Contrary to what some people think, all firearm owners are not of the same mind when it comes to shooting and hunting. Many firearm owners don’t hunt and the reasons they don’t are almost as varied as the people who own and shoot firearms, and do hunt. Some have firearms for self defense because of a perceived rise in violent crime including assault and the increased awareness of home burglaries. That also seems to be the reason that firearm ownership is increasing in Europe and the United Kingdom.

Some people really enjoy target shooting and socializing with other target shooters at the shooting range, while some people enjoy collecting firearms, but rarely shoot those firearms.

Texas A&M University where I taught for 25 years has one of the most impressive gun collections in the United States. The collection includes MatchIocks, Flintlocks, Percussion rifles and pistols as well as more modern firearms that use smokeless powder ammunition. One of my favorite rifles in that collection is an old, black-powder, four-bore elephant gun. I’m just amazed anyone would carry a rifle that big and heavy across Africa hunting the “Big Five,” for which Africa is famous. I suspect that because that rifle had to be reloaded with powder, patch and ball as well as putting powder in the pan, between shots, the hunter got trounced by one of the Big Five as often as the first shot ended the hunt.

Those of us that hunt in North America are also a varied group in what we like to hunt, the calibers we use and our particular hunting ethics. I think most of us agree on a basic list of ethical hunting practices, but some of us are trophy hunters and won’t shoot unless the game fits our requirements of antler points, general size and whatever else we think is important.

We also don’t all use the same caliber of rifle or the same type of bullet for deer, elk, moose, pronghorn and other game. For example, I hunt coyotes with a 55- to 63-grain bullet in .223/5.56 caliber, deer with a .30-30 Winchester lever action, .30-06, or a .300 Weatherby Magnum in bolt action depending on terrain, tree and brush cover, and distance at which I might have to shoot. I usually load the .30-30 with Hornady 160-grain LEVERevelution ammunition, and 180-grain bullets in both the .30-06 Springfield and the .300 Weatherby.

When choosing ammunition for the .30-06, I generally use Remington Core-Lokt ammunition. I load my own 180-grain bullets in front of 80 grains of Reloader 22, for my .300 Weatherby or I use Weatherby’s 180-grain Spire Point bullets.

I am a little old school, and don’t trust polymer tips on bullets to not start deforming from the heat generated by the magnum calibers with muzzle velocities over 3000 feet per second. However, there are many hunters who will gladly sing the praises of polymer tip bullets such as the “Ballistic Tip” bullets in the Weatherby line of ammunition and Hornady’s polymer tips.

We don’t all agree on the best caliber and bullet weight for the game we hunt either. Jose Sarber, a game warden out of Saint Petersburg, Alaska, never used anything bigger that a .30-6 on Alaska brown bear. His favorite bear load was the now obsolete 172 grain Western Tool and Copper Company open-point bullet with enough powder behind it to move it along at 2,750 to 2,800 feet per second. Jack O’ Conner, a well known hunting writer also liked the .30- 06 for the Alaskan Brownies, but opted for 180- and 220-grain bullets for the big bears.

Today many hunters have decided that the .270 Winchester and the .30-06 just aren’t up to really large North American game, even though they were most hunter’s favorite big-game calibers until the late 1950s when the big-bore magnum rooting section started trying to convince us that the 30-caliber magnums and up were the only calibers a real man or woman would use on anything over 700 pounds.

Some of us talk back to the magnum crowd, reminding them that it doesn’t matter how big a cannon one uses, if you can’t place the shot in the vitals, the big stuff won’t go down. If you can place the shot in the vitals, .270s and .30-06s do a really good job at the distance they were designed for. I didn’t purchase a .300 Weatherby as much for the particular type of game I hunt, as for the distance I think I will have to shoot whatever I am hunting.

I and one other of the guys I hunt with carry single-action pistols in .45 Colt and .357 mag. The rest carry their rifle and no side arm.

I am an ambush hunter. I like to get up early and get settled in a spot overlooking a game trail where I have seen game while scouting the area before the season opens. Most of the others in our group can’t sit anywhere more than five minutes and like to move quietly through the area using the tree line or any cover they can find. I probably cover close to the same amount ground they do by starting out early to reach the spot where I want to be, but once I’m there I don’t move very much. I’ve even had hunters who are moving around, spook game right into my area.

So we have our differences, but we all enjoy hunting, shooting and gun collecting on our own terms.

Smokey Merkley was raised in Idaho and has been hunting since he was 10 years old. He can be contacted at mokeydo41245@hotmail.com.

Why would anyone want to go ice fishing? It can be bitter cold — and windy. I’ll tell you why: Because if they’re biting it can be fun, and you can have fresh fish in the winter! Plus, don’t you ever get cabin fever and just have to get outdoors and do something?

Ice fishing is a huge sport in Minnesota, Michigan and some of those states. They drive their trucks with their campers out on the lakes and the whole bit. Sorry, hate to be a little wimp, but I’d be scared of dropping through on this one.

Speaking of dropping through — that scares me, too. The ice creaks while out ice fishing and makes weird harmonic sounds as it cracks and shifts. Wonnnnkkkkkk as it cracks and runs between you and your buddies. To deal with this danger, many people tell you to carry a long rope to throw to someone if they fall in and a sled to disperse your weight so you can get to them.

One time I was ice fishing with Mike Helzer in Nebraska, and it was warming up and had melted the snow on top of the ice. If we caught a fish and three of us ran to the hole, the ice sheet would start dipping down. But enough on this or you’ll never go ice fishing.

The gear is really pretty simple. You’ll need an ice auger to drill holes so you can fish. The more holes you drill the better or you’re stuck in one spot. You don’t just fish in one spot in the summer, do you? No, you move around. The problem with ice fishing is that to move around, you have to drill a hole every time. For this reason, many people prefer a gas-powered auger.

You can have as many holes as you want, but they can’t be over 10-inches in diameter to prevent people from falling in if snow drifts over the hole. And ice fishing, you can use up to five rods and each rod can have five hooks on it.

You’ll also want an ice ladle. As ice starts to form in your hole you’ll want to scoop it out. You’ll also want a ladle to scoop out the slush you made when drilling the hole.

FISHING RODS

Ice fishing rods are shorter than your normal rods so you can maneuver fishing in the hole. They make short ones that look like a miniature crappie fishing rig, only about a third as long. A cheaper option that most people use is tip-ups. They’re a small rod with a spool for a reel.

In the winter, fish will be more lethargic so you can handle them on the smaller ice fishing rods. Because they are lethargic, you’ll want to move your jigs a little slower.

BAIT/LURES

A lot of people put a meal worm on a small ice fishing jig. Some drop larger jigs and pick them up and drop them slowly down the water column. You can also use regular worms on a hook or jig. Perch like cut bait, so cut a piece of skin off of a fish.

I catch my perch about a foot off the bottom. Try trout a little higher up. But you’ll want to fish up and down the water column to find out where they’re feeding and then fish there. Try for perch in about 20 to 25-feet of water.

You don’t need to worry about a stringer and keeping them alive. Just throw them in the snow on the ice. Five-gallon buckets work great to carry them in.

CLOTHING

Needless to say, it can get cold, so wear plenty of layers. Wear heavy boots and some good Browning Wool Socks. Hand warmers are nice. Take a chair or bucket to set on so you’re comfortable.

ICE HUTS

I don’t have an ice hut, but there are some nice portable ones on the market. Back East, you see pics of ones that people make that look like big outhouses. They’ll even have floors and holes in the floor to fish through. They’ll have heaters and the whole bit. I carry a tent heater, or you can build a fire.

It works well to throw all of your gear into a sled and drag it out to where you’re going to fish. Have fun.

Tom Claycomb lives in Idaho and has outdoors columns in newspapers in Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Louisiana. He also writes for various outdoors magazines and teaches outdoors seminars at stores like Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse and Bass Pro Shop.