January 2012 Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Mississippi Sportsman

Joe Poole reaches out and touches deer at extreme distances with a Remington Sendaro 7 mm rifle bought specifically for the job.

Scoping it out

January 1, 2012 Andy Crawford

Joe Poole is nothing if not consistent. While shooters will tell you glass is much more important than the rifle on which it sits, Poole has found it unnecessary to spend big money on a scope. […]

Water and food are the two essential elements that draw ducks to Tallahatchie County.

Virtually all of the waterfowl hunting done in Tallahatchie County with Catfish Flautt is over small water-holding areas and assorted water resources duck hunters have always referred to as potholes. These “open waters” are not lake size by any means; potholes can be everything from a small depression in a field of corn or soybeans to a low-lying area along a creek, bayou or slough. […]

Whenever anyone scoffs at Poole’s contention that he can take deer at hundreds of yards, he just points to the three deer he killed last season. Every one was from right at 500 yards or better.

Practice makes perfect

January 1, 2012 Andy Crawford

It takes more than proper equipment to make deer die at extreme ranges, so time on the range is a critical part of the equation. […]

Successful duck hunters at Tallahatchie Hunts come from all over the country and world.

Tallahatchie County topgraphy

January 1, 2012 John J. Woods

The question always comes as to why Tallahatchie County is poised to be such a great place for waterfowl hunting. If you could just do a flyover of this county during the duck season, the answer would quickly become obvious. […]

Stability a must

January 1, 2012 Andy Crawford

Making long shots absolutely requires a rock-solid shooting platform.

“No person is going to free-hand one and hit one, that’s for sure,” Joe Poole said. “I’ve never shot a deer free-hand past 250 yards and hit it, and that was when I was young.” […]

Tournament angler and MCC member Brad Chappell provides 10 locations from his own book of fishing hotspots to help crappie anglers find fish on Ross Barnett this month.

Crappie Hotspot Series: Ross Barnett Reservoir

January 1, 2012 Phillip Gentry

Providing a list of the 12 hottest crappie locations in the state sounds easy in theory, but becomes difficult in practice. It’s not because they’re hard to find, but just the opposite: The Magnolia state is chock full of great crappie fishing waters. […]

While his shooting-stick contraption works well, whenever possible Poole uses an MTM Shoulder Gard Rifle rest on the hood of his truck. That setup is like shooting from a bench.

Nuts and bolts of shooting distances

January 1, 2012 Andy Crawford

OK, so you’ve got the right rifle, scope and bullet. You’ve added a good, solid rest. Now you’re looking at a deer through the scope at 500 yards, and the crosshairs won’t sit still. […]

Anglers who’d like to try fishing a Moss Back Fish Rack for themselves can visit this location where Brad Chappell placed one in preparation for this article.

Bonus Spot

January 1, 2012 Phillip Gentry

Even with the numerous natural brush in Ross Barnett, savvy crappie anglers continue to build man-made cover in the lake — and they continue to catch fish on them. […]

Community scrapes can be located in visible areas – especially where whitetails congregate over nutritious food sources. Despite light hunting pressure and whitetails being somewhat active during daylight hours, research has shown that the majority of scraping behavior is nocturnal.

The Community Scrape

January 1, 2012 Tommy Kirkland

In search of vegetative foliage, five bucks — a mature 8-pointer, a 3½-year-old, two spunky spikes and a curious button buck — go single file along the forest edge, ascending a bluff. Occasionally the group stops to forage; yet one of the spikes and the button buck, by instinct, prefer to assertively test their status with bouts of mock sparring. […]

Nate Young shot these birds on a quick field flush on Christmas Eve.

Hype for Snipe

January 1, 2012 Rob Heflin

As duck season fades away and deer season wanes, most hunters begin to retire to their warm homes to recuperate after a long season. A few may go afield for late-season rabbit hunts and a February squirrel or two, but few have wingshooting on their minds this late in the year. […]

Cover: January 2012

January 1, 2012 Mississippi Sportsman

January 2012 […]

Savannah Pope harvested her best buck yet during a late-season hunt last year near Chunky, while hunting with her dad Randy.

The Right Time

January 1, 2012 Michael O. Giles

Randy Pope climbed into his elevated tree stand well before dawn on a recent hunt and prepared for the morning. Pope has hunted big-game animals all over the world and is an expert at finding, hunting and harvesting trophy whitetail bucks. […]