How to Store Taxidermy

The trophy room pictured above belongs to a gentlemen in the local SCI chapter. He has had the great fortune to be able to hunt all over the world and is also fortunate to have a 5,200 square foot trophy room in which to showcase all his animals. I consider myself lucky to have been able to view his trophy room and hope one day to be able to display my trophies in a room as large as his. I, however, am nowhere close to having the amount of animals or the amount of space this guy has and, thus, recently found myself in an interesting predicament. I needed to put my taxidermy collection into storage.

The majority of us will probably never have a trophy room that exceeds the size of most people's homes (darn!). We are left with a few options then as our taxidermy collection proceeds to outgrow our available wall space. You can sell some old mounts, but that's not really an option. For me, since trophies are essentially a 3D photograph, it's akin to selling pictures from your family vacation. Another option I've heard of is displaying your mounts at a local sporting goods store. This is a great option ... if you have a local sporting goods store. Sadly, they're few and far between where I live, so I was left with one final option. I had to put my animals into storage.

Initially, I wasn't too thrilled with the idea. I envisioned a damp, cold room filled with cockroaches and rats. After doing some research, I found this is not all true about storage units.

I was going to be putting eight animals into storage, all shoulder mounts, so I didn't need a particularly large space, but what I did need was a climate controlled space. The reason I want climate control is that it regulates the temperature in the unit within a certain tolerance (70-80 degrees F at the place I chose). If the unit is not climate controlled the temperatures could fluctuate considerable depending upon where you live. Fluctuations in temperature can cause the skin on your trophies to expand and contract until the hide eventually begins to crack. 

I looked at various public storage facilities, the most well known and wide spread being, the aptly named, Public Storage. The big concerns for me, aside from climate control, were clean facilities and had been in business for a long time. Nothing worse than to load are your animals into the storage unit then the place goes out of business and you're searching for a new place to go. I settled on one of the local storage facilities. They had been around for many years, had very clean facilities, had climate control, were reasonable in price, and were very tight with security. You'll need to do a little searching to find one that has meets your needs.

The biggest issues I found when looking for a unit was finding one with a wide enough doors. I found several places I liked, but the doors were not wide enough to accommodate the crates I would be putting in them. Make sure you find out the size of the door for the unit as well as all the walk ways and doors leading up to your unit. Doesn't matter how nice the unit is if you can't get your items in it.

Photo thanks to Custom Design Pallets

Now that you have settled on a storage facility, you need to find something to store your animals in. I have had taxidermy shipped to me in crates before and figured this would be the best way to store the animals for an extended period of time. You can either build your own crates using plywood or, if you live near your taxidermist, you can ask him if he would look for some crates the next time he is going to the tannery. Tanneries are getting shipments constantly of crates from peoples' safaris from all over the world. An African safari, in which the hunter took several animals, requires a big crate to ship the hides and horns back to the USA. These are great crates to use for storage as they are already made and usually cheap or free. My taxidermist was able to secure some crates from the tannery for me to use. I'm very grateful for that, saved me lots of time and money!

One of my big concerns was making sure to keep pests out of the crates. I used some silicon sealant to seal th edges of the crate, my first line of defense. In addition to sealing the edges, on my taxidermist's recommendation, I put some poison pellets in the crate. As my taxidermist put it, "Just in case the rats chew through the wood, give them something else to eat besides your mounts." I also added, again at the advice of my taxidermist, some No Pest Strips. They emit a vapor that kills all sorts of bugs without leaving a residue on your taxidermy. They only last about 4 months, but my theory is they just need to kill any bug that sneaked into the crate before it was sealed shut. Between the climate control, the rat poison, and the bug killer, I think the crate is pretty well secured from pests (keeping my fingers crossed).

If you live in a climate where humidity is present, you may want to add some silica gel packets. If too much moisture gets into your crate it can cause mildew to grow. The silica gel packets will absorb moisture from the air to help keep the humidity low. I didn't put in any silica gel because, mainly, I couldn't find any locally and, secondly, I live in a dry climate with very low humidity. If I had some silica gel handy though, I would have put them in and I would have been much more concerned about finding them if I lived someplace like Texas or Florida.

Now that you have the crates, the pest killer, and the silica gel packets, there is really only one thing left to do - put the animals in the crates. This step requires two people and a drill. The mounts can be orientated in every position using all sides of the crate, so this becomes like a jigsaw puzzle of sorts as you try to fill every last void in the crate with a head. I started with the biggest animals, then worked my way down. Once I had determined how each animal was going to fit in the crate, I would have on person hold the animal in position while the other person drew an outline inside the crate. Remove the animal, then drill 4 pilot holes well within the drawn border (since I don't want a screw to puncture the hide). Next, have one person hold the animal inside the border while the other person uses some wood screws going through the pilot holes to secure the crate to the back of the mount (which should have a plywood backing itself). Keep repeating this process until all the mounts are in. The better at fitting the mounts in a crate you are, the more animals you can fit and/or less crates you'll need.

