I headed up to my family camp just north of Milan, NH day before yesterday March 12, 2019 to hunt the bunnies north of the Pontook dam. I have a case of Cabin Fever and I knew of a spruce thicket that would be great to see the snowshoes. I could only get a couple hundred yards in without snowshoes. What a slog!
In the thicket I was up to my thigh in snow but out in the open I was up to my hips and could barely move. On entry I saw many tracks of every species of game, predator and prey alike including deer and moose. In fact, I was snorted at by an unseen deer. I think they have wintered-up nearby as there were few thickets to be found these days. Years back there were plenty of heavy timber thickets for deer to winter and yard up.
Later I found a snowmobile trail behind camp that I could use and walked a half mile to a thicket of silver birch and spruce where there were some fresh snowshoe hare tracks. It was a beautiful day full of sunshine and blue sky. In fact, the silence was deafening as it usually is in the north-woods. My minor tinnitus dominated the silence but I didn’t mind as the splendor of the day was evident. The snowmobile trail was used by a coyote recently as he peed in the snow every couple hundred yards to mark his territory.
I will mark this visit Month and Day as a no hunt for my future calendar unless I had a snowmobile and snowshoes. However, it was a great release of my cabin fever!!
If you have a snowmobile, get going up there! Still lots of snow!
The .375 Ruger was introduced in 2007 as a rimless standard length cartridge that is slightly larger in powder capacity and energy than the .375 H & H Magnum (a belted and tapered cartridge) , widely used in Africa all the way up to Elephant. Great on big Russian Boar with their protective shield!
The .375 Ruger cartridge is used on the same dangerous game with a shorter Ruger rifle bolt throw like the 30-06 and a Mauser action which reliably grabs the rim of the cartridge and chambers the round. And in North America the .375 Ruger is ideal for Brown Bear, Moose and Bison. It will throw a 300 grain bullet at around 2500 fps and 2650 fps with 260 grain Noslers, both achieving around 2 tons of energy at the muzzle or so.
The .375 Ruger is offered in the Ruger Hawkeye African with American Walnut and the Ruger Hawkeye Alaskan with a synthetic stock. I hunted plains game in Africa with the Ruger M77 in .338 Winchester Magnum and 250 grain Nosler Partitions, accordingly, I got acclimated to heavy recoil.
As an Outdoor Writer I wanted more experience with powerful cartridges so I purchased the Ruger Hawkeye African in .375 Ruger some years back.
What is to tame in the .375 Ruger? Felt recoil with the stock recoil pad originally provided was insufficient to tame full power recoil at a bench rest where I was locked into the rifle position for accurate shooting.
There are several pads that are available on the market today to reduce felt recoil by 50% or more. I use the Pachmayr Decelerator. It did not take me long to purchase and test a few. They tame the full power loads so much that I can shoot them in my T-Shirt.
The accuracy of my .375 Ruger in the M77 Ruger African Rifle is nothing short of exceptional, often regularly shooting sub-MOA groups. Nosler is my go-to bullet company. The AccuBond and E-Tip and Partition give me superior bullet construction delivering over 4000 ft-lbs (2 tons) of energy at the muzzle and like 2800 ft-lbs at over 200 yards.
Years back, at 50 yard a friend observed my very first shot with the rifle right out of the box with dangerous game loads. After placing a shot with a Leupold Scope on paper, he said, go ahead and shoot another. I shot the second round. He said, I missed the whole target. Shoot another… and I did. Missed that one too he said. So we went down range to find the three bullets in the same hole. My friend said, “Your keeping that rifle, Right?” I grinned a big smile.
So what else is there to tame? Well, this rifle cartridge, when hand loaded can be easily reduced in power to hunt deer and black bear if you like.
You can search articles here in NH Rifleman for more on the .375 Ruger reduced loads.
It is like owning a 38-55, a .375 Winchester, and a cartridge more power than the .375 H & H Magnum. Finally the Ruger is not fussy about bullets, it shoots them all very well and I can shoot all the way down to 220 grain bullets.
I have some 235 grain heads for deer. See the article below.
From a hunting perspective I think that a laser bore sight can be very valuable if you take it in the field with you! I had to experience my own stupidity on a trophy hunt and my rifle and scope gets knocked around or dropped. I was in Texas this past October on a Trophy Whitetail Hunt and banged my rifle and scope a bit. I missed a shot one evening on a very nice buck. Truth is, was it a banged scope or me as excited as i was. Or perhaps a combination of the two. There is another possibility as well, that my scope was dialed up so high that it was difficult to keep the crosshairs steady. In any event, I did not have a laser bore sight in my backpack to validate the scope. It was now night time. So I asked myself and my guide; “Should I take the same rifle out in the morning or use my backup rifle?”
