HUNTING & FISHING WESTERN
NEWS
SEPTEMBER 2021
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Photo credit: Ryan McSparran
Layering For A
Mountain Hunt By Ryan McSparran Kawdy Outfitters www.kawdyoutfitters.com
oday’s choices in hunting gear are the best they’ve ever T been. Hunters have access to fabrics and technologies that were honed in the mountaineering field. Moisture-managing
base layers, packable insulation, and breathable outerwear have become standards. However, putting all these pieces together, and trying to plan for an unfamiliar destination can still be a challenge. Climate, elevation and terrain vary drastically from one region to another. Yet one thing remains consistent: when you’re in remote mountain country, you must be prepared for highly variable conditions. From warm, sunny days to being freezing cold and wet, you could see it all on a single trip. The key is to plan a versatile layering system that’s tailored to your destination. Here are a few simple tips to building a kit for our hunts here in northern British Columbia: First, organize your hunting clothing into three basic groups: base layers, insulating layers and outerwear. Base layers are anything you’d wear next to your skin, like shirts and long underwear. Insulating layers may include pullovers, vests, and down jackets. Outerwear will include your hunting pants, jackets, and rain gear. As you pack for your hunt, start a list of gear that you have in each category. Make sure each group has options of varying weight and warmth that will allow you to adapt to conditions. Here is an example of a good layering system: Base Layers: ○Lightweight underwear and t-shirts ○Mid-weight long sleeve top and bottoms ○Expedition weight top and bottoms A great layering kit begins with your base layers. We love high quality merino wool for these long, remote hunts. Even after many days in the field, merino wool doesn’t stink like synthetics. It’s also very versatile, keeping you cool when the sun is shining, and keeping you warm when the mercury drops. Choosing high quality materials like merino wool includes your undies. Don’t bring those cotton boxers or briefs for a long wilderness expedition. Additionally, consider packing two sets of base layers (top and bottoms). Bring one lightweight set, plus a set of thermal base layers. This will allow you to mix and match with the rest of your system depending on conditions.
4 | Hunting & Fishing News
Insulation: ○Pullover fleece top or breathable jacket ○Synthetic or merino wool insulated vest ○Down puffy jacket We’d recommend packing at least two different insulation pieces. First, bring a fleece or other warm, breathable top that you can pull on over your base layers. This is great for mild weather or even cold days when you’re working hard. Second, bring a down jacket. You’ll want this when glassing for long periods, during cold weather, or simply for hanging out at camp. Down provides the best warmth-to-weight ratio. It’s extremely lightweight and packs small but is incredibly warm. Many companies now use treated down that’s very water resistant. This is ideal for wet conditions in British Columbia. If you pack one more insulation piece, consider a lightweight vest to add further versatility. Outerwear: ○Breathable pants with a DWR (water repellent) finish ○Wind and water resistant softshell jacket ○Waterproof, breathable rain jacket ○Waterproof, breathable rain pants If you bring one pair of hunting pants, bring pants that are breathable and not too heavy. It’s better to add a layer of long underwear than bring pants that are too heavy and hot. A set of long underwear, breathable hunting pants, and quality rain pants should provide your legs with everything they need on a mountain hunt. Next up, pack a softshell or other lightweight jacket. This will be your go-to jacket whenever you’re not wearing rain gear. Softshells are more breathable than rain jackets, plus they are more durable when busting through timber or brush. A good softshell also offers some wind resistance and limited water resistance. Finally, your outerwear isn’t complete without an excellent set of rain gear. Packing a quality rain jacket and rain pants is absolutely essential here in B.C. When choosing rain gear, there’s always a delicate balance between lightweight, durability, breathability and water resistance. These things are naturally in conflict with each other. A quality set of rain gear that balances these things well isn’t cheap. But it’s well worth the investment... Pay Attention to Materials No matter what’s on your packing list, synthetic fabrics and merino wool are the standards. Ditch anything cotton. Cotton provides no insulation when wet. It absorbs moisture and becomes heavy. Modern synthetics and merino wool wick moisture, dry quickly, and maintain their insulation properties even under wet conditions. In fact, if you’ve made the investment in breathable boots and rain gear, you’ll render them almost worthless if you put cotton socks or cotton base layers underneath. Cotton traps moisture and keeps the breathable membrane from working the way it should. Materials that wick moisture will actually keep your breathable outerwear functioning as designed. Accessories Of course any system isn’t complete without hats, gloves, socks and a few other items. When it comes to socks, high quality merino wool, or a synthetic-merino blend is hard to beat. It wicks moisture to help prevent blisters. We’d also remind hunters do not bring new boots on a hunt. If you’re planning to buy new boots, make sure that you hike some miles in them before your big trip. If they don’t fit correctly or cause problems, you don’t want to discover it when you’re out on the mountain. For more information on mountain hunts at Kawdy Outfitters, please visit their website at www.kawdyoutfitters.com. They offer outstanding adventures for moose, mountain goat, mountain caribou and stone sheep.
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Shocks, Adventure Pro and Tires listed available on Limited Edition models only. Professional riders and drivers on closed courses. Side-by-Side (SxS) models are recommended for use only by operators 16 years and older with a valid driver’s license. Always wear your seat belt, helmet, eye protection and protective clothing. Yamaha recommends that all Side-by-Side riders take an approved training course. For Side-by-Side safety and training information, see your dealer or call the ROHVA at 1-866-267-2751. Read the Owner’s Manual and the product warning labels before operation. Avoid excessive speeds and never engage in stunt riding. Always avoid paved surfaces and never ride on public roads. And be particularly careful on difficult terrain. Never ride under the influence of alcohol or other drugs; it is illegal and dangerous. Models shown with optional accessories. ©2021 Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. All rights reserved • YamahaMotorsports.com
Hunting & Fishing News | 5
E G N A R E IV T C E F F E R U O Y REDEFINE WITH VORTEX OPTICS RAZOR® HD LHT™
Western hunting demands an optic built for long range and the long haul, and the Razor® HD LHT™ 4.5-22x50 FFP delivers. You still get the core of the Razor® HD LHT™, including a stunning HD optical system and rugged build in a hunting scope that’s among the lightest in its class. Where the Razor® HD LHT™ 4.5-22x50 FFP distances itself is in offering more magnification, and a first focal plane reticle featuring the XLR-2 reticle system, which is intuitive, easy to use, and illuminated. You also get our RevStop™ Zero System for a reliable return to zero after dialing in the field, and a locking elevation turret keeps your zero safe.
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When the Air Gets Thin: 6 Tips for Hunting at Altitude
When it comes to altitude, the old saying, ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’ rings true. Don’t wait until you feel the effects of altitude to react. Here are a few tips to help you prepare in advance: Show Up Ready Preparing for altitude is all about cardio. When you’re training for a high altitude hunt, strength is useful but cardio abilities will drive you forward. Cardio encourages a more efficient use of oxygen and that really comes in handy on the mountain. Run, hike, bike and do sprints in your cardio workouts to intentionally deprive the body of oxygen. Stadium stairs can make an excellent training ground. Focus on breathing in through your nose, out through your mouth and manage your air intake to keep oxygen flowing through your body.
Photo credit: Ryan McSparran
By Zach Lazzari and Ryan McSparran Caribou Gear Outdoor Equipment Company www.caribougear.com
f you’re planning a western hunt and traveling from lower Ialtitude. elevations, it’s worth making a plan for dealing with the Popular species like elk and mule deer are commonly
found at high altitudes. Even many antelope hunts can take you anywhere from 6,000 to 9,000 feet above sea level. Not to mention bighorn sheep and mountain goats, which can thrive at elevations pushing 14,000 feet... Hunting at altitude comes with a unique set of physical challenges that will test your body and mental strength in the field. Even hunters in great physical shape can experience altitude sickness, especially when hiking above 7,000 feet. Many of our hunts here in Colorado exceed 9,000-10,000 feet and hunters should really prepare for the challenge when the air thins out.
Get Acclimated Jumping from sea level to high altitudes will shock your system. Whenever possible, show up a few days early to acclimate your body. If you can spare the time, spend a day visiting a nearby mountain town, relaxing and taking in the sights. Don’t hike too hard the first couple of days either. Take short day hikes, rest often and let your body adjust to the change. Short hikes followed by glassing sessions are a great way to acclimate ahead of opening day. Spend time driving roads, glassing and getting to know the area. This type of scouting will allow you to make a hunt plan while slowly adjusting to higher altitudes. Hydration is Critical Water plays a key role in managing your body at altitude. Hit the water hard and stay hydrated throughout the entire trip. In the days before you leave home, pre-hydrate by drinking plenty of water. Then during the trip, start each day with a big glass of water. (continued on page 26)
JOIN US ON THE TRAIL LESS TRAVELED. Photo Rob Gerstner, High Mountain Archery ©KENETREK, LLC 2021
DON’T JUST TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT...
I put my Kenetreks (and myself) to the most brutal test I ever have. In August I went on an exploratory hunt in the Brooks Range. It was a unit that hadn’t had a sheep tag in 15 years. We ended up in over 26 miles with 60lb packs and took a beautiful 11.5 year old ram. The pack out was about 11 miles of sidehill and talus then 15 miles of tussocks with an 80 lb pack. Not a single sore spot or blister. I love my Kenetreks!
