Perhaps not as fast as we would like but it is returning. Hi velocity 22 LR is what I shoot when Coyote hunting.

You are limited to one package of 50 or 100 by many on line retailers.  Time is right to get a box of ammo that you have been waiting so long for.

Prices have not gone up much.

Yes Christmas is just a few days away, what to do?

Stocking Stuffer Items to care for your Rifle and Scope.

A carbon cleaning rod full length about $35 dollars.

Patches and Solvents and tips $30

Digital Trigger Pull Gage $63 dollars

A Wheeler FAT Boy Torque Rifle screwdriver. $50 dollars

Flip up Scope Covers from Butler Creek $10-20 dollars

Hi Score Safety Glasses $10+

Digital hear protect $45+

Adjustable bore saver $25

Limbsaver Slip on recoil pad $25-35

On the cover is a very beautiful Red Deer taken a while back up in Maine at Lemon Stream Game Lands. I was testing out a reduced load for my .375 Ruger  in the Ruger M77 African and at the same time putting venison in the freezer.  Her coat was simply gorgeous and the meat was terrific. Lemon stream has lots of Red Stag too but I was not after trophies. I simply wanted good eating meat.  The several deer were scattered through the 400 acres in timber and this fat doe showed up at the end of the day. I shot her through the heart at 50 yards. I was shooting hand loads of 225 grain Hornady flat points at around 1700 fps as I recall, similar to the .375 Winchester in speed. The recoil with a winter jacket was less than my 50 cal muzzle loader.  The bullet went completely through her and she dropped after a few short steps. She dressed out at about 150 pounds. Because the Temperature was in the teens we got her back to the cabin and skinned and quartered her right then. I brought a big fishing cooler with me and loaded the quarters in my SUV and headed home the next day. During that next week my kitchen became the butcher shop and I personally cut vacuum sealed all that meat.

I have hand loaded that .375 Ruger up to Cape Buffalo loads with 300 grain solids and shot them within a few inches of 300 grain round nose soft points at 100 yards.

I took a Bull Moose with 260 grain Nosler AccuBonds 4 years ago with a Buffalo Load. If you look you can find that article in my Archives here. And the Buffalo/Bison Hunt too. I can’t say enough good about my .375 Ruger from a hand loader perspective. However, if you don’t hand load there is no reduced loading shells in the commercial market for it.

I have shot the .375 Ruger with Cape Buff loads with 260 grain Nosler AccuBonds out to 600 yards with 4000 ft lb at the Muzzle, look in the Archive section. I was shooting prone position and groups were astoundingly tight. Say 3 1/4 inches vertically at 600 yard unleashing 1500 ft lbs at that distance. In my hands, this Rifle can shoot. This year, the local deer population heard I was carrying the .375 with reduced loads of 230 grain round noses at 2100 fps and honestly they did not hang around. To bad I really want to show it to them. I’m sure they would’ve gotten a real eyeful. ®

I am Alan Mikoloski, 52 and my friend and hunting partner of 17 years, is David Deluca, 56 and we are neighbors in Nottingham NH.  This story starts 11 years ago in 2002 when David’s wife Margaret  drew an either sex tag in zone G ( her first year hunting ) after hunting everyday of the season and driving the 4 hour round trip every day, they had a couple close calls with a big Cow on the first day and a big Bull on the last day, but sadly ended without taking a moose.

In 2003 I put in for the same zone as my first choice since they had scouted many spots and to our surprise I was rewarded with an either sex tag for zone G.

David and I made a couple preseason scouting trips a few weeks before the season and saw a 2-3 years old bull on the first trip and a very large bull on the second and David was able to get it on video.  We went to same that spot opening day 2003 and at 7:00am spotted a couple moose about a half mile up a clear cut ridge and after hours of stalking and calling finally caught up to what turned out to be a 4.5 year old bull in front of a smaller one about 2.5 years old at noon time.  They were 150-200 yards away at the edge of an over grown clear cut and on the bottom of a ridge and we were afraid they were headed up the ridge.

