Top Five Duck Calls

Trying to select a new duck call can be an overwhelming experience, causing you to slowly go cross-eyed as you thumb through page after page of a sporting-goods catalog and read umpteen product descriptions that all sound the same. Luckily, you don’t have to weed through the merits of dozens of calls. I’ve narrowed it down to five that have served me well over the years. Each has something different to offer and deserves a look.

Duck Commander Duck Picker 

This easy-blowing double-reed has hung around my neck for many years. It’s a great call for novices and has a very small learning curve. Some calls require many hours to master, but not the Duck Picker. It has a true ducky sound and is incredibly versatile. ($35; ­duck​­commander.com)

 

 

Haydel’s Dirty Rice

This double-reed call is extremely easy to blow and has a nice smooth sound. What I like the most about the Dirty Rice, though, is the squeal it can produce at the end of a note that mimics a hen mallard with food caught in her throat. This is my go-to call when I’m lying in a cornfield trying to persuade a flock to make one last pass. ($25; haydels.com)

 

 

GK Calls Call Girl 

I picked up this call last year at a waterfowl festival in my home state of Michigan. I chose a cocobolo version (which can be custom-ordered), but it’s primarily available in acrylic. Again, this call is very easy to blow, yet it has a true sound and really nails the raspy hen that many of us look for in a call. ($115; gkcalls.com)

 

Zink PH-2 (polycarbonate) 

The PH-2 is a very versatile double-­reed duck call. Its wide-open barrel allows it to be blown loudly for big-water or windy-day birds, yet it can be blown very softly and toned down for finishing notes when the birds get within range. ($25; zinkcalls.com) 

 

Echo Diamondwood Timber Duck Call

This excellent double-reed call has all the volume and raspiness of a single. What I love most about it is the control I have on the chuckle, and the ease with which I can get back up on the comeback and high-ball notes without going over the edge. ($55; echocalls.com)

Lessons in Patience and Hardship from Hunting My 10th Ram

Every sheep hunt I have been on has been an adventure of its own. This year, however, has been particularly special. After helping my buddy Frank to fill his draw tag on the opener, I was left with my sheep tag to notch, and a rapidly vanishing season in which to do it. Knowing time was limited, I took a weekend to do a kamikaze trip, but was unsuccessful. I had only one more shot, and despite being busy at work, had to take it if I wanted to accomplish my goal of taking ten Dall rams before I turn 30 years old.

So in early September, with a decent weather window ahead of us, Frank and I headed back into the area I went two weekends earlier (you can watch him take his own ram here). Feet mostly healed up, we shouldered our packs, loaded with enough food for 10 days, and determined that if we were coming back without a ram, out stomachs would be empty as well. We covered about six miles the first afternoon and woke up to a herd of caribou less than 200 yards from the tent, including one huge bull. The caribou were fair game, but that’s one way to end a sheep hunt before it begins, so we just enjoyed watching them.

By that evening, we had made it to where I woke up under six inches of wet snow just two weeks before. This time the weather was looking great and we were already seeing some rams. We didn’t see anything legal, but I was feeling good about my prospects as we watched a beautiful sunset.

We spent the entirety of the following day looking over a few groups of rams, but were still not able to locate a legal one. As we made our way back to camp, we were sitting on a ridge glassing a new basin, when Frank stood up to stretch and spotted a band of six rams that we hadn’t seen and were bedded about 800 yards below us. One ram looked like he had the mass I was looking for, but with the sun hitting the cool ground, the mirage was so bad that it was impossible to judge him. We began to work closer, but had to be careful as the wind was blowing straight downhill. Before I got a good look, the ram disappeared into a cut below the smaller rams as they were feeding. We waited, then as we were rapidly losing light, and the rams were feeding closer and closer up to our elevation, we decided that we needed to push it and get a look at him. We quickly found ourselves pinned down when two of the smaller rams bedded down just 200 yards to our left. The bigger ram just wouldn’t show himself. I stood up and saw the other three young rams only 70 yards below us, but still couldn’t find the big one. Finally as it began to get dark, we decided we needed to try and slip back to our packs. While we did that, we found the big one, who had gone the opposite way we thought, and when he busted us, the whole band took off running out of sight. We made the walk of shame back to camp a little dejected, but knowing we still had time.

