The Hunting Knife

Master Hunter skinning knife from Cold Steel

During deer season there is one tool that is nearly as important as your rifle or bow when it comes to harvesting that trophy buck. While a rifle or bow are critical tools for making the shot, the real work begins after the shot. Once you’ve located your downed quarry, only one tool will do the work you need and it’s one that many hunters overlook: the hunting knife.

The first step after locating your prey and confirming that it is dead is to field dress the animal. Having a good well-balanced hunting knife with a well honed edge is critical here. Without a very sharp knife you can easily damage the meat with rough tearing cuts. A dull knife requires more effort to use making it more likely that the knife could slip and puncture the gut and have the contents spill out into the body cavity. It’s important to note that bigger is not better when it comes to skinning knives. Properly field dressing and skinning a deer is a delicate process and being able to maintain precise control of a sharp blade is very important. A bigger knife simply becomes unwieldy. A good skinning knife should have a blade measuring 3″-5″ in length with the knife not exceeding 12″ in overall length.

Case Folding Skinner

The hunting knife is a multipurpose tool. Though primarily intended for use skinning and butchering game animals, it can be pressed into service as a machete or hatchet. Most people think of the traditional Bowie knife as a hunting knife, but more modern drop blade designs have taken it’s place. The first evolution of the Bowie knife was the clip-point blade. Designed for better piercing as opposed to slicing, the clip point is not particularly suited for processing meat, though it will work in a pinch.

The Wyoming Knife

The drop point blade has a spine that also drops down to meet the edge at the point, but unlike the clip point the curve is convex. More versatile than the clip point, drop point blades are usually thicker and stronger than the clip point and this gives the user enhanced control and precision when making a cut.

The skinning blade is generally broader and more curved than a drop point blade, although either style can be used for skinning game and animals. The skinning blade is designed so that it will not pierce or tear the meat while you are skinning the animal. Using a highly swept blade allows the modern skinner to easily separate flesh from skin. Though intended primarily for flaying, a dedicated skinning knife can also perform other tasks such as cleaning and gutting as well or better than a drop point.

A gut hook, while not strictly necessary, can also make opening up the body cavity much easier while reducing the risk of puncturing the gut itself. Gut hooks cannot be sharpened with a traditional whetstone and must instead be kept keen with a thin round file.

Folding skinners are much more convenient to carry around, but usually don’t have the wider curved blade found on most fixed blade skinners.

For the ultimate in skinning knives, look no further than the razor sharp Wyoming knife. Fitted with a single dual edged scalpel blade, this knife easily slices through the toughest hides. The integral gut hook makes it very fast and easy to field dress your deer in record time. The convenient carrying case included with the knife can be attached to your belt for easy access when you need it and an include sheath keeps the finely honed blade protected.

The Wyoming knife is not designed to be sharpened. Instead it relies upon razor sharp scalpel-like blades that can be replaced when dull. When it comes time, blade replacement is quickly accomplished by simply removing the single screw holding the blade in place, pulling out the old blade and inserting the new one. The Wyoming knife is truly a specialized tool and is not well suited for any other task, so if you choose to carry this knife it should only be in addition to a more traditional hunting knife.

Regardless of what style hunting knife you choose, it should always be well cared for. Frequent cleaning and oiling will prevent dullness from corrosion while honing the blade will increase the length of time between necessary sharpening. Unlike sharpening, honing doesn’t actually remove any material from the edge. Instead it merely straightens and aligns the thin metal on a microscopic level.

For more information on caring for your hunting knife, see our articles on sharpening and honing a blade.

The AR-15 Platform As A Hunting Rifle

It’s hard to say where the trend started. Perhaps some Vietnam veteren in the deep south struggling with a feral hog invasion decided the best way to eliminate the varmints was the AR-15 he picked up after returning from the jungle. Maybe it was a rancher out in Midwest who liked the flat shooting 40 grain round for taking out coyotes. Wherever it began, it started a years long transition from traditional wooden stocked bolt action hunting rifles to the eventual production of Remington’s R-25 AR-platform rifle chambered in anything from .243 to .308 Winchester.

Now, before you dismiss the traditional 5.56mm/.223 caliber AR-15 rifle as a viable hunting weapon, lets go over some ballistics first. I know many will dismiss this rifle/caliber combination as a “poodle shooter” unsuitable for use in a war zone, much less as a hunting rifle for use on medium game, but let’s look at what the numbers say, starting with one of the most popular deer cartridges in the Unites States, the .30-30. Traditionally, the .30-30 used cast lead bullets with most weighing in around 160 grains. Though it was one of the first cartridges designed from the ground up to use smokeless powder, black powder was simply more available at the time and was commonly used when the .30-30 was introduced. Sitting atop a compressed load of FFF black powder the muzzle velocity of a 160 grain cast lead bullet was only around 1,600 feet per second, giving it a muzzle energy of just under 1,000 ft-lbs. While this performance pales in comparison to a modern smokeless powder propelled .30-30 bullet, it was more than adequate to take down what amounts to probably millions of deer over the decades. Moving on to the modern version of the .30-30 round we find that using smokeless powders a somewhat lighter 130 grain copper jacketed round nose flat point bullet is easily propelled to a muzzle velocity of 2,500 feet per second which results in a muzzle energy just a hair under 1,800 ft-lbs: much more than the older blackpowder version.

How does this traditional deer cartridge stack up against 5.56mm/.223 caliber ammunition? In fact, they are surprisingly similar. A standard 62 grain FMJBT round fired at 3,050 feet per second has a muzzle energy of 1,300 ft-lbs., more than our traditional 160 grain black powder propelled bullet but slightly less than a modern 130 grain smokeless propelled .30-06 bullet. Still, that gives the 5.56/.223 round more than enough energy to drop a good sized mule deer.

“But…” I hear you cry, “The .223 round has far too much penetration, it will just shoot through and through without doing much damage.”

Not quite. It’s true that the standard M855 round used by our military does have some overpenetration issues due to variations in the neck length, but heavier 69 and 75 grain hollow point or OTM bullets (both of which should easily by stabilized by most 1:9-1:7 twist barrels) have superb performance and fragmentation in less than 12 inches of ballistic gel. While ballistic gel is not a direct substitute for a deer, it does serve to give us a rough estimation of the round’s performance on a game animal. This evidence, when coupled with the thousands of anecdotes from wild boar and deer hunters who swear by the .223 AR-15 rifle/cartridge combination, should be more than enough to prove the viability of the .223 cartridge as medium game ammunition.

But, for those of you who still feel the need to step up to a larger caliber, there are plenty of AR-15 platform rifles out there chambered in calibers such as 6.8 SPC, 6.5 Creedmoor, .243 Winchester, .308 Winchester, and even 7mm-08. DPMS and Remington, both owned by parent company Freedom Group, have a line of rifles dedicated to these larger calibers. From DPMS we have the LR-308 platform and from Remington the R-15 and R-25 rifle, both dedicated hunting rifles available with a camouflage finish.

While the larger caliber AR rifles were initially dismissed by many traditional hunters as “overkill” or “not suitable for hunting” it didn’t take long for many to realize that there simply isn’t much difference between aRemington 750 or Browning BAR and an R-25 or LR-308 chambered in .308 Winchester. While some will undoubtedly prefer the traditional look of a walnut stock or the increased precision of a bolt action, it appears that the AR platform is here to stay as a viable option for small, medium, and with the .308 or 7mm-08 chambered R-25 large or dangerous game such as moose or bear.

The modularity of the AR platform makes it able to be quickly swapped over from an iron sighted .458 SOCOM brush gun to a scoped 6.8 SPC caliber rifle capable of much longer shots. No other rifle platform demonstrates such versatility. Combine this with the wide availability of aftermarket parts, and you can build an AR rifle to fill just about any role you can conceive of.

