Indholdsfortegnelse for Summer 2019 i Outdoor Life

letters@outdoorlife.com WAYPOINT Fuel, check. Mullet, check. Snarky attitude and biting sarcasm, check and check. After we arrived at this airstrip in northwest Alaska via a larger plane, pilot Jet Selman shuttled our group of five one at a time to our caribou spike camp (p. 48). You don’t hire a bush-plane pilot for his interpersonal skills—you hire him to get you into the game-rich backcountry, and to return you safely to civilization. So, when we asked Selman where the bulls typically come from, I wasn’t surprised when he pointed to the low mountains in the east, then to the range in the north, then to the ridge in the west, and finally to the peaks in the south, and said, “They’ll probably come from the mountains.”…

CASTING This Rapala Skitter Pop has landed more bass for me than any other lure. Years ago, I was fishing the Mississippi when a monster smallmouth broke it off. Ten minutes later, I caught that same fish with the old Skitter Pop wedged in its mouth. Should a lucky lure be retired? Hell, no. To repay this bait for years of good service, I’ll be throwing it all summer long. —Alex Robinson, executive editor CRANKING I’ve got a ZeeBaas ZX2 spinning reel that’s from the first run this company ever made. It’s number 1o5, and it’s been through hell and back with me. I’ve caught everything from river stripers to bluefin tuna to snakeheads to false albacore on that reel. The company has changed hands several times since I got…

During World War II, more than a half-million servicemen and -women passed through Aberdeen, South Dakota, aboard trains headed to training facilities and ship-out depots. Community leaders in the prairie town, wanting to sustain the traveling GIs, started handing out chopped-pheasant sandwiches. Within a few months, every soldier, sailor, and airman passing through Aberdeen was served a homemade lunch from what became known as the Pheasant Canteen, staffed by community volunteers who called themselves Aberdeen’s pheasant ladies. Special hunts were held around town to supply the birds required for the sandwiches, which also included carrots, celery, and pickle relish in a mayonnaise base. While the handout program lasted for only 30 months—the canteen closed in March 1946—the tradition is an indelible part of Aberdeen’s culture. Today, during opening weekend of…

FROM JUNE THROUGH SEPTEMBER, squirrels do their feeding high in trees for buds, berries, and early mast. If simply getting a limit is your goal, blast the critters from the canopy with a shotgun. But you’re missing out on a lot of fun if you’re not sneaking in tight to head-shoot them with a .22. A rimfire saves you from picking lead No. 6s out of your squirrel tenders too. Much of the challenge in this game is in finding a good field rest for your rifle that also allows a clear view of the squirrel through the leaves. Taking a post off a tree is best, but saplings don’t always grow where you need them. Shooting sticks work, but few squirrel hunters bother carrying them. This shooting position, something…

shooting@outdoorlife.com Long-range shooting competitions are all the rage, but the amount of gear required can be pretty daunting to anyone new to the sport. Likewise, service rifle matches, where you use historically accurate military equipment (meaning open sights), can be tough if you don’t have 30-year-old eyes. Back in 2011, I worked to combine the best of both types of shooting and eliminate those drawbacks. This led to the inaugural Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) Vintage Sniper Rifle Match (VSRM) at Camp Perry in 2012. A little background: When the Gibbs Rifle Company introduced its replica 1903A4 sniper rifle in 2011 (sadly, no longer made), I had to have one. I was a big-time World War II buff because my father was a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne. After I got…

PH Custom Lures: Phil Hunt produces homages to long-gone Tennessee and Ohio builders, and also has plenty of his own designs. phcustomlures.myshopify.com Jawjacker Custom Crankbaits: Rob Cochran is the heir to legendary lure-maker Sonny McFarland. facebook.com/jawjackercrankbaits D Baits: Ohio River hammer and builder Gary Dee popularized the term “worming” a crankbait. dbaits.com Lazer Lures: Rick Schreiber was one of Phil Hunt’s influences and mentors. lazercrankbaits.com Black Label Balsa: These cranks are handcrafted by 2013 Bassmaster Classic winner Cliff Pace. blacklabeltackle.com…

BOSTON, MA − A recent breakthrough stands to help millions of Americans plagued by burning, tingling and numb legs and feet. But this time it comes in the form of a cream, not a pill, suggesting the medical community may have been going about the problem all wrong. The breakthrough, called Diabasens, is a new relief cream developed for managing the relentless discomfort caused by neuropathy. When applied directly to the legs and feet, it causes arteries and blood vessels to expand, increasing the flow of warm, nutrient rich blood to damaged tissue. However, what’s most remarkable about the cream…and what makes it so brilliant…is that it contains one of the only natural substances known to activate a special sensory pathway right below the surface of the skin. This pathway…