The next day, we checked out a couple groups of rams, but were still coming up without any great options. But that afternoon we found the group of six that we had spooked, hanging out about a mile and a half away, relaxed and feeding. We were able to determine that the bigger ram was legal, but was too late in the day to execute a stalk, so we let them bed down and found them nearby the next morning. We decided to pack up camp and go after him, and as we began the long stalk, the rams fed across the basin they were in to a position below us. Good enough, we thought, but no sooner had they gone out of sight below us, then they went running back across the basin. I knew they had not seen or winded us, but then I saw a herd of caribou that had fed over the ridge above them and spooked them.

The sheep didn’t go far, but the caribou decided to bed down for the whole afternoon right where we needed to go to continue the stalk, so we aborted our mission. The following morning, the rams followed the same pattern and fed down below us again. As we were descending to a shooting position, the biggest ram decided he wanted to be back on the other side, feeding to where they had been the day before. The others followed, and we were pinned down in the open for several hours until we had a chance to get out of sight. Welcome to sheep hunting; even the best plans can get derailed, and you never know quite what causes it.

Daylight was quickly disappearing, and heavy rain was on the way, so we decided it would be best to be patient and try again the next day.

One big lesson I learned on this hunt was that patience really does pay off. The following morning, we got an especially early start and at first light found that the rams had moved even closer to us during the storm and were bedded in the basin below our tent. We quickly got our gear together and as we picked our way through the rocks to get in position, the rams began feeding up towards us. There was one rock in particular that we were able to use as cover to get close, and when we peeked over, saw that they were only 300 yards away. It took a few minutes for the big ram to separate himself from the herd, and the rest happened really fast. I put a round in the chamber and quickly took a rest on top of the rock. We had to skyline ourselves and it didn’t take him long to see us. Unfortunately for him it was too late, and I was able to anchor him with one shot.

When he hit the ground, a surge of emotion and relief hit me. Much like an 18-wheeler letting off the brake pressure, all of the stress and angst that had been building up all went away in an instant. It was hard to believe that my tenth ram was on the ground. Finally able to put my hands on those horns, he was quite a bit more impressive than I had thought. He was a classic Dall, with a wide flair and heavy horns. In my never-ending pursuit to be a sheep hunter, every ram has taught me a lesson, and this one was patience.

We managed to pack the sheep 15 miles just in the nick of time. The final day was an unrelenting blizzard, freezing our rain gear and water bottles solid. After 23 days spent in the mountains, over 140 mountain miles walked, and about 20 pounds lost, I was left with one lingering thought from this season of education: I have never wanted a bacon cheeseburger so bad!

Betty to produce Bear Grylls show for Chinese market

Betty has teamed up with China’s Shanghai Media Group (SMG) to produce new adventure series Survivor Games fronted by Bear Grylls which will air across China on Dragon TV.

The 12×90-min series is co-produced with Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, Bear Grylls Ventures (BGV) and SMG production arm DocuChina.

Survivor Games will feature eight celebrities as they battle to survive 12 days in the wild tackling all that the jungle and Bear can throw at them.

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A head for huge heights! Daredevil adventurer Bear Grylls abseils down giant skyscraper in Shanghai as he prepares to launch his own brand of survival TV in China

He’s known for his daring feats of survival, and pushing his celebrity friends to their limits. But Bear Grylls took his daredevilry to new heights on Sunday, as he fearlessly abseiled down one of China’s tallest skyscrapers in a daring stunt. Giving the thumbs up after making a terrifying descent down the length of the […]

First Look: New 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum Cartridge

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There’s a new sheriff in town. Weatherby, for the first time in decades, is unleashing a new cartridge—and it is a speed-demon of a six-five. Based on a necked-down .300 Weatherby Magnum, the 6.5-300 Weatherby is like a mini ICBM and is set to dethrone the 26 Nosler as the fastest commercial 6.5mm cartridge available. 

I was lucky enough to get my hands on the first 6.5-300 rifle to be sent outside Weatherby’s headquarters in Paso Robles, Calif., a Mark V AccuMark, along with a couple boxes of handloaded ammunition. I’ve had some good range time with it and I’m preparing to take it hunting in the next few days. Production rifles and ammunition will be shipping in 2016.

6.5-300 Wby. Specs
First things first. Here are the details from Weatherby on the cartridge. It will be offered with the following bullets:

    • 127-grain Barnes LRX @ 3,531 fps
    • 130-grain Swift Scirocco @ 3,475 fps (approx.)
    • 140-grain Swift A-Frame @ 3,395 fps

The ammunition will sell for $95 for a box of 20 rounds.

Initially, Weatherby will make three different rifles in the 6.5-300, all based on the Mark V action: the Accumark, the Accumark RC, and Ultra Lightweight. (The RC stands for Range Certified, meaning those rifles have been shot at the factory and come with a certified sub-MOA target.) All the rifles will have 26-inch barrels, though the Ultra Lightweight will also have a 2-inch muzzlebreak tacked on. The barrels, which Weatherby says are all hand-lapped, will have 1-in-8-inch twists.

The Accumark will sell for $2,300; the Accumark RC for $2,700; and the Ultra Lightweight for $2,400.

Hotrod Rifle
Roy Weatherby made his mark by designing cartridges that were fast and building rifles for them that were accurate and flashy. His rifles had bling and swagger at a time when the round receiver of a Remington 700 was enough to raise eyebrows for its outré design. His Hollywood aesthetic, and sense of showmanship, was echoed in the hotrod car culture that also flourished in Southern California in the 1950s.

This new Accumark is a direct heir to Roy’s early creations. The highly polished stainless steel barrel is offset with matte black in the fluting and around the recessed crown in the muzzle. 

It’s shine and gloss will make some hunters grumble that it might alert sharp-eyed game while stalking, but like the cartridge, this rifle is making a statement saying that it will not be ignored. 

There will also be a lot of grumbling about the cartridge—which is admittedly an over-bored sonofabitch—that it’s going to be a barrel burner and that it doesn’t have a “point.”

To which I say, get over it. To extend the car metaphor, it’s like a gaggle of Prius owners tsk-tsking muscle cars enthusiasts. “Do they have any idea how much fuel they waste?” Go home, Mildred.

One doesn’t get a rifle that pushes a 127-grain bullet in excess of 3,500 fps because he’s concerned about barrel life. You do that because you like bullets that haul ass and shoot flat.

And shoot flat it does. The load I’ve been using, the 127-grain Barnes LRX, when sighted in 2 inches high at 100 yards is dead on at 294 yards. By the time the bullet has travelled 400 yards, it has dropped only 7.5 inches, is booking along at 2,650 fps and carries 1,980 foot-pounds of energy. Yeah, that’s flat. 

Nothing New?
Now, to be fair, this cartridge isn’t exactly new. According to Dean Rumbaugh, Weatherby’s in-house historian who has been with the company since 1961, Roy Weatherby built a 6.5-300 at some point in the early 1950s. They still have the old Mauser-action rifle in their collection. There is also evidence that Weatherby built a 6.5-300 Weatherby for Herb Klein, a benefactor of Roy’s who helped keep the company afloat during financially troubled times. But where that rifle is today is anyone’s guess, Rumbaugh says.

Curiously, however, there is no other documentation concerning Roy’s early work with this cartridge that has been unearthed in the Weatherby archives, Rumbaugh says. It is a sort of black-hole among the calibers.

Part of the reason for this could be that Roy dismissed the idea of bringing it to market fairly early on. Between the success of the .257 Weatherby at one end of the spectrum, and the .300 Weatherby at the other (with the mildly successful 7mm Weatherby splitting the difference), there wasn’t much reason to unveil a 6.5mm cartridge given the marginal performance gains that would be seen due to the quality of bullets, powders and primers of that era.

Not everyone shared, that assessment, though. In the early 1970s, a group of wildcatters who were affiliated with the legendary Pennsylvania 1000-yard benchrest club, built rifles chambered for a 6.5mm cartridge using the .300 Weatherby as the parent case. Called the 6.5-300 WWH, for Weatherby Wright Hoyer, it won matches and had a devoted niche following among that influential group of shooters. 

King of the Hill
Whatever issues there might have been with the components available in those early days, Weatherby believes that today the time is right for the 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum to be introduced (or reintroduced, as the case may be) to the broader shooting world. 

Given the feverish interest among shooters with all things long range, as well as the bragging rights that come with having the fastest gun around, and the current ascendency of cartridges using 6.5mm bullets, I’m willing to bet that Weatherby’s gamble will pay off. 