Moose Number 1 2003 – Alan

I opened fired with my Marlin .444 lever action and hit the large bull in the upper leg and hurriedly fired a few more rapids shots and since he didn’t go down right away, David who was filming, put down his camera and dropped it with his Winchester .270.

After confirming it was down for good, we were lucky enough to find cell phone coverage to call his brother Dana who was bow hunting across the state ( he was the video man the year before ) and he dropped everything to drive the 2 hours to meet us in the woods thanks to the miracle of GPS and two way radios as cell coverage was sporadic.  Before he arrived, we made our first hike a mile and half out to the trucks for more supplies to cape and cut it up to pack out on our backs.

At the trucks, luck shined on us again when we meet a bear hunter named Dave just about to enter the woods and hired him on to help us pack it out.  With the four of us going back and forth, it took us 12 hours to finally get the last of the moose in the truck.

Many thanks to Dana and Dave from Dorchester without who’s help would have made this a much longer ordeal!

A 2 hour ride back home and up early in the morning to take it to the Durham Moose check station and then dropping the meat off to the meat cutter who estimated the dressed weight of the animal at 1000 pounds by the amount of meat we had.  Then a 1.5 hour ride to Dave’s Taxidermy  in Weare NH to get it shoulder mounted as my wife Deborah loved the idea of hanging it in our new addition cathedral ceiling living room next to my 8 point 176 lb buck on the wall.

About eight months later we picked up the mount at Dave’s Taxidermy and what a beautiful job he and his wife did on it.

After helping my wife and I hang it on the wall, I told David that if I drew another tag (after the mandatory 3 year waiting period to enter again) before he did, I would let it be his chance to get a trophy for his wall. (Editor’s Note: And he did!)

The Second Moose 2013 – Dave’s Moose on the Magazine Cover with Alan

Well, lady luck came back this year, 10 years later as I (Alan) drew another tag for zone G and for either sex.    After a couple scouting trips without seeing any moose and our original clear cut area chocked full of 16 foot high saplings we needed some local help.

Thanks to a story written by Dana 10 years ago that I just read for the first time a couple weeks ago, I was able to get the full name of the bear hunter that had helped us out and I was able to get in touch with him.  After meeting him only once and now ten years later it was like talking to an old friend again.  Dave was happy to hear of us coming back and gave us some tips on areas to check out and to my surprise told me that he had a camp in the area and offered for us to use it.

There’s that luck thing again!

David and I made one more scouting trip and also checked out the beautiful steam side camp and we made a call to Dave to tell him we would be up the evening before opening day and were ready to stay as long as it took to get the job done.  After not seeing any moose on our scouting trips along with our first day hunting, David and I made the decision that with the moose population being way down this year, we would take the first mature animal we got a good shot at being a bull or a cow.  The second afternoon we were walking some old logging roads and spotted a dark spot about 50 yards up a ridge that was think with 4-6 inch dia. beech trees.  After checking it out in our binoculars we determined that it was a mature cow but she was facing away and we had no shot at her forward of her hind quarters.  After about 10 long minutes of waiting, she slowly started to move away and I could see her nose then her long face through the scope on my .308 Remington bolt action and had the safety off and David did as well.  We decided not to take the chancy shot due to the thicket of tress and branches and she slipped away and we could not catch up to her before she moved into another thicket even higher up the ridge.  We came so close to going home early again with a lot of tasty meat for our families.

The next day we spent the entire day stalking up and down ridges and low lands and did not see a Moose and only spotty fresh sign.  Day four Oct. 22, 2013, I was feeling like this would not be a good  year to take a moose and was kicking myself for not taking a head shot at the cow two days earlier.

We drove further up the mountain logging rode and found some fresh tracks from several moose by the road.  We bailed out and headed up the over grown skidder road and hunted it carefully for about 3 hours. We saw lots of fresh sign, but could not spot a Moose even after David’s cow calling that he had been practicing every since I drew the tag in June.  We regrouped at the vehicle for lunch at noon as a light rain started.  Rather than go back to camp and wait out the rain we moved down about a quarter mile and headed up another skidder road and zig-zagged our way up to the top of the ridge seeing ever more fresh tracks and droppings than in the morning.  Still no Moose to be found!

That missed chance on day two was nagging at me again as we headed back down the ridge on another skidder road making plans to hunt closer to the road for the last couple of hours of the day. 

Half way down the ridge, looking over a briar and grass covered wash bar across the trail to prevent erosion, I spotted a moose antler about 70 yards below in a clearing!

“IT’S A BULL..IT’S A BULL…IT’S A BULL” I whispered to David.

We quickly determined that he was bedded down with his head up facing to the left as the wind was coming up the ridge and he had no idea we were there.  David turned on his HD camera he had mounted on top of his scoped Winchester .270 bolt action and I told him not to take any chances and to shot him while bedded down and I would back him up if a follow up shot was needed. 

David only had the upper part of his lung area to shot at and fired and hit his mark, but the bull immediately started to get up and I fired and hit him at the base of the neck and he dropped like a rock! 

As David continued to film, we started to slowly move down the ridge, it was then that we realized that there were two more bulls about the same size standing behind him about 20 yards away!  Dave continued filming the other two big bulls and the downed bull too.

As we walked closer the other two bulls finally moved on after about 10 minutes.

After studying the beautiful animal with his black coat and dark mahogany 17 point rack, David took more video with his with HD camera along with a many still photo’s.  Finally, after four long hard days of hunting and a bit of that old luck, the hard part was just starting.  We field dressed it and then placed an orange vest on the antlers and we started to make our way back to the truck for more supplies as the sun was now setting.  David had brought about 10 red reflectors and marked the trail every 50-75 yards back to the road about 800 yards away through low brush and some alders.  We had lined up a Guide we had meet the day before to drag it out with a chain saw winch, but he bailed out on us after spending longer than anticipated pulling out another Moose a half hour away.  After a rest at the truck we loaded up my 2 wheel deer cart in the dark with extra supplies including; a rolled up plastic deer sled, frame pack, bone saw, extra knives, knife sharpener, game meat bags, tarp, lantern, rope, bungee cords, food and water.  We made it back to the Moose to find that frost was already forming on the ground as the temperature dipped below 35 degrees.

We could not budge the animal and had to cut it in half at the 3rd rib to remove the back half.  We then began to cape one side of the shoulder and then removed that shoulder.  This allowed us with much effort to turn him over and to do the same to the other side with many breaks to rest and have a snack and water to stay hydrated ( a lesson learned from the 2003 Moose hunt where exhaustion and muscle cramps set in towards the end ) .

Caping and Packing the Meat Out -Taking our time to cape all the way to the base of the skull,  it took 3 – 4 hours due to the weight and bulky antlers even with just half the animal.  After finishing the cape, I boned out the back straps and the rest of the meat as we used about 10 game bags to protect all the meat .

The first trip out was with a hind quarter strapped to the plastic sled that I pulled and David loaded his frame pack to the top with meat.  It took about a 45 minutes with flash lights to follow the reflectors back to the truck.

After loading the meat into the back of my truck, we warmed up in his truck and drank more water and iced tea along with some food ( pop tarts never taste so good! ).

A half hour later we made our way back up the dark ridge for another trip.  This time we loaded the deer cart and the pack and half way down to the road a wheel came off the cart as the pin holding it on the axle had a finger loop in it for breaking down the cart,  but the loop caught on the brush and pulled out.  Anticipating such a problem, the day before we left home,  I had grabbed a couple regular cotter pins and taped them to the frame of the cart and cut them off and we managed to get the wheel secured back on the loaded cart.  Every trip we repeated our routine of warming up in the truck and eating anything we could find including candy bars, apples and chips.  The next trip was just like the last with the other wheel coming off halfway down and we used our last spare pin managing not to drop it in the brush in the dark.  Without those spare pins our night would have been much, much longer.  As we headed up for the last load the sun was coming up and after packing up all our supplies and cleaning up any trash, we both grabbed an antler and loaded the head and cape onto the cart and David secured it down with rope.  Half way down we stopped and David set up his camera on a log to video our final decent out of the northern woods for his son Daveo to use when he would edit the footage David had taken over the last four days and the preseason scouting trips.

