter, Dustin Decroo. Dustin had been in the outfitting industry for a number of years and their combined vigor to run a successful operation turned out to be a mixture of drive and quality not often seen in this industry and something I looked forward to experiencing. I already knew the Bighorn Moun-

tains were home to some quality animals. I had hunted with the previous owners for whitetail, antelope, and even elk. In 2012, I was able to harvest the largest archery bull taken in the state of Wyoming, due to the hardcore scouting done by Rich Sweeney. My bull stretched the tape at over 370 B&C Inches and was a true trophy of a lifetime. So, I knew that a change in the business name wasn’t going to give us any difference in a hunt. At least this is what we thought. We arrived in Buffalo, Wyoming in the middle of November. Dustin and Rich informed us that the rut was in full swing and that they had been out pulling trail cameras the past couple of days to see where the big boys were concentrated. I had no idea that these guys had leased so much property to chase these rut crazed whitetails on, but by the looks of all the pictures, we were going to have our pick of some pretty good bucks. This area isn’t known for Boone and Crocket whitetail, but sheer numbers and good ma-

ture animals is the norm. Killing a buck in the 150’s or even the 160’s isn’t out of the question, but you have to weed through a lot of 140 class deer to get to them. You will have the opportunity to see these guys out in fields nearly all day long. Justin was chomping at the bit to get out and hunt the first morning. We pulled off of the county road and onto a lookout, which gives an elevated view of a couple miles of river bottom. It was still dark, but the glow to the east said that we would be legal enough to shoot in the next fifteen minutes. There were literally hundreds of bodies moving in and out of the corn and crossing the river to the thicker cover. You could finally start to make out the antlers on the bucks and see which ones were possible shooters and which ones weren’t. By the time the sun crested the hill, we had already seen fifteen mature bucks and one possible candidate. He was rutting a doe pretty hard and had crossed the river. He was still on property we could hunt, but at this

This was the largest bull elk taken during the 2013 archery elk season with Bighorn Outfitters statewide.

point in time, we were still taking an inventory on the deer we had to hunt. I’d never seen this many deer out and active except in a controlled environment. Since Dustin and Rich manage for a high quality experience and good opportunity, this is a pretty controlled environment as well, but without the fences - just lots of private property. An hour after the sun was up, we decided to move locations and check areas of the ranch not visible from our previous lookout. When we pulled up to the lookout, Dustin immediately spotted a big, mature buck laying on the edge of the river. He tried to peak through the bushes as if to hide even more. It was obvious that he was exhausted from the nights rutting activity and would rather try to hide than break from cover. He had great main beams, long tines, but was only an eight point. Justin was squirming in the back seat of the truck and affirming with all that would listen that he was continued on page 6

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

BIG HORN

continued from page 5 more than willing to put his tag on this deer. The old buck just wouldn’t break his discipline and stayed in the cover. We scoured the terrain for other bucks and they seemed to be everywhere in the timber chasing does. I’m sure that some of these bucks were ones we had seen in the corn at first light, but I’m sure many were not. We decided to check out another ranch since this was only our first day of hunting. As we pulled away from the bluff, Justin just shook his head in disbelief. He said, “I can’t believe we are letting that buck go!” That was followed by the statement, “I’ve seen more mature whitetail bucks today than I’ve seen in ten years of hunting at home in Missouri”. It made us feel pretty good about endorsing Big Horn Outfitters as one of our Platinum Approved Outfitters. Dustin wanted to give us a bit more time to find one or two specific bucks that he really wanted us to tag out on. He knew that there were a couple of

bucks approaching that 160” mark in the area, but he hadn’t seen them since the rut got into full swing. We knew that we had four days to hunt, but it was obvious that letting the ‘Big 8’ walk was really starting to bother on Justin. He truly wanted to shoot it from the minute we saw him, but none of us wanted the hunt to be over that soon. We were filming for an episode of SNTV and it’s just too hard to produce a show with only an hour of footage. After a short trip to another ranch and not finding one of our big target bucks, I asked Justin if he still wanted to tag the Big 8. He assured me that if we were to head back to that ranch and find him, he was more than willing to put his tag on the buck. We drove back over to the original ranch and pulled up onto the bluff where we had originally spotted him lying next to the river. I was sure he would be gone by now and we could focus on another deer. However, Rich spotted him back in the trees. He had risen from his bed and was watching some smaller bucks chasing does in the bedding area. With no foliage on the trees, we could catch bits

and pieces of antlers, but it didn’t take long for him to step into an opening that revealed those long main beams. Justin confirmed that he was still ready and willing to fill his tag on the first day of the hunt with this mature warrior. He grabbed my .26 Nosler out of the truck and settled in behind the scope. The buck needed to give us a clear shot to send the 127 grain Barnes bullet his way, as well as a little time to get some good footage. As if on que, the buck took a few steps to the right and presented a perfect quartering away shot and Justin dropped the buck in his tracks. We had filled our Wyoming deer tag in a matter of three hours of hunting and had passed on thirty plus mature bucks. There aren’t many places you can do that and especially at a very affordable price! Over the next few days, we had the opportunity to see several other ranches and fill plenty of whitetail doe tags. Corn and alfalfa fed whitetail does are one of the very best table fare you can ask for and when the ranchers are happy to see you manage the herd, it is a big win for all. Rich and Dustin run a fabulous operation for antelope, deer, elk, turkey and moose. Since the majority of their operation is on private property, you can draw tags for most of the species without any sort of bonus points in the drawing. Elk hunting is their true passion and big bulls are what these guys live for. However, this game will take a

Big mule deer call this place home and are available to a select few hunters. few points and as many as maximum to be guaranteed to draw. But, they are worth every bit of points you want to spend on them and this is truly a place I will hunt again as soon as I get enough points built. For your opportunity to hunt with Big Horn Outfitters, look them up online at www.bighornoutfitters.com or give them a call at 307-6200390. We have purchased a whitetail hunt for two hunters for our Pro Membership Sweepstakes Giveaway and this drawing will take place May 10th, 2016. The hunt will take place during prime rut dates again in the fall of 2016.

Rutting whitetail bucks are the norm during the November whitetail hunts. Our hunters passed numerous bucks of this caliber.

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

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March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

LEUPOLD MARK AR continued from page 2

All Mark AR MOD 1 riflescopes feature the 0.1 mil P5 dial system with Bullet Drop Compensation (BDC). This system ensures that you will get tactile, audible, and repeatable adjustments for both windage and elevation ideal for your .223/5.56 cartridge. You say you don’t shoot a .223/5.56? No problem. The Leupold Custom Shop can make you a new BDC dial for any cartridge you desire. The first step in getting this done is to determine the best load for the rifle. Since no two guns will

shoot the same load identically, it is important to get the most accurate ballistic data possible. Since the BDC dial will be as accurate as the information the shooter supplies to Leupold, loads should be chronographed and the elevation and temperature, +/- 2,000 feet and +/- 20 degrees Fahrenheit respectively, should match the intended use area. Leupold will need the following data; cartridge, bullet type, bullet weight, ballistic coefficient, muzzle velocity, average altitude, average temperature and

sight height. The dials will have a 100 or 200 yard zero in most cases (determined by the customer), then read in 50 yard increments out to the maximum yardage that can be reached in 5.8 mils. The BDC dial itself is a one turn dial with a built in zero stop. This allows the shooter to come back to zero without looking or counting clicks. Mark AR MOD 1 riflescopes are produced out of aircraft-grade aluminum and feature one piece, one inch maintubes for the utmost in structural integrity and ease of installation. The large power selector dial, with aggressive knurling, proofing, and now with Argon/Krypton provides a sure grip in all weather condi- they’re exceeding the standards that they themselves set. As with all Leupold Gold tions, with or without gloves. While many Leupold scopes are still Ring Tactical products, the Mark AR filled with nitrogen to keep them water- MOD 1 is proudly built at Leupold & Steproof, the Mark AR MOD 1 line features ven’s state of the art facility in Beaverton, Leupold’s exclusive, proprietary Argon/ Oregon and are backed by the Leupold Krypton gas blend. Its advantages are Gold Ring Full Lifetime Guarantee. So, the next time you are in the market twofold: it nearly eliminates the effects of thermal shock, and the Argon/Krypton for a tactical scope that gives you the opmolecules are significantly larger than ni- tions you demand, and you won’t have trogen molecules, reducing the diffusion to mortgage the house for, stop by your of gases sealed inside the scope even more local Sportsman’s Warehouse and ask to than proven nitrogen technology already see the Leupold Mark AR MOD 1 rifledoes. Leupold pioneered riflescope water- scope series. www.brockshuntincabins.com

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March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

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GIVE A HUGE BOOST TO THE ACCURACY OF YOUR MSR/AR OR BOLT-ACTION RIFLE WITH THE MARK AR® MOD 1. You’ll dominate in even the most demanding shooting situations, with its illuminated reticle options, 0.1 Mil adjustments, bullet drop compensation matched to milbased reticles for fast, accurate elevation correction, and lifetime durability. LEUPOLD.COM

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

The Sportsman’s News Platinum Approved Outfitter is an outfitter that has excelled in every aspect of their business. They put people and customers before profit. They do what it takes to make sure that they will be in business for the long haul and ensure that they have repeat customers. They practice good game management, which will ensure a top quality trip with them every time you

book. These are outfitters you would be proud to refer to a friend. We know this because we are proud to endorse each one of these outfitters based upon our staff members personally visiting each one of these operations. These outfitters have proven to us that they have what it takes to be “Sportsman’s News Platinum Approved.”

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March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

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March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

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Stillwater Outfitters is Colorado's oldest and largest Waterfowl Outfitter. We have exclusive hunting leases on over 50 farms on the beautiful Front Range of Colorado. Our goal is to provide the trip of a lifetime without any drama. We also offer Turkey and Trophy Whitetail Deer hunting.

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March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

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March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

WYOMING HUNTING

Gone Fishin’ Lodge – Six Adventures in Six Days By Mark Francis

WYOMING HUNTING

WYOMING FISHING

here is only one place in Alaska (that I know of) where you can experience a totally different adventure every day of the week and that place is the Kenai Peninsula. Now I know that some will say that this is true of other areas of Alaska as well, but when it comes down to it, there really just isn’t another area where you can literally experience a different and even more importantly, unique experience quite like you can on the Peninsula. Your starting Mark Francis couldn’t be prouder of this big point will be Anchorage,rainbow on his trip to the middle Kenai. but your destination is still customize just the trips that you are Soldotna. Now believe me, there are plenty of interested in as well. And yes, you fly choices when you start delving into fishermen and women are covered on lodges and guides along and around the many exciting trips also! This past August I found myself and Kenai River area. Many of them specialize in one area or another and many will a couple of my fishing buddies joining be able to satisfy most would-be Alaska up in Anchorage for our return visit to visitors. But if you are looking for a true the Gone Fishin’ Lodge. This has beadventure, one that will take you to as come my favorite time of year because many as six different venues during your although the king salmon season has weeks stay, well why not book with the ended, all of the other species in both lodge that created the idea in the first saltwater and freshwater are hitting on all cylinders and it also affords me the place – The Gone Fishin’ Lodge. When Ralph Crystal and Dick Bowen best opportunity to search for silvers, built the lodge on the banks of the Kenai big rainbows and Dolly Varden with a River 20 years ago, their dream was to fly rod during my stay. Now, you can choose to catch a flight offer an Alaskan destination that would set them apart from the rest, one that out of Anchorage to the town of Kenai would give visitors a chance to see as if you prefer, but this is one of the few much of Alaska as possible in a weeks’ places that you can drive to in Alaska stay. And with the famous Kenai River as and I absolutely love the 2 ½ hour drive their marque, their customized packages through some of the most beautiful sursoon became the symbol of the ultimate roundings that I have ever seen in all of ‘variety’ experience available anywhere my travels. Also, you will need to have a rental car to get you to your different in Alaska. A good starting point to find out a lit- venues every day anyway, so in the long tle bit more about their operation is on run, when you are with a group, you their website at www.gonefishinlodge. will be money ahead renting your car com. You will find that they have nearly in Anchorage and making the drive to twenty different packages available and continued on page 16 even with all of those options, you can

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

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March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

GONE FISHIN’

continued from page 14 the lodge. All of the packages at the Gone Fishin’ Lodge start on Saturday and run to the next Saturday. Packages can be customized for shorter stays if desired, on space availability, but standard stay is seven nights lodging and either five or six days of fishing. My normal trip finds me arriving on Saturday evening, checking in to the lodge, grabbing a great meal at one of the nearby restaurants, checking in with Ralph or Dick for my first days’ adventure and then hitting my bed for a good nights’ sleep before my first adventure, early the next morning. Our first morning found us pulling up to our floatplane/air taxi service at 6:30am, located just a short 10 minute drive from the lodge. By 6:45am our gear was loaded into our waiting floatplane and eight of us, along with Ralph and Dick as our guides, hopped into our seats for the scenic, 25 minute flight to the Kustatan River. Our target species would be silver salmon, with a few Dolly Varden thrown in for good

measure. The Kustatan River is very unique in many ways, but one of the most interesting parts of the trip is the landing. Yes, you will be in for one of the most unique landings you may ever encounter. When the river comes into view, your pilot will make a circle around the area, losing a little altitude, before making his final approach to a sliver of a piece of water, lined by thick Alaska growth on both sides and then gently touches down and glides into a small slough, with a line of awaiting skiffs. You then quickly exit the floatplane, grab you gear and load into your designated boat. Its then off to the main river to one of Ralph or Dick’s favorite spots for about six hours of nonstop action. Spincast outfits set up with a 2oz weight, about 18-inches of leader and a hook with a loop on it to hold a ball of roe were set up for each of us. It didn’t take long for the first tap, tap, tap of a rod to begin and a feisty silver soon could be seen flying through the air, the first of a many to come to the net. In all, over 30 silvers were landed by noon in our group. What a great way to start our week of adventures.