JAMES REED, Sports Afield Magazine
800-232-6064
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Josh Kirchner with his Arizona black bear. Photo credit: Josh Kirchner
OTC Black Bear Hunting Opportunities In Arizona By Josh Kirchner Originally published at
www.goHUNT.com
hat is the first animal that you think of hunting when W someone brings up Arizona? Most would probably answer with elk, mule deer, or our precious Coues deer. Each one of these species holds a special place in my heart for hunting in Arizona. We are blessed to have such areas as the Arizona Strip (Units 13A and 13B) for mule deer, Mogollon Rim for elk, and various sky islands in the southern part of our state that hold an abundance of Coues deer. Yet, there is another animal that provides a fantastic opportunity in my great state. What is it? The black bear. A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY Black bear hunting in Arizona presents a pretty unique opportunity. Here you will not be sitting in a ground blind or treestand over bait like typical bear hunting. Instead, you’ll be glassing our desert for these bears as they roam the canyon systems and hillsides while they feed. Yes, I said desert. Depending on our annual rainfall, Arizona bears have been known to travel up to 100 miles in search of food. This will cause them to migrate from their higher elevation homes down into our hot deserts. During certain times of the year, normally between August and October, these bears can often be observed right out in the open feeding on prickly pear cactus fruit. In fact, it isn’t uncommon to see a black dot from miles away on the desert floor with your naked eye. Tell me one other place where you can do that. THE SEASONS Arizona offers a few different bear seasons with varying opportunity. Most of the seasons are over-thecounter (OTC), with the first being the spring hunt landing in late March and running through early May. The second season is the archery spring tag. This tag is only available through a draw in select areas and runs from early May through the end of July. If you are lucky enough to draw a tag, you will probably have the mountains and the bears to yourself during this time. I had this tag earlier in the year and didn’t see one other hunter—even through my binoculars. This is an extremely difficult hunt, but gives you the opportunity to hunt these bears during the rut, which is in early July in Arizona. While there are a few different seasons, the most popular time for bear hunting is the fall. The first of our fall hunts start in early August and end somewhere in the middle of the month. The next season opens toward the end of August and runs through the first week of September.
8 | Hunting & Fishing News
After that, the season will open back up at the end of September/beginning of October and run through the end of the year. Each one of these seasons operate on a sow quota. Once the quota for a unit is met, the season will close the following Wednesday at sundown. Some units close the first week, some never close the entire year. The past two years, my favorite bear unit never closed down. Had I not harvested a bear, I could have gone after these bruins until Dec. 31. That’s what I mean about having a lot of bear hunting opportunity in Arizona. Hunters are responsible for calling 1-800-970-BEAR (2327) before hunting to determine if their desired unit is still open. I believe the reason Arizona offers these liberal black bear seasons is not necessarily because of our numbers. While we have a healthy population of bears, it’s not like our northern friends. In my opinion, the reason is due to the difficulty that this hunt offers. If you somehow harvest a bear in Arizona on a regular basis, then congratulations. That is no easy task and I commend you for it. It took me three years to find an area that I am confident in hunting. Along the way I found myself traversing through some of the most rugged country we have. It is nothing short of an adventure with Arizona bear hunting. ADVENTURE The word adventure makes me think of my first Arizona black bear harvest. I had finally found a canyon that had regular bear activity and was filled with food and water for them. On the morning that I shot my bear, we had already spotted nine bears—all within 300 yards of each other. Each bear was a slightly different color than the last and their sizes varied from cub to stud! After I shot my bear, a sow and cub actually trailed my bear to its resting place. This had me worried. The last thing I wanted to do was go to recover my bear and walk up on a protective sow with her cub, not to mention the other six bears roaming the area. Just getting to where my bear was would prove to be an adventure. I shot my bear from 200 yards away. It took us three hours to get to it. That is Arizona bear country for you. Once we did get to my bear unscathed by the other “residents” in the canyon, we were faced with how in the world we were going to get back out of this hell hole. Going back the way we came was not an option. Carrying over 100 lbs on your back along a wet and mossy canyon bottom was just asking for a broken ankle. What did we decide to do? Head straight up the mountain and scale a rocky bluff, what else? This involved us leapfrogging our equipment and my bear piece by piece all the way up the bluff. It wasn’t my smartest moment, but one that I will never forget. We arrived back at the truck just as the sun was going down. It was a memorable adventure from beginning to end. THE CHALLENGE A fellow bear hunter once told me a story of a gentleman he had the privilege of meeting in the field during one of our August bear seasons. He said that the man had been hunting bears every year for five years and had never even laid eyes on a bear. After some conversation, my friend then pointed out three different bears to the gentleman and right from the road to boot! The man was amazed and couldn’t believe that, just like that, he was looking at not one, not two, but three different bears. The moral of all of this is that bear hunting in Arizona can definitely be a challenge. If you are willing to put in the work and most likely head into some areas that you really would rather not go, you can be successful. Bear hunting here really requires a lot of homework and time behind your optics. In my bear travels, I have found more good spots for hunting other animals than actually hunting bears. Every once in awhile, though, you find a gem.
(continued on page 36)
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email: huntingfishingnews@yahoo.com The entire contents is © 2021, all rights reserved. May not be reproduced without prior consent. The material and information printed is from various sources from which there can be no warranty or responsibility by Big Sky Outdoor News & Adventure, Inc. Nor does this material necessarily express the views of Big Sky Outdoor News & Adventure, Inc. All photo & editorial submissions become the property of Big Sky Outdoor News & Adventure, Inc. to use or not use at their discretion. Volume 18 Issue 5 Cover Photo: Twildlife |depositphotos.com
10 | Hunting & Fishing News
MISTAKES MADE
IN THE ELK WOODS By Anthony Wright
Originally published at
www.goHUNT.com
lk hunting public land in September with stick and string is E a real feat that takes patience along with trial, error and a dash of luck. In 2018, I decided to dedicate a good portion
of my earned time off from work in hopes of tagging my first bull elk with a bow. Honestly, I had minimal real opportunities of drawing back on a bull during previous archery seasons. But my first real experiences of bulls screaming with high chances of letting an arrow fly was coming up in the fall of 2018 since I drew an archery tag for an area in my home state (Montana) known for its higher bull to cow ratios and open terrain, allowing for better glassing to aid in the run and gun/spot and stalk methods. I learned a lot as a beginner elk hunter in the seven days spent chasing screaming bulls. I’m not one to lie about failure; during this trip, I missed two separate bulls and missed one easy opportunity. Luckily, on the fourth opportunity, I walked away with a great bull as well as a baseline of lessons learned to build upon for seasons to come. Mistake #1: Ignoring the wind/not understanding thermals It’s tempting to go gallivanting towards bugling bulls, guns ablazing, ready for war when you hear elk early in the morning. Trust me, I know. The mistake I made early in the hunt was not thinking about the wind as a high priority, which was a terrible mistake. On another occasion, I thought the wind was just “swirly,” which it was, but that was due to thermals when the sun was unobstructed by clouds or covered by the clouds. As some may think they can outsmart the mighty wapiti, rest assured; you can’t. You are playing by their rules in their homes. So, lesson learned #1: Take your time and always make the wind/thermals a priority! Mistake #2: Setting up behind vegetation I was in full camo, head to toe, wind in my face, set up behind a tree with an arrow nocked as a bull was working its way directly to me. What I failed to realize was that while my mind thought I was more concealed being behind the tree to hide any movement, I was actually at a higher disadvantage since I was now bound to one side of the tree or the other. This led to me moving more and rushing off a shot at close range, which led to a clean miss. If I would’ve positioned with my back against the tree and trusted the wind along with my camo I would’ve been in a better position. Lesson learned #2: Trust your camo and minimize your movements.
Mistake #3: Not being more aggressive We had a bull screaming his head off, staying in one spot corralling his harem. For about 20 minutes we stayed about 120 to 150 yards away on the outskirts of the harem in an attempt to pull the bull away from his cows by challenging him with bugles and enticing him with sweet, sweet cow calls. None of it worked. What I wish I would’ve known then is that all of those elk were fairly occupied — whether they were being wrangled up by the bull or slowly feeding down the drainage. We slowly worked our way further down and I was able to get a shot off. Yet another miss (I’ll cover that mistake in the next lesson). As for this: lesson learned #3: High risk, high reward. Don’t be afraid to get in their bedroom and take advantage of the love in the air. Mistake #4: Bad timing and sequence Oh boy, where to start with this one? Learning when to range, when to nock an arrow, when to draw, when to call. I learned the hard way when it came to all the above. In the previous lesson, I spoke about missing a bull, but that was just one of two bulls I missed during the trip unfortunately. The first was due to me neglecting to range the targeted bull. Instead, I ranged the cow that I assumed was beside him. She turned out to be behind the intended bull, which resulted in my arrow soaring over the bull’s back. The second miss was in part to the terrible idea of being behind a tree and rushing the shot. The third wasn’t a missed shot, but a missed opportunity. We had a smaller 5 point on a string working right to us, but because I was gun shy from missing the first bull due to not ranging him properly, I felt I needed the reassurance of ranging the incoming bull (which I knew was less than 70 yards and closing the distance). This led to me fiddling with my rangefinder and the bull catching me, sending him running away, which felt like being caught with my pants around my ankles in church. Lesson #4: Trust your skills and continue to learn the process. One thing I want to become better at is field judging distances to mitigate the need to rely heavily on my rangefinder, which minimizes movements when it counts. Mistake #5: Quitting on yourself After four days of hard hunting, two misses and three missing arrows later, I was very disappointed in myself. I didn’t talk to my hunting partner during the two-mile walk back to camp after the second miss. I barely ate. I replayed the misses in my head and continued to let errors I made in previous days compound. It was a terrible feeling, sure, but I had to “hunt the good stuff” that came from the experiences. I didn’t wound any elk, opportunities were still plenty, elk were still bugling, we live in the greatest country filled with public land and so on. I had to swallow the pill that I was not very good at elk hunting and open up to the fact that I have a whole lot to learn. Once I sat back and pulled myself out of the hole I put myself in, I began to enjoy the journey. It’s not a race that’s meant to be stressful; it’s a new trade to learn that accompanies my enjoyment of the outdoors. That brings me to lesson learned #5: Stay positive, no matter how terrible things may seem and enjoy the moment. I learned from these experiences more than any video I’ve watched or articles I’ve read. You can take away a lot of information from those sources no doubt, but getting your hands dirty in the field through personal failures, defeats and triumphs is where it all comes together. Boots on the ground in elk country will teach you more than this article will, but like articles I’ve read in the past, they can be used as things to do or not to do when you head out next. I went into the hunt thinking I knew how it would all pan out, but the instance when the first bull was screaming at 40 yards in my face, all that internet intelligence went out the window. One of the most rewarding takeaways from any hunting is lessons learned from both failures and successes.
