By Craig Boddington — With practice, you can significantly reduce that wobble, but it’s always going to be there. In field shooting, where “almost” isn’t good enough, this is what limits the range and utility of the kneeling position. Understanding this, and understanding there are no range rules in the field, the kneeling position is ripe for modification, and when modified, may be even more useful than sitting.
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Boddington's Cartridge Review By Craig Boddington, B&C Professional Member Excerpt from Fall 2014 issue of Fair Chase LEFT: This Ruger No. 1 wasn’t my first .243, but it was my favorite pronghorn/small deer/ varmint rifle for many years, truly a dual-purpose rifle. In 1978 I used it to take...
Long ignored, 6.5mm cartridges now rock! Why? The 7mm clan, dear for decades, holds its breath! Excerpt from Fair Chase Magazine Winter 2016 By Wayne van Zwoll – regular contributor, photos courtesy of author Wet snow followed sleet. Wyoming wind hammered the cold through my soaked wool. I wiped...
It takes the right place, the right time, and plenty of patience—and even these aren’t always enough! Article from Summer 2002 Fair Chase Magazine By Craig Boddington, B&C Professional Member, photos courtesy of author The morning wasn’t just frosty, it was downright cold! I was sitting in a...
I was pronghorn hunting, walking through rolling sage, when a coyote came out of a little draw and trotted across my view. I flopped down to shoot prone...
Uniquely American, it’s otherwise enigmatic, with no brand name. Millions of hunters own one. Excerpt from Winter 2012 Fair Chase Magazine By Wayne Van Zwoll, regular contributor, photos courtesy of author Winchester’s 94, the archetypal deer rifle, was built from 1894 to 2006 in New Haven. To some...
Building your house doesn’t have to be a large or fancy house, but what this means is use what you have to get as steady as possible—in the time available.
A bull elk is one of North America’s most majestic creatures, and a really big bull elk is the best of the best, one of the most regal, most dramatic, and most impressive creatures in the entire world. There is a big difference between a nice, normal, respectable, good bull and a monster that will make the records book. It isn’t hard to tell the difference, but the first decision you need to make is whether or not you care.
Adding packrafting has catapulted MOHAB into the highest category of BSA high adventure programs. Excerpt from Fair Chase Magazine By Luke Coccoli, Director of Conservation Programs Photos Courtesy of MOHAB/BSA contributors When I was filling out the application to work for Boone and Crockett,...
No bolt-action rifle can match the Model 70’s long history with American deer hunters!
Because basketball stars making millions of dollars still miss free throws Excerpt from Fair Chase Magazine Summer 2015 By Wayne Van Zwoll, regular contributor, photos courtesy of author Approach ready to fire again, from behind the animal, rifle up front. Save congratulations for later. Why is...
Lead, copper, water and time conspire to sabotage accuracy. You can save it. But first….
The celebrated 7x57 sired a clan now shadowed by 6.5mm cartridges. Fame can be fickle! Excerpt from Fair Chase Magazine Spring 2020 By Wayne Van Zwoll, regular contributor, photos courtesy of author Known as a “classic sheep cartridge,” the 7x57 has been upstaged by friskier 7s, like Weatherby’s...
Accuracy always trumps energy. But with 6mms you needn’t give up hard hits. Just stiff recoil!
Fifteen Years of Natural Resources Leadership Development By Mark Rey, B&C Professional Member Excerpt from Summer 2024 issue of Fair Chase LEft: Members of the Class of 2019 pose at Grey Towers National Historic Site, the ancestral home of Gifford Pinchot in Milford, Pennsylvania. Center The...
Custom: More Than A Rifle. A big game rifle built to order comes with character, even when it’s not yours.
Barren-ground caribou are in decline across Canada. Are insects and parasites the cause of their drastic population decline, or is something bigger to blame? Excerpt from Winter 2023 Fair Chase Magazine By Benjamin Juan Padilla, Postdoctoral Research Associate - University of Calgary Big game...
