By David E. Petzal

The sign of a first-rate intelligence, said F. Scott Fitzgerald, is the ability to hold two conflicting ideas in the mind and still function. So it is with fast rifle work. Riflery is a sport of deliberation and precision, but the demands of the real world very often make deliberation and precision impossible. Gunsite Academy sums it up to a T: “A good fast shot is better than a slow perfect shot because you won’t get time for the perfect shot.”

What follows is about shooting quickly after you have positively identified your target. It’s not about blazing away at sounds or snap-shooting at what you think is an animal. [ Read Full Post ]

By Chad Love

In an interesting twist on the traditional top 10 list, Gore-Tex maker W.L. Gore Associates conducted a survey to find the nation's top hunting destination...with the worst weather. And the top pick? Think really, really big bears and really, really wet conditions. Yep, Kodiak Island, Alaska.

From this story on flatheadbeacon.com:

“Serious hunter athletes know that the most exciting and rewarding hunts often involve battling the elements,” said David Dillon, hunting category leader for W.L. Gore & Associates. “Gore is committed to making sure hunters don’t miss any experience, or pass up any great hunting destination because of wind, rain, sleet, freezing temperatures or other challenging weather. We gear them up so they can stay out longer in any conditions and experience more. We hope this ‘Best Hunt / Worst Conditions’ list inspires some epic hunts for hard core hunters.
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By Phil Bourjaily

A while ago we posted the story of a hunter who had taken North America’s Squirrel Slam in a single season. I thought it was one of the coolest stories we ever ran, but a lot of readers could not see past the fact that the hunter used a shotgun.* Comments ranged from condescension to outrage.

I can understand that someone might prefer to shoot squirrels with a rifle--I have shot them with .22s, air rifles and muzzleloaders--but I don’t get the hate for shotguns.

If I were going squirrel hunting tomorrow (which is not a bad idea), I might take my 10/22 but I would be just as likely to pack a shotgun, especially as the season is young and there are lots of leaves on the trees. I would unscrew the turkey choke from my 20 gauge 870, put in a Modified and shoot field loads of 5 or 6 shot. I might even leave the red dot on it.
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By Colin Kearns

Last Saturday, I boarded a ship and traveled to a foreign land—a small island 20 minutes from Manhattan. I’d heard from a friend and colleague, David Draper, that this was a land rich with gastronomic heritage and, therefore, deserved to be explored. Neighborhoods with names like Carcass Hill, Offalwood, Beaktown, and the Game Preserve were said to announce the eclectic culinary traditions.

Wanting to visit this place and witness it for myself, I embarked on a journey by train and foot and boat. When I touched down on land, I followed my nose to the gates. On the other side, Josh Ozersky, the founder and mayor of this land stood high on a stage beside men in aprons slicing into carcasses with large, sharp knives.

“Welcome to Meatopia!” Ozersky shouted. “The Woodstock of edible meats!”
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By Chad Love

While Iowa's pheasant season outlook is still not great, is at least not quite as abysmal as it's been the past few years. But the ongoing drought combined with an early corn harvest means hunters will probably have to concentrate their efforts in whatever stands of native prarie and edge cover that still remain.

From this story on press-citizen.com: 
"...According to Monday’s crop report from the Iowa Department of Agriculture, 72 percent of the state’s corn crop had reached maturity, compared with a five-year average of 25 percent. At the beginning of the week, 10 percent of the crop already had been harvested, three weeks ahead of normal...."The early harvest means there’s a higher possibility that very few stalks still will be standing come pheasant season, which opens Oct. 27. Pheasants traditionally take cover in the rows, but bare fields mean hunters can anticipate the large majority of this fall’s pheasant population to concentrate in grasslands and prairies earlier in the season, said Tim Thompson, wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. [ Read Full Post ]

By Phil Bourjaily

Help me out here: modern techno-etiquette confuses me. Am I wrong to find it obnoxious when my phone goes off and a picture of dead turkey, a limit of geese or ducks or whatever, appears on the screen, sent by a friend who snapped it in the field? It doesn’t help that on my primitive phone, most pictures of dead animals look like blobs.

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