Hunting and Fishing News Blog Articles

Leave No Trace: An empty cartridge marks a go-to hunting spot. (John Hafner/)

I have no doubt that the first caveman to have another hunter show up at his hunting grounds five minutes before spearing light, shared the same disdain that modern hunters hold for the competition today.

And while there are plenty of reasons to share a hunting spot (we want to recruit more hunters, and hunting is usually more fun with a buddy), there are also some good reasons to keep certain spots secret. It can take years to build up a good portfolio of good hunting spots. It takes only one day to burn one.

Types of Hunting Spots

New hunters often don’t comprehend or appreciate the ethical complexities of the hunting spot subject (it is, after all, an ethically murky one) and those folks are more likely to commit one of many potential blunders. Experienced hunters are prone to these same violations, but when they’re guilty, it’s often out of greed, not ignorance.

So, I’ll do my best to break down both the hierarchy of hunting spots according to their respective levels of secrecy, as well as provide some examples of gross misconduct around hunting spot edict. Keep in mind that these guidelines vary by region and species, so proceed accordingly. First, let’s consider the hierarchy of hunting spots. By this, I mean that every hunter has a list of spots that rank according to the perceived quality of said spot, as well as the difficulty they endured to secure each spot. I’ll start with the least protected first and move up to the most guarded.

The QuietKat Warrior 1000 Electric Bike can run for 20 miles unassisted (no pedaling) at a speed of 19 mph. (Amazon/)

Hunters and anglers need access. If we cannot step into a trout stream or set foot in habitat, our sports will not survive.

So that's what makes the emerging technology of e-bikes (essentially souped-up mountain bikes with electric motors) so tantalizing. They are wonderful tools that can get you where you want to go – and maybe even give you an edge on the other guy trying to get there.

So what’s the fuss? The Department of Interior just opened up more trails to e-bikes. This has led some hunters and anglers to ask, is this too much of a good thing?

Access is a double-edged sword. Too much access and even the best habitat will soon lose its effectiveness for hosting fish and game. After all, one thing all wildlife requires from its habitat is security from predators. And today, those predators include people.

First, let’s praise the e-bike. It’s quiet. It’s efficient. It’s light and highly mobile. It doesn’t produce fumes like an internal combustion engine. It’s less expensive and more intuitive than a standard dirt-bike or ATV.

With a little sweat equity, you can keep your truck bed looking like new for a fraction of what you’d pay a body shop to do it. (Bedrug/)

A bed liner is the easiest way to protect the most abused part of any pick-up truck. Both factory and aftermarket liners are expensive, but fortunately there is another way to shield your truck’s cargo space from the inevitable dings and scratches. DIY bed liners are available in a variety of systems, all within the abilities and budget of any do-it-yourselfer. Here are a few approaches to consider.

Spray Liners

With a little patience, a spray-on product can give you a factory finish for a fraction of the cost. Just remember the prep work of cleaning and sanding is critical to a good bond, and you must wear protective clothing, eyewear, and a respirator when handling these products. Several light coats are better than one heavy coat.

Roll-On Liners

A roll-on bed liner is a little easier to control than the spray variety and can be applied to almost any surface. So, one advantage of having it in a gallon can rather than as a pressurized delivery system is the long shelf life of a product you can use down the road for other projects.

Truck storage boxes are available in dozens of configurations and sizes. (Undercover/)

If you are looking for a way to organize everything from hunting boots to camping equipment, tools, fishing gear, and more, you can hardly go wrong with a standard truck toolbox. Tradesmen know them as the carry-all box that keeps their tools handy when they need them and secure when they don’t. They’ll do the same thing for sportsmen. Here are a few types to consider.

Side-Swing Boxes

If you only need a bit of storage space and don't want to sacrifice bed length, a side-mounted, lockable tool chest is the perfect solution. They swing forward on a hinge for access and then fold securely out of the way when not in use. They do, however, require tapping into your truck bed for mounting, so be sure this style is right for you before breaking out the drill.

Saddle Boxes

A traditional saddle box offers the most convenience and room of just about any truck box configuration. The downsides are that you will be giving up a bit of bed space, as well as the ability to mount a topper shell on the bed. But if you want a roomy and sturdy option, this is probably the most popular box style available.

The author with a solid muley buck he took with a Mossberg Patriot chambered in 7mm Rem. (Ron Spomer/)

Let’s admit this: you can kill the biggest mule deer buck with any rifle cartridge, even a .22 Short. But mule deer hunters don’t want to hunt with a .22 rimfire. They’re looking for the most effective mule deer cartridge on the market. It’s obviously not the .22 Short, but what is it?

