shotgun

Trip Report: Hunting Turkeys on Hawaii's Big Island

Joe_Cermele — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:21:32 -0400

There's more than marlin in the Hawaiian Islands. F&S Deputy Editor Jay Cassell recently explored this little-known tropical turkey paradise.

To book a hunt on the Parker or Kealia Ranch, call Jon Sabati at (808) 896-0972 or send him an email.

Best New Shotguns (and Shells) for 2009

Joe_Cermele — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:34:25 -0500

Shotgun expert Phil Bourjaily reports his picks for the best new shotguns and loads he found at the 2009 SHOT Show.

Live from the SHOT Show: Booth Babes 2009

Joe_Cermele — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:16:53 -0500

The 2006 Whitetail Hunter's Master Class

fieldandstream-editor — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 05:00:00 -0500

Turkey Hunting Tips from Master Outdoorsman Jerome B. Robinson

fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 12:00:00 -0400

The 50 Best Guns Ever Made, Revisited

fieldandstream-editor — Fri, 05 May 2006 12:00:00 -0400

Click here to read this story and post your comments on David E. Petzal's blog, The Gun Nut

Editor's Note: Last February, Dave wrote a cover story titled "The 50 Best Guns Ever Made" that generated lots of heated opinion. In case any of you missed the piece, we've posted links to it in photo gallery form in Dave's blog. Keep an eye on the story next week as he returns to the subject with updates to the list and some fresh thoughts on these guns.

Click here to read this story and post your comments on David E. Petzal's blog, The Gun Nut

Spring Gobbler Scouting Plan

fieldandstream-editor — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 04:20:00 -0500

Dawn Listen
Before you leave home, grab binoculars, a notebook, a topo map, and a GPS. Bring lunch too, since this is an all-day project. At dawn, drive the roads, periodically stopping to listen or to get out of the truck and walk to a high vantage point. Mark the roosted birds you hear on a map or with a GPS. If you hear a bird fly down, listen, or use a crow or owl call to keep him gobbling to learn what route he travels first thing in the morning.

Morning Look
Watch open areas like fields and pastures for strutting toms. In the woods, look for strutters along logging roads and ridgetops, on flats, or in bottomland timbers. Walk quietly in heavy woods, keep your eyes peeled, and stop often to blow an owl or crow call. In open country, try to watch from a distance with binoculars.

Mark any strutters you spot on your map, along with the time you see them. If you know when and where a gobbler struts, you can get there before he does for a midmorning hunt. Look for hens feeding in open fields, too. Gobblers shouldn't be far behind.

Afternoon Connect the Dots
Once you know where the turkeys are, get out and pinpoint roost trees. Look for feathers, droppings, and tracks that show you the exact route the birds take after flying down. If you know where a bird roosts and where he goes first thing, you've found a good spot for an early-morning hunt.

Search the timber flats and logging roads for strut zones, indicated by drag marks and figure-eight disturbances in the leaves.

Gobblers don't feed much in the spring, but they follow feeding hens. Look at scratches in the leaves. The V-shaped scratches point in the direction of travel. If you find an area where birds have dusted, mark it as a good place for a late-morning hunt.

The more you can learn about obstacles like creeks, fences, and bluffs, the better you'll be able to guess where turkeys will travel, and the better you'll be able to set up in a position where a gobbler can come easily to your call.

Evening Put Them to Bed
Watch to see which way the birds approach the roost as they finish feeding. Mark potential ambush spots on your map if afternoon hunts are legal. Toward sunset, listen again for gobbling from the roost. Blow an owl call or coyote howler.

Field Test: The Stoeger P350 Shotgun

fieldandstream-editor — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 04:05:00 -0500

THE INSIDE STORY Stoeger's new P350 is a 3 Â¿Â¿-inch magnum pump made for duck blinds, goose pits, and the turkey woods. With its rotary bolt, extra-long forearm, tall vent rib, and grooved synthetic buttstock, it bears a strong resemblance to sister company Benelli's Nova pump. Made by Vursan in Turkey, the P350 carries a price tag so low that it reads like a typo.