10 Tips For A Successful Duck Hunt

Cold fronts have begun to sweep across much of the United States, bringing migrating waterfowl with them. Nothing gets a dedicated duck hunter's blood going so early in the morning like a flock of ducks coming in on short final. Duck season is still a few weeks away for most of the US, but now is the time to prepare for upcoming hunts.

Follow these 10 helpful tips to be successful on your next duck hunt.

1) Plan your hunt
This sounds simple, but so many hunters neglect to plan their hunt. Check the weather forecast so you know which direction the wind will be blowing from. Take the time to scout the area and see where the ducks are actually landing. Some hunting areas are too far to drive out and scout before you hunt, but with the internet distance isn't an issue. Fire up your favorite mapping website and scout from the air.

2) Pattern your gun before the hunt
Shotgun loads can be very finicky. Make sure that the ammunition you are shooting matches up to your gun and choke by patterning it before the hunt. You'll want to test the loads at 10 yards, to make sure it opens up fast enough, and again at 40 yards to see that it's still tight enough for longer shots. If the pattern isn't right, try a different load or switch your choke.

3) Practice with your dog
Man's best friend can get out of shape in between active hunting seasons. Make sure your retriever is up to the task by working out a couple of times a week before the season gets going.

4) Maintain your gear
There's no better way to sabotage your hunt than to ignore your gear until you're out trying to set everything up in the pre-dawn darkness. Don't wait until you get out to the field to find out that you've got damaged decoys, that your weights and cords resemble a tangled plate of spaghetti, or that the battery on your boat motor is dead. At least a week before your hunt you need to go over all of your equipment and ensure that it's clean and functional.

5) Eliminate shine
While you're maintaining your gear, keep an eye out for any shiny spots on your duck boat. It could be nothing more than a scratch allowing the aluminum hull to peek through, but that's all it takes for a sharp eyed duck to decide to land elsewhere. I like to carry a can or two of matte black or brown
paint to touch up spots like that.

6) Set your decoys correctly
There is no surefire pattern to use when setting decoys, but some hunters insist on using the "tried and true" J and U patterns. The pattern you use should be dictated by the wind and the layout of your hunting area. Be willing to change things up a bit, which brings me to my next point:

7) If it's not working, change something
When the ducks are just circling once or twice and flying on, settling 100 yards away, or flaring off just before they come in range, you need to change your setup. Don't be afraid to break cover and reset your decoys, move the blind to a better location, or touch up the camouflage on your boat. Waterfowl are sharp eyed creatures and will abort landing at the first sign of danger.

8) Have someone experienced calling the shots
Nothing irritates a group of hunters faster than someone who calls the shots poorly. It's tough some times to make the call when the ducks are at the exact distance you need them to be to get more than one shot off. Make sure you've got an experienced hunter who knows exactly when to shout "Take 'em!"

9) Don't overcall
Occasionally you'll need to call a lot to bring in the flocks, but more often than not I've found that calling intermittently with more variety works the best. When in doubt, call a little less.

10) Camouflage camouflage camouflage
Make sure that the camo you wear and use on the blind matches your environment. Realtree Hardwood camo is going to stick out like a sore thumb amongst the reeds of a duck pond. Take a lesson from what snipers do and turn your boat into a giant ghillie suit by tying on reeds, grasses and other foliage from your hunting area.

Hunting Ross' and Snow Geese

You'll need to lead by as much as 5' to land a solid hit on a crossing goose.

Goose season is fast approaching and soon thousands of hunters will take to the field to bag as many snow geese as possible during this year's Special Conservation Order. The exact dates vary from state to state, but most areas have taken off restrictions on the number of geese that can be taken and in some areas allowed hunters to use unplugged shotguns and electronic callers.

In 1999, the Arctic Tundra Habitat Emergency Conservation Act was passed due to massive overpopulations of Snow and Ross' Geese that were damaging the arctic tundra. "The overabundance of light geese is harming their fragile arctic breeding habitat," according to H. Dale Hall, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He continued, "The damage to the habitat is, in turn, harming the health of the light geese and other bird species that depend on the tundra habitat. Returning the light goose population to sustainable levels is necessary to protect this delicate habitat, and every species dependent on it."

Many hunters are taking advantage of this opportunity to fill up their freezer with tasty geese during this year's Special Conservation Order. Here are some tips to make sure you're able to fill your limit on light geese this year.

When choosing camouflage, make sure the pattern matches where you'll be hunting.

Lead your target: I can't emphasize this enough. The biggest mistake most novice wing shooters make is not leading their target enough. A standard load of #2 shot traveling at 1450 feet per second takes 0.085 seconds to travel 40 yards. In that small amount of time, a goose flying at 40 mph travels nearly 5 feet!

Lead below landing geese: Landing geese may appear to be hovering, but remember that if they were not moving they'd simply fall out of the sky! For geese landing, lead in the direction of travel and slightly below the goose.

Match your choke to your ammunition: It's very important to match your choke to your shot, and now is the time to do so before the season gets really going. I like to bring a variety of ammunition to the range with me and try the different brands in my Improved, Modified, and Full choke tubes. If you're shooting steel, make sure that your choke tube is steel rated. Usually, you’ll want to pattern your shot at various ranges from 10 out to a maximum for 40 yards to see how the pattern opens up as the range increases. There aren't many manufacturers of life sized goose targets, so I use a life-sized turkey target to determine the number of hits to the vital areas. Start out with plain target loads to get your shot onto the paper. Once you’ve established this baseline zero, go ahead and take the target out to 40 yards and fire a load and observe the result. Ideally, your pattern should be concentrated enough to land 8 or more pellets in the vital areas. Any less than that and you either need to use a different load/choke combination. If you find that changing the shot load or choke doesn’t help, you will need to bring the target closer until you can consistently get an acceptable pattern.

Use the proper shot size: Snow geese are not usually as large as their darker cousins. The largest light goose species, the Greater Snow Goose, tops out at just under 10 pounds, while the Canadian Goose can easily top 14 pounds. The smaller size of Snow Geese means that you should stay away from the larger shot size. Stick with #1, #2, or even #4: you'll get better patterns and the shot will still be effective out to 100 yards (if you can hit them that far!)

Use a LOT of decoys: You'll need a lot of decoys for snow geese. A small flock of decoys should exceed 100 rags or shells. Some professional guides stake out decoy flocks which number in the thousands. Rags and movers are great at convincing geese that your field would make an excellent landing spot, but take care not to space them too closely together. Geese can have a 6 foot wingspan and will be looking to see if they have room to land. Decoys spaced 8-10 feet apart will make a more inviting spread.

Take the time to construct your blind properly: Goose have excellent eyesight and are quick learners. They can recognize a poorly constructed blind from hundreds of yards away. Make sure that the color and pattern of your camouflage matches your surroundings: I can't tell you how many times I've seen a RealTree AP Hardwood pattern used in a corn field where it just stands out like a sore thumb. Instead, something like Mossy Oak Duck Blind or RealTree Max-4 would be more appropriate.

Wrap or camouflage your gun: Glint from shiny blued barrels is a sure fire way to scare off a goose. Many guns are available in a camo finish straight from the factory, but if yours is not you can use camouflage tape to prevent reflected glare from indicating your presence to a keen eyed goose.

Practice shooting while sitting: Don't assume that practice on clay pigeons will substitute for practice mounting the gun from a sitting position. Most goose blinds require the hunter to sit or lay down and then sit up for the shot. You will almost never be standing when it's time to "take 'em" so practice mounting the gun in a sitting position.

Get solid cheek weld: When mounting the gun, make sure you have proper cheek weld and sight alignment.

Single out your target: Don't think that you can just aim at a flock and have birds drop. Single out your target and aim at just that one bird.