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Hunting & Fishing News | 11
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The Science Behind The Mule Deer Rut By Dave Loescher Originally published at
www.goHUNT.com
Cold weather increases deer movement, but it’s not the pure driver of the rut. Photo credit: Brady Miller
“If the weather is cold, then the rut will be on fire!” This is the statement heard over and over every year. Most hunters do not realize that the cold temperatures are not what starts or drives the mule deer rut. Cold weather is beneficial to keeping deer on their feet and on the move, making them easier to spot. Hunting active deer is always more exciting than lethargic deer hidden in shady, cool places. Yet, contrary to popular belief, the cold weather is not what kicks off the rut. WHAT REALLY STARTS THE RUT? The truth is that photoperiod is the driver of the rut. Photoperiodism is defined as the physiological reaction of organisms to the length of day or night. In other words, the length of daylight experienced over a 24 hour period. This is the primary factor in determining the breeding season at a given latitude. Near the equator, where the length of day doesn’t vary much, fawns can be dropped in any month of the year. At latitudes like ours in the West, photoperiod follows the same pattern year after year and the rut is triggered at about the same time... Amount of daylight in 24 hour period
State Month Oct Oct Nov Nov Dec Dec Jan This article was a collaborative effort by Dave Loescher and Brady Miller. Photo credit: Shutterstock
E
very year it seems that mule deer hunters are divided into two camps: the early season high country velvet enthusiasts and the late-season hunters with hopes of capturing the excitement of the peak rut. Each hunting extreme has its distinct advantages and disadvantages. Although the early season high country craze is hitting its stride in popularity (thanks to growing swarms of ambitious hunters wanting to become known as backcountry experts), the late season rut hunts will always be the most coveted of mule deer seasons. HUNT WHILE THEIR DEFENSES ARE DOWN Late season rut hunts find otherwise cagey bucks letting down their defensive instincts. This is the time when bucks Photo credit: Shutterstock are clearly most vulnerable as well as most active in daylight hours. This short period of intensive rut activity averages roughly ten days and has become the reason for many hunters to amass double-digit bonus points in an effort to get one chance to hunt large, swollen necked bucks void of their wits.
12 | Hunting & Fishing News
15
31
15
30
15
31
9.7 9.5
9.6
15
Northern Arizona
11.1 10.6 10.1
Southern Arizona
11.3 10.8 10.4 10.1 10.0 10.0 10.2
Colorado
11.1 10.4 9.9
9.5
9.3
9.4
9.6
Idaho
10.8 10.0 9.4
8.9
8.6
8.6
9.0
Montana
10.7 9.8
8.5
8.2
8.2
8.6
Nevada
11.1 10.5 10.1 9.6
9.4
9.4
9.7
New Mexico
11.1 10.5 10.1 9.7
9.5
9.6
9.8
Oregon
10.9 10.1 9.4
9.0
8.7
8.8
9.1
Utah
11.0 10.4 9.9
9.5
9.3
9.3
9.6
Washington
10.7 9.9
9.1
8.6
8.3
8.3
8.7
Wyoming
10.8 10.1 9.4
8.9
8.7
8.7
9.0
Sonora Mexico
11.4 11.0 10.6 10.4 10.2 10.3 10.4
9.1
9.8
Based on the chart above, you can see the variance in peak rut dates based on the photoperiod.
Below is a graph of the table above to show the differences based on latitude.
THE MAGICAL DAYS OF THE RUT When the stars align and you find yourself in the field during the peak of the rut, the anticipation is high. Bucks are easily found either with does or moving from group to group.
Bucks abandon their wits and put on one of the most awesome behavioral displays of the year. Bucks chase away bucks, spar with other bucks for dominance, run after does and stand with their noses held high with the occasional lip curl while smelling the surrounding air. It is an awesome behavior to observe, especially with a tag in your pocket.
OTHER FACTORS AFFECTING THE TIMING OF THE RUT Nutrition can also affect the timing of the rut. The condition of the habitat in terms of feed and water will greatly impact not only the timing of the rut, but the intensity of the rut as well. Poor nutrition and intense drought can cause the rut to begin later. Conversely, a good feed year can push the rut earlier. In times of severe drought, it is not uncommon for does to shorten or miss their cycle and focus on finding feed to stay alive. This is a rare situation but can happen on occasion.
Photo credit: Shutterstock
(continued on page 34)
Hunting & Fishing News | 13
Thinking About Going Lead Free This Season? By Blake Vortex Optics www.vortexoptics.com
Photo credit: Ryan McSparran
Day Pack Tips For Big Game Packing For A Day In The Field
By Zach Lazzari Antler Canyon Outfitters www.antlercanyonoutfitters.com ur hunting trips can involve anywhere from a few hours O to a full day in the field. On these hunts, you can leave behind the tent and backpacking gear. No point in carrying along the extra weight. That leaves the day pack for carrying everything you need to hunt a variety of big game species. From bare-bones, to high volume options, there are multiple approaches to the day pack.
Here are a few things to consider in a daypack for your next big game hunt.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT PACK When selecting a pack, the first order of business is determining how far you’ll be hunting away from the vehicle or a road and the amount of weight you may need to carry. When hunting smaller game like Coues deer or antelope, I love hunting with a small waist pack that holds a bottle of water and just the essentials. This is perfet for short stalks and hitting glassing points close to the road. But when pursuing mule deer or elk further from the road, this small pack would be a burden. It basically means an extra trip is required for packing meat. Any hunt that pulls me deeper into the woods requires a full-sized pack. I’m still only carrying the essentials. But the extra space is available to pack out a quarter or two in the event of a harvest. HUNTING GEAR I keep it minimal here with the bulk of my gear focused on glass. Binos, a spotting scope, rangefinder and a lightweight tripod are the heaviest items in the pack. Additionally, game bags, two knives and any relevant calls also come along. Throw in the required ammo, and you are ready to hunt. FIRST AID KIT A basic first aid kit is worth bringing along. Working with knives, sharp broadheads and difficult terrain comes with plenty of risk. Still keep it light with some tape, antiseptic and bandages to stop bleeding in an emergency. OTHER EQUIPMENT Paracord, a headlamp, a few layers of clothing, snacks and water covers your needs for the day. If I’m planning on glassing in cold weather for long periods of time, I might throw in an ultralight sleeping bag. It makes a day of wind and cold much more bearable and weighs less than two pounds. A lighter and firestarter serves for emergency fire starting, and a map and compass or GPS for navigation is a good idea for most hunts. I personally use my smartphone for a camera and navigation on day hunts. It’s light and works great with the OnX mapping app. Antler Canyon Outfitters offers guided hunting adventures in Arizona for Coues deer, mule deer, elk, antelope and more. For details and availability, please contact them at 928-205-8911.
14 | Hunting & Fishing News
Which is better for hunting, lead or copper? It might seem like a simple question, but a lot goes in to answering it. Photo courtesy www.vortexoptics.com
ith hunting season right around the corner, one thing a W lot of hunters are looking into is monolithic-style bullets. (Bullets that do not include a jacket.) Some states restrict certain types of ammunition because of lead contamination, and there’s some research we’ll get into that shows lead can contaminate your meat. Monolithic-style bullets are traditionally all copper projectiles, while standard projectiles are traditionally lead encompassed with a jacket. While both of these projectiles are more than suitable for hunting, many wonder what the actual differences are regarding performance. Let’s dive in and look at lead dispersion, accuracy differences, and expansion effects.