With its turkey choke installed, the P350 handled Federal Heavyweights with aplomb, outshooting my pet Mossberg 835 turkey gun. The P350 put its pellets right where I pointed it, although the large orange bead is bigger than I would choose for accurate turkey shooting. When I covered up the head of a turkey target with that orange blob, scads of holes appeared in my paper gobbler's vitals after I pulled the mushy-but-not-too-heavy (about 5 pounds) trigger.

I tested a 26-inch barreled version, which was heavy enough to absorb the recoil of heavy waterfowl loads. Its weight-forward balance smoothed my swing when I shot clay targets. My first sample gun had magazine latch problems, which resulted in the occasional jam when I loaded three shells. I exchanged it for another, which functioned properly.

The alloy-receivered P350 comes apart easily for cleaning. Looking at its innards, I was impressed by the stoutness of the action bars, which can often bend and bind on pump guns. Now, for the nitpicking: The safety button is too small, the bead is too big, and it should come with a shim kit for those who would prefer less drop in the stock.

GAUGE 12, 3 1/2-inch magnum chamber

PRICE $329 in camo; $269 in black

WEIGHT 7 pounds 11 ounces with 26-inch barrel

BARREL 26-inch, vent rib (tested); 18 Â¿Â¿-, 24-, and 28-inch available; orange bead; comes with Cylinder, IC, M, F, and Turkey chokes

STOCK Synthetic, Advantage Timber HD camo (tested); also available in Max-4 and basic black

STOCK DIMENSIONS 1 5/8 inches at comb, 2 Â¿Â¿ inches at heel, 14 Â¿Â¿-inch length of pull

CONTACT stoegerindustries.com

First Shot Wallpaper: Down Time

fieldandstream-editor — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 04:20:00 -0500

Down Time: "Max is kind of a goofball--every once in a while, he'd snap at a feather going by," says Don Banducci, whose springer spaniel had to be at the center of this marathon plucking session after a Saskatchewan goose hunt last October. Banducci and his friends have made a tradition of the big annual bird cleaning. "We bring some lawn chairs and some six-packs and go to it. And we'll toss the dogs the livers and hearts, so they're pretty interested."

Click here to check out more of Denver's photos on his web site, www.denverbryan.com

Click here for a 1024 x 768 sized photo (fits 1024 x 768 monitor resolutions)

Click here for an 800 x 600 sized photo (fits 800 x 600 monitor resolutions

Instructions for downloading wallpaper (Windows users):
1.) Click on either 800 X 600 or 1024 X 768 to open the resolution you prefer.

2.) Right-click on the opened image. You may then choose to download the image, or select "Save As Wallpaper" (or "Set picture as...," "Set as Wallpaper," or "Set as Desktop item," depending on your system.)

3.) If you chose "Save As Wallpaper," you're finished! If you chose to download the image, go to your "Control Panel," select "Background," and browse to locate and select the downloaded image.

Instructions for downloading wallpaper (Mac users):
1.) Click on either 800 X 600 or 1024 X 768 to open the resolution you prefer.

2.) With your mouse on the opened image, hold down the mouse key until a menu appears, then choose

3.) "Download Image to Disk," select a folder, and save.

4.) Under the Apple menu, open "Control Panels," then "Appearance."

5.) Under "Appearance," open "Desktop," then "Place Picture." Browse to the folder in which you saved the image and select the image. Click "Open" and choose "Set Desktop."

Cover Story: The Gun Nut Survey

fieldandstream-editor — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 04:15:00 -0500

In the 12 days it was out there, we got over 2,000 responses to our Gun Nut Survey. Some of the results were flat startling. We learned that Remington rules the roost as far as popularity goes, that the highest-ranked handgun was designed before the First World War, and that our No. 1 big-game and deer cartridge is even older. But this nod to tradition aside, we found that most of you do not yearn for the good old days. You think modern guns are better, and you are perfectly happy to break with tradition if it results in a better firearm. We also learned that firearms hunters won't cross certain technological barriers if it means violating their code of ethics.

The best part of the survey may be your comments. We've published as many of them as we could.

Click here to read the rest of the story on David E. Petzal's new blog, The Gun Nut