The answer was to use my already proven back-up rifle.
But what if I had no back up rifle?
I would then have to wait for daylight and go to the range with the banged rifle scope to see what was happening and miss the critical dawn whitetail hunting.
A laser bore sight device is made by several manufacturers.
I have seen Jim Shockey advertise the Site-Light SL-100. But seeing is believing. I will try to hunt and field test one of their models here this spring.
They make three models. The SL-100 is cost effective at $99 dollars via most retailers. The SL-150 is $160 or so. The SL-500 is military grade at over $200 and can be seen out to 100 yards.
I have successfully hunted and called in Bull Moose in New Hampshire with a friend several years back. It was not a trophy bull with a 50 inch rack and not even a 40 incher. His body was full grown but small in the antler department. But it was a bull and he was mine. Of course I had some rudimentary skills in vocalization of a bull and having seen dozens of videos of callers work their magic with hands pinching their nostrils and making a cow like sound of another bull grunting behind an imaginary hot female cow moose.
The bull moose is much like a whitetail buck in that they also grind antlers on trees and destroy bushes to let others know that they are big and mean.
So I did the same, smashing trees and shaking bushes so hard that my partner though I had lost all my marbles. And I used some cow moose in estrous to scent down wind.
It all worked!
But if I were on a real trophy hunt, I would have let him pass as just a young’un.
Not a great rack, but he is on the wall in my home and it makes me happy that he is a New Hampshire Moose.
A Newfoundland Hunt is in the works! See my earlier article below.
I am heading to Newfoundland for a trophy bull this September with the same friend except we are going to have to pass on lesser bulls.
Honestly, I think I have good basic skills to hunt these giants but I want more skill sets before I go.
Accordingly, I am looking for expert hunting advice that I can use out in the field besides my very limited moose hunting experience. Yes, my moose guide should be very expert too.
I think I found a book that collects all that wisdom from dozens of hunts below.
This book covers moose from Alaska, across Canada and Newfoundland. With many Newfoundland hunts which I find very helpful.
The book covers all aspects of the hunt, preparation, weapons and 100 years of field experience and great moose calling advice. I highly recommend it!
One item that I will purchase for the hunt is a laser bore-sighter for my backpack. I dropped my last scoped rifle in the field and shot confidence went down hill. Luckily I had a back up rifle.
On this trip my baggage will be very limited in a light aircraft so I can’t even take a hard case.
March is the perfect time to get out and hunt Snowshoe Hare (Lepus Americanus).
It is mating season! And just like deer in the rut; The chase is on!! Many hunt the Hare’s with dogs. I grew up hunting them one on one in thick fir stands. Below is the New Hampshire Wildlife Profile and Hunting dates and Units. In Canada, the Snowshoe Hare is a sought after food source. In Newfoundland for example over 1.5 million are consumed each year!
As a teen it was relatively easy for me to bag a snowshoe hare with shotgun in the New Hampshire’s North Country but few in my family really knew how to prepare it.
The German Inspired Dish Hasenpfeffer is a great way to prepare a delicious meal with wild hare/rabbit meat that you hunted and brought to the table.
The key to this recipe, I believe, is the Marinade. Follow the ingredients well.
You can do the dumplings on the side or do what I do, use some wide egg noodles. The sauce uses sour cream. I make the sauce with some beef bullion and mushrooms, a rue, like Stroganoff. Wow! The hare meat should be very tender and almost fall off the bone.
Recently I hunted boar again in Maine as you can see from recent articles. These were mixed breeds that are part Russian Boar.
A few years back I took a larger boar (female) that was said to be Russian.
Below the meat of the Russian boar was more beef like with fat marbled throughout.
These Russian pork chops when grilled were the finest tasting meat my wife and I have ever experienced in our lives. OMG, my wife went bananas over the meat which is why she sent me off to get another one. The meat of the latest boar was not as fatty as this one and it tastes great but not quite as good as the first.
We think that it is the fat marbling that drove our taste buds insane when fire grilled to a blackened crust below.
