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The Best Field & Stream Reader Photos From January 2012

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:06:52 -0500

The 50 Best Field & Stream Reader Photos of January.

Can High-Fence Hunting Save the Scimitar Horned Oryx?

Sarah Smith — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:59:18 -0500

--Chad Love

Can hunting endangered African species help save them? That's the question the news segment that aired last night on 60 Minutes is asking.

From this story on cbsnews.com:

The scimitar horned oryx . . . the addax . . . the dama gazelle - three elegant desert antelope that you'd hope to see on a journey through Africa, except that their numbers are dwindling there. Which is why Lara Logan went to Texas -- yes, Texas. There, on large grassland ranches, some exotic species that are endangered in the wild have been brought back in large numbers. But there's a catch: a percentage of the herd is hunted every year by hunters who pay big money for a big catch.

The Best Shotguns of 2012

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:56:43 -0500

These are the best new shotguns of 2012.

The Best New Rifles of 2012

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:41:18 -0500

The Best New Rifles of 2012.

SHOT Show 2012 From The Floor: Day 3

Online Editors — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:48:52 -0500

Photos from the floor of SHOT Show 2012, Day 2.

SHOT Show 2012 From The Floor: Day 2

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:34:22 -0500

Photos from the floor of SHOT Show 2012, Day 2.

SHOT Show 2012 From The Floor: Day I

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:48:40 -0500

Photos from the floor of SHOT Show 2012, Day 1.

Lessons Learned and Soliciting Queries for SHOT Show 2012

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:15:08 -0500

by David E. Petzal

This past year was an unusually active one for me. I dragged my rotting carcass across both oceans and to a number of states, and took 11 head of big game, with big game being defined as a wild swine or larger.

Looking over the whole business, a number of things stand out. The longest shot I took was at an elk. It was 160 yards. The two shortest--at a red stag and a mule deer--were around 30 yards. The average for everything was 80 yards. None of this is long-range shooting, and leads me to wonder, where are all these 500-yard shots everyone is obsessing about? During the whole season, one person I was afield with took a long shot--400 yards--at an elk, hit it and was unable to find it. In the real world, at least from my experience, things still happen well inside 200 yards.

The Best Field & Stream Reader Photos From 2011

Dave_Maccar — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:15:14 -0500

The 60 best photos submitted by readers in 2011.

Field & Stream's Best Photo Galleries and Blogs of 2011

Dave_Maccar — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:53:52 -0500

The 25 best online stories from F&S in 2011.

South Dakota Ranch Hand May Get Ticket for Shooting Mountain Lion

Sarah Smith — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:10:24 -0500

--Chad Love

Authorities in South Dakota are debating whether to let a ranch hand keep a mountain lion he shot out of a tree, or ticket him for it.

From this story on therepublic.com:

South Dakota wildlife officials are deciding whether a Harding County ranch hand can keep a mountain lion he killed while working on another rancher's land, in a complicated case that has the president of the state Wildlife Federation wondering if the shooter should actually get a ticket. Shannon Secrest of Buffalo told wildlife officers he discovered the lion in a tree last November when his dogs began barking. He shot and killed it, and reported the incident to the state Game, Fish and Parks Department. Secrest now wants to mount the big cat for display, but officials are trying to iron out several matters in the complicated case including whether Secrest properly killed the cat out of season.

The Best Field & Stream Reader Photos From December 2011

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:44:10 -0500

The 50 Best Field & Stream Reader Photos of December.

First Shots Photo Collection

Online Editors — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 10:59:48 -0500

A collection of jaw-dropping hunting and fishing photos from Field & Stream's "First Shots" magazine section.

Five BC Bighorns Dead: Work of Wildlife Serial Killer?

Online Editors — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:46:41 -0500

--Chad Love

Someone is killing British Columbia's bighorn sheep, and wildlife officers have no idea why.

