Hunting and Fishing News Blog Articles

Continued from What Is It With Gear Lists? Part 1

Skill Three: Effective Glassing

So now that I have established that spending time in the hills trumps being #mountainstrong let’s talk about what to do when you are in the mountains. You have to find game to harvest game and in the mountains the most effective way to do that is glassing. Unless you have religiously read Mike’s books and Guy’s articles on glassing you should probably go take a refresher. We all need it and putting Mike’s system into actual practice is a mental grind. But when you find that buck, it’s worth all the effort!

In terms of effective western hunting, “scouting” is actually code for planting your butt on one vantage point long enough to glass up every animal you can find. Eight hour sits in one spot are normal and short nights of sleep are commonplace during the summer. The reality is that we work really hard to get in shape so we can sit in one spot for hours on end.  

The skill here is patience and attention to minute details. Finding a twitching ear at 800 yards through the buck brush isn’t easy and won’t be done in a short glassing session. Learning to glass with the grain of the land and picking vantage points accordingly is paramount. Not to mention picking smart travel routes so you don’t bust every animal out of the country on your way up! Good glassing leads to finding the biggest animals, which leads back to point one, making the shot. You cannot kill what you cannot find.

What is the number one factor regarding successful western big game hunting? Whether we like it or not it is often the results of our tag applications. Now, I’m not saying that being up to snuff on fieldcraft, understanding big game behavior, scouting, gear, marksmanship and even physical fitness are not important, all of these are crucial to hunting success, but the simple truth is if you don’t have a tag in your pocket you aren’t even going to get the chance to put any of the above into practice.

That begs another question, how does one maximize the chances of drawing tags across the various western States? The answer to that is simple, one does research and establishes a plan. As Mike Eastman in his book library refers to it, having “a five year plan” for drawing tags virtually every year across multiple states to keep you in the game autumn after autumn is key to success in western big game hunting. If you’d like to know more about the Eastmans’ Five Year Plan follow the link here.

The single best resource for building your plan is hands down the Eastmans’ MRS Book and Members Research Section (MRS) sections in the back of every issue of subscriber magazines. The information contained in the MRS is the result of over 2,000 man hours each year from the Eastmans’ staff writers and the Eastmans’ themselves, rolling up their sleeves and ferreting out everything from draw odds and point requirements to biologist and game agency intel. The MRS in both its forms magazine and book, arms hunters with the information needed for consistent success in the draws.

The MRS examines not only various states’ tag allocations, draw odds and percentages, it examines data over a three year period, giving you the hunter, insight into trends in the states and units where you are applying. For example, you’ve been interested in a pronghorn hunt in Wyoming but you’ve never set foot in the state and need to know a few things before filling out your application. By consulting the Eastmans’ MRS you will have up to date information on public access availability, difficulty of terrain, buck to doe ratios, hunter success rates, and perhaps most importantly, draw odds and point requirements. By arming yourself with this information and basing your application strategy on what you’ve learned instead of going in blind you are setting yourself up for a much more enjoyable and fruitful hunt. In short, the Eastmans’ MRS is your resource for a plethora of inside information to make your hunt of a lifetime one to remember instead of one to regret.

To make sure you get the MRS information as it drops throughout the year subscribe to both the Eastmans’ Hunting and Bowhunting Journals. However, if you’re the type who likes all your intel in one place and want access to expanded content the MRS Annual Book is the tool for you. With Christmas right around the corner don’t forget the hunters on your list, the MRS Annual Book makes a great gift.

As I walked into the Holiday Inn in Cody, Wyoming Thursday night of November 30th I could feel a buzz in the air. That buzz was coming from the nervous energy that permeated the building from the lobby to the large conference room that the Wyoming Game and Fish Department had reserved for what it anticipated to be a large crowd.

