Readers may recall a September 14, 2008 review that I did of a book entitled "Tracking Whitetails: Answers to Your Questions," which was written by Paul C. Carter of Dalton. I gave the book an excellent rating and based upon comments received from hunters, no one disagreed with that rating.
Now, Carter has come out with a new book entitled "Great Shot! A Guide to Acquiring Shooting Skills for Big-Game Hunters." He claims that this book will help correct any present shooting shortcomings we may have and become better marksmen. I believe him.
This book is long overdue. Not only does it address good shooting form, trigger control and stable field positions, things that we learned on the firing range or from books published many years ago, it also addresses issues of the 21st century big game hunters. It explains how to take advantage of new shooting aids that have been recently developed; things such as computer ballistic software, range finders, improved rifle scopes, and other shooting aids. Difficult shooting situations that hunters encounter such as judging and compensating for wind, measuring or estimating range and shooting angles are clearly addressed.
One won't sit down and read this book like a mystery novel. I am not a math whiz and chapters dealing with bullet trajectory, wind effects at different distances, uphill and downhill shooting was challenging for me. Because this information is so important, I
Mainly geared for the modern high powered rifle hunter, it is not all high tech and I especially liked the chapters addressing shooting with open iron sights which many of us muzzleload hunters use today.
One thing that I like about reading a Paul C. Carter book is that you know that he knows what he is writing about. As mentioned in my previous article, he is a world renowned sheep hunter who has bagged more than his share of wild mountain sheep. He accomplished the Grand Slam of North American wild sheep twice, once with a scoped rifle and once with a muzzle loader with open iron sights.
I highly recommend this book. Luckily, it has come out just in time for us to practice for the fall hunting season. The soft covered, 248 page book, which is printed by BookSurge Publishing, sells for $16.99. You can get a copy directly from Paul by giving him a call (413-684-0634) or by accessing his new web page (www.paulccarter.com). He will gladly autograph a copy for you. What a great Christmas gift for that serious big game hunter in your family.
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Speaking of big game hunting, The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Bay State Chapter's 1st annual banquet and fundraiser will be held next Saturday (Aug. 29) at the Stockbridge Sportsmen's Club. Doors open at 4:30 p.m., and there is a social hour where drawings, raffles, games, and the silent auction takes place. A prime rib dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m., and a live auction will follow. There will be a drawing for an elk hunt for two. There are various categories of banquet tickets so you should call club director Gary D. Johnston at (413) 298-3623 with any questions. Seats are limited, so act quickly.
So what is the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation? Since 1984, the Elk Foundation has permanently protected more than 1,100 square miles of critical elk habitat. It has opened up more than 500,000 acres of previously closed lands for the public hunting, fishing and hiking and it has greatly enhanced another 5.3 million acres of elk country. In addition, the Elk Foundation has funded more than 5,700 projects to promote conservation education and North America's hunting heritage.
In addition to funding projects in elk country, fundraising here in Massachusetts benefits local conservation education and hunting heritage activities to introduce youth and women to the outdoors, promote hunter safety and responsibility, provide physically challenged individuals with a hunting experience, and involve kids in conservation.
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Recently, the Fisheries and Wildlife Board unanimously voted to prohibit the use of lead sinkers, lead weights, and lead fishing jigs with a mass of less than 1 ounce in the inland waters of Massachusetts. This regulatory change will not take effect until 2012.
This is a welcomed move to help protect our environment, especially loons and other waterfowl that ingest the sinkers thinking they are pebbles which help them digest their food. The Berkshire County League of Sportsmen unanimously voted to support this initiative several months ago. The state of Vermont has had a similar statute on their books for several years now.
There are some replacement materials on the market these days such as tin but one has to use at least two of them to get the same weight as one lead sinker.
I have seen nothing in writing yet as to this regulation applying to fly fishermen who use lead to weight their wet flies, nymphs and streamers. Although most fly tiers have already switched to new non-lead materials, it is the older flies that are carried in our fly boxes that have to be dealt with. Some fly tyers have been using tungsten as a substitute but that material is quite expensive.
So what do the fishermen do with their existing supplies of lead sinkers, jigs, etc? Good question. Maybe we should lobby for a "Cash for Sinkers" stimulus bill.
To reach Gene Chague:
berkwoodsandwaters@roadrunner.com,
(413) 637-1818.
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