Finally at the road for the last time, we placed the handle of the cart on the tailgate of my truck and climbed up and we both grabbed an antler and with one last burst of energy, we pulled the massive head into the bed of the truck and closed the tailgate.  After David tied it down to protect the antlers from hitting the sides of the bed, I looked at my watch and it was 8:40am Wednesday morning, 17 hours after those two rifle shots Tuesday afternoon that completed out quest to get a second trophy Bull Moose.  We now had a 2 hour ride home not including a 1 hour stop over at the New Hampton Moose check station were the NH Fish and game Biologist determined the Moose to be 7 1/2 years old by pulling and analyzing a tooth.  We also were met and interviewed by Ed Hale of the New Hampshire Rifleman on-line Magazine.

Editors Note: This was a story not just of the great Moose Hunt’s but of the terrific friendship these two hunters have.  It was very gracious of Alan to give Dave the kill shot  for Dave’s Mount. As I understand it from Alan, he has a doe already and another tag to fill too. Guess these guys aren’t buying much beef at the grocery store!

NH Hunters

Do you have a story to tell about your hunt? If so send the story to the Editor at  erhale@comcast.net . Or just send me an email that you have a story and we will help you put it together.

Ed Hale – Editor

There is nothing more irritating while on “stand” when a bushy tailed investigative squirrel has identified you as danger. I can recount dozens of times over the years that my position to all the local wildlife was given away by the incessant warning growls of a red or grey squirrel. The barks of a grey squirrel are so loud that deer, turkeys or any other game 200 or more yards away can hear and avoid you. Your Busted! The squirrel shouts; “I am gonna tell the world about you!”

Today I avoid such encounters by wearing a full face spandex camo mask whenever I am stationary in particular. A must for turkey hunters! I killed 2 turkeys this year and the facial and hand camo made all the difference. A few weeks back when I got my fall turkey, group of 8 hens were no  more than 20 feet away and they never recognized me as danger even though they were staring directly at me.

But it works great in the deer woods too especially when in areas where shots are likely in the 40 to 50 yard range, which for me is most of the time. Orange does not appear to alarm wildlife, so even an orange camo face mask can work to your advantage.

I was on my deer stand and in a great spot with my muzzleloader yesterday when two big fat fuzzball grey squirrels were working their way toward me. I sat still with my face mask on only my eyes showed and they came within 10 feet of me and never broke stride as they passed by on their journey for food. I will be testing a new camo face, head and neck product shortly so you will read more about it.

The other thing that has created an alarm is my white hands against my camo clothing. Lifting my hand to swat a mosquito is like lifting a whitetail tail to signal danger. So I try to keep my hands in camo as well.

I recall a time years ago when there were 2 deer running my way as my brother pushed them and they spotted me right away and veered off before I could get a shot. It was my face that gave me away. A face mask would have likely given me the shot I was hoping for but I was unable to put that scenario together where it was just my face that gave me away. I am telling you this so that you too will learn from mistakes that I have made in the woods.

Soon the temperature will fall below freezing and a fleece face mask will keep you warm as well. You will lose most of your heat out of your head so keeping it covered is essential.

The dollars you spend at a sporting goods store for clothing, face masks and gloves will make a huge difference as the season progresses.

Look for more on this subject soon © 2013

It was great to see high school students from the New Hampton NH Science Class observing Biologists and Hunters alike while checking in that big Bull Moose last week. Maybe some Biologists in the making? The youtube below is the brief talk by  a NHFG Biologist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwyLRmso2GI

The teacher Rebekka Joslin writes:

“Sorry for my delay in getting back to you about the pictures and movie from the moose checking station. Feel free to post those on your website! It was nice to meet you and thank you again for allowing the students to ask questions and learn from you guys and the biologist on site. Congratulations on a nice one!”

Yes Dave and Alan deserve congratulations for all the hard work they put into the hunt and to the Biologists dedicated to the Science.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose

Moose (Alces alces) are a valued source of protein among NH hunters and hunters worldwide.  And is a valued tourist magnet in northern New Hampshire providing needed revenue for the Northern Economy by hunters and viewers alike.