Stir the fire at a western deer camp and you’re liable to spark votes for everything from the .300 Weatherby Magnum to the .22-250 Remington. But if I had to lay money next to the coals, I’d risk it all on three cartridges: .270 Winchester, 7mm Remington Magnum, and .300 Winchester Magnum.

Why these three instead of, say, .280 Remington, .28 Nosler, and .300 Remington Ultra Magnum? Popularity and longevity. Certainly many newer cartridges can scribe a better ballistic profile than each of these three, but this triumvirate has been consistently putting meat on poles and antlers on barn doors for a combined 205 years. Let’s investigate each and see if we can figure out why.

.270 Winchester

This zippy little round didn’t set the world on fire when it hit the fields in 1925, but within a few years it was scorching game fields around the world. It’s nothing more elaborate than the .30-06 Springfield case necked down to hold a .277-inch diameter bullet. Ah, but what a difference a little necking makes.

A hunter dropped this whitetail with a single-shot .45/70 Gov't. (Courtesy of Brad Fitzpatrick/)

Throughout the Midwest and other parts of the country, deer hunters are swapping their slug guns and muzzleloaders for rifles chambered in straight-wall cartridges thanks to changes in legislation that make these rounds legal to use. For decades, states such as Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan prohibited the use of traditional bottleneck centerfire cartridges for deer, citing safety concerns in areas with high human-population densities. But the limited range of straight-wall cartridges makes them ideal for these places.

Cartridge Options

On the low end of the straight-wall power spectrum are pistol cartridges. That list includes the .357 Magnum and .44 Remington Magnum. Most pistol-caliber rifles are lever actions like the Marlin 1894 and Winchester 1892, but there are other choices: Ruger offers its light, handy 77/357 and 77/44 bolt guns chambered for these rounds, and there are semi-auto and single-shot options as well. The .357 and .44 Magnums are inexpensive to shoot and produce mild recoil, but their effective range is limited. Larger pistol calibers such as the .454 Casull, .460 S&W; Magnum, .480 Ruger, and .500 S&W; Magnum offer a straight-wall profile with more punch and a flatter trajectory than the .44 Magnum (some border .45/70 Gov’t ballistics) and are an ideal choice for deer-size game at moderate ranges.

The .444 Marlin, .450 Marlin, and .45/70 are rimmed straight-wall rifle cartridges that are most commonly chambered in lever guns such as the Winchester 1886 and Marlin 1895, though there are single-shot options like the Ruger No. 1 and Winchester’s 1885. As the chart below shows, these rifles shoot flatter and hit harder than pistol-caliber straight-wall cartridges. Also, their relatively slow bullets minimize meat damage.

Ballistically, the .450 Bushmaster is close to the .45/70 in terms of velocity, trajectory, and energy, and there are many affordable rifles in both bolt-gun and semi-auto configurations. As long as you keep your shots to a reasonable distance, the .450 Bushmaster provides plenty of wallop for really big animals such as elk, but like the other straight-wall .44/.45 rifle cartridges, it produces significant recoil. The .450 Bushmaster is legal in most straight-wall-only states.

State school trust lands weren't intended to allow public hunting access, but that may be changing. (John Hafner/)

The way Dan Harrison sees it, the “Keep It Public” movement gets it doubly wrong when it comes to state school sections.

First, school trust lands aren’t public, he says, in the same way that federal Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management lands are. Second, the rising interest in public accessibility to these lands is relatively new, and contrary to the origin and purpose of this class of property, which cover some 43 million acres across the Western states.

As you might imagine, given the passion that public-lands advocates pour into voicing their interest in gaining, improving, and perpetuating access to public lands, Harrison’s opinion is heresy.

But Harrison, a big-game outfitter who lives and operates in western Colorado, says both history and on-the-ground consequence of these lands resist the “Keep It Public” rallying cry.

“These are not now, nor were they ever, established as publicly accessible lands,” says Harrison. “They were intended as a savings account for the states to fund schools and public education. The main purpose of the state trust lands is to generate revenue for the state, not to give hunters additional places to hunt.”

Trim a mat to match the shape of the floor space to protect as much of your vehicle as possible. (Motor Trend/)

Factory floor mats are one of the first things to wear out on a well-used hunting truck or SUV. Allowing the floors to go unprotected can mean expensive carpet replacement, or even allow rust in the floorboard. But it’s not always easy to find heavy-duty mats to fit the older vehicles we tend to beat up in the woods. Solve the problem with a simple pair of trimmable floor mats that will fit almost anything you drive.

