Hunting and Fishing News & Blog Articles

Arizona poachers Blake Owens and Thomas “TJ” Purinton have been sentenced for their unlawful, dishonest and cowardly acts of poaching and fraud. But is their punishment enough? Unfortunately, these clowns will most likely never see the inside of a jail cell and only have their hunting rights revoked for 10 years. 

I say this is complete garbage! People like these glory seeking, ego-maniacal clowns won’t stop taking from the honest and hard working hunters of Arizona. They will simply get better at poaching. They will be recidivists, mark my words. We will most likely never see their names or hear about them again but the wildlife of Arizona will and honest hunters will suffer the consequences sewn by men like Owens and “TJ” Purinton. 

It is beyond time to get tougher on criminals like Owens and Purinton. I say never hunt again, never own a firearm again, lifetime probation with electro-shock GPS chips implanted in their bodies so the authorities can monitor their every move and when they even glance at an elk or mule deer they get a jolt that reminds them of their past transgressions so violently that their eyes cross, they involuntarily vomit and once recovered from the electro therapy they never want to even hear the word “venison” or “antler” ever again. 

Obviously I’m upset about what these clowns have done. Obviously the paragraph above is vitriol. But isn’t it time that we as honest hunters demand more from our justice system for convicted poachers than monetary fines and weak suspensions of hunting privileges? Why not make the poaching of game a felony, plain and simple. No pleas, no agreements, just a straight up old fashioned felony complete with prison time, lifetime hunting and weapons bans and lifelong probation. While we are at it we could use convicted poachers as laborers for habitat improvement projects, public lands projects… you name it, make them “pay it back” in a meaningful way that benefits both the citizens they’ve stolen from and the wildlife they’ve exploited. 

I’m not talking about throwing the book at someone who has made an honest mistake and deserves some grace. I’m talking about hard nosed punishment aimed at true poachers. I mean, they shoot guys like this in Africa! 

Go sign up at the LINK BELOW for a chance at the best spotter on the market! This has been field-tested and approved by the Eastmans’ Hunting Staff!

TagHub Free Trial And Summer Giveaway

***MUST BE A TagHub SUBSCRIBER TO BE ELIGIBLE TO WIN***

The post Eastmans’ TagHub Giveaway With Sig Sauer! appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

Fitting right in line with most other western states, Wyoming was not alone in seeing more applicants than normal this year for big game draw hunts. For the most part, this was a record setting year in Wyoming in many respects. 

To start with, the Wyoming elk draw saw an actual decrease in applications this year for nonresident hunters. Mostly due to the deadline falling right smack in the middle of the Covid shutdown. For the first time in years nonresident applicants for elk actually dropped by roughly 9% for the 2020 hunting season. Resident applications however have continued to skyrocket and elk was no exception this year with an increase of 8.3% versus last year for Wyoming resident bull elk tags. 

If you were lucky enough to draw your favorite bull elk license as a nonresident hunter this year, don’t be surprised if you find yourself waiting much longer for the next one. The overall number of nonresident hunters inside the preference points system in Wyoming is literally skyrocketing. To put it into perspective in 2017, only three short years ago, there were a total of 67,256 nonresident applicants with elk preference points inside the Wyoming draw computer system. Contrast that to this year, for the 2020 application season there were over 103,000 applicants all vying for roughly the same amount of nonresident bull elk tags. This is a net increase of more than 54%! To say the Wyoming system is being overloaded with applicants could be the understatement of the week. 

The pronghorn draw saw roughly a 10% decrease in buck tags for this year versus 2019, while applications increased by 7.2%. As a result, the antelope left-over list is as anemic as ever this year with a total decrease of nearly 26% in available leftover permits. There’s no question, hunting for a buck antelope in Wyoming this year will be more appreciated than ever as the opportunities have continued to shrink. 

Up next for our TagHub Giveaway is an F1 Mainframe from Eberlestock. Click the LINK BELOW to get your name in the hat for a chance to win!