Young Roosevelt heard the call. Shove iron in your scabbard, Pilgrim! And snug that cinch!
by Tony Caligiuri — B&C Regular Member This chapter is featured in Records of North American Big Game , 15th Edition Stories Behind Trophies Never Meant To Be In The Records The portrait photograph of the H.M. Beck pronghorn is featured as the chapter photo in the book. The head was originally...
Spared optical glass, a rifle is naked, intimate. Shots come close, life glinting in the animal’s eye. Bully!
Riflemen who carry single-shots declare their willingness to bet a hunt on one pull of the trigger.
Distances that test rifles exceed those that test marksmanship-and leave killing to chance.
What matters to most hunters is satisfaction at hunt’s end. You can’t guarantee a kill, but you can choose your rifle and cartridge!
https://www.boone-crockett.org/31st-big-game-awards-merchandise-clearance The bison featured in the logo for the 31st Big Game Awards lived more than a century ago in the Peace River Country of northern Alberta. And you will find the story behind how the bison head became part of the National Collection of Heads and Horns is as wild as the country it called home.
Its slim bullets killed all out of proportion to their weight, charming hunters and changing an industry. The Jack O’Connor Center in Lewiston, Idaho, commissioned a limited run of Winchester 70s patterned on the Biesen-stocked Featherweights the famous gun writer used on hunts around the world. “...
It may not be true that if you haven’t hunted with a .30-30 rifle, or a .30-06 or a .300 Winchester Magnum, you’re still learning to tie your shoes. Some souls so deprived reach adulthood, though mothers have long known .30s are good for you. Hunters born before there were .30s have all died.
Excerpt from Fair Chase Magazine By Wayne Van Zwoll, regular contributor, photos courtesy of author Born Phoebe Ann Moses in 1860, Annie Oakley used .22s in jaw-dropping shooting exhibitions. Ad Topperwein met his wife Elizabeth at Winchester. Both shot for the company, she as “Plinky.” Before the...
By John Organ — Recently, there has been a resurgence of legislative action that would ban or greatly restrict fur trapping in certain jurisdictions in the United States. The protagonists of these initiatives claim that trapping is inconsistent with the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation (NAM) and violates principles of wildlife governance. Are these claims valid? No, and I’ll explain why.
This year, 2023, marks the 50th Anniversary of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Having spent the last seven years studying the ESA, I’ve come up with two observations—but first, let me set some context.
Current efforts to conserve big game migration corridors and seasonal ranges is emblematic of the critical role that Boone and Crockett Club members play in conservation action. Excerpt from Winter 2021 Fair Chase Magazine What does it take to create and successfully implement conservation policy?...
Zero recoil. One-hole accuracy. A cheap, quiet path to sure hits on big game. What’s not to like?
Funding public access to private lands in a voluntary manner helps give landowners an extra source of income (or at least offset their costs), while hunters gain access to some prime wildlife habitat.
The Ethics of Fair Chase – I always wanted an Olympic gold medal. As a young person, I learned that this achievement requires an astounding amount of time, effort, and phenomenal natural talent. This is why an Olympic gold medal is so highly coveted. National pride aside, owning the effort and experiencing the competition is what it is all about.
Lead Ammunition Top of Mind in D.C. — For most hunters, the metallurgical composition of ammunition only comes to mind when buying a box of cartridges or two at the sporting goods store. Most folks find their preferred caliber, peruse the specs, and buy the most cost-effective round for their budget.
By Mike McTee, Researcher, MPG Ranch - Aldo Leopold wrote that “a conservationist is one who is humbly aware that with each stroke [of the axe] he is writing his signature on the face of the land.” As hunters today, we are signing our names with bullets.
Those who cherish hunting—for themselves and for future generations—understand that hunting is a privilege to be recognized, cherished, and maintained by today’s hunters through deeds to benefit wildlife and through establishment and adherence to standards of fair chase. Excerpt from Fair Chase...
Modern fish and wildlife conservation is based on the public trust doctrine (PTD), which establishes a trustee relationship whereby the government holds and manages wildlife for the benefit of the public. Fundamentally, it posits that natural resources are universally important, and that the public should have an opportunity to enjoy these resources, including activities such as fishing, hunting, and trapping. Prior to the adoption of this philosophy, wildlife was often treated as an inexhaustible commodity, with little thought or concern for long term sustainability. As a result, many species suffered under this “limitless supply” philosophy, with some becoming extirpated or even driven to extinction.