Resilient

Even many high-end trucks come standard with some sort of carpet floor liner. That's just not enough to withstand the abuse of a hunting and fishing lifestyle. Flexible, heavy duty rubber floor mats with a trimmable no-slip surface are perfect for any vehicle pressed into service by sportsmen.

Trimmable

Trimmable mats allow you to easily custom fit the contours of your vehicle, no matter what you drive. All it takes is a pair of scissors and a little patience to get a factory fit every time.

If you don’t have a truck or trailer, a roof-mounted rack is the safest way to haul your kayak or canoe. (Thule/)

Sometimes, getting a new toy for the outdoors also means investing in a way to carry it. This is especially true of canoes, kayaks, and SUPs, which are usually hauled via car or truck rack. If you already have the bars and roof mounts but need a rack specifically designed to haul such a vessel, here are a few configurations that will work for almost any paddle craft.

J-Racks

The J-style rack is particularly well suited for kayak transport. Available in either a one-piece or folding design, they cradle the hull firmly and securely, requiring minimal straps and tie-outs. One-piece J racks are inherently sturdy but less adaptable to hull shape and size. Fold-down versions are more flexible with regard to hull compatibility and allow you to position the vessel for maximum aerodynamic efficiency and noise reduction. But they do have moving parts that may have a little more play under load and can wear out over time.

Center Post Racks

A rack with an adjustable center post is about the most versatile way to car top your yak or SUP. Fold flat to car-top a single vessel, recline one way or the other as a J-rack, or rig two SUPS on the edge with the post in the upright position.

Pals. The author's bull, a magnificent public-land OTC 6x6, was the group's second bull in less than 24 hours. (Adam Amick/)

The mission was a Colorado/Wyoming public-land archery elk hunt with over-the-counter tags. There were three of us — two with Colorado tags and one with a stamp from the Cowboy state. Hunting on Colorado’s northcentral border was our best option, since it would cut down on drive time between states and give us more time in the field. The planning was done. Now it was time to execute.

Start on Proven Ground

By the time our Colorado camp was set on Friday, Sept. 10, it was 5:30 p.m and temperatures hovered in the upper 60s as mountain thermals were dragging cooling air down. We didn’t pack in deep like many other hunters do. Our method was to camp off main roads and dive into pockets that required a strenuous uphill climb or downhill scramble.

The first spot we’d has proven itself over the years. Once you learn an area and string together some hot spots, those spots should be revisited. My hunting partner, Royle, was up to bat first. I would be running the camera and working the Heads-Up elk decoy, and the elk maestro, J.C. Navarro, would be handling the calling duties. We love having a decoy out and ready. We hunt aggressively, and if a bull happens to pick us off on his approach, an-already-deployed-decoy will calm his nerves.

That first evening was quiet. We didn’t hear a bugle and the fresh sign of cattle along with horse tracks told us a recent roundup had taken place. Human pressure of any kind will move elk.

A wild north-­country buck emerges from the timber in Wisconsin. (Linda Freshwaters Arndt/)

Our deer-hunting culture is changing. A whole generation that has grown up with trail cameras, food plots, and hunting television shows is after much more than a giant buck this fall (though we’ll shoot one if we get the chance).

If you listen to the real experts and leaders in the whitetail world, they’re talking not just about how to kill a Booner in a plot of brassicas, they’re talking about having more fun during deer season, the importance of getting new folks into hunting, and promoting wild, free-range whitetail deer as a public resource.

We welcome these advances with open arms, but if our new whitetail-hunting culture is going to flourish, there first needs to be a reckoning. We’ve got to talk honestly about what’s working and what needs to be fixed.

Then we’ve got to turn that discussion into real action in the field. But here’s the best part: We get to accomplish this mission by doing the thing we love—hunting deer. —A.R.

It's Up to Private Landowners to Save Deer Hunting

Modern electric coolers require little power to operate. (Dometic/)

While electric coolers have been around for quite some time, modern versions have truly arrived as a legitimate alternative to ice coolers. They are still quite expensive, but so are today’s high-end ice chests. When you are shopping around for your next cooler investment, here are a few reasons to consider going electric.

No Ice Needed

Obviously, the biggest advantage to an electric cooler is that you do not need ice. There's no running into town when the last cubes start to melt, no water puddling in the bottom to turn sandwiches soggy or hard-earned venison into ugly gray matter. No ice also means more room for beverages and whatever else you need to keep cool in the space normally occupied by something that will only melt away.

Easy to Power

Electric coolers are powered by a variety of sources, from 110/240-volt AC home or generator circuits to 12/24-volt DC systems from the car or truck, and even built-in solar units. Electric coolers have come into their own under regular use by overland enthusiasts, van-life nomads, coastal cruisers, and anyone else who stays on the road or on the water longer than they do in a house.

