Chances are the title anecdote is engrained deep in your subconscious, whether you grew up fishing the Chesapeake Bay or simply visited a local tackle shop while passing through the watershed. For those of us that fall into the former category, we likely accepted this as truth largely by way of trust in our mentors, followed by empirical validation of our own. Walk down any aisle in a local tackle shop, however, and you’ll be presented with a wide spectrum of color choices, most if not all of which will catch fish under certain conditions. So, what is it about chartreuse that made this particular color so pervasive that it was immortalized by the late great Lefty Kreh? To be honest, I never truly asked myself this question until I began to look at the problem through the lens of optics. A quick Google search of “if it ain’t chartreuse it ain’t no use” will present similar takes by local experts, so I make no claim to be the first to broach the subject. That being said, let’s consider the results of a simple optical analysis of the subject.

A wise man once taught me to seek simple models that develop physical intuition. Implicit in this statement is that these simple models must be constructed with physics that sufficiently describe the phenomenon which we seek to understand. In this light, let us reduce the complexity of the problem from which we derive such simple pleasure: to elicit a visual reaction strike in the daytime, light rays emanating from the sun must first travel through the vacuum of space for tens of millions of miles before reaching the edge of Earth’s atmosphere. At this interface, worldly optical phenomena begin. Some of these rays are reflected back into space in a mirror-like fashion, while the remainder pass through. Most of the time these rays are bent onto a new path when entering Earth’s atmosphere. For these rays to reach Earth’s surface, they must then travel along a path on which some rays are misdirected and/or plucked from thin air, by a variety of atmospheric constituents such as gaseous molecules and suspended particulate. Each ray of light represents a single color and the number of these rays that are misdirected and/or plucked from thin air depends on that color. As such, the color content at the edge of Earth’s atmosphere will differ from that on the Bay’s surface.

The process described above is again at play when a new interface (such as water) is introduced. The optical model described here therefore considers that rays reaching the Bay’s surface(1) are subject to being reflected, passed through, bent, misdirected(2) and/or plucked from the water column(2) all before being reflected by a lure. A perfect mirror for which all colors are completely reflected has been used instead of a lure of specific color (we’ll assess the effect of this lure choice soon enough). A detector with the daytime color response of the striped bass’ retina(3) has been situated immediately following the perfect mirror to complete the model. This color response is measured by electroretinography and accounts for the fact that not all colors are equal, as far as the striped bass’s retina is concerned. The results of this simple analysis are presented for clean Bay water at a depth of one foot, the average depth of the Bay (21 feet) and the deepest spot in the Bay (174 feet).

At a depth of one foot, most of the color content that was present on the Bay’s surface has persisted and the effect of the color response of the striped bass’ retina is prominent. You’ll notice that the color response of the striped bass’s retina tends to rank colors in the chartreuse band as being most significant, although at this shallow depth most colors are still at your disposal in terms of lure selection. In proceeding to 21 feet, a depth to which you’ve undoubtedly dropped a jig or two, the progressive action of the plankton-filled water column acts like a sponge for blue and red colors. As well, as the pickiness of the striped bass’ retinal color response has begun to turn our perfect mirror into a chartreuse mirror. At a depth of 174 feet, the kind of optical transformation that striped bass dream about has effectively completed.

Not a fan of even the simplest of models without empirical validation? Neither am I. You may take some comfort in that Navy divers at depth in the Long Island Sound most commonly reported white targets as green, white, and yellow(4) – in that order. Keep in mind that that chartreuse is also referred to as yellow-green. Still not convinced? Well I’ll need the help of our community to take this argument further. For the underwater photographers in the audience, I’d like to present an open challenge to get images of a chartreuse and white lure falling into the depths of the Bay, as viewed through a filter corresponding to the color response of the striped bass’s retina.

Let’s take a moment to reflect once more on the title anecdote. Regardless of whether or not striped bass can distinguish between individual colors or their brains simply rank colors differently, you’d best consider choosing a lure color that reflects or misdirects yellow-green, such as chartreuse, if you’re fishing at depth and want to elicit a visible reaction strike. As to the veracity of “if it ain’t chartreuse it ain’t no use,” you already knew that in reality it’s not absolute. To flip the script, you might consider choosing a lure color (such as black) that strongly plucks chartreuse from the available light for optical contrast to the yellow-green aquatic environment.

Don’t get out your pitchforks just yet—I’ll be danged if you see me throwing anything other than chartreuse on the first cast. That is unless we’re talking about fluorescence colors, which don’t play by the same rules…

-By Michael Brupbacher

1. U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)/NREL/ALLIANCE

2. E.O. Hulburt, Optics of distilled and natural water, Journal of The Optical Society of America, 35(11), 1945, 698-705.

3. A.Z. Horodysky, R.W. Brill, E.J. Warrant, J.A. Musick, R.J. Latour, Comparative visual function in four piscivorous fished inhabiting the Chesapeake Bay, The Journal of Experimental Biology, 213, 2010, 1751-1761.

4. J A S. Kinney, S.M. Luria, D.O. Weitzman, Visibility of colors underwater, Journal of the The Optical Society of America, 57(6), 1967, 802-809.

It could be argued that Ohio’s so-called “Hole-In-The-Horn Buck” is the most famous whitetail in the world. In fact, this legendary deer, with his incredible rack and story to match, might well be the most famous big game animal ever to come from the North American continent!

My own involvement in this story began sometime around 1977 when I was in the business of outfitting guided hunts, primarily for trophy whitetails. As a group of hunters and I sat around a campfire one evening, one of the clients pulled out photos of two of the largest bucks I’d ever seen. Supposedly, a “friend” of his had killed both animals, but my client couldn’t offer any other details. Although those bucks remained firmly implanted in my mind, further details continued to be unavailable for the next few years.

Then, in the early 1980s, I was fortunate to meet Fred Goodwin of Sherman Mills, Maine, one of America’s foremost whitetail collectors. Fred had gathered more than 1,300 sets of antlers over a span of nearly 70 years, and along with these, he’d acquired thousands of antler photos. As dug through cigar and shoe boxes full of photos, one in particular caught my eye — a photo just like one of those I’d seen four years earlier around that camp­fire!

The inscription on the back of the photo, which was in Fred’s handwriting, read, “giant non-typical found dead along railroad tracks, greatest spread 36 inches, 60 points, Kent, Ohio.” I soon learned that Fred had acquired the photo several years earlier from one of his many pen pals. Fred had never seen the buck, but he claimed it was the largest non-typical whitetail he knew of.

Eventually, I learned that the photo had come from a private hunting club in Kent, Ohio, and that the buck still hung in the bar there. In the summer of 1982, I talked with a couple of club members to learn more of this deer. Because of time and distance from my Montana home, however, it was actually August 1983 before I could travel to Kent to see the giant for myself.

By then, he’d hung in the smoke-filled bar for right at 40 years, and both the mount and antlers were nearly black from stains and dust. But, I immediately knew the antlers were of gigantic proportions and that they were even larger than they’d appeared in the photo. My initial rough score was off the “Richter Scale,” at 349 2/8 Boone and Crockett points well above that of the recently discovered 333 7/8-point world record from Missouri!

At the time of my visit, widespread interest in collecting whitetail racks was just beginning. I’d already acquired a substantial collection of outstanding bucks (many of which are featured in this book) and had begun displaying them at sportsmen’s shows. The Kent Canadian Club was interested in making its giant buck more visible to the general public, and I eventually acquired the mounted head.

North American WHITETAIL maga­zine, which I had been involved with since I helped in its founding in 1982, also played an instrumental role in this saga. We shared a common goal of uncovering the origin and history of the buck and passing along that information to the hunting public. As I dug into the deer’s back­ground, learned that he’d been found dead more than 40 years earlier and had hung in virtual seclusion ever since.

The Kent Canadian Club was founded in the early 1920s by a group of local hunters and fishermen who shared a special sporting interest in Ontario, Canada, and fellowship at their local clubhouse/bar in Kent. In the early days of the club, land was purchased at a site along the French River, where it joins Elephant Lake in Ontario. Later, a main lodge and cabins, bath houses, etc., were added, and it became the focal point of recreation for the membership.

