When asked about his recent hunting accomplishments, Ed Petersen replies with a modest, "I've been pretty fortunate." Digging a little deeper I found out that his success goes far beyond being "fortunate." In five trips, Peterson has killed 10 remarkable animals.

Author: Frank Ross

Petersen poses with his bear.

His caribou made the Boone and Crockett book, but all of his animals are exceptional. The story behind each is a fascinating saga of will over adversity and a commitment to finish a quality hunt no matter what obstacles are presented.

For Petersen, 51, a school vice principal and retired NJ National Guard Field Artillery Colonel, hunting has been a lifelong passion. "I have hunted New Jersey all my life. I started hunting at the age of 10, when it's legal to get a license here. Before that I was a game bearer for my father. I just wish I had started taking these guided trips earlier," he said.

After coming to grips with the realization that "25 doesn't last forever", he decided that it was time to stop dreaming about the hard to get species and start hunting. In the fall of 1996, Petersen set his sites on Alaskan Dall Sheep and caribou. He booked his first trip, and that one has set the pace for all others since. "The first thing I told Russell Selle was that I wanted a quality hunt, with a quality outfitter over big animals, and without exception, all of my trips have been outstanding," he said.

When you make a personal commitment to take a specific animal, living up to that commitment can be the most difficult part of the equation. Many times lesser animals are standing before you, you're exhausted from the rigors of the hunt and temptation to take a sure thing is intense. Petersen is not a man that easily succumbs to temptation. He had passed on three rams, looking for a "pretty" ram without broomed horns. (The broomed effect occurs when older rams rub the ends of their horns on rocks splitting the fibers, which creates an unsightly appearance.) "I wanted that picture perfect sheep," he said. Five days into the hunt, it was beginning to look like he had passed one sheep too many. Time was running out when the guide spotted a group of three rams on a far ridge, and "one was a real hog."

Petersen's ram didn't make the record book, but it was the one he wanted.

My guide worked very hard to put us into position for this last group. He glassed the group then slid back down from the edge and said, "It's decision time." "The largest ram was broomed badly, but the two other rams were definitely quality animals. He told me the prettiest animal was in the middle of the group so I eased up over the edge and took him. I'm very happy with him. It is not a record book animal, but it's the one I wanted. The hunt was tough and challenging all the way, and that's the way I wanted it," he said.

"We had a couple of days left, and I had booked a caribou on this trip, so we went after a herd that my guide had located. When we found them with the spotting scope, they were 2-3 miles away. At this time of year, Alaskan caribou are fairly difficult to hunt. They're split up and vary wary. It's not as easy as when they're filing past in a migration march," he said. Glassing them from that distance Petersen could tell that there were three animals with very heavy top mass, but he couldn't make out any details. "I knew it was going to be physically demanding, but we set out to shorten the distance between us and the herd," he said.

"We spooked them at about a half mile, and they started running. They were running parallel to us along a hillside. My guide looked at me and said, "We're not going to outrun them, but they're headed for a draw. I've got a hunch; it's just a hunch, but I think we can head them off. It's not going to be easy, are you up for it?" he asked. Petersen's answer was quick and unwavering. "Let's go," he said. "It's better than standing here."

Petersen poses with his record-book caribou.

The two took off, laden with backpacks, running down a valley with a small stream. After a long push, they looked off to their right and noted that the herd had slowed down. They were ahead of the big bulls. "Evidently the herd bull thought that they were in a safe area and stopped running. I worked my way up to the ridge and found an opening in the brush and there they were right in front of me. It was still a long shot, well over 300 yards. My guide asked me, "Do you think you can hit him from here?" Petersen answered by taking off his backpack and rolling into position. When he brought his rifle up to his shoulder a big bull stepped right into the cross hairs. "I didn't know if it was the massive bull that we were going for, but he was definitely a worthy animal. At this point he was walking, and I made the decision to squeeze the trigger," he said.

"We stepped the shot off afterwards, and I can't remember if it was 340 or 370 yards, but it was definitely a long shot. I was using the same rifle and bullet that I had used on my sheep. I really like the 300 Winchester magnum, Browning A-bolt with Federal Premium grade 180 gr. Nosler loads. The sheep was an easy 150-yard downhill shot, but the caribou was much tougher," he added.

"When I walked up to him I could see the double shovels, and he was almost perfect in terms of symmetry, plus he was very big in terms of body size. It took 2 full days to pack out the meat and rack. We had traveled quite a distance from the first time we spotted the herd."

The following year Petersen set out after a moose and grizzly bear. This was his first moose hunt, and he took a 375 H&H magnum Browning A-bolt. "I really like this rifle because of the detachable magazine. I don't like loose ammo in my pocket, and the magazine is very handy, he said." For this hunt, Petersen chose the 300 grain Nosler partition load.

Petersen adds a moose to his list of trophies.