Planning a successful goose hunt is not always easy. With these tips and a bit of luck however, you'll be well on your way to filling your limit of light geese this season.

September Dove Season

While the summer heat still persists it’s hard to believe that a new hunting season begins today. September 1st marks the beginning of Dove Season for many states, September 17th for most of the rest, and like many others I’ll be out chasing the little gray rockets. Doves can be devilishly hard to hit and their lightning fast aerobatics rival that of the most talented jet pilot.

It takes a sharp eye skilled at calculating the proper lead to reliably drop a dove. Gil Ash teaches the Optimum Shotgun Performance or “OSP” system of scattergun shooting, and that is the system I use. It’s a both-eyes-open instinctive system whereby you rely on your brain’s ability to naturally calculate the proper lead, never taking your eyes off of the bird. Having a properly fitted gun is critical for this system to work. When hunting dove using the OSP system, you track the bird with your head and shoulders while bringing the shotgun up into the firing position. When the gun stock meets your cheek and shoulder, you pull the trigger and (ideally) drop the bird. Don’t swing through the bird as with more traditional shooting.

Even with the proper lead and a good shot, I’ve seen a puff of feathers fall to the ground while the dove pulls a Barrel-Roll and a Split-S maneuver, zooming down into the safety of nearby trees and shrubs. One of the best ways to ensure a successful dove hunt is to buy quality shells. Nothing is more frustrating than shooting a dove and watching only feathers fall to the ground while the injured bird flies off to the safety of a nearby stand of trees. For a 12 gauge shotgun, you should buy shells with at least a 1 1/8 ounce shot load. I recommend Winchester Super-X #6 or Winchester AA #8 to reliably drop doves. For a 20 gauge shotgun, a 7/8 ounce load will do the job, though a 1 ounce load or more is preferred. Again, 2 3/4″ Winchester Super-X shells loaded with an ounce of #8 shot or 3″ Winchester Super-X shells topped off with 1 1/4 ounces of #6 shot should ensure a good pattern out to 30 or 40 yards.

For hunting them, I prefer to set up along a tree line next to a crop field. In the early morning doves move from their roosts to the fields to feed. As the morning wears on, around 9am or so, I’ll walk through the field to scare up birds that are feeding and take them on the rise. A quick break for lunch and then a move to nearby stock tanks usually nets me a few more heading over for the cool shade of a tree lined pond and a quick drink. Early afternoon hunts can be difficult, but a sharp eye and a walk through roosting areas generally nets me a few more birds as they abandon their roosts at my approach. As the sun begins to set around 5:30 in the evening, if I haven’t shot my limit yet, I’ll move back to the crop fields and take some more when they move back to feed again in the evening.

Tropical Storm Hermine has rained out much of the early season in North Texas and parts of the Midwest, but the traditional fall weather systems are returning and the doves should soon be flying over crop fields throughout the Central Flyway. Keep your eyes on the tree line and your proper lead in front of the bird and you to can catch your limit of doves this year.

Sizing Up Deer Hunting Property

This past weekend I took a long 3-day weekend and headed out to the deer lease and scout out the situation, repair some blinds and stands, and work on some feeders in preparation for the upcoming deer season. I’m lucky to have a decent-sized lease this year with abundant water and natural forage. But not everyone is as lucky. When searching for a good deer lease or hunting property, there are a number of considerations to be taken into account other than the cost of the property or lease.

So: what should you look for when evaluating a piece of land as potential hunting property?

First is food and water sources. The main attractants for deer are forage and water, and your hunting property should ideally have both. Does the land have food plots or field crops? Are there edible mast type foods such as nut-and acorn-bearing trees and bushes? What about water? Water is almost more important than food availability, especially in more arid regions. Ponds, streams, creeks, rivers and lakes will all attract deer seeking hydration.

This brings us to the next thing to search for: game trails. Scout around water sources and forage areas for game trails leading to and from the water and food. Active trails with fresh deer tracks are the best, but deer may change the areas they browse depending on what crops are abundant and whether water is fresh, so bear this in mind when you come across older tracks. For example, areas with deep and large lakes or rivers may have abundant deer during droughts, while areas with field crops may only harbor deer until the crops are harvested.

Cover is very important to deer. Dense cover from hardwoods, tall grass and thickets provide secluded areas where deer can bed down to rest, or find safe areas to breed. Cover is also a great way to keep an eye on how the yearly rut is progressing. Keep an eye on trees for rub lines and scrapes.

The size of the property will play a defining role, but even small tracts of land can bear trophy bucks if they are surrounded by the right environment. Evaluate the value of the land to deer by identifying what assets the land has to offer deer. Some tracts are ideal for cover, but offer little in the way of food or water. Others may simply have critical travel routes deer use to move between bedding areas and forage.

Another important aspect to consider is hunting pressure. Is the land you are considering surrounded by areas that are heavily hunted? If so, it may only be good hunting for a limited time, such as the first weekend of bow season.

Finally, consider the huntability of the land. If the land is nothing but open fields or thick cover with no game trails, you may not be able to find a good spot to set up. Blinds set up along frequently traveled game trails, or on the edge of a field with the wind blowing in from the field are ideal.

My scouting expedition turned out to be fortuitous, as I snuck up on an unwary feral hog, ensuring at least some hog meat in the freezer. While scouting your hunting property, keep the above tips in mind while deciding where to set up your hunt, and you will benefit from the increased likelihood of taking a nice trophy buck this season.

Squirrel Meat

Last month I had the opportunity to head out into the woods and do some squirrel hunting. Hunting squirrels in the summer is much more difficult than in the winter, as they have a ton of lush green foliage to hide behind. Still, I managed to take 6 of the little guys and quickly set about cleaning and skinning them.

Not one to hunt simply for pleasure, I only hunt animals I can eat. Many people dismiss squirrels as edible game, referring to them as tree rats that are unfit to dine on. I obviously disagree. Cleaned and prepared properly (southern fried is the best in my opinion) squirrel meat is a tasty addition to any diet. Some people claim that they taste like chicken but, while I can see the resemblance, squirrel is actually a bit darker and more tasty than chicken.

Squirrel image courtesy of Matt McGee, licensed under Creative Commons.

Of course, in a survival situation squirrel meat can be very valuable so it helps to have experience hunting and preparing them. Eastern gray squirrels, and their cousin the western gray squirrel, are prevalent across nearly the entire territory of the United States and Canada. The larger fox squirrel is found throughout the Eastern US as well as the Midwest and Texas. In the wild they usually inhabit dense hardwood forests where they have plenty of acorns, walnuts, pecans, and other mast crops to forage for. They also thrive in suburban and many urban areas where they are largely free from depredation and able to forage freely amongst mast bearing trees and urban bird feeders.

Hunting squirrels is fairly easy in the winter. I prefer to find a spot where there are a few active squirrels and sit quietly nearby until they relax enough to come back down out of the trees to forage amongst the leaves for acorns or other mast crops. Once they’re on the ground it’s easy to pick them off with a little .22 rifle or, if you’re up for the challenge, a rimfire pistol. If you’re hunting them in the summer, or just aren’t able to get them down out of the trees, a shotgun loaded with non-toxic heavy dove loads or some equivalent (#7.5 or #8 shot) works equally well.

As mentioned earlier, hunting squirrels in the spring an summer is considerably more difficult than hunting in the autumn and winter. They are maddeningly difficult to spot amongst all of the foliage, and wild squirrels are much more cunning than their urban counterparts. They are very skilled at always positioning themselves on the opposite side of the tree from your position, eliminating any chance for a clean shot.

I’ve found that using squirrel calls makes it much easier to get an open shot. Our squirrel call combo pack from Haydels includes a 3-in-1 barker and a whistle that imitates a baby squirrel in distress. Sounding the whistle alerts all squirrels in the area to a possible predator and sends the running for cover, giving you ample opportunity to spot and harvest one. The barker is best used with a partner who activates it by depressing a plunger to imitate the barks and chatter of a group of squirrels.

