Letters From Our Readers

Sticking to Our Guns

fieldandstream-editor — Tue, 01 Mar 2005 07:15:00 -0500

I had to laugh when I read "Elk arsenal" by David E. Petzal. More big-bore nonsense. It seems like Petzal is trying to compensate for something by fielding a much larger bore than necessary. I have taken over 20 bull elk, all but one with my .30/06. Many have been one-shot kills. Shot placement is the key, not bore size. I groan at the thought of hauling one of those excessively heavy, hard-kicking rifles all day long up and down the mountains.
John Cleveland, via e-mail

David E. Petzal replies: Maybe you laughed so hard you couldn't read what I wrote. I don't like the weight and the kick either. And I never said that power was a substitute for accurate shooting. If you've killed 20 elk, you've done a tremendous amount of hunting. Most people don't get many elk hunts, and they get even fewer shots. And from my experience, when you have those kinds of odds, it's better to have a big rifle.

PETZAL RATED PG-13
As far as I'm concerned, you've displayed your lack of good taste for the last time. Your snide editorial responses are neither funny nor manly (Cheers & Jeers). I wonder, if you responded to someone face-to-face in like manner, would you end up with a busted jaw? Gutless anonymity brings out the worst in some. Before her first elk hunt, I was going to have my daughter read David E. Petzal's "The Good Elk Hunts Will Almost Kill You," until I read his account of how to keep his balls from being smashed in the saddle. Freedom of speech is great. But just because you can say anything you want doesn't mean you should. Jeff Anderson, via e-mail

Field & Stream is edited for an audience that is overwhelmingly male and is not likely to be offended by the occasional expletive. In fact, we are a lot tamer than most magazines, and there is a fairly extensive list of words that you never will read in these pages. We realize that some readers find our Cheers & Jeers answers sophomoric, but the vast majority get a kick out of them. And as for the anatomical noun in Petzal's story, we have received exactly two complaints about it out of a readership of 10 million. -The Editors

DOG BEFORE DENOMINATION
I just finished Jim Harrison's story, "Dog Years," and I have some advice. First, if you have food in your truck, lock the Lab outside, run like hell into the tavern, drink quickly, and pray the Lab hasn't found a way into the cab. Second, if your church doesn't think gun dogs go to heaven, change churches. All kidding aside, the story was great.
Jack Hanley, Barnstead, N.H.

I LOVE CHEAP GLASS
I could run down to our local sporting-goods store and buy a lightly used rifle and a good pistol and still have money left for shells for the cost of a pair of those binoculars (Gearing Up). I understand you showcase the best (and consequently, I enjoy drooling over rifles that cost more than new tires for my truck), but when you title an article "Binoculars on a Budget," whose budget are we talking about? Maybe I'm tighter than ol' Scrooge himself, but I got my binoculars at a garage sale for 10 bucks, and they see just as far, focus just as quickly, and look just as clear as your $600 pair. I love your magazine. That article just got me fired up. I had to vent to somebody, and my wife wasn't interested. If I can't tell you guys, who can I tell? Now, do some bargain shopping, would you?!
C.P. Baker, via e-mail

We're not interested in saving our readers money. We want them to spend every cent on expensive sporting goods so that they'll have to live on cheap, gas-producing vegetables, sell their dogs, and drive pickups with pathetic four-cylinder engines. -THE EDITORS

FIELD & STREAM DAILY?
Just so you know, your magazine is the reason I go to the mailbox every morning.
Andy Hill, Monroe, Ga.

Dog Days of Summer

fieldandstream-editor — Tue, 01 Mar 2005 07:15:00 -0500

Now that I'm done bawling, I can say that Mitch Kezar's "One Great Dog" (May) is yet another example of great Field & Stream writing and, more importantly, the real reasons we readers love the outdoors. It's great to come home with ducks and pheasants, but the things that surround our hunting experiences are the best part. I've buried a few great dogs, and I hope they're chasing woodchucks with Mitch's dog Lia and keeping Will Rogers company.
Kris Peterson, Lafayette, Calif.

I've been reading F&S for 25 years, and I've never felt the need to thank one of your writers as much as I do right now. Two days after I read "One Great Dog," I had to lay my German shorthaired pointer to rest. I don't remember ever doing something that hurt me as much. But I took comfort in the knowledge that Dee is buried where pheasants will raise their young above her, and my new dog and I can pass her on our walks. Thanks, Mitch.
S.J. O'Brien, Bozeman, Mont.