Because most of the membership lived near Kent, a clubhouse/bar was also established there. The club’s 300 social members can use the local facility, but only the 20 “backroom” members are allowed to use the Ontario site.

One of the early members, Charlie Flowers, was an engineer for Erie Railroad Company of Ohio and appar­ently was directly responsible for the club’s ownership of the rack. It’s unclear whether Charlie was one of the individu­als who found the deer or if he merely came into possession of the antlers from another person. Regardless, he ended up with the rack.

At the time I acquired the Hole-In-The-Horn, the circumstances surround­ing the buck’s death and recovery were largely speculative. According to descen­dants of those involved and other infor­mation available then, the buck had been found dead along the railroad right-of-way near Windham, Ohio, in 1940 or shortly there­after. The carcass was badly decom­posed, so only the head was salvaged. It was believed that one of the engineers spotted the dead buck from the train itself and at some point (then, or at a later date) recovered the antlers.

According to what I could learn at the time of my investigation, the buck had been found in or near the Ravenna Arsenal in Portage County. This arsenal is still used for storage of military munitions, and for security reasons, it’s surrounded by a high fence. What nobody could tell me was whether or not the fence had played some role in the deer’s death. Had the barrier caused him to become trapped, resulting in death by collision with the train? Or, had he perhaps become entangled in the fence itself and died from injuries, stress or starva­tion? And for that matter, on which side of the fence was he found? Apparently, nobody knew.

I was told that Charlie had sold the rack to the Kent Canadian Club for $25. The club then commissioned Ben Morgan, a taxidermist in nearby Akron, to acquire a new cape and mount the head. Once completed, it hung in the club’s bar and essential­ly remained anonymous until I “dis­covered” it. But, this was not just any deer hanging in a bar he would have been the undisput­ed world record for 40 years!

Once the head arrived at my home, there was time for closer scrutiny and opportunity for more careful measuring. There was no doubt that the head would become either No. 1 or No. 2 in the B&C record book. The staff at North American WHITETAIL and I knew this buck was a world record contender, so we searched for a name that would give him his own identity. Because there was no hunter’s name to attach to this deer, as there is with most other trophy heads, we had to find something else to call him.

At that time, perhaps the most myste­rious aspect of this rack was the fact that one of the large drop tines on the right main beam had a small hole through it. There was a great deal of speculation as to how and when the hole was cre­ated, so we dubbed this awesome ani­mal the “Hole-In­The-Horn Buck.” That moniker has since become universally accepted.

From the first time I unofficially scored the head, I knew it was a mea­surer’s night­mare, as it

had configurations of antler never before encountered on any whitetail rack. There was obviously more than one interpreta­tion of how it should be scored, but most of the net scores from my measurements and those of many experienced measur­ers fell somewhere in the 340s—usually between 342 and 349 points.

Based on these unofficial scores, we felt the probability was high that this buck’s final score would exceed the 333 7/8-point score of the world record “St. Louis Buck,” which had been found dead less than two years earlier. But, we also knew the margin was close enough that the official scoring for entry into the records should not be done by just any official measurer. We wanted it done by someone who was very experienced and well respected within B&C’s ranks. No measurer fit this descrip­tion better than Phil Wright, chairman of the Scoring Committee and one of the most senior mem­bers of the club.

On August 27, 1983, the head was taken to Phil for the official scoring. After long and careful exam­ination, he arrived at an entry score of 342 3/8, well above the world record. Phil also stated at the time that two or three other abnormal points he hadn’t included in the total possibly could be added in during a final scoring by B&C judges’ panel. If these points were includ­ed, the final score would be close to 349 points, very near my initial net score.

Based upon Phil’s official entry score, the December 1983 issue North American WHITETAIL announced the shocking news of this historic buck and published information on both his “discovery” and the recent scoring. The magazine called the buck a “new world record,” because according to Phil’s official entry score, he was indeed just that.

Just a year prior to the initial scoring of the Hole-In-The-Horn, the enormous buck found dead near St. Louis had been officially scored by B&C measurer Dean Murphy, who also worked for the Missouri Department of Conservation and was an official member of the Awards Program judges’ panel. Based upon Dean’s entry score of 325 3/8 points, the Missouri buck had been highly publicized by newspapers and sporting maga­zines (including North American WHITETAIL) as a “new world record.”

When the St. Louis Buck had first been announced to the world, he wasn’t yet an “official” world record, because he hadn’t been verified as such by a panel of B&C measurers. He was to be remeasured in the spring of 1983, at which time a final deci­sion on his score would be rendered. However, to my knowledge, there was no negative reaction to claiming this deer to be/the next No.1 non-typical.

The announcement of the Hole-In­The-Horn Buck in North American WHITETAIL followed that precedent. According to an official score sheet filled out by Phil Wright, the Ohio buck was just as much a “new world record” as the Missouri buck had been the previous year, when all anyone had to go on was Dean’s entry score.

Only a couple of months prior to my acquiring the Hole-In-The-Horn Buck, in the summer of 1983, B&C’s 18th Awards Program was held. There, the official score of the Missouri buck was raised from 325 3/8 points to 333 7/8. At the time, this hardly seemed an issue, because either way, the score was far in excess of Jeff Benson’s 286-point world record from Texas. But now, there was a new contender for that crown.

The next three-year scor­ing period culmi­nated with the 19th Awards Program on June 28, 1986. Top recent entries in all big game categories were to be on hand for panel scoring and display. It was pointed out by B&C officials that should the Hole-In-The-Horn not appear, he’d be listed in the next record book with an asterisk, indicating that the score shown was still subject to verification by a judges’ panel. What’s more, we were told that the deer could be dropped from the record book at some point in the future if not panel-measured. Eager to have the score confirmed, I placed the Hole-In-The-­Horn in the cus­tody of Phil Wright for trans­portation to the Awards Program.

When the buck was remea­sured by the panel, the original 5×5 typical frame was rejected and a 4×4 typical configuration chosen. The final score submitted by the panel was 328 2/8 points, and it wasn’t subject to appeal. To everybody’s sur­prise, the Hole-In-The-Horn had become the official No. 2 non-typical.

From the first announcement of the original entry score of this buck, there was in certain quarters criticism of claims that he was a new world record. This seemed strange to me at the time, and still does, because the first wave of pub­licity on the Hole-In-The-Horn was little different from that regarding the Missouri buck. When these deer were revealed to the public, neither was an “official” world record; however, each had been entered at a score that, if upheld, would make him one.

Whatever the motivations for down­playing the Ohio buck, the resulting confusion about which buck was actually “bigger” detracted from the fact that these two racks tower above all others as the largest of all time. Both the Hole-In-The­-Horn and the St. Louis Buck are of a size that could hardly even have been imagined before they surfaced. Since the B&C record book had been founded, the Benson Buck from Texas had been the undisputed No. 1 non-typical. Then, out of the clear blue, within a couple of years of each other, two bucks that exceeded even the most optimistic dreams of the white­tail fraternity had come onto the scene. A new benchmark had been established.

Regardless of his final score, the Hole-In-The-Horn Buck is undeniably one of the two most awesome non-typi­cals of all time. Even though he looks huge in photos, they still don’t reflect his true size. For example, photography can’t indicate that even after 40 years of dry­ing, the rack still weighs 11 1/2 pounds!

It’s also worth noting that while phe­nomenal mass is what makes the Hole­-In-The-Horn so impressive in the eyes of many experts, it actually contributes little to his final score. I think most whitetail aficionados who’ve seen both heads would concede that the Hole-In-The-­Horn has more antler volume than any other buck in history, including the St. Louis Buck. On the other hand, the St. Louis non-typical has a lot of long points, and he apparently grew several more that broke off before he was found. So, the debate over which of these bucks is big­ger undoubtedly will continue.