When hunting squirrels, I always take along a portable cooler with some ice sealed in plastic bags. Once you’ve harvested your squirrel, quickly field dress it by removing the head, feet, and tail, and then skinning and gutting it and toss it into the cooler to quickly bring the temperature down. This prevents the “gamey” taste that many people complain of when dining on wild animals.

Preparing squirrels to eat is a straight forward process once they are skinned and gutted. Simply take your skinned and gutted squirrel and cut it into quarters. To fry up your squirrels using a traditional southern recipe, you’ll need:

• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 cup Buffalo wing sauce
• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 to 4 squirrels, quartered
• Peanut Oil

Soak your squirrel pieces overnight in a salt water and meat tenderizer brine.

Heat the oil to 350 degrees.

Combine the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, combine the eggs and water and mix well. Slowly pour the Buffalo wing sauce into the egg mixture and continue to mix well.

Dip the squirrel quarters in the egg mixture and the roll well in the flour mix. Fry the squirrel in the oil for about 10-15 minutes until golden and crispy. Serves about 4 people.

Hog Hunting At Night

So, I’m about to head out of the office for a weekend hunting trip. I’m heading to a North Texas ranch where the local feral hog population has gotten too large. We’re going to be hunting mostly at night when the hogs are the most active.

Hunting at night presents some unique challenges. The most obvious challenge is the lack of light. The darkness means that iron sights are mostly useless. Even if you have your target lit up, your rifle is still unlit and a black front sight post is difficult to find against a dark background. The same goes for scopes: that fine black crosshair is not easy to pick out at night. Tritium sights help enormously in this respect. Red dot sights and illuminated reticles that have adjustable intensity are even better. When choosing a scope, remember that a low power scope with a large objective (50mm or bigger) does the best job of gathering light. If you have a variable power scope, keep it set on the lowest setting. Zooming in magnifies the image but reduces the brightness of your image.

Night vision equipment is a valuable asset when hunting wild boars at night. Original image courtesy goingslo, licensed under Creative Commons

Still, even with a good scope or tritium night sights, actually seeing your target is more difficult. Shadows tend to blend together in the absence of direct light, and even with a spotlight or flashlight you may not be able to see all of your target. Sometimes only the reflection of the eyes are the only indication you have that a critter is there at all. Naturally, this makes proper target identification more difficult. If you are hunting with others, make sure that you have a plan and procedure to keep everyone out of the firing area.

Spotlighting hogs does work. Once. The problem is that hogs are very smart, and after being shot at once while being spotlighted, they learn to associate the light with death and will panic and run the next time they are spotlighted. That means you’re stuck hunting in the dark. If you’re going to try spotlighting, try using a red or green filter. Hogs are less sensitive to red and green light, and are less likely to panic when it is used. Aim your spotlight up into the air when turning it on, and then slowly lower it until the bottom edge of the beam starts to begin to illuminate your quarry. This indirect light is far less noticeable to hogs and most other night time prey.

When hunting at night, follow these tips.

1) Keep the wind in your face: Pay attention to wind direction. Nocturnal animals do not rely on their eyesight as a primary sense. Their sense of smell is very acute, and can detect humans up wind very easily. With the wind in your face, your scent is blown away from your prey instead of towards it. Also pay close attention when approaching your stand so that you don’t pollute your target area with your scent.

2) Move Silently: Like scent, noise can easily give your presence away. Nocturnal animals have keen hearing in addition to their sharp sense of smell. Dry brush or crunchy snow on the ground will belie your presence, so plan a silent path in, or move slowly and purposefully to minimize noise.

3) Ranges: Know them. Plan your hunt before setting up and know your distances to specific landmarks. Draw up a range card or small map with the landmarks you’ve measured from your shooting position and the distances to all of them. Know your rifle’s zero and the drop at various ranges. I’ve pasted a small piece of paper on the inside of my scope cover with the drop in MOA and inches for ranges from 50 to 600 yards.

4) Plan the Date Your Hunt: Like knowing your ranges, planning the date of your hunt helps to ensure success. Hunting under the light of a full moon is much easier than on an overcast night, so try to plan your hunt around the moon and the weather.

5) Shoot and Move: Once you or your group have fired on a group of hogs, be ready to move to a new location. Hogs will not return to that location that night.

Maximum Point Blank Range and the Battlesight Zero

The MPBR is the maximum range at which the bullet rise and drop stays within the vital area of your target. Anyone who has been in the U.S. Army or Marine Corps is familiar with a battlesight zero or improved battlesight zero (BZ0 or IBZ0). The concept for an MPBR or battlesight zero is pretty much the same: zero the rifle so that you get a point of aim that is effective over the longest range. The battlesight zero used by Marines when shooting the iron sight M16A2 is the 36/300 zero, meaning that the bullet will be on the sight line at 36 yards and again at 300 yards. The US Army uses what is referred to as an improved battlesight zero, which calibrates the rifle to be dead on at 50 and at 225 yards. The USMC also uses the 50/225 IBZ0 for M16A3 rifles equipped with Trijicon ACOG scopes.


The illustration above demonstrates how a battlesight zero works. The bullet is fired from the barrel and rises up to be exactly on the line of sight at 36 yards. It then continues to rise, topping out at 6"-7" depending on the round used and the barrel length of the rifle. It then descends until it is again exactly on the line of sight at 300 yards. This gives the Marine a good aiming point for a man sized target at any distance between 0 and just over 300 yards.

From the USMC manual:

If a rifle is zeroed for 300 yards, the bullet crosses the line of sight twice. It first crosses the line of sight on its upward path of trajectory at 36 yards, and again farther down range at 300 yards. Since a bullet crosses the line of sight at 36 yards and again at 300 yards when a rifle is zeroed, a rifle's zero may be established at a distance of 36 yards and the same zero will be effective at 300 yards. It is critical that a Marine fires tightly grouped shots directly on the point of aim when establishing a BZO at 36 yards because any error in shot placement at 36 yards will magnify as the bullet travels down range.

If the rifle is properly zeroed for 300 yards/meters, the trajectory (path of the bullet) will rise approximately 7 1/2 inches above the line of sight at a distance of approximately 175 yards/meters. At other distances, the strike of the bullet will be less than 7 1/2 inches above the point of aim. Only at 36 yards/30 meters and 300 yards/meters does the point of impact coincide with the point of aim. If only a portion of the target is visible (e.g., the head of an enemy soldier), the trajectory of the bullet may have to be taken into consideration when firing at a distance other than 300 yards/meters. If a Marine does not consider trajectory, he may shoot over the top of the target if the target is small and at a distance other than 300 yards/meters.

The 50/225 IBZ0 is useful as the bullet has much less rise at the midpoint of the trajectory. Its shorter effective range is more suited to urban and jungle warfare where visibility is limited and most engagements are at close range. The fact that the bullet rise is lower means that shots taken at ranges between 0 and 250 yards are much more accurate, with a bullet rise less than 2 inches at the midpoint of the trajectory.

The battlesight zero as a concept is very useful to hunters as well. When hunting deer, or any medium sized game, it is rare to know the exact distance that the quarry will be encountered at. Luckily, if your rifle is properly sighted in for its maximum point blank range (MPBR) you don't need to know the exact distance. While the ballistics vary from rifle to rifle, it is generally a simple matter using any number of online ballistic calculators to work out what the ideal zero for your rifle should be. The most critical calculation is your second zero. Based off of the size of the vital area of your target, you can compute the maximum rise and drop tolerable for your cartridge. Most white tail deer for example have a vital area that is generally 10 inches in diameter. Mule deer, elk, and moose have vital areas that are significantly larger. A large mule deer has a vital area around 12" in diameter, an average elk around 15", and a good sized moose nearly 21". A hit from a medium caliber rifle to this area will result in a quick kill. Therefore, if we are hunting white tailed deer, we can tolerate a maximum rise and drop of 5". Using this value, it is simple to calculate that the MPBR for a 180 grain Remington Core-Lokt .308 roundnose soft point cartridge in my trusty Remington 700 is 293 yards, with our second zero at 252 yards. With our rifle zeroed for these distances, we can be assured that a perfectly centered aim on a deer at any distance between 0 and nearly 300 yards will result in a hit in the vital area of our target.

