Bow hunter Dan Pickar breaks down how to shoot big game animals. In part 2, Pickar examines black bear, elk and deer bow hunts. Learn about black bear anatomy and how that affects shot placement and success.
The post How To Shoot A Big Game Animal: Part Two appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.
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That Didn’t Take Long…
Spring is here and everyone is chomping at the bit to get outdoors and enjoy the nice weather. Shed hunting, hiking, fishing, camping, are all on everyone’s minds.
Fresh on the heels of a deadly fall hunting season in regard to grizzly bear attacks in 2018 out West, and on the heels of a liberal judge’s decision to shut down our first grizzly hunt in a very long time last fall, the first major reported story of a bear attack didn’t take long to hit the press already in the spring of 2019.
A 17-year-old out shed hunting south of Ennis, MT on April 7 was attacked by a grizzly bear and was able to deploy bear spray after being pinned to the ground by the bruin. This deterred the bear, allowing the teen to get to safety for his minor wounds to be treated.
This isn’t a good sign for the start of the 2019 field season for those of us that enjoy our country’s public lands in the Rocky Mountain West. Grizzly bear numbers are over the carrying capacity for the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA) according to the plans laid out by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
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Bow hunter Dan Pickar breaks down how to shoot a big game animals. Get a breakdown of archery shots on elk, deer and moose. Pickar closely examines his previous archery kills, what went right and what went wrong. Learn about elk anatomy and how that affects shot placement and success. These hunting tips to better understand archery shot placement could make all the difference on your next bow hunting trip. Watch for the full article in the next issue of Eastmans’ Bowhunting Journal!
Leave a comment below and let us know what your favorite shot angle is!
The post How To Shoot A Big Game Animal – Part One appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.
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Come pronghorn antelope hunting with Guy Eastman on the prairie of southern Colorado. He’s hunting an area known for producing Boone & Crockett bucks. Guy turns up a unique antelope buck with forward leaning horns and the hunt heats up on this web edition of Eastmans’ Hunting TV.
The post Hunting Colorado Antelope With Guy Eastman appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.
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Join Mike Eastman on an elk hunt during the peak of the rut in southern Colorado. From muddy bulls to deep growlers, Mike encounters a wide variety of 300+ inch bulls while hunting for a 350s class trophy. Enjoy this classic Eastmans’ hunt straight from our vault.
The post Eastmans’ Classic: Elk Rut Hunting With Mike Eastman appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.
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Photo taken by Mike Eastman
On January 10th, 2019 Christian J. Cosby of Rock Springs, Wyoming was convicted of the illegal taking of a bull elk from Wyoming elk hunt area 30. Cosby’s elk license for the year of the violation, 2017, was valid for area 93. Cosby claimed to have taken the bull in area 93 with archery equipment, he also entered the elk in a local contest where it was recognized by several photographs as a bull that had lived in area 30 far to the South of area 93. This is where the situation began to unravel for Cosby as Wyoming Game & Fish Warden Andy Roosa and Wildlife Investigator Jim Gregory began an investigation into the details surrounding Cosby’s claims.
Cosby initially claimed that he took the bull in area 93 on September 27th but the investigation revealed that his whereabouts put him in area 30 on that date. As the evidence mounted it was discovered that Cosby had also taken a mountain lion with an illegal caliber rifle as well. Ultimately, he plead guilty to all charges and was sentenced to upward of $5000 in fines and suspension of hunting license privileges for two years. The elk antlers and the bow and arrows used to take the animal were also confiscated.
But now for the real question… does the punishment fit the crime? Let us know what you think.
For complete and detailed information on all Wyoming elk areas and draw information see Guy Eastman’s breakdown in the Wyoming MRS available to Eastmans’ subscribers both in print and digital versions.
The post Trophy Wyoming Elk Poached appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.
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Need more of the best information on Wyoming and Nevada to help you make your application choices? No problem, Guy Eastman and staffer Scott Reekers have been working hard to update the MRS for each of those states as new and more information has come out, specifically harvest stats for 2018. Nevada information will be live inside the April/May journal on Wednesday April 3rd and Wyoming’s will be updated in the same issue later in the month. Why is that important for you? Making decisions on what units to apply for in any state can be a daunting proposition, that is why EASTMANS’ gives you as many data points as possible to help with your decision and harvest data is one of the most important.
I for one would want to know what the harvest was for 2018 before applying for Wyoming pronghorn or Nevada elk so I could base my decision on where the highest likelihood of success lies, not sure I’d waste my time applying for a unit or area where the harvest success for 2018 took a massive nose dive… information is a large key to success out West and nobody gives you better information than EASTMANS’ HUNTING JOURNALS.
This updated and expanded material is only available in the digital version of EASTMANS’ HUNTING JOURNALS. If you don’t have a digital subscription you can get one here https://www.eastmans.com/hunting-journal
The digital editions of the Journals not only offer you expanded MRS content but they bring it to you in a fully portable and customizable format. Are the tables, charts and maps a little tough to read? No problem, with the digital edition you can make them as large as you like. Away from your print magazine and need to make a decision on applying for Wyoming deer? Pull up your digital edition to remind yourself what Guy had to say about the unit you’re interested in. It’s an exciting time to be a consumer of print and digital media as it’s truly a best of both worlds scenario.
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Hunt public land elk with John and Dan Pickar. John is after his first bull elk after decades of big game hunting. The father-son duo has to compete with other DIY hunters, but patience and persistence pays off. After several days of locating average bulls, they glass up a true giant! But they have to hustle before the opportunity slips away. John threads the needle to seal the deal on a once-in-many-lifetimes monster bull. It’s an unforgettable father and son hunting adventure on this webisode of Beyond the Grid by Eastmans’.
WATCH EVERY EPISODE OF BEYOND THE GRID TV!
Watch The Latest Episode Of Beyond The Grid!
The post Dad’s First Bull – Beyond The Grid TV appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.
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Ike Eastman and Eastmans’ staffer Scott Reekers are ditching the heavy backpacks for llamas on this DIY public land high country mule deer hunt. These hunters are retracing the footsteps of Mike Eastman, Ike’s father, in this Beyond the Grid by Eastmans’ webisode. Hunting backcountry bucks with horses is challenging in mountain basins with little water. The llamas prove to be a low maintenance solution and entertaining to boot. Early scouting and patience work to their advantage when a week long hunt wraps up on day three.
WATCH EVERY EPISODE OF BEYOND THE GRID TV!
The post Backcountry Llama Drama- Beyond The Grid TV appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.
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Climb on a helicopter for an archery elk hunting trip! Hunting checkerboard public land takes creativity. Bowhunter Dan Pickar drops into elk camp from above with the help of a helicopter. Armed with a Mathews Triax, Pickar has both elk and deer hunting licenses in hand ready for any opportunity that presents itself. Swirling winds blow an optimum deer stalk, but on the way back to camp Pickar encounters a trophy bull and is quick to capitalize on the opportunity. After a double-lung hit, the bull practically dies at Pickar’s feet on this Beyond the Grid by Eastmans’ webisode.
Watch the latest webisodes next!
Hunting High Country Deer: http://bit.ly/HuntingHighCountryDeer
The post Beyond The Grid- Heli Drop Archery Elk Hunt appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.
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I grew up hunting on public land as a kid and have continued to do so now for nearly 40 years. My family has guided and outfitted on public land, forests and wilderness for decades. I understand better than most that public land recreation is a special opportunity granted to us all. Recently our public lands have had heavy loads of much needed publicity, and that’s a good thing. However, we believe there is another area of our hunting and fishing opportunity that has not received as much publicity but is a very key component to our outdoor heritage; public access on and through private land holdings.
The “Access Yes” program in Wyoming is without a doubt the gold standard for public access programs through a full spectrum of individual custom-tailored concepts such as the “Walk-In” program and “Hunter Management Areas.” Through these programs in 2018 the Wyoming Game and Fish opened up nearly 2.8 million private acres to hunting and fishing access. While that number may be staggering to some, we believe we can do even more and we have a plan.
Through the months of April and May we will donate a large share of the proceeds from subscription sales for EHJ or EBJ to the Access Yes program in Wyoming. For each subscription, we sell or renew during this time, we will give $5 to Access Yes, opening almost 16 additional acres of precious hunting access with each donation.
My personal goal for this program is to open up more than 100,000 additional acres of public access in sixty days. I know this is lofty, but I honestly think we can get there together. I don’t often ask for your help, but I am now.
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The IN-RUT Full Curl rifle has all three of these and more. Each Full Curl tips the scales naked between 6 and 6.5 lbs. Ours came topped with a Vortex Viper lashed down with one-piece Talley rings which made the rifle tip the scales right around 8lbs. This is about perfect in my eyes as it’s light enough to carry in the mountains but heavy enough to shoot accurately which this rifle did incredibly well.
Every Full Curl that leaves the facility is promised to shoot ½ MOA in sub-.30 caliber rifles and 1 MOA in .30 caliber or larger rifles with select factory or custom-loaded ammunition, they’ll even send you a copy of the target your rifle shot as proof. IN-RUT prides themselves so much on accuracy that they will not ship your rifle unless it prints the guaranteed groups. A cut-rifled Match Grade stainless barrel, Defiance action, recessed target crown, custom pillar glass-bedded sporter stock and a superb Jewell trigger promised great accuracy.
The rifle is purpose-built to perform under these extreme conditions and was Minute of Ram with every single trigger squeeze. Very impressive results given the ridiculous conditions I was shooting in.
To read the full review on the Full Curl by IN-RUT be sure to subscribe to EASTMANS’ HUNTING JOURNALS. You can also see a video review of this rifle on the EASTMANS’ YouTube channel, while your there be sure to mash the subscribe button and turn on your notifications so you get all the hottest EASTMANS’ content the minute we release it.
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2019 marks the start of another cycle 2-year regulation cycle for Idaho. IDFG has held 30 meetings throughout the state and offering online comment forms. Nearly 1300 individuals attended these meetings and roughly 3000 comments were submitted online. With that said, voices were heard and due to that, existing proposals were altered to fit the comments and concerns provided by the public. Although there weren’t any major changes proposed, the following is a quick overview of what we felt are note-worthy changes that we expect to become final for the 2019/2020 regulations.
Deer:
Panhandle-Region: The mule deer populations in this area have been stagnant according to biologist data and resident sportsmen, thus Unit 1, proposes a season length decrease to help reduce harvest and stabilize this mule deer population.
Clearwater-Region: Units 11, 13 and 18 will see a substantial quota reduction in controlled hunt tags for mule deer both aerial surveys and public comment supported this measure.
Southwest-Region: New youth hunt in Unit 39! And tag increase from 500-1500 in the controlled hunt. Big red flag for hunter pressure increase. There is a lot of land to go around and 77% is public. I still hate to see that many hunters in the hills at the same time…we shall see.
Southeast-Region: Unlimited Controlled hunt in unit 73 will see a reduction in the NR tag allotment, but not until 2020. Currently NR’s have 35% of the tags the new proposal is to drop that to 15% or 240 tags.
Upper Snake-Region: The past 2 out of 3 winters have hammered this area, hunter reports and flight surveys indicate low populations, the proposal is to eliminate either sex controlled hunts in units 66 and 69 and a 50% reduction in Controlled Antlered hunts for 66 & 69.
Elk:
Elk City Zone-populations are below objectives, the proposal is to cap A tag opportunity at 80% of last 5-year average and reduce antlerless opportunity in Muzzleloader and Archery Only hunts.
Southwest Region: Brownlee Zone, biologist data supports additional bull harvest opportunity, so the public comments suggest adding an either sex youth hunt. I love to see this, great way to pass it on guys and gals!
Southeast & Upper Snake-Regions: Diamond Creek Zone, beginning in 2020 we will see the nonresident tag allocation go from 35% down to 25%. Moving 184 tags from the nonresident pool into the resident pool.
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Go bowhunting elk with Dan Pickar on the public land of Montana. Hunting elk with a general license can be a challenge, but Pickar is up for the archery challenge. Learn some bow hunting strategy along the way in this Eastmans’ Hunting TV web episode.
The post Montana General Season Archery Elk Hunt appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.