However, as of very recently, we’re no longer in the dark as to what caused the unique antler feature that gave the Hole-In­-The-Horn Buck his name. As noted, at the time I conducted my interviews and other research on the story of this buck (1983), about all that was known for

certain was that a railroad man named Charlie Flowers had sold the antlers to the Kent Canadian Club and that taxi­dermist Ben Morgan had mounted the deer. After that story appeared in the

December 1983 issue of North American WHITETAIL, we naturally hoped some­body out there might come forth with new information, but more than a decade passed without that happening.

Then, in 1995, WHITETAIL editor Gordon Whittington received a cryptic note with a Florida postmark. “For infor­mation on the Hole in Horn buck, con­tact me,” it read. “I was present.”

Well aware that all eyewitnesses to the recovery of this deer had supposedly been dead for many years, Gordon was understandably skeptical. But, he dialed the phone number on the card anyway, and in so doing, he took the first step toward solving the greatest mystery in whitetail history.

As it turned out, the person who’d sent the card—a 76-year-old gentleman named George Winters—had indeed seen the Hole-In-The-Horn Buck in the flesh. -What’s more, he’d apparently been the first human to touch that enormous right antler with the strange hole through it. And in so doing, he told Gordon that he’d seen with his own eyes what had caused the hole!

George recounted that back in the early 1940s, when he was in his early 20s, he worked on a maintenance crew inside the arsenal. One bitterly cold morning, he and another guy were riding along a road near the perimeter fence when they saw several railroad workers on the outside of the fence. The men had appar­ently come down from the railroad track, which was roughly 75 yards from the fence.

Eager to see what was going on, George and his companion parked and walked down to the fence. There, they found the railroad workers pulling on the body of a large animal, which was stuck under the barrier. Actually, the carcass was entirely outside of the fence but part of the rack was wedged beneath the wires.

“We didn’t know what it was,” George remembered. “One of the men said, ‘It’s an elk!’ Then, another one said, `No, it’s a moose!’ I’d seen deer before, but really wasn’t sure if this was one or not. The animal had been dead for a week or so, from the looks of it, and he was huge. He looked like he weighed 300 or 400 pounds. He’d obviously been hit by a train.”

One of the railroad men—George never caught his name —announced that he wanted the antlers, and the crew start­ed pulling the giant out from under the fence. But, the animal wouldn’t come free. George noticed that when they pulled on the legs, the fence swayed. The rack itself was stuck.

George got a shovel and began work­ing to free the right antler, which was solidly wedged under the wires. “It had been so cold that the ground was frozen down six or eight inches,” George recalled. “That antler was actually frozen into the ground. The fence was made of chain link, and it had stiff wires sticking down along the bottom of it. When I finally got the rack free, I noticed one of those pieces of wire was sticking down through the antler!

“I guess for years everyone has been wondering what made that hole,” George noted, “but it definitely was caused by that wire.”

This all makes sense to me. There are several scratches around the hole, and its diameter is roughly the same as that of the wire used on chain-link fences. Because this drop tine is rather “porous” out near its tip, I have no trouble believ­ing that a buck thrashing around in pain would be able to poke a stiff wire all the way through it.

So, there you have it—an unexpected eyewitness account of the recovery of what might well be the most legendary whitetail of all. Now, it seems, the book on this giant can be closed once and for all.

CLICK HERE TO SEE ANOTHER HUNTER’S CLAIMS AS TO WHY THERE IS A HOLE

The real secret to catching more fish is knowledge! The more you know, the more fish you’ll catch. These Northern Pike ice fishing tips and techniques are proven winners.

Love ’em or hate ’em, if you’re ice fishing, you’re likely to run into some Northern Pike. Near the top of the food chain in nearly any lake they inhabit, these aggressive fish can be a ton of fun to catch! And, once you get past the slime and the Y-bone their good eating too.

If you want to catch more Northern Pike the two most important keys are location and presentation. You could have the most appealing bait in the world but if there aren’t any fish around it’s going to be a looong day. And, not catching a thing while everyone else around you is catching fish can be really frustrating. What you present to the fish is just as important as finding them.

The information found here is best used along with some investigative work done by you. Finding out what the Department of Natural Resources says about a lake and talking to local anglers, especially at the bait shop, can save you a ton of time finding the fish and knowing what they’re biting on.

Northern Pike have very good vision but limited night vision. Unlike most other fish species Northern Pike remain active in the winter and are primarily caught during broad daylight.

Northern Pike Ice Fishing Location

Northern Pike location is often dictated by their belly. They don’t swim in schools and can usually be found relating to the same types of lake structure as their next meal.

Structure like points, breaks, rock piles and humps are classic examples of structure that will have Northerns in close proximity.

In shallow water Northern Pike usually cruise about mid depth but as the water becomes deeper they tend to hang closer to the bottom.

During early ice Northern Pike can be found in fairly shallow water accompanied by weed edges, points and bars. Combined with inside turns or other structure is even better.

As winter progresses Northern Pike follow the food and move further out. Start by fishing outside weed edges and offshore humps and bars.

As spring nears Northern Pike begin moving shallower again into pre spawn areas. Besides shoreline points and breaks, look for them near river mouths.

Before we switch gears and talk about presentation, remember locating the fish is half the battle. Don’t just drill one hole in 10 ft of water next to a point. Instead drill several holes in varying depths and find the fish.

Using modern electronics can also help you find fish faster. Depth, fish and structure can all be seen using a flasher (Vexilar or Marcum).

Northern Pike Ice Fishing Presentation

OK, you’ve found the Northern Pike, now let’s look at some effective techniques to get them on the ice!

The most common way to ice fish for Northern Pike is by using Tip-ups. This ice fishing contraption is simple and effective.

More Northern Pike have probably been caught using a treble hook and a sucker minnow on a Tip-up then any other method.

Generally the bigger the Pike you’re after the larger the minnow you’ll want to use. I generally use a medium sucker minnow or smelt in the 6-8 inch range. Push the eye of the treble hook up through the belly of the smelt.

Most ice fishermen can attest that they’ve caught Northern Pike while jigging for other species of fish. Even the smallest lures have been known to produce Northerns, only because they’ll eat nearly anything you place in front of them.

Jigging has become a popular method for catching Northern Pike as well. Most likely this is because they’re more fun to fight using normal ice fishing equipment than with a Tip-up.

Jigging for Northern is basically raising your rod tip a foot or more, then dropping it back down to its starting position.

When choosing tackle to jig for Northern Pike you’ll use the same types of lures used for Walleye, only bigger in most cases. My favorite type is the sinking lure or spoon.

Sinking lures include the Live Target Golden Shiner Rattlebait and Dynamic Lures HD-Ice and nobody makes a better spoon than Len Thompson and their Dimpled Series spoon where added indents cause a lot more action has you move the rod tip up and down.

Sinking baits and spoons are great for more aggressive Northern Pike. Usually I put a minnow head on one of the treble hook barbs and start by fishing with one of these.

Hopefully you’ve found something new to try in these Northern Pike ice fishing tips and techniques that will help you ice more fish.

What most people consider luck is usually a combination of preparation and practice so get out there and enjoy the practice.

Looking to venture to a new species check out our 5 Tips for Catching Walleye through the Ice.

It’s important to stay warm and comfortable weather it be open water fishing or ice fishing. For that head over to our Elite Fishing Apparel section.

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Last Updated on October 20, 2022 by Evan

It is no secret that dogs are the most efficient trackers on the planet. They are very useful for hunts and save the hunters a lot of time and effort.

Here is our rundown of the best deer tracking dogs breeds:

Bloodhound

Bloodhounds are highly efficient trackers and are widely used by hunters to track deer. These scent hounds were originally bred for hunting large game-like deer and boars and are extremely persistent once they catch a scent.

They are also famous for effortlessly pursuing cold trails that other dogs aren’t able to track. This is why bloodhounds are also used by the police to track missing persons and fugitives.

The bloodhound is also the first animal whose evidence is considered legally legitimate in court. They also have a keen sense of hearing which helps them while tracking prey.

Even though they are quite relentless on a hunt, they make very loving and obedient companions to humans. They have a gentle nature and make good pets for families.

Beagle

Beagles are one of the most popular dog breeds as pets. They are also very intelligent and very useful on a hunt. Bred as hunting dogs, they have great tracking instincts and love working.

