Field and Stream - What to Use When Bow Hunting Whitetail Deer, Turkeys, Bear, and Big Game RSS

Field & Stream Tests Four Trail Cams from Moultrie, Bushnell, Cuddeback, and Stealth Cam

Online Editors — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:56:43 -0500

When trail cameras were first introduced, they used film, not SD cards; shutter speeds were slow; and nighttime shots were grainy. Despite slimmer profiles, today's digital cams have video options, infrared flash, and the ability to store thousands of color pictures. Some models even let you access them remotely. We asked manufacturers to submit units in the midlevel price range, and our test panel graded them on image quality, battery life (though testing time was limited), construction and design, and ease of operation. Here's how they fared.

Scent Smoker Scent-Elimination System Looks Promising

Online Editors — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:36:32 -0500

Catching on mainly by word of mouth, the Scent Smoker scent-elimination system (scentsmoker.com) consists of a stainless-steel can in which you

Petzal: The Best Camo for Hunting Away from Home

Online Editors — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:35:52 -0500

On my recent trip to Oregon, a bunch of us were sitting on a ridge waiting for a mule deer to do something stupid, and one of our number left to walk down an adjoining ridge. When he was 1,000 yards away or so the head honcho of the ranch said: “You know, I can see him as clearly as if he were wearing blaze orange. That camo of his doesn’t work.”

And it was true. The ridgerunner was wearing some kind of dark camo designed for sitting in a tree in a Southern swamp, and at a distance all the branches and leaves and Spanish moss and cottonmouths in the pattern blended together into a dark and highly visible mass. I’ve seen this many times; very few camo patterns travel well.

There are three that do, and they work because ...

How To Rattle in Bucks With One Hand

Online Editors — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:59:46 -0500

The movement required to rattle in a buck can torpedo the best setup, especially when a wise whitetail hangs up in thick brush. This easy-to-make rig allows a hunter to
rattle one-handed, with minimal movement, to draw in big deer. The rig installs easily on stands with catwalk-type floors. You’ll need to drill a hole in the floor of wooden stands.

Gear Review: The PSE X Force Omen vs. the Mathews McPherson Series Monster XLR8

JayCassell — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:25:58 -0500

It’s no surprise that one of these bows is made by PSE, which turned the archery industry upside down in 2007 with the blazing-fast X Force, collected a Field & Stream Best of the Best Award, and hasn’t looked back since.

Antler Rattling Tips: How to Call In Big Bucks During The Rut

Online Editors — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:08:54 -0400

Antler rattling is an effective technique during the rut, when bucks are more aggressive

Trail Cams Lie (and Three More Lessons from a Great Deer)

Online Editors — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:07:09 -0400

Senators Take Aim At Park Service Lead Ban

Online Editors — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 08:33:39 -0400

From a National Shooting Sports Foundation press release via PR Newswire:
A letter signed by [13 Republican] United States senators to Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar raising important questions about actions by the National Park Service (NPS) to ban the use of traditional ammunition in parks that allow hunting has drawn praise from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry.

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Best of the Best Awards: Best New Hunting Gear 2009

Online Editors — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:47:08 -0400

This year, 27 experienced testers took more than 500 pieces of gear and put them to extreme, exhausting, and real-life use. Some things broke. Others didn’t work as claimed. Many didn’t live up to expectations. What remained is equipment that met our rigorous standards and then some: the Best of the Best Hunting Gear for 2009.

Four Ways to Customize Your Gillie Suit For Bowhunting

Online Editors — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:09:45 -0400
With all due respect to today’s excellent camouflage patterns, you can’t beat a gillie suit for bowhunting whitetails and other game on ground level.
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Booth Babe Round-Up

Joe_Cermele — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 11:28:00 -0400
Take a look at all the best "Booth Babe" photos from the last few years of the SHOT Show.

Gear Review: Coleman LED Quad Lantern

JayCassell — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:41:38 -0400

I probably own about half a dozen Coleman lanterns – a couple of propane and duel-fuel lights, but mostly those that run on Coleman fuel. My favorite is a lantern that my father used to have back in the 1950s. It’s in mint condition and it still works perfectly (though I had to replace the generator and O rings a couple of years ago).