LEAD EFFECTS Lead dispersion is the number-one concern for certain states that have demanded hunters only use monolithic-style bullets for hunting because of the history with standard projectiles leaving lead contamination behind. One of the best published studies on the aftereffects of lead dispersion due to fragmentation was written by Clint Wirick and it explains lead bullets can have some negative consequences. Wirick says, “Bullets made with lead tend to fragment more than other solid monolithic copper bullets … A 2008 study conducted by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources surveyed the presence of lead fragments in commercially processed venison. In a sample of 1,029 packages of ground venison and 209 packages of whole cut venison, 27% of the ground and 2% of the whole cut venison were found to contain lead fragments.” And, of course, these are not huge pieces of lead obvious to the human eye, meaning they can be easily consumed. ACCURACY As we talk about lead dispersion and the potential for harmful effects on digestion, we should also mention the differences in accuracy. Given that we fully focus on the projectile itself, and not the other effects like the shooter, temperature variables, component choices, barrel lengths, twists, and more, there is some very surprising results. Specifically, with monolithics, the idea that they foul your barrel quicker has become a concern for hunters: The more fouling you have in your barrel, the more drastically it will produce bad accuracy and inconsistent velocities. Pair bad accuracy and inconsistent velocities with a hunt where you’ll be shooting a significant distance and it is a recipe for disaster, and a potential for hurting an animal. However, as monolithics have become more popular over the years, the technology has become even better. (continued page 27)
Fall chinook. Photo credit: Roger Phillips IF&G
Photo courtesy www.blog.rapala.com
Drop Jigging Raps On Breaklines For Fall Panfish Rapala www.blog.rapala.com
eave the bait bucket at home this fall – you can load your LRapala® boat with panfish by targeting breaklines with the Jigging Rap®.“I’ve almost exclusively gone away
from live bait, and Jigging Raps have allowed me to do that,” says Tony Roach, an in-demand fishing guide...“I’m getting more strikes, getting better hook-ups and catching way more fish versus a jig-and-minnow, for example. It’s my go-to presentation for panfish, there’s no doubt about it.” Long predominant as ice-fishing lures, Jigging Raps were proven equally productive as open-water baits in the last several years. Featuring a balanced, weighted minnow profile, they swim in tantalizing circles on the fall. (continued on page 19)
Idaho’s Fall Chinook Salmon By Joe DuPont, Fisheries Regional Manager IF&G all Chinook Salmon are trickling in at Lower Granite Dam. F This means anglers will soon have an opportunity to catch these big guys. The current estimate for this year’s fall Chinook Salmon return to Lower Granite Dam is 24,710 adults and about 10,000 jacks. These estimates are close to what returned last year in 2020. Idaho’s Fish and Game Commission set the fall Chinook Salmon season last July using this forecast. There are some differences this year that you will want to be aware of. Roughly, the regulations are as follows: •Season starts August 18, 2021 •The fishery will occur in the Snake River, lower Salmon River, and much of the Clearwater basin •The daily limits are three (3) adult fish (adipose clipped or unclipped) •Fishing will be allowed seven days a week in all areas that are open Be sure to visit the IDFG website for all the details on the 2021 fall Chinook Salmon seasons and limits (fall Chinook regulations). https://idfg.idaho.gov/fish/chinook/rules
Hunting & Fishing News | 15
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FALL WALLEYE TRANSITIONS Northland Fishing Tackle www.northlandtackle.com
he word “transitions” may be one of the more T overused terms in fishing today. We hear about mud-to-sand or sand-to-rock transitions, seasonal
transitions, and bait transitions; to the point where the word tends to lose its meaning. Yet, it’s highly appropriate when discussing fall walleyes, as there are few times of year where everything can change as quickly as it can in the fall. Which is why you’ll need to be flexible in your approach if you’re going to catch fish during this stage of the game. “Transitions” to fall walleyes means fish that are behaving differently in terms of their location. Warm spells and resultant increased water temps push fish back to more summer areas, often deeper than 20 feet of water. Cold bouts, and especially prolonged cooler temperatures have the opposite effect they do in the summer. Walleyes push shallower, feed more aggressively, and should be welcomed by anglers, even if they need some bulkier clothes and more cold-weather stamina to handle it. Nothing kills a great fall bite like an “Indian Summer” that hits as water temps are slowly but surely otherwise dropping nicely. If walleye locations change, it should be no surprise that the techniques to catch them should transition as well. After water temps are in the 50’s to stay, you can put away the leadcore gear you used all summer to target scattered deep fish, and look for fish to congregate. For the most part, cool weather concentrates fish, and often does it shallow where walleyes like to feed heavily. This is especially true with prolonged wind events that stack fish in shallow, predictable locations. Cool, windy days in the fall can see the biggest fish in any water body actively feeding during daylight conditions. That’s all well and good, but rarely in the fall is any one water body locked into a specific depth and individual pattern that works well for walleyes most of the time. In reality, fish move at back and forth, with these depth migrations being gradual over time, with all kinds of smaller movements throughout the days and weeks of fall. They relate to water temperatures, light conditions, and major weather events. All of which sums up the truest sense of the term “fall transition,” meaning that walleyes in the fall are ALWAYS in flux.
16 | Hunting & Fishing News
Photo courtesy www.northlandtackle.com
Knowing that, then we have the challenge of determining details in targeting them. First and foremost, start shallow, and start aggressive. Crankbaits, both lipless and short-bodied shad diving baits, along with swimbaits, jig and plastic combinations, and even stickbaits are great choices for this type of fishing. Fish wind-driven points, rock piles, and ledges in as shallow as a few feet of water, and give it a good hour or more of your time. Make the fish prove to you that they’re not shallow before abandoning that bite, as when it’s on, it’s on in a big way. Next, move to the first break, and let your electronics be your guide. Often, especially in clear bodies of water, fall transition fish will move below the edge of the first pronounced drop-off from shore during the day, still feeding occasionally, while waiting to push to nearby shallows for a night-time feeding session. These fish may require a bit more attention and subtlety, and large, live minnows are a great presentation for them. Free-swim a big chub behind ample weight on a larger than average rigging hook, and wait for the thump-thump of the minnow to be interrupted by a “smash.” Pay the fish ample line and give it some time to get the bait in his mouth before setting the hook, and you’ll be surprised how well fall walleyes are into big minnows. With some patience, many minnows lost, and some practice, you’ll also be wondering how even eater-sized walleyes can eat these extremely large minnows. If live-bait isn’t your game, it’s a great time to try Puppet Minnows on these intermediate-depth fish. You’ve got the combination of concentrated, aggressive fish, along with a bit of distance between you and the fish, such that Puppet Minnows really have the space to dive, dart, swing, and work their magic. I know more than a few anglers that fish this bite from 60 degree water temps all the way until lake ice-up. Finally, if fall walleye locations are confounding you, and you haven’t found anything at shallow or intermediary depths, consider going back to what worked in the summer. This could be live bait rigging deep structure, or even pulling leadcore. A few years ago, I did really well pulling leadcore, at night, in 25 feet of water in October. The fish shouldn’t have been there, especially then, but they were and they ate. It could be due to warmer than average weather preceding your visit to the lake, exceptionally clear water, or a number of other factors including turnover, but know that you’ve always got the patterns from the previous weeks to fall back on...
Packs of individual Crazy-Legs Skirts in these colors will also be available in either two per card (MSRP $3.99) or nine per card (MSRP $12.99) for anglers looking to dress their own Reed-Runner® spinnerbaits. GOLD SHINER – 12 Designed to mimic all types of shiners, the Gold Shiner pattern brings anglers just the right amount of flash to get the job done in waters with shiners as primary forage. Available to ship Spring 2022. GIZZARD SHAD – 31 The Gizzard Shad skirt offers just the right amount of white, black, and silver making it ideal to mimic all types of shad. Available to ship Spring 2022. Photo courtesy Northland Fishing Tackle
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anglers can match-the-hatch with their favorite Now spinnerbait designs Northland Fishing Tackle is proud to introduce three new bass-centric patterns into their premium line of Reed-Runner® spinnerbaits. These new colors were formulated by a team of bait designers and pros to mimic a variety of forage in different water types.
SEXY SHAD – 32 Featuring ample amounts of blue, green, white, black and silver, the Sexy Shad skirt is a go-to for those blueback herring or threadfin shad bites. Available to ship Spring 2022. Whether you’re a fishing pro or a weekend angler, you’re going to want to give the new Reed-Runner® colors a shot. They represent serious coast-to-coast fish-catchers and have been painstakingly designed to meet the forage-matching requirements on waters from the deep south to the far north. Trust us, you will not be disappointed.
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The new patterns include Gizzard Shad, Gold Shiner and Sexy Shad and are available in all Reed-Runner® spinnerbait styles, except for the Reed-Runner Magnum, which comes in a fish-catching Silver Black versus Gizzard Shad. All Reed-Runner blades are affixed with slick spinning and robust swivels. The bait’s stout steel hairpin features a loop bend tie-eye for easy clipping with snaps and leaders, too. Inclusion of the loop bend tie-eye truly separates the entire Reed-Runner series from the competition. Reed-Runner weighted heads are sculpted to emulate a baitfish, their bulging bicolor eyeballs infusing added attraction. The jighead opens into a firmly embedded premium Ultra-Point hook, which can easily support a trailing Northland Slip-On Sting’r Hook to thwart short strikers. Not your typical skirt, the Crazy-Legs® silicone skirt is cap-wrapped, meaning the individual legs are unified into a single component. The benefit is that if a bass or pike pulls on the skirt, you don’t lose individual strands. We’ve all had skirts thinned out to uselessness over time. Not true with Northland’s Crazy-Legs silicone skirt. And beyond durability, the skirt itself is supple and pulses seductively in the water.
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Hunting & Fishing News | 17
FIND THE FOOD, FIND THE FISH By Bob Jensen
Northland Fishing Tackle www.northlandtackle.com Photo courtesy www.northlandtackle.com
n the remaining open water months, there is one Iwe’ve very basic thing to keep in mind for fishing success, said it before and I’m sure we’ll say it again,
but it’s so important that it’s a good thing to keep in mind: If you want to catch fish now, you’ve got to find what they’re eating. You’ve got to be fishing where the predator fish’s food is. As summer moves on and autumn starts to arrive, staying near what the fish want to eat is very important. Following are some examples of doing so.
