Hunting and Fishing News Blog Articles

How to tune your bow for hunting broadheads, the easy way! No paper tuning required in this how to tune your bow video. Eastmans’ Hunting Journals Dan Pickar breaks down his method for tuning your new bow for broadhead accuracy in less than 30 minutes.

 

Products featured in video:

Bow – Mathews V3 (31″) – https://www.mathewsinc.com/product/v3-31/

Rest – ULTRAREST INTEGRATE MX – https://www.mathewsinc.com/product/integrate-mx-rest/

 

 

Let’s face it, grizzly bear management is a hot topic. Because it is a hot topic the biggest challenge is piecing together ALL the facts to make solid recommendations. Well, it seems that Wyoming Game and Fish is at odds with the US Fish And Wildlife Service on management plans for the apex predators. 

According to the USFWS Five-Year Status Review the grizzly bear should remain protected under the Endangered Species Act. With this review and the all too familiar 9th Circuit Court review it seems that delisting for the Greater Yellowstone grizzly bear population is too risky due to foreseeable genetic diversity issues.

On the other end of the spectrum we have the states that hold the Greater Yellowstone grizzly bear population who are frustrated that their states cannot manage the populations effectively. This has reached the point where legislators from Yellowstone, Wyoming and Montana have been working together on a bill that would remove the grizzly bear population from Endangered Species Act protections and let the states manage them properly. 

Both the Wyoming House and Senate overwhelmingly voted to reduce the legal age to hunt big game in Wyoming to 11 if the youth in question will turn 12 before the end of the calendar year in which the hunt occurs. For example, if one of my children wanted to hunt antelope in 2021 but wasn’t going to turn 12 until after the season ended, say in late November, they could now legally hunt. 

It’s news like this that makes me even more proud to be a resident of the Cowboy State! By easing up on the restriction that would keep some kids out of the field for another season, Wyoming has created a bridge for engaging our youth in the grand heritage of hunting. There has never been a better time for this than right now. With attacks on hunting coming from all sides we need changes such as this one to help us pass the torch. Way to go Wyo! 

 

The post Wyoming Lowers Minimum Age To Hunt Big Game! appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

More good news this week on the wildlife management front! The National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) partnered with the Mule Deer Foundation (MDF) to support MDF’s Migration Corridor and Winter Range Initiative, to the tune of $395,000.  The grant will also “be matched by $756,000 to implement habitat projects that focus on big game migration corridors and greater sage-grouse core areas.”

It is nice to see non-profit organizations (NGOs), federal agencies, state agencies, media companies, ranchers, energy industry companies, and private citizens working together to manage the complex sagebrush landscape.

In case you missed it, the video is below to a recent film we did on the mule deer migration corridor topic, called IMPERILED. More projects like this are in the works and we’ll get you the latest and greatest information on these projects as they are unveiled.

As Theodore Roosevelt once said, “The wildlife and its habitat cannot speak, so we must and we will.” The Good Lord gave us dominion over His creation to manage wisely for sustainable use. I, for one, am glad to see these joint efforts come to fruition. For too long groups have tried to make a difference on their own rather than work together. Unification under a common cause such as this is necessary for future sustainability of our natural resources.

Spread the word!

Go public land bow hunting spot and stalk style for antelope in Wyoming on this web episode of Eastmans’ Hunting TV. Dan Pickar scours the open country for a record book quality pronghorn antelope buck.

 

The post UNBELIEVABLE spot and stalk bow hunt for antelope appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

2020 and Covid 19 saw hunting participation increase by a significant percentage. While the woods, mountains and plains were more crowded last fall that’s good news for the future of hunting. IF we can hold onto those new recruits. 

Sure, tags are harder to draw and yes, there are strangers camped in “your” spot or glassing “your” ridge but that’s a good thing. Hunting’s future has been dimming for the past decade and we needed this shot in the arm. We also need to make sure those numbers continue to grow, but how? Here’s a list of things to remember. 

Take An Adult Hunting! – Taking kids is great but kids usually don’t have much control over when and if they can go again. Adults, once hooked, can go hunting without the constraints of relying on others as much as kids.Be Nice! – It’s frustrating when you find someone else in your spot or lose an opportunity to a stranger. However, instead of getting angry, try to remember we’re all on the same team and we need to act like it. Help In The Field – Going the extra mile to help new hunters when we encounter them will encourage them to continue hunting. This includes helping them find game, helping them recover game and helping them transport game. Again, these new hunters are our best allies against the forces working to end ALL hunting. 