The crowd was indeed large, 176 souls signed the official register for this public forum regarding the state’s management of the recently delisted grizzly bear. As I looked around the room it became obvious that the majority of those in attendance were hunters; camouflage and boots were prevalent as were cowboy hats and ball caps embroidered with hunting logos. However, it was not just hunters who came to express opinions and concerns, non-hunters also ventured forth to participate in what would prove to be an evening of civil discussion revolving around this hot button topic.

The discussion began with a briefing by the agency’s Dan Thompson who serves as a large carnivore biologist out of the Lander, Wyoming regional office. Mr. Thompson’s briefing was aimed at educating the crowd on the various terms used by the Game and Fish Department to center the discourse about to take place.

Discussion and public input would revolve around five core areas; population monitoring, research opportunities, conflict management, outreach and education, and last but probably of the greatest concern to most in attendance, grizzly bear harvest management, or in a nutshell, hunting.

As one can imagine that nervous energy I noted when I first entered the building was growing as folks anticipated heated conversations. Game and Fish personnel had thought this through however and broke the large crowd into small groups by issuing numbered and color coded sticky notes to everyone who walked in. After the initial briefing it was time to get down to brass tacks and the evening entered its breakout phase where the real discussions began. Each small group was facilitated by two Game and Fish personnel, my group was headed up by Chris Queen the Powell, Wyoming game warden.

It’s kit building season until the snow melts for me and this is how I will evaluate my gear list.

In the not so distant past I was guilty of reading every gear list known to man, promptly comparing them side by side with my current Excel spreadsheet list. Then, depending on the outcome, starting five threads on the Eastmans.com forum asking if certain pieces of gear are worth the money and would salivate over current sales on said items.

Then something happened. I realized that my gear didn’t pull the trigger, nor did it power me up the hill. It didn’t practice at the range for the hard shots and it certainly didn’t have the patience required to grind out a three day scouting trip in Wyoming’s toughest country.

These are all things that are dependent on you the hunter. Glassing, being in decent condition and of course hitting the intended targets are all skills. Skills are something to be tuned and then mastered. Knowing this, I decided that it was time to categorize my gear by the skill sets required to use it and then invest money in pieces that would actually help me hone those skills.

Skill Set One: Shooting Ability

Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (MTFWP) advised hunters a deer killed in southeastern Montana is suspected to be positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). According to the Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance, CWD is “a contagious neurological disease affecting deer, elk and moose” that causes “degeneration of the brains of infected animals resulting in emaciation, abnormal behavior, loss of bodily functions and death.”

The deer in question was killed in hunt district 510 south of Billings. “We’ve suspected it wasn’t a matter of if, but when CWD would show up in Montana,” said Ken McDonald, MTFWP wildlife division administrator. “Fortunately, we’ve done a lot of work to prepare for this.” Previously, the closest confirmed CWD case had occurred in Wyoming, less than 50 miles southeast of the kill site in this case.

Because CWD detection requires brain samples from dead animals, MTFWP plans to hold a special hunt after the close of the general season to collect enough samples to determine disease prevalence and distribution.

MTFWP lead disease technician Zach Mills told NBC Montana how MTFWP is working to create, “A buffer zone around where that disease was or where that infected animal was identified.” He emphasized, “If it’s something we leave unmanaged, it’s possible maybe in my lifetime, or my kid’s lifetime, or my grandchild’s lifetime, that our herds could be really struggling if we don’t get our hands around this disease collectively.”

Though there is no evidence CWD is transmissible to humans, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends hunters who harvest animals from a known CWD-infected area have it tested before consumption.

Well, we’ve wondered which state would do it first. Colorado has responded to increased shed antler hunting pressure in recent years by instituting their first ever shed hunting license.

This license is mandatory for any person collecting shed antlers, shed horns, antlers or horns attached to skull plates of animal carcasses that are found in the field, etc. While shed hunting seasons have been established in many western states, including Colorado, to help alleviate unneeded stresses on wintering big game populations, wildlife managers from the Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW) realized that more had to be done to curb the wildlife harassment during key survival periods coming on the heels of the long winter months.