White bass are very popular in many parts of North America. They’re fighters and often willing biters. One of the most memorable white bass bites that I’ve ever been on happened several years ago on Lake Pepin, a wide spot in the Mississippi River on the Minnesota-Wisconsin Border. We were trolling when we noticed a group of gulls diving to the water’s surface about a half mile away. Experience told us what was going on. A school of white bass had trapped a school of baitfish, near the surface of the water. The white bass were eating the shad from below, the gulls were attacking from above. We quietly got within casting range. A topwater bait, even though you might be fishing over 30 feet of water, can be very effective in this situation.
Our baits were quickly eaten. We caught bass after bass for 20 minutes. Then the school went down, the gulls disappeared, and the action slowed. Travis Peterson lives in northern Minnesota and is an expert when it comes to catching bass and walleyes. I’ve had the good opportunity to fish with Travis a good number of times, and I always learn something when I do. On our most recent trip we were chasing largemouth bass in lily-pads, and we were catching them steadily, but not fast. All of a sudden, Travis pointed to a nearby field of lilies and said “We’ve gotta get over there”. He had noticed that a dragonfly hatch was going on in that group of lily-pads nearby. We got over there quickly, but quietly. Every now and then we would see a bass slurp a dragonfly off the surface. We tied on Jaw-Breaker Weedless Spoons and started throwing them around. What had been good fishing changed to great fishing. The presence of the dragonflies got the bass into a feeding frenzy and we took advantage of it. If Travis hadn’t noticed the dragonfly activity, we would have missed out on the action. If walleyes are your goal, pay close attention to your sonar for the presence of baitfish. You probably won’t see the surface activity with walleyes that you might with bass, but locating the walleye’s food is just as important to catching them as it is to white bass or largemouth bass. Raymarine’s new Element line of sonar units has helped me find the baitfish, and therefore the gamefish in many situations in the past few weeks. The Element is an outstanding sonar unit, but is also an outstanding value. This time of year, if I don’t see baitfish when I’m fishing for walleyes, I usually don’t fish the spot. However, if the wind is blowing onto a point or shallow water structure, you might want to make a few casts to see if the fish are feeding shallow. Remember that during the summer and fall months if you want to catch fish, you’ve got to be fishing where their food is. If you remember that, your chances for success will go way up.
18 | Hunting & Fishing News
Drop Jigging Raps On Breaklines For Fall Panfish
(continued from page 15) With single reversed hooks on the nose and posterior, and a center treble hook hung from a belly eyelet, they don’t allow for missed bites — regardless of how a fish attacks, it’s running smack dab into a hook... “There’s a lot of bodies of water where you can get that stained, tannic-colored water like I’m fishing now,” Roach says. “But certainly, there are clear-water lakes that this technique works just as good in.” This time of year, panfish begin pulling away from weedlines and start making their way towards their winter haunts. But first, they often spend some time suspending on breaklines between the weedbeds and drop-offs into deeper water. “As the weeds start to die off, you’ll find big, big schools of fish adjacent to weedlines,” Roach says. “They’ll suspend 10, 15, 20 feet down on those breaks. And that’s really where the Jigging Raps shine.” Step 1 for Roach’s fall Jigging Rap program is finding and waypointing schools of fish with your sonar/GPS unit. “I’ll drive around with my big motor and try to mark schools and figure out what depth they’re at before I even drop the trolling motor,” he explains. “It’s much faster fishing than just kind of fan-casting and slowly, methodically figuring out where these schools of fish are.” Once Roach locates a school of fish, he’ll use his electric trolling motor to virtually anchor above it and then use his bow-mount sonar/GPS unit to drop his Jigging Rap to the top of the school. “I use my electronics not only to locate the fish, but also much like I would in the winter, where I fish vertically right underneath my graph on my bow,” Roach explains. “A Jigging Rap, it’s so dense, it shows up really well on your sonar display, so you can drop it down just above a school and watch fish come up to the bait and strike, just like you do ice fishing.” The action Roach gives a Jigging Rap when targeting fall panfish differs greatly from how he fishes Jigging Raps in the summer for walleyes. “You’re not ripping it aggressively, hopping it off the bottom, it’s more of a vertical-hover presentation,” he explains. “I might jig it to get them to come up, but then I’ll slow it down – just like ice fishing – where I just barely raise that bait and allow those fish to come up and strike it.” “I tend to fish a little bit higher in the water column, because the fish at the top of the school seem to be more aggressive – especially when they’re bunched up in a big group.” Roach says... “Once you get that school to come up on it, it’s pretty fast-action fishing – you drop down, catch one; drop down, catch another one,” Roach says. “And although a school will eventually move, they don’t move in big increments, so it’s pretty easy to stay on top of them and follow them around as they slide up and down the breakline.” For the best results, use braided line attached via swivel or a double-uni or Alberto knot to a two-foot fluorocarbon leader. “If you use this technique a lot, I highly recommend a swivel, to reduce line twist,” Roach says. When fishing in stained water, Roach favors Pink Tiger UV, Orange Tiger UV and Glow Yellow Perch color patterns... In clear water, he favors natural color patterns like Perch and Chrome Blue.
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Telephone 406-883-2888 Ex. 7294 or 406-270-3386 Applications will be available: Zimmers Tackle-Pablo, Westland Seed & Sports-Ronan, Walmart-Polson, Sportsman’s Warehouse-Missoula, FWP-Missoula and Kalispell, Sportsman & Ski Haus-Kalispell, Bretz RV & Marine-Missoula, Bob Ward & Sons-Missoula, Snappys Sports Senter-Kalispell, CSKT NRD Offices-Polson We ask that all boats from out of the Flathead area be inspected for AIS.
Special permits available for the south half of Flathead Lake available wherever fishing permits are sold.
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HABITAT ENHANCEMENT In 2020, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and its partners offered more than $2.1 million dollars in grant funding for wildlife habitat, research and hunting heritage projects across Montana. Habitat enhancement projects focus on prescribed burning, invasive weed treatment, aspen and watershed restoration, removing encroaching conifers, installing wildlife-friendly fencing, forest thinning and other treatments. Scientific research shows prescribed burns reduce leftover fallen, dead or decaying woody debris that is detrimental to native grass and forbs so vital for elk and other wildlife. Burns not only reduce hazardous fuel accumulation but also stimulate nutrients in the soil spawning new growth of native grasses and shrubs. Prescribed burns, thinning and other habitat treatments reduce the potential of catastrophic wildfire and the threat of large scale insect and disease outbreaks while improving overall forest health.
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Photo credit: Chris Neville
SEPTEMBER ELK: To Call Or Not To Call? By Jake Horton Originally published at
www.goHUNT.com
season and you are 150 yards from a large Iyout’sherdarchery bull with multiple cows and they have no clue are downwind. There is adequate cover between you
and the 6 and the wind is just perfect. Do you cow call, bugle or don’t make a peep as you try your luck at the stalk? To call or not to call? That is the question that almost every DIY public land hunter struggles with on a daily basis in the elk woods. After all, our elk heroes from YouTube and The Outdoor Channel are out there calling in bull after bull and motivating us to call in an elk. You’ve tried to call in a bull before, but when you bugle, the bull turns and pulls his cows away from you. What is the difference between you and what you see on TV and the internet? Every situation is different, but here are some clues and cues that have helped to know whether I will call or not. Below are five differences that you should think about when deciding whether calling is the best strategy or not for your hunt. What week of hunting season is it? September can be a magical time if you are in the elk woods chasing bulls. This is what draws a lot of hunters to the mountains from all over the continent and the world on a yearly basis. When hunting during archery season in a public land setting, I am usually only confident with calling in bulls during the first week or two of the season. The reason I stop trying to coax a bull my way after that is due to hunting pressure and call shy bulls. In my experience, by week two, a lot of hunters have broken out a cow call or bugle tube, not paying attention to the wind, where they are calling from, how close an elk is and other situational differences. By week two, most bulls within a few miles of a trail or road have heard “John” or “Karen” blowing a cow call or squeezing a Hoochie Momma walking the same trail day after day. Elk are smart animals and, after hearing and encountering hunters, will not only be unresponsive but often turn and pull their cows the opposite direction upon hearing calls. This is why I put my calls away after week two and try other strategies to fill my tag. Exception: When you are four to five miles deep or in a ridiculously hard to access basin where pressure is going to be less, hunting in a restricted hunting zone or on private land, calling any time of the season could work great. Cover type If I am hunting in an area that has openings to spot and glass from I usually choose to try and find elk that way first, then close the distance and decide what to do once I am closer. Often, each bull I see requires a different stalk, calling plan and strategy so I will need to make decisions on the fly. When you are hunting in thick and nasty cover
22 | Hunting & Fishing News
where spot and stalk or bugle and sneak is not an option then calling may be your only option. One thing that will help is to pay attention to where you are calling from. Call from areas where the wind is in your favor, you are off the main trail, you have shooting lanes and you are close to where you think the elk are. Trust me, your success will increase. If you are hunting in thick timber, elk will be less reliant on their eyesight and more receptive to calling and using their nose upon their approach, so a correctly positioned hunting partner — if you have one — will be crucial. Partner Understand that if you have a calling partner, then the chance of calling an elk in and making a shot is so much better than trying to call solo. When you call an elk, they will have you pinpointed and, if they come in, they will know exactly where you called from. Upon their approach, they will expect to see another elk and elk movement. If they do not see this, they will become wary and turn and get out of there before you can get a shot off. A correctly positioned hunting partner can mask your location by calling. This will help present you with a better shot if the bull comes in and, if he does not come in, you have the stalk option. If the bull hangs up or doesn’t want to come, you can still continue your stalk and your partner can stay still and maintain the elk’s attention for a short while. If you have a partner, consider calling more frequently while still paying attention to wind, cover, elk location and other details. Can you get closer? If you are trying to close the distance on a bull, I would always suggest that you get as close as you can without calling. Plenty of time, a successful stalk within bow range will allow the elk to keep its normal routine. If the bull doesn’t know you are there, then he would have no reason to pull his cows from their normal pattern, which can sometimes happen if you bugle towards them. Always pay attention to the wind and thermal direction, the cover and terrain between you and the elk, the direction they are heading and how many animals are present in the area. The more elk equals more eyes, which equates to a higher chance you might get busted on your stalk. However, a well planned silent stalk is a very successful way to take a mature bull. Elk behavior During the rut, elk can get really fired up bugling, showing signs of aggressiveness, jealousy and dominance. If the bull you are chasing is all sorts of fired up and bugling its head off then calling is definitely something that you can do more of in that situation. A bull that is trying to keep his cows together or fend off other bulls will be more vocal and give you the indication to be more vocal. Start with some cow calls and see how he reacts. If he bugles to your cow calls and looks or sounds mature, hit him back with an angry bugle and see what happens. Worse case scenario: He doesn’t behave the way you hope and you can plan an attack that evening or the next day. When elk are fired up, you really have to get busted good for them to get out of the area. In Closing Ultimately, to call or not to call is the question and every situation is different. Thinking about what you are doing and strategizing every situation is important in order to capitalize on every hunt. I want to be clear: calling bulls can work on public land and many people are successful this way. My thought is that, often, it is hard enough to find bulls on public land so just analyzing the situation before deciding what to do is very important. After you come up with a plan for the situation, execute the plan and either harvest the bull or not. The more important thing to do is to look back on what you did correct or wrong and learn from it. Every time we can be in the mountains is a learning opportunity that will make you a better elk hunter, able to strategize quickly with each subsequent elk encounter.