The problem with zeroing your rifle for 293 yards in this case is that not many people have access to a 300 yard range. Not to worry, there are other ways to achieve the same zero for your hunting rifle. As it mentions in the USMC manual we referenced above, you can sight in your rifle at a closer range for the same result. In fact, if you have a good bench rest and a gridded target you can, with a little math, perfectly achieve a MPBR zero on your rifle at any range. Lets assume for this example that our range only has a 50 yard rifle range. We're shooting a Remington 700 chambered in .308 and plan to use the 180 grain Remington Core-Lokt mentioned above. By plugging in the information for that load, we can see that the bullet should hit 2.2" high at 50 yards (if you were at a 100 yard range, it would hit 4.45" high). Our first zero for this rifle and cartridge combination is actually just shy of 20 yards, and you can use that distance if that is the only range available at your local shooting gallery, but be aware that minute errors in measurement which may not be apparent at that close range will be magnified at longer distances, possibly throwing your shot off.

Remember: The Battlesight Zero and Improved Battlesight Zero discussed here only work on 5.56 M16 and AR-15 style rifles. You will need to find the maximum point blank range for your unique rifle, optic, and cartridge combination. Even differences such as the scope you have mounted on your particular rifle will change the MPBR and subsequent zero. Find the manufacturers information on your favorite rifle load, google up a ballistics calculator, and in just a few minutes after plugging in your date you'll have a good MPBR zero for your setup.

Turkey Loads

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Spring has sprung, the warm winds have begun to blow, and with them come lovestruck turkeys. That's right, it's Spring Turkey season in much of the nation, and will be soon in the rest. Hunters across the country are gearing up to head into the woods and track down North America's wiliest creature.

The shotgun is oiled up, decoys are ready, and camouflage de-scented and ready to go. But one element still perplexes many new hunters: what shotgun load is best for bagging a long-beard? Once a turkey is in range, you only get one shot to take your tom. A missed shot means the bird (and every other turkey in a a square mile) has probably run off for the deepest cover it can find. As such, it is critical that the load you choose be capable of dropping your bird.

Modern shotgun loads specifically designed for turkeys abound on the market today. It wasn't so long ago that specialized turkey loads, extra full or turkey chokes, and custom turkey shotguns were non-existent. It wasn't until the early 1990's that ammunition manufacturers began to produce shot-shell loads designed to perform well on turkeys at ranges out to 40 yards. At first, duplex loads utilizing two differing sizes of shot were popular, but advances in ammunition and powder technology soon surpassed the need for duplex loads. Now you can find effective high-velocity turkey loads for almost any shotgun 20 gauge or larger with shell sizes ranging from 2 3/4" to 3 1/2" in length.

Probably the biggest breakthrough in shot-shell technology is the heavier-than-lead non-toxic Hevi-Shot loads manufactured by Remington. Spurred on by the need to create non-toxic loads that perform as well or better than lead, Hevi-Shot set the standard for non-toxic loads. Previously, hunters in areas where lead-free shot was required had to use steel. The problem is, steel shot cannot be used on most chokes, and it carries significantly less weight than lead. The introduction of tungsten and other dense metal shot meant that these new shells could perform as well, or in some cases better, than their lead shot counterparts. Lead-free shot is also available from other manufacturers, including Bismuth brand lead-free shot.

Turkeys are tough birds, so it is important to get a large enough shot size to ensure adequate penetration, while still maintaining a decent pattern at 40 yards. When choosing a load, look for a high-velocity load that is capable of launching at least 1 ounce of shot to a minimum of 1,100 feet per second. When patterning a load for your particular shotgun/choke combination, look for a pattern that gives you 95% of the pellets within a 36" circle and a minimum of 6 pellets in the kill area of your target (ideally you'll want 12 or more impacting the vital area). The maximum range at which you can achieve this is the maximum range for that load/choke combination in your scattergun. Play around with various loads to determine which gives you the best pattern at the longest range.

The tight patterns made by dense turkey loads do have a drawback. Nothing is worse than working hard to call a turkey into range only to fire a shot and have the gobbler scurry off into the dense underbrush. The dense pattern of turkey shells mean that it is far easier to miss a turkey than it is to miss waterfowl. At 40 yards, shooting a turkey is more akin to firing a rifle. Unlike wing-shooting, turkey hunters need to get their head down onto the stock to obtain proper cheek weld. Many dedicated turkey guns are equipped with a scope, which helps not only with aim, but also requires that the head be down along the stock in order to get proper eye relief. Most missed turkey shots result from the shooter not having proper cheek weld or other shooter induced problem and not from poor ammunition.

Compared to most other shotgun loads, turkey shells are expensive. This might seem to be an issue but, apart from patterning a shotgun, it takes a while to work through a box of turkey shells. Ideally, you will only have to pattern your particular shotgun/choke combination once to find the ammunition that performs best. Once you've determined what loads are ideal, it's not a bad idea to stock up, as brands and loads do change over time. Unlike water-fowling, a skilled turkey hunter might go through two or three shells a day when out stalking gobblers, so a stash of 10 boxes is generally more than enough to last many seasons of turkey hunting.

To help you find the best loads for your turkey gun, we've broken down our most popular turkey loads in a chart below to help you with your selection.

12 gauge
3.5"
34667 Winchester Supreme Elite Xtended Range HD Turkey Load Shotshell, 3-1/2", 2 oz., #4, 1225 fps
47318 Hevi-Shot, 3-1/2", #4 Turkey, 2-1/4 oz., 1090 fps
65468 Supreme Double-X Magnum Turkey Load Shotshell, 3-1/2" Shell, #4 Shot, (lead)
34867 Remington Nitro Turkey Load Shotshell, 3-1/2" Shot, 2 oz., #6 (lead)

3"
21029 12 Gauge Bismuth Turkey Magnum Load Shotshell, 3" Shell, 1-5/8 oz., #4
34717 Winchester Supreme Elite Xtended Range HD Turkey Load Shotshell, 3",
34341 Fiocchi Turkey Load, 3", #4 Nickel Plated Lead Shot, 1-3/4 oz.,
36954 Hevi-Shot Turkey Load Shotshell, 3" Shell, 1-5/8 oz., #4 Turkey Shot
15707 Federal Premium Mag-Shok Heavyweight Turkey Load #6 Shotshell, 3", (lead)
34862 Remington Nitro Turkey, 3", #4 Lead Shot, 1-7/8 oz., 1210 fps, 10 (lead)

2.75"
47325 Hevi-Shot Turkey Load Shotshell, 2-3/4" Shell, #5 Shot, 1-1/2 oz., 5
50269 Estate Cartridge High Velocity Steel, 2-3/4", #4 Steel Shot
34340 Fiocchi Turkey Load, 2-3/4", 1-1/2 oz., #6 Lead Shot, 1310 fps, (lead)
66455 Remington Premier Duplex Magnum Turkey Load, 2-3/4", 4x6 Copper-Plated (lead)
14393 Winchester Xtended Range Turkey Load, 2-3/4", #6 High Density Shot (lead)

20 gauge
3"
14341 Winchester Supreme Double-X Magnum Turkey Load Shotshell, 3" Shell, #4
61999 Hevi-Shot Hevi 13 Turkey Load Shotshell, 3" Shell, #7 Shot, 1-1/4 oz.
41073 Remington Nitro Turkey Load, 3", #5 Lead, 1-1/4 oz., 1185 fps

2.75"
65520 Federal Premium Wing-Shok Magnum Load Shotshell, 2-3/4" Shell, #4 Shot (lead)
68242 Federal Premium Wing-Shok High Velocity Turkey Load Shotshell, 2-3/4" Shell, #5 Shot (lead)

Gobbler Body Language

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It's Spring Turkey season in much of the country right now, and hunters are heading into the woods in record numbers in hopes of bagging a gobbler for the dinner table. Turkeys are one of the smartest, wiliest and most paranoid game animals in the North American woods. They are notoriously difficult to read properly and will take flight and flee in a split second at the slightest hint that something is amiss. There is hope however; by studying turkey behavior, calls, and body language, you can learn to understand part of what that sly bird is thinking.