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Our next morning would find us driving to the town of Anchor Point, about 55 miles southwest of the lodge for a halibut trip at Cook Inlet. Although the tides were a little tough and the seas a little rough, our captain came through for us in flying colors, as everyone on the boat was able Just another day on the water with the Gone Fishin’ to land a couple Lodge. Big halibut and silvers on a combo trip to of great keepers, Resurrection Bay. with the biggest of the day a beautiful 80 pounder. Stout each of our boxes back at the lodge with rods and smooth reels made it easy to our salmon filets from the day before. get our three pound weights and circle Tuesday morning found us again hooks with strips of cod and herring to headed from the lodge early, on our way the bottom and then again retrieve them to the middle Kenai River. As usual, we after each hook-up. The six of us were found our guide patiently waiting for able to take home over 30 pounds of continued on page 18 halibut apiece for the day, nearly filling

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

GONE FISHIN’

continued from page 16 us at the boat ramp and in a matter of minutes, we found ourselves cruising up river to one of his favorite hot spots. On this day, we would abandon the usual back-trolling techniques and instead, used spincast outfits while casting size15 Quickfish with a piece of sardine wrapped around its belly. Our first two stops resulted in a half a dozen hookups, but only one shiny silver in the fish box. Since our trip on this day was a Kenai Combo (silver salmon/rainbow trout/Dolly Varden), we decided to head up to “Rainbow Alley” to try for a few more salmon before switching over for an afternoon of big rainbows and dollys. The next hour produced five more silvers in the box, as well as a couple of nice, shiny, sockeye (red) salmon. Next, we were each handed a lightweight spinning outfit, set up with a slinky weight, about 18-inches of leader and then to a hook holding a piece of cooked shrimp. The technique used here would find our guide holding the boat sideways in the current with the motor, as each of us cast our lines up river and then let them start to bounce along the bottom, as we slowly drifted down river. Nearly two dozen trout were landed by the three of us during the next three hours, with the biggest about 24 inches and weighing nearly six pounds. Salmon, rainbows and dollys, what more can you ask for! Day four had us headed over to Se-

ward for a multiple species trip, which gave us the opportunity to fish for halibut, lingcod, silver salmon, yelloweye and assorted rockfish. This is billed as a long range fishing trip in the Gulf of Alaska. On this day, all of the above would be found in our box at the end of the day, with a limit of black sea bass thrown in for good measure. The weather was good, giving us the opportunity to move from area to area on fairly calm waters, making it possible to fish for all of the species in one trip. If you have not had the chance to fish the waters of Resurrection Bay in the beautiful port of Seward, you are really missing out. Not only is the fishing superb, but the wildlife sightings can be just as exciting, as whales, puffins, sea otters and even mountain goats are sighted on just about every trip. Thursday morning again found us headed to our floatplane/air taxi service and a trip to Big River Lake. This trip is one of my favorites, as not only are you treated with beautiful surroundings, but also usually a few bear sightings and plenty of fly rod action for silvers. Soon we found ourselves landing on the calm waters of Big River Lake, a glacierblue lake with freshwater tributaries in different locations around it. Our destination on this day would be the south end, which would provide us with the best fly fishing opportunities. Thirty minutes later, we were each jumping out of the boat, with fly rods in hand, looking for fins and swirls of big silvers in the water.

A trip to Seward will fill your day with wonderful sights, along with a great mixed-bag of ocean species including lingcod, yellow eye and silver salmon.

Rob McGreer, Kent Danjanovich and Mark Francis after a big day on a flyout to Big River Lake with the Gone Fishin’ Lodge. The conditions were perfect with no wind and slightly overcast skies. As soon as we found the seam where the freshwater merged with the milky blue glacier water, we each began to cast our lines towards the weed beds. A quick strip, strip, strip and bang, the first of 60 or seventy silver balls of muscle exploded to the surface, filling our next five hours with non-stop action on the fly. Pink and purple bunny leaches were the ticket on both floating and sink-tip lines aboard 8wt. rods. Big smiles, sore arms and plenty of pictures accompanied our ride back to the awaiting floatplane and our flight back across Cook Inlet in the early afternoon. Our last day of the week found us making our way to the upper Kenai for a day of fly fishing for rainbows and Dolly Varden. We met our guide at our takeout point and then loaded up in his van and headed to the Sportsman’s launch at the confluence of the Kenai and Russian Rivers. After a quick tutorial, we each took our place in the drift boat as we grabbed our rods and soon made our first casts with six weight rods and floating lines. Our guide would do his best throughout the day to make sure each of us would be offering just the right size of bead (salmon egg imitations of varying sizes and colors) positioned about 2-inches above a size-6 snelled hook, all of which is below a strike indicator. At the slightest movement of the indicator, the hook was set, resulting in great battles with lively trout of all sizes from 10 inches to some nearly thirty. The beauty of the fish were rivaled only

by our gorgeous surroundings as we slowly floated down the famed Kenai River. Most of the fish were landed as we floated, but when one of us hooked into a big one, our man at the oars quickly had us to the bank and then out of the boat in hopes of fighting our fish to the net. During our eight hour float, we fished both from the boat and from the shore along the way. Both options resulted in big numbers of fish, with our guesstimated total number by the end of the day for the three of us at well over 100. And if you haven’t had a chance to fish for rainbows in Alaska, they aren’t just your run of the mill ‘bows – most of them are beautiful ‘leopard’ rainbows, with spots literally covering their whole bodies, offering an awesome contrast with their colorful side slashes of reds, oranges and yellows. A perfect week, culminated with a perfect ending on the perfect river. Well, if this article doesn’t spike your interest in visiting the Soldotna area of the Kenai Peninsula, I don’t know what will. The Gone Fishin’ Lodge offers some of the most competitive pricing you will find anywhere in Alaska, to go along with just about every option you can think of. So, when you are thinking about booking your next trip to Alaska, give the guys at the Gone Fishin’ Lodge a call to talk about all of the possibilities at 877-462-5752 and you can also visit them on the web at www.gonefishinlodge.com.

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

Deer Hunting in Pyke’s Peaks

Deer hunting principles; a look at what it takes to bag a benchleg buck in the Cascades. By Gary Lewis “

ooks like the weather is going to be bad, I’m going up.” October is tough on Sam Pyke. The 26-year-old Sisters-area hunter makes his living with a camera in the outdoors. I know, I keep him em-

ployed filming episodes of our TV show, Frontier Unlimited. In between shoots, he hunts blacktails, the deer we call benchlegs. Any buck up there could likely be a cross between a blacktail and a mule deer. They are migratory, scarce and tough to get. When Pyke saw a low pressure system headed his way, he decided to head for the mountain. No one else could drop everything at short notice, so he headed up alone. “I knew it was going to get wet and cold, so I put on a neoprene shirt like I wear rafting or sailing.” At the trailhead, Pyke cinched a bivy sack onto his backpack, then covered the pack with a rain cover. A wet snow cast its blanket. Down on the trail though, the wind blew sleet and clouds rolled low through the tree tops. Pyke pushed on through most of five miles from the trailhead to try to make it to his regular camp site by dark. He reckoned he’d have thirty minutes to hunt before night fell.

“Camp was Photo by Gary Lewis about five minutes further on,” Pyke said, when he reached one of his favorite spots to watch. He’d seen deer here before. He paused next to a pine tree and tried to make sense of the scene. Wind roared and tree limbs lashed back and forth in 40-mph gusts. “ I t h i n k t h e A thorough knowledge of the trail systems in conjuncdeer were mov- tion with topography and feeding areas will make the ing over to the difference for the hunter looking to tag a buck in the east side because high Cascades. the weather was coming from the west,” Pyke said later. you’re losing eighty percent of the A small doe appeared on the tree line, chance you’re going to get a nice buck,” 35 yards away, then a fawn bounced by Pyke said. him. Visibility came and went with the On his second year in the peaks, he puffs of cloud, down to 40 yards for a shot his first buck, a forked horn. time, then 200 yards. Pyke moved again, “That year it was rainy, then sunny, slower now. He started to think about then rainy and windy.” The deer were building a fire when he got to camp and moving in the weather. then he saw it. “We learned to stay out until it’s very “A buck was laying at about 150 yards. dark, hunt all day, don’t take breaks. He didn’t see me.” Then we get out again before first light.” Between them was a log and Pyke Rather than watch large openings, walked straight to it and rested his Pyke prefers to sit in timber. rifle. He was afraid to shrug out of the “I listen for sticks to break, for hops, pack, lest the extra movement would for bounces, for anything out of the alert the buck. In the scope, he counted normal. And I watch for dust in the air.” antler points, three on one side, four on He expects to see deer. Maybe not a the other. whole deer, but part of the animal. Then he barked. It might not have “I look for bent legs and angles of worked with a blacktail, but it worked antlers,” he said. Sometimes those with this high country, west-of-the-trail, antlers are wet and when they’re wet, mule deer. The buck stood to his feet. they shine. Pyke took a breath, held the crosshair centered above the front leg, squeezed Three-for-three on opening day the trigger and saw the big deer crumOpening weekend in the 2013 seaple. son, the rain came in sheets. In eastern When he notched his tag and tied it to Oregon, the roads turned to gumbo the antler, it was the third time in three and hunters that didn’t leave got stuck. years he had taken a buck in one of Or- Trailers tipped over. Tents blew away. egon’s toughest backcountry hunts. The Up in the mountains, the storm common denominator was bad weather. brought snow. The day before the In 2015, he made it four in a row. opener, Sam Pyke, his brother Eli and their friend Blake, started up away from It’s better when it’s wetter the trailhead with their camp on their Pyke has hunted the area five seasons backs. They looked at the forecast, knew straight and learned a few things about it was going to be nasty, but they also the high country. knew this was their only chance for the “If you don’t get out in the weather, three of them to hunt together.

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

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䜀唀一匀伀一䰀䤀一䔀

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March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

As they started into the wind and the driving snow, one of them joked, “Wouldn’t it be terrible if we all tagged out tomorrow and we each have to carry our own deer out?” They laughed. Throughout the long night the weather deteriorated. The bottom of Eli’s tent filled up with rainwater. Snow and sleet found its way through seams. In the morning Sam headed to high ground. “I picked my spot because I could see pretty far down the slope on both sides. I posted up by a huge pine and watched and listened to the rain and looked for any kind of movement. It was hard because all the tree limbs were moving.” Instead of looking for movement, he looked for what wasn’t moving, something not blowing in the wind. “I don’t think deer are used to hunters up there. In bad weather they are pretty clueless.” The ground was wet as a sodden sponge. As the sun came up, he could see a bit farther. Sixty yards away, he saw the fork of a shiny antler, very near the ground. Then the deer came out from behind the tree, with its head down.

Pyke missed the first shot, but connected on the second. He tied his 2013 general season tag on a heavy-horned 3x3, with blacktail coloration and a strong mule deer influence in its face and ears. In the howl of the wind, Eli didn’t hear his younger brother shoot, but he worked his way uphill and ran into Sam. After the congratulations, Eli walked away and walked right into a buck. Sam heard the boom of that shot and strolled down in time to see Eli tie his tag on a 3x3. As they both worked in the storm to put their bucks in game bags, they heard a shot in the distance. And another. And another. Blake had his first buck down. All three had filled their tags on opening day in the nastiest storm they may ever hunt in. “We thought that totally wasn’t going to happen, but it did,” Pyke said. Pyke’s Principles Besides a bivy sack, a tent and a rifle, Pyke carries a tarp, freeze-dried meals, a water bladder, game bags, a stove, a compass and a lighter. In a chest pack, he

carries more waPhoto by Sam Pyke ter, a headlamp, a beanie, gloves, snacks, a knife and his phone. “Go when you don’t want to,” Pyke said. “That’s what I learned.” “Then be silent and hope to see the shape or shapes of a deer.” On his solo 2014 hunt, Pyke weighed his pack when he arrived back home. On Sam Pyke watched the weather and when the forecast the five mile pack- turned sour, he dropped everything and headed up into out, he carried 30 the mountains alone. He found this buck at the end of pounds of gear the trail. and 66 pounds of deer on his back. On his solo 2015 hunt, Pyke said. “It’s going to hurt.” But, it hurts so good. he stayed as long as he could, feeling the To order a signed copy of Gary Lewis’s hypothermia set in. He tagged a 3-point, cut it up in a driving rain and started Hunting Oregon, send $24.95 (includes S&H) to GLO, PO Box 1364, Bend, OR back down the hill. “I think a guy has to realize there’s a 97709 or visit www.GaryLewisOutdoors. price to pay for hunting the wilderness,” com.

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March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

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24 March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

Show Season Staff Picks Sitka Gear Waterfowl Timber Concealment Pattern

SIG SAUER ECHO1 Thermal Reflex Sight

Sitka Gear, the industry leader in performance hunting gear, has just announced that after years of research, study, design, and testing in flooded timber environments, the GORE OPTIFADE Concealment Waterfowl Timber pattern will be made available to the public. Waterfowl hunters spend countless hours hugging tightly to a tree with water up to their knees. This style of hunting requires a dedicated system of gear and a specific pattern to confuse waterfowl vision in these unique environments. The scientific approach that Sitka takes to developing all its gear was again used with the development of the Timber pattern. Optimized for engagement at distances of 10 to 40 yards and the color perception of birds in the dark timber, the pattern is designed to inhibit the stimulation of waterfowl’s visual spatial awareness and object identification as they drop through holes in the canopy. Sitka has developed a full system of gear to keep hunters comfortable and protected in the timber environment. At the foundation, next-to-skin pieces like the CORE Midweight Zip-T and CORE Heavyweight Hoody wick moisture, fight odor, and add warmth. Mid layers like the Gradient Pant and Duck Oven Jacket provide ample insulation and are designed to fit comfortably under waders. When waders aren’t necessary, the Grinder Pant provides rugged, articulated mobility. The Timber outerwear line offers upper body protection for all conditions from mild to extreme. In order of protection level, they are: the Dakota Vest and Hoody built with WINDSTOPPER, the Delta Wading Jacket with GORE-TEX, and the Hudson Insulated Jacket with GORE-TEX. To complete the system and keep hunters warm, protected and concealed, Sitka is also offering a full selection of necessities, including gloves, caps and beanies in the Timber pattern, as well as the Timber pack, which is specifically designed to keep hunters’ gear – including their gun safely above the waterline. This new Waterfowl Timber Line will be available summer 2016.