"One Great Dog" was a tug on my heart. It was five years ago today that I had to put my boy to sleep. Grizz was 14, a duck-retrieving machine, a bodyguard to my kids, and a four-legged garbage disposal. There wasn't a duck he wouldn't get or a rock he wouldn't fall asleep on. I still feel a void every day. Get the duck, Grizz!
Brad Harris, Tacoma, Wash.

LISTEN UP!
David E. Petzal's sidebar "Deaf Is Deaf" (Rifles) did a great disservice to the many thousands of people who have nerve-trauma hearing loss. Mr. Petzal made the mistake that many make when getting their first hearing aid-he was not persistent. You must wear them for at least 60 days, and if one kind doesn't work, try another. I tried seven different kinds before I found one that worked for me.
Al Lingg, Moscow, Idaho

I'm afraid that Mr. Petzal's comments will dissuade individuals with hearing problems from attempting to recover a part of that loss. Don't help develop a negative attitude. There are miracles out there. All the birds came back the day I started wearing mine. I can hear my grandchildren calling and I can tell time from clock chimes. And I can take them out and pretend I understand everything my wife is saying.
James E. Moulton, Chula Vista, Calif.

David E. Petzal replies: When the doctor prescribed them, he said, "Don't expect much." When, after wearing them for more than two years, I told him that I'd given up on the things, he said, "I'm not surprised." I spent a small fortune and had this funny idea that they should have worked. My point is, if you wear earmuffs, you can save yourself this experience altogether.

ABDICATION OF EDITORIAL RESPONSIBILITY
In "Petzal's Picks" (Gearing Up), the author referred to "horrifying cartridges that will blast the turret off an M-1 tank." Considering the fact that anti-gun senators like Feinstein and Schumer want to restrict us to bows and arrows, an exaggerated statement will only scare an uninformed public when they quote it and use the name Field & Stream to proclaim its truth. What really gets me is that I have to complain to four editors above Petzal. Where were they when he turned in his copy? At a Teddy Kennedy pep rally? Well, I don't know how you all feel about this letter, but I feel better.
Jere Scole Jr., Kennebunk, Maine

David E. Petzal replies: Jere, you have to get a grip, as well as an understanding of the use of sarcasm in journalism. Also, I doubt that Sens. Schumer and Feinstein spend much time reading Field & Stream in order to make war on the Second Amendment. As for the two (not four) editors who supposedly shirked their duty, they were at the bank withdrawing their kids' college money to give to the NRA when that piece of copy went through. But we're glad you feel better; that's what we're here for.

CORRECTION: In "Fishing Destiny," Ken Schultz stated that Mexico's Lake Huites was the best water in North America to catch a wall-hanger bass. Unfortunately, the outfitter he recommended has temporarily closed their lodge on Huites and moved to another lake because of suddenly poor fishing, allegedly due to netting and fish kills. Three other lodges on Huites are still in operation, but Schultz advises anglers who are considering a trip to contact Wet-a-Line Tours (888-295-4665; www.wetaline.com) before making plans.
-The Editors

The Abaguchie Files

fieldandstream-editor — Tue, 01 Mar 2005 07:15:00 -0500

When I got to "On the Prowl" (Field Notes, April) and read that the horrible abaguchie had been sighted in West Virginia, I was devastated to say the least. Please tell me how I can help. One request, though: Before you inform everyone about April fool, can we find a really hungry one and send my ex-wife down to catch it?
Austin Bradley, via e-mail

I was on the train when I read about the abaguchie problem. Fortunately, I was sitting next to a Bigfoot (they don't like to fly) and asked his/her (it's hard to tell) opinion. I was assured that abaguchies are mostly misunderstood and harder to find than WMDs.
Bill Tavani, Hockessin, Del.

Oh sure, poke fun at West Virginia. We don't have coyotes, and we nurture our rattlesnakes. They only come out of their dens to bite damnyankee journalists.
Barbara Norris, Martinsburg, W.Va.

Abaguchies, smabaguchies! Don't you people know anything about basic wildlife biology? Everyone knows that cavecats eat abaguchies and the Mothman keeps the cavecats in check. A few people missing is a small price to pay for a balanced ecosystem.
O. Bob McGee, Overthetop, W.Va.