Hunters who have stalked these elusive birds through the woods have more than likely heard the warning "putt" of a turkey just before he, and every bird near him, departs for regions unknown. This ominous sound generally indicates that a turkey is spooked and isn't going to stick around much longer. It warns other nearby turkeys to watch out, and most gobblers and hens will likewise find the nearest thicket to dart into upon hearing a warning putt. So, how can you tell when a turkey is getting nervous? What signs lead up to the deciding moment when a strutting gobbler stops puffing up, stretches out his neck, and gives one last putt before skedaddling out of sight?

Photo Courtesy randomduck, Licensed under Creative Commons.

When you first spot an approaching tom, closely watch his posture and pace. A gobbler confidently walking into range either strutting with his feathers puffed up and beard dragging, or simply purposefully walking in and surveying the situation while occasionally stopping to puff up and display is a turkey who is not afraid yet. Watch your target's tail feathers. Gobblers will generally angle their tail towards a hen they are trying to impress. If he turns his tail towards you, your calls are having an effect on the amorous bird.

On the other hand, if the turkey warily approaches, stopping and turning in fits and starts, you may be dealing with a turkey who has already sensed trouble. Sometimes even confident birds will be difficult to coax into range. If a tom is moving slowly and hesitates to move closer, keep a close eye on him. He may not have sensed trouble yet, but he's searching hard for anything to give him a reason to run. Watch for him to stop and stand up straight: turkeys that see something out of place will stop and stick their head up high to get a good view. Their feathers will lay back flat and slick as if glued down into place. If he hikes a wing up, you've only got a few seconds to shoot or change tactics. Once that second wing comes up, he's made a decision and is taking flight for the next county over.

If you have decoys out and he refuses to strut, twitches and shuffles his wings, or repeatedly stops and examines the area in detail searching for something amiss, again you'll need to quickly change your tactics if you're going to to bring the tom in closer. These wary birds can be called in, but once they are spooked you can't use the normal yelps and cutts. Instead, stop calling all together and scratch some leaves or, if you must call, use soft calm calls like low clucks and purrs.

When you spot a tom surrounded by hens, it sometimes pays to switch tactics and call in the hens instead. Lusty gobblers will follow where the hens go. Try to identify the lead hen and play your calls to her. While gobbling for males is generally a rookie mistake, it does occasionally work when a male turkey is surrounded by his harem. Jealous males will often charge into the area upon hearing a challenging gobbler hoping to challenge another male or teach an adolescent upstart a quick lesson.

Inevitably, no matter how hard you try, you're going to make a mistake and spook your bird. It may be that he spotted your movement, or maybe the sun glinted off of a part of your scattergun; whatever the reason, if the gobbler has already got his neck stretched out and is about to sound a "putt" and leave, you may try preempting him with a putt call of your own. Turkeys find safety in numbers, and if a wary tom hears a putt he may try to get closer to the bird sounding the warning. This last ditch tactic doesn't always work, but if you're going to lose the bird anyway, it never hurts to try to confuse him a little bit.

Turkeys are fickle beasts and even the most confident gobbler will occasionally, without warning, turn and head for the deepest cover available. When this happens, look at it as a learning opportunity. Once a turkey has fled your cover has been blown so take a break and head over to where the turkey got spooked. Try to look at the scene from his point of view. Does anything look out of place? If so, you may try changing your hide spot or adjusting your camouflage. If not, don't lose heart; it's possible that the calls just didn't suit his mood, or possibly he noticed some inadvertent movement on your part.

Calling in a lovestruck tom is one of the greatest thrills in hunting. Sometimes it seems like all the stars need to align just to give your quarry the confidence he needs to move into range. But you can shift the odds in your favor. By practicing your powers of observation, you can quickly learn to read the gobbler's mind and adapt your calling techniques to bring in wary turkeys. Reading gobbler body language is an easy skill to master, it just takes a little additional time spent in the woods watching and learning from your prey.

Patterning Your Turkey Gun

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Turkey season is here, and if you haven't done so already, it's a good idea to take your turkey gun out to the range and pattern your favorite load and choke to see how well they perform together. Not every turkey load works well in every gun or choke combination. Patterning your shot allows you to determine what load and shot size work best for your particular setup.

Patterning your shot is critically important in determining what the maximum range is that you can ethically take your turkey at. A wide pattern could result in a wounded bird that is not recovered, something no hunter ever wants. A nice tight pattern ensures a quick, clean kill of your bird.

Usually, you'll want to pattern your shot at various ranges from 10 out to a maximum for 40 yards to see how the pattern opens up as the range increases. Use a life-sized turkey target to determine the number of hits to the vital areas of a turkey. Start out with plain target loads to get your scope or sights aligned and onto the paper. Once you've established this baseline zero, go ahead and take the target out to 40 yards and fire a turkey load and observe the result. Ideally, your pattern should be concentrated enough to land 8 or more pellets in the vital area at the base of the neck. Any less than that and you either need to use a different load/choke combination. If you find that changing the shot load or choke doesn't help, you will need to bring the target closer until you can consistently get an acceptable pattern.

A number of turkey choke and load combinations are available on the market today. Some chokes are specifically matched to a particular shotgun shell. Hevi-Shot's 12 gauge Extreme Range choke tube by way of example is designed to be used with Hevi-Shot Hevi 13 shotgun shells. If your choke is not matched up to a specific load, it may take some experimentation to determine what the best combination is. Take along a variety of brands and shot sizes when you pattern your gun and try each of them out to see which combination results in the best pattern.

The NSSF Shooting Sportscast has recently released a fantastic video on patterning your turkey gun. It's not long, but they go a bit further into the hows and whys of patterning your favorite turkey shotgun.

Spring Turkey Hunting Tips

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Spring Turkey season is fast approaching. In my mind, it's hard to beat the challenge of calling in a good sized tom. Turkeys are one of the wiliest and cunning game animals roaming the woods and fields of the great American outdoors. Their acute vision and naturally suspicious nature makes them notoriously difficult to get within range of your turkey gun. Still, the spring provides us with an opportunity to catch a big gobbler as the males have only one thing on their mind this time of year: hens.

Scouting

The first step in successfully harvesting your spring gobbler is properly scouting the land prior to your hunt. Identify the openings and fields where hens gather to search for food such as grasses, seeds, and insects. Look for scratches, tracks, or other signs of a turkey such as feathers or droppings. Hen feathers will appear buff colored, while gobbler feather have a much darker, almost black appearance. Try a locating call from an open area at a relatively high elevation, such as an owl hoot or crow call and listen for an answering gobble. Towards dusk, listen for roosting birds. Once you've identified the areas that the turkeys are in, try to find a open area that you can setup on from nearby cover. It is better to have your setup uphill from a tom than downhill, as for whatever reason they seem to be more likely to investigate calls uphill.