The $40 antler and horn collection permit is valid from May 1 – December 31 and all other antler or horn hunting is illegal from January 1 – April 30. These new regulations are for all public lands west of I-25, and don’t pertain to private land in that zone nor land east of I-25.

According to the CPW, dramatic increases in people afield searching for antlers and horns have displaced big game animals unnecessarily during the key survival and early fawning months of late winter/spring going as far back as 2006.

The open season dates for this new antler and horn collection permit mirror dates by other states, including Wyoming to the north, for established shed antler and horn hunting seasons (May 1 – December 31).

It’s been coming for quite some time now, and it has finally arrived. Price increases in Wyoming may actually have been a long time coming. We have been hearing some chatter in Cheyenne about pending price increases for quite some time now, and after nearly 10 years, we now have them. For the most part, the price increase is in right on the head at 20% for nonresident deer, elk and antelope tags. That equates to roughly about $100 per tag on average, the exception being the “special” elk tag that has risen just over $200. On the other end of the spectrum, the nonresident “regular” antelope tag has increased only about $54.

If $100 more seems to be pretty steep for your personal budget, wait until you get a load of some of the trophy species price increases. For example, nonresident moose has increased by 41% or nearly $600. Wow! That is a substantial bump. As bad as that sounds, just wait until you get a load of the wild bison increase. For bull bison the tag coast has inflated to $4,400, corresponding to a 76% increase. I guess I’m glad my wife drew that tag this year.

On a more favorable note, the nonresident sheep tag only increased by 3% or $68 and nonresident goat only went up a relatively measly $10. In addition, we can all be thankful that at least at this point, it looks like the state has chosen not to raise the price of nonresident preference points at all, which is no real big surprise considering the Game and Fish Department could be making more money on preference points than they are on actual nonresident tag sales when it comes to the limited quota areas anyway.

The biggest question at this point is, “Will this price increase affect the draw odds?” Short answer, I doubt it. Every other time the state has increased prices in the past, it has had very little effect on the draw odds. I think there are just too many people vested in the preference point system at this point and the state knows that. I am actually somewhat surprised they did not raise the “special” tags more than the “regular” tags, as the draw odds have slowly crept together as time has gone on.
See the accompanying chart for the details of the actual price increases per tag. Best of luck in the draws this year, and keep in mind that the Wyoming Elk MRS write-up is in the next issue of EBJ headed to mailboxes around the 10th of January.

-Guy Eastman

Philosophies on butchering and knives are as vast and different as the antler configurations on two B&C non-typical mule deer! One hunter prefers a blade that can be changed in the field, while another prefers a fixed blade which can be sharpened and enjoyed for years.

Regardless of the philosophy, Outdoor Edge has the options that serve every hunter’s knife preference. Personally, I have had the privilege of breaking down multiple big game animals and many game birds with the Razor series knives and will continue to do so into the future. The changeable blade trend has done nothing but grow over the last few years and for good reason. When time is of the essence in grizzly bear country and your knife gets dull, simply replacing a blade is faster and easier than honing an edge.

This year at Eastmans’ we have been giving away the Wild Lite set from Outdoor Edge with various subscription purchases. After becoming so dependent on the Razor series I was reluctant to make the switch to a single fixed blade knife. However, after taking a hard look at the knives, their purpose built nature and of course construction, I was reminded why it can be so easy to acquire many knives! This set has served us well this fall and I know of several people on staff who have butchered their whole animal with these knives only.

The funny thing about knives though is that most hunters rarely behave like they have enough. Taking a look at the full line-up on outdooredge.com and I can see about 10 other options I would be interested in trying. Whether it would fill a hole in my at home butchering set or be a blade that would be part of my bread and butter for the backcountry, they are worth taking a look at. Besides, Christmas is coming and what hunter wouldn’t be happy with another knife to separate the meat from the bone and fill the freezer?