Petzl Tactikka +RGB Headlamp

The ECHO1 Digital Thermal Imaging Reflex Sight from SIG SAUER® is the most innovative direct view thermal sight in the world. Based on the newest generation of thermal imaging sensors, the digital sight provides for day or night time predator and hog hunting, while functioning similar to a conventional reflex sight using both eyes open for fast and intuitive target acquisition with greatly improved situational awareness. The sight is also perfect for home defense, law enforcement, military, and search and rescue situations. The features this great unit includes are: • 206x156 Uncooled VOx Bolometer Array • 5 default reticles and the ability to design / upload new reticles • Sight can take pictures, individual and burst mode • Color LCD display for day / night time direct view targeting • White or Black hot menu selectable plus color palette and game highlight • Top mount peep sight and ROMEO1 adapter plate for backup sights • Includes a M1913 Picatinny cross-slot STANAG compliant mount • Thermal detection >1000 yards, Targeting range >300 yards • Electronic zoom from 1x to 2x • IPX-6 waterproof • 30 Hz frame rate • 8 hour minimum runtime.

Smith & Wesson SW22 Victory Target Pistol

Of all the guns I own, nothing is as fun to shoot as my bull-barreled .22 LR semi-auto target pistol. For years, the majority of semi-auto pistols chambered in .22 long rifle have been cheaply made affairs, and those designed for serious shooters, while of higher quality, had issues with basic assembly and dis-assembly. For 2016, Smith & Wesson took on the challenge of making a user friendly, high quality target pistol and the result is the SW22 Victory. Made of stainless steel and steel reinforced polymer, the SW22 Victory features an easy to dis-assemble design using a single Allen head screw; with rugged construction, precision machining, and superb accuracy. Fiber optic sights, with adjustable rear target sights, and an included Picatinny accessory rail let you easily adjust or use optics. The trigger was crisp and smooth and features an adjustable trigger stop so to customize length of pull. The way the grip meets the hand was comfortable and created a natural point of aim and textured front and back straps make it easy to hold. The grip panels are removable and can be customized for different sizes and textures. The heavy 5.5-inch bull barrel gives it mass to overcome movement during recoil and reduce harmonic vibration, to further improve accuracy. Look for it in the coming months.

A lightweight headlamp with superior brightness and the addition of red, green, and blue LEDs for protection of night vision and tracking blood trails are just some of the features of the Tactikka +RGB from Petzl. Weighing just 2.9 ounces, the rugged Tactikka +RGB comes with an included padded Multicam elastic headband with a snap buckle. The superior brightness of the single LED white light features adjustments of 5 lumens to a boost mode of 160 lumens. The focused white LED provides illumination on high for up to 160 feet and on low it will illuminate 32 In 1866, America was still rebuilding from the recently concluded Civil War and citizens were pushing feet for more close-up tasks. The colored LEDs shine at 5 west in an effort to find their fortunes and settle the frontier. At the same time, Oliver Winchester established lumens and feature a flashing mode for signaling. The real the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The Winchester brand went on to help Americans set the West, star of the Tactikka +RGB is its Constant Lighting Technolwin two World Wars, help law enforcement keep our communities safe and, to this day, continues to revoogy, which ensures that the brightness will not gradually lutionize the way hunters and shooters succeed in the field and on the range. decrease as the battery is depleted. The brightness of the Like few other brands, Winchester has helped shape America and in 2016, the iconic brand celebrates this light will stay constant, until the battery reaches a certain important milestone by introducing one of its most collectible editions on ammunition in history, featuring level and then the light switches into reserve mode, offerclassic Winchester artwork and embossed packaging, making these offerings truly unique. ing up to 40 hours of lighting at 5 lumens to safely see you Along with some great new offerings for 2016 including Deer Season XP, .17 WSM back to camp and fresh batteries. Power Core, M-22 Subsonic .22 LR, Varmint X and the new Expedition Big Game brand, keep an eye out for your favorite loads to hit the shelves of your local Sportsman’s Warehouse throughout the year in this special packaging. 150 years and still going strong – Winchester, The American Legend! continued on page 28

Winchester Ammunition Celebrates 150 Years

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

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to perform in the harshest conditions. A true American innovation, this pistol was developed through a rigorous “Voice of the Customer” process – where numerous law enforcement and military trainers, firearms experts, distributors and retailers provided input, feedback and testing in the determination of the form, function and features of this firearm. The resultant new pistol is a revolutionary platform for Ruger, one that utilizes the combination of a recoilreducing barrel cam (which is designed to better spread recoil energy over time) with a low mass slide, low center of gravity and a low bore axis to provide an unparalleled shooting experience.

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

Zippo 4-in-1 Woodsman

Zippo is well known for their lighters, offering a wide selection of styles. They have been branching out into outdoor categories over the past few years and have come up with some innovative products. The 4-in-1 Woodsman is a great camping and survival tool. Zippo has combined several different products into one usable multi-tool. The handle and heal of the axe blade allow you to attach a saw blade securely and they added comfortable pads for the bow saw handle around the axe blade as well. You can even store extra blades inside the handle. The poll end of the axe is a mallet that can be used for pounding in stakes and the bottom of the handle is used for pulling them out very quickly. Remove the blades and cover and you have a very sturdy 5-inch hatchet to use around camp.

Work Sharp Guided Sharpening System Pivot Response Perfect Angle Sharpener

For proper knife and tool sharpening, the hardest aspect for most people is to achieve the proper sharpening angle. Making it even more difficult is the different shapes of blades and the difficulty in maintaining the proper angle along the curve of a blade. Work Sharp has come up with an innovative solution to help maintain the proper angle along curved tips by building a sharpening surface that pivots as you sharpen to ensure the proper angle is maintained throughout the stroke. The heavy-duty base features a locking pivoting bed with a magnetic base plate to accept either of the two included diamond sharpening hones, a 220 grit and a 320 grit. The more aggressive 220 grit is used to repair or re-edge damaged blades, and the finer 320 grit is used to touch up a knife that has gotten dull from use. An included field hone can be snapped into the base or used separately to finely polish your edge. The field hone includes multiple honing surfaces for serrated knives, fishhooks, scissors, and recurve knife blades. The system also includes two changeable angle guides; a 20 degree for outdoor and pocket knives, and a 17 degree for kitchen and filet knives. These guides help you align the blade to the proper sharpening angle for a perfect edge every time.

Browning Ammunition

John M. Browning’s vision and uncompromising pursuit of excellence have fueled the Browning culture and generations of American hunters and shooters for more than 125 years. Now Browning introduces its own line of branded ammo. Consumers will see several lines hit the shelves: centerfire rifle ammo for big game, shotshell loads for waterfowl and upland birds, target loads, rimfire loads for hunting and target shooting, centerfire hollowpoint pistol loads for personal defense and centerfire full metal jacket loads for target shooting. Each is focused on its intended use, with designs engineered for higher efficiency with maximum effect. In 2016, expect to see: BXR Rapid Expansion, BXC Controlled Expansion Terminal Tip, BXD Waterfowl Extra Distance, BXD Upland Extra Distance, BPR Performance Rimfire, BPT Performance Target, BXP Personal Defense and BPT Performance Target loads to all become household names.

Hell’s Canyon Speed Series

Browning’s Hell’s Canyon camo line has made a name for itself as tough, dependable all-conditions gear. Many members of the Sportsman’s News Team have been wearing the line for years and we have loved its performance features and durability. Browning’s new Hell’s Canyon Speed Series includes a radical change in design, while incorporating a much more athletic, “Hero Fit”, for those who demand the highest performance in their gear. The Hell’s Canyon Speed Series includes ultra-light rain wear, PrimaLoft insulated models, lightweight styles for warmer temperatures, tough 3-Layer gear and even base layers. Technical fabrics offer the tough performance a name like Hell’s Canyon implies. PrimaLoft insulation provides an excellent warmth-to-weight ratio. Browning’s Hell’s Canyon Speed line includes jackets, vests, pants, rainwear, hoodies, base layer tops and bottoms, caps, beanies and gloves and features the exclusive ATACS camo patterns in both FG (green) and AU (tan and brown), which is designed with the western hunter in mind. The line gives both archery and rifle hunters alike a complete offering of apparel that provides unmatched durability, mobility and comfort.

Hoppes Gun Medic

Hoppe’s has a new state-of-theart formula called Gun Medic to help shooters of all disciplines clean and lubricate dirty firearms. Developed for quick use when a deep clean isn’t in the cards, Hoppe’s Gun Medic Cleaner & Lube is a fast-acting, all-in-one product that will clean and lubricate a firearm in one application to quickly get the gun back into action. It’s like having a first aid kit for dirty firearms, eliminating malfunctions caused by buildup of dirt and grime. When seconds count, Gun Medic products will clean and lubricate a dirty firearm quickly and effortlessly to provide unrivaled performance. The revolutionary formula combines a bio-based lubricant developed for jet turbines with an amazing cleaning agent that scrubs away powder residue and then evaporates in 60 seconds, leaving only the thin coat of the highperformance lube. The lubricant tolerance is an astounding -65°F to 500°F. This cleaner and lubricant combination is loaded into a new high-pressure bottle to blast out dirt and crud. It comes in 4-ounce and 10-ounce sizes. Filling out the line, Hoppe’s also packages these formulas as standalone offerings. Gun Medic Cleaner is the same quick-fix, bio-based cleaner in the new high-pressure 10-ounce can. Gun Medic Lube comes in an easyapplication 2-ounce bottle. Both products are environmentally friendly bio-based formulas.

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

Remington 783

Remington is celebrating 200 years in firearm manufacturing. Remington offers a 783 and scope package built in a state of the art facility and started from the ground up to improve on the 783 platform. The Model 783 encompasses 10 different calibers for virtually any hunter. A carbon steel magnum contour barrel sends bullets down range with exceptional accuracy. Remington’s new CrossFire Trigger System comes from the factory at 3 ½ lbs and can be adjusted down to 3- or up to 5-lbs depending on the operator’s preference. Firearms and gun safety are a big concern for Remington as they have three safety features built into the model 783 package. The traditional thumb safety is located by the rear of the bolt and an indicator pin is exposed on the rear of the bolt itself. The pin will be exposed for both manual and visual awareness to let you know the firearm is loaded and ready to discharge.

Coleman Esky Coolers

Coleman Outdoor Products have been helping people enjoy the outdoors for as long as I can remember. Sitting around the camp at night with Coleman lanterns lighting the way and sleeping on their pads is one memory that gave me deep love for the outdoors. Coleman still delivers innovative and quality outdoor products to their consumers. The Esky Cooler line is built to endure the outdoors and keep your contents cold and protected. 2-inches of sidewall and 2.5 inches of lid/floor insulation lines the ESKY series for maximum cold temperature retention. The lid has a gasket, cork fitting seals along with a liner ridge to help regulate air flow, keeping the inside of the cooler chilled. Antimicrobial protection will help resist odor, mold and mildew. An integrated cutting board will stay in place when using and stores away securely. Catch free rubber latches are easy to use, yet solid and secure when riding in the back of a truck. And, the best feature Coleman offers for the ESKY coolers is the “MADE IN THE USA” label on each cooler.

Slumberjack Wild-Her Hunting Pack

SJK’s Wild-Her is the perfect hunting pack for women looking for fit and function with just the right amount of feminine style. The pack has been tailored to fit a women’s build with a contoured hip belt and shoulder straps that enhance overall fit and comfort on long days in the field. The single hand, forward pull hip belt adjusts for a perfect fit and features a buckle that lays flat for additional comfort. Weighing 3lbs, 2oz and offering 2016 cubic inches of storage space, the Wild-Her features a single aluminum stay and HDPE frame sheet suspension system, allowing you to manage loads with ease. This durable pack boasts a stowable, versatile weapon carrying system, allowing you to transport a bow or rifle. The pack also has two low profile side pockets that provide additional storage and external organization. The Wild-Her is available in the Kryptek Highlander pattern.