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Gear Review: Knight & Hale Pack Rack

JayCassell — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:16:21 -0400

If you’re like me, you probably get pretty tired of lugging sets of real or synthetic antlers into the woods so you can hopefully rattle in a buck. Rattling antlers not only take up too much space in your hunting pack, but they also tend to clack and clank together as you walk, alerting any self-respecting buck in the area that something isn’t right.

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Siblings Get Life In “Hunting Accident” Murder

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:08:44 -0400

From GoErie.com:

A brother and sister were sentenced to life in prison Tuesday for the slaying of the sister's estranged husband at the victim's home near the Allegheny National Forest on Dec. 5. . . .
State police said [Cory] Altman and Susan Yeager conspired to kill Shawn Yeager and make it look like a hunting accident. . . .

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Chad Love: The Ultimate Scouting Resource?

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:17:22 -0400

One of the things that never fails to amaze me about anglers and hunters is the level of observational wisdom many of us possess, the kind of specialized natural history knowledge gained only through years of woods and water time. John Merwin's recent blog post is an excellent example of this connecting-the-natural-dots talent outdoorsmen possess.

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Discussion Topic: PA To Crack Down On Poachers

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:14:50 -0400

From the PR Newswire:

Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe today praised the House Game and Fisheries Committee and its chairmen. . . for its near unanimous approval of House Bill 97, which would increase penalties and fines for poaching. . . .

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Chad Love: Guns, Rods, and Bike Helmets

Joe_Cermele — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:52:35 -0400

I started hunting and fishing with a mountain bike in college because I didn't have a car and I was young, fit and poor. I am now old, fat and regrettably still poor, but I still enjoy using a mountain bike to hunt and fish public land.

A good mountain bike is a surprisingly effective means of off-road transportation and I've always wondered why more hunters and anglers didn't utilize them, especially in areas closed to motor vehicles.

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Chad Love: Locked & Loaded in Parkland

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:28:51 -0400

There's already been a boatload of bloviation expressed on the recent reversal of the ban on loaded firearms in our national parks, some of it sensible but most of it (predictably) bordering on hysterics.

This column from the Huffington Post is a perfect example:

"In fact, the new rule is likely to make national park visitors less safe around wildlife. Packing heat could give some people a false sense of security and make them more likely to approach bison, elk, moose, and grizzly bears, rather than keep a safe distance which is better for both people and animals."

But the most certain outcome of this congressional action is that it will promote poaching. The National Park Service warned in its fiscal 2006 budget submission each year for the past several years ... The data suggests that there is a significant domestic as well as international trade for illegally taken plant and animal parts." Poaching, the agency said, "is suspected to be a factor in the decline of at least 29 species of wildlife and could cause the extirpation of 19 species from the parks."

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States Save Millions Swapping Fish And Ammo

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 27 May 2009 11:58:26 -0400

From The New York Times:

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Chad Love: Six-Word Story Contest Winner

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 20 May 2009 14:21:50 -0400

When I first thought up the idea for the six-word story contest I expected the usual response my blogs generate: a dozen or so comments, the obligatory question about which picture at the top is me (yes, sir, I am indeed the "slack-jawed hillbilly" on the left...) and that one guy who always chides me about my alleged bashing of the Dubya/Darth Cheney administration (Do you maybe have me confused with Bill Maher?).

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Gear Review: A New Two-Way Radio for Hunters

JayCassell — Wed, 20 May 2009 10:23:46 -0400

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A Man's Grill

Joe_Cermele — Mon, 18 May 2009 10:58:58 -0400

Discussion Topic: Field & Stream Wins ASME’s Highest Honor

Joe_Cermele — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:32:04 -0400

F&S is the best magazine of its size on the planet. Okay, I’m a little biased on that point--but it’s not just me who thinks so. Last night, the country’s top magazine editors representing the country’s top magazines met at New York City’s Lincoln Center for the 44th Annual National Magazine Awards. Known as Ellies, these are basically the Oscars of the magazine industry, and “General Excellence” is “Best Picture.”

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Focus Your Binoculars by Adjusting the Diopter

T_Mac — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 09:28:47 -0400
Binocs won't help you unless you can see through them clearly. Adjusting the diopter the right way makes all the difference.
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Tree Stand Hunter’s Continuing Ed

Joe_Cermele — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 09:07:12 -0400

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