Calling

There are many different calls systems you can use to bring in a wary gobbler. Friction and box callers consistently rank as some of the most effective and popular, with box callers being the easier type for beginners. For most call systems, it's important to keep them dry. Water and moisture cause wood to swell, and slate friction calls are easily affected by moisture. The Primos Wet Box Turkey call is a waterproof box caller favored by novice hunters. It's a single sided box that is easy to use and which works in all weather conditions. Friction based scratch callers take a bit more skill to use, but are much more versatile. The crystal surfaced Freak scratch caller includes a leg strap so that you can call one handed. Whatever type of caller you use, make sure to learn how to properly use it. If you don't know an experienced turkey hunter that you can learn from, instructional videos and even YouTube videos are great for hearing what the various turkey hen calls sound like so that you can imitate them accurately.

Some novices mistakenly use gobbles to call in a tom. Remember; gobbles are used by the tom to call in hens. You want to call in the tom, so gobbling is probably not the best tactic. Instead, stick with locating calls to identify where a gobbler is, and then use hen calls such as cuts, whines, yelps, and clucks. The other critical mistake when calling is calling too much too often. Only the most aggressive toms gobble frequently. Less experienced toms will gobble quietly and infrequently if at all for fear of incurring the wrath of a dominant tom. If the longbeards aren't calling, try setting up on the edge of a field where you may be able to spot one emerging from the tree line to feed.

Decoys

Decoys are at times loved and hated by hunters. Some swear by them, while others insist that they are useless even to the point of frightening off a tom when, while still out of range, he struts for a decoy and receives no response from the motionless lure. With a proper setup however, you can use decoys to your advantage. Try to stake out a couple of hens a good 20 yards or so past where you're setup. Position your setup so that you are midway between where your decoy is and where you expect that big tom to emerge from so that you'll be able to take him as he closes within 50 yards of your position. Another tactic is to throw an aggressive jake in with a couple of hen decoys, enticing your gobbler to come in and teach the young'un a lesson.

In general, there are two types of decoys: foam collapsible, and solid rubber, foam, or resin. The collapsible decoys are easy to transport, but they can spin unnaturally in the breeze while the heavier rubber and foam decoys will be unaffected. Modern decoys look incredibly realistic. Always survey the area when collecting your decoys at the end of a hunt to make sure that no other hunters are stalking your fakes.

Gear

Proper camouflage is critically important when hunting turkeys. Turkeys vision is very acute, and they will vanish at the first sign of trouble. Don't just grab any camo pattern and expect it to perform well. Match your pattern to the terrain you are hunting. If you're hunting pine forests, Realtree AP Camo isn't going to help you much. At a minimum, plan to have a fully camouflage suit including hat and face mask. Dark colored boots and socks are fine, but appropriately camouflaged versions will give the paranoid tom less chance to spot you. A turkey hunting vest with a built in butt pad is also great for carrying extra shells or calls, and the butt pad gives you a dry seat when setting up an impromptu ambush.

The Setup

Now that you've got the proper gear and have located the turkeys, it's time to quietly move into position and setup your ambush. It's not necessary to get too close. Your goal should be to sneak to within 200 to 300 yards, setup your position, and then call the tom in the rest of the way. As usual, care must be taken to move into position as quietly as possible, so watch for those sticks and twigs! When setting up to call in your tom, choose a tree or bush big enough to cover your outline so that no part of your body protrudes outside of the shape of your cover. Sit with your off shoulder (left if you're right handed) facing towards where you expect the tom to approach so that you have the widest arc possible for you to aim in. Be sure there are no obstacles between you and the turkeys: don't set up where there are any creeks or fences between you and your quarry.

Try to arrive at your setup location before dawn. As dawn begins to break, use a few hen clucks and yelps to bring in your turkey. Don't call too much, and don't call too loudly. Just a short string of calls is all you need. Once you've spotted your gobbler, keep all noise and movement to a minimum. Never call to a bird that you can see, they might spot your movement. Wait until he is behind some cover before moving your gun up into position so that your movement doesn't give you away. If he's strutting, wait for him to finish so that you have the best shot at his head/neck area.

Don't give up if your plans don't work right away. Turkeys are extremely cautious, and may get spooked before they even get to you. If your first setup is unsuccessful, don't be afraid to locate the turkey with a crow call or owl hoot and quietly move to a different location where you can begin to call him in again. If you're lucky, and if all has gone according to plan, you'll soon have that spring gobbler in your oven along with some fantastic memories of a great hunt.

Hunting with the AR-15 Rifle

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While the AR-15 rifle platform has been used for hunting for a number of years, it has only recently begun to gain wide acceptance from hunting traditionalists as a viable platform for harvesting medium sized game. The AR rifle as a hunting platform has a number of advantages, including low recoil and fast follow-up shots, not to mention the inherent modularity and adaptability of the AR rifle. Within minutes, you can swap optics or even entire upper receivers to adapt the rifle to whatever role suits you best. According to the NSSF, "AR-15-platform rifles are among the most popular firearms being sold. They are today's modern sporting rifle."

Remington R-25 rifle chambered in .308 Winchester

The NSSF quoted Dick Metcalf on the AR saying "Modern sporting rifles in a wide variety of chamberings are accurate enough for prairie dogs and powerful enough for grizzly bear. They're also utterly reliable and nearly indestructible, which is why I've been hunting with them ever since Colt introduced the first AR-15 Sporter over 30 years ago."

The AR rifle initially made the transition from military style rifle to hunting rifle when farmers and ranchers, along with returning veterans already familiar with the platform, began utilizing it for varmint control. The fast .223/5.56 round has an extremely flat trajectory out to 300 yards, making it ideal for engaging game ranging in size from prairie dogs to coyotes at unknown distances. Heavier bullets in the 62-79 grain range are the most popular for predator control. Close cousins of the AR-15, the AR-10 and LR308 are both chambered in .308 Winchester and are perfectly capable of taking larger game such as deer and even elk, caribou or moose.

Of course these two calibers aren't the only available to the AR. A number of rounds have been created for the rifle over the years as hunters and shooters demanded more performance and greater versatility.

.204 Ruger Ammunition

.204 Ruger Seizing on the popularity of the AR-15 platform as a varmint rifle, Ruger and Hornady teamed up to develop the hyper-velocity .204 Ruger cartridge. Based off of a necked down version of the .222 Remington Magnum, Ruger claims that their .204 round is the fastest commercially produced cartridge with a muzzle velocity of over 4225 FPS with a 32 grain projectile. This extremely flat shooting round is incredibly effective on small game such as prairie dogs, squirrels, and groundhogs.

6.8 SPC
The Remington 6.8 SPC was initially developed to meet the need for a heavier bullet than was currently available in the 5.56mm platform. The US Military sought a bullet with better terminal ballistics than their M855 SS109 ammunition, and the result was the 6.8 SPC designed by the United States Army Marksmanship Unit. Based off of the .30 Remington, the case length was shortened to fit existing M16 magazine wells and adapted to fire the 6.8mm 115 grain bullet. Experimentation showed the 6.8mm round to be the best compromise between the accuracy of the 6.5mm round and the stopping power of the 7mm. When it was released to the commercial market the 6.8 SPC gained enormous popularity with hunters in states that required hunting ammunition be larger than a minimum caliber of .243 as it allowed them to legally use the familiar AR platform for hunting medium sized game.

.450 Bushmaster
Initially developed by Tim LeGendre of LeMag Firearms LLC, the .450 is a straight walled cartridge and one of the largest available for the AR platform, second only to the .50 Beowulf. LeGendre licensed his creation to Bushmaster who contracted with Hornady to mass produce the round. Hornady shortened the case to 1.7 inches, loaded it with their 250 grain SST bullet and designated it the .450 Bushmaster. The .450 Bushmaster doesn't have a particularly long range, but is very effective at dropping large game out to 250 yards. It's also a natural choice when it comes to hunting in thick cover or heavy brush as the heavy bullet can bust through most light twigs and leaves with only minimal deflection.

