By Slaton L. White

Pots are perfect for subtle clucks and purrs. Box calls belt out yelps and cackles. You wouldn’t give a mouth call to a new hunter, but you’d use one when you need both hands to aim. In short, different calls serve different purposes.

So we asked four turkey guides to spend the entire 2011 season using four distinctly different calls now on store shelves. They rated each on its own merits to determine which performs its go-to function best.

For more info on the guides who tested the calls, scroll to the bottom of the article.
[ Read Full Post ]

by M.D. Johnson

The turkey hunter’s mantra, and the reason behind the creation of the turkey vest, is simple: It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Given that there are approximately 1,001 items of gear available to hunters, it can be daunting 
to figure out exactly what’s necessary for a trip into the woods. Here’s what I carry. Oh yeah, 
I also bring my shotgun and some shells.

1. Cellphone My iPhone is always fully charged and ready for emergencies…and for when I need help passing the time between in-the-field naps. It also takes great photos.

2. Decoys and Stakes I have two Avian-X LCD decoys, with an extra stake, as I’m prone to losing things.

3. Pot & Peg Call I have two pots: a crystal over glass surrounded by purpleheart wood from the now-defunct Backwoods Game Calls and a crystal pot from Freddie Zink. Both play in any weather, sound fantastic, and offer great versatility. I keep two Woodhaven Custom Calls Purple Heart strikers at hand, and a full acrylic striker from Hunter’s Specialties for those rainy mornings.

[ Read Full Post ]

by Phil Bourjaily

It has taken a while, but Winchester’s Super X3 semiauto has danced its way into my heart. I was a fan of the hefty, retro-styled X2. When Winchester lightened it, gave it a makeover (an ugly makeover IMO) and called it the X3, I was underwhelmed.

I was also wrong. The X3 is a winner.

The particular model of Super X3 that changed my mind is the Sporting Clays version. Winchester sent me one on loan to review a year ago for Best of the Best for 2011. It was high school trap season at the time and I gave it to a girl on our team who was struggling. Her scores went from single digits to low 20s. Since then I have used it as a loaner for several kids and everybody who picks up the X3 shoots it well.

[ Read Full Post ]

By David E. Petzal

Pro Tool, which makes the Woodman’s Pal combination tool, and master outdoorsman and writer J. Wayne Fears have designed three new knives that bear his name (top to bottom): the Ultimate Survival Knife, the Ultimate Outdoor Cook Knife, and the Ultimate Deer Hunter’s Knife. J. Wayne knows about everything there is to know about hunting and staying alive in the wilderness, and the knives show the input of someone who knows what the hell he is doing.

All three are made of 1095 cutlery steel, tempered to Rc 54-56. This steel makes a blade that sharpens easily and takes an edge like a razor, but usually requires a fair amount of resharpening. However, these hold their edges like Grim Death itself. Out of curiosity, I cut the top out of a steel acetone can with the Survival Knife. Its edge needed a little retouching, but otherwise it didn’t seem to mind.

Because tool steel rusts, the Deer Hunter’s Knife and the Survival Knife have their blades and tangs epoxy-powder coated. The Cook Knife does not, and if you leave it in your kitchen knife drawer you must stress to all who may use it that if they put it in the washing machine, they will be stabbed with it. Repeatedly.

[ Read Full Post ]

By David E. Petzal

The other night I had the pleasure of listening to a talk by Tony Sanchez-Arino who, at age 82, is about to begin his 60th season as an African professional hunter. In addition to countless safaris, he was also an ivory hunter and, I would guess, a game-control shooter. His numbers of animals taken are staggering: just under 1,300 elephant, 2,044 Cape buffalo, and 322 lion. His talk dealt with the three questions he is most often asked.

Which is better, a double rifle or a bolt action?

Answer: "They’re both good. You go with whatever is most familiar to you. Don’t go to Africa with a rifle that’s new and strange."

What’s the most dangerous animal?

"That’s impossible to answer, because a lot of it depends on the country in which you hunt them. For example, Cape buffalo in open country are as easy to kill as cattle, but in heavy cover they’re something else. I can tell you what is most likely to kill you if it gets hold of you, and those animals are, in order, elephant, Cape buffalo, and lion."

[ Read Full Post ]