 Photo thanks to Ample Hunting

After you've got all the animals in, you've put in the pest strips and silica gel, you'll just need to close the crate up. I place the lid on top, drill in some screws and put a coating of silicon sealant around the edge to, again, make sure all gaps are filled and you're done. The animals are ready to go into storage now. If you plan to open the crate soon and/or rotate animals in storage with ones at home, I would recommend against sealing the top of the crate with silicon.

There's really not much more too it than placing the crates in the unit (which will again require some help from a friend). Storing taxidermy is probably not what any hunter wants to do, but it beats the alternatives. Eventually, you'll be able to bring those animals out of storage. I just like having piece of mind that they're safe while in storage.

Reinforcing Your Big Bore Rifle's Stock

I have a special passion for the big bore rifles. They make the recoil on a 300 Winchester Magnum seem like nothing and leave me with one heck of a headache after shooting them. Despite all the abuse they can dish out, their intertwined nature with African safaris, ivory hunters, and dangerous game makes them uniquely attractive to me and many other shooters.

Something to keep in mind when you buy a big bore rifle is that not only are you going to experience more recoil, but the stock is going to experience more force as well. You often times see a big bore African rifle equipped with crossbolts, which look like two black dots in the middle of either side of the stock. Although this is often the only visible reinforcement to the stock, there is usually  a lot more hiding inside. Everyone has their own method to reinforcing their stock, but the basics are the same. In this installment, I will leave out things that could not be accomplished by an average guy without the help of a gunsmith, like adding a barrel mounted recoil lug for example. What I will focus on is things you can do to reinforce your stock using basic tools and products found at your local hardware store and/or gun shop.

When a rifle recoils, it sends all that force through the stock and then into your shoulder. There are recoil lugs on a rifles action and, sometimes, barrel that help disperse some of the force into the stock. When this energy is dispersed it causes the rifle's stock to flex and wave, especially around the action where the sides of the stock are the thinnest. Adding reinforcements, like crossbolts and glass bedding, decrease the amount of flex in the stock during recoil and hold the rifle more snug. Having a proper grain layout on a wooden stock can greatly help with the dispersion of recoil, but, since most factory stocks are not made with consideration to wood cut and grain layout, I will ignore this at the moment. Unless you're lucky and live near a Cabela's with a nice "Gun Library," you probably are like me and had to have your elephant gun ordered by your local gun store and, thus, did not have the luxury to look over the stock beforehand.

When I first get a rifle, I like to shoot it a few times to make sure everything is functioning as it should. I highly recommend you do this with your new big bore as, in the event there is some issue, you can send it back for repair under warranty. Once you begin to modify the stock, the factory from which your gun came is unlikely to do any warranty work since you modified the stock. You shouldn't have too much to worry about on lighter calibers like a 9.3x62 or 375 H&H, but this can get a little risky when you have something like a 458 Lott or 500 Jeffery you're preparing to sight in. If the stock does crack or break as you're testing it out, just send it back, tell them what happened, and they should get you a new stock. Far better to break a stock under warranty and have the factory replace it then find out your rifle has a bad barrel after you have voided the warranty by tinkering with the stock. Once you've made certain your rifle groups well and has no flaws that need factory attention, let's begin reinforcing the stock.

Let's start with the crossbolts. Most big bore rifles come equipped with crossbolts. If they do, you can simply leave them alone and move on to the next step or you can pull the crossbolts out, degrease the section running between the stock, put a little epoxy on them and reinsert them. Adding some epoxy will just further help to hold everything in place and will eliminate any gaps between the wood and crossbolts. I really like the Devcon brand epoxies, but any slow curing two ton epoxy should work. The key is to use a slow curing epoxy as it will have a stronger bond than the 5 minute epoxies. If you do choose to epoxy your crossbolts in remember that they will be permanently stuck into the stock. Also, do not use too much epoxy as it will squish out. I recommend you cover the stock with some painters tape to protect it in case there is any run off. I would also recommend putting some paste wax over the tape as this will prevent a barrier for the epoxy and make clean up easier. If you are intending to refinish the stock, you may think about sinking the crossbolts into the stock a little further and covering them with ebony plugs (or black epoxy). I will leave the aesthetic options up to you, just make sure you thoroughly think through what you are going to do and have a plan of action. Once you start putting in epoxy, you are fairly committed. Below is a picture of the interior of a stock showing, in red, where the crossbolts should go.

As the picture above shows, a crossbolt should be placed in the webbing behind the magazine box and behind the recoil lug on the action (in front of the magazine box basically). Each action is slightly different in regards to the placement of their recoil lug. On Mausers and CZ-550's the recoil lug is also where the front action screw connects to the action. On Winchester M70's and Remington 700's, the recoil lug is forward of the front action screw. Make sure you familiarize yourself with where the recoil lug is on your rifle so, if you do need to make your own crossbolts, you know where to put them.

If your rifle does not have any crossbolts, you have two crossbolt options, internal and external. The external crossbolts are ones which you can see from the side of the rifle. This is a fairly common setup on most factory rifles like the CZ550 and Winchester M70. You can buy crossbolts from places like Brownells or you can make some using a piece of 3/16" (or larger if you want) threaded rod and nuts. Either way you will need to buy a crossbolt drilling jig so the holes are straight. If you elect to use the threaded rod to make your own crossbolts, you will need to sink the crossbolts and cover them with a wood plug or colored epoxy to make them look appealing. I would only recommend making your own crossbolts if you intend to refinish your stock. If you don't want to buy a jig, but still want crossbolts, you can use what are called internal crossbolts.

Internal crossbolts are made from a piece of threaded rod, but are hidden within the stock and secured with glass bedding epoxy. Since they do not break the exterior surface of the stock, they give the appearance the stock does not have any crossbolts. The placement of the crossbolts is the same as mentioned above, but you will want to make a relief groove on the inside of the stock where you can place the threaded rod without it contacting the action. A hand held Dremmel sander works well on hollowing out a groove. Cut the threaded rod to fit the relief groove, degrease the rod, and install it while you are bedding the rifle. (You should put a little bedding compound in the groove in the stock first, place the internal crossbolts, then continue filling the stock with bedding compound, then insert the barreled action same as you would any bedding job. The internal crossbolts will be hidden within the bedding compound.) Internal crossbolt function with the same intent as external crossbolts as they don't flex under recoil, thus helping prevent the stock from flexing. They are a great way to reinforce a stock if you do not want to see the crossbolts. I have one on my 9.3x64.

Now that your crossbolts are installed you will want to move on to making a wrist pin. The wrist pin runs internally from the tang of the stock towards the grip cap. The idea behind the wrist pin is to prevent the stock splitting at the wrist. With poor grain layout on a stock, this can happen. (A quick side note, you also want to make sure there is a slight gap between your stock and action in the tang. This little gap will provide some running room and prevent cracking of your stock in the tang. If you can not slide a couple pieces of paper between the action and stock in the tang, now would be a good time to wrap some sandpaper around a pen and shave off a little of the stock until there is a little relief gap. This is shown in green in the picture below. Back to the wrist pin!) You will need some epoxy and a piece of threaded rod. You can use the left over threaded rod if you made your own crossbolts or you can go a little thicker with a 1/4" piece of threaded rod. Using a drill, drill a hole starting from inside the stock in the tang going towards the grip cap. The two pictures below will show you in red where to start drilling and where the wrist pin will be positioned.

(You can also start drilling the wrist pin inside the rear action screw hole. Inserting the pin is a little trickier, but it is easier to clean up the epoxy that overflowed by running a drill through the rear action screw hole once the epoxy has dried.)

You do not want to drill through the grip cap or out the sides of the wrist, so make sure you measure how long it is from the tang to the bottom of grip cap and drill straight. A piece of tape placed at the appropriate measurement on the drill bit can help to act as a guide for when to stop drilling. When you have finished drilling, use a brush or compressed air to blow out the sawdust. You want to be able to get around 3" - 4"  of threaded rod into the hole, so test fit that the threaded rod is long enough and will fit. You will want to make sure the rod is slightly shorter than the hole so you can sink the head of the rod below the wood line. Cut and fit the rod to size and degrease it. Next, I use a syringe to insert some epoxy deep into the hole I just drilled. Again, I like to use a slow curing two-ton epoxy for this. I like to fill the hole 3/4 or more full since I want to minimize any air bubbles. I then insert the threaded rod into the hole turning it as I push it in. Epoxy is going to goop out, as long as you covered everything you don't want epoxy on, you'll be fine. (If you do not have a syringe, you can always stick some epoxy into the hole with a skewer and liberally coat the rod in epoxy.) Make sure the rod is inserted well below the top of the hole so it wont push on the action when the rifle is assembled (hence why you cut it a little short). Once you're sure the rod is inserted deep enough, clean off the epoxy that has oozed out. I find Q-tips are excellent for this application. If you get some epoxy down the rear action screw hole, just let that dry and run the drill through it later to clean the epoxy out. Your big concern is to make sure the surface where the action rests is flat and clear of epoxy. Once dry, you have successfully installed a wrist pin.

The last major item you will want to do now is glass bed the action. I've bedded several rifles before using various types of products. Below is a picture of my first attempt at glass bedding. This is not the prettiest glass bedding job I have done, but it functions just the same.

I am not going to go into how to bed a rifle as there are plenty of tutorials online. Hunting and shooting forums have lots of picture tutorials and Youtube also has several videos showing you how to bed your rifle. Acraglass Gel is a great product to use if you have never done bedding before as it comes with very detailed instructions covering several different methods for various rifles.

There are several types of products that you can use to bed your rifle. Glass bedding is essentially just a type of two part epoxy resin that is designed to help hold your rifle's action in place. By keeping your action nice and snug, accuracy increases in the rifle. Since bedding compounds are also a type of epoxy, they do help reinforce the stock a bit as well. If you are not careful, they may even glue your barreled action into your stock, so it is very important to use a good release agent. Acraglas comes with a release agent that some people like and some don't. I have never tried it, so I can't speak to it's properties. Some use Pam cooking spray while others use Kiwi natural shoe polish, but the product I have always used is paste wax. Paste wax is used by many shooters and is the most commonly mentioned release agent. I figured I'd go straight to the top and use that. An added advantage of past wax is it's great at protecting both the metal parts and the stock from moisture while out hunting. I have used both the  Johnson's Paste Wax (by SC Johnson) and the Minwax Paste Finishing Wax (by Minwax). The Minwax product I got at Home Depot, while the Johnson's variety I had to find at a mom-and-pop type hardware store. Both worked equally well though.

When it comes to bedding a rifle, I tend to go with whatever product is easily accessible to me. I've heard of people using various types of products, but aside from Acraglas, there are only two other products I've heard recommended over and over, Marine Tex Grey and Devcon Steel Epoxy Putty. I have used both those products and have found them to be equally effective at bedding a rifle as well as no more difficult to use than Acraglas. Just follow the recommend ratios on the directions so the epoxy sets up correctly. I can not say that any one of the bedding compounds is better than the other. I do like the Devcon and Marine Tex products better as I found it easier to get a consistent mixture. Acrglas has the advantage of you can dye it colors, where the other two are a gray type color. This isn't really that big of a concern since you will barely be able to see any of the bedding when the rifle is assembled.

If you follow the directions for bedding found online and in Acraglas you should be set to do a great job bedding your rifle. I will offer you a few tips and tricks I've learned along the way. When applying your release agent, putting a glob of wax in several layers of cheese cloth makes for a great applicator (and make sure you use 2-3 coats of wax too, leaving time in-between to let the wax dry). Wax everything! After you have applied the bedding compound, go back in an hour or two (or both) and turn the screws back a half turn, then forward a half turn. This will allow you to make sure the screws are not glued in place. (This happened to me once and, since the epoxy wasn't fully cured, I was able to wrap the gun with duct-tape, remove the screw and clean it off. No ill effects came of this and the rifle assembled just fine and shoots great too.) When you think you have put in enough glass bedding, add some more. It is easier to clean off extra bedding than have to re-bed because you didn't use enough (that's what happened the first time I bedded a rifle). Lastly, rough up the stock with some sandpaper, this will give the epoxy something to bond too. This is especially important on an injected molded stock (since epoxy and plastic don't bond well). Drilling some small, but random holes where the bedding will go can also benefit an injection molded stock as is provides some mechanical locks for the epoxy to grip into (you may need to use a toothpick to push the bedding compound into the holes). Wiping the areas you do want bedding compound to stick with a degreaser is also a good idea, again, especially on injection molded stocks.

The above is my method on reinforcing a stock. Everyone is going to have their own opinion on what products to use and way to do something. These are the methods I use and they have worked for me. It is important, whatever you do, that you reinforce your big bore rifle as you don't want your stock to break. It's one thing if it breaks at home, but far worse if it you shatter your stock in two as a cape buffalo is charging straight towards you.

My Favorite Recipe for Wild Boar

The feral hog is one of the worlds most prolific species found all over the world except Antarctica. They are a great species of game to hunt and can often bring relief to those suffering withdrawal between hunting season.

My first introduction to hog hunting was in my home state of California. California has a healthy supply of feral hogs and, thus, has very lenient bag limits. There is no season and all a hunter needs is a valid license and a wild boar tag. For those fortunate enough to have access to land where multiple hogs can be taken, booklets of tags can be bought. The only real limit to how many hogs you can shoot is the amount of tags you have in your pocket (and how many hogs you can find). I don't have any access to private land, so I use a guide to hunt hogs. The fee is usually inexpensive compared to most guided hunting trips and you are able to gain access to private property you otherwise would only be able to drool at. In other states the rules may differ, so it is important to read the regulations beforehand.

What I wanted to talk about though was one of my favorite recipes for hogs. Everyone has their own favorite way to prepare game meat. This is the way I learned to cook hogs while on a scimitar horned oryx hunt in Texas and it is by far my favorite recipe, but first, a little background.

After successfully taking a very old scimitar oryx, the ranch owner offered me a "BBQ hog" which I, of course, accepted. A BBQ hog, by his defenition, was a small hog under 50 pounds or so. They're young hogs and don't have any value for trophy hunters as their tusks are small and not protruding. Since Texas has truck-loads of hogs, it isn't any harm to let a few be culled before reaching maturity. That evening we located a group of hogs under some brush escaping the Texas heat. I setup for a shot, and waited for the group of about 10 pigs to get antsy and stand up. One of the hogs caught our scent and decided it was time to leave and I was given specific instructions by my guide, Robbie, to shoot any of the little hogs I wanted before they followed and ran off. I popped a little boar (pictured above) right before he trotted off with the rest of the group. I was shooting my 30-06 with 180 grain bullets (since I was there for Oryx) and was amazed to see that, despite taking a hit directly to the shoulder, the little 40 pound hog was still alive. The oryx I had shot earlier, which weighed over 400 pounds, was dead within 5 seconds of being hit! I quickly reloaded and put a shot behind the ear. Robbie, who is built like a giant, picked the little hog up and carried it right out. We dressed him, skinned him, quartered him, then hung him up to cool on the meat locker. Robbie then told me the Ranch's favorite recipe to cooking hogs which I will now bestow to you.

You can use whatever cut of meat you would like. On a little hog, you can cook a whole leg like it were a giant drumstick. Several hours before you intend to cook the meat, soak it in a bowl of apple juice - the more concentrated the better. This will help add a little flavor and break down some of the gamey-ness. After soaking in apple juice for a few hours, prep the BBQ. While the BBQ is getting hot, make up a batch of honey and cayenne pepper (about 1/2 cup honey and a spoonful of pepper). This recipe is not an exact science so you can swap the cayenne pepper with other spices if you're not too big on spicy food. Now that the BBQ is nice and hot, throw the meat on it and let the outsides brown. The idea is too keep the BBQ really hot at first to create a quick crispy outer layer that will seal in the juices. Make sure to do this to both sides of the meat, the idea is not to burn the meat, just turn the color from pink to light brown. Depending on the size of the cut of meat this shouldn't take more than a couple minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and begin painting on the honey and seasoning mixture. Every time you flip the meat, paint another layer of honey on it. Let the meat cook so there is no more pink spots inside and you're ready to eat.

Since game meat is very lean, cooking at a lower temperature has worked best for me. The low fat content means the meat is likely to dry out if cooked too high or over cooked. Also, younger animals, like this BBQ hog, have less of the gamey flavor than adult animals. Female animals also are also noted for being easier to eat as they are not full of testosterone. Proper field care of the animal and storage, however, can go a long way to making even the biggest old bucks taste great.

Everyone has their own favorite recipe on how to prepare game. If you have a recipe you would like to share, please feel free to post it in the comments!

The CZ 550 - First Step to a Safari

In my last post I made mention and posted a picture of my customized CZ550 in 375 H&H. I wanted to take a chance to talk about this rifle as I had a truly enjoyable time working on it.

I had wanted a 375 Holland & Holland ever since I got a chance to fire Julius Glogovcsan's 500 Jeffery. I had, through some form of logic or another, determined this caliber was right at my upper threshold of recoil tolerance. There was also the nostalgia associated with the cartridge as it the 30-06 of Africa.

The cartridge came about in 1912 and has become popular as the caliber to hunt everything in the world. While the 375 H&H may be capable of killing everything, it may not be the first choice of a sheep hunter or what you want in your hands to stop a charging elephant. Never the less, the 375 H&H is very good at doing pretty much everything. I had a limited budget when I purchased my rifle, so I was debating between the Winchester M70, the Ruger Safari Magnum, and the CZ 550 Magnum. I had eliminated most other brands of rifles as they were either too expensive or did not have all the features I wanted. Most important to me was to have the claw extractor for controlled round feed. Maybe I'm a victim of marketing hype, but I can definitely see the validity of being able to feed a cartridge into your rifle from all positions. I had never had a CRF type action before either, so I was eager to see if they were really that great.

After many months of researching, talking with hunters, and trying some rifles out at the gun store, I made my decision. I chose the CZ 550 as it offered a very nice platform for a dangerous game rifle. It has a very generous magazine capacity of 5 rounds and, since looks were just as important to me for this rifle as function, the double square bridge receiver was just too good to pass up.

I took my brand new rifle to the range to try it out and break in the barrel. I was pleasantly surprised to find the rifle did not recoil as bad as I had expected and even more thrilled to find that it grouped about 1" at 50 yards with iron sights. My only complaint was the claw would not snap over a cartridge fed directly into the chamber and that all the brass got a scratch on one side while being fed from the magazine. I had heard of a gunsmith in Montana who does wonders with the CZ rifles, so I gave him a call when I got home.

The gunsmith offers 3 upgrade packages for CZ owners that allow someone to improve both the functionality and aesthetics of their rifle. I had certain features in mind and discussed them with the gunsmith who said it would be no problem. The price was very reasonable and the turn around time was short, so I boxed my rifle up and sent it to Wayne Jacobson at American Hunting Rifles. I had never used a gunsmith before, but I had read lots of great things about AHR and Wayne was very knowledgeable over the phone.

Something like 6 weeks later my rifle was on its way home and I was excited to see all the things AHR had done to it. Upon opening the box, the rifle looked excellent. As per our discussions, Wayne had straightened and filled the bolt handle and added a barrel band sling swivel. I grabbed a round to run through the chamber and found that the bolt worked smooth as butter and did not scratch the brass anymore. I did not mention the claw not snapping over a round loaded directly into the chamber, but was very pleased to learn Wayne had addressed this issue without me asking. Wayne is an  expert when it comes to the CZ-550, so it really shouldn't have been a surprise everything looked and function perfectly. Now that all the metal work had been done and I had a flawlessly functioning dangerous game rifle, I set about to make the stock look a little better.

I attempted to modify the stock originally and, although functional, it did not meet my expectations. A call back to AHR found Wayne had an extra stock laying around from a rifle he restocked for a customer. It didn't have crossbolts, but Wayne said he could install these. Perfect! I bought the stock and Wayne boxed it up and put it in the mail. Using what I had learned from the first stock screw up, I set out sanding and shaping the new stock. I ended up adding a rosewood burl forend tip and grip cap from Brownells, installed a brown NECG Universal recoil pad, slimmed the stock up a bit, shaped the cheek piece into a pancake style with a shadow line, and covered and sanded flush the crossbolts.  I also wanted to structurally reinforce the stock so I glass bedded the action and installed a wrist pin made of threaded rod. Despite all this, the rifle still shot to the same point of impact that Wayne had sighted it in to back when it left AHR.

After shooting the rifle a few more times, I did make two more modifications. I got a red fiber optic sight from CZ so the front sight was easier to see and I made a slight modification to the safety. Somehow I managed to bump the safety into the safe position while doing a little "charging cape buffalo" practice. Using a modification I found on the web, by taking just a slight bit of metal off a certain spot on the safety (picture below) the safety will always go to fire when the bolt is closed. This modification does not affect the safety when the bolt is closed and it will remain in safe once placed. It only turns the safety off if the bolt is open, the safety is then put into the safe position, and then the bolt is closed. If the safety is on with the bolt closed, the bolt will remain locked down in the closed position as it did when it left the CZ-USA factory.

It's been a year and a half since I first got my CZ, and I have finally gotten to the point where I'm happy with it. There is still some things I'd like to change, like shorten the barrel, I just have to stop spending my money on hunting trips and guns and send the rifle up to American Hunting Rifles again. I'll probably just wait until I get my next CZ and send them to Wayne together. A 458 Lott sounds nice ...

The Tools of the Trade

One of the great aspects of hunting is there are a wide array of "tools" you can use to accomplish the job. These range from the primitive knife and/or spear up to the very modern rifle. Each hunter has a tool they enjoy hunting with and many enjoy hunting with a multiple weapons like bows, rifles, and muzzle loaders. The more primitive weaponry, like a bow and muzzle loader, not only challenge a hunter because of their limited range, but they can extend the hunting season and number of animals a hunter can take each year. The regulations vary from state to state, but usually a primitive weapon can be used in lieu of a more sophisticated one meaning a hunter could use their bow to hunt deer during the bow season and also use their bow to hunt deer in the rifle season. This isn't always true and you should check the rules for your state. Using a rifle during bow season, however, is never allowed as it obviously offers an unfair advantage.

I have never had the opportunity to use a muzzle loader, but I've been able to accompany some bow hunters to the shooting range. I must give lots of credit to bow hunters as, first, if you have never tried to draw a bow, it is a lot harder than it seems and, second, hitting your target with a bow is much harder when you're used to having a set of cross-hairs. On one occasion I went to the range with a friend of mine who is more than 50 years my senior. He has had a very successful career hunting all over the world with a rifle, so in his golden years has set about collecting those same species with a bow - a traditional recurve bow too! He set me up with a 40 pound draw recurve bow and we set off on a course to hone our skill. We walked through the woods and around every corner or bend in the road was a life-like target of a game animal. My friend bested me every time, but it was a neat way to practice. I actually had quite a fun time shooting the old stick and sting, but I think I'll stick with my rifle for now.

My first introduction to firearms was with my father's old and trusted 12 gauge pump shotgun. He had used it to shoot muskrats as a boy in Indiana which he sold to be turned into fur coats and such. I had never fired a gun, but since I kept hounding my family that I wanted to go hunting, my father decided he would take me to the trap shooting range and see if I even enjoyed shooting. I don't remember how many clay pigeons I hit my first time out, but I do remember my father muttering under his breath "oh shit, he's going to be good at this" after I vaporized the first clay pigeon I had ever shot at. After that, with the help of my parents, I procured my first rifle; a Howa 1500 in 30-06. I still have that rifle many years later and use it predominately for all of my hunting. I have acquired some other rifles over the years and, with my interest in Africa and dangerous game, it should come as no surprise I have a fondness for the big bore rifles.

I think I was about 16 years of age when I fired my first big bore. My grandfather was friends with a man by the name of Julius Glogovcsan, who everyone called Jules. Jules had done an extensive amount of cull hunting in his younger years and had several hundred elephants and cape buffalo to his credit. He was a quiet and humble man, but he had many tales from his various hunts around the world. Part of Jules' character was he rarely ever provided stories of his hunts unless you specifically asked about something. I remember on one occasion asking him if he had ever been tiger hunting, his answer was a short "yes." Which I enthusiastically replied to asking if he had ever shot any tigers. He simply stated, "yes. . . seven of them." Some more questioning would later reveal he had taken some man eating leopards and tigers back when he was in the Air Force stationed in India (using a 300 savage no less because it was the only hunting rifle he could find). The only remnants of those adventures were some photos and a lone leopard skull that rested on his piano. What Jules did have was a bunch of rifles. He had a couple 500 Jeffery rifles, his working rifle built on a Remington 30 Express action and an original Augustus Schuler in 12.7x70 (500 Jeffery more or less), an 11.2x72mm, a 9.3x64 that he later left to me upon his passing, and collection of other rifles used throughout his travels. Since I was so eager to try out Jules' rifles, my grandfather setup a day with Jules to take his elephant guns to the range.

Shooting the elephant guns was such a great experience. Honestly, I was really concerned about the recoil, but I figured if an 83 year old man could do it, so could I. Interestingly enough, the recoil was no where near as bad as I thought it would be, but the headache it gave you was what did me in. I shot 3-4 rounds, two through his working rifle and one or two through the Schuler. My shoulder was fine but my head was spinning so bad after that I needed an Advil. I left that day with a huge appreciation for big bore rifles and the intent to buy a big bore of my own.