Bergara’s own Rick Taylor brought home the bacon in Tennessee with his B-14 HMR, chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor. (Bergara/)

You might have heard that we have a major feral hog problem here in Texas. Overall damage is estimated at more than $400 million per year and our estimated 3 million hogs, according to some reports, make up as much as 50 percent of the nation’s feral hog population. We hate the problems swine create, but sure love hunting them—and we do it all day, all night, all year long. Of course, we also don’t go half-cocked and under-gunned. Check out this short list of pig rigs well worth your field time.

Remington 700 ADL Synthetic .308 Winchester

For more than 57 years, the Remington 700 has been a staple for American hunters and continues in popularity in every corner of the globe. Back then it was billed as the strongest bolt-action on the market and it’s still the premier action platform for a variety of precision match-grade rifles chambered in an array of calibers; of course, it’s hard to argue against the simplicity of the exceedingly popular Remington 700 ADL, and with a synthetic stock, it’s perfect for gritty hog-hunting, bolt-gun action.

The Remington 700 ADL Synthetic ranks among the company’s more affordable options, making this pig rig even more appealing for those looking for the perfect upgradeable system. Remington’s Model 700 ADL Synthetic features a sleek, textured, synthetic, matte-black stock; matte-blue, carbon-steel, 24-inch, threaded barrel with 1:10 twist; matte-black, drilled and tapped Remington 700 action with integral extractor; curved, single-stage trigger and two-position safety.

The Remington 700, especially in short-action calibers like .308, are not only great for hog hunting, the action itself makes it the perfect pig rig option for drop-in chassis and other top-shelf customizations. What does that mean? Put simply, a Remington 700 can easily become the bolt-action pig rig of your dreams; in fact, the heart of the famed Remington 700 is the most widely used action in match-grade, long-range, precision rifle builds. I personally have built four long-range match-style rifles on McRees Precision chassis with Remington 700 actions, and yes, I have hunted hogs with them, too.

A good seat cover can make your drive more comfortable and prevent stains, scratches, or tears. (Realtree/)

A truck’s interior is one of the most abused yet least protected areas of any hunting or fishing vehicle. Before all those road trips and random insults begin to take their toll on upholstery, stitching, and cushions, investing in a simple seat cover can add mileage to the place you spend most of your time on the road. Here’s where they can help.

Style Points

Camo truck covers aren't going to help you one bit in the field, but there is something to be said for looking the part and letting everyone know you are always ready to go. Bear in mind that some covers only work with detachable headrests, so know your vehicle before shopping.

Bucket or Bench Seats

Seat covers are not limited to bucket seats. If you have a crew-cab truck with a bench seat in the back, or just want to protect the family car, a set of universal seat covers for both bucket and bench sets will cover just about any rig.

Whether you’re a hunter, angler, shoot, camper, or just someone who enjoys spending time away from the trailhead, your gear can make or break a trip. We know you want to buy the best gear you can afford, which is why we created Bargain Hunter. Our team is working directly with some of the best outdoor brands in the business to bring you good deals and discount promotions—including some exclusive offers you won’t find anywhere else. We hope this helps you get the gear you want without breaking the bank.

Bookmark this page in your browser and check back every week to see a new list of discounted gear. Here are the deals for the week of September 29 through October 6, 2019.

Greenbelly—An Outdoor LIfe Exclusive

Rumpl

Fireside Outdoor

Getting a dog to recognize their duties and obey commands in the field is not an easy task. (Mitchell Orr/Unsplash/)

Training any dog is hard work. It takes time, patience, and a lot of “atta boys” to get the right results. But there are plenty of tools to help along the way. Here are three that are commonly used to teach everything from “sit” and “come” to “fetch” and “drop.”

Bumpers

Bumpers are the essential tool of retriever training, generally available in either canvas or plastic. While canvas is used primarily on land, a plastic bumper can be used on land or water because it floats. Most have ridges or knobs, making it easier for the dog to hold onto and avoid developing a hard mouth.

Training Dummies

When it's time to move on to more realistic work, consider a training dummy. They mimic the shape, weight, and feel of a game bird and are a logical transition between bumper training, real birds, and the field.

Blisters are common, but with a few preventive measures, you can avoid them altogether. (Will Truettner/Unsplash/)

Blisters can stop a hunt in its tracks. Whether on your own feet or those of a partner, a simple hot spot can quickly turn into a debilitating injury that takes days to heal. No medical kit should be without some sort of blister treatment, and there are at least a couple of things you can do to minimize the possibility of being derailed by unexpected abrasions.