There’s no doubt that in 2020 hunting’s future became a bit brighter but it’s up to us, the vanguard, to keep it trending so that our heritage, traditions and the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation can live on, benefitting our animals and the health of our ecosystems. After all, as hunters we are more than torchbearers for hunting, we are stewards of the land and animals and we need future stewards who care as much as the past generations have if we are to have anything left for the future. 

Council Report Highlights Hunting License Sales Increases in 2020

(Washington, D.C.) – “License sales were up in 2020 and we’re ready to focus on Retention in 2021,” commented Dr. Steven Leath in response to the recent insights garnered from the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports (Council) research into hunting license sales during the COVID-19 pandemic. Leath, who serves as the Executive Director of the Council, shared the highlights of the study during the 2021 North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference earlier this month.

The Council initiated the study in early 2021 to document the changes in hunting license sales during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hunting, along with other outdoor activities, became a way throughout 2020 for Americans to get outdoors, connect with nature, and escape daily stresses. Now we have a better understanding of how hunters reacted during the pandemic as well. Study results indicate that license sales increased by approximately 5% nationwide, with growth rates varying by region. A full report is available on the Council’s website.

Mike Glover sits down with Ike Eastman and Scott Reekers from Eastmans’ Hunting Journal to talk about wildlife conservation. Ike discusses where and how Eastmans’ Hunting Journal got started in 1987. They also talk about their experiences in hunting and how they compare to today, in terms of how social media has changed how the general public views hunting in modern times. From the perspective of social media, many people only see the trophy hunt photo after the hunt, but they don’t see the hard work that goes into the process and the beauty that comes out of it.

The post Talking Conservation with Fieldcraft Survival appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

We are one week from Colorado’s deadline for all species. For many this is THE state that has been an investment for years, especially for mule deer. Hold your excitement though, there may be a few things to remember that are happening in the fine state of Colorado. 

First and foremost is the massive date changes that have been implemented for hunting mule deer. To quote Dave Hoshour from his write up in the Colorado MRS, “If you have been building points, this is the year to use them.” Second season will run from October 30-November 7 and their season will be squarely in the rut with a November 13-19 season. For more information on this particular issue give Dave Hoshour’s full write up a read inside of Eastmans’ TagHub in Colorado’s Expert Analysis section. 

Colorado is maintaining it’s elk herd and by extension opportunity. In many areas you can walk into a store and simply buy a license to hunt elk during the archery season and many times during 2nd and 3rd season rifle hunts. TagHub has all of these hunts listed, for detailed statistics on every hunt the data is at your fingertips. 

Consider this your final countdown, Colorado’s big game deadline is coming for all species. If you need to research your options, take advantage of the free trial in Eastmans’ TagHub. If you stick around as an Elite member your name will also be in the hopper for a pile of gear and so far we have given away five hunts. One elk, two antelope and now two mule deer.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS COLORADO DATA IN TagHub

Rest easy- Your hunting licenses will not be increasing by 85%, for now.

Keeping with tradition, the odd years in Wyoming bring odd and sometimes tired old retreads of legislative bills gone by the wayside from the past legislative session. Senate bill SF0103 is one such case. This bill has been refined from the last time it was introduced but still lacked any real serious support at the state legislative level. The bill failed miserably to emerge from the senate TRW (Travel, Recreation and Wildlife) committee by a vote of 1-4, meaning this proposal was far from favorable once the Committee looked further into the repercussions of such a bill on the Game and Fish Commissions fiscal responsibilities to the state’s sportsman and the department as a whole.

On a bit of a side note, Wyoming is a very traditional and conservative state by nature. Bills like these have a very, very tough road to reality in Wyoming. When it comes to wildlife related legislation, the state has a very guarded approach to wildlife related bills that do not have the full support of the Governor’s Game and Fish Commission. Wyoming sees wildlife management through ballot measures and stiff-arm legislation as a true threat to their system. I do not see our Governor ever signing a piece of wildlife related legislation without the full consent and recommendation of the Game and Fish Commission, period. The Governor appoints the commission at his discretion for a reason. There are lessons to be learned from the Colorado wolf reintroduction debacle. 