Beagles have a lot of energy and need adequate training to keep them occupied the right way. They love being stimulated and thus tend to make themselves very useful while hunting.

They have a very loud bark which comes in handy while chasing deer in thick forests. Beagles have short legs , but it does not deter them from chasing fast-moving prey like deer.

Their astute sense of smell has led to them being employed as detection dogs for agricultural imports all over the world.

German Shepherd

German Shepherds are fast, intelligent and highly trainable. Combined with their impressive tracking abilities, these skills make them very adept at tracking animals like deer and foxes.

With a high level of focus and a keen sense of smell, they make very efficient hunting dogs. Distractions do not bother them and they usually finish the job at hand even with difficult circumstances.

They are known all over the world for their vast capabilities. German Shepherds make up a significant population of K-9 units.

With a long history as working dogs, German Shepherds have proven themselves capable of all kinds of work including police work, bomb detection and disability assistance.

Scottish Deerhound

These scent hounds were specially bred for hunting deer. They have an impressive stature and are often mistaken for greyhounds.

Scottish deerhounds are very fast and are capable of chasing prey through rough terrain. This is because they are sighthounds, not scenthounds. They were used to hunt deer by coursing, a hunting method based on speed.

They have obedient personalities and are usually very eager to hunt. Their enthusiasm needs to be put to good use through training and outdoor activities. Deerhounds could turn destructive if they get bored.

Dachshund

Their looks can be deceiving but dachshunds actually make great hunting dogs. Though they were bred to track down and apprehend smaller prey like rabbits and badgers, they can flush deer out of forests or sniff out dead or injured deer.

Dachshunds have a long history as hunting dogs and the urge to track is quite innate in them. Despite their short stature, they have very good endurance. Their only flaw is perhaps their tendency to get distracted.

This problem can be tackled with a lot of dedicated training. Food is a huge motivator for dachshunds, so you might want to keep a lot of treats on hand while training this highly capable dog breed.

What they lack in size, they more than make up for with their impressive sense of smell. In fact, the part of the brain that is responsible for analyzing scents is 40 times bigger in dachshunds than humans.

Plott Hound

Plott hounds are native to North Carolina. They are also the official state dog and serve as K9 deputies in the sheriff’s department. Plott hounds are well built, strong and quite suited to hunt big game like deer.

They love a challenge and do not fear intense activities. Curious and athletic by nature, Plott hounds are widely used as hunting dogs all over the country.

With impressive speed and plenty of stamina, Plott hounds are relentless on the hunt and do not give up until the job is done.

Great Dane

Originating in Germany, Great Danes are one of the largest hunting dog breeds in the world. Deer hunters often use them for their speed and strength.

Their nature is completely opposite to their appearance—they are quite gentle and love company. Though they aren’t really known for their sense of smell, Great Danes are working dogs and have proven themselves useful to deer hunters.

Basset Hound

Basset Hounds are scent hounds bred for hunting small game. They have a very keen sense of smell and have an impressive running speed despite their short legs. They also have great stamina, which helps them on long hunts.

Basset Hounds are very fond of tracking and love hunting, making them enthusiastic partners to hunters. They have a playful temperament and make great pets for families with children.

They have a very independent nature which, while helpful in hunting, could be a problem while training. Owners need to spend a lot of time and energy to make sure their Basset Hounds are trained properly.

Black and Tan Coonhound

The Black and Tan Coonhound is native to America and was bred as a hunting dog. It has great tracking abilities and hunts entirely by scent. It is famous for its success with tracking down cold scents and is frequently used for search and rescue missions.

They are quite large and very efficient in hunting big game like deer. Despite their persistence and tenacity during a hunt, Black and Tan Coonhounds are quite calm and friendly indoors.

They are quite independent, making them efficient hunters. They need a lot of training as they can get a little stubborn, as is typical of hunting dogs.

English Springer Spaniel

English Springer Spaniels make great hunting companions. Though they were originally bred to flush prey out of hiding, they are effective at tracking bigger game-like deer or foxes.

Known as gun dogs, English Springer Spaniels would chase birds into flight, who would then be shot down by hunters. They also retrieved prey, making them very useful to hunters.

They are very enthusiastic and always eager to please, making them easy to train and work with. With amazing stamina, tracking and retrieving abilities, the Springer Spaniel is an amazing tracking dog.

Belgian Malinois

The Belgian Malinois resembles the German Shepherd in both stature and ability—it has a keen nose and is often used as a service dog by the police and the military.

They are very intelligent and extremely loyal to humans. Known for forming deep connections with humans, these dogs are highly trainable and love being engaged.

Their endurance level, strength, smartness and tracking capabilities make them efficient hunters. They have a lot of energy and do not give up the pursuit until they hunt down their prey.

German Shorthaired Pointer

German Shorthaired Pointers are favored due to their expertise in tracking both on land and water. Traditionally a breed hunting, they are quite cooperative and have a strong hunting drive.

They have a high energy level and excel at many activities, making them quite popular at dog sports. Apart from being used as hunting dogs and family pets, German Shorthaired Pointers are also used in search and rescue missions.

They have a playful nature and love being around humans and other animals. It might take a bit longer to train them since they don’t usually reach mental adulthood until they turn at least two years old.

By Jonathan Kilburn

The Hellcat is a formidable carry pistol that provides a compact carry option with exceptional performance. And since Springfield released the Hellcat OSP (Optical Sight Pistol) version along with the standard, its optics options have expanded quite a bit.

One of my favorite features has always been the iron sights that come standard on the pistol. The tritium/luminescent U-Dot sight picture makes the perfect daytime and nighttime set of irons for fast target acquisition.

But, as good as irons can be, as technology has advanced, the use of red dot pistol optics has gained in popularity. This could be because of the ability to gain fast target acquisition, having an illuminated sight, or even the moderately low cost compared to similar optics in the past. None of these are specific to the Hellcat, but a general statement for all pistols used in defensive applications.

No matter what the reason for wanting to explore and use red dot pistol mounted optics, there is no denying their ability to assist aiming. When defending oneself and others, milliseconds matter.

Topping It Off

Today, we are considering two Holosun micro red dots released in 2022 — the EPS and EPS Carry. Since then, it’s been requested in many gun shops across the country. There is a lot to like about these optics. Holosun has developed a reputation for good quality in their products, and the EPS and EPS Carry are no different.

The EPS family, which stands for “Enclosed Pistol Sight”, come from the factory with a host of features. Each model offers several different options. While standard shake awake features, 50k hour battery life, parallax free objective glass and other various features come standard on all, one of Holosun’s claim-to-fame offerings is the optional solar back-up.

General features of the line include CNC-machined 7075 aluminum housings, Shake Awake Technology with last setting recall, CR1620 battery offering up to 50,000 hours of continuous use, multi-coated lenses, IPX8 water and dust resistance, aspherical glass lenses, and good window sizes (0.90 x 0.63 on the larger EPS, and 0.77 x 0.58 on the smaller EPS Carry). Weight of the EPS is 1.4 oz., and the EPS Carry comes in at 1.23 oz.

Holosun EPS Carry Mounting Options

C&H Precision Weapons has been in the firearms industry for quite some time, with a focus on slide milling and optics mounting plates. Some of their biggest clients has been various federal law enforcement agencies. Currently, they have a large lineup of optics mounting plates that work with most of the big names in pistol-mounted optics.

There is no standard plate that comes with the EPS lineup that will fit directly to the Hellcat. Holosun has partnered with C&H Precision to offer a plate marrying these two powerhouses. A kit can be purchased directly from C&H that provides the plate, screws and red Loctite or alternative. FixIT sticks and torque limiters are recommended. Overall, installing the EPS Carry on the Hellcat using C&H Precision plates is straightforward and as simple as possible.

Off and On the Pistol

There is a difference between the EPS, and EPS Carry. Holosun sent one of each for photos and examination. The EPS we received did not have the solar backup system and featured a simple 6 MOA dot. The EPS Carry did have the solar backup and a 2 MOA dot with a 32 MOA circle. All options are available on both platforms. Side by side, the EPS is slightly larger than the Carry in overall width and height. While not a drastic difference on paper, it can make a difference on a micro-compact pistol.