I must say that shooting the lighter 127-grain bullets has been surprisingly comfortable off the bench. The weight of my rifle (8 pounds 3 ounces) makes it a solid medium-heavyweight and helps soak up the 6.5-300’s felt recoil. The well-shaped stock helps in this regard too. 

The accuracy so far has been good as well, hovering right around 1 MOA.
I’m looking forward to reloading the round with a variety of long and sleek 6.5mm bullets to see exactly what the cartridge can do—but I suspect the answer is a lot. 

Even though the cartridge gobbles powder by the handful and will run through brass at a brisk rate, it is a round that can handle just about any type of hunting. It’ll certainly take large game at extended ranges and will make for an excellent predator round, assuming that saving the animal’s pelt isn’t a primary concern. It would be fun as hell to use on hogs, and, with monolithic bullets will easily crumple elk, moose and other large critters. 

But beyond its utility—or lack thereof—this cartridge is pure Weatherby. It’s speed and eye-popping ballistics are in keeping with Weatherby’s DNA. From his perch in the gamefields on high, I’m sure that Roy Weatherby is smiling.

Photos of the New 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum Cartridge and AccuMark Rifle

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  Weatherby is introducing its first new cartridge in decades, the 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum, which is the fastest 6.5mm commercially available cartridge. The Mark V Accumark is one of three models that Weatherby is offering the 6.5-300 in for 2016.

   

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  The Mark Vs are made in the U.S. and are assembled at Weatherby’s headquarters in Paso Robles, California.

   

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  The 9-lug bolt is the hallmark of the Mark V action. It has a short, 60-degree bolt throw, a plunger-style ejector and a Sako-style extractor. Over the decades it has earned a reputation for strength and reliability.

   

• 004_Cartridges.JPG

  

  I have been shooting some pre-production ammunition in my Mark V. They are loaded with 127-grain Barnes LRX bullets and Weatherby is claiming a muzzle velocity of 3,531 fps for this particular load. Weatherby is going to have two other loads available: a 130-grain Swift Scirocco and a 140-grain Swift A-Frame. All are excellent hunting loads.

   

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  The 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum is going to unseat the 26 Nosler as the fastest commercially available 6.5mm round. From left to right, here are some other 6.5mm cartridges for comparison: 6.5 Creedmoor, .260 Remington, 6.5-284 Norma, 26 Nosler, 6.5-300 Weatherby.

   

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  The trigger on my sample had an average pull weight of 2 pounds 15 ounces, which is just about ideal for a hunting rifle. Anything less can become a safety issue when the shooters hands are numb from cold or when he’s shaking from fatigue or excitement. Anything more is needlessly heavy.

   

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  I topped the rifle with Leupold’s new VX-6 2-12x42mm CDS-ZL. The magnification range covers any hunting situation, from taking animals up close in brush to reaching out for long-distance shots, which is what the 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum was designed for.

   

• 008_Scope.JPG

  

  One handy feature on the Leupold VX-6 2-12x42mm CDS-ZL is the elevation turret, which has a push-button tab that pops out when the scope is returned to zero. The easy-to-read numbers indicate the amount of MOA the shooter has dialed into the scope for elevation on longer shots.

   

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  Like all Mark Vs, the Accumark has a generously sized two-position safety that toggles up 90 degrees, revealing a red dot, when it is ready to fire. This image also gives a glimpse of the magazine release, which is located inside the trigger guard.

   

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  The stock on the Accumark is built for right-handed shooters. The raised cheek piece gives the shooter a solid cheek weld when the rifle is shouldered. The stock has a spiderweb texture on it that provides a solid, secure grip.

   

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  The grip has a noticeable palm swell on the right side that fills the shooter’s hand, providing lots of grip and control. Even though the bolt handle is round and smooth, it is large enough to provide solid contact to easily cycle the action.

   

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  There it is in writing: 6.5-300 WBY MAG on the rifle’s stainless steel barrel. All models of the 6.5-300 will have 26-inch barrels that have been hand-lapped. I expect this new offering to appeal to hunters and shooting who like their rifles to push bullets downrange fast. 

   

• 013_Overall.JPG

  

  Weatherby plans to start shipping the new 6.5-300 Wby. Mag. rifles in January 2016. There will be three models offred. The Accumark pictured here; an Accumark RC, which stands for range certified, meaning it comes with a better accuracy guarantee; and an Ultra Lightweight model.