The details of this bill are somewhat straightforward which is surprising for politics these days, but this is Wyoming after-all. In a nutshell, this bill aimed to cut the nonresident tag allocation for big game licenses to less than 10% from the historic norms of around 20%, depending on the species (moose-16%, sheep-25%, deer, elk and antelope-20%). The original bill introduced a few years ago was very simple and straightforward to that change. But the bill quickly ran into a brick wall regarding funding concerns given the fact that nonresident hunters contribute a massive haul of more than 77% of the total licensing revenue generated by the state of Wyoming. In addition, nonresident applicants in Wyoming contribute more than $12,000,000 worth of preference point fees each and every year to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s budget, while resident applicants only pony up an anemic $100,000. Plain and simple, slashing nonresident hunting licenses by half did not sit well with Wyoming legislators, Game and Fish Commissioners, Outfitters or our Governor. The original bill died quickly.  

With the bloom of another legislative year brings another opportunity at a run for this bill as a more refined version including a funding realignment component that would, according to the bill, actually increase revenues to the state Game and Fish Department. This new retreaded bill, Senate Bill SF0103 again sought to cut the nonresident tag allocations by more than half, but also sought to nearly double the cost of what tags were left to nonresident hunters and applicants. In addition, the bill seeks to increase application fees slightly for both resident and nonresident hunters ($5 to $7 for resident, and $15 to $17 for nonresident) alike. The bill would also eliminate nonresident applicants from any hunt that garners less than 10 tags in the quota altogether and would create a $500,000 wildlife crop damage fund with the increased license fees, obviously a landowner crumb thrown in to increase potential legislator support. 

 

 

If you’ve been paying attention to my many rants on poachers over the years you know that I’m all for stiff punishments in deliberate and heinous poaching cases. I’m talking about the deliberate theft of wildlife from the public trust, not about the hunter who accidentally kills a hen pheasant or a sub-legal mule deer buck and reports themselves. Honest mistakes happen but premeditated acts of poaching, no matter the motive, are exactly what I labeled them above, theft, plain and simple. 

That said, I cannot help but having noticed some disparities in punishments between types of game animals. This past week I posted the results of a waterfowl poaching case from Michigan on the Wingmen Facebook Page. It received a ton of traffic and generated a lot of comments, spurring some excellent dialogue. The case in question was most certainly premeditated and a piggish display of human greed as the three poachers killed birds far in excess of their bag limits. The punishments include nearly $20k in restitution, permanent forfeiture of the guns used and the loss of hunting rights for roughly one year. I personally think they got off easy! That said, the day after I posted the news release on Facebook another Michigan poaching case popped up, this time it was an elk poaching case. 

Now before some of you walk away saying, “Michigan? Who cares?” I think it’s important to note that cases like these happen all across the country and are perhaps more impactful in the West as our big game herds produce vast amounts of monetary value for the states in which they reside making losing animals to poaching a pretty serious cut out of local economies. But here’s where my real question comes to bear. The elk poachers in Michigan are serving six months probation, loss of hunting privileges for 15 years (which I do not believe works, these aren’t hunters to begin with), and a $625 fine. They must also reimburse the people of Michigan $5K for the three elk killed. 

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The post TagHub Elite Membership Giveaway appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 33-4-122 as follows: 33-4-122. Big game licensees – reserved requirements for Colorado hunters. WHEN CONDUCTING A LIMITED LICENSE DRAW FOR A BIG GAME LICENSE, THE DIVISION SHALL NOT ISSUE TO NONRESIDENT APPLICANTS MORE THAN ONE-THIRD OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF BIG GAME LICENSES AWARDED IN THE LIMITED LICENSE DRAW.FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, AN ACTIVE DUTY MEMBER OF THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES WHO IS STATIONED AT A MILITARY FACILITY LOCATED IN COLORADO IS DEEMED A RESIDENT.THIS SECTION DOES NOT APPLY TO BIG GAME LICENSES LEFT OVER AFTER THE INITIAL LIMITED LICENSE DRAW AWARDS BIG GAME LICENSES TO APPLICANTS.

The wording is a little ambiguous. Which draw? All draws together? It sounds like all species combined, but then, sometimes wording is intentionally ambiguous, especially if you have friends in the courts.

Here’s the thing. In 2020 nonresidents only drew 25% of the limited elk licenses (26% counting nonresident youth) and only 17% (18%) of deer licenses. They drew only 3% of pronghorn, 10% of moose, 9% of sheep and 9% of mountain goat. So why is this necessary?

This seems to be like passing a bill that no one can drive over 100 mph in your town when the highest posted speed limit is 55. What is really going on here?