*A quick aside, if anyone happens to know the whereabouts of Julius's 500 Jeffery built on a Remington 30 Express action with a gold elephant on the floorplate - Please email me! huntingetc@yahoo.com *

Since my encounter with the 500 Jeffery, I've added a 375 H&H to my battery and will hopefully add something like a 416 or 458 to my safe soon too (a true big bore). I've grown an appreciation for sporterized Mauser rifles as well as a love for refinishing and reshaping the stocks on my existing rifles.  I've redone a few stocks, some turned out pretty good (like the one pictured at the top of this post), others ... not so much. The more time I spend around rifles though the more I learn about them. It , also, should come as no surprise that I frequently comb the local used gun racks (and gunbroker on occasion) for a rifle that needs a new home. With a little fiddling, an old and worn rifle can be turned into a real beauty.

The typical 30-06, 270, 300 caliber rifle with scope is the standard choice of hunters to take into the woods. They are effective at killing deer and elk and the scope makes finding and aiming at your target that much easier. While other weaponry, like a bow or muzzle loader, may seem outdated technology, they work just as well on game now a days as they did several hundred to thousands of years ago and add to the challenge and complexity of the hunt. Even the "modern" rifle is no spring chicken by human lifetime standards.The venerable Mauser 98, upon which many rifle actions are based, is 112 years old!

The Animals

I have some family up in Montana who, every year, set out during elk season to fill their freezer. They've been doing this for as long as I can remember. Montana has a great many species to hunt, so each hunter is usually carrying a tag for deer, elk, black bear, maybe antelope, and, if they were lucky to draw, bighorn sheep and moose. I know the latter two are amongst those "once-in-a-lifetime" hunts and drawing a tag is very difficult. Some of my relatives have been applying for 30 years and none of them have drawn one of those coveted tags. When it comes to the animals that interest them for hunting though, it has always been those native to Montana. Hunting, for them, is a social activity you do with your friends and family. Sure they enjoy shooting a big elk, but a cow elk fills the freezer just the same. I have hunted with them before and will do so again, but I'm always the oddball in the hunting party because I'm "trophy hunting."

I should probably clarify what I mean by "trophy hunting." Generally the term means a hunter is looking for a male specimen of the species that has an exceptionally large set of horns or antlers. I'm a slightly different trophy hunter in that I'm a "collector," as you may remember me mentioning. In my current phase of hunting (and hunters go through many phases in their lives) I'm really more concerned with bagging a representative animal of the species. I always seek out the old buck with a large rack, but a fork horn deer is going to make me just as happy. Just because the animal doesn't make a record book does not mean it is not a trophy to me. My first deer was a fork horn. It took me five years of hard hunting before I was able to find a legal buck to shoot here in California. I am more proud of that deer than any world record deer and I happily display it amongst my other trophies. Hunting deer in California was extremely fun, challenging, and rewarding. I'd do it again in a heartbeat if the opportunity presented itself, but I'd also like to hunt other species of animals. Each species of animal is unique, both in the way you hunt it and in the way it looks. My ambition, I guess, is to try and collect an example from every species you can legally hunt. I feel it would make for a lifetime of adventure and, probably, keep my taxidermist pretty happy too. Hopefully this clarifies what a "collector" is and some of my motives for hunting.

When I started hunting, one of my biggest dreams was to go to Africa. I had read every African hunting book I could get my hands on and became enthralled with the amount of adventure and animals you could hunt on the dark continent. I doubt I will ever see the generous bag limits of years gone past, but Africa still has great allure for me as it offers an exotic destination to collect several species of game and see an entirely different part of the world. Given my interest in Africa, it should come as no surprise that dangerous game animals, like the Big Five (elephant, lion, rhino, leopard, and cape buffalo), rank among the top of my "must-have" list. There are (very lucky) hunters who go every year to hunt dangerous game, drawn to the thrill that their prey may very well turn on them and turn them into the hunted.

One benefit of Africa is it has such an abundance of species that there is something for everyone. There is the elusive bongo antelope of the Congo, the majestic mountain nyala of Ethiopia, the towering elephants of the Okavango, and the delicate springbok of Namibia. With hundreds of species to hunt ranging from chihuahua sized blue duikers up to the giant African elephant, there litterally is a species to interest every type of hunter. I hear it is even a paradise for the avid wing shooter.

One of the other groups of game species that interests me is the mountain game. This includes animals like bighorn sheep, argali, ibex, mountain goats, urials, tur, chamois, markhor, tahr, and mouflon, just to name a few. These game make a living in the most inaccessible places on earth. They are amongst some of the most difficult (and often expensive) animals to hunt. While I have seen bighorn sheep while elk hunting in Montana and apply every year for a coveted California bighorn sheep tag here in my home state, I have not been fortunate to hunt any of the wild sheep. I am privileged to know several hunters who have been bitten by the sheep bug. Their trophy rooms are filled with some of the most majestic looking of all game species (in my opinion) and it is easy to forget how rough of a hunt you have to endure to collect one of these creatures while sitting in a comfy couch. While Africa is my dream, these mountain species are amongst my (and many other hunters') favorite species of big game. This niche of hunting is so popular there are even a few organizations dedicated to hunting and preserving these regal creatures.