Field & Stream was made aware of the abaguchie menace at a hunting camp near Scherr, West Virginia, and considered it nothing less than our sacred duty to warn the world. Laugh if you want to, but as you roam the hills and hollers of West (by God) Virginia, you'd better keep looking over your shoulder. -THE EDITORS

DON'T FEED THE BEARS

Unfortunately, Timothy Treadwell did not adhere to common sense and paid for it with his life ("Reality Bites" by Thomas McIntyre). I understand that the gruesome attack was recorded on tape. Perhaps anyone that believes they can venture into grizzly territory should get a copy of that tape from the Park Service and listen to it before they "end up in bear scat."
Samuel W. Meek, via e-mail

Treadwell's lack of respect for his environment led to his predictable, and some would say deserved, demise. It's unfortunate that certain aspects of society will embrace him and his death, instead of seeing him for what he really was-a fool on a sure course to self-destruction.
Bernard Pressman, Akron, Ohio

I was disappointed by McIntyre's article. Although Treadwell wasn't the most intelligent man, his heart was in the right place and his intentions were good. The article was demeaning. This man is dead and deserves respect.
Matt Fry, via e-mail

Thomas McIntyre replies: Whatever Treadwell's intentions, the consequences of his actions-not only for himself but for his girlfriend and ironically the very brown bears he meant to "save"-were catastrophic. Dying foolishly may be tragic, but that does not mean you must be honored for it, especially when you sweep others up in your folly with you.

MORE ON MERCURY
In reference to Hal Herring's "Don't Eat That Fish," the Environmental Protection Agency would like to point out that it recently proposed a rule that will, for the first time, require power companies to cut their mercury emissions and meet specific reduction requirements within specific deadlines. Your article echoed many of the inaccuracies that have been used to criticize this proposal. We need a regulation that sets aggressive emission reduction requirements, but that is grounded in what we can reasonably expect from emerging mercury control technologies. The EPA is charged with writing a regulation that works for an entire industry. Technology is not currently capable of getting a 90 percent reduction of mercury for every type of boiler burning every type of coal.
Mike Leavitt, U.S. EPA Administrator

Hal Herring replies: First, it should be noted that Mr. Leavitt declined my request to add his comments to the story. Second, he neglects to point out supposed "iinaccuracies." Third, the technology exists, right now, to achieve tremendous reductions in mercury from power plants. The fact that every single power plant can't reduce its mercury pollution now is not a valid reason to wait until 2018-the EPA's estimated date-for reductions. The EPA already issued its consumption advisory this year. So, what are we waiting for?

I cannot say enough about Hal Herring's article. It really hits home for me. I've fished local reservoirs all my life, but I've never been able to eat the fish due to high mercury levels, or just fear of what chemicals the water might hold. I hope that your article opens the eyes of many anglers and that we call for more regulation to this growing problem. I don't want to lose any more vital waters.
Marc-Thomas Frias, San Jose, Calif.

THANK HEAVEN FOR LITTLE HUNTERS
Just wanted to say that Bill Heavey's "Stalking Walt Disney" was right on the mark with myself and my 3-year-old niece. It all started with hunting shows, and now every time she sees F&S magazine, she asks, "Where are the deer?" This summer will mark our second annual look-for-deer day. Keep up the good work.
Stephen Malia, via e-mail

LAW-ABIDING IN LABRADOR
I'm interested in "Quest for the Mother Lode" by T. Edward Nickens. I've wanted to do an unguided trip there for years but was deterred by the provincial laws regarding guides. Have these changed? I'm sure that if the type of unguided trip in your article was illegal, F&S would never have published it. But before I get my heart set on planning such a trip, I figured I'd ask.
Mike Kirby, via e-mail

According to Labrador regulations, one way for a nonresident to fish Labrador's remote waters is to "engage the services of an outfitting company"-which T. Edward Nickens did. Still, Labrador conservation officials point out that nonresident anglers under these circumstances should be accompanied by a guide, and it is the outfitter's responsibility to supply one. -The Editors

GO FOR THE GATORS
Factually, "Adventures in Gator Country" (Where to Go, March) is correct, but it's misleading. Because of elevated acidity levels, bass fishing in the Okefenokee swamp has been on the decline. There are mature bass out there, but they're not spawning. Come to Okefenokee to paddle with gators, catch bream and bowfin, and enjoy the unique scenery. But don't come to catch a lot of bass.
Jim Burkhart, Refuge Ranger
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge