hunting stories

After 24 years of applying, a hunter finally draws a Limited Entry elk tag in Utah. A big bull comes to the call and stops head-on. Should he take the shot?

Your ability to follow the traces an animal leaves behind will make the difference between success and failure because not every shot hits its mark.

A young hunter gets a hard-won opportunity at a magnificent mule deer buck. It’s a long shot in challenging, windy conditions. Should he take the shot?

Perhaps the only thing better than learning from your own mistakes is learning from someone else’s.

I had just shot the biggest black bear of my life. Thirty minutes later, I shot an even bigger one.

I watched helplessly as the struggle carried them closer to the trail’s edge and a long drop below.

Handgun hunting tends to make every animal a memorable trophy. Although I personally prefer to take my handgun game at more sedate or reasonable distances. Knowing that the XP is capable of making solid hits on game at rifle distances allows me to carry it as a backup for those rare instances where getting closer isn’t possible.

That was one of the furthest shots I’ve even made with a thermal optic, at night, on a hog. My guide and fellow hunters were cheering my shot, and I certainly felt good about it. But I also knew the REAP-IR made the shot possible.

As so often happens when stalking pronghorn antelope, failure comes before success. I was hunting on the vast Crow Reservation in southeast Montana – an area that defines big, open country with little stalking cover – and had already blown one attempt when a previously unseen band of pronghorn materialized and spooked the herd I was stalking.