Spring 2019

Description

Epic Hunts

Departments
The Opener 6
Online 9
Hunting for a Compliment 10
Gear Shop 12
Technical Talk 16
After the Shot 18
Ballistics & Ammo 20
Shooting for the Field 22
Life on the Ledge 24
Red Gold 28
Resident Hunters of Alaska 31
Backcountry Nutrition 34
Recipe 72
Advertiser Index 74

Features

Secluded Monsters
by Eric Hershey 38

The Kenai Peninsula caribou permit is a hard one to draw, but the hunt can produce astonishing bull caribou. Hunting this area requires excellent physical conditioning. Eric Hershey and friend Adam both scored big bulls on this DIY hunt.

A Farewell to the High Country: The Blacktails and Brown Bears of Admiralty Island
by Bjorn Dihle 46

Admiralty Island, sometimes referred to as Fortress of the Bears, has strong populations of both brown bears and Sitka blacktail deer. To pursue the deer, you’re going to need the courage and wherewithal to deal with the bears.

80-inch Moose
by Israel Payton 52

The general consensus and unwritten standard for a trophy moose in Alaska seems to be 60 inches. Israel Payton’s 80-inch bull is mind-boggling; incomprehensible. It scored number two of all time in the Safari Club International book, and number four of all time in Boone & Crockett.

The Ram
by Casey Dinkel 60

If you’re lucky, the next sheep hunt you embark upon will be one of the most challenging adventures of your life; etching memories in your brain that you will cherish for a lifetime and leave you wanting to do it all over again. So it was for Casey Dinkel and John Whipple.

Gunning Alaska’s Sharp-tailed Grouse—Birds of Fire
by Jim McCann 66

John McCann and his two Brittany pointers, Jake and Clyde, enjoy hunting sharp-tails in the Last Frontier. Beyond the actual hunting and the fabulous meals these grouse provide, are the beautiful memories—the fantastic rewards of bird hunting in Alaska, one of the last great places.

COVER / Casey Dinkel proved that he had both the necessary fitness and mental toughness to take this glorious ram. © John Whipple