The Hellcat is known for being one of the smallest micro-compact pistols with a larger-than-average capacity. Due to the overall size, the EPS Carry was mounted to the Hellcat OSP. Dimensionally, the EPS Carry is 1.09” wide and the EPS is 1.19” wide, while the Hellcat is reported to be exactly 1” wide. No matter which optic was chosen, it would protrude over the side of the rounded slide edge slightly.

When mounted, a full view of the iron sights was still possible. The EPS Carry had slight wings that helped to line up the iron sights while protecting the elevation adjustment knob. This was something missing from the EPS which offered a flat surface, despite the deck being the same height. For intended use on a Hellcat, I would lean toward the EPS Carry, and save the EPS for a larger pistol.

Drop Testing the Holosun EPS

7075 T6 aluminum makes up the overall housing on both models. They’re robust and lightweight without looking like a set of “birth control” glasses from the military. Despite the look, the real test represents how they perform after a drop.

No optic is designed for excessive drops. They will all fail at some point. So, the most realistic option for a drop test would be the most probable type of fall for a concealed carry pistol — from waist height to shoulder height. As the Hellcat itself has been well-tested for drops and falls, it deserves an optic that can match that.

Taking the EPS Carry, the sight was adjusted out to 25 yards while being mounted and matched to the factory irons for co-witness. Firing two magazines seemed enough for the first accuracy test. The upcoming goal wasn’t to be as accurate as possible, but to see if the reticle will drift after a fall.

From the Waist: I dropped the chamber-empty Hellcat OSP three times from waist high onto a hard — but not abrasive — surface. Physically, it appeared nothing was wrong with the optic, even cosmetically. The reticle did not move.

From the Chest: Moving to chest height, the pistol was again dropped three times onto compacted dirt at the range. No reticle movement was witnessed when firing. It appeared as if the housing was even tougher than advertised.

From the Shoulder: The final tests came from shoulder height. With an outstretched arm, the Hellcat was dropped onto a tiled floor three times, leaving some small dings and a few compacted pieces of rubber in the optic. I test-fired the pistol and noted no reticle movement. Next, the pistol was dropped on the compacted gravel roadway leading to the range from this height. The exterior of the optic had some impacts, with slightly marred rubber pieces. There was no intentional attempt to hit any specific area. The entire test also caused some cosmetic damage to my personal Hellcat.

After the shoulder height tests, the optic didn’t appear to have any issues with reticle movement. While no longer as pretty or “new,” the reticle didn’t move and the buttons were still fully operational with the glass intact. Anodized coatings are great, but not impact-proof.

Concealing the Hellcat and Holosun RDS

With a 1.09” width, it’s not hard to see why this is a perfect choice for concealed carry pistols. This minimal protrusion over the slide of the Hellcat is so small it’s barely noticeable. When tucked away in an IWB holster designed for an optic, the pistol was comfortable with little to no noticeable difference. However, not all holsters used were able to secure the Hellcat with the optic attached. Some of these were just too narrow to even adapt that extra .09 inches of width over the slide.

When looking for a holster for any pistols with mounted optics, it’s best to find one with an open top adaptable for any width pistol optic.

EPS Carry Review — Conclusion

Both the EPS and EPS Carry are excellent pistol optics. The size, durability, and price are the perfect trifecta. When utilizing the EPS Carry, I found that it is not only exceptionally well built for the size, but the options available and solar back-up make it extremely appealing. To me, an adaptive solar back-up takes the worry out regarding the battery performance.

For me, the real stand-out feature with Holosun is the solar back-up. Ranging from an MSRP of $389 to $506, these Holosuns break the mold. For the Hellcat, an additional adaptor plate from C&H Precision Weapons also adds $50 MSRP. Overall, I think this makes for the perfect conceal carry combo.

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Featured in this article

PCP air rifles are becoming more and more popular, as they provide a lot of power in a lightweight package. But which is the lightest PCP air rifle on the market? Keep reading to learn more!

The AEA Element is a lightweight, portable PCP air rifle that can be easily carried in any backpack or toolbox. Made almost completely from carbon fiber and sporting features like an ergonomic folding stock – it’s both lightweight (2.8 pounds without the scope) yet still durable enough for all sorts of outdoor adventures.

Features:

• CALIBER: .22 – .25
• Weight: 2.8 LBS
• Barrel Length: 16 Inches
• Overall Length: 35 Inches
• Integral Shroud
• Cocking System: Side Bolt Lever
• Magazine Capacity: .22 Cal (10 shots) – .25 Cal (8 shots)
• Air Filling Pressure: 3600 PSI
• Air Tube Capacity: 180 CC
• Muzzle Velocity: .22 Cal (1000 FPS ,14.3 GR) – .25 Cal (850 FPS, 24 GR)
• Muzzle Energy .22 Cal 35 ft/lbs. (45 Joules) – .25 Cal 40 ft/lbs. (55 Joules)
• Optics: Picatinny Rail Scope Mount

(For more on the best PCP air rifle on the market, see this post)

Gerald Almy

Food plots are for many of us the most fun and dramatically rewarding part of being a gamekeeper. But as you delve deeper into habitat and wildlife management, it becomes clear that there are plenty of other improvements that need to be made to the habitat if your goal is to attract and hold mature bucks on your property.

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Attending to these “extra” things besides food plots becomes especially important for those who, like me, only have a hundred or few hundred acres. If you have thousands of acres of mixed habitat and let young bucks walk, chances are you already have some older bucks present. For those of us with less acreage, packing the maximum amount of things that will attract and hold older bucks in a small area and managing it extra carefully are especially important. Here are 12 projects and management principles that will help make your land attractive to older-age-class deer. There are certainly other steps you can take, but these are good ones to start with. If you don’t give the deer these things, chances are your neighbors will, and that’s where they’ll go.

Before getting started, realize that to get the maximum benefit from these projects, you need to carefully analyze your property using topos, aerial photographs, and your knowledge of the land to lay them out for maximum attractiveness to the deer and maximum enhancement of your hunting success. The latter aspect requires careful consideration of things such as best access to stand sites, prevailing wind direction, sun angle, approach cover, and other factors. But knowing where the different types of cover and food are that you have put in place will help you know how the deer will travel and where they will likely bed as they make use of the habitat enhancements you’ve made. 1. Create a transition corridor for mature bucks. Most land is to open for prime deer habitat and big bucks don’t get old by traveling where they can often be seen. Locate a natural potential travel route from bedding to feeding areas or between doe bedding areas and make it appealing to bucks by adding a variety of shrubs or tall annual grasses and partially felling a few low value trees. This serves two purposes. Besides offering cover, a lot of the species you plant will also offer food as will the hinge-cut trees. That will make the travel corridor even more appealing. Here’s an example. You have a small stream or drainage ditch flowing through an area that could be a big buck travel route between doe bedding areas, feed fields or blocks of timber, but it’s too open. Without brush and trees, only does and young bucks will likely use it during daylight. Put in a swath of shrubs that grow 5-8 feet tall or cover grasses such as Blind Spot along the creek, however, and mature bucks will start using it because they’ll feel secure there. A number of different shrubs will work well for this project. Some good ones to consider are: native American honeysuckle bushes, dogwood shrubs (graystem, silky, or red osier), lespedeza, crab apple, Chickasaw plum, chinquapin, viburnum and indigo bush. They’ll not only create security cover, deer will nibble on most of these plants, adding to the travel corridor’s attraction.

Plant two rows of these bushes on the side of the creek a buck would likely travel, 8-12 feet apart. For variety and winter cover, you can mix in a few pines or cedars.

2. Provide minerals. Maybe you’re fortunate enough to have a natural mineral site on your property. Most of us, though, are less fortunate and need to build one or more mineral licks to satisfy the deer’s need for macro and micro elements that they don’t get enough of from natural foods, crops and food plots.

BioRocks are good. I also like to dig up and mix in Full Potential into the top 8-12 inches of soil in several key sites for every 50 acres of land. Place them in or near cover, where a mature buck is more likely to make use of them. By putting that many sites out, you can monitor which ones are most attractive and keep those activated while eliminating the others. Refresh them as needed, but avoid checking the site too often.