The testing falls into three distinct phases. First, we gather all of the new rifles and shotguns and inspect them, collecting the empirical data concerning trigger pull, firearm weight, barrel and stock dimensions, and any new innovations to note in their design and function. We also make sure all of the fasteners have been tightened correctly—which is a step anyone taking possession of a new gun should do. You would be amazed—or perhaps more rightly distressed—to learn how often we find loose screws. In phase two, the fun begins. We shoot the rifles for accuracy, using multiple bullet styles and weights. To determine a rifle’s accuracy, we take the average of the best ten 5-shot groups. We also run the rifles through a series of drills to replicate how they’ll…

Our rankings of vertical compound bows hinge on fine details because there’s little difference between them. But in the crossbow world, there are dramatic improvements in performance and handling each year, and the difference between the winning crossbow and last place is substantial. In a way, it’s unfair to compare them. Then again, there is no industry standard among crossbows as there is with a compound bow’s IBO specs. The rule of crossbow-making seems to be “He who innovates the most, wins.” There’s a thriving market for high-end crossbows too, and that’s why our test rewards top-end performance. But we factor in value as well, because we know many buyers just want a reliable crossbow to take hunting, and they won’t spend four truck payments to get it. Fortunately, this…

WHEN ARCHERS DISCOVERED the shovel, pronghorn hunting got easier. About 40 years ago, bowhunters began setting up for antelope from covered pit blinds near water holes. They found that these keen-eyed prairie dwellers could not clearly see from bright sunlight into a shaded blind, and the result was point-blank shots at relaxed animals. Today, most bowhunters use pop-up blinds for antelope. I have taken several antelope from blinds, and it’s effective. But unless a steady parade of critters is crossing in front of you, sitting in a blind is about as thrilling as watching a TV with the power turned off. I prefer bowhunting antelope on foot. It’s never easy, but I love the challenge—and you can do it regardless of water or weather conditions. PERFECT COUNTRY You need suitable…

DESTINATION FISHING TRIPS can be hard to pull off when you have a family. Skipping town with the guys for even a few days is usually hung up by T‑ball games, soccer practice, and, of course, approval from your spouse. But that doesn’t mean you’re stuck fishing where you live. Headed to a theme park this summer with the whole clan in tow? If you can manage to sneak away from the long lines and $20 soft pretzels for just one day, many of the major destination parks have some incredible fishing opportunities close by. Here are our top picks for roller coasters and rod bending. Build in one day to leave your family at the pool and you’re golden. 1. LARGEMOUTHS WALT DISNEY WORLD: ORLANDO, FLORIDA This is the…

NEARLY ALL PRODUCTION MATCH BULLETS COME in two flavors—either open-tipped match (OTM), which is a hollowpoint bullet with a tiny opening, or tipped with a polymer insert. There are shortcomings to both styles. With OTM bullets, it is difficult for the machinery that forms the jacket to get the tip just right. If you examine the point of an OTM bullet closely, you’ll see that it usually isn’t symmetrical, and that can lead to irregularities in how the bullet flies. Polymer tips can also be inconsistent due to how they are molded, and to make matters worse, they can deform in the magazine under recoil. And, as we’ve learned in the last couple of years, they can even melt as they fly downrange. Needless to say, none of this is…

1. RIA Imports VR80 • $699 • 12-gauge • Weight: 8 lb. 5 oz. • Trigger: 9 lb. 9 oz. Competitors in 3-Gun and other action sports have longed for a shotgun that runs high-capacity magazines, can be reloaded quickly, and, most important, is reliable. For many of us, that quest has felt as fruitful as a unicorn hunt. But with the arrival of the VR80 from Rock Island Armory Imports, that elusive goal seems to have been achieved. Where other shotguns have stumbled—I’m thinking specifically of the Saiga, which is built on an AK-47-type platform and is notoriously finicky to keep running—the VR80 appears to have succeeded. Our base-model shotgun came with a 5-round magazine, but we made sure to get our hands on some of the 9- and…

On the one hand, Danny Hinton is a stoic guy with an engineering background. On the other, he’s a die-hard bow-hunter and the former owner-operator of an archery pro shop. He has, in other words, the perfect blend of technical and practical knowledge for our bow test, and he’s been a test-panel member for years. So I didn’t take it lightly when he declared the 2019 field of compound bows to be the best he’s ever seen. And I did agree with him. Still, not everyone here gets a trophy. It’s our job to find the very best equipment, and at the end of our most grueling assessment yet, we did just that. Here’s the scoop. 2. MATHEWS VERTIX • $1,099 It’ll be no surprise to fans of the…