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www.rangitschbrosrv.com Hunting & Fishing News | 23
Recipe: Real Texas Venison Chili
By Lindsey Bartosh a 12 gauge girl www.huntingandcooking.com
Photo courtesy www.huntingandcooking.com
R
... eal Texas Chili starts with a homemade chili paste base. Whenever I make chili, my first move is to reach in the spice cabinet and pull out the chili powder. This is not the case when making a Real Texas Chili. I did not add any chili powder to this recipe and instead developed the flavor with this paste. The results actually made me stumble over my words a little: amazing is what comes to mind! So purchase a package of dried whole chilis. They come in about a 3 ounce package. I linked the brand I used here: Dried Whole Chili Peppers https://www.amazon. com/Whole-Chile-Arbol-Ounce-Mexican/dp/B01DUP5CB8. Pour the chilis into a skillet over high heat and blister the peppers quickly. Don’t let them burn, as they will develop a bitter flavor, just heat up a bit for about one minute.
Explore Your Wild Side.
Immediately remove from the heat and put into a large bowl. Cover the chilis with hot water and allow to rehydrate for about thirty minutes. While the chilis are bathing, add your wild game to a large ceramic dutch oven or other large pot. For a browning fat, I used rendered bear fat. You could also use butter, oil, lard, bacon fat, or your other favorite fat source. Add the fat to the pan first and allow it melt, then place your 2 and 1/2 pounds worth of wild game of choice, cut into bite size pieces, in the pot and brown for a few minutes per side. No need to worry about cooking all the way through, just get some flavor building going with a little browning. I browned my meat in several batches to keep the pan hot. If you overcrowd the pot, the meat will drop the temperature of the fat and you won’t get that slight caramelization on your meat. Set the meat aside. Add a tablespoon more of fat to the pot and cook up the diced onion, a minced jalapeno, and four cloves of garlic, also minced. Let this cook until the onions are soft, taking care that the heat isn’t so high that it’s browning the garlic. It should take about five minutes over medium heat for the onions to become translucent. Next, add two cups of a bone broth, two cups of vegetable stock, and two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. I used my homemade elk and deer bone broth for this chili. Homemade broth is definitely my first choice when cooking with wild game, but you could also substitute for a store bought bone broth. You could also use water instead of vegetable stock. I decided to go with vegetable because it adds a few more layers of flavor to the pot. Time to thicken the chili! I have never used masa harina to thicken anything before, and I was very impressed with the texture it created for this Real Texas Chili. Traditionally, I would have either created a roux at the beginning of the dish when cooking the onions or added corn starch at this point in the game. Masa harina does not create as viscous a stew base as corn starch or a roux, but it was the perfect texture for this chili. It added a silky, thickness to the chili and I will definitely be adding masa harina to other chilis in the future. For adding the masa harina, all you do is quickly whisk in two tablespoons of the corn flour, vigorously stirring until the flour has been completed broken down and absorbed. Finally, it is time to build some flavors! To the pot, add a tablespoon of cocoa powder, brown sugar, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, all spice, and oregano. Return the browned wild game to the pot as well.
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24 | Hunting & Fishing News
It is time to finish the chili paste now. Strain the peppers from their water and snip the tops off. Shake out as many of the seeds as possible. Drop the chilis in a blender, add a 1/4 cup of water, a tablespoon of salt, and four chipotles in adobo sauce peppers. If you like things a little extra spicy, as many prefer with their Real Texas Chili, add a tablespoon or two of the adobo sauce from the chipotles. Blend until smooth. Add your chili paste to your chili, stir everything together, drop the heat to low, and cover the pot while leaving a small opening at the side of the dutch oven. Cook for at least one hour, preferably two if you have the time! Like everything else I seem to eat from Texas, and this Real Texas Chili is no exception, things are better when cooked low and slow. Happy Hunting! (recipe page 38)
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When the Air Gets Thin: 6 Tips for Hunting at Altitude (continued from page 7)
This will get the day started right. In your hunting pack or daypack, carry a water bladder with a hose that attaches to Photo credit: Ryan McSparran your shoulder harness. Quick access to your water at all times will prompt you to drink more. If you have to take off your backpack to reach your water bottle, you may not drink as often.
Don’t wait until you’re thirsty. Drink water constantly throughout the day. If you feel the least bit headachy, dehydrated or low on energy, take a big slug of water. Hydration fights altitude sickness and helps to keep your energy levels high and mind sharp.
We know that a beer or a glass of whiskey around the campfire can be a welcome treat - but be careful. Altitude and alcohol can be a bad combination. If you’re feeling headaches or any symptoms of altitude, avoid alcohol altogether. Likewise in the mornings, enjoy that cup of coffee but don’t overdo it. Coffee is a diuretic and will flush your system. Eat a healthy breakfast and keep the caffeine in moderation. Ease the Pace The “push harder” mindset can backfire at altitude. Oxygen deprivation is not something you can ignore and power past. This means an easier pace is often necessary on elevated hunts. If you start feeling sluggish, short of breath or headachy, slow the pace. Take a hydration break and spend more time glassing. Manage your energy and glass harder than you hike when hunting up high. Mental Attitude Even for those of us who live here year-round and are accustomed to altitude, hunting at high elevations is hard work. Sometimes it hurts. When packing out an elk at 10,000 feet, expect your lungs to burn and your leg muscles to scream for oxygen. It comes with the territory. In addition to all the physical aspects mentioned above, hunting at high altitude requires a positive mental attitude. Embrace the pain. Fight through it with a smile. And remember that it’s all a part of the adventure! Gear for the Adventure If you have questions about gear for a mountain hunt, please let us know. We’d be happy to help you find the right solutions for your next trip. The gear we carry in our shop is gear that we’ve tested and personally use in the field. Contact us at 303-798-5824. Same day shipping, except Saturday/Sunday orders which ship Monday.
Feed Your Body You may notice that your body is sensitive at higher altitudes and basic processes like digestion will slow down. Your body is essentially activating survival mechanisms and your breathing and heart rate will be more labored, especially without an acclimation period. Eat healthy and load up on carbs ahead of the hunt. Your diet and exercise in the days and weeks leading up to the hunt is just as important as what you eat on the mountain. During the day while you’re out hunting, avoid heavy meals on the mountain. Instead, snack often throughout the day. Focus on high yield snacks like honey sticks, peanut butter, nuts and granola bars. They won’t make you feel heavy and will give your body a shot of glucose to keep energy levels high. In the evenings, eat high-protein meals to help your body recover. Most freeze-dried meals are also high in sodium, which is great for replenishing your body after a day of hard work. But this needs to be balanced with lots of water.