Well, for one thing, the current allocation is 65/35 on most hunts, 80/20 on very high demand hunts, so this does cut into the limits, but as I say, the actual allocations are far lower.

This review features Mystery Ranch backpacks product engineer Alex Rich and brand ambassador Sam Soholt. Eastmans’ Brandon Mason sits down with the guys to talk hunting and the how Mystery Ranch’s hunting backpacks developed over the last twenty years. The guys talk custom fit and how the Guide Lite Frame is built to work with your body. Learn what inspired the design Pop-Up design and of the NICE Guide Lite frame system.

The post Mystery Ranch Backpack Review: Over 20 years of mission built packs appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

Go mountain goat hunting in Alaska with Eastmans’ subscriber Gary English. This is Gary’s third attempt at a billy and he’s determined to make it count. He hikes one thousand miles in preparation for his last chance at a mountain goat.

The post Mountain Goat Hunting- He hiked over 1000 miles! appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

Region 1 comprises the northwest part of the state from the Canadian border south to Missoula and the Flathead Indian Reservation. Elk and deer numbers have been on the decline in most 100 districts largely due to the number of predators. DIY hunting is the most difficult here compared to any other part of the state. Sparse elk populations can be found in all three forks of the Flathead River drainage and headwaters. The Cabinet mountains, Swan Valley and the Bob Marshall Wilderness all hold elk. Perhaps your best bet to harvest an elk in Region 1 is with an outfitter in “the Bob”. These are not trophy hunts as most hunters are looking to just kill a bull but it seems like someone takes a 350 bull every year. Lots of wolves and grizzlies reside in the Bob but the wolves have been hunted hard the past several years so your main foe is the grizzly bear. 

The DIY hunting will be a struggle for the first timer on public land in this region. Plan on hiking and more hiking. Find areas above treeline during archery season, glass what you can and chase bugles if possible. This is thick country so glassing isn’t always effective. Be prepared to beat the brush and struggle. 

The Flathead River drainages have a lot of alder, mountain maple and other brush that makes navigation difficult. Stick to old logging roads, logging units and ridgelines if you plan on traveling or south and west facing slopes where brush may be a little more sparse. Logging units are often the best feed in really thick country so always check them, especially during rifle season. The Bob Marshall Wilderness portion of the Flathead River system is the best elk habitat. 

The Cabinet Mountain area and the far northwest portion of Region 1 is similar to the Flathead River system with plenty of public access and not many animals. Lots of alder, devils club, ferns, and brush that make traveling extremely difficult. Stick to trails and logging roads. Check the burns and alpine during archery season or early in rifle on a year that doesn’t have snow. 

The Clark Fork River system offers a little better elk country and there are better numbers in the regions than further north. Logging units are common, as are burned areas, which provide the best elk habitat. There are a high density of predators here as well but the habitat is a little better overall than most of Region 1. 

The Council to Advance Hunting and Shooting Sports tracked data from more than 40 state fish and wildlife agencies and reviewed monthly license sales for residents in 2019 and 2020. You guessed it, sales soared in 2020 as people turned to the outdoors to escape the pandemic. The agency reviewed monthly sales data which proved that there was a 5% increase in hunting license sales in 2020. Resident sales increased 5.4% and nonresident sales increased 1.6% during the same time period. 

They saw initial license sales fallout in March when the Covid lockdown began, which is expected because a lot of states banned out of state sales. Sales picked up throughout the summer when restrictions were lessened and eased up in the fall. 

We saw this in the western states too. For example, there were 103,000 people with elk preference points in Wyoming in 2019 and that number rose to roughly 124,000 in 2020. That’s a whopping 21,000 additional applicants in the system which pencils out to a 17% increase!! Holy smokes! 

Reports I’ve heard from other places in 2021 show that applications are up 20% from this time that last year. These are incredible numbers and acquiring tags through the draw is going to be more and more difficult for all of us. The western states are going to have to begin to brainstorm on how to handle this giant influx of applicants in the coming years as state systems become more stressed. 

I expect 2021 to be no different across the board but it is early in the year so we will see how sales progress throughout the year as it seems that covid restrictions seem to be easing in most states. Or heck, who knows, maybe as covid restrictions ease and businesses open back up, bars will see the largest surge in participation in 2021!

Bow hunt for a record book caribou with Guy Eastman in this classic web episode of Eastmans’ Hunting TV. Guy travels with his brother Ike Eastman for a caribou bow hunting adventure in the Northwest Territories. This is one of Ike’s first bow hunts! Two caribou bow hunts in one episode. Guy’s caribou was a Pope & Young standout and currently sits number 3 all-time.

 

The post Bow Hunting Caribou – Guy Eastman’s Pope & Young Bull appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

House Bill 468 is simple and to the point. It would allow hunting bears with hounds in Montana through July 31st. Plain and simple. There are a lot of ways this could be taken by residents of Montana and I’m sure there will be feedback from all over the spectrum. I think this could be good for the state in the regard of management. For example, Idaho allows using hounds for bear harvest in a lot of areas but I see it as a direct management tool. In some areas ground cover and vegetation make it virtually impossible to harvest enough bears each year to help out the ungulate populations. Yes, baiting is allowed in Idaho but it can be very difficult to harvest a mature bear over bait. 

For me, I don’t have an interest in harvesting a bear over bait but it is a great management tool and a good way to introduce kids to hunting and educating them about bears. While I don’t see that baiting will ever be legalized in Montana, hound hunting would be a good management tool and another exciting way to introduce kids into hunting. 

There is a page on Facebook I keep tabs on called Yellowstone Bears. This page harbors many “bear lovers” that voice their sometimes violent opinions. There was a thread started (now removed) bashing this bill and how it is totally unacceptable. The consensus there was that hound hunting is just a way for hunters to be lazy and rely on the dogs to do the work making it easy for them to harvest a bear and take all the glory while pumping up their ego.

 As most hunters know, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. These folks do not and will not accept and understand wildlife management and the importance of harvesting predators if you’re going to have an ungulate harvest as well. The moral of the story is that it will be hard to win over the general public without understanding a bill like this, so hopefully some education can come out of it as well.

There will be a lot of opposition and it will be hard to manage in grizzly bear country but could be used as a vaualble management tool in some areas. I am a huge proponent of spot and stalk bear hunting, it is what I personally enjoy in more open country units of the state. But I can also see the benefits of hound hunting and how it could be a great tool along the Montana/Idaho border and many other portions of the state where spot and stalk bear hunting is very difficult or nearly impossible.

PC: Jim Clark USFWS

Love it or hate it, the Mexican Gray Wolf continues to grow and be a priority for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the states of Arizona and New Mexico. In a study spanning 2020 and 2021 thus far, an interagency team has accounted for a minimum of 163 wolves roaming the landscapes of Arizona and New Mexico, with 72 in Arizona and 114 in New Mexico. These are minimum numbers but even as such, they show the population has doubled in size over the last five years. 

Other interesting notes from 2020 include… 

There were a minimum of 46 packs (including new pairs) documented at the end of 2020: 29 in New Mexico and 17 in Arizona, plus five single wolves in Arizona. A wolf pack is defined as two or more wolves that maintain an established territory. By comparison, there were a minimum of 42 packs at the end of 2019.A minimum of 124 pups were born in 2020, with at least 64 surviving until the end of the year (a 52% survival rate). The average survival of Mexican wolf pups is around 50%.The IFT recorded a minimum of 20 breeding pairs (12 in New Mexico, eight in Arizona) with pups in 2020.There were 96 collared wolves in the wild at the end of the year, which is slightly more than 50% of the wild population. These radio collars use satellite technology to accurately record wolf locations on a frequent basis. Biologists on the IFT use this information to gain timely information about wolf behavior in the wild and assist with management of the wild population.The IFT documented 29 mortalities in the wild population of Mexican wolves in 2020, which is similar to the mortality rate in 2019 given the growing population.This year’s survey represents not only an all-time record number of wolves in the wild but also the most ever breeding pairs, wild packs, pups born in the wild, and pups surviving to the end of the year.

This is all well and good and while wildlife managers pat each other on the back, wolves are wolves and continue to spur debate across their range about the social desirability of having, maintaining and growing apex predators. Doubling Mexican wolf populations, while exciting to some people is at the same time deeply disturbing to others. 

While I don’t think there is an easy answer to the wolf conundrum I do think they are here to stay. The only question that remains is what that looks like for the future of ungulate game animals in the Southwest.

This bow review features Bear Archery’s Redemption EKO. This bow is new for 2021 and Eastmans’ Dan Pickar tests it out at his home range. The EKO technology makes this bow 25% quieter on the draw and its built in modularity makes it easy to adjust the bow to different shooters. Dan shoots a few arrows through the chronograph to test its speed performance.

The post Bear Redemption EKO Detailed Bow Review appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.