3. Add water. This one is pretty obvious. If a deer doesn’t have a source for water that it feels comfortable using it will move off your land to find it. If you expect him to use it during daylight, it needs to be in or adjacent to cover, with a route leading to it that doesn’t make him expose himself. If the source you have is in the open, you should build a travel corridor to it (see step one) with cover.

Water sources don’t have to be big or elaborate. You can often use rocks and logs to dam a small wet-weather stream. Placing water troughs, kids pools, or pond liner plastic in dug out spots is another relatively easy project. If you want to tackle both mineral and water needs in one step, consider the Banks Outdoors Watering Systems with their H2O Wild Water Mineral Supplement added to the water.

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4. Create or enhance staging areas. Crop fields and food plots are attractive to deer, but if they appear abruptly at the edge of open woods, mature bucks might not move into them until after dark. By adding or enhancing a staging area between the field and woods, older bucks will feel comfortable hanging out in these areas and perhaps even approach the plots in daylight. Cut down some low-value trees along the border to create a thicket of brush. Leaving some of the tops partially attached makes even more valuable cover. Grape vines, greenbrier and honeysuckle will grow up the fallen trees and form thick shelter that big bucks crave as they approach an open feeding area. And those plants are also great foods for deer. Add a few bushes from a nursery to fill in spots that are still too open and you’ll soon have a staging area bucks feel comfortable using well before dark. The edge should be at least 75 feet deep, 100-150 feet is better still. Be careful not to make the area too thick, though. Deer also like to socialize and see each other in these areas. 5. Plant native warm season grasses. This not only keeps more mature bucks on your property, it also benefits species such as quail, pheasants, turkeys and song-birds. Switchgrass is one of the easiest to grow and my favorite warm season grass. If you are considering planting a wet area, it’s definitely the one to choose. It can survive up to 30 days in standing water. Other species should also be considered such as Indian grass and big and little bluestem. I like to mix several of these in my plantings. These grasses will grow from 5-7 feet tall, providing great cover for both mature bucks and does which will draw in those bucks. You can plant these by broadcasting the seed and covering it lightly, but drilling is preferable. Special drills for these seeds are often available from local conservation agencies or farm co-ops. Since this is a strong conservation step for the land, government programs can sometimes be used to help finance seed purchase and planting. It’s not important to have large warm season grass fields. The main thing is to locate the stands in good strategic spots where deer will use them to bed in or go to when there’s pressure in other areas. Putting in several small plantings in long narrow fields is an excellent strategy.

I prefer not to hunt these warm season grass fields. Their best use is to hold deer on your property. On the other hand, hunting near them is a good way to intercept a buck moving out of the stand to chase a hot doe. This tactic yielded a huge eight pointer for me recently with bases just shy of six inches.

6. Add shrubs and vines. Habitats that are mostly open crop fields and mature woods can benefit from releasing and enhancing any shrubs and vines present and planting others. If you have Japanese honeysuckle, fertilizing can double the forage production of this non-native, but still valuable plant for deer. Also nurture any raspberry, blackberry, greenbrier, and plum shrubs on the property. These offer both food and valuable cover.

Trim them back if they are growing too high for deer to reach or pull the vines down. Also daylight them if low-value trees are shading them by cutting back overhanging branches of those trees. Adding lime and a 10-10-10 type fertilizer can also help.

If you lack these shrubs, consider planting rows or clusters of them or other plants such as strawberry bush, American beautyberry, shrub dogwoods, crabapple, and mulberry.

7. Build big buck bedding cover. Mature deer might walk through your land or venture onto it looking for does as the rut swings in. They might visit food plots you’ve created for a bite to eat, but you’ll never have old bucks stay on your land without good bedding cover.

Fortunately, that’s easy to create if you don’t have it. The first step is to select a good location. I like to position it far from human activity, close to the center of the property. A good spot would be on a shelf or bench or just a slight rise if that’s all the elevation that’s available. The heads of hollows are also good.

Bucks like to bed high and move low in the afternoon to feed or chase does. They typically choose the leeward side of a ridge or hill based on prevailing winds. Put your beds in these spots for maximum use.

Using a chain saw, cut some low value trees in the spot you’ve chosen. Don’t knock everything down, but enough to create a jungle-like rough and congested area that bucks will take to. Cut mostly low quality, bent, injured or diseased trees, and just hinge-cut some of them. Before starting, learn the safety rules for logging and always wear the proper protective gear. If you aren’t comfortable doing this work, hire a professional. He might cut the wood for firewood or pulp and take a few saw logs that you specify to make it worth his time coming in for the job. Besides creating a bedding area, this cutting also allows additional light to enter the woods by removing some of the overhead canopy that shades the forest floor. This lets new shrubs and forbs that offer valuable deer food emerge – species such as raspberry, blackberry, honeysuckle, greenbrier and grapes. That makes the jumble of fallen timber even more appealing as a buck hideout. Maple stumps from the cutting will also generate shoots that bucks snack on. Eventually saplings will spring up, adding even more cover.

Since you build this bedding area yourself, you’ll know exactly where it is and how it’s laid out. With trail cameras you’ll be able to quickly learn the routes bucks use as they head to it in the morning and leave in the afternoon—prime stand sites.

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8. Create a thermal refuge. To keep deer on your land during inclement weather, you need a thermal refuge. These can be anywhere from a half to several acres, close to the center of your property when possible. A dense grove of pines, spruce, or cedars offers deer thermal cover and shields them from blustery winds, snow and sleet in winter. The conifers are also immensely valuable as psychological security cover, offering great escape areas. When hunting pressure mounts on nearby lands, there’s nothing a buck craves more than thick cover and seclusion. His life depends on it. A grove of dense young evergreens in a secluded spot is just what he’s looking for. Species may vary according to what will do well in your area. I particularly like white pines. Plant as large of an area as you can, anywhere from one-half to several acres. To add extra wind protection and bedding cover, also fell several low-value small to medium trees, cutting some through and hinge-cutting others. Intersperse these through the conifer plantings.

9. Plant oaks. Most properties managed for whitetails have some of these, but you can improve their output by thinning trees around them. If you have enough open land, by all means consider planting more oaks purchased from state forestry departments or sources such as nativnurseries.com. Try to put in some early maturing and some late-maturing nut varieties. Planting these in open areas rather than woods will make them magnets for old bucks with the heavy mast crops they’ll produce there.

10. Give them fruit. They may not be important in the overall nutrition of a picture of a mature buck, but trees of species like pear, apple, mulberry, peach, and persimmon offer treats that will hold and draw deer to your property. They also provide a vital energy boost just before the rigors of winter set in and are packed with phosphorous and vitamins. Plant them in areas receiving at least five hours of sunlight. Slight slopes are good, rather than bottoms. Put in at least six trees in each location so they will cross pollinate. If possible, put tree shelters around them so they don’t get damaged by deer and rabbits.

11. Delineate sanctuaries. No matter how small your property, it’s vital to have some part of it placed off limits to any human activity except entering to retrieve a hit deer. It should have some cover, perhaps including some of your bedding areas and thermal cover sites. The rougher, thicker, and steeper the terrain, the better. If it’s an ideal habitat, five or ten acres may suffice for a sanctuary. In most cases much larger areas are better, up to 25-50 percent of a property sometimes. Besides delineating sanctuaries, also keep pressure light on areas that are hunted. Don’t use a stand when the wind is wrong or where the deer will be spooked by your entrance or exit from the stand. It won’t take much of that before mature bucks either leave your property or become nocturnal. Also keep a lid on non-hunting access and activities. Mature bucks and human activity simply don’t mix.

12. Don’t just “scatter” these improvements throughout a property. Rather, integrate them so they mesh and complement each other, helping, instead of hindering, your hunting success. And don’t forget to ask for help and advice from other gamekeepers nearby with similar properties.

Often state wildlife biologists will visit your land and give recommendations for free. Institute as many of the habitat projects described here as you can and chances are any mature bucks in the area will make your land their home year-round.