Zeiss Victory V8 2.8-20x56 ASVLR Riflescope

Featuring a massive 36 MM tube, the Victory V8 ASVLR riflescope from Zeiss has 92 percent light transmission for low light shooting. With SCHOTT HT glass, fluoride coatings, nitrogen purging, and a magnification range of 2.8 to 20, the 56 MM objective lens provides exceptional clarity and super fast targeting. A 1 MOA illuminated 60 reticle turns off when the rifle is lowered and instantly comes to life when the rifle is raised. Because the illumination is located on the second focal plane, the zoom does not affect the size of the dot, and an easy to use adjustment dial allows the user to adjust brightness, even while wearing gloves. The Victory V8 ASVLR comes with 10 different ballistic rings, configured for the majority of rounds on the market, and a customized ring can be laser engraved with your specific cartridge load data to make instant distance drop compensation for a specific range. A parallax adjustment dial on the side keeps your image crystal clear, and more than 100 clicks of elevation and windage allow shooting from point-blank to more than 600 yards. A locking elevation adjustment cap with a zero stop, prevents accidental movement of zero. With 3.75 inches of eye relief and a 46MM eyepiece, the V8 provides a 42-foot field of view at 2.8 magnification and 5.7 feet at 20 power. Each V8 comes with a set of 36MM Talley mounting rings. All in, this new optic from Zeiss changes the paradigm of long-range shooting.

continued on page 30

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

ShockStrap Ratcheting Tie Down

If you are hauling expensive equipment or gear, protecting your investment with a cheap strap can cost you thousands of dollars if they fail. ShockStrap revolutionized tie downs with the introduction a few years back of their high quality tension straps that were thicker and made of polyester strapping instead of nylon. This polyester is mold, mildew, and rot resistant; has a higher working load; and stretches and frays less than nylon. This year, ShockStrap finalized two years of R&D to release their new ratcheting strap. Featuring the same shock absorbing technology to keep the strap under constant tension. The ShockStraps are resistant to UV rays, oils, salt, and corrosion. They stretch to absorb bumps that can work regular straps loose under normal use. The ratcheting straps now feature a super heavy-duty ratchet, with an oversized external ratcheting handle for use with gloves. Double steel hooks on the ends and soft loops to allow the strap to be wrapped and hooked on itself in places where the hooks won’t fit, providing versatility in attachment. Both the hooks and ratchet are coated in yellow zinc, which lasts 10 times longer than chrome and protects against rust and corrosion. The straps have a working load of 1,553 pounds and a breaking strength of 4,600 pounds. They are available in lengths of 9 feet, 18 feet, and 32 feet. Not all tie down straps are created the same, and without a doubt, ShockStraps has put tremendous thought and effort into the design of their straps. If you need to protect your expensive equipment and gear, trust your load to ShockStraps.

Badlands Superday

Badlands is one of the leading backpack manufactures in today’s outdoor market. They offer a wide variety of packs and hunting gear for every outdoorsman’s needs. The Superday is a proven day pack and has been around for some time. It is one of my favorite day packs for many reasons. It has over 1900 CI of space and weighs in at just under 4 lbs. You can strap your bow or rifle on the pack and head into your hunting spot for the day with enough gear to be comfortable and successful. Molded foam suspension lines the back of the pack, giving users a relaxed ride and fit. A 2-liter water bladder can be stowed inside the pack. Its extra pockets are perfect for all my smaller gear t o b e s e c u re d . O n e aspect that sets Badlands apart is their legendary warranty. They actually want you to test the limits of their packs so they can improve on their foundation. Look for Badlands new Approach camo pattern that has launched this year.

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

Hunting Fish

Chad LaChance

n my world, there are two kinds of people; fishermen that hunt, and hunters that fish. Anyone not fitting into one of those categories is an also-ran; as in, yea, we can be friends, but given that the outdoors is a lifestyle, not a hobby, don’t expect much as we have little in common. There are some folks who only fish or only hunt without combining the two outdoor disciplines; I can certainly understand that and we can be friends, but I’d bet my favorite jerkbait that those folks have at least a basic understanding and tolerance of the other half’s passion. Statistically speaking, most outdoor enthusiasts at least dabble in both pursuits and as a lifelong angler and hunter, I’m

here to tell you that lessons learned angling can make you a better hunter and vice versa. I might be called the Fishful Thinker, but much of what I know about angling I learned from hunting. Lets’ look at some commonalities. Before fish can be caught or game harvested, said fish and game must be located. Breaking down their world requires an understanding of their daily needs and preferences. Surprisingly, the exact same concepts can be applied. The understanding of daily feed patterns versus resting needs, the mating cycles, and how environmental conditions affect daily movement all need to be understood to be consistently successful in location of the target species. Note that I am not saying that game and fish have the same characteristics, just that the process of considering whatever characteristics are relevant is the same. For instance, I primarily fish reservoirs, meaning that it was dry ground until some shovel-wielding overachiever built a dam. That means the inundated structure is terrestrial in nature as opposed to a natural lake where the structural elements, the actual topography of the lake bottom, may be completely different than the land around it. On a reservoir, bottom structure will be very similar to the visible terrain and I often use this, in conjunction with my Lawrence sonar, to quickly evaluate fishing locations.

Breaking down this aerial photo of great structure can be done the same whether chasing deer or bass.

It was a major turning point in my deer hunting consistency when I realized many years ago that I could easily do the same (substituting binoculars for sonar) to locate and pattern the deer. Major reservoir arms are much like big draws or valleys, and creek arms and channels, pockets, flats, bluffs, etc all transfer over in a systematic way. It is not a coincidence that my favorite deer hunting area is a secondary canyon that joins the main river valley at an outside swing in the river channel, and that the canyon has a bunch of small fingers branching off each side that lead up to good feeding areas, and that there are nice bedding pockets along each of those secondary channels. If I was looking at a topo map of the 3,000 acre canyon, I would look at the exact same elements when considering where to locate bucks or bass. Now, I’m not saying that fish and game use the same patterns in terms of daily movement - bass don’t typically travel as far in daily patterns as western whitetails do - but I am saying that what defines good structure for the deer also makes good structure for the bass, or walleyes, or perch, or lake trout, etc, etc. The same consideration can be used for evaluating cover. Cover is anything that gives texture to structure, so a patch of thick brush or stand of saplings is not unlike a weedbed of hydrilla or flooded willows, and fishing pole timber is much like hunting a stand of mature aspens. Evaluating which cover is best to hunt or fish depends on the exact season, weather conditions, and especially the cover’s location in relation to the major structure. I love to target isolated cover located at a strong structural element whether I’m hunting big bucks or targeting large bass. If I were hunting does or guiding an angler that just wants consistent action, I’d look more at major resting cover located near food sources. Mature whitetail bucks and giant bass are usually loaners, preferring to avoid the fat part of the population bell curve, and are willing to utilize isolated small cover areas to do so. continued on page 44

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

Using Action Cameras To Capture Your Adventure

By James Dansie

echnology is advancing every day and it’s amazing how it changes our lives. Almost all of us walk around with a smart phone. Even the idea of having a tiny computer in your pocket was science fiction fifteen years ago. As an outdoor videographer, I’m amazed at how every year, cameras are getting more advanced and more affordable. Buying a camera with 4K capabilities used to be something for only the rich, and now we have that option in tiny action cameras. The cool thing about so many cameras being affordable now is that we can all film our outdoor activities and make some killer home videos. In this article, I’m going to talk a little about the action cameras that are carried at Sportsman’s Warehouse and about some things to consider when trying to decide which camera is right for you.

At Sportsman’s Warehouse there are three main action cameras available; the Spypoint Xcel HD series, the GoPro series and the Garmin Virb Elite. When deciding what’s right for you, you need to think about what you want the end result to be.

Spypoint Xcel HD is a perfect action camera for those looking for an easy setup and great looking video.

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The Spypoint Xcel HD camera line has three diff e re n t m o d e l s the Xcel HD, the Xcel HD 2 and the Xcel Stream hunt. The Xcel HD and Xcel HD 2 are very similar. The Xcel HD2 is a little more expensive and really the only difference is that it features a 1x to 4x zoom that is controlled by the included remote. The zoom will allow you to get a little closer to your subject matter without actually moving the camera. Both cameras can film in up to 1080p. 1080p is a term used for HD or High Definition. Most new televisions now display images in 1080 as long as you have an HD receiver. They can also film in 720p or 480p, so if camera battery life is more important to you than having a full HD image, you can just film in those modes. Both cameras also can take still pictures up to 5-mega pixels and both feature a time-lapse mode, which can be a cool effect for home videos. They both have a remote, making it easy to start and stop the camera up to 40 feet away.

Pro’s Tips

If your smart phone runs out of battery or if you forget to bring it with you, the Xcel Stream features a 2-inch screen on the back to insure you know where the camera is pointing. There are also a lot of different mounts for the Xcel cameras, making it easy to put them in just the right place to get the perfect shot The next camera we are going to look at is the GoPro series. GoPro is probably the most popular action camera, because they were the ones that started it all. Being the first in the industry means that they have a step-up on everyone else, just because they have been at it longer. There are several different models, but the three that are carried at Sportsman’s Warehouse are the Hero+, Hero4 Silver and the Hero4 Black. The Hero+ is the most inexpensive model, but still packs a big punch. You can record in 1080p in 60 fps or in 720p in 60 fps. 60 fps means 60 frames per second and most cameras film in 30 fps. By having a camera that films in 60 fps means that your footage is going to be smoother, especially during acGoPro4 Black Edition. Also Available in 4 Silver Edition tions sequences. and Hero+. The Hero+ can also take picThe Xcel Stream is the cheapest of tures at 8-megapixels. All of the the three, but actually packs a big GoPro’s are Wi-Fi enabled and can punch. It can record in super HD be controlled through the free Go1296p or in 1080p. It has built-in Pro application. The Hero4 Silver is definitely a Wi-Fi, making it so you can connect it to your smart phone with step up from the Hero+ and is the their free mobile application. Being first GoPro to feature a built-in able to setup your shots with your touch screen, meaning switching smart phone is huge and will greatly shooting modes and framing your improve your footage, because you continued on page 38 know exactly what its recording.

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

Bushnell Announces First-In-Class Warranty

ushnell, an industry leader in sport optics for more than 60 years, has introduced an enhanced lifetime warranty that equals or exceeds anything on the market today. The Bushnell No Questions Asked “Yes That’s Covered” Lifetime Warranty is a transferable, full-repair or replacement warranty covering multiple lines of riflescopes, binoculars and spotting scopes. The new warranty covers all of Bushnell’s Trophy, Trophy Xtreme, Legend, Elite, and Elite Tactical lines of optics. “It’s our absolute, everlasting pledge to honor our customers,” said Jordan Vermillion, Bushnell Global Director for Optics. “We’re proud of our products and we are willing to guarantee complete satisfaction. We promise to repair or replace our product and ship it back at absolutely no charge.” And unlike other brand’s warran-

ties, Bush nell pays the return shipping on the product. N o re c e i p t or registration card is needed, and the covered optics will be repaired or replaced with an equal or similar value product, no matter the reason the optic is damaged. “Now, consumers can add bearsnack-proof, crazy-brother-in-lawp ro o f a n d e v e n ro u g h - h a n d e d airline-proof to the list of attributes,” said Jake Edson, Bushnell PR Manager. “Regardless of how your scopes, binoculars, and spotting scopes get wrecked, Bushnell has one response: ‘Yes, that’s covered,’” For several years, Bushnell has beefed up the higher-quality prod-

N I R L I E A BATE M 0 3

ucts in their affordable portfolio, and the No Questions Asked Warranty is provided to those h i g h e rend items. These lines of spotting scopes, binoculars, and riflescopes offer comparable quality and features to optics that cost much more. Bushnell is known for quality and value because of features such as fully multicoated glass for better light gathering and clarity; rubber armored housings; precision ground glass; and Bushnell’s exclusive, patented Rainguard HD lens coating that reduces large drops of water to near-microscopic specks, dramatically increasing light transmission and resulting in a remarkably clear image in wet weather.

With the addition of these new products, while maintaining Bushnell’s every-man prices, the company is becoming a major player in the optics arena for outdoorsmen and women of all levels. In addition to the No Questions Asked Lifetime Warranty, Bushnell continues to offer their Bulletproof Guarantee for one year on laser r a n g e f i n d e r s . T h i s B u l l e t p ro o f guarantee allows the user to return the product within one year of purchase for a full refund of the purchase price if they are not completely satisfied. Between these two warranties, the customer is guaranteed to enjoy their Bushnell optics for a long time and can rest assured that they will be satisfied with their purchase. Bushnell even makes the return p ro c e s s s i m p l e b y p ro v i d i n g a downloadable repair form on their website at www.bushnell.com.

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March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

Take it hiking. Take it hunting. Take it on the water. Montana™ 650t features a bold 4-inch color touchscreen display with dual orientation capabilities. Preloaded 100K TOPO maps come standard, plus support for multiple mapping options like BirdsEye Satellite Imagery and BlueChart® g2 (each sold separately). Montana packs a 3-axis tilt-compensated compass, barometric altimeter, and a 5-megapixel camera to boot. Buy the power mount and City Navigator® and it’ll give you spoken turn-by-turn driving directions. It’s big. It’s versatile. It’s tough. It earned the name Montana – the ultimate in touchscreen toughness.

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March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

Bass Fishing on a Budget By JB Spilker

an you catch bass without spending a fortune? Reading magazines, watching bass fishing shows and seeing what’s out there online can get you quickly shelling out dollars for bass fishing. Bass boats are now costing upwards of $45,000. Plus, you have to rig your boat up with the highest grade electronics for both the front and the back. In addition, don’t forget a pair of power poles to go on the boat to anchor you down in shallow water. We haven’t even gotten on the water yet and we are already sitting at about $50,000, with the things hardcore bass anglers tell you are a must! Now you hear you need a special rod and reel for every single technique. Each reel also needs a different line spooled up on it. Plus, you need baits and tackle to put on the end of those lines. If you are feeling overwhelmed on where to start and don’t want to take a line of credit out on your home equity to go fishing, this article is for you. There is a lot of gear out there and a lot of marketing to drive you all over the place. It’s hard to know what’s best. The old saying is often true, “you get what you pay for” when fishing. Still, there is definitely a fine line between cheap and breakable or quality and durability. Here are some of the best quality, low cost items to start you in the right direction for catching bass.