Reflections on Wildlife and the 2nd Amendment Excerpt from Fair Chase Magazine, Summer 2013 By Valerius Geist Hunting and the right to bear arms has always been a part of North American heritage. In Hunting Trips of a Ranchman , Theodore Roosevelt (loosely depicted above), recounted his hunting...
Sergei Spitsyn exemplifies the spirit that motivates us. With enormous effort and at considerable personal risk, Sergei spends up to nine months each year roaming these landscapes to survey snow leopards and argali. By James P. Gibbs, Professor in the State University of New York’s Department of...
A complete collection of articles about conservation, hunting, and wildlife research by John Organ, Director Emeritus of the USGS Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units, and current B&C professional member.
By John Organ — Polygamous species include those we are quite familiar with: whitetail and mule deer, elk, and moose, where one male may breed several females. Polygamous cervid species display what biologists term sexual dimorphism, meaning the two sexes exhibit differences in some physical features. In the case of cervids, this is represented by males typically having larger body size than females. This is true of many species of mammals that are polygamous.
SCIENCE BLASTS By John F. Organ, B&C Professional Member Excerpt from Summer 2017 issue of Fair Chase Those of us in the hunting community take great pride in the fact the dollars we spend on hunting licenses, firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment are the financial backbone of state-...
Much debate has occurred through the years over the value and purpose of maintaining records of “trophy” big game animals killed by hunters. This has become magnified in recent years with a focus on trophy hunting in general, spawned in part by the Cecil the Lion episode, and in conflicting reports on the genetic impacts of trophy hunting to big game populations in particular.
SCIENCE BLASTS By John F. Organ, B&C Professional Member Excerpt from Summer 2020 issue of Fair Chase Wildlife conservation in the United States has progressed through many phases while adhering to some core principles. Most significant is the common law doctrine that wildlife is held in trust...
SCIENCE BLASTS By John F. Organ, B&C Professional Member Drs. Dave Wattles and Steve DeStefano of the Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit attach a GPS collar to a bull moose in west-central Massachusetts. Excerpt from Spring 2016 issue of Fair Chase The distribution of the...
By Keith Balfourd, B&C Professional Member Excerpt from the Fall 2018 issue of Fair Chase Good question. For the sake of this column, the word “antis” refers to those who are vocally opposed to hunting. Some may also be animal rights advocates, although not all. If the concept of fair chase is...
Imagine a 300-pound male bear at the edge of a hardwood forest that borders a crop field bursting with ripe corn. Does he take a detour to avoid venturing into this exposed area, or does he walk in and enjoy the abundance of food? Would it matter if this was the only crop field in the area or adjacent to five other fields? Or if there were many bears in the area? Or if there were people nearby? What if this bear was a sow with two cubs in tow?
By John Organ — Nearly 100 years ago Aldo Leopold, the father of game management, coined the term “harvestable surplus.” The intended meaning of the term is that some wildlife species and populations may produce more young in a given year than can survive to the following year. Those individuals doomed to die over the winter, for example, represent the “surplus” in the population. Leopold observed that those surplus animals could be killed by hunters during the fall, instead of succumbing to winter mortality, and there would be little impact on the population. So, in theory, hunting would be sustainable because the population would not change.
THE ETHICS OF FAIR CHASE By Daniel A. Pedrotti Jr. B&C Regular Member Chairman, Hunter Ethics Sub-Committee Excerpt from Fair Chase, Spring 2015 We are a community of multitudes and generations. Our way of life predates recorded history. Our roots go back to a time when there was no thought of...
THE ETHICS OF FAIR CHASE By Daniel A. Pedrotti Jr. B&C Regular Member Chairman, Hunter Ethics Sub-Committee Excerpt from Fair Chase, Fall 2015 When man first hunted, “fair” was probably not on his list of priorities. Likewise, I am pretty sure “chase” was to be avoided at all costs, and was...
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