The .243 Winchester is a great starter deer rifle cartridge as its recoil is very mild. Hand loaders get to see and read a lot about bullets, their specifications and their intended uses. The Hornady InterBond® is a bullet in .243 is designed for deer size game and for the .243 Winchester it appears at 87 grains bullet weight.

http://www.hornady.com/store/InterBond-bullets

This bullets lead core is bonded to the gilding metal jacket so it will mushroom in a controlled manner in deer size game. The Gildng Metal Xpanding bullet (GMX®) is solid gilding copper and also mushrooms in a controlled manner in deer size game.

The next step down in cartridges like the .223 and smaller the Hornady InterBond and the GMX are absent. Why? I believe that Hornady is defining the threshold in deer killing reliability at the .243/6 mm level. The same is true for Nosler as well where their AccuBond® Long Range is 90 grains below.

Next is the  Nosler e-Tip® below with green tip  is like the GMX from Hornady see the ballistic gel test below. It will blow you away!

In open spaces the .243 Winchester really shines, like field hunting for deer out to 300 yards. What it is not is a heavy brush cartridge. The bullet mass in insufficient and is subject to loss of mass and direction of travel after glancing on a branch or sapling.

Given these brush limitations the cartridge with these bullets can down a coyote or varmint past 600 yards if you have the skill to make the shot or a deer out to 300 yards. I have written several articles for you to brush up on with the .243 in New Hampshire Rifleman so check them out. I own the Ruger American in .243 and love it. It shoots 90 grain e-tips like the GMX inside one inch at 100 yards and at just over 300 dollars it is a bargain!  © 2013

Whitetail Deer Hunting Quiz (Firearms) Season

As a former Hunter Education Instructor, this quiz I developed this morning is intended for your entertainment and learning about you the hunter, the deer and safety. It is encouraged that hunters periodically refresh themselves with the comprehensive NHFG Hunter Education Program. On line courses are available in 2014 see the site below.

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Hunting/hunter_ed.htm

Quote From NHFG Hunter Education page:

“Today’s hunters are going into the field knowing how to hunt safely, responsibly and ethically. Coupled with the voluntary use of hunter orange clothing, Hunter Education has dramatically helped to reduce the number of hunting-related firearms incidents in the field.”

I use hunter orange in Muzzleloader season and Firearms deer Season and so do all my hunting friends. Safety First! 360 degrees of visibility is recommended with a hat and vest.

Question 1.

Of all a deer’s senses which one should be of most concern to the hunter?

A. None. A deer uses all senses equally.

B. Ears – Hearing

C. Nose – Smell

D. Eyes – Seeing

E. Feeling – Footsteps shaking the ground.

Question 2

A Buck has how many glands that secrete the bucks Identity?

A. 2 Urine and Interdigital Gland

B. 3 Interdigital, Preorbital, Tarsal

C. 4 Urine, Interdigital, Preorbital, Tarsal, Metatarsal

D. 5 Interdigital, Preorbital Tarsal, Metatarsal and Forehead

Question 3

How many glands are often used by a buck in making a scrape?

A. 1

B. 2

C. 3

D. 4

E. 5

F. 4 sometimes 5

Question 4

In general a buck rub that is made on a small 1/2 inch sapling on one side indicates that the buck is small because larger bucks need larger trees and often damage the sapling too? True or False

Question 5

A fresh buck rub on a 2 inch thick tree made near the top of a hill where the rub mark is on the downward side  and the upward side of the hill tells you what?

A. That the buck is marking his territory.

B. That the buck is bedded nearby.

C. Telling other bucks to beware!

D. Bedded at the bottom of the hill

E.  AB and C.

Question 6

Deer use open spaces like sandpits and fields at night for identifying each other by sight and smell and by track size and interdigital gland (between the hoof) scent. Which gland or sense is more out of place in the list below?

A. Smell

B. Interdigital

C. Preorbital

D. Track size

Question 7

If you are taking a stand to see deer, should you;

A. Stand at a crest near a tree to see in all directions

B. Stand in the hollow of a hill but on the deer trail to keep from being seen

C. Stand where there is at least 90 to 180 degrees of visibility but near a tree and the wind at your back.

D. Stand where there is at least 90 to 180 degrees of visibility near a tree and the wind in your face or quartering in your face.

Question 8

If you are hunting/stalking into the oncoming wind and you smell a strong musty odor, it is likely.

A. A deer metatarsal Gland

B. A Buck and its Tarsal Gland

C. A fresh Buck Scrape

D. B or C or E

E. A hunter with a scent canister

Question 9

It is Muzzleloader season and a legal deer steps out at 40 yards and you shoot but the cloud of belching smoke obscures your vision. To see the deer after the shot, you should:

A.  Look under the smoke cloud for movement.

B. Run to the side of the smoke

C. Wait till the smoke clears

D. Run towards the deer and put the smoke behind you

Question 10

If you are walking down a logging road to your deer stand in shotgun season for deer and the wind is at your back, you should.

A. Try an alternate route to where you are going.

B. Move quickly and quietly to your stand

C. Go home

D. Not expect a deer to approach from down wind.

E. A, B, and D

Question 11

Several hunters are hunting along an old logging road and a deer steps out onto the logging road, you should;

A. Shoot

B. Not Shoot

C. Be sure it is safe to shoot. Determine what is in front of, and behind your intended target before you shoot.

D. Shout to your friends that you are going to shoot

Question 12

You determine that you no longer are sure of the way out of the woods you should.

A. Look for moss on trees to tell which way is out

B. Stay calm and stay put, analyze your situation, pull your map and compass out then determine if you are still lost.

C. Walk 100 more yards in each direction

D. Panic and shout

Question 13

The first thing you should do when your deer is down and you determine it is dead. You should.

A. Fire your rifle three times

B. Call your buddies

C. Tag your deer

D. Gut your deer

Question 14

You oversleep. Hunting later at 10 am is a bad idea because all the deer are bedded. True or False.

Question 15

You are an older hunter and you have had serious life threatening medical issues you should.

A. Stop Hunting

B. Hunt with others that know your condition and can support you.

C. Have emergency communication, and medicines for emergencies

D. Know emergency contacts

E. Let others know where you are exactly.

F. BCDE

Answers:

Q1 C. Nose – Smell

Q2 D. 5 glands

Q3 F 4 sometimes 5    Note: the metatarsal gland is the least used gland. see http://www.buckmasters.com/deer-glands.aspx

Q4 True. Bigger trees that are rubbed usually mean bigger bucks and antlers

Q5 E. All above. Bucks often bed on a high ridge to smell the air thermals as they rise. This buck rubs the tree on the way into bed and as he heads down at night. This is a prime hunting area if you can get in while it is very dark. Stay off the deer trail and try to hunt it from the side, heed the wind direction for your setup. This is an older buck.

Q6 C. The preorbital gland is in the tissue surrounding the base of the eye socket. And I believe it is not used as readily as the tarsal and interdigital glands in fields and sandy areas were vision is important. I created this question knowing that you would research this more.

Q7 D. Stand where there is at least 90 to 180 degrees of visibility near a tree and the wind in your face or quartering.

Q8  D.) B, C or E.  In deep woods It is more likely that you are smelling a buck just in front of you. It may also be a hunter with a scent canister so beware.

Q9 A.) Look under smoke for movement

Q10 E.) AB and D Watch the wind remember “smell” is the deer’s best defense.

Q11 C. Safety First. Be sure it is safe to shoot. Determine what is in front of, and behind your intended target before you shoot.

Q12 B. Stay calm and stay put, analyze your situation.

Q13 C. Tag your deer

Q14 False The hunter who sleeps in can then hunt the mid day 10-2 pm when other hunters are out of the woods. Big bucks have been killed thinking that the hunters have left.

Q15 F.) BCDE Be prepared for all emergencies.

Want to try another quiz?

http://www.nesportsman.com/quiz/deerquiz.htm