Picture yourself getting the jump on a big prairie dog town. You crest a hill, lay your trusty .22 across a fencepost, and peer through your scope. It’s pretty far. You might need to aim a little bit high. If only you paid more attention to the MOA vs MRAD debate.

Experience might tell you that your bullet hits a certain distance low at 150 yards and a little more at 200 yards, but “a little low” doesn’t give you much to work with, especially when you don’t even know the distance to your target. Even if you knew exactly how many inches low it was at the distance you’re trying to shoot, could you really picture that in your scope with any degree of accuracy?

What you need is a way to make precise, calculated adjustments to compensate for proven ballistic performance. That’s where minutes of angle (MOA) and milliradian (MRAD) come in. These concepts are absolutely essential to shooting well — even if all you’re doing is zeroing your pistol’s red dot — and figuring them out might be easier than you think.

What are MOA and MRAD?

Both MOA (minutes of angle) and MRAD (milliradian) are methods of measuring angular units. Bullets aren’t laser beams, so we all understand that we have to aim high to engage targets that are far away from us. Rather than calculating bullet drop to inches, creating a mental estimation of what that looks like, and aiming at a point in space above our desired point of impact, we use these angular units to get on target.

Both methods are more than capable of facilitating precision shooting. They’re not interchangeable, though, so your rifle scope, reticle spotting scope, ballistic tables, and any software you use will need to be on the same page. Eventually, you’ll learn to think in MOA or MRAD and be able to make better adjustments on the fly.

MOA: What You Need To Know

The majority of all sighting systems (scopes, red dots, holographic sights, and iron sights) sold in the U.S. use MOA because this unit works well with imperial units — specifically inches and yards.

What is MOA?

There are 360 degrees in a circle and 60 minutes in a degree. One minute (MOA) equals 1/21,600 of a circle.

At 100 yards, one MOA equals 1.047 inches. Since it’s angular, the same one-MOA angle expands to 2.094 inches at 200 yards, 3.141 inches at 300 yards, and so on. Moving your point of aim one MOA shifts your point of impact 1.047 inches at 100 yards.

That’s not very precise, so most optics use quarter-MOA adjustments. If your scope turret is labeled “one click = 1/4 MOA,” you’ll be able to refine your point of impact in 0.26-inch increments at 100 yards.

By using 1/4-MOA adjustments, we divide a circle into 86,400 slices, and each click of your turret moves your point of aim 0.004 degrees.

What About “Shooter’s MOA?”

Many people use what’s called “Shooter’s MOA,” which rounds MOA to the nearest quarter-inch. That’s why you’ll hear people say that one MOA equals one inch at 100 yards. They’ll equate one click of a 1/4-MOA turret to 0.25 inches at 100 yards rather than 0.26 inches at 100 yards.

It’s not exactly correct, but it’s close enough in some cases. At longer distances, this shortcut will catch up with you.

At 1,000 yards, .308 Win might drop 393 inches. Using MOA, your come-up in that situation (393 inches / 10.47 inches per MOA at that range) would be 37.5 MOA, and your point of aim would be 393 inches above your point of impact, matching bullet drop exactly.

If you were using Shooter’s MOA, your come-up would be 39.3 MOA (393 inches / 10 inches per shooter’s MOA at that range). Because scope turrets use actual MOA rather than Shooter’s MOA, your input of 39.25 MOA (the closest setting to 39.3) would result in a point of aim 411 inches above the center of your target and cause your bullet to impact 18.5 inches high. Unless you have a massive target, that’s a miss.

MRAD: What You Need To Know

Outside of the U.S., shooters generally prefer to use MRAD over MOA. Interestingly enough, American military snipers also use the metric-based MRAD system; most precision shooters do, too.

What is MRAD?

Instead of using degrees, we can divide a circle into 6.283 radians. Inside each radian are 1,000 milliradians (mils, for short) for a total of 6,283 mils in a circle. Random, right? Damn Europeans.

There’s a method to this madness because one mil equates to 10 centimeters at 100 meters.

In the same way that we don’t make adjustments in whole MOA, we don’t make them in whole mils, either. Scopes turn in 1/10-mil increments, so one click on your turret translates to one centimeter at 100 meters.

A scope’s 1/10-mil adjustments divide a circle into 62,832 pieces, and each click moves your point of aim to 0.006 degrees.

When you range targets in yards, using MRAD can feel clumsy.

But when you range targets in meters, using the 1/10 MRAD adjustments on your scope turrets is straightforward.

MRAD vs MOA: Which Should You Use?

Knowing that both systems are effective doesn’t make your scope-purchasing decision any easier. There has to be a reason some shooters prefer one over the other.

Why You Should Use MRAD

Using the 100-yard example, a typical MOA scope will let you make adjustments in finer increments. Remember that, at 100 yards, 1/4 MOA equals 0.26 inches while 110 mil equals 0.36 inches. But if MOA is more precise, why do snipers and competitive shooters almost universally prefer MRAD?

In the real world, there is a practical limit to the degree of precision we’re capable of extracting from a shooting system (our rifle, scope, and ammunition).

“On the milliradian optic, I’m doing 1/10 of a mil click in whatever direction, that’s going to equal roughly 2.5 inches at 700 yards,” Eliasson said in the Vortex Edge podcast. “If I do that same click on a 1/4-minute adjustment minute of angle optic that’s about two inches — a little under, I think it is. So it’s like two, 2.5 at 700; can you shoot that good?”

Both MOA and MRAD deliver the precision you need, and MRAD scopes can save time by making adjustments in slightly larger leaps, as Eliasson discovered during his time as a Marine Corps scout sniper.

“We got the 1/4-minute adjustment optic on our gun, and I felt like I was just adjusting for days,” he said. “It was just click, click, click, click, click, click to get where I needed to go. I thought that was kind of hindering us to a degree.”

The base-10 nature of MRAD can also make life simpler when you’re shooting under pressure.

“If somebody says, ‘Come up 0.7’ that’s seven clicks,” James Hamilton, host of the Vortex Edge podcast, said. “And if they’re like, ‘1.7’ that’s 17 clicks. But if somebody says, ‘Come up 2-3/4 MOA’ I’m like, ‘Okay one click is 1/4 MOA, so that’s four clicks per one MOA, so that means four times two is eight, plus 3/4 is three, eight plus three is — you know?”

Simply put, MRAD scopes get us inside the margin of human error with less time spent converting quarters to clicks, counting tiny hash marks, and fiddling around with our scope turrets. Since most competitive shooters use MRAD, that route will also make it easier to learn from others if you have ambitions of getting started in long range shooting.

Why You Should Use MOA

Most shooters who prefer MOA optics probably appreciate the unit’s relative correlation to inches and yards rather than adapting to the metric system.

“As Americans, if you were born and raised here, we tend to think in inches, and it’s really hard to associate what 10 centimeters looks like,” Eliasson said. “Our brain kind of wants to think about it in 10 inches, not 10 centimeters.”

The combined market for MOA hunting scopes and low-power variable optics with a BDC (a bullet drop compensator reticle like the one in the Trijicon ACOG) is probably larger than it is for MRAD scopes. Red dot optics and holographic sights almost universally use MOA. That alone might be enough to sway you, especially if you don’t need a fancy mil-dot reticle.

“Some of our optics that I’m thinking of are very, very well-suited for hunting and they’re just not even available in MRAD,” Hamilton said. “In my head, I’m thinking getting the right optic is more important than getting some super-duper special unit of measurement.”

The reality is that the advantages of MRAD scopes don’t matter at the distances most people shoot. Plenty of hunters and recreational shooters do just fine by zeroing at 50 yards, having a usable point of aim out to about 200 yards, and falling back on Shooter’s MOA in a pinch.

Use Your MOA Or MRAD Reticle to Estimate Range

You can use both MOA and MRAD to perform useful calculations in the field if you have a technical reticle. Knowing how to use these formulas will help you get the most out of your scope.

Make the resulting adjustments by dialing your turrets or using a holdover based on the subtensions in your reticle.

