By Phil Bourjaily

You can argue—and many do—that pepper spray is a more effective bear stopper than any gun. We’ll leave that aside for now, because this blog is not called “The Spray Nut.” Instead, we’ll assume you have already debated guns vs. pepper spray and opted for a gun. (Or you may decide to carry both.)

Not surprisingly, I would tell you to take a shotgun over a handgun. Shotgun slugs have about three times the muzzle energy of a .44 magnum and make much bigger holes. Unless you are a practiced handgunner, a .44 magnum is a difficult gun to shoot straight—even at a very big target.

By David E. Petzal

In my post of April 29, Happy Myles pointed out that African PH Alexander Lake, whose books I recommended, may have been a little creative with his facts. This is quite possible. Peter Barrett, who was Field & Stream’s Executive Editor and an experienced Africa hand, said the same thing. “Lake drew a long bow,” was how Peter put it.

I think that Lake was a typical writer of his time, not an exception. Having read just about all the bound volumes of Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, and Sports Afield that F&S used to have in its library, going all the way back to the First World War, I think that outdoor writing is a lot more honest now.

By David E. Petzal

One of the problems with something the size of the SHOT Show (This year’s set another record for size.) is that a great many deserving but non-glamorous items get lost in the herd. Here are two that deserve your attention and your money.

One of my greatest regrets as I shuffle off this mortal coil is that I’ve kept poor records of my hunting trips, or no records. If you’d like to end up at the end of the trail in better shape, record-wise, I suggest you get hold of Rite in the Rain’s Big Game Journal Kit. This weatherproof spiral-binder pad (and they are weatherproof, too, by God; I’ve used RiR pads for years) has listings for 35 items of information plus a blank reverse for any random intel you care to include.

By David E. Petzal

Back in the 1970s, Uncle Robert Brister told me that one of the most useful things any big-game hunter could own was a binocular in the 15x60 range. He said he never went elk hunting without one, and because I always did everything he said, I rushed right out and bought a Zeiss porro prism glass in 15x60 and it was exactly as he said, a highly specialized but invaluable tool if the circumstances were right.  Of course, like a jerk, I sold them some years later, but recently I traded a lot of stuff and coughed up some cash and got another big glass in the same power range.