Hunting

While I gathered information and advice from different people throughout the last several months, from lifelong Alaskan residents to gun writers, I tried to follow the old adage: Get the best you can afford.

The does turned and resumed their march in our direction. The buck stopped broadside at 223 yards and the rifle thundered. The wallop of the bullet exploding the heart was clear, and after taking a few steps the giant tumbled to the ground.

Once I had picked up the rifle from a local sporting goods store, it was time to add a scope and the various accouterments to turn it into a legitimate all-weather hunting rifle, capable of holding its own no matter what Mother Nature throws at it.

Hunting in the West is full of unique challenges that need to be prepared for. Here are a few lessons I had to learn the hard way.

I have processed many different types of game and fish from bluegill to bull elk and everything in between. I will say that cleaning frogs is by far one of the most challenging for me to this day.

Frog gigging is a great way to spend some hot summer nights. Although they task delicate and refined, the act of gathering them is just about as far from that as possible.

These are the things I do as a flatlander, it helps make the summer doldrums go by faster and keeps me eagerly awaiting the first hint of fall.

Smaller calibers and cartridges kick less. They tend to be accurate and are certainly easier to shoot well. Loaded with a premium bullet they penetrate deeply and create a devastating wound channel. They do everything a big, hard-kicking caliber can do, right?

Shotgun and air rifle specialist Hatsan USA is launching a new line of Escort semi-automatic shotguns with a cool twist: these guns are bullpups.