Hunting

Last year I wrote an article about finding rests in the field. This article is about what a hunter can do when these options aren’t available.

Bullet design and performance is a favored (and occasionally heated) discussion wherever hunters gather. Debates rage, stories are told, and facts presented. Which brings us to the question: What is good bullet performance?

One of the biggest reasons we take to the field every year is the opportunity to gather some of the best, organic, free-range meat available to the public. People in metropolitan areas pay big bucks for a slab of steak that qualifies as organic, but with some planning and a couple of hunting tags in their pocket, hunters like to get out there and get their own.

It’s funny, but the meats we buy at the store just aren’t very flavorful. By contrast, wild meats have a huge range of flavors and some folks just aren’t used to that. You may have had the experience of someone saying they don’t like the gamey taste of wild meats, or maybe you’ve got a deer in the freezer that ran a marathon before dying and just has more flavor than you’d like. This simple spiced barbeque sauce is good for those stronger meats.

The last day of my Nebraska 2018 deer hunt, mid-November, and I had yet to see a mature buck. I also had a chest freezer back home less than a quarter full. So, when a group of white-tailed does step into the cut-over cornfield, I decided it was time to stock up on some venison.

As anyone who has spent much time living out of a pack in the mountains can attest, there are several key items that need to be thought of before one ventures away from the trailhead. Food, water, and shelter can make or break a hunt depending on the level of preparation that was put into each.

There it is! An answer! The best thing an archery elk hunter could ask for. It was a reply to my location bugle, deep down in a nasty Idaho backcountry hell hole.

Both target-panic-stricken bowhunters and those looking to take their in-the-field accuracy to the next level are starting to take advantage of the single-pin system.

With outdoor gear companies churning out excursion-size packs at a fevered pitch, I was anxious to get Sitka’s take on the bread and butter of a backcountry hunter’s gear.