By David E. Petzal

As you get older, your inner life undergoes a great and wonderful simplification—­everything pisses you off. The outward signs can range from mild irritation to mouth-­foaming behavior that can be mistaken for rabies. Here is the short list (taken from a much longer list) of things that are currently cheesing me off in the world of rifles.

■ The Lead Sled: I like Lead Sleds and wish they had been around when I started pounding my shoulder to rubble. They can save you from detached retinas, back damage, flinching, and possibly dandruff. My problem comes when people shoot off the Lead Sled exclusively. At some point, sweetheart, if you want to learn to shoot a rifle, you have to take your lumps.
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By David E. Petzal

I own three knives that belonged to friends of mine who are no longer here. One is a Randall Model 5, which Randall calls the Camp and Trail Knife. Bo Randall gave it to my friend Norm Strung in the early 1970s, and Norm carried it until the end of his life. He abused it shamefully. The stag handle is loose, the blade was pitted when I got it, and he carried a drag rope over the handle that twisted the sheath out of shape. Nevertheless, it is still Norm’s Knife to me.

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By Scott Bestul

A trail camera won’t stumble through a bedding area, leave scent all over a trail, or exaggerate the size of a rack. And it’ll never oversleep. But your perfect little scouting buddy must be chosen wisely and placed carefully if you want to pattern that old, crafty buck you know is around. Here’s how...

When I first started using one, a trail camera was just a 35mm film point-and-shoot tucked in a weatherproof housing. It snapped a single picture when something triggered the sensor. Whenever I retrieved that camera, I ran to the one-hour shop to get the film developed, then breathlessly thumbed through a week’s worth of pictures. More than once a stack of 36 prints revealed a handful of out-of-focus deer and a couple dozen shots of a wind-whipped shaft of switchgrass or a drooping tree branch. That was only eight years ago.
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By Scott Bestul

Before you take your trail cam to the timber, run two simple tests to help ­determine your camera’s detection and flash ranges, trigger speed, and ideal focal point.

1.) Program your camera for its simplest function. Mount it 4 to 5 feet high on a tree, telephone pole, post, or tripod in an open area. Stand next to your camera and pace off or measure 10 feet directly in front of the lens. Place a white stake or easily visible object at this spot. Pace off another 10 feet and repeat, until you have a straight line of stakes every 10 feet out to 60 feet. Turn your camera on and give it time to power up.
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By Keith McCafferty

The great bushcraftsman Mors Kochanski once told me that a man can survive in wilderness with only a knife—but carry an ax and he lives like a king. To complete the woodsman’s toolbox, I recommend adding a bow saw. By packing all three blades in your canoe duffel (or on your back, as their total weight shouldn’t exceed 4 pounds), you can carve, chop, and saw your way to a wilderness throne faster and without nearly as much chance of injury than if you leave one tool behind. Here are the three blades I carry and what I can do with them.

Pictured from left: Helle Temagami knife, Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Ax, 24-Inch Folding Bucksaw

Peel & Shave

As long as you pack an ax and saw for heavy work, a knife is best used for peeling and shaving sticks. Peeled sticks harden quickly, becoming tougher and lighter than bark-on sticks, and can be further shaped into tools like spears, bows, and arrows.

Peel a stick by holding one end and resting the other end against a stump. Keeping your knife arm straight, stroke away from you by moving your shoulder and body, rather... [ Read Full Post ]

By T. Edward Nickens

A little bit here and a little bit there. You keep your eyes open. That’s how you learn. You pick up a new knot from a new fishing buddy, or try a decoy trick you saw in a magazine. You make mistakes. And if you’re lucky, like I was, there will be a mentor along the way. An unselfish someone who cares enough about you that he wants you to know everything he’s ever learned.

That’s the good thing about hunting and fishing and camping: You can never know it all, and you’re never as good as you could be.

Over the years, I’ve learned from the best—mentors, buddies, guides, story subjects, and some of the most dedicated outdoor-skills competitors this world has ever seen. Put them together, and they’ve got a half dozen different ways to shoot a double or cast a fly rod. Here’s the best of what I’ve learned from them, and on my own, in 35 years of hunting and fishing. And this is what all sportsmen should do with such knowledge: Pass it on.

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