Nunavut Hunting Articles
North to Nunavut: Quest for Umingmak, the Bearded One
If you're looking for the high arctic hunting adventure of a lifetime, consider Nunavut, one of Canada's best kept secrets. Remote and game-rich, Victoria Island holds the highest concentration of muskoxen in the world.
Setting Goals for Hunters
It's hard to believe that another year has come and gone. 2011 is long gone ...we're well into 2012. And with a new year comes hopes of better days ahead. It is a time when the slate is wiped clean, and we have the opportunity to make the new year better than the last. Many of us began 2012 with resolutions. For some, those included plans to eat healthier, exercise more, and hopefully to weigh less. For others, it may have included a promotion, a career change, or maybe the beginning of a new business venture. Very rarely, though, do you hear any of us diehard hunters talking about our hunting resolutions for the new year.
4 Tips for Hunting Late Season Moose
We don't often hear about hunting moose in the late season. An undeniable romance focuses on calling and attracting bulls during the peak of the rut; but what about when all that hormone-driven activity subsides? Where do the moose go and what do they do? More to the point, how do we hunt them in the late season? Allow me to share the events of a late season moose hunt and offer four tips that helped me close a tag last fall. Whether we're talking about Shiras, Canada, or Alaska/Yukon moose, for much of the year bulls are reclusive by nature.
For the Traveling Sportsman
Every year thousands of hunters across the continent book outfitted hunts. Some are booked in their home state or province; others require considerable travel by air. For those with the means, exotic trips abroad are a unique privilege. But regardless of where a hunter goes, the research, booking and travel aspects are imminent. Simple or complex, logistics are a part of the game. I've seen it more than once with first time traveling sportsmen.
Dropping the Hammer
If you're a serious gun nut and you haven't noticed the increased interest in shooting, reloading and hunting with old style guns in the last decade you've probably been in a coma. Rifles and shotguns that haven't come out of the closet in eighty years are being brought into the daylight, getting cleaned off and carried out to ranges and hunting fields. This particularly includes classic old lever action and single shot rifles. I haven't been immune from this old-gun bug myself, as an 1894 lever action in .38-55 is one of my current project guns.
Surviving Mother Nature: Remember the FSFS Rule
Have you ever been in a survival situation? Most of us have not. Would you know how to survive in the wilderness in a crisis? Believe it or not, most of us would not. With the advent of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) we've been lulled into a false sense of security, thinking that we can escape any predicament by following our handy little electronic devices to safety. While basic wilderness survival skills were commonly learned by generations before us, recent generations are much less savvy in this regard. As hunters, our activities often take us into remote areas. It behooves us to learn the essential skills required to survive if we ever find ourselves stranded in the wild.
Camp Food: Eating Right in the Backcountry
There are two schools of thought regarding the menu for a hunting, fishing or camping trip in a remote location - roughing it or eating well. On my recent Alaskan caribou hunt, we ate well - including tundra filet mignon cooked on an innovative grill which folds up to the size of a ruler!
Cold Weather Hunting
Cold-weather hunting is not for the faint of heart. I've seen guys throw in the towel after only a day or two, canceling their trip of a lifetime because Mother Nature dropped the mercury into the toilet. Sub-zero temperatures can make the outdoors a miserable place to be. Add wind and humidity to the equation, and things get nasty. Sure you can always hunt a heated blind, but if you need to brave the elements, some planning is in order. Gear up properly and the cold can be manageable. Venture out unprepared and you may as well write off your hunt.
Six Tips for Better Shot Placement
Hunt long enough and you'll see some weird things. My own list of odd occurrences seems endless. I've seen an arrow pass square through the center of a bear's chest with the bruin collapsing immediately. Then, not 20 minutes later, that same bear leapt to his feet and scampered away, never to be seen again. On another occasion I witnessed a fellow shoot a moose that collapsed on the spot.
Preparing for a Caribou Hunt
You've saved the funds, cleared it with your spouse, and booked the hunt. Your caribou hunting dream is about to become a reality this fall. But between now and then, you've got a thing or two to do. Luckily, planning for an adventure like this is a whole lot of fun. It builds up the anticipation, gives you excuses to purchase additional equipment, and prompts you to visit the range more often. The excitement grows exponentially as that great day approaches.
Planning Your Outfitted Hunt
So you've saved your money and your significant other has granted permission to book a hunt. Perhaps it's a once-in-a-lifetime deal, or maybe you're one of the lucky ones that gets to do it every year. Regardless of your circumstance, a daunting decision remains... choosing an outfitter.
Preparing For The Taxidermist
A mounted trophy is the tangible reminder of a memorable hunt. It's there to be admired on long winter evenings and its there to provide the strength to carry on when the course of events are temporarily rocky. When I look up at any of my mounted trophies, I rarely see the individual animal; rather, I recall the events of the hunt, the people and the places, the exhilaration and the excitement.
Thinking about Bowhunting? Here's How To Get Started
It's probably safe to say that most of us began hunting with a rifle. As our skills evolve, we look for ways to rediscover the challenge. Inevitably we turn to bowhunting. But its not as simple as just picking up a bow and hitting the woods. A learning curve exists. As with any activity, there are right and wrong ways to get started. Suffice it to say, if you're thinking about bowhunting, here are a few tips to help put you on the right track.
Could You Survive Alone?
The man was in deep pain and knew his right leg was broken. While the bone had not pierced the skin, the foot was bent at an unnatural angle. He removed his sheath knife and cut his pants up past his knee, because he knew the leg would start to swell soon. He leaned back on the dark green moss and thought of how dumb he had been that day.
Passing it on: Youth and Beginner Hunts
Bringing a newcomer or youth on to the big game hunting scene is different than doing it alone or with your fellow long time hunting partners. Instead of just getting an animal or trophy being the goal, you are passing on important skills and a heritage. Whether your newcomer is young or old, you are also developing a relationship.
Tools of the Trade
While working in what my wife calls the "sporting goods department", but I call a garage, I received a phone call the other day. "He’s out playing with his toys, hang on" I over heard her say, as a bodiless hand thrust the phone at me through the cracked door. Muffling the receiver I yelled in pointless defense, "This is gear. Toys are for children."
Beginner's Guide to Big Game Handgun Hunting
If you desire to hunt with a handgun, without doubt, you need to do your homework. Many hunters who carry a rifle are not comfortable shooting with a handgun. Indeed, there are many reasons why one should hunt with a rifle but once mastered, a change of venue may be just what you are looking for. That's not to say hunting with a rifle is a cakewalk, it can be very challenging and in the favor of the game sought. When you pick up a handgun and decide to hunt big game, the bar is placed even higher.
What Trophy Should Really Mean
When we hunt we must work hard, we obey the law, we are ethical, and we are reverent. Every animal taken - young or old, buck or doe - is a "trophy". They are gifts of the land.
Big Game Rifle Selection from a Female Perspective
Many years ago when I said I would marry Dan, I had no idea that our life together would turn me into the passionate hunter and shooting enthusiast I have become. Hunting, while a central preoccupation to him, was something I had never done before or been exposed to. So he was surprised when I jokingly notified him one fall day I would accompany him and his friends on a deer hunt and required a rifle, gear, and some instruction.
Hunting Knife Basics
As an experienced hunter, it is always easy for me to spot the newest member of the hunting group who usually has very little experience in the woods. They almost always show up wearing a knife modeled after their favorite action movie star, and, unlike the movies, our new hunter has to live with his or her knife selection for the duration of the hunt.