In addition to the entwined romanticism of hunting in Africa and the remoteness of mountain hunting, there is a slew of other species available for hunters. North America has several species of big game and every year millions of us take to the woods. What each person hunts is often dictated by where they live. Alaskans are often after moose and grizzly, those on the East Coast and Midwest predominately chase whitetail, the West, like my family in Montana, hunt elk and mule deer, and us folk in California are chasing coastal blacktail deer and hogs. Speaking of hogs, they have to be one of the best feral species. They provide year-round hunting in most states with generous to non-existent bag limits. They are inexpensive to hunt and make a great way to get in a little hunting during the long gap between seasons.

Traveling around the globe, Europe has a healthy supply of roe and fallow deer to hunt amongst other species like red stag, muntjac, and mouflon. South America has some great hunting for big game species like red stag and water buffalo as well as some world famous bird hunting for doves. Our neighbors north and south of the border of us predominately share the same game species as we enjoy in the states. There are some extras like the brocket deer in the Yucatan Peninsula and the caribou, muskox, and polar bear in Canada. Australia has an abundance of feral animals like wild horses, donkeys, camels, deer, banteng, and water buffalo. Lucky them! New Zealand also has a menagerie of introduced animals that thrive thanks to their fertile countryside and lack of predators. They have chamois and tahr as well as a few species of deer including the largest red stag in the world. Russia has moose and bear along with some mountain game and you'll find much of the former Soviet Union (a lot of those countries ending in -stan) have a great amount of mountain game hunting as well (some of the best actually). The Middle East, for those who really enjoy adventure, also has a healthy supply of mountain game hunting as does Mongolia. Places like India and more recently China are closed to hunting, but had some excellent hunting for some very exotic species like tiger and takin.

Sadly, due to the controversial nature of hunting, there is always a continuous supply of places closing their doors to hunting. This is not to say previously closed places do not open up, because they do, but moratoriums on hunting are a sad reality we often face. One of the small lights for us hunters is that many places like Texas, Australia, New Zealand, and so on, have successfully introduced species of animals not native to the region, yet they thrive in their new habitat. A great example of this is the scimitar horned oryx, dama gazelle, and addax. Practically extinct back in the Saharan desert of Africa due to poaching, but thriving in Texas thanks in part to conservation efforts by hunters. On another side not, the future of those species on ranches is uncertain as anti-hunters are currently trying to stop hunting of the scimitar oryx, addax, and dama gazelle despite the fact that hunters are the predominant reason these species still exist. This is a debate for another day though, but something to keep in mind.

There are so many species of animals in the world that it is no surprise that most people have never heard of some. It is even more daunting for those of us, like me, intent to try and collect as many of those species as they can. Each hunter has their own interest in game, whether it be elk in Montana or Hangai argali in Mongolia. Regardless of what you enjoy to hunt, hunting will always provide a lifetime of adventure!

An Introduction

Welcome to Hunting etc., a blog about hunting, rifles, and anything else related to the subject.

I guess I'll start of with an introduction and a disclaimer. I created this blog because I love hunting to the point of obsession. (If I could find a way to be paid to hunt and shoot big game, believe me, I would.) I've been hunting since I was 14 and truly enjoy all the different facets of the sport. Most of my hunting has been at home in California for deer and hogs, but I've ventured to other states to hunt game like antelope and elk. I have a great affinity for animals and would classify myself as a "collector" of game species. Thanks to the preservation abilities of taxidermists, I'm able to have each animal I hunt mounted and displayed for my own personal enjoyment. I know this sounds barbaric to a non-hunter, but I get great enjoyment out of looking at each animal in my "trophy room." Each mount is a mix between looking at a photograph from the hunt and taking a trip to the zoo. The memories associated with each "trophy" are irreplaceable to me.

Being outdoors and away from the chaos of modern society is another enjoyment I get from hunting. I love the conveniences of modern life (a hot shower, microwave, central heating, etc), but, in our highly regulated world, it often makes me want to escape to a far gone time where there was less structure and more unknown about the world. While I may never get to experience the world in ways that John A. Hunter or Teddy Roosevelt did, I find hunting is as close to time travel as I can get.

Hunting creates different emotions for every hunter and each person hunts for a different reason; the thrill of the chase, to bag another species, put meat in the freezer, spend time with their kids, etc. What I hope is that this blog is able to give one hunter's view, my view, on hunting and what is means to me. My disclaimer would be that since I will be giving my point of view on the subject and, thus, it will probably have a bit of my own personal bias. What may hold true for me, does not hold true to all hunters. Everyone hunter has different experiences that shape their opinions from what a perfect hunt is to what the best flashlight is. I will do my best to describe why I have come to the conclusion that I have, especially when I'm doing a product review.

With that said, welcome to my blog, Hunting etc. Hopefully you'll find this as interesting to read as I do to write it.