From this story in the Globe and Mail:

In his 26 years as a conservation officer, Steve Wasylik says he's never before seen the brazen thrill-killing that has recently targeted bighorn sheep near Kamloops. "There was simply no effort to recover the animals," Mr. Wasylik said. "They weren't trophy animals." Over the past week, five Californian bighorn sheep have been shot dead in two separate incidents. Two rams were found near Lytton, about 150 kilometres southwest of Kamloops, on Dec. 13. The second incident occurred three days later, when two rams and a ewe were found shot dead on a ranch in the Big Bar area near Clinton, 120 kilometres northwest of Kamloops. There have been no further reported incidents.

Only One Bear Killed in South Carolina’s First Bear Hunt Since 1950's

Sarah Smith — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 10:09:29 -0500

--Chad Love

The state of South Carolina just conducted its first coastal black bear hunt since "Leave It To Beaver" was a hit, but apparently someone must have tipped off the bears beforehand.

From this story on heraldonline.com:

The bears did better than the hunters in the first black bear hunting season on South Carolina's coast in more than a half-century. Only one of the 30 hunters who drew tags to hunt bears this month in Horry, Georgetown and Williamsburg counties managed to bag one. A 197-pound female was killed Wednesday in an agricultural field in Georgetown County, said Deanna Ruth, a wildlife biologist with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources.

Bear Found Sleeping In NJ Basement

Sarah Smith — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:29:38 -0500

--Sarah Smith Barnum

New Jersey bears have been a hot topic in the news lately. People are grappling over whether to spend money on non-lethal management methods, or to earn money in a tight economy with a bear hunting season. Tough call.

Today is no different. A NJ cable TV repairman found a bear sleeping in his basement. At least the seal from New Zealand made it to the couch.

From this story on NBC New York:
A cable TV repairman had his very own Goldilocks moment Wednesday when he found a sleeping bear in the basement of a home in Hopatcong, New Jersey, NBC New York reported.

NJ Bear Hunt for Sport or Management?

Sarah Smith — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:58:57 -0500

by Sarah Smith Barnum

The New Jersey bear hunt is over and people are trying to figure out whether it was a good choice or not. Groups such as the New Jersey Sierra Club, the APLNJ and BEAR Group contend that hunters are killing the bears purely for sport--not management--and that there must be a more effective management plan.

The proposed plan suggested public education to teach people how to better handle their garbage disposal, but if suburban sprawl continues to eat the land bears call home, then the locals better get used to bruins in the trash or hunters managing the population.

From this controversial story on Northjersey.com:

...Black bear sightings have increased in regularity from 1995 to the present, according to the DEP. There have been black bear sightings in every county in New Jersey, with the bears making their way into more and more densely populated residential areas, the DEP said.

The 75 Best Field & Stream Reader Photos From November 2011

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 10:13:59 -0500

The 50 Best Field & Stream Reader Photos of October.

Hunting Amidst Grizzlies: Always Respect the Bruin, and Remember Your Bear Spray

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:05:38 -0500

by Hal Herring

Hunter shoots charging griz in Badger-Two Medicine area
By Karl Puckett

A Kalispell elk hunter shot and killed a charging grizzly bear in the Badger-Two Medicine Area of the Rocky Mountain Front on Wednesday. It was the third instance of hunters shooting grizzly bears in self defense on the Front — and at least the eighth in northwestern Montana — since big-game rifle hunting season began three weeks ago.

In an interview, Ben Laster, 28, described the shooting of the female grizzly as "the worst thing I've had to do in my life."

I was hunting just east of the Scapegoat Wilderness boundary, about a week ago. In the half-light before dawn, the tracks in the snow on the game trail looked like they might be human. As the light came up, though, it was clear that they were grizzly tracks, the improbably huge mitten-like print with the perfectly round toes, the frozen steep ground scored by the big diggers, like a badger print blown up, a badger from an old black and white Godzilla movie. Most of the tracks were blurred—there was more than one bear traveling here, and it looked like we were all going to the same place, a little pass about a mile and half off.

The 50 Best Photos from Round II of the 2011 F&S Fall Trail Cam Contest

Online Editors — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 14:51:21 -0500

The Best 2011 Round 2 Trail Cam Photos

South Africa To Ban All Rhino Hunts If Poaching Doesn't Stop

Sarah Smith — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 11:32:05 -0400

--Chad Love

The legal hunting of rhinos in South Africa may become a thing of the past very soon due to a dramatic increase in poaching incidents.