   

Gun Lab: Ithaca Guardian Review

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This new rifle from Ithaca is the most visually arresting gun of the year. The gorgeous wood (a $400 upgrade from the $1,800 base price) and flawless metalwork, which is one of the hallmarks of Ithaca, give it charisma to spare.

[See more reviews from the 2015 Gun Test]

The crisp and consistent trigger on the Guardian, which broke at just over 2 pounds, is as good as they come.

The rifle has some issues feeding from its single-stack magazine, however. Loaded to capacity, it was difficult to get into battery. Also, at times the rifle wouldn’t stay cocked as the bolt was closed, which cost it points. Once Ithaca sorts these problems out, the Guardian will be a formidable offering.

Price: $2,200

How One Genius Formula Helped Tag Early-Season Wisconsin 216-Inch Giant

So, we’ve just completed shipping out the November issue of Outdoor Life. When it arrives in your mailbox in a couple of weeks, you’ll see an article written by Jeff Sturgis of Whitetail Habitat Solutions entitled, “The Rut Revisited.” When Jeff and I first visited early last summer to shoot the breeze about deer hunting, he convinced me that he had thoroughly researched and formulated a rut-hunting system that could take the guesswork out of when and how to hunt the rut. He called it: “High Value Sits.” 

His suppositions seemed dead-on accurate. If you’ve spent any time in the woods during the whitetail rut, you know that it varies from season to season and day to day. We can’t be on stand 24/7. So, is there a way to figure out the best times to actually be in the woods? What Jeff came up with is a simple mathematical algorithm that you can plug your own numbers into. It is largely based upon food, weather (temperature, wind, and precipitation), and moon stages. The thing about Jeff’s theory is that he actually has the results to back up his hypothesis, and it goes a long way in explaining regional variability in whitetail rut behavior during pre, peak and post rut.

Just as we put the finishing touches on the November issue, Jeff contacted us with word on a giant 216-inch (green score) Wisconsin buck that was a result of his formulaic approach to hunting the entire rut. Here’s the note that Sturgis received from the fortunate hunter:

“It’s Saturday night and I’m in my stand by 5 p.m. By 6:30 I had already seen 6 different bucks. No shooters or at least not what I was looking for. About 7 p.m. that monster buck came out. Just like you predicted. We had pictures of this buck, and so did the surrounding properties. How lucky I feel, to have gotten this buck; it is still overwhelming! I know that if I wouldn’t have seen your message about hunting Saturday, I wouldn’t have been in the woods.”—Nick Bauman

Great buck, Nick. Congratulations on a giant. For those of you hoping to tag your own buck this season, check out Jeff's formula in our November issue. For more info from Jeff, check out his blog post on the buck here.

Bass Fishing: Tactics for Making the Most of the Fall Drawdown

It’s one of the clearest cases of give and take that bass fishing has to offer. The fall drawdown: that period when lake authorities from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the TVA drop water levels to “winter pool.”

Generally meant to facilitate maintenance, drawdowns also benefit anglers in terms of reducing depths around much of the shallow cover. It stands to reason, that when a lot of those logs, laydowns and boulders become too shallow to support fish, the ones standing in deeper water—deep enough to harbor fish—will become increasingly popular.

Bassmaster Elite Serie pro Keith Combs said that, when a drained bank shows the majority of its cover standing high and dry, any remaining cover holds magnetic attraction for fish patrolling the shallows.

On the other hand, declining water might bring things that go bump dangerously close to the surface. Logs with a yardstick of water over top last month might soon sit just inches from the cooling autumn breezes.

“The biggest thing in the fall is that if you’re not familiar with the lake, you need to be careful navigating it,” said Jason Christie, an Elite pro from Oklahoma. “Stay within the (navigational markers) and if there are no buoys, just use common sense and go slow.

“A lot of times, when they draw down a lake, this starts to expose some hazards. That can be a good thing, if you can avoid them. If you can ease up on them, you could find a potential honey hole for fish.”

Top baits for the drawdown include spinnerbaits, squarebills, and flipping baits like your jigs and Texas-rigged plastics for the shallow cover. When the declining water has the fish roaming shallow bays shoreline coves, Louisiana Elite pro Greg Hackney throws a topwater and backs it up with an unweighted fluke style bait.

As you poke around the shallows during a drawdown, stay alert, pay attention to your depth and mark any new spots for return trips when spring raises the water level back to normal.