26 | Hunting & Fishing News
Photo credit: Ryan McSparran
Thinking About Going Lead Free This Season? (continued from page 14)
For example, let’s address the fouling. Depending on the actual design of the monolithic itself, it can change fouling amounts drastically. Using a bullet like Cutting Edge with their STB design reduces the amount of fouling while also ensuring there will be no pressure escaping around the bullet when fired. On the other hand, their MDG design allows “for the material to flow into when the STB enters the throat and lands in the rifle barrel. This prevents excess pressure as the soft copper flows freely into them. Keep in mind we are talking about a very minimal amount of material that gets displaced.” Monolithic technologies have come a long way, reducing the risk of copper fouling while preserving high ballistic performance... As you can see, this is just a few of the advancements in a bullet technology still changing to this day. This will also give you an idea of when to clean your rifle. Nothing is worse than going to the range thinking your handloads or ammo are bad, or you are just off that day. If it sounds like a lot of work, next time you clean your barrel, start keeping track of how many rounds you fire each range day. EXPANSION EFFECTS Monolithic bullet expansion is completely different than standard projectiles, one of the biggest differences being fragmentation and penetration. Monolithics, when moving at a slower speed, do not expand much and penetrate very far. When monolithics are traveling fast at their target, there is less penetration and more expansion, unless the monolithic is designed to do otherwise which we will get into shortly.
To put this into perspective, let’s say you are shooting a .264 monolithic at 2750 FPS as it leaves your barrel. If you were to hit your target at 100 yards, you would have extremely good expansion while having perfect amounts of penetration with virtually no fragmentation. Now, let’s say you shoot that bullet at 2750 FPS at a target of 500 yards or more. You will have more penetration and less expansion... With a standard hunting projectile, expansion completely depends on the design of the bullet. Most notable, what happens with a standard hunting bullet is a lot of fragmentation at close ranges and a drastic reduction in bullet weight retention. As an example, here is a photo of a 127-grain monolithic on the bottom of the photo and a 130-grain standard hunting projectile on the top. Both are hitting the gel block with the same foot pounds of energy, with the same components, shot on the same gel block, same rib bone, at the same distance. The standard lost 24.65 grains while the monolithic only lost 0.4 grains. Moreover, with standard hunting projectiles there is a “sweet spot” where fragmentation minimizes due to reliable expansion and velocities of certain distances. That sweet spot is when your standard hunting projectile will retain most of its weight at a certain speed. In other words, it will retain most of its mass at a certain yardage when it hits your target. BULLET DESIGN The design behind monolithics has drastically changed over the years in a way that suits a specific type of hunting; companies are now designing projectiles based on application... CONCLUSION Winner? Neither. Each bullet gets its job done...
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September 2021 Hunting & Fishing News | 27
Archery Hunt,
SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 Photo credit: depositphotos
By Tom Cooper
o you remember where you were and what you had D planned for that September day? If you archery hunt like I do, September is not only Montana’s archery season,
it is also absolutely the best month of the year to spend time in the woods. Weather is usually very mild and bull elk are bugling. I suspect there are many archery hunters who would agree, we wait all year for September to participate in our sport. So if you planned to hunt on September 11, 2001, did you hunt after hearing initial news reports covering the terrible events occurring in New York City and Washington DC? I want to share my September 11th; maybe reading my story will prompt you to reflect on yours. It is worth remembering. My plan for the day consisted of three activities: 1) go to work early, but finish what needed to be done by 10:00am, 2) drive from Helena to Butte to attend my nephew Jeff’s high school cross country race, and 3) return to Boulder, then to Dry Creek where I intended to archery hunt for a couple of hours before sunset. I expected to arrive home after dark. News was Alarming My trusty alarm went off at 5:30am, and I was in the office at my desk an hour later. When I next looked at my watch, I was surprised to find an hour had already passed. About that time a co-worker arrived and immediately asked if I heard the news about a plane crashing into one of the Twin Towers in New York City. Without much thought, I asked whether the aircraft was an airliner or a small single engine plane. She wasn’t sure, but believed it was small; all she had seen on TV before leaving her house was lots of smoke. After twenty years in the Air Force, mostly in aircraft maintenance, I guess my initial reaction was to say how much damage could a small plane inflict on a huge skyscraper. We found a radio, but couldn’t find any national news coverage. So, we tried our conference room television set. Unfortunately our organization didn’t regularly use the TV for news and normal broadcasts. Rather it was set up for observing/recording activities in various meeting rooms throughout the building. Since re-connecting electronics is not my strong suit and I wanted to finish my project by 10:00, I went back to my desk. Within 15-20 minutes, I heard someone say a second airliner had crashed into the second tower. Now this event had my attention. Finishing my work project didn’t seem as important, and the TV was broadcasting national news. As you know, the news only worsened. I called my brother Bill and asked if the cross country meet had been canceled or rescheduled. No, the schools in Butte and Missoula decided not to cancel or delay; the race was on. I wanted to cheer for my nephew, and was headed for Butte at 10:30, arriving at the race site by 12:30. Needless to say, the fans were pretty subdued; although not really sure who was to blame, they were angry at whoever it was. The runners started almost on time and Jeff ran one of his best races. I have to say it was important (uplifting), for most of the adults in attendance, to see young people focused on their chosen activity, while the country was in the midst of great turmoil. The news continued to worsen as the events at the Pentagon and western Pennsylvania unfolded, and the extent of the catastrophe underway in New York City became more and more apparent.
28 | Hunting & Fishing News
Is Hunting the Right Choice? When I left Butte, I struggled with my decision whether to hunt or drive home and join my wife watching the news. Should I go hunting when America was dealing with one of the worst tragedies in our history, when the folks in New York and Washington DC were just beginning their search for survivors, and when casualty numbers were increasing at a dramatic rate? Pulling onto the exit ramp at Boulder, I stopped for several minutes to consider whether a decision to hunt at this time suggested little regard for the families and friends of those lost and missing. I reasoned for a calamity of this size, the opportunities to support and assist those directly involved, as well as families and friends of those lost and missing, would come very quickly. Further, I simply had no desire to harvest an animal today. So, my hunt would really be a walk in the woods. Just 10 years earlier, on my last military assignment, I was stationed at the Pentagon. I could relate to the location, but had no idea how to relate to the horrific events still unfolding. A quiet walk in the woods didn’t really seem like a bad idea. My decision was made. I parked in a familiar spot on the Dry Creek road, and considered not taking my bow at all, but finally elected to carry it. An hour later, I was in the head of Clark Creek. With less than two hours until sundown, I spotted a comfortable rock under a very large Lodge Pole pine tree. The visibility was good out to about 75 yards on my right and below me, On my left and behind/above me small Douglas Fir trees blocked my view beyond 25 yards. Since I usually carry a paperback book, always a Western, I thought reading for a bit might be a good idea. But I didn’t. Mostly I just stared down the canyon, wondering how the families and friends of those lost and missing could cope with what was occurring. After looking at my watch and finding another very quick hour had passed, maybe it was time to head for my vehicle and arrive home a little earlier than planned. It was a Good Hunt Those thoughts were interrupted by a noise on my right and a little above me. A quick look confirmed it was indeed a hoof hitting a rock. The noise-maker was a young five-point bull elk. He slowly walked down the canyon, not more than 60 yards away. Since I was in the Elkhorn Mountains and had not drawn a brow-tined bull tag, there was no thought of reaching for my bow. When the bull was just a little below me, he stopped, looked left, directly at me, then right, then quickly left again and focused on me like I was sitting on the front porch of his house, uninvited. And, I guess I was. His stare lasted over a minute before he sauntered on down Clark Canyon and disappeared in thick timber. It was time to go home, my September 11, 2001 hunt was over. As I approached Helena, it was almost dark and I couldn’t help but wonder about the difficulties associated with on-going nighttime recovery operations occurring on the east coast. The entire day of this hunt will always rank as one of my most memorable. I suspect it’s the same for many of you. I didn’t hunt the next day; watching the news was more important. Now, we find ourselves at the 20th anniversary of that horrific event. And nephew Jeff continues to serve his country in the US Navy.
Block Management Program Hunting & Conservation News Proudly Sponsored By Information Available MFWP unters will be able to obtain Republic Services of Montana H the 2021 Block Management Area (BMA) program information beginning Aug. 10. Hunters are encouraged to request their 2021 BMA Access Guide online and download or print individual BMA maps...
Photo credit: MFWP
By utilizing the FWP website https://fwp.mt.gov/BMA, hunters will have instant access to the Access Guide and up-to-date BMA maps and rules for every individual BMA enrolled in the program.
“Obtaining these individual BMA maps and rules via our website are key to successfully utilizing the BMA program as not all rules or instructions for obtaining landowner permission are listed in the overview guide,” said Jason Kool, Hunting Access Bureau Chief. “The website will also feature a list of BMAs that are restricted or initially closed due to fire danger.” Hunters may also obtain individual BMA maps at permission sign-in boxes, or via phone, walk-in, mail or email request to FWP at the contact information below. Also, like in previous years, some BMAs may have varying dates they are taking hunter reservations. While reservations cannot start before Aug. 22, some BMA reservation start dates will be scattered throughout the season to better accommodate hunter demands.
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“Hunters should check their Access Guide or view the individual BMA map and rules to determine when or if a given BMA will start reservations,” said Kool.
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Fish, Wildlife, & Parks urges hunters to use caution due to extremely dry conditions and to extend a “thank you” to all Montana landowners who collaborate on access opportunities that benefit wildlife and public hunters. The Block Management program, through partnerships formed with private landowners, government agencies and conservation organizations will provide access to more than 7.1 million acres of private and isolated public land for the 2021 hunting season.
This fall ALL WILD GAME brought into Western Meat and Sausage Block must be cleaned and de-boned. Western Meat and Sausage block is no longer offering wild game cutting and skinning services and will not accept any carcasses or bone-in wild game meat for processing.