Conclusion
No matter what type of game you hunt, you can find an AR-15 available in a caliber and configuration well suited to that quarry. You can find it in a variety of finishes, from Realtree Hardwoods to ATACS camoflauge, and with metal, synthetic, or carbon fiber components. The large availability of parts and accessories make the AR rifle easy to customize, and there are limitless options when it comes to optics that can be mounted on the rails of most AR-15s. Combine this with the familiarity of a sporting rifle that has been on the market for 50 years a you've got a fantastic hunting rifle able to be adapted to perform well in almost any role.

Choosing Hunting Rifle Ammunition: Dangerous Game

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When choosing ammunition for a particular game animal, the terminal performance of the round you choose is extremely important. Winchester has developed (and trademarked) their CXP (Controlled eXpansion Performance) scale which is used to rate ammunition performance on various types of game. Dangerous game animals, classified as CXP4, are generally thick skinned African game animals such as hippopotamus, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo, and can weigh anywhere from 1,000 pounds up to 13,000 pounds or more for large male elephants. As such, when hunting these species, you will need to choose your caliber wisely.

.375 H&H Magnum Click to view larger image.

The .375 H&H Magnum is generally considered to be a bare minimum for hunting dangerous CXP4 class game. In fact in Africa, the .375 H&H Magnum is the smallest caliber legally allowed for hunting. Loaded with a 300 grain projectile, the cartridge develops a muzzle velocity exceeding 2,600 FPS which results in a muzzle energy of approximately 4,600 ft-lbs (around 6,500 joules). The .375 is very popular with hunters due to its flat shooting characteristics; given a 200 yard zero, bullet drop is only 8.5 inches at 300 yards with a trajectory peak of 2 inches at 100 yards, which makes it very easy to calculate your hold over.

Probably the most famous and widely used cartridge is the traditional .470 Nitro Express. This round, developed by the British for their double rifles, replaced the Eley brothers .450 Nitro Express cartridge which had become banned in a number of countries. The newer bottle necked .470 round pushes a 500 grain "freight train" of a bullet to velocities exceeding 2100 FPS at the muzzle, generating more than 5,000 ft-lbs (nearly 7,000 joules) of force.

There are a number of intermediate sized cartridges such as the .416 Remington Magnum, and the .458 Lott. The .458 Lott is a recently developed cartridge intended to replace the relatively underpowered .458 Winchester Magnum by Jack Lott, a popular gun writer at the time. Lott had the unpleasant experience of having a .458 Winchester Magnum fail to stop a charging Cape buffalo. This life threatening encounter prompted him to design a replacement round based off of a .375 H&H Magnum case. The new .458 Lott brass was slightly longer than the Winchester Magnum, enabling it to be loaded with more powder and giving the bullet an extra 300 FPS. It wasn't until 2002 however when Hornady began manufacturing the ammunition on a large scale commercial basis that the cartridge gained in popularity. Ruger chambered a new rifle for the Lott, the M77RSM Mark II, which soon became very popular with hunters in Africa. The .458 Lott manages to launch a 500 grain projectile out of a 24" barrel with a muzzle velocity of 2300 FPS, giving it a muzzle energy exceeding 5,100 ft-lbs (almost 7,000 joules) making its overall performance as good or greater than the popular .470 Nitro Express.

One of the largest cartridges in common use today is the .505 Gibbs. This monster cartridge is capable of taking down even the largest African game; only the .500 Jeffrey round is more powerful than the Gibbs. Loaded with a 600 grain Australian Woodleigh bullet the Gibbs generates 2,100 FPS muzzle velocity and 5,877 ft-lbs of energy. The Gibbs was made famous by Ernest Hemingway, who wrote and talked about it often. It was favored by one of Hemingway's characters, Robert Wilson, in the story "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber".

Bullet selection for these dangerous game cartridges depends on the type of game being hunted. By and large, solid bullets are preferred due to their excellent penetration. They are absolutely necessary for head shots on the largest game such as elephants and cape buffalo. Soft pointed and lead core bullets are only suitable for lung shots, as they rapidly deform from the heavy thick skin of large African game and will not penetrate fully. Expanding bullets for large African game must be well constructed to be able to retain weight and remain intact upon impact. Examples of suitable soft bullets include Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, A-Square, and Barnes Triple Shock X Bullet.

It's critically important to select a caliber that you are capable of shooting but that is also capable of stopping dangerous game animals. Utilizing a caliber that is too large can result in flinching or anticipating recoil and pulling the shot, too small and your quarry may not drop. When hunting dangerous game, your life may very well depend on the ammunition you select.

Hog Hunting At Night

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So, I'm about to head out of the office for a weekend hunting trip. I'm heading to a Central Texas ranch where the local feral hog population has gotten too large. We're going to be hunting mostly at night when the hogs are the most active.

Hunting at night presents some unique challenges. The most obvious challenge is the lack of light. The darkness means that iron sights are mostly useless. Even if you have your target lit up, your rifle is still unlit and a black front sight post is difficult to find against a dark background. The same goes for scopes: that fine black crosshair is not easy to pick out at night. Tritium sights help enormously in this respect. Red dot sights and illuminated reticles that have adjustable intensity are even better. When choosing a scope, remember that a low power scope with a large objective (50mm or bigger) does the best job of gathering light. If you have a variable power scope, keep it set on the lowest setting. Zooming in magnifies the image but reduces the brightness of your image.

Still, even with a good scope or tritium night sights, actually seeing your target is more difficult. Shadows tend to blend together in the absence of direct light, and even with a spotlight or flashlight you may not be able to see all of your target. Sometimes only the reflection of the eyes are the only indication you have that a critter is there at all. Naturally, this makes proper target identification more difficult. If you are hunting with others, make sure that you have a plan and procedure to keep everyone out of the firing area.

Spotlighting hogs does work. Once. The problem is that hogs are very smart, and after being shot at once while being spotlighted, they learn to associate the light with death and will panic and run the next time they are spotlighted. That means you're stuck hunting in the dark. If you're going to try spotlighting, try using a red or green filter. Hogs are less sensitive to red and green light, and are less likely to panic when it is used. Aim your spotlight up into the air when turning it on, and then slowly lower it until the bottom edge of the beam starts to begin to illuminate your quarry. This indirect light is fas less noticeable to hogs and most other night time prey.

When hunting at night, follow these tips.

1) Keep the wind in your face: Pay attention to wind direction. Nocturnal animals do not rely on their eyesight as a primary sense. Their sense of smell is very acute, and can detect humans up wind very easily. With the wind in your face, your scent is blown away from your prey instead of towards it. Also pay close attention when approaching your stand so that you don't pollute your target area with your scent.

2) Move Silently: Like scent, noise can easily give your presence away. Nocturnal animals have keen hearing in addition to their sharp sense of smell. Dry brush or crunchy snow on the ground will belie your presence, so plan a silent path in, or move slowly and purposefully to minimize noise.

3) Ranges: Know them. Plan your hunt before setting up and know your distances to specific landmarks. Draw up a range card or small map with the landmarks you've measured from your shooting position and the distances to all of them. Know your rifle's zero and the drop at various ranges. I've pasted a small piece of paper on the inside of my scope cover with the drop in MOA and inches for ranges from 50 to 600 yards.

4) Plan the Date Your Hunt: Like knowing your ranges, planning the date of your hunt helps to ensure success. Hunting under the light of a full moon is much easier than on an overcast night, so try to plan your hunt around the moon and the weather.

5) Shoot and Move: Once you or your group have fired on a group of hogs, be ready to move to a new location. Hogs will not return to that location that night.