Weather is always a factor in hunting, and after spending several days in a spike camp tent, Petersen was ready for action. "We had seen several bulls, but lost a couple of days to weather. When we located a real nice bull, my guide called him in to about 18 yards. He came out of the brush, and when I saw him his rack looked like a radar dish. The bull was coming hard. My guide said shoot him, shoot him now, but I didn't have a clear shot. When he finally stepped from behind the heavy brush I hit him hard but he didn't even flinch. I hit him again. He still didn't flinch! After slowly turning, he started walking away, and I hit him again. That will show you how tough these animals are. When he was down, we checked him over and there were no exit wounds. The closest shot was 18 yards, and the last shot was at about 25 yards, with a 375 mag. When we skinned him out we found one slug close to the skin, but it had not broken the hide," he recounted.

"This was a real super moose with a 68" rack. It would have made the B&C book if it weren't for extra tines. He has long secondary antlers and it lost out on penalty points, but that's no problem with me. I was going for a good looking mount and he is that," he said.

With the moose back in camp, Petersen started hunting for grizzly. He worked some moose kills and passed on three bears because of the distance. Then things started to fall into place. "We stalked one really large bear to within 80 yards, and I knew he was mine. In my mind I already had him mounted, but it was not to be. "He walked out of the brush I could see that he was a real beauty with no rubs. Suddenly the wind stopped, and he picked up our scent. The last time I saw him he was going over a ridge at full speed. But I have no regrets. "It comes down to the fact that I was not willing to take a poor shot. I have no complaint, it was my decision and I am happy with it," he added.

Petersen's guide offered to let him stay over additional days to try again, but his schedule wouldn't permit it. A black bear was a closer, more realistic option, and they set out in the remaining time to try and they took this one instead.

"We were on top of a ridge where we had been glassing for grizzly earlier in the hunt. It was bone chilling cold. We had our spike tent below a wall of rocks. The tundra looked almost like a farmer's field, with rows of vegetation and barren strips of land. When we spotted some movement off in the distance, at first we thought it was a herd of caribou. On closer inspection, my guide became very excited, and said that it was a pack of six wolves. This was a rare opportunity to find six wolves in the open tundra during daylight. We dumped all our unnecessary gear and started moving toward the pack. Suddenly, I wasn't cold anymore," he said.

Petersen bagged this wolf with a shot over 300 yards.

Hunter and guide quickly shortened the distance, making their way at a fast walk to where a hill tapered off to the plains. In their haste to get into position, the pack spotted their approach. "My guide said, "They've made us. Bend over and start acting like a caribou. I thought he was crazy, but it worked. Eventually they accepted the ruse and spread out to get into position for an attack on our "herd." As the wolves worked their way concealed by brush, we made our way downhill, arriving at our intended cover just as the pack appeared again," he said.

When the pack became suspicious and stopped coming, it was still a shot of over 300 yards. In a prone position Petersen steadied his rifle and fired, but the round fell short. Another round fell short as the pack began to make their exit. With a quick adjustment he spent his last round well. As they advanced on the fallen wolf, another large wolf started toward them at a trot. Now the tables were turned. They both started shooting. "We hit him hard. He spun around, got up, and kept coming. I dropped him at 100 yards. Both were large males, so it wasn't a case of a mate coming back," he said.

The following year Petersen was to book the toughest two trips he would make. "Polar bear hunting is an endurance contest." Hunting from dogsleds, the bumping and pounding took a toll, not to mention the stress of spending several days in a tent during whiteout conditions. "The guides set up a tent for me and built a wall of ice to block the wind. They kept a kerosene heater going 24-hours a day in the tent, and the temperature was a balmy 18°F. That may sound awfully cold, but coming in from a day on the ice it felt like a tropical paradise. They stop calculating the wind chill at -80 degrees, and we were there. We had high winds, whiteout conditions, and just plain cold weather, but it was worth it," he said.

Petersen's hard-won polar bear.

"The polar bear was a true experience. That whole adventure, the arctic experience makes the polar bear special. I'm glad I did it, but once is enough. It was a wonderful experience. I have a survival kit that I carry on trips to light a fire in an emergency, but after a couple of days I realized it was useless. There were no trees. I was totally dependent upon my guides, and they took great care of me," he said.

After a week of bumpy sled rides and tent-time, they spotted a bear feeding on a seal far out on the ice. As they moved closer, the bear evidently decided to upgrade his menu. "He started circling us and making closer circles as he came," he said. Petersen dropped him and looked at his guide. "Good bear" was his guide's short retort. Good bear indeed! With time left, Petersen did what any dedicated hunter would do. He added a Musk Ox to his den.

Petersen's muskox rounds out his list.

A bighorn sheep in Alberta was Petersen's next and most difficult hunt. This spring he added a 9-1/2 foot Alaska brown bear. He called the 50-plus Alaska's brown bears observed on this hunt the most magnificent animals he has seen. followed by an Alaskan brown bear that he bagged this spring. Now what? "I don't know, I'm still thinking about that," he said. All of the hunts I've booked through Outdoor Adventures have been excellent. Gregg is working on some options for me."

No matter where he chooses to hunt, you can be sure of one thing. With his sights firmly set on quality animals, Ed Petersen will come back with a beauty.

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