Reader Revival I was a subscriber from the mid-’70s to the mid-’80s and just resubscribed. Reading your recent issues has been like getting reacquainted with an old friend. I appreciated the spring issue—my second—and the winter Adventure Issue was also very enjoyable. Though the familiar editors from the past are gone, the new crew is just as good. Great writing and informative articles. Thanks for keeping the magazine as excellent as ever. Richard GreenPrinceton, WV Cheap Cuts Your article on cow elk hunts (“Have a Cow,” Hunting, Spring) was a long time coming. Last year, I enjoyed a guided private-land cow hunt in Wyoming for $1,000 plus the $288 tag. I’ve also done a self-guided cow hunt on private land in New Mexico for less. Cow meat is superior to…

hunting@outdoorlife.com South Dakota has a pheasant problem. It’s not the strafing winds and drifting snow that contribute to overwinter bird mortality. And it’s not agri-business practices that destroy the best nesting and brood-rearing habitat with every pass of the chisel plow. The problem is the unsustainable popularity of South Dakota’s adopted icon, the Chinese ringneck. So many pheasant hunters swing a shotgun in the state—nearly 150,000 in 2016 alone—that South Dakota’s upland habitat has a hard time supplying the demand, especially with declines in the number of acres enrolled in habitat-creating initiatives like the federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Last year, hunters bagged 829,000 South Dakota roosters out of an estimated population of 4.6 million birds. That’s a lot of wild pheasants, but last season’s population estimate is South Dakota’s…

Antelope can be curious during the rut. They sometimes approach a white handkerchief waved above a ridge (a tactic called flagging). And dominant bucks will often charge a pronghorn decoy lifted into view from a draw or above a hill. Both techniques take advantage of an antelope’s telescopic eyesight. But trying to shoot at a decoyed buck can be a problem. The approaching animal is always on high alert. Flagging and decoying work best with two people: one to manipulate the ruse, and the other to take the shot from a hiding place to one side.…

HERE’S THE SCENARIO: You’re going coastal with the family and want to tangle with a tuna. Thing is, you don’t have a boat that can make the long run. Nor do any of your friends, and a private charter is out of your price range. Fear not. Throughout the Northeast and into the Mid‑Atlantic, many headboat fleets dedicate several weeks of the summer season to bringing boatless fishermen to the tuna grounds overnight at affordable prices. If you want tuna glory at the rail of one of these big vessels, here are some pointers. GO FOR THE LONG HAUL Headboat tuna trips range from 18 to 48 hours in length. The standard 22-hour overnight trip, which departs in the evening and returns the following day, runs about $350—a couple hundred…

THE KIDS MIGHT be off from school, but you’re still working like a dog during the dog days. Sure, you might hit a good trout or two on the weekends, but there’s a strong possibility you’re not alone on the river. Wild trout are incredibly susceptible to angling pressure, which is why some of the best‑known trout fisheries in the country can get really slow by midsummer. The fish have seen it all, and they’ve gotten smarter and more selective during daylight hours. While the lucky guy who can be on the river while you slave away struggles, you’ve actually got the upper hand. Between that daytime pressure and the warmer water temperatures, many big browns hunker down until the sun goes away. And when that happens, fishermen go away.…

If you’re not careful, you’ll use up a whole summer eating barbecue, drinking beer, and fishing. Too much of that stuff will soften your shotgun swing as much as your belly. Next thing you know, it’ll be opening day of duck season, and you’ll make an ass of yourself by tearing through three boxes of shells and not cutting a feather. Picking up a shotgun in the off-season does you good. Fortunately, there’s a world of wingshooting opportunity available all summer long, from feral pigeons and invasive Eurasian collared doves to crows and early-season geese. The action can be intense, and once it’s over, some of the birds are pretty good to eat. Which brings us back to beer and barbecue. It is summer, after all. —W.B. CROWS Back in…

We partnered with Stress Engineering Services (stress.com), a consulting firm in Mason, Ohio, that tests outdoor equipment ranging from firearms and treestands to off-road and fishing gear—but archery equipment is one of its specialties. Objective testing for noise, vibration, speed, and efficiency takes place in the Stress lab with bows set to IBO specs. All bows are shot three times from a Hooter Shooter inside a semi-anechoic (echo-free) chamber. We check speed with two chronographs, a 350-grain fletchless arrow, and Whisker Biscuit rest. Sound is measured with multiple microphones, and three vibration readings (up/down, side to side, and fore/aft) are taken with a micro-accelerometer. A hand-arm perception filter is applied to finalize the vibration measurement. Stress maps out draw-force curves and measures the efficiency of each bow’s cams (how much…