MUST SUBSCRIBE TO GET ENTERED
https://taghub.eastmans.com/subscribe/taghub-free-trial-summergiveaway/

The post Eastmans’ TagHub Giveaway with Eberlestock! appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

To produce big results on big mule deer, scouting or locating a buck ahead of time is one of the most effective tools to bringing home a big deer. Scouting and locating deer through the fall months is almost an art form. Learning where and how to look as the fall season changes can improve your outcomes drastically. 

It’s important to remember a few key points no matter when you find yourself scouting for big bucks. First and foremost, get the absolute best optics you can afford, particularly when it comes to a spotting scope, even if you have to borrow one. A top quality, high-end spotter should extend your effective glassing range to well beyond two miles on bucks under perfect conditions. Next, always utilize the shadows and cover. I always try to glass from a shady spot and in front of an obstruction like a stump or deadfall log. This will allow you to move around more freely without a big buck picking you off from across a canyon. And always remember, big bucks can be very, very smart. When and if that sixth sense kicks in, he can change up his routine or disappear in the dead of night putting you back to square one. For this reason, try not to get too close to a pre-scouted buck; a thousand yards or more is the safest bet in my experience. Anything under 500 yards is just too risky and can be a recipe for disaster. 

Late Summer – Scouting on the Red – Hands down, the best way to inventory your deer area is to scout the bucks during the final weeks of summer, which my dad and uncles always called “scouting on the red.” 

The prime weeks for scouting this phase are generally the final few weeks of August. The advantages here are bucks with their red summer coats glowing in the sun, bachelored-up bucks giving you more of an idea of what the area has to offer, and a green landscape that pops animals off the steep hillsides like beacons. The bucks’ racks should be just about fully grown by the 10th of August in most areas, giving you a very good idea of what a buck is to become. 

The best strategy here is to get on a high point with the sun at your back and cover country both with boot and glass. Generally speaking, the south slopes will be too hot this time of year and the north slopes too thick, leaving a prospective hunter to glass east and west. I usually try to glass the west slopes in the morning and the east slopes in the evening. The key factor with this technique is to find the glassing sweet spots, the places that expose the best and most country from one vantage. Next, get the best glass you can afford, you’re going to be living behind it for hours on end. A high-quality 80mm spotter with a very solid tripod is usually the best tool to have on hand. The final step is to get comfortable and be thorough. Make sure to utilize the first and final hours of daylight each and every day. 

Big bulls! Join Guy Eastman as he goes elk hunting with four different EASTMAN’S’ BOWHUNTING JOURNAL hunt winners. These lucky Eastmans’ subscribers hunt during the peak of the elk rut when anything can happen and does on this web episode of Eastmans’ Hunting TV.

Get Your Name In The Hat To Win This Elk Hunt By Clicking Here To Subscribe To The Eastmans Bow Hunting Journal! 

The post This Could Be Your Next Elk Hunt! appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

Go sign up at the LINK BELOW for a chance at the ultimate Bipod set up from Swagger bipods. All three have been field-tested and approved by the Eastmans’ Hunting Staff!
This thing will put that trophy animal on the ground this fall!
taghub.eastmans.com/subscribe/taghub-free-trial-summergiveaway/

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

Congrats Winner! You are now the proud owner of a PPQ 45 from Walther Arms, Inc. paired with a Custom Eastmans’ Taghub holster from Ivory Holsters. Be checking your emails to claim your prizes folks! If you want to enter the TagHub Giveaway, you must be a subscriber. Click the LINK BELOW for more on how to enter! Good luck.

TagHub Free Trial And Summer Giveaway

The post Eastmans’ TagHub Walther Giveaway Winner! appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

Tag a buddy that needs a new gym!!Up next for our TagHub Giveaway is an Off-Grid package of awesome products from Sorniex Exercise Equipment! Click the LINK BOLDED TEXT BELOW to get your name in the hat for a chance to win!