Tape Blister-Prone Areas

The pads of toes, back of heels, and balls of your feet are all high-friction points prone to blisters. If you know you are susceptible, don't wait for the dreaded hot spots and saggy, baggy skin to emerge. Cover vulnerable areas with standard medical tape before hitting the trail. It works wonders to prevent blisters from developing in the first place.

Wear a Liner sock

A simple liner sock wicks moisture away from your skin while also providing a barrier between your feet and the coarse fabric of thermal socks. If you have a problem with blisters, try a pair of silk or synthetic liners on a weekend hike first before committing to wearing them on a multi-day hunt.

If you found yourself in a tough spot in the wild, imagine how comforting it would be to have some tasty food set aside (for both calories and morale). Even though you could last for many weeks without food—provided you have met your shelter and water needs—in a survival setting, you can never overestimate the power of food.

Coming from a culture that eats three big meals a day, plus snacks, few of us would fare well in an emergency without food. We don’t have to find out how hard that would be either. By squirreling away some meals and snacks, there’s no need to see how far you can go before your buddy starts looking delicious.

What Do We Really Need?

If it just came down to raw calories, a bucket of white sugar would do the trick as survival food (since a pound of granulated sugar provides 1,540 calories and lasts indefinitely). Sure, this tooth-rotting sweetness would provide quick energy, but what we really need is a blend of protein, fat, and carbs—giving us enough calories to do the workload that survival throws our way. There are many foods that can fit these criteria, but there are a few extra requirements that I like “survival chow” to have. To make the cut in my book, survival food should have:

9. Trail Mix

While there are big differences among the (left to right) .308 Win., .300 Win. Mag., and .338 Win. Mag., they all kill elk quite handily. (Ron Spomer/)

While a few hunters insist that they know the best cartridge for elk hunting, most of us are still searching.

The problem seems to be that we discard any rifle/cartridge that fails to anchor the last elk we shot at, bang flop, dead right there. This is the wrong approach. As veteran elk hunters and guides can tell you, not every 500- to 800-pound elk responds to invasive projectiles the same way. One falls dead from a puny 100-grain bullet fired from a .243 Winchester while the next absorbs three 180-grain bombs from a .300 magnum before collapsing.

Variable response to impact—regardless of caliber and energy level—is what keeps us searching for the holy grail of elk cartridges. Wise hunters leaven this search with the knowledge that bullet construction plays a major roll in this and that no shoulder-fired rifle/cartridge/bullet is guaranteed to knockout any elk unless you strike the central nervous system. Do that, and even a .22-250 Remington will suffice, as many Montana and Idaho elk hunters have proven. (Yes, most .224 centerfires are legal for elk in those states and several more.) But that doesn’t mean we’re recommending any .224 as the optimum elk cartridge.

Actually, we're not recommending any cartridge as the ideal elk round. Instead, we'll compare three suitable rounds, outlining velocity, drop, drift, recoil levels, and factors like cost, ammo availability, and rifle size and weight so that you, gentle reader, can make your own decision. A fast-handling, short-range rifle suitable for heavy forest hunting isn't ideal for precision shot placement hundreds of yards across a mountain meadow. And a heavy, precision magnum with a 28-inch barrel isn't all that fun to carry and operate in the dog-hair timber stands elk often call home. Essentially we're helping you shop for a cartridge that provides what you want and need for your style of elk hunting.

Comparing 308 Winchester, 300 Win. Mag., 338 Win. Mag.

Build a better burn with these reliable options. (Duraflame/)

Working smarter rather than harder is solid advice for just about any endeavor, including anything you do in the outdoors. While some might consider store-bought fire starters corrosive to good woodsmanship, the fact is they are part of the repertoire of anyone with enough sense to know you can’t always rely on rubbing two sticks together or banging sparks onto dry char cloth to get a blaze going. Commercial fire starters work every time, almost without fail, and should be a part of any sportsman’s bag of tricks. Here’s how and why they get the job done fast.

Campfires

Damp kindling, cold wind, rain turning to snow. If you've ever faced those conditions without a fire, you know the value of a simple block of store-bought fuel. Usually consisting of little more than sawdust and paraffin wax, they'll burn long enough to ignite just about anything you can gather up and arrange into a soggy pile.

Fireplaces

A lighter log makes starting a blaze in the home hearth about as simple as fire-making can be. Whether you are facing power outages from an unexpected spring ice storm or just being forced to watch Netflix and chill with Friends reruns and a glass of wine, if you can strike a match, you can survive.