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Want your name on the list for a chance to hunt antelope in the same area as the hunt below? Subscribe to the digital edition of the Eastmans’ Journals to have your name entered! Guy, Ike and Mike Eastman have all taken trophy antelope at this location in Southern Colorado and made memories that will last a life time! Make sure you have your DVRs set to record an upcoming episode of Eastmans’ Hunting TV where last year’s digital subscriber harvested a fantastic trophy buck!
The post Win A Colorado Antelope Hunt- Buy A Digital Subscription! appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.
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Stalking down a high-country game trail I caught movement to my right that quickly turned into the chocolate brown legs of a bull elk. He kept coming, closing the distance and when he stepped out at around 15 yards he locked on to me standing in the same opening he had just stridden into. Good thing for me I had seen him first and was ready.
The 30-06 roared and the bull crumpled as the 168 gr. Barnes TSX smacked him through the facing shoulder at about 2700 fps. Chalk up more meat in the pot and antlers on the wall for the Remington HTP Copper line of ammunition.
Remington’s HTP Copper ammunition features Barnes TSX bullets, long known for their sturdy construction, deep penetration and enormous energy transfer on game. The HTP stands for High Terminal Performance and in the hunt above that’s exactly what I experienced. The Barnes slug smashed the bull’s facing shoulder, destroyed his lungs, severed the vessels above his heart, punched a hole in his diaphragm, ruptured his liver and exited just behind his last rib leaving a spray of blood and hair on the aspen tree behind him.
When hunting elk your shots can range from right up close to way over yonder and you need a bullet that can handle either situation as this isn’t just the case in elk hunting but big game hunting in general. For “up close” shots a bullet needs to be able to expand violently to transfer maximum energy for quick, clean kills but it also needs to penetrate deeply to destroy as many vital organs and break as much bone as possible. An awful lot of bullets do this well at longer distances but fail miserably at spitting distance, leaving animals savagely wounded but alive and prone to escape. Other bullets smash through bone and tissue at close range very effectively but “pin-hole” at longer ranges, failing to impart sufficient energy to an animal to afford an ethical harvest. This has NOT been my experience with the Barnes TSX featured in the Remington HTP Copper line of ammunition. The Barnes TSX has provided me with DRT kills on everything from pronghorns and whitetails to elk at ranges from inside 20 yards to over 500.
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COMING SOON a BRAND NEW Beyond the Grid TV by Eastmans’. Hunt Montana elk with Dan Pickar and his dad John. After hunting for decades, John is in pursuit of his first bull elk. This father-son hunting duo is pleasantly surprised when they locate a monster bull! Don’t miss this FULL EPISODE drops Friday March 15!
Can’t get enough Beyond The Grid? Watch more Beyond the Grid: http://bit.ly/BeyondTheGridTV
Subscribe to Eastmans’ Hunting Journals for your chance to win a mule deer or elk hunt HERE!!!!
The post Dad’s First Bull- The Next Episode Of Beyond The Grid TV! appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.
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Join the 2015 EASTMANS’ HUNTING JOURNAL deer hunt winner in Montana. Matt Wold from Colorado is hunting with Guy Eastman and Rod Paschke for his first trophy mule deer buck. A full moon and warm weather makes hunting tough, but a storm front brings the crew some luck in this Eastmans’ Hunting TV web episode.
The post Montana Deer Hunting With The Eastmans’ Hunt Winner! appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.
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Come hunt Wyoming’s grizzly bear infested public land for bull elk and lots of adventure on this Eastmans’ webisode! It’s hard to beat a mature bull elk that is chasing the second cycle cows before the end of the rut!
Shop for the gear in this video at Sportsman’s Warehouse.
The post Wyoming Public Land Elk Hunt – Turned Mountain Lion Hunt! appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.
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Live from the Western Hunting & Conservation Expo in Salt Lake City! Guy Eastman and Dan Pickar cover western hunting success on public land- tag strategies, tactics, and how to get it done!
Shop for the gear we gave away at Sportsman’s Warehouse!
The post Live From The Western Hunting & Conservation Expo: Public Land Success Lecture appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.
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