TagHub Free Trial And Summer Giveaway

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

Eastmans’ Staffer, Brian Barney, goes bow hunting mule deer with his heavy backpack in the high country. Brian is the host of Eastmans’ Elevated podcast. He puts his public land hunting skills to test on this DIY deer hunt. Brian has to work around other hunters on this web episode of Eastmans’ Hunting TV.

The post INTENSE! Backpack Bow Hunting High Country Deer appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

With the QuietKat E-Bike you still have to pedal but they use a small battery to help power you up hills and ease extreme mileage. With the range of 20-50 miles on one battery, the Apex will be able to take you to and from on any backcountry adventure, no doubt.  These e-bikes are classified under federal law to adhere to the same rules as bicycles. Every state is different so read your laws but here in Montana, I can use my bike on roads and trails closed to motorized vehicles. The only place I cannot use it is in the wilderness. I really feel like this is one of the biggest new innovations for hunters. You can lay down tens of mountain miles with ease. These to me are better than four-wheelers and motorbikes because you can use them in more places, such as trails and closed roads.

These things pedal like a dream and before you know it you are deep into country and separated from hunting pressure. Now, I know you hardcore bike guys will be upset with these things being used on your same trails and classified the same but those are the rules. I am one of you guys that loves bikes and using them in hunting but if you can’t beat them, join them. I have been trying out the QuietKat and it just amazes me how many miles I can put on with this thing, they are a huge advantage!

If you have any interest in adding this piece of equipment to your hunting arsenal this fall, boy does Eastmans’ TagHub have an offer for you. Rather than spending an estimated value of $4,904 on one, subscribe to Eastmans’ TagHub for $9.99 a month to get entered! Eastmans’ TagHub has partnered with QuietKat e-bikes to bring you a giveaway like no other. At only 80 lbs paired with the Tektro 4- Piston Hydraulic Suspension, the Apex is the ultimate backcountry bike. The Kenda Juggernaut Tires on this bike is far from what I had anticipated. The grip power on these tires makes for easy navigation through any terrain you might find yourself in while on a backcountry hunt. The load capacity is placed at 325 lbs. – far from anything a person should be carrying on a bike that is sane. But having the capability to throw an elk quarter on your back to make trips back and forth is a huge advantage. The QuietKat Apex is up for grabs and with a click of a button, as a TagHub Subscriber, not only are you signed up for the QuietKat giveaway, but you are also in the drawing for over $16,000 worth of total gear!   CLICK HERE TO GET SIGNED UP.

The post Pedal Your Way Up The Trail! appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

Is there a best time to be in the field with a stick and string pursuing a trophy bull elk? There definitely is for deer. What about elk?  

Pope and Young Records for Elk

To find out, I went to Pope and Young Club’s record book online. I wanted to look at monster bulls taken with a bow and I consider 350 and better a huge bull. So, I asked for all bulls over 350 gross in the 11 western states taken since 2000. 

Here’s the breakdown by state. 

I don’t know about you, but the number of entries from Oregon and Washington surprised me by being larger than expected and Idaho came in with fewer than I would have thought, only third from last. California is the sliver of blue in the corner and like the other coastal states, only looks at Rocky Mountain typical elk. 

Eastmans’ Staffer, Brandon Mason, reviews the Cell Link by Spypoint. The Cell Link can be set up to turn most non-transmitting trail cameras into smart cameras. Combined with Spypoint’s free app, the Cell Link will send photos straight to your smartphone! And it’s ONLY $59.99!!!

The post Spypoint Cell Link Review appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

With the fall quickly approaching, it is imperative that we all keep informed of state and federal regulation changes, especially during a weird year like 2020 with COVID-19 changing most of our lives in some way.

A friend of mine recently postponed his much anticipated Alaska moose trip for this fall due to Alaska’s regulations on those entering their state.  The charter service sent them a letter with this in it:

Do yourself a favor and check in on the states you are planning to hunt this fall.  2020 has been a weird year, to say the least.  Don’t let it ruin your hunting plans and your favorite time of year.  

Get prepared. Stay prepared. Hunt hard!

The post 2020 Hunting Season Update – Alaska COVID Restrictions appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

Learn how to use Eastmans’ TagHub to find the hunting areas that have the most hunting pressure. If you didn’t draw that limited license you were hoping for, don’t be discouraged! You can use TagHub to maximize your OTC or general hunting license by locating and avoiding areas with higher numbers of hunters.

The post Find the BEST OTC Hunting Areas with Eastmans’ TagHub appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

As I’ve said many a time, hunting antelope and hunting big antelope are two very different things. To find the biggest buck in your area, you are going to have to put in the time, cover tons of country, glass boatloads of bucks and be very patient and methodical in the process. Just finding antelope in your area is usually a relatively straightforward proposition but finding a really big buck, not so much. Glassing and covering massive amounts of country is the best technique to start off with. Locating and keeping tabs on the biggest buck in your area is where most of the challenge lies. 

Pre-Scouting – The first order of business for me when scouting antelope is to get the lay of the land in general. This can be done a number of different ways and I usually find myself employing most if not an all of the above strategy my first time into an area. 

The best place to start is the state hunting proclamations and Google Earth or the onX Hunt app. This gives me a good idea of what the area looks like from a satellite imagery and aerial photography perspective. Here I am looking at three criteria mostly. First off, I want to know where the boundaries for the area lie, are they roads, ridges or creek drainages? More on this later. The next area I am targeting and making note of are the water sources. Contrary to most conventional thinking, antelope are not camels. They need water and lots of it. A rutting buck needs to hit a water source at least once and sometimes even twice daily, about the same as a bull elk. For some perspective, a desert mule deer buck will water up only half as often. The third and final areas I am looking for are big sage flats or open country that are near water and contain some deeper brush and/or coulee cuts close by. For some reason, big rutting bucks always tend to find areas that have a few good places to hide out if necessary due to hunting pressure or pressure from competing bucks for a hot doe. After I have located and marked these areas of primary interest on my map or onXmap application, I am ready to head afield. 

Covering Country – Once in country, I like to get an idea of what the unit looks like in person. For some weird reason, a piece of country never quite looks the same on the computer as it does in person. I want to explore the entire unit quickly and easily. This usually means, driving the borders of the unit or as much of it as possible. This gives me a good idea of what types of country and access I have available to hunt. A quick two or three-hour tour around the unit with my phone in hand, pushing me the public and private land access on my onXmap app and I can quickly get a good judge on the area and the access for the unit. This further narrows down my search for a big buck. It can be hard to explain in words, but once you do this enough, you will just get a feeling or a hunch of where the best places to start will be. Couple that with your online, at-home research and you should have a pretty solid game plan for the next morning’s hunt. I usually try to have between four and six areas to concentrate my efforts on initially. Most of the time these revolve around roads or road systems. 

As I travel around the unit, I also find myself nearly beyond meticulous about noting large tracts of hard-to-access public land, water sources that have water in them at the time, and antelope densities. Some areas will just have higher antelope densities than other parts of the unit. There are some very specific tips and methods that can help you turn up a monster buck that most hunters will have a hard time finding. Here are a few of the specifics on those processes and methods. 

How to get new hunting gear?! It’s easy! Become a member of Eastmans’ TagHub and get in our summer gear giveaway. We are giving out over $16,000 in hunting gear from brands like Sitka Gear, QuietKat, Howa, Walther, Eberlestock, YETI, Sig Sauer, Sorinex, Seek Outside, Alaska Guide Creations, Bowtech and Swagger Bipods.

The post FREE GEAR! How to WIN BIG with Eastmans’ TagHub appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.

Man has a fascination with and an aversion to fire. We are drawn to the flickering flames of a campfire almost unconsciously. A forest fire on the other hand sparks fear and a sad sense of destruction in most folks. The psychology behind this isn’t something I’m going to delve into here. However, elk and deer love burns and hunters need to know the best way to pluck a trophy from amongst the charred trunks and scattered ashes. 

I think most people know that hunting burns out West can be a great tactic but what many don’t understand is how to select the right burns and hunt them effectively. One cannot simply dive into any old burned area and “hunt” their way through it. The fallen and burned timber is not only difficult to traverse, shooting through it is hardly better than through an unburned forest and the dead and fallen timber is dangerous to spend a lot of time in. Not to mention that not all burns are created equal, there are factors that make some better for game than others. 

The Good – “Good” burns are easy to pick out because there is game in them. This is your first clue when looking for a productive burn area. The presence of game and game sign is imperative to your success. Animals like deer and elk are attracted to the vibrant and nutritious young plant life that 2-5 year old burns foster. As burns age and the vegetation in them matures animals will depend on them less and less. That said, Elk seem to hang onto burned forests longer than deer and can be found in burned areas that are decades old. 

Hunt these burns by glassing them from the angle that allows you to see the greatest amount of real estate and detail. Snow helps tremendously as animals in burned timber with snow on the ground stick out like sore thumbs while thinking they are hidden. Stalks or ambushes can be planned accordingly but remember what deer and elk can easily traverse is much more difficult for humans. 

The Bad – “Bad” burns tend to be old (20 years or more) or ones where the fire burned hot enough to scorch the soil leaving behind an incinerated waste land. Burns such as these take decades to recover vegetation and sometimes never do. Animals rarely live in them until the vegetation recovers and these burns will lack fresh animal sign. Don’t waste your time on burns like these. However, if Bad burns burn again before the young trees that are growing have time to mature, parks and meadows can form creating feeding space for grazers like elk, transforming a Bad burn into a Good burn. 

Guest Author: Lindsay Wion

“Trophy hunter” is not a descriptor I thought I’d ever be comfortable with, and frankly a term I’m still learning to accept as a genuine self-label. Alas, I can no longer deny it. I am a trophy hunter. It certainly wasn’t the target of my trajectory when I began my hunting journey almost ten years ago, but it snuck up on me in the most frustrating and exhilarating of ways. The more I learned, the more I observed, the more time I spent in the field, the more I found myself veering towards restraint and passing on animals that didn’t just quite meet the mark.

Hunting was not a part of my reality growing up in urban west Texas. However, I was raised in a family that taught me to appreciate the outdoors and the experiences our natural world provides. My parents introduced me to activities like hiking, skiing and scuba diving. Hunting was something I was clueless about. Like the majority I didn’t give a second thought as to where the meat on my dinner table came from. Anything firearms related was totally foreign to me as a youth. My mom was nervous when my Dad brought home a civil war era cap and ball pistol to display amongst his antiques. The notion of having a functioning firearm would have been absurd at the time! The only exposure I had to shooting and safe firearms handling was through summer camp activities. These cumulative experiences did have their impact. My passion for the outdoors was sparked and really started to take shape when I committed to a wildlife biology program at Colorado State University. At the time, it felt like a decision made on a whim, but I think it was truly one of those choices a person’s life leads them to without conscious knowledge. 

Through my undergraduate education, the value and role of hunting as a conservation tool for wildlife management became apparent. I found myself enamored by the words and legacy of conservation pioneers like Aldo Leopold. It dawned on me that I was amongst a group of peers the majority of whom were like me; lacking any hunting background and on track to enter an industry which relies heavily on consumptive use of wildlife for funding and data collection. During this time I gained some early exposure to hunting. I tagged along on a whitetail deer hunt in Texas. It was the perfect introductory experience to witness. There was minimal suffering and I discovered I really enjoyed eating venison. I felt like a new member of some exclusive club that doesn’t rely on a grocery store to enjoy quality protein at home. The idea of knowing exactly where the meat I was eating came from really started to take hold.

Antelope hunting in Montana is on a rebound after the population took at hit a few years ago. Guy Eastman is hunting for a trophy pronghorn with his friend Rod Paschke in this web episode of Eastmans’ Hunting TV. The pair isn’t disappointed with the quality of bucks they find.

The post An Antelope Hunt Like No Other! appeared first on Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals.