I probably should follow my own advice, but I’m no different than most in that I often don’t! I’ve often written that varmint shooting offers the best practice there is. Woodchucks in the East and rockchucks in the West are good, likewise small rodents like ground squirrels and gophers… but there’s nothing better than prairie dogs.
Caliber .270, bullet diameter .277-inch, is primarily an American phenomenon based on the .270 Winchester, which was introduced in 1925. Its origin is murky; there was an experimental 6.8mm Mauser developed for China so rare that standard references show no photos. No evidence confirms that Winchester was even aware of this obscure cartridge.
Nobody knows for sure why Winchester’s Roaring Twenties engineers settled on that bullet diameter. They probably wanted something based on the .30-06 case that might shoot flatter, kick less, and be almost as versatile. There were other options; both the 6.5mm and 7mm (.264 and .284-inch) bullet diameters were popular in Europe and making inroads in the United States, but in xenophobic post-WWI America, using a “European” diameter might have been out of the question. Continue reading “.270 versus 7mm: Too close to call!”
America’s population of feral hogs is now estimated at around nine million, growing and seemingly unstoppable. With crop and property damages running into the billions of dollars, pigs are clearly a plague for many farmers; what’s more, their status as a non-native invasive species means that we don’t yet know the long-term impact they’ll have on native fauna and flora. That said, hunting wild boar is a boon for hunters: They are our second-most numerous “big game animal” after the whitetail deer.
Pigs are intelligent and prolific, and I’m not at all convinced that conventional hunting techniques can control their numbers. But that’s above my pay grade. As a game animal, they provide excellent pork, are fun and surprisingly challenging to hunt, and can often be pursued year-round. They’re tough, and under the right (or wrong) circumstances they can be dangerous. I like to hit them hard, with plenty of bullet and enough gun.
Continue reading “Loaded for Hunting Wild Boar”
Let me be perfectly clear: I am not an expert turkey hunter! No way am I going to give you calling tips or turkey hunting tips. I bumble along, and fortunately we have a lot of turkeys to hunt these days.
So, important admissions made, I’m pretty good at shooting turkeys if and when I get a chance. Over the years—and I can go back about 50 years—I’ve hunted all the varieties, and I’ve hunted turkeys in a lot of places. My opinions have shifted over time, and may shift again. In part this is because, as turkey hunting has exploded, our turkey guns and turkey loads keep getting better.
Today I am convinced of three things: To anchor turkeys consistently you need good chokes, you need good shells, and sights are a really great idea.
Continue reading “Turkey Time!”
Let’s accept that what we call the “AR” is a controversial firearm. It’s widely demonized by the anti-gun crowd, but even among shooters it receives a mixed reception. Those who love it, really love it, but many of us have more traditional tastes. There are a lot of shooters from my generation who aren’t crazy about the AR platform, and I believe that, in part, it’s because many of us simply don’t understand them.
Now, I know I need to be careful! The only gun writer I know who had the temerity (or ignorance?) to say bad things about the AR in a Friday-night blog post woke up Monday without a career. (A shame, really—he’s actually a good friend of mine!) So, let me be clear: From my standpoint, there’s nothing bad to say about the AR. Gene Stoner’s 60-year-old design remains a fantastic firearm! (For those who don’t know the AR’s history, Stoner delivered the AR10 in 7.62×51 in 1955. His engineering team-mates, Robert Fremont and Jim later scaled it down to the AR15 in 5.56x45mm.)
What do you think of when someone mentions double rifles? For many, the double rifle conjures romantic thoughts of nostalgia and tradition. In the United States, we tend to think of the double rifle as a large caliber specialist, meant only for dangerous game. In Europe, however, double rifles are favored for driven game thanks to the fast second shot. There’s no reason why a double rifle (of the appropriate caliber, of course) couldn’t be effective in the US for black bear, wild hogs, or any close-cover hunting where shots beyond a hundred yards are unlikely.
Although modern manufacturing techniques have lowered the costs of purchasing customizing a double rifle, they’re still generally more expensive. The double requires more hand-fitting, and getting both barrels to shoot together is a time-consuming process. The double is the least accurate action type, but it’s a short to very medium-range arm…and nothing is faster for delivering a second shot.