First, you definitely need a rod and reel to start. Most bass fisherman prefer to use a bait casting rod and reel because a bait casting set up can throw the heavier baits better. Oftentimes, a spinning rod and reel won’t cut the mustard for the beefy ½ oz. jigs and the ¾ oz. spinnerbaits you need for catching a big bass. A solid all-around working bait casting set up starts with a 7’ medium/ heavy action rod. A 7-foot rod will cast further than the shorter counter parts. With a medium/heavy action you will have enough beef to sling bass out of heavy cover and it will also provide you a little give for grinding crankbaits along the bottom. There are two rod brands Sportsman’s Warehouse carries that are high quality and lower priced. They are the Shimano Convergence series and the Abu Garcia Vendetta series. These are both quality rods and are priced under $80.00, compared to some higher-end rods in the $100–$200 range. Next, you need a bait casting reel for your rod. There are so many variables in choosing a reel, such as gear ratios, what hand you reel with and drag systems. Keep it simple. Look at the ball bearing count for determining smoothness - the higher count is typically better. As for gear ratios, a 6:4:1 ratio works perfectly fine for retrieving all kinds of baits. A good reel to get you casting fur-

ther and more accurately is crucial for bass fishing. You often get what you pay for with reels. Once you start dropping below the $75 mark on bait casting reels, things become cheap and you lose out on the quality. For under a $100 there are two bait casting reel brands which can’t be beat. Lew’s makes some amazing well priced reels that don’t skimp out on q u a l i t y. S h i mano reels also work really well and you can find some decently priced models. Give either of these brands a try and you won’t be disappointed. Next on your list of must haves is fishing line for your bait casting reel. Everyone talks about fluorocarbon and how great it is. They are right, but it is expensive. A good trick to get the most line for your buck is to fill up your reel halfway with a cheaper line from your garage.

Adventure On A Budget Then, you can tie a double-uni knot to attach your fluorocarbon line to the less expensive line and finish spooling it up. This helps you save on using too much fluorocarbon line and you can get a

couple spools filled out of one package of line. Another option to save dollars is to go with a co-polymer fishing line. These are usually a little cheaper. The co-polymer lines don’t have as much continued on page 38

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

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BASS ON A BUDGET continued from page 36

sensitivity, but if you aren’t planning on making a living bass fishing, they will work just fine. For line size, don’t get yourself into a tizzy. Go with a 12 pound test line on your bait casting reel and you can fish the world out of it. A main key is to use a translucent or green color. This way the fish don’t notice your line. Line color makes a huge difference. I remember a day with someone who was using a blue mono-filament line and I was using a clear line with the exact same baits tied on. The clear line caught double what the blue tinted line did. The best colors in any water clarity are the clear green lines, which are extremely hard to see in clear green water and also the non-tinted translucent lines. Spending money on baits can get out of control. Here are a couple of things to consider for keeping costs down to a minimum. More bass are caught fishing with soft plastics than any other technique out there. Arm yourself with a couple of different craw imitations and

ACTION CAMERAS continued from page 32

shots has never been easier. It records video at 1080p at 60fps and at 720p at 120 fps. Being able to film at 120 frames per second means that you can slow down your footage four times, resulting in awesome slow motion.

some plastic worms to keep the spending to a minimum. These baits always catch bass. When choosing your colors, go with the basic green pumpkin or black and blue. These color combinations always work. Here are some awesome soft plastics you can fish with confidence that are reasonably priced. The Reactions Innovations Sweet Beaver and the Berkley Havoc Pit Boss are great crawdad imitations to use. For worms, a Yamamoto Senko and the Zoom Trick worm will catch some solid bass. All of these baits work almost year round as well. Save some more bucks by going with a lead bullet weight instead of tungsten and Texas rig those soft plastics on a 3/0 offset worm hook. You are in business with these four simple bait selections and you haven’t had to sell a kidney. Can’t afford a boat? No problem. Bass primarily live in shallow water in the rocks and cover next to the banks, areas that you typically can reach from shore. The key mistake a lot of novice bass fisherman make is they don’t move and cover enough water to find fish when shore fishing. Make a cast, walk

10 feet down the shore and then make another until you find them. Don’t forget to make casts right next to the bank before you walk to your next spot. Bass will often sit along the banks to spawn this time of year. Plus, the shoreline offers great cover to ambush insects and creatures that fall into the water from the bank. When fishing from shore, look for banks with a 45 degree angle sloping into the water with lots of cover. Bass are predators and they love to ambush their prey using rocks and brush as a spring board to pounce. Make casts with your Texas rigged soft plastics into areas like this and prepare to get your line stretched. You don’t need all the expensive gear to go out and enjoy the

sport of bass fishing. Start small and as your passion grows, gradually add more things to your arsenal to try. Now is the perfect time of year to go out and catch some bass. Hopefully, these little tidbits of info on gear selections at an affordable price should help you enjoy the outdoors and you won’t deplete your children’s college savings accounts to do it. Read more bass fishing tips and advice from JB Spilker at www.krakenbass.com.

The Hero4 Silver will also capture high-quality 12-megapixel photos. It will also take night photos and even do time-lapse at night with night-lapse option. The Hero4 Black edition is the most expensive because it has the most features. With the Hero4 Black you can record in ultra high-resolution

4k at 30fps. You can also film at 2.7k at 50fps and 1080p at 120fps. Being able to film in this high of quality means that your feature is going to be crystal clear. It will shoot pictures at 12-megapixels and has a whole host of other options, making it easy to shoot footage or pictures at any time of day, even at low light. GoPro also has more mounts than anyone else, so it is super easy to find a way to put your camera anywhere, even on your dog’s back. The Virb from Garmin is another great option when it comes to action cameras. The Virb is really awesome if you have other Garmin products because it uses ANT+ wireless connectivity to enable you to use compatible Garmin products as remotes. The Virb allows you to film in 1080p, 960p and 720p. It will take images in 16-, 12- and 8-megapixels. Out of all of the other action cameras, the Virb takes the highest quality still images, so if the reason you are getting an action camera is just for picture taking, you really need to check out the Garmin Virb. It also features a screen on the top, which will make setting up shots both quick and easy. The Virb is also rugged, durable and waterproof, making it the only action camera that doesn’t require a

protective case in order to take it to the outdoors. It is easy to use with a large instant record slider switch, so you can use it all year long and even while wearing heavy gloves. While recording video, you can also take still pictures at the same time, which will allow you to take the best photos of your outdoors adventure. It also has a huge battery life and will allow you to film up to three hours at 1080p, ensuring you never miss a moment. The Virb also has built-in digital stabilization technology called Lens Distortion Correction, or LDC, that will work to make your videos play back smoother. Any of these camera will be a great addition to your outdoor gear list and make it easy for you to share your outdoor adventures with your friends and families. I would suggest buying extra batteries no matter which camera you’re looking at. Nothing is worse than having a perfect shot and then finding your camera was not recording because you were out of battery. No matter which camera you choose, have fun coming up with your own shooting styles. Remember, no one else sees the outdoors like you do and its up to you to show them just that. Check out all of these great cameras and accessories at your local Sportsman’s Warehouse.

Garmin Virb features a screen on the top to help with setup and control of your shots.

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

J & J Pro Membership Elk Hunt By Eric Christensen

he story starts well before daylight, getting all the gear ready, double checking to ensure nothing has been forgotten. Then you climb into your Yamaha Viking and head down a two-track road into the darkness. Soon you get out of the ATV and listen. Your eyes start to pick up details of the landscape as the morning sun is continuing on its never ending circle. Then you hear one of the most impressive sounds Mother Nature has created. The elk rut is starting to kick off and bulls are screaming, notifying each other of their location. Don Tubbs had never harvested a mature 6-point elk in over 20 years of elk hunting. He won an elk hunt with J & J Outfitters in northern Utah through our Pro Membership Sweepstakes in 2015. Don’s wife entered him in as a gift and one month later he received a call from Mike Deming, telling him he had won a $10,000 elk hunt with our team. Mike informed Don that J & J Outfitter’s hunt some of the best properties and units in Utah. This would be a special hunt, with piles of elk and some gorgeous scenery. This hunt was chosen to giveaway because of the amount of elk and J & J Outfitter’s knowledge of the property, making it one of the best hunts in the state. We met Don for lunch on his drive down from Malad, Idaho. We drove to

camp and got ready to do some scouting and hopefully tuck a giant bull into bed for the morning hunt. Camp felt like a true elk hunt, with a large wall tent for cooking and socializing. A few more dome tents surrounding the large wall tent, overlooking a large canyon filled with red and orange fall colors. Before heading out to look for rutting bulls, two large, bull moose were seen on an adjacent ridge, feeding by a stock pond. We captured some video of the two beasts and then drove to our elk destination. We drove to a lookout point that would give us 360 degrees of glassable country. Less than the time it took to get out of the Viking and set up our spotting scopes, 20 cows and a small 6-point could be seen feeding their way up an oak draw. A few smaller bulls were spotted working their way through some thick oak brush searching for cows. The longer the evening went on, the more elk started to show. Two mature bulls emerged from an oak colored drainage on the far side of the basin. They were just far enough away that we decided to close the distance for closer inspection. The two bulls were on the opposite side of the property and we had to take the Viking down and around a large basin to get close enough to look the bulls over. On our way across the basin, more elk were spotted. A 300-class bull had seven cows that he was tending

Don Tubbs of Malad, Idaho had waited more than 60 years to put his tag on a big mature bull like this. The Sportsman’s News Pro Member Sweepstakes made it happen.

to, as he bugled at two small satellite bulls. We filmed the bull for a few minutes and then drove over to check out the bulls that peeked our curiosity. Soon we crested a ridge and parked the Viking in a small flat. We hiked up a small ridge and glassed up the bulls, who were busy bugling and finding feed to graze on. These were two shooters for the morning hunt, without a doubt. It was awesome to see the excitement and anticipation on our Pro Membership Sweepstakes winner, Don Tubbs’ face, as he watched the two bulls. Hunting rutting elk, with a rifle in September, is what any elk hunter dreams about. It was going to be a long night and an early morning. The next morning, we drove to the look-off point to see where the elk had moved to during the night. A bull was going off and screaming every 30 seconds right below the look-off, but the cover was too thick to see into. We kept glassing, waiting for the closer bull to break cover. Several small rag horns and sub 300-class 6-points dotted the fall colored ridges. The closer bull finally emerged with 12 cows. He had good mass, but was just a touch short on tine length. Don opted to let this bull walk to keep looking for a larger bull. After some time at the look-off point,

we decided to go further up the mountain to see some new ground. With the bugling ending shorter than we wanted, we decided to become the elk and started calling to encourage some responses. We were on top of a beautiful looking basin that was primarily filled with Quake Aspen trees, with a beaver pond at the bottom, surrounded by pine tree ridges. We heard a bull respond to our bugle only a few hundred yards into the trees. We worked the bull to try and bring him into a small opening to determine if he was worthy of pursuing. A series of cow calls and bugles were not enough to drag him closer for a glance. He would respond immediately to our calls, but would not come closer, meaning only one thing - He was a heard bull and had cows he was protecting. We dove off of the ridge in an attempt to get the bull to defend his girls by coming in close to chase us off. The bull would keep his distance at about 150 yards. We kept working our way closer, but the wise bull pushed his cows in the opposite direction. All of our bag of continued on page 40

Sportsman’s News team member Eric Christensen hauls the last load of Don’s trophy off the mountain.

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

J&J ELK

continued from page 39 tricks were pulled out, including raking trees, grunting and even tossing large rocks down the hill to mimic a heard of elk. The bull would not commit to us, so we decided to pull out and head back to camp to devise a plan of attack for the evening. Just after lunch, I headed out to scout and see if there was any mid-day activity happening. Almost immediately from our glassing knob, I spotted a pretty 320-plus bull, working a ridge with two cows. I jumped in the Viking and motored back to camp to get Don. He quickly gathered his hunting gear and we drove off after the bull. We stopped above the drainage I had last seen the elk. I could hear a bugle further down the drainage, but I could not see any elk. Don and I kept glassing and waiting. Another group of elk was spotted feeding at the bottom of a shaded quakie-covered ridge. Suddenly, the bull came screaming out of the bottom and we could see he was a 7x7, so we quickly devised a

game plan to head after him. We drove to the closest ridge that we could and headed down after the bull. Soon we made our way to a large lone pine tree that we would use as our marker to the location of the feeding elk. We crept over the ridge and hid behind a small patch of oak brush. Ten minutes had passed and we feared the elk had been blown out. A cow finally showed from the very bottom of the drainage and then the elk started to pop up all over. Our bull was spotted a hundred yards away from the cows, feeding on some tall grass. We moved our position to get a shot. It seemed like the bull could sense our intention and slowly fed up the opposite hill and then laid down. He shielded himself behind the only set of tree’s we couldn’t get a shot into. We decided to wait him out, as we knew he would have to get up to check on his large harem of cows soon. But too our disappointment, a storm was rolling in from the south, which made all the cows also bed up. With a black wall of rain coming our way, we decided to make something happen. We bugled aggressively to peek the bedded bull’s

Don told our team he never wins anything, when CEO Michael Deming called to inform him of his prize. This is a common response from Pro Membership winners. interest, in hopes he would get on his feet to offer a shot. Our plan was starting to work as the cows were starting to get up and move across the hill, away from the bedded bull. Shortly after the cows stood up, the bull rose up and moved towards his fleeing cows. Already set up and ready for the bull to clear for a shot, we bugled to get the bull to stop and look our direction. Don let his 7mm Mag rip and he hit the bull with a lethal shot. The bull ran twenty yards and stopped again in the open. Don quickly made another 300 yard shot and again hit his mark. The bull stumbled and fought his injuries for a few seconds. He soon staggered down the hill and collapsed. The success of our hunt filled the air with hi-fives and man-hugs. It never gets old seeing another Sportsman fulfill a lifelong dream and harvest his first trophy big game animal. Don Tubbs was brought back to his youth; you could see how excited he was as we approached his trophy elk. This hunt is a perfect example of why I love what

our Pro Membership Sweepstakes offers to the everyday Sportsman – A true chance for a hunt of a lifetime. J & J Outfitters is one of the primary outfitters we purchase hunts from for our Pro Membership Sweepstakes because they are truly one of the best outfitters in the business, hands down. They have been in business for nearly 25 years and consistently provide a high level of customer service on some of the best properties in the west. 2016 will offer some more great hunts with J&J through our Pro Membership Sweepstakes, which consists of a prime rut mule deer hunt and another elk hunt on this ranch where Don Tubbs made his lifelong dream come true. To become a Pro Member and get your chance to win this same trip of a lifetime, visit www.promembershipsweepstakes. com . If you want to just book your own hunt with J & J, contact them through our website and don’t forget that all Pro Members get 5% off on their hunts booked with Platinum Approved Outfitters.

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

2016 New Video Product Reviews

American Eagle Syntech Range Ammunition

merican Eagle Syntech is cooler, cleaner, safer handgun ammunition built for the 21st Century target shooter. Using a state-of-the-art polymer jacket that prevents metal-on-metal contact between the bullet and barrel, Syntech provides improved performance over traditional copper jacketed bullets while protecting your handgun investment. I don’t know about anyone else, but I hate the chore of cleaning

guns. That’s part of what hard to remove copper or makes Syntech so special. lead fouling. It all works The rounds use a special together to require much c l e a n - b u r n i n g p o w d e r, less cleaning. Shooting a n d t h e i r h o t , re l i a b l e , more and cleaning less— lead-free Catalyst primer all while extending the provides more complete life of my handgun—is a i g n i t i o n o f t h e p ro p e l - Scan this QR Code with your dream come true. phone to view the lant bed, further reducing smart Syntech also is safer. Sportsman’s News YouTube residue. And because no Channel. Video Available The soft lead inside the m e t a l c o m e s i n t o c o n - after March 8th. polymer coating, while tact with the lands and not frangible, does break grooves of the rifling, there is no up on impact with steel targets and causes less bullet fragment dispersion. Also, without a copper jacket, there is no danger of copper fragments bouncing back to hit the shooter or spectators. In testing, the total weight of Syntech fragments traveling between 5 and 15 yards of the target was 51 percent less than comparable FMJs. It also resulted in 91 percent less weight in fragments traveling more than 15 yards from the target. Because of a 12 percent reduction in friction in the barrel, the bore stays 14 percent cooler when shooting Syntech. In fact, after firing a full magazine, I was able to lay my

hand on the barrel of my 9mm Glock and found it only slightly warm to the touch. In addition to decreasing perceived recoil, this reduced friction and heat lessen barrel wear and will extend the life of your firearm. To top it all off, Syntech cartridges have a boxer primer pocket and feature reloadable Federal Premium brass. American Eagle Syntech: It’s available in 9mm Luger, 40 S&W, and 45 Auto. It will keep you shooting longer, reduces the frequency of cleaning, and lets you get the most life out of your firearm investment. Sounds like a winning combination to me.

to tackle different calibers. The and toughness. A tough nonhandle is very comfortable and abrasive epoxy coating suroffers a secure grip when pushrounds the spring steel rod to ing patches down the rifling’s. prevent metal to metal contact The handle is also chemical when servicing your firearm. resistant from solvents and will This coating is paramount at swivel for less resistance when the breech. Remember, scoring this QR Code with your the rifling’s are turning your Scan or scratching the entry to the smart phone to view the cleaning tip. Sportsman’s News YouTube breech can cause performance It is very important to have Channel. Video Available problems. after March 12th. the proper tools when cleanLyman offers a bore guide ing your firearm, having the to properly align your rod and correct size and diameter of your cleaning prevent hard contact from chamber to bore. rod. Too short of a rod obviously will not If you have never used a bore guide, I properly reach all of the inner surface to highly recommend that you pick one remove all of the fouling. Using too long of up and learn to use it. By using this rod on handgun’s can be difficult and you simple tool, you can add many years could lose some attention to detail fighting to your firearm and make many more the longer rod. Using a 22 caliber rod on successful shots for years to come. a much bigger caliber will cause flexing Lyman uses machine grade anodized in the rod, potentially scoring the rifling’s aluminum housings for the guide. The and possibly even breaking the rod. Lyman bore guide has a specially machined rods are made from spring steel for strength port to make applying solvent to an

attached cleaning patch easier and more effective than trying to insert a wet patch into the open end of the guide. Lyman has a 26-piece jag and brush set to compliment the rods. The tips come in an organized plastic storage container. The container is a must for keeping track of the tips. The tips cover calibers from .17 to .45 and have a standard 8-32 thread (the .17 cal uses a 5-40 thread count). Keep your firearm in tip top shape with Lyman’s Universal Cleaning System.

Lyman Universal Cleaning Rod System

n life, we typically want top performance from our vehicles for many safe and trouble free trips. You wouldn’t drive your car for months and years without having it serviced for oil and filters. Well, the same concept applies to our firearms. Although we use them less than our vehicles, proper maintenance should be applied every time. The fouling’s and powder residue can inhibit the performance over time and also help speed up corrosion. Every time we shoot our firearms, one should get in the habit of cleaning the parts effectively, so they are ready for the next time we drag them out of the gun safe. Lyman is one of the leading manufacturers when it comes to gun cleaning and maintenance. Their Universal Cleaning Rod System will encompass all calibers of rifles and handguns. I really like this system versus buying several different sized rods. The different rod lengths can easily be connected to the universal handle

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

2016 New Video Product Reviews

Nite Ize Three-in-One LED Flashlights

rand new for 2016 are three offerings from Nite Ize to keep you illuminated. The 3-in-1 series of lights provide exceptional brightness, are very lightweight, and will burn for hours on their included AA batteries. Each offers three lighting options and multiple modes of operation. The white light has two brightness settings, high and low. The focused beam and reflector provide exceptional bright white light from the single LED. Slide out the reflector housing, and the focused beam becomes a diffused lantern, providing 360 degrees of light. Lanyard holes on the base let you tie cord to the light for hanging so it can be used to light up your tent or campsite. The second button turns on a glowing circle of diffused red light in the base. One press of the button gives you a solid red light. A second press and the light flashes. The third press flashes Morse Code for

S.O.S. to signal for assistance. Each of the three lights is made with a machined aluminum body. The large and mini versions also feature a lockout tailcap that can prevent the light from accidental activation by rotating it a quarter turn. The full-sized flashlight features a maximum 250 lumen brightness and dims to 25 lumens. It measures 9.1-inches long by 1.6 inches in diameter and weighs a mere 9.1 ounces. It runs for 3 hours and 15 minutes on high and more than 18 hours on low on three AA batteries, which are included. It is available in either black or red bodies. The Mini Flashlight provides all of

the same features as its big brightness of 8 lumens. The brother in a more compact real difference is the glowsize. It has a max brightness stick-like wand in place of of 80 lumens and a dim mode the red safety light found on of 15. It is only 4.5-inches the other models. It comes in long by 1.2-inches in diamat 8.1-inches long by 1-inch eter and weighs in at only in diameter and weighs only 2.7 ounces. It runs for 2 hours Scan this QR Code with your 2.8 ounces. It runs for 1 hour on high and 9 hours and 25 smart phone to view the and 45 minutes on high and minutes on low on a single Sportsman's News YouTube 8 and a half hours on low on Channel. Video Available AA battery, which is also after March 20th. a single AA battery, which is included. It comes in black, included. It comes in black red, blue, or green bodies. and red bodies with red wands, blue The third light in the Nite Ize lineup body with a blue wand, and green body is the Flashstick. This wand has a 60 with a green wand. Check out the Nite lumen maximum brightness white Ize 3-in-1 LED Flashlights at your local LED bulb and lantern with a minimum Sportsman’s Warehouse store.

Leupold VX3i CDS Scopes

eupold makes some of the most rugged, dependable, and crystal clear optics on the planet. Their reputation is so strong that they proudly mark every one of their scopes with a gold ring for instant identification. They vigorously test and abuse their products to make sure they can withstand whatever real-world use you can put them to, and top that with a Gold Ring Full Lifetime Warranty that is transferable. The VX3i is a manifestation of that unparalleled commitment to quality. The VX3i is a completely reengineered design customized around the Leupold Twilight Max Light Management System. The Twilight Max Light Management System delivers the highest average light transmission in all colors with emphasis on the blue and red portions of the light spectrum for exceptional low light performance and contrast in all condi-

tions. It not only transmits light, but dial for your rifle and ammunimanages it for exceptional clarity under tion combination at no additional all lighting conditions without it getting charge. washed out. Easy turn adjustment dials make Second generation Argon/Krypton windage and elevation modificagas more effectively resists thermal tions easy without tools and even shock and the dual spring precision while wearing gloves. adjustment system ensures match grade The VX3i is available in a variety repeatability and strength. Diamond- of configurations from a 20MM obCoat2 external lens treatment prevents jective to a 50MM objective and in scratching and repels dust and dew for magnifications from 1.5X to 19.2X. even better optical imaging. It comes with the choice of either a The magnification adjustDuplex or BDC reticle. ment ring has been redeDependability, a firstsigned to give the user a in-class lifetime warquick view of their magnificaranty, exceptional optition setting without needing cal clarity, and made to take their eye away from in America means that these the scope. scopes will provide a lifeThe VX3i is also part of the Scan this QR Code with your time of value and become an Leupold Custom Dial System smart phone to view the heirloom to be handed down Sportsman’s News YouTube (CDS) and includes instruc- Channel. Video Available to young hunters for generations for ordering a custom after March 27th. tions.

So no matter what you call it, LEOPOLLED, or its proper name LEWPOLLED, the VX3i from LEUPOLD will out perform your expectations and the guys working the optics counter will know what you mean.

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

Outdoor Business Directory

ALASKA FISHING

HUNTING FISH continued from page 31

ALASKA FISHING

Sportsman’s Special

Premier oceanfront resort in Southeast Alaska. Enjoy fishing for Salmon, Halibut, Lingcod, Cutthroat, Steelhead, and Dolly Varden. Call for info or to secure reservations: 800-764-3918 ALASKA LODGING

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Daily weather conditions can also be considered in the same ways, yet here again they may affect the target species differently. For instance, bass are well known to be inactive directly following a a major cold front; those cold, calm, bluebird days following a front are brutal on bass anglers while deer will often take full advantage of the nice day to feed, and therefore will be more active. While the weather affects them oppositely, decisions based on the consideration of the weather ’s affect is what I’m talking about. Also, we can use wind to pattern deer locations in bedding cover in the same way that we can use current to pattern fish holding areas. Their reasoning for being in the chosen locations is different obviously, but the flowing liquid, whether it be water or air, is still

an excellent tool for the observant hunter or angler. Shade is another great tool; if I have a large canyon to glass looking for bedded deer, I’ll focus strongly on the areas of shade because, even when it’s cold, deer will choose to use the shade as extra cover. Well, if I’m faced with a bay full of docks to fish, it’s inefficient to fish it all so I’d concentrate on the shadiest parts knowing that fish also display the same gravitation to shade that deer do. Obviously there are a lot of differences between fish and game, but the fundamental basics of daily life as it relates to their environment is not one of them. Those that use the same decision factors, only applying them using the preferences of the target species, will be more consistently successful in the long haul whether catching fish or harvesting game. Hunting or fishing; either way it’s a thinkin’ man’s game to win!

4400 Spenard Rd., Anchorage, AK 99517 (800)-4PUFFIN - (907)-243-4044

www.PuffinInn.net

MIDWEST HUNTING

TAXIDERMY

This muley buck is using one of the author's favorite secondary points to target smallmouth bass.

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

Presents Wild Game Recipes of Steve Mayer "The Wine Guy"

ous- Vide, what is that? Well it might be the best method of cooking steak there is. Sous-vide (pronounced su vi: d) is French for “under vacuum”. It is a method for cooking food in airtight or vacuum-sealed plastic bags in a temperature regulated water bath at temperatures much lower than normal cooking techniques. You cook the food at precisely the temperature you want to finish at (say 129 degrees F for a rare steak). No part of the meat can over-cook, and the sealed bag keeps in all the juices and flavor that otherwise could be lost during the cooking process. Achieving the perfect doneness is as simple as getting the water temperature right. Perfectly cooked steak every time! A brief sear in a hot pan just prior to serving put a nice crust on and voila! You are turning out some of the best steak you will ever eat. There are a number of Sous-vide attachments and full blown commercial circulators available, but great results can be obtained using a well- insulated beverage cooler, a zip lock bag, and a digital food thermometer. This is not a new technique; high-end restaurants have been utilizing this method since the 70’s. I am really glad I tried this

Venison Steak Sous-Vide

method at the urging of a good friend a while back, and have really set the bar higher on “the perfect steak” using sous-vide.