From this AP story:

South Africa could ban rhino trophy hunting if other efforts to curb poaching fail, the environment minister said Wednesday. "The minister of water and environmental affairs reserves the right to institute a moratorium if there is a clear abuse or absolute collapse in any of the provincial permitting systems," Minister Edna Molewa said in a statement.

Heroes of Conservation Winner Announced!

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:58:38 -0400

At a time when the U.S. government is being asked to do more with less, conservationists all over the country are doing more without waiting to be asked. These efforts were recognized at the sixth annual Heroes of Conservation awards gala, sponsored by Field & Stream and Toyota. "It's a critical time, budgets are tight, and it is possible that essential projects to restore and protect America's wildlife and lands will be shelved due to lack of funds," F&S Editor Anthony Licata said at the Washington, D.C. event. "But there is hope. We are humbled by and incredibly grateful to people like our heroes, who are willing to work even when there isn't a budget."

Video, Interview: Mountain Biker Clobbered by Charging Antelope

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:31:20 -0400

by Dave Maccar

Charging wildlife isn’t the first thing on a mountain biker’s mind in the heat of a race, but the animals don’t know that.

Evan van der Spuy was racing in the 38 km Time Freight MTB Express mountain bike race at Albert Falls Dam, 20km outside the city of Pietermaritzburg in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa for Team Jeep South Africa over the weekend.

His teammate, Travis Walker, was in third place with a GoPro camera mounted on his bike, and captured this amazing footage below of Evan, who was in second place until this red hartebeest (a member of the antelope family) had something to say about it.

Yes, the hit was as hard as it looks. Evan was stabilized with a neck brace and taken to the hospital for overnight observation. He sustained a minor concussion, whiplash and some bruising on his head where his helmet imploded on impact.

F&S spoke to Evan today to get his take on the events behind this video, which is rapidly going viral.

Evan said he is recovering well, and feels extremely lucky.

“Luckily I walked away with just a bit of whiplash and a concussion, considering what happened,” he says. “I saw the animal moving to cross the road in front of me, but when I saw how close it really was, I was shocked. Then, from the moment it hit me I was unconscious. I actually don’t know what happened from then.”

Canadian Moose Hunter Fends Off Charging Black Bear With Bow

Sarah Smith — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:36:32 -0400

--Chad Love

A Canadian moose hunter is out of the hospital after fending off (and ultimately killing) a charging black bear.

From this story on lotwenterprise.com:

A Kenora area hunter is lucky to be alive after fighting off a bear attack, Sept. 26. The 48-year-old man was treated for puncture wounds to his arm, shoulder and neck at Lake of the Woods district hospital and released later the same afternoon. The bear was mortally wounded during the encounter and did not survive. A Ministry of Natural Resources official credits the man for taking action to save his life.

"It was a dangerous situation," affirmed MNR Lake of the Woods supervisor Leo Heyens. "He did all the right things. If he hadn't fired an arrow or fought back, yelling and making himself look big, it could have been more serious."

(Bonus Report) Draper: While You Were Thinking about The Deer Rut...

Sarah Smith — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:19:29 -0400

Rut Reporter David Draper grew up hunting deer and small game throughout this region and presently lives on a family farm in Nebraska. Draper, former communications specialist for Cabela’s and an authority on the Great Plains, subsists on a diet of duck breast and venison. States covered: ND, SD, NE and KS.

With any real serious deer rut activity still a few weeks away, I didn’t want you all to forget about the other ruts that are going on around the region right now, so I’m submitting this bonus Great Plains report about elk and pronghorn action.

I spent the weekend guiding Ron Rousey on an elk hunt here in Nebraska, where he was lucky enough to draw a once-in-a-lifetime tag. It sounds a bit weird, but the Cornhusker State has a healthy and growing elk herd-- enough so that there are actually seven different hunting units across the state.