Range Estimation

Yards to target = (size of target in inches x 95.5) / size of target in MOA

Yards to target = (size of target in inches x 27.77) / size of target in mils

To use these formulas, you’ll need to know the size of your target in inches. Between that known size, the size of the target in MOA or MRAD as measured with your reticle, and the appropriate constant (95.5 for MOA or 27.77 for MRAD), you can determine the distance to your target in yards.

Size Estimation

Size of target in inches = (yards to target x size of target in MOA) / 95.5

Size of target in inches = (yards to target x size of target in MRAD) / 27.77

The size estimation formula is based on the range estimation formula; it just solves for a different variable. This is particularly useful for hunters who want to gauge a game animal’s size from a distance.

Wind Estimation with an MOA Reticle

MOA adjustment = [wind speed x (range / 100)] / constant

Constants vary by cartridge. For .308 Win, use a constant of 12. For 6.5 Creedmoor, use a constant of 17.

MOA adjustment = (range / 100) -1

The above formula is for a full-value 10 mph wind. Changes based on a wind direction are made after calculating your hold in MOA.

Wind Estimation with an MRAD Reticle

The above pattern is fairly universal, but you may need to tweak an adjustment here or there. Your specific rifle and ammunition will have a certain wind speed at which you can use this formula.

If you shoot a “6 mph gun” in a full-value 6 mph right-to-left wind, you would hold 0.5 mils right at 500 yards. If the same wind were a half value, your hold would be 0.25 mils. If the wind were full value but 3 mph, your hold would be 0.25 mils.

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Surviving isn’t camping. When you are camping, you are generally having fun even when you are working hard, you’ve probably prepared with ready-made meal options, or even a proper menu for the journey, and you can always tuck tail and go home when things get too bad.

But when you are surviving, pretty much everything else is going to be dictated for you. When and where you can sleep, what you’ll be doing, and of course what you’ll be eating.

In any short or long-term survival situation that lasts a while, what food you do have access to is going to run out and then you have to start sourcing your own food from the wild.

This means you’re going to be eating various animals that you wouldn’t normally consider eating.

How about buffalo fish? Can you eat buffalo fish in a survival situation?

Yes, you can safely eat buffalo fish. They are delicious, nutritious, and usually quite sizable making them a great catch in any survival situation assuming you can get them.

Compared to other, typical freshwater fish found in North America, buffalo fish don’t have the best reputation as game fish, but they have an excellent reputation as table fish (assuming you can get your hands on them).

Easier said than done, though, because they can be very tricky to catch with a rod and reel.

You need to get creative and improvise if you want to bag these big fish in the middle of a survival situation. Keep reading and we will tell you everything you need to know.

Where Can Buffalo Fish Be Found?

Buffalo fish, proper name Ictiobus, are a genus of fish comprising five species native to North America from Mexico all the way up through the United States and into Canada, and also found in Guatemala.

The distribution of the species varies, with big-mouth buffalo being found throughout the Red River in the United States and Canada, and throughout the entirety of the Mississippi River system all the way down to Texas in the Southwest and throughout Alabama.

The smallmouth Buffalo is found throughout the Mississippi River System in the United States and all the way up into Idaho.

Clear, moving freshwater is their typical habitat, and they are tolerant of both fast-moving bodies of water and water with high mineral content.

These fish typically depend on dense vegetation for shelter and to find food, filtering food from the water itself or else sucking up algae off of rocks along with a few inclusions of choice insects and crustaceans.

Generally speaking, you have a good chance of finding these fish if you know where to look and how to find them so long as you are in their habitat.

Buffalo Fish Nutrition Info

Fish are usually pretty healthy eating, and buffalo fish are especially so.

High in protein, very low in saturated fats, and packed with high-quality micronutrients including omega-3 fatty acids, these fish also tend to be sizable and very densely muscled, making them a great meal.

The most notable nutrients found in buffalo fish aside from their high protein content are vitamins B12, D, A, and folic acid along with plenty of selenium.

However, caution should be taken when eating wild-caught buffalo fish because they have a tendency to absorb mercury into their body which will then be consumed by you if you eat them.

Yes, this is a potential problem when eating all wild-caught fish but buffalo fish are more prone than most species to absorb this toxic heavy metal.

Also, because the type of food buffalo fish eats is not really used (or even usable) as bait on a lure when fishing, buffalo fish are most often taken with a bow and arrow.

Do Buffalo Fish Taste Good?

Yes! Buffalo fish, though not commonly advertised or sought for human consumption, nonetheless make for a terrific meal whether or not you are in the middle of a survival situation or just looking for a great fish dinner on a weeknight.

These fish are juicy, firm yet soft, and remarkably clean tasting, lacking the typical fishy oiliness that is present in most species.

The fish also lend themselves remarkably well to many different kinds of preparation, and they can be grilled, steamed, fried, baked, or used directly in a soup or stew with equal ease.

No matter how you are going to cook it and no matter what ingredients you have on hand, you will have a nourishing and wholesome meal from a buffalo fish.

Is it Safe to Eat Buffalo Fish Raw?

No. Eating raw fish, though normalized thanks to the widespread acceptance of sushi, is a bad, bad idea, especially in the case of wild-caught freshwater fish like the buffalo fish here.

The simple fact of the matter is that eating any raw animal protein, including fish, dramatically increases your chances of contracting food poisoning from one of several germs, or else becoming infested with harmful and potentially deadly parasites.

Buffalo fish can play host to all of them, bacteria and viruses to parasites like various species of worms and flukes.

Consider that even contracting something as simple and normally innocuous as food poisoning could prove to be fatal under the circumstances.

You aren’t going to be able to dash down to the ER or to the local clinic for assistance with squashing the bug and getting something for your symptoms…

You’ll be facing crushing nausea, cramping, vicious diarrhea and possibly vomiting in the bargain. That’s just going to dehydrate you and further sap your energy reserves.

That could be enough to finish you off if you are already in a bad way, and it’s going to make taking care of all the other things you need to do to survive difficult or impossible.

To avoid this, always make sure you thoroughly cook the meat from a buffalo fish until it is well done.

An internal temperature of 165° F is sufficient to kill virtually all known pathogens that it could harbor.

Are Buffalo Fish Scales Safe to Eat?

Yes, if they are cooked, but they should generally be discarded.

The scales of the buffalo fish are large and tough, and even when thoroughly cooked they make for pretty difficult eating and offer very little in the way of nutrition.

Feel free to scale the fish when you are cleaning it to prepare it for cooking: you won’t be wasting any calories.

Are Buffalo Fish Eggs Safe to Eat?

Yes, and the eggs of the buffalo fish are fairly sizable compared to most other caviar meaning they can be a great supplemental source of food if you can track them down or are lucky enough to catch a fish that is carrying eggs.

As always, make sure you thoroughly but gently cook the eggs prior to eating if you want to avoid the risks of foodborne illness.

Can You Safely Eat Buffalo Fish Bones?

No. Buffalo fish bones are generally stout and of a pretty good size, making them a significant hazard to try and eat as they are.

People are not supposed to eat fish bones, anyway, unlike some other carnivorous animals, as they pose a significant risk of choking or else they can cause internal injuries including becoming stuck in our intestines.

That’s the last thing you need to deal with under the circumstances!

However, bones can still offer you valuable nutrition in a survival scenario, including the bones from the buffalo fish.

This nutrition comes from the marrow, which can be extracted from the bones easily by simmering or boiling them in water to make a nutritious stock or broth, or else cracking or splitting the bones open before scraping out the marrow and cooking it.

Bone marrow has long been a coveted resource by those who are in a survival situation thanks to its overall nutritional density, so don’t discard the bones unless you have been blessed with an abundance of fish!

Can You Eat Buffalo Fish Organs?

Fish organs are rarely thought of as edible in any situation, but it turns out that you can in fact eat them so long as you take the time to properly prepare and cook them.

They can make for especially nutritious food when taking from a larger fish like buffalo fish.

The heart and the liver are generally the tastiest, and also packed with nutrients, while being easy to prepare.

The intestines of the fish are also edible, but you must use exacting care to expel the waste material from them before giving them a very thorough rinse and then cooking them.