For my wife and I, pork will never be the same. This wild boar meat was a true culinary experience. My latest boar meat is still over the top as compared to domestic pig. So I will go hunt one up instead of the pork at the grocery store. Just shoot a fat one!
It was inevitable to shoot an arrow with a 3000 lb air blast ever since Lewis and Clark used a 45 cal Air Gun in their expedition. These air bows shoot an arrow at around 400 to 450 fps. What are they good for in hunting? Air Bows are not really bows at all they are rifles that shoot arrows instead of bullets. I like the innovation! In time you will see these used in urban areas where the deer and wild pigs are thick as ticks on a hound dog but … Today they are only legal in just a few southern states. Today they are a novelty and do not yet compete with the crossbow or compound. I predict that few states will allow them in archery season ever, but great for those with disabilities. They are very accurate because the air is jettisoned at the front of the arrow thus there is no “archers paradox” where the arrow bends.
Hunting and Fishing for me is a Way of Life. I roamed the woods in Salem, New Hampshire as a 6,7 and 8 year old boy. Robin Hood was my TV hero as was Davy Crockett played by Fess Parker. Freedom was grand! I was selling “shiners” at the age of 8 to local fisherman. In the late 1950’s there were beaver ponds everywhere. Wildlife was thriving behind my home and I wanted to be a part of it. The rules of life at that age were simple during the summer, go play and be home in time for dinner. I made my first bow and arrow at the age of 7 using maple saplings and string from the kitchen drawer.
Since then I have killed numerous deer with rifle and bow and had the duty to do the butchering too where I learned first hand where cuts of meat came from. In the same way, I clean and fillet my own fish!
You are what you eat!
Several years back I recall walking down the beef isle at the local grocery store when NAFTA ( a government run trade agreement) was in effect. There was a sign in the store that said the beef was from North America. That meat could have been from Canada, USA or Mexico. The quality of the meat in my mind was suspect if I did not really know where exactly the meat came from and what it had been fed including drugs and hormones. Questions in my mind arose long before this but I use it as an example.
I was always fishing and hunting and very happy with the God given natural food from field and stream. I trust it without reservation. Nature is Organic!
I reflect on my father was a simple man who liked to till the earth and grow his own food and harvest his own meat whenever possible. He was a child of the Depression in the 1920’s and 1930’s. He trusted himself, enjoyed the process of hunting and gathering. He passed the hunting gene to me in a much larger way. Ever since I shot, killed and ate my first deer taken in Northern New Hampshire in my teens, I have relished the though of providing naturally harvested wild meat and fish for my family but could not get enough of it.
Understanding were your food comes from at a young age is very important!
I understood it at a very young age that something must die in order for me to live was paramount. Beyond this, the culinary aspect of preparing your well earned harvest was of great importance. I learned to cook and eat very well.
Recently I fed some venison and wild boar to my very young grand kids and we talked about where food comes from. The kids reacted positively and enjoyed the meat.
The PSE Thrive 400 Crossbow is seen as best in class by others besides me like “The Fearless Tactician” website below say it is best performer in its price class in the $400 dollar range. Having looked on the internet, the Thrive is still NEW out there but according to the article it beats nearly 40 other crossbow models below including some Barnett’s, Ten Points and even Excaliber’s. Wow! That is sayin’ a lot!!!
I have shot compound bows of all kinds since they became popular in the early 1970’s I can say they have come a very long way indeed especially in crossbow technology. I did a search for reverse cam technology employed in the Thrive and found that it increases speed yet keeps its accuracy. The string coming from the inside of the cam provides at least 2 or more inches of arrow acceleration. That’s big! I measured the bolt speed with my chronograph at 377 fps at 10 feet with a 400 grain bolt. In round numbers, at the face of the bow, I estimate 380 fps. I did not know how close to 400 fps I would get. That is about 95%. Fine with me!!
As a hunting weapon I tested the Thrive 400 on Wild Boar and it was simply fantastic in speed and accuracy. I could had taken a much larger boar and still got such powerful exit wounds with the 4 fixed blade 100 grain Muzzy.
Crossbows in general do not cradle well in ones arm but this crossbow was able to cradle in the crook of my arm sufficient to walk somewhat comfortable with its 32 inch length, 6.7 pounds in overall weight and 18.25 inches axle to axle.
It is camo’d in Kryptek Highlander and blends with surroundings just fine for its size and small profile as seen by game from the face of the bow.
I like the illuminated scope very much as it was designed specifically for crossbow use and is marked for longer ranges. I did not use the illumination feature but at dawn and dusk it will be used to the hunters benefit.
This crossbow on a solid front and rear rest, it can be used beyond 40 yards but in a tree-stand or on the ground in a hunting situation and no rest, I expect 30 yards or less to be max range for most shooters.
The Crossbow comes with four 400 grain Thunder Boltz bolts and a Heavy Discharge bolt. The arrow points are 100 grain threaded bullet points and the nocks are half moon. The point insert is brass for great strength.
On my recent boar hunt, I drove a broadhead through my wild boar and it stuck in a birch tree so deep that we could not recover the broadhead. The nock of the arrow popped off the shaft due to the tremendous remaining energy. I closely inspected the arrow for damage and you should too.
Energy for this crossbow delivers nearly 140 ft-lbs and would be great for elk and moose.
Canada, I believe does not allow crossbows last I checked, but rules may change. The PSE Thrive 400 is great and powerful Crossbow for those who do not compromise on speed and energy!! The bolt drop at 40 yards is also quite a bit less at these fast speeds making ranging error less a factor.
I chose the PSE Thrive 400 Crossbow with a 4×32 illuminated scope to test because of my PSE knowledge over decades of quality compound bow manufacture and its use by friends in 3D archery. This crossbow utilizes reverse cam technology and, very modest cost MSRP ($449) yet high level of CNC machined quality. I was hopeful that it would be accurate too.
If you do your homework you can see that the cost of the best crossbows were over $1000 dollars. If that was all there was to choose from, I would have to pass on them.
For the broadhead test, I shot it with a Muzzy 4 blade 100 grain and it was the same point of impact as the 100 grain field points.
On Safari years back, I successfully hunted African Gemsbok and Red Hartebeast with these Muzzy broadheads. I love’em!
Now, on with the test with broadheads on wild boar at “Skinner Bog” in Maine; owned and operated by Jeremy Bilodeau. I have hunted Russian boar previously with Jeremy with my TC Encore Rifle in 30-06 Springfield. It is a very family friendly hunt and where Jeremy is also my friendly guide.
We rode Jeremy’s 4×4 down a snow covered trail and parked. Jeremy said, “These boar can be anywhere so load your crossbow.” Reaching in my pocket for the string loader device I was able to get my foot in the stirup and pull the 175 lb needed to load the bow. You have to use your back muscles and finally your arm muscles to load it. It is not an easy pull but wow does it shoot a fast bolt (arrow) at around 400 fps.
I noted how firmly the PSE Thrive crossbow held the nocked arrow and broadhead as I moved through the woods. I like that!!
We sat in a blind for an hour waiting for them to come to some food and even used some hog squealing to call them but to no avail.
We decided to use the “go to them mode.” I took the quiver off the bow and asked Jeremy to hold it. Jeremy noted that the quiver broadhead cover was coming loose, (the only thing we found that could be better) some adhesive should fix that.
Below we spotted them!
We began a stalk on some boar napping in the cold morning sun. Suddenly they heard us as the snow crunched beneath our feet. They nervously awoke and began to scatter. These boar are younger but still hefty in size from 100 to 250 lbs.
The PSE Thrive is not heavy and is easier to carry than I anticipated. I like the stock of the bow and its camo. It handles well.
The snow crunching beneath our feet awakened a pig pile of these oinkers and they slowly scattered around in the forest.
One of them stepped from the group and turned broadside at around 30 yards!
The trigger of the Thrive is a crisp 4 to 5 lbs!! Excellent!!!
At the shot, the crossbow recoiled slightly and the bolt was headed for the boar so fast that we could barely see a blur.
It hit the boar with a slap sound and the boar ran slowly up the wooded ridge. We approached where the boar was hit and found the arrow and broadhead embedded solidly in a tree behind the boar. It was a solid hit and a pass thru shot. We saw that the boar was walking slow and bleeding. The shot was further back than I liked so we hurried crunching snow beneath our feet hoping to intercept the boar for a second shot in the video clip below.
The Muzzy 4 blade passed through him like a hot knife through butter. He still ran some more! The blood trail was huge and wide. You would have to be blind to miss it! The boar ran a good 50 yards before piling up.
These wild boar are tough and so is the PSE Thrive! What a great test and a great crossbow for a great cost effective price for many hunters! I have seen it on sale too!!
A crossbow such as this can add to your hunting season in many states. I give it another A. Just glue the quiver cover on and you are good to go.
