Latest Featured Hunting Articles
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Gettin' Hidden: A Camouflage and Concealment Guide Big game hunting and camouflage go hand in hand. However, there seems to be a myth in many a hunting camp that by pulling on a pair of camouflage pants and jacket you instantly become invisible. Unfortunately, such is not the case. There's actually more to becoming totally concealed than simply wearing camouflage. |
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Maintaining Our Hunting Heritage or the Kiss of Death? ...You Decide "World-class hunters competing for big bucks ... cutting edge non-fatal hunting tour..." (www.worldhunt.com). Outdoor writer Kevin Wilson shares his thoughts on the World Hunting Association. |
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4 Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make on Mule Deer In sock feet, I started easing my way towards what I hoped was the right sagebrush bush, taking painstaking measures to ensure that each step was in silence. As I slipped behind the taller of the two clumps, I caught a glimpse of movement twenty yards ahead. My heart began to pound as I first made out the ear, then the head and body of my prey. Bringing my Darton bow to full draw, the mule deer stood up, as if on cue, and presented a beautiful quartering-away shot. |
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The Scoring Game What is it about antler mass that gets hunters so worked up? I've gotta admit, I too fall victim to the bottom line score now and again. So prominent is the numbers game that it frequently defines our hunting success. |
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Antelope Hunting - Start to Finish Pronghorn hunting is something every big game enthusiast should experience. From the wide-open grasslands they call home to their unique defense mechanisms, antelope present hunters with an appealing set of challenges seldom seen with other big game species. From securing a tag to planning your trip, getting out in the field, locating bucks and closing the deal, antelope hunting is an experience unto itself. If you've never tried it before, its time you started planning your own pronghorn adventure. |
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Game Eyes The ability to distinguish shape and form, light and dark, color and texture is man's most valuable attribute. We amass and dispense knowledge, we record and communicate thoughts, we entertain and are entertained through the miracle of sight. It's true that we can exist without ever beholding the world about us, yet we are what and who we are because we, as a species, see. |
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The Truth about Wild Hogs Crawling on all fours through the nastiest tangled cover you can imagine, I wove my bow through the overhanging branches. Minutes before, my guide and I had spotted a massive Hungarian Razorback grazing through the timber. Anticipating that the huge boar might follow the most heavily used trail, we hoped to intercept him. |
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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. |
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Spring Farmland Bear Hunting From my perch high up in a poplar tree, I patiently gazed in the direction of my bait barrel. A movement to the left caught my attention and within seconds I spotted the outline of a black bear. The animal was standing in heavy underbrush and it was difficult to see how big the bear was. The bear cautiously moved along and within minutes it was less than 20 yards from the tree I was sitting in. |
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Planning Your First Western Hunt The rangefinder read 202 yards. That was far longer than any shot this Kentucky boy had ever taken at an animal, but it was a shot that I had practiced routinely in the weeks leading up to this hunt. I slowly slipped into a sitting position and rested my Sako .308 across the shooting sticks. As I steadied the crosshairs of the Simmons scope just behind the front shoulder, I took a deep breath to settle my nerves. With the bark of the Sako, I watched as my first Wyoming antelope fell in his tracks. |
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Taking Advantage of Post-Season Deer Scouting For deer hunters, late winter can be a bleak time of year. Deer season has closed across much of the country, and the cold weather makes the spring turkey season seem like an eternity away. For the diehard hunter, this is no time to kick back in the recliner and watch reruns on the Outdoor Channel. Instead, there is no better time than now to begin preparing for next deer season. |
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Planning Your Spring Turkey Hunt Planning for a spring turkey hunt can be an ordeal. Everything from pre-season scouting to acquiring and practicing calls, gathering topographic maps and researching turkey behavior are commonplace. Following months of research I was finally on my first wild turkey hunt for Merriam's. |
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The Other Hunting Rut When the word "rut" is mentioned in a conversation among hunters, chances are the discussion will include talk of screaming bull elk, or big whitetail bucks, that for a brief period of time drop their defenses and act like teenage boys. There is another rut out there, however, that doesn't receive a lot of attention. This one affects the hunter rather than the animal and actually decreases our odds of success. |
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Shed Hunting - In Search of Lost Bone Any antlers are always appreciated, but I was searching for one set in particular. Worn by a mature buck, I guessed he would be dropping approximately 180-inches of bone. Picking up the matched set the year before, this year the buck was in his prime. Although I’d only seen him once myself, I’d heard rumors that he was still skulking through my favorite deer woods. I’d made it my personal mission to find his sheds. |
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Hunting's Dilemma: Balancing Cost, Access and Opportunity Forty years ago, when an angry wife confronted her husband about the amount of time he spent chasing wild animals, he could defend his actions by reminding her about the low-cost meat the outings provided. During that era, going hunting usually meant grabbing a shotgun after work and walking out the back door into a neighboring field or woodlot looking for rabbits or other upland game. Licenses were inexpensive and equipment needs were modest. |
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Whitetail Hunting Primer - 20 Things Every Deer Hunter Should Know Most of us cut our teeth deer hunting. The fact is, whitetails are favored among sportsmen because they are abundant, accessible and a challenge to hunt. North, south, east and west, hunters of all ages pursue this enchanted ungulate each fall. Despite the wealth of information available in all sorts of media - whitetailed deer remain among the most mysterious animals known to hunters; and if you're fortunate enough to take a true trophy of the species well, that's an accomplishment. From biology to strategy, following are 20 things every deer hunter should know before entering the woods. |
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Hunting Pressured Whitetails Opening day of deer season may be one of the most exciting days to spend whitetail deer hunting. If you are like me, you are in your perch well before daylight. You have scouted every nook and cranny, hoping that you have determined when and where the buck-of-a-lifetime will step in front of your cross hairs. |
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Bay State Big Buck Bonanza! If you live outside of New England, you probably think that Massachusetts is more likely to produce a presidential candidate than a Boone & Crockett buck, right? Well, guess what? In the last three years the Bay State has produced exactly one candidate for President (and that did not work out so well), but it produced at least eleven bucks that would qualify for the B&C Awards (net score of 160" typical or 185" non-typical). |
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Elk Hunting High-Pressure Areas A great deal of elk hunting here in Wyoming, and other states, is done not only on public land, but is also on lands where the hunter can simply buy a tag over the counter and head off into the mountains. Consequently these areas typically have a tremendous amount of hunting pressure and require different tactics if the hunter is to score consistently. |
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Moose Hunting Tactics To the casual observer who happens to see a moose by the side of the road or in a park, these largest members of the deer family appear large, ugly and ungainly. And, I must admit that, in this context the description is apt. Yet, seen in its natural habitat of hinterland bogs and spruce forests, the animal is graceful and magnificently suited to a harsh environment. Those who have hunted moose know that they can appear and disappear like ghosts, that they can be both timid and bold. Hunting them is more than just a matter of technique, science or art; it's more like a passion. |