Ingredients • • •

Venison Steaks Kosher or sea salt Fresh cracked pepper

Preparation Method

I used back straps for this recipe, but whatever steak you have and would like to cook perfectly, use. Cut these to a thickness of 1 ½ inch. Let the steaks sit out at room temperature for a half hour or so to get the chill out of the meat. Salt and pepper the steaks, including the edges, to taste. Place the meat in a quart zip-lock bag. You can put several smaller steaks in the same bag; just do not overlap the meat. Use separate bags for each larger steak. At this point you could add additional items such as fresh herbs or marinades, but keep your first time simple. Salt and pepper. Displace the air by slowly lowering the bagged steak

into a pot of water, letting the pressure of the water press air out of the top of the bag. Partially “zip” the bag and keep a hold of the top. Once most of the air is out of the bag, zip the rest of it just above the waterline, being careful not to get water in the bag. (It sounds more complicated than it is) Of course if you have a vacuum sealer, by all means use it instead. Most of the prep work is now done! Now to get the cooking medium, “water”, ready. Use a quality, well insulated beverage cooler. I found that a 20 can beverage cooler is perfect. You want it large enough that the steaks do not bring the water temperature down quickly. If all you have is a larger cooler, fine, you just have to heat more water. Half fill your cooler with hot water out of the tap. Heat some water in a large pot and using your digital food thermometer bring the water in the cooler to your desired cooking temperature. For venison I suggest the following temps and times, but there is a wealth of information on line for different cuts of meat and cooking times. I encourage you to do a little research and pick out a comfortable doneness for yourself. • Rare: 125 – 128 degrees F for 1-2 hours in water • Medium Rare: 129 – 133 degrees F for1-2 hours in water Get the water precisely the right temperature and add the bagged steaks. With the air removed from the bags they drift dreamily towards the bottom. You are cooking now baby! Check the water temperature after a few minutes and add some more hot water if the cool meat has lowered your temp. Cover the cooler and have a cold beverage, walk the dog, or take a nap for about an hour and a half. You could also prepare your side dishes, make a salad, and enjoy a glass or two of wine while your steak is perfectly cooking! I chose 129 degrees and 1 ½ hours for this recipe, and it was fantastic. You can leave the meat in the water longer (up to 4 hours) if you don’t wake from that nap, (or your guests are late). The meat can’t over-cook! Precise timing is not the issue, precise temperature is! Remove the steak from the bag, and pat them dry with a paper towel. You will immediately notice that they do not have any browning and look like the inside of a cooked roast, which in effect, they are. You can either sear them in a cast iron pan, or on a hot grill. Hey, why dirty a pan? Heat your grill just as hot as you can. Sear the meat from 30 second to a minute on each side, and you are done. You could add some melted butter, drizzle with a sauce, or just serve them straight up. Sous-vide is a unique way to ensure a perfect venison steak. I know this whole deal sounds weird, and my guests were skeptical to say the least, but I have tried this method with venison and beef steaks quite a few times with great success. Everyone marveled at the final results. Do yourself a favor and give it a try.

March 2016 | SPORTSMANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NEWS

Beretta Nano 9MM. By Dan Kidder Managing Editor

n the world of full caliber mini guns, the Nano, as its name implies, is one of the smallest and lightest out there. Weighing in at just 18 ounces, and only 5 inches long and less than an inch wide, this little stinger from Beretta, is easy to conceal. As we all know, weight compensates for recoil, and in our testing, the pistol had no problem with stiffer +P defensive loads, but stuttered a bit on lighter target loads. Keeping that in mind, the minuscule grip of the Nano left two fingers of my beefy mitts hanging in the air with the 6-round magazine. Using the additionally supplied extended magazine rectified this. And while we are discussing that extra magazine, the extended magazine will hold eight rounds and provides additional surface area for those dangling fingers. Because the Nano BU9 is slick-sided,

there is very little to snag, and a slim profile makes it easy to conceal in even lightweight summer garb. The rounded profiles prevent the gun from digging painfully into exposed skin where you may want to slide it into a waistband holster, such as the Remora. The Nano comes equipped with a two stage safety trigger that requires a hefty 9 pounds of pull, and combined with the tiny grip, makes it a challenge to hold sight picture for the time it takes to finish your trigger press. This is the trend for self-defense guns, so that you have to really mean to pull the trigger in order to make it go bang. By using the extended magazine and really focusing on my trigger press, I was able to achieve some good groups and with some more practice, I believe I could master the trigger. The standard three-dot sights are prominent enough to be useful, but demure enough to avoid being obtrusive. They are what you would expect from a gun of this diminutive size, but will

help you get the job done for minute-of-bad-guy shooting at about 25 feet. The striker fired Beretta Nano BU9 is a great choice for those with smaller hands who want to adopt a higher caliber round than the ineffective .380, but who arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t willing to sacrifice real estate on their body for a larger duty-style pistol. The polymer frame and advanced metal coatings make maintenance easy, even on hot humid days when you and your gun may be coated with a patina of perspiration. Take down is easy, and does not require pulling the trigger, thanks to the striker deactivator, which in my book is a major plus in the safety category. The ability to adjust or replace the sights with just a 1.3 mm Allen wrench is a real plus, as it negates the need for a gunsmith or a sight adjustment tool. All in all, the BU9 Nano is a quality

firearm for those looking to maximize quality and minimize weight and size. And the quality of the gun is incomparable, as you would expect from Beretta, the oldest existing firearms manufacturer in the world. Buy a Nano or a Pico from Sportsmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Warehouse during the months of March or April, and you will receive a $50 rebate in the form of a Visa gift card, so now is a great time to get your own Nano.

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS

March 2016 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS DIGITAL EDITION

Digital Edition Only Special Content

The Marshmallow Bear

any years ago, a now-nationallyknown wildlife photographer named Chuck Bartlett used to spend all his free time in the woods of Washington State hunting big game with his bow. However, after he took retirement in 1993 from the National Marine Fisheries, he hung up his bow for good and has done all his hunting ever since then only with a camera. Chuck was one of the founders of Washington State Bowhunters and it was in the early years of that organization that we met and became good friends. One of the great benefits to me of that friendship, which began more than thirty years ago, was that I was able to embrace Chuck as a mentor for learning how to “bait up” a black bear. Western Washington was — and still is — full of them. They

live in the dense pockets of vegetation in between the suburban housing and shopping mall developments. In parts of the state, the bear population may be almost as big as the deer population, but they are seen by people even less often than are the deer, due to their even more secretive nature. At least that used to be the case, before voters — via the ballot box — unwisely chose to outlaw baiting for bear, as well as using hounds for the hunting of them. These days, having lost much of their fear of man, many bears brazenly prowl the fringes of human habitation, looking for all manner of garbage and other table fare (like domestic livestock and pets) that can be quickly snatched and made off with. Sightings are much more common than they used to be in Washington and the same is true of cougars — for precisely the same reason: voters making wildlife management decisions at the polls, rather than leaving those decisions up to the game biologists and other wildlife professionals. For those of you readers who are nonhunters and who think baiting up a bear with meat scraps and day-old doughnuts sounds like a slam-dunk proposition, let me assure you that the process and the challenge are anything but easy. Bears are incredibly smart and no matter how smart you may think you are, they usually find a way to outsmart you. Persistence is your only key to success, while their stomachs are their Achilles’ heel that will occasionally allow your persistence to win a hard-earned victory. By the time I first met Chuck Bartlett, he

was already a master at the art of fooling bruins. Over a period of nine years, I believe he had already taken six black bear by means of the methods he promised to teach me. I was an eager pupil and for weeks on end in the spring and summer of 1983, the ongoing tutorial took place nearly every evening over the phone. My first task was to choose a likely bear area fairly close to home, so that I wouldn’t have to spend a lot of time driving back and forth. I selected the Pine Lake Plateau on the east side of Lake Sammamish: a semi-rural, semi-suburban area, due east of Seattle some six or seven miles, that still retained a few stands of big timber and some fairly sizable tracts of undeveloped land. What I needed to find on the Plateau was a specific locus, within heavy cover, that showed plenty of evidence it was currently being used by bears. I actually spent several weeks in June and July of that year scouting for just the right location to put up my tree-stand. The spot I finally settled on was the sidehill of a dense forest hollow that showed heavy bear-feeding activity — no more than a six-minute walk from a powerline road that I could easily access with my vehicle. Fresh claw marks high on an Alder tree-trunk, as well as several piles of fresh scat, had led me into what seemed like an ideal place to establish a bait. The location I chose was a big Hemlock tree, whose downward-spreading limbs provided plenty of shadows to help dampen or off-set a bear’s natural timidity and sense of caution. The nearby Winchell’s Doughnuts store had agreed to provide me at no cost with unlimited, day-old pastries right out of their dumpster and I was planning on suspending fifteen pounds at a time (as per Chuck’s instructions), inside a piece of commercial fish-netting, from a nail about eight feet above the base of the big Hemlock. That height would keep the coyotes from plundering the bait, but the bears — standing on their hind legs — would be tall enough to pull the netting down. Twelve yards directly up the slope from my bait-tree was a stout Alder that was to prove perfect for my tree-stand. Surrounding the hollow, whose bottom was so dense as to be almost impenetrable, was a well-used bridle trail that made a complete ring around it — connecting up at either end with the powerline road, where I always parked at one terminus.

The nearest house was no more than 200 yards from my customary parking spot. There was never any afternoon/evening when I was in my stand that I didn’t hear the sound of human voices not far away. I’m sure most of the local residents had no idea there were bears living so close at hand, although an observant eye would have spotted the occasional paw track in one of the muddy spots along the horse-trail. Chuck explained to me that, once I put my first bait up in the tree, I needed to keep checking on it every day or two until I finally found that it had been “hit” by a bear. Once “hit,” the bait needed to be replenished as close to daily as possible, so that the bear (or bears) might become accustomed to checking that location for food on a regular basis. Once they were used to finding a source of food they could count on most every time they came to visit, they would start hanging out nearby — waiting with great anticipation for the sounds of my next visit. Getting the bears “addicted” to my “feeding station,” however, was only half the battle. The tougher half of the overall challenge was to walk in to the bait tree, put up the fresh bait, climb up into my tree-stand and then convince them that I had managed to leave the area without their hearing me! If they come in to the bait under cover of night, that doesn’t do you any good at all. You have to fool them so completely that they will come in to feed while it’s still light enough for you to see and shoot! One way to fool them is to have a second person walk in with you, wait till you get settled up in your tree, then walk back out to the road --- making a fair amount of noise along the way. Of course, it isn’t often that such a good friend is available on call to provide such a helping hand (or foot). Bears do have incredibly good hearing and an even more incredible sense of smell. Their eyesight is their only real weakness, so they trust their eyes the least. They trust their nose the most and that is one excellent reason why it’s important for the hunter to be well off the ground and as high above the bait location as possible. Usually, then, your scent blows right over the top of an unsuspecting bruin. Within two days after I had hung my first Winchell’s Doughnut package under the boughs of the Hemlock tree, I got continued on page 50

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BAREBOW!

continued from page 48 my first “hit.” I found the fish netting on the ground, bear tracks everywhere and hardly a scrap of pastries left anywhere. Standing under that tree and trying to visualize for the first time the feeding frenzy that must have gone on there, under the impetus of claw and fang, caused the hair to rise on the back of my neck. It was a spectacle I dearly hoped to see in person, once the season opened on August 1st, but that date was several weeks away and my job was going to be one of simply keeping the bait “active” until it became legal to shoot the biggest of my pastry thieves. I kept finding one really good-sized track under the bait tree and I was hopeful he would exert his territorial imperative by keeping the smaller bears away from his “honey-hole.” With that thought in mind, as the season’s opening approached, I actually started cutting back on the quantity of various and sundry cinnamon rolls and jelly doughnuts I was delivering regularly to the bait-site. I really didn’t want to be feeding four

or five bears; one good male would be sufficient --- and a lot less work. My success, of course, would depend entirely on whether I could ever get him to “come in” while I was actually present on the scene. One week before the season-opener, as per Chuck’s instructions, I began servicing the bait-site every day, at the same time, as soon as I could get off work. I was reaching my tree shortly before 6pm and one evening — as I approached, slightly later than usual — I ran a bear off the bait. I didn’t get to see him, but I sure heard him leave. He was not quiet about it. After replenishing my bait, I decided to climb up into my tree-stand and see if he’d come back in before dark. No visitors showed up and I hiked out in the dark. Two nights later, I sat in my stand again — until dusk fell heavily upon the forest canopy above me. Again with no results. On the trek out, however, as I rounded a corner in the horse trail that gave me a 60-yard peek back through the woods at my bait location, I spied a large shadow moving toward the big Hemlock. “Damn, he’s smart!” I told myself. He had waited till he heard me leaving before going in on the bait. This was not going to be easy, I

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thought to myself, as I drove home that night. August 1st arrived — finally — and I invited my 13-year-old son, Bryant, to come sit in the tree with me for the evening. He was excited to take part in the adventure and he sat on the opposite side of the trunk from me, a few feet lower down, in a second stand I had put up a few days earlier with the help of Chuck Bartlett. It had been a Sunday morning and Chuck had also helped me “brush in” my blind by using a long cord to bend down some heavily-foliated Vine Maple branches to a position where they all but blocked out any view of ME, from the vantage point of any pastry-addict that might be indulging his sweet tooth at the base of the bait-tree. Because Bryant was already interested in hunting with a bow, I was thrilled to have him with me in the tree. My only worry was whether he would have sufficient self-discipline to be able to sit there for nearly three hours, without making any sounds that might be audible to a nearby bruin. His self-control really proved remarkable for his age and his dad was mightily impressed. Unfortunately, about 15 minutes before the planned end of our vigil, Bryant suddenly developed one of those rare, inexplicable coughing fits that just come out of nowhere for no rhyme or reason. He felt terrible about it and I felt terrible for him, but it did put an immediate end to our evening stand. Knowing the challenge I had set myself was tough enough already, without having a second person along, I didn’t bring my son back into the stand again that season. My wife, Jeanne and I were planning to leave on a big hunting trip at the end of the month — driving over into Wyoming for antelope and then down into New Mexico for elk. Consequently, I knew I didn’t have an open-ended timeframe for the taking of my first bear at my bait location. The bait was being hit every single day (or night?), but — whenever I could manage to spend an evening up in my tree-stand (which averaged about every other one) — nothing would ever come in while I was there. I started getting discouraged as August started drawing

to a close. My almost-nightly chats with Chuck on the phone were providing a bit of ongoing encouragement and counsel, but, by the time I called him in desperation after returning home empty-handed once again the night of August 29th, things were really coming down to cases, as they say. I told Chuck that, even if a bear did come in while I was still up in my treestand, I feared it would be so late and so dark that I’d have trouble even seeing it underneath the heavy boughs of the bait-tree. Fortunately, Chuck was able to give me two pieces of advice that night which proved pivotal to the success of my enterprise. First, he advised me to find a way to get off work early and get up into my stand at least an hour earlier than usual (after putting up the new bag of goodies, of course). Secondly, he told me to buy several bags of those fingernailsized marshmallows and spread them out evenly all over the ground — directly behind where I expected the bear to be feeding. This, he explained, would allow me (in extremely low light) to see the bear’s silhouette clearly and I would then be certain as to which end was his front end and which end was his back end. A “vital” distinction, indeed, if I was going to be able to put my arrow right through his vitals! The following day, August 30th, I did manage to leave work an hour-and- ahalf early. On the drive out to the Pine Lake Plateau, I stopped at a store for the marshmallows and by 5pm I was sitting in my comfortable tree-stand staring downhill at a field of marshmallows scattered all around, behind and underneath the big Hemlock. Trying something new and different was definitely a boost to my sagging morale. The evening proceeded to unfold, as per usual. In the distance, I could hear dogs barking and children playing. The

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horseback riders made their customary, evening ride around the loop that ringed my bear hollow. They passed within forty yards of my stand, oblivious to my presence. And still no bears seemed to want to come in for a meal, as long as I was up in that tree! “How could they be so doggone smart!?!” I kept asking myself. As usual, I was extremely careful not to make even the slightest sound that might be overheard by my intended quarry. The evening dragged on and eventually the longer and longer shadows started seriously darkening. So, too, did the sky — faster than normal — as some very black clouds began slowly to move in above me. There was not yet any wind at ground-level; in fact, the air did not seem to be moving at all. I sensed, however, that this was the calm before the approaching storm. I only hoped the rain would hold off until night had fully arrived. By 8pm, things were getting so dark under the canopy of the forest that I began thinking I should soon climb down and head out to the Blazer. Suddenly, without any warning or prologue, the impossible happened — right before my disbelieving eyeballs! Not even 15 yards away from the base of my Alder tree, a large black bear rose from a hidden bed amongst the tall ferns. I could not believe what I was seeing! He had obviously been there, practically underneath me, the entire time! Since at least prior to 4:45pm, anyway! The ferns had hidden him completely and he had not moved a muscle or made a sound. Yet I hadn’t made one either and I guess he finally figured it was safe for him to get up and go have another din-din. As I watched him stretch before heading down the hill, I had the feeling he was probably a male and the bear that had been leaving the large tracks under the bait-tree. Even now, he approached the bait very cautiously — making a complete circle around it before moving in and finally standing up on his hind legs to tear down my pastry-filled piñata. He wasted no time in scarfing up the booty. I was just glad he hadn’t gone to work on the marshmallows first. Without their presence, I’m sure I would not have been able to distinguish his front end from his hind end. Discerning a black form against a black backdrop is impossible. About the same, actually, as trying to spot a white Dall sheep or Rocky Mountain goat in a blizzard whiteout. With darkness falling apace, it was now or never. The bruin’s profile was broadside to me, so I took aim at the

bulkier front half of the body and slowly began to draw back on my 70# compound bow. Having hardly moved a muscle in over three hours, I found to my astonishment that it was all I could do to get the wheels turned over. Digging deeper for adrenaline and energy, I finally managed it, however and at last the arrow was on its way! It flew to its target sight-unseen, but the sound of a solid hit greeted my ears — followed instantly by a loud roar and then the noise of a heavy body crashing through thick brush. Within 30 seconds, all was silent again. Deadly silent, I hoped! Though I had been unable to see where the arrow struck my quarry, I had a really good feeling about the shot. I stayed up in my tree, listening intently for another 15 minutes, but heard nothing further. As the first raindrops began to fall, I scampered down to the ground, found my flashlight in my knapsack and headed immediately for the field of now-invisible marshmallows. They had served their purpose well. Lying on the ground in two pieces, just a few feet beyond the bait-tree, was my arrow. Both halves were red from one end to the other and I concluded that it must have passed completely through the bear’s rib cage, somewhere. I wasn’t about to go looking for that bear by myself in the dark, but my taxidermist and good friend, Buzzi Cook, had told me at the start of the season that — if I ever needed help in recovering a bear — not to hesitate giving him a call. By the time I reached my vehicle (the nearest thing to a raincoat I had), it was raining pretty steadily and by the time I got to a phone in the town of Redmond, the skies had opened up in a downpour. Buzzi — bless his heart — told me he’d meet me at a nearby gas station in 45 minutes and he would bring some big lanterns, an extra rain parka for me — and a firearm, just in case. I was really worried about the blood trail being washed out by all the rain, but I still had a feeling we would eventually find my bear. We reached the bait-tree by 9:30pm and — for the next hour-and-a-half — crawled around through the dense brush in the bottom of the hollow on our hands and knees. We could not find any blood sign anywhere. With the rain still coming down hard at 11 o’clock, a most eerie, unearthly sound reached our ears. It was almost like a baby softly crying and it seemed very close by. We only heard it over a period of 7 or 8 seconds, but we

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were on our bellies at the time, slithering through the dense underbrush and the sound quite spooked us both. If that was my wounded bear close at hand, still alive three hours later, then we wanted nothing more to do with him in the dead of night. We withdrew from the scene as quickly as possible. If, indeed, that was my bear we’d heard, then my arrow must have struck him high and only passed through the far lung, not both. Late the next morning, with good weather having returned, I came back to the area with Bryant to resume the search. As we left the Blazer and started in on the bridle path, a bear spooked from just inside the fringe of heavy cover, right alongside the trail. I knew it couldn’t be the bear I’d arrowed the night before, but its presence so close to my bait-site made me wonder just how many bruins had actually been feeding there over the previous seven weeks. Although it took several more hours of looking, with Chuck Bartlett coming out to help in the search, we finally did find my “marshmallow bear.” He had actually made his way through the bottom of the hollow, crossed the horse path on the other side and expired part way down a little draw, perhaps 60 yards beyond the trail. All in all, he might have traveled 150 yards. Had the arrow not passed over the top of the near lung before striking the second, I know now (from other bears I’ve taken) that he would never have made it beyond about 75 yards. The angle of the shot had been perhaps too steeply downhill. Double-lung shots are always fatal and always very rapidly so. What Buzzi and I had heard the night of August 30th in “Sleepy Hollow” was the bear’s death rattle, just as he expired. A very common phenomenon with bears, I’ve come to learn, whenever they happen to “give up the ghost.” It is an unnerving sound, to be sure, because it sounds deceptively like the muted bawling of a

human baby some distance away — unless, of course, the rain is coming down hard all around you. In that situation, you have no way of judging the distance to the source of the sound. My next successful hunt for black bear was to take place many years later in northern B.C., where I would hear the same weird sound once again — but in dry weather and very different circumstances. The BAREBOW! Sagas – Adventure and Misadventure in the Wilds of North America Dennis Dunn doesn’t just tell hunting stories; he shares his dreams, his victories, his disappointments, his wisdom and he teaches from his knowledge and experience. The BAREBOW! Sagas will not only acquaint you with the sweet taste of success and the bitter agony of defeat; they will convince you that well-regulated hunting sustains the use of wildlife and gives the animals increased value to justify their conservation and preservation. In this series, Dennis takes you along on his quest for the North American Big Game 29 Super Slam. A bow, a string, an arrow – no trigger, no peep-sights, no pins – just fingers, guts and instinct. That’s hunting BAREBOW! To learn more about Dunn’s awardwinning book (from which the above story was taken), or to order a copy of BAREBOW!, you may visit the author’s website at: www. barebows.com.

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Pushing It

By Peter E. Popieniuck “

can’t climb that. It’s too steep. It’s too far. I’m too old. I’m too out of shape. The rocks are too big. But what if I try? Well, maybe I can. Let’s go!” Those thoughts that ran through my head on the second day of caribou hunting during my last visit to Leaf River, Quebec. Upon arrival at camp, I’d told my guide, Papou, that while I might not move fast, I could go all day. I didn’t think he’d take my bit of bravado so literally. On the first day, Papou, my hunting partner Curtis, and I headed upriver by jet-drive boat and stationed ourselves on a rise to glass for animals. We didn’t see any, so after a couple hours we moved by water to another spot. After again sitting for a while, Papou suggested we move once more, this time by land. Despite the long walk, we saw few animals that first day—just a few caribou cows. For my own part, I surprised myself. I’d expected to take it easy the first day, stay close to the river, and not do much walking. Instead, I’d covered several miles of rocky tundra and, although my legs were a bit sore, it was that good kind of pain that lets you know you’re capable of doing more. On day two, once again we were seeing just a few caribou cows. We hiked inland a mile or two from the river and were glassing the slopes when Papou announced that there were several caribou bedded on a high slope and that there might be a bull in the group. Curtis and I looked wide-eyed at one another. The bedding area was probably a mile and a half distant and several hundred feet higher in elevation. In addition, the only route up was through several fields of boulders, most of which were the size of SUVs. Both Curtis and I said “no way” to one another. But then I started to wonder, what if a nice caribou bull was with those cows. There was only one way to find out. With Curtis opting to wait at our current location, Papou and I set out. I did take a couple precautions first. I asked how long it might take us to reach the animals. Papou said a half hour so I doubled that. I also arranged a silent hand signal with Papou. When I held up two fingers it meant I needed a two-minute rest to slow my breathing and heart rate.

The climb was probably the most ground and at least a mile and a half demanding I’ve tried in more than a of travel back to the boat. We joked decade. About an hour after setting with Papou that since he was 23 years out we reached the bedding area. No old and Curtis and my combined ages caribou. Papou climbed a bit farther totaled to 140 years, naturally he would and spotted the group of animals be- be carrying most of the load to the boat. low a small ridge. As he returned to Curtis and I made one trip back to the tell me this, the caribou approached river while Papou made two carrying closer and I noted they were all cows. I the meat. The older I get, the more I apwould have gladly taken one of them, preciate the exuberance of youth. but they turned and found a safe route Day four left me having one more aniaway from our position. mal to take. Curtis was a bit under the Papou and I returned to Curtis’ weather and decided to stay in camp. downhill location and trudged back Papou and I headed upriver to the same to the boat. Two days of hunting had area where we’d taken the cows the day yielded no caribou and quite a bit of before. I told Papou that I’d be happy mileage under our boots. Strangely, I with another cow or a small bull. Fate felt stronger than ever. We covered more and Papou had other plans. ground on day two than on day one. When we topped the rise where we Perhaps I’d been underestimating my expected we might see caribou, two level of fitness. other hunters and their guide were there On day three Curtis and I decided that before us in an area where they were not if we saw a decent cow caribou we’d supposed to be. To make matters more take it, thus ensuring we’d at least go complicated, several nice caribou bulls home with meat for the freezer. Both were rapidly approaching. Papou took Curtis and I each have several other charge and got the other two hunters in caribou mounts and didn’t need yet position for shots and then motioned for another. Once again we headed upriver me to join them. The plan was for them and hoofed it a mile or so inland. Even- to shoot first, then me. tually we spotted a group of cows heading our way and awaited their approach. Curtis took the first shot and all the animals remained standing. Thinking he missed, Curtis took a second shot and a cow went down. I took a shot and watched as another cow crumpled. I asked Papou if I should take another shot and he told me to wait. It turned out that Curtis had not missed on his first shot. He had taken two cows and his hunt was now over. My cow meant that there were three The author with his Quebec caribou. animals on the

Sportsman’s News Outdoor Writing Contest Winner See pg. 4 for entry details.

There were two nice bulls in the lead and another respectable one at the rear of the small herd. One of the other hunters fired at the lead bull and it went down. I made the assumption the second hunter would take the next bull in line so I focused on the one at the rear. I waited until the second of the other hunters shot and then, about five seconds later, took my shot at bull number three. As it turned out, the second hunter had passed on bull number two and instead shot at bull number three, my animal. His shot was a killing shot, but the caribou had not gone down immediately so the animal was his. Papou helped their guide with the field-dressing chores and then he and I assessed my situation. We agreed that we’d head to a far ridge where we’d seen a lot of caribou the day before and hope for the best. We didn’t have to hope for long.

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Almost immediately we saw several cows and a young bull. Once again I told Papou that I’d be happy with any of them. No response.

Over the four days of the hunt thus far, I’d learned that Papou was a man of few words. While we waited on that ridge, he asked me if I’d seen any

Curtis; Papou, our guide; and Pete, the author.

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caribou with my binoculars. I said I’d seen a few and he replied that he’d seen two or three hundred on a far distant skyline. That was definitely way beyond walking range, but would still have provided a small adrenalin boost. Papou seemed to have other ideas on what we were to do. We kept traveling farther away from the river. I kept telling myself that with every step we took, we had to cross all that distance again to get back to our boat. Eventually we spotted a lake that had several caribou on its opposite shore, though they did seem to be slowly angling somewhat towards us. Papou didn’t ask if I thought I could make it the couple miles to the far side of the lake. He just headed out that way with me in tow and across another tundra rock garden. While Papou was able to pretty much hop from one rock to another, I had to be much more conscious of my footsteps. Sixty-six year-old bones are a lot more brittle than those only twentythree years old. The rock garden was about a mile across and every stone was covered in slippery wet lichen.

In addition, many of the rocks were precariously balanced on top of others, having been haphazardly deposited there thousands of years ago by receding glaciers. After successfully negotiating the rock garden, we reached a small group of stunted spruce trees and waited while a group of caribou approached. There were three nice bulls and the lead animal was the best of the bunch. At 80 yards I propped my rifle on Papou’s pack frame and took the shot. Down went the caribou and, as it turned out, he was a nicer bull than either of the two that the other hunters had taken earlier in the day. I believe Papou planned it that way. At the beginning of the hunt I’d been apprehensive of my ability to walk any significant distance. But each day, by pushing my limits, I covered more ground, and tougher terrain at that, than the previous day. Taking that final long hike back to the boat seemed a breeze. Maybe there’s more life left in the old bones than I give myself credit for. Thanks, Papou, for helping me realize this. I trust my tip was a good one.

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