On August 16 we had the typical dry hot weather the high elevation desert is known for in western Wyoming and Brandon Mason and I were chasing antelope. He had the tag in his pocket and I had the responsibility of capturing his hunt on film. The hoody provided a cool experience in the desert heat as well as concealment from a w

This year I had the opportunity to put Sitka’s Core Lightweight Hoody to the test in multiple areas across Wyoming. True to form and the Sitka brand, it performed very well in multiple early situations on several species.

On August 16 we had the typical dry hot weather the high elevation desert is known for in western Wyoming and Brandon Mason and I were chasing antelope. He had the tag in his pocket and I had the responsibility of capturing his hunt on film. The hoody provided a cool experience in the desert heat as well as concealment from a wary buck that caught me in the open setting up a camera tripod as we waited. He never saw me and I was able to capture the whole encounter on film.

I also brought the Ascent Hoody with me to Wyoming’s famous region G for the mule deer opener. I was leery of having the piece pull double duty as a base layer and warm weather shirt for afternoon glassing. On the way to one of my favorite basins the weather took a turn for the worse in a matter of minutes and I soaked the Hoody. After setting up my shelter I was able to “cook” the hoody dry in short order by firing up my internal furnace with a Mountain House meal and coffee. The synthetic material performed well in the high country.

There are very few single items in our homes that protect much of the evidence that we actually exist. Birth certificates, social security cards, payment stubs, bank notes and of course our heirloom firearms, all these end up inside our secure safes. We put these precious documents and family treasures inside the safe expecting them to be protected in the case of theft or fire.

But what about when other things happen? Like a humid climate? Liberty safe has a solution for that too with the Eva-Dry Dehumidifier that takes the moisture from inside the safe and stores it safely to prevent corrosion on firearms.

Paper’s worst enemy is moisture in the air and over time its integrity is worn down when humid climates work against it. Steel rusts and so it is very easy to see why removing moisture from the air inside a safe is so important.

Give the Eva-Dry Dehumidifier a look, it might just be the key to preserving the integrity of some of the most valuable physical items in your safe!

A couple of weeks ago we released an article here on the blog covering one of the more gruesome poaching cases we have seen in quite a while. This spurred a conversation between Ike and I on why we report incidents like this, which of course will continue. Then we discussed whether or not sharing these articles shaped new opinions and prevented poaching, or are we just preaching to the choir? Ike’s conclusion was that we were preaching to the choir many times and based on the responses on Facebook I have to agree with him.

So naturally the next thought was how do we arm the choir? What can we do to give hunters tools to show what to do for conservation rather than just simply take a beating on social media because of poachers?

With this discussion it was very timely to see a few posts from the RMEF on their Facebook feed.

To go along with this, make sure you are following the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation on Facebook. They have been working to share quality information about conservation efforts that net positive things in our hunting community. Efforts to make sure the non-hunting public sees the good we do for the animals we hunt.

At the end of the day it is our responsibility to create a strong enough message for our friends who don’t hunt to follow along and recognize how much we do for the game we pursue. A short scroll through social media and it doesn’t take long to find anti-hunting comments all over hunting pages.

From East To West – Todd Helms

Most of my hunting out West is night and day different from what I did back in Michigan. Spot and stalk, calling setups, still hunting, none of these methods have anything in common with whiling away hours in a treestand other than the patience required to be successful at each. When I took a look at the details the Huntstand app provides it dawned on me that many of them were wonderful crossover applications. For example, I often hike “off-trail” or use game trails when accessing glassing points or hunting locations. These routes are not found on any map and if I want to share them with a friend who has never been into the area using Huntstand would be easy and effective to get them to and from the place they need to be.

I am a journaler. That said, having the ability to use Huntstand to create custom profiles where I can record information and reference it from hunt to hunt is another aspect of this app that is attractive to me. Having the ability to look back to weather, wind, animal sightings, solar/lunar cycles, etc., makes creating a game plan for future hunts in the same areas all that much easier.

The Huntstand App does possess many qualities that lend themselves to being useful to the western hunter. Check out the full features of the app at http://www.huntstand.com/