I am standing on a ridge that was the last significant barrier for over 600 Nez Perce Indians during their flight for life from the U.S. Calvary in the fall of 1877. This breath-taking view is in Northwestern Wyoming among the Absaroka Range in the Shoshone National Forest. The history of our lands is fascinating and it’s amazing to be among the beauty and vastness of such places. Today, this land shares with me the opportunity to hunt the majestic and all mighty Mountain Goat!
I grew up the son of an accomplished outdoorsman in the great Cowboy State of Wyoming. My father, Craig Oceanak, started Timberline Outfitters in 1979, and our business stands for experience and credibility. I’ve been guiding professionally for 16 years and I’ve loved every minute of it. Well, perhaps not every minute, but trust me when I proclaim that I love my job! Needless to say, I have hundreds of hunting stories from guiding experiences alone, but this post is about one of my hunts—a once in a lifetime hunt.
Continue reading “Wyoming Mountain Goat: A Once in a Lifetime Hunt (Nick Oceanak)”
Mozambique was colonized by European explorers–in this case, Portuguese explorers–in the late 15th Century. It gained its independence in 1975, but suffered through a civil war until 1992. Throughout the wartime period, poachers destroyed much of the country’s varied wildlife population, but today, the government works with several organizations on wildlife restoration and conservation efforts.
I was recently privileged to share a hunting camp with Craig Boddington in Mozambique through Zambeze Delta Safaris. ZDS has maintained a vast hunting area for the past 24 years, and its anti-poaching efforts have restored much of the wildlife. (On our trip, for example, we learned that they’re in the process of reintroducing more than two dozen lions to the area.)
Craig and I were there to hunt buffalo and plains game. We went in late October, which is supposed to be at the end of the dry and cool season. However, it was unseasonably hot this year—temperatures ran as high as 115 degrees in the shade during the day and in the 90s at night. Thankfully, the last few days of our hunt cooled down considerably, and we enjoyed some comfortable days and cool nights. Below, you’ll get a day-by-day report of what we did on our safari and our experiences with Zambeze Delta Safaris.
It’s late autumn now, so your deer season might be over. My deer hunting is coming up soon—next week I’m going to the thick brush of Quebec’s Anticosti Island, a place I’ve long wanted to see. Then, after Thanksgiving, comes “my” deer hunt, the 12-day rifle season on my Kansas farm. I decided which rifle to use in Anticosti a long time ago, but I’m still pondering exactly what I’m going to use in Kansas.
This is a rare luxury. I love my job, but I have to produce what my editors want. This often means that I have an obligation to use a particular new rifle or cartridge on a hunt instead of one of my old favorites. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; it’s fun to try out some of the new whiz-bangs. On the other hand, there’s a down side: constantly switching rifles, cartridges, and optics is probably not a great key to hunting success! Never forget the old adage “beware the one-gun man.”
I’m not complaining, mind you—I know I’m fortunate. I get to spend a lot of time at the range and in the field for a living. All that time has shown me that choosing a sound deer rifle and sticking with it critical, perhaps especially so for the multitude of hunters who are limited in both practice time and days afield!
What we call “buck fever” is a strange malady that can do the most amazing things to people. In its minor stages, it causes shortness of breath and acceleration of pulse. This can quickly progress to ague-like shakes that would do a malaria sufferer proud. In its most advanced state almost anything is possible, but classic cases range from being physically unable to manipulate a trigger to ejecting an entire magazine of live cartridges onto the ground without ever firing—and being totally unaware of doing so.
Obviously. buck fever is not conducive to hunting success, especially in its more virulent forms. That said, and this is important: Buck fever can be a good thing! It manifests itself when you are in the presence of a magnificent game animal; it’s simply an extension of excitement, and you might even say that its presence denotes respect for that animal. As hunters, we’re supposed to be excited in the presence of game. If we are not, and are able to take a fine animal’s life with total dispassion, then I suggest it’s time to hang up the guns and bows and take up golf or tennis.
So the key isn’t that you avoid getting excited. Getting excited isn’t just okay; it’s a good thing. What’s important, and truly critical to success, is that you find ways to manage that excitement and hold it at bay long enough to do what you need to do. Naturally, this gets better and easier with experience, but field experience in the actual taking of game is hard-won and can take many years. Also, some of us are more excitable than others. I can’t compare my “excitability quotient” with anyone else’s, but after decades of doing this stuff I’m generally able to control the most serious manifestations of buck fever until the shooting is done—and then the shakes begin.