Hunting Access Program Contact Information: Region 1: fwprg12@mt.gov; 406-752-5501 Region 2: fwprg22@mt.gov; 406-542-5530 Region 3: fwpr3bmp@mt.gov; 406-577-7888 Region 4: fwpr4bmp@mt.gov; 406-454-5862 Region 5: fwpr5bmp@mt.gov; 406-247-2940 Region 6: region6.access@mt.gov; 406-228-3700 Region 7: fwpr7bmp@mt.gov; 406-234-0930 Helena: LndSportRelations@mt.gov; 406-444-2612
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Hunting & Fishing News | 29
SITTING TIGHT FOR BUCKS AND BULLS
By Jake Horton Originally published at
www.goHUNT.com
Photo credit: Dave Barnett
hen hunting for big game out West, especially with a W bow, we often think about chasing herds of elk from ridge to ridge or the hours it takes glassing up mule deer
bucks. It is easy to think about hiking, sitting and hiking some more and come to the conclusion that the only way to hunt a bull or buck is to be constantly on the move; however, this would be incorrect. Every year, there are many bucks and bulls killed from treestands and blinds and hunting this way can be a very successful strategy for your next western hunt. Typically, the first question most people ask when I talk about treestands or blinds out West is, “Why?” After all, if you are going to haul any extra weight into the backcountry, it is important that it has a purpose. The answer to this question is because treestands and blinds can help mask the three major senses that most deer and elk use to bust us hunters. These senses are their sight, hearing and smell. Here are some ways that a stationary hunting strategy, such as a treestand or blind, can help mitigate your chance at getting busted by a deer or elk and their keen sense of sight, hearing and smell next fall.
Sound Both elk and mule deer have good sized ears that allow them to hear very well at long distances. It is common to see a bedded buck or bull twitching their ears in an attempt to hear danger from a long ways out in different directions. This creates a problem for us hunters who often use spot and stalk techniques on bedded bucks and bulls. Even the slightest mistake at 200 yards can put them on high alert or cause them to stand up and head the other way. A treestand or blind can allow us to be in position and quietly wait for a deer or elk to walk by us. This silent waiting will also allow us to listen for them to come our way in order to be ready for the shot. Smell The most successful sense that a elk or mule deer has to keep them away from danger is their sense of smell. I have often heard it said that “You can fool their eyes and their ears, but you will never fool their noses.”A correctly positioned treestand upwind of a water source, wallow, trail, pinch point or meadow will allow your scent to move away from the place you expect to see the buck or bull come in from. There is an added benefit to a treestand in regards to scent. With a strong headwind or afternoon thermals, a treestand will put your scent pattern above the animal’s head — even if they are slightly upwind. This will give you less of a chance to be busted. A blind often traps some of your scent and keeps it from moving upwind, which also can help. Overall, scent elimination out West is impossible since we are hiking, sweating, carrying a pack and covered in different scents. The best thing we can do is find ways to control where our scent goes and a blind or treestand can definitely help do this.
Photo courtesy www.goHUNT.com
Not every situation or place is perfect for a treestand or blind; however, I love to have it in my playbook. If you come up to a wallow that is torn up a few miles from a trailhead, a treestand or blind can make you more successful and get your shot. If you find a natural pinch point that creates a funnel between two drainages or a tight saddle out in the open, a blind might allow you to shoot 360 degrees and contain a lot of your scent. Photo courtesy www.goHUNT.com
Sight It is easy to get picked out by an elk or deer as we walk across an open side hill or try to still hunt them through timber. Elk and mule deer have pretty good eyesight, though, it is not their best sense. They have eyes on the side of their heads that allow them to see greater than 180 degrees and detect motion. If they do get close enough to you with a bow, you need to be able to pull back the string without putting an elk or deer on alert. At close distance, a treestand or blind may just be the ticket to allowing you to do so. This is because elk do not look up for danger because most, if not all, of their natural predators, use ground assaults. They are constantly scanning their surroundings for something that seems off like a hunter, wolf, bear or mountain lion. It would make sense that a blind or treestand positioned on a watering hole, wallow or heavily used game trail may allow you to stay hidden long enough to make your shot.
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Any time we can think outside the box and find places to hunt stationary may allow you the much needed rest on your legs. It might also give you a chance at a mature bull or buck that otherwise you may not have had a shot at. A blind can also give you a break from the brutal wind, rain or snow that often makes it hard to get out of the tent. Next year, when you pack your hunting rig, throw in your blind or treestand just to have another option.
7 Muzzleloader Deer Hunting Tips
and re-cap your rifle quickly and with as little movement as possible. The “pop” will startle a buck, but he might just stand there or walk slowly away. You might yet be able to touch off a kill shot.
P
•In the hands of a good shooter, a scoped, .50-caliber in-line with 100 to 150 grains of powder is capable of dropping a whitetail out to 150 yards Photo courtesy www.bigdeerblog.com or farther. But to me, even the most advanced muzzleloader is a relatively short-range arm. Try to hang stands or still-hunt where shots at bucks will be 100 yards or less.
By Mike Hanback Big Deer Blog www.bigdeerblog.com
our a measured charge of Pyrodex down the bore, or drop in the proper number of 50-grain Triple 7 pellets. Insert bullet and start it down the bore with a short starter. With your ramrod, seat the bullet firmly all way down and on top of the powder, but don’t tamp it or beat it hard. You just want a good, firm seat. •Once fully loaded, leave the ramrod in the barrel and scratch it with a knife or mark with a Sharpie. Check the reference mark each time you load to make sure you seat the proper amount of powder and a bullet. •Never cap a loaded rifle until you are in the timber and ready to hunt. When using a tree stand, climb up, secure your harness, sit down and rope up your rifle (muzzle down). Only then should you prime it or lock it. Always remove a primer, cap or disc before roping your rifle down to the ground. •Keep spare ignition primers or caps at your fingertips (I stash several in my jacket pocket). If a dreaded misfire occurs, which is much rarer with a modern muzzleloader than it was black-powder rifles 20 years ago, stay cool
•Always reload after shooting a buck, even if you see him lying motionless, and be ready for a follow-up shot. •It’s strange. After shooting a buck with a saboted bullet, sometimes you’ll find only cut hair and little or no blood at the point of impact. But never think you just grazed a deer! Track a buck in the direction he fled. Fifty to 100 yards out you’re apt to pick up a blood trail that leads to your deer a few more yards away.
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Hunting & Fishing News | 31
GEAR REVIEW Sitka Thunderhead Pant
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Bushnell Engage X 10X42 Binoculars
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32 | Hunting & Fishing News
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Badlands 2200 Hunting Pack It’s been 25 years since the birth of
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The Science Behind The Mule Deer Rut (continued from page 13)
DETERMINING THE PEAK DAYS OF THE RUT IN YOUR AREA Mule deer average 202 to 210 days for gestation. Gestation is defined as the length of time a bred doe carries a fawn before giving birth.
WHAT ABOUT THE PRE-RUT? Some avid mule deer hunters will argue and say that they would rather hunt the beginning stages of the rut rather than the peak rut — and for good reason. These early stages of the rut are often referred to as the pre-rut among hunters. The pre-rut is usually the two-week period that is prior to the peak of the rut. During pre-rut, we find bucks cruising in search of does and moving carelessly about at otherwise inactive hours. This behavior makes bucks vulnerable. The other major advantage of the pre-rut is that bucks are rarely carrying broken racks because aggressive fighting has not yet started. The major risk to targeting the pre-rut is that not all bucks will be on the move. Some of the oldest bucks will continue to move very little until the first does actually begin to cycle into estrus. SELECTING YOUR SEASON TO FIT THE RUT The first step is to identify the typical rut week for the state/area you are considering. State agencies across the West have different approaches when it comes to setting season dates. Some states offer season dates that coincide with the peak of the rut.
Montana is the overwhelming king when it comes to providing peak rut opportunity to rifle hunters.
Go here and touch on the state in the graphic for peak rut dates. https://www.gohunt.com/read/INSIDER/the-sciencebehind-the-mule-deer-rut#gs.8q1p7w In the mountain states of Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, northern Utah, northern Colorado and northern Nevada, the Rocky Mountain mule deer generally have the peak fawning period during the first week of June. If you start with June 7 and count backwards 205 days for gestation, that would place the peak rut dates in the mountain states during the week surrounding November 14. As a general rule, the mule deer fawning period is later as you travel south. The desert mule deer of Sonora and southern Arizona generally have a peak fawning period of around August 7. Subtracting 205 days would suggest that the average peak rut for these extreme southern desert mule deer would take place the week of January 14. The mule deer in the areas between these two examples will rut at a time between these two extremes. If a doe is not bred, she will be receptive again roughly 30 days later.
Nearly every hunt district in Montana will allow hunting during mid to late November. Another opportunity — and one of the most coveted — is with a Colorado fourth season rifle tag in a unit in the northern half of the state. The caution with the Colorado fourth rifle season is the short number of hunting days. At only five days in length, one severe storm can quickly cut your hunt in half. The mule deer in the southern units of Colorado rut later than the rest of the state and typically will not capture peak rut activity like the central and northern Colorado units. Idaho also provides some great rifle and muzzleloader peak rut opportunities. Peak rut rifle opportunities for mule deer are very limited in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Wyoming. ARCHERY OPENS DOORS One of the most overlooked and hidden peak rut opportunities is buried in the archery seasons. Arguably, some of the best mule deer hunting in New Mexico is offered as a January archery season. Although this season opens on January 1, it can still capture some late rut action and is capable of offering some of New Mexico’s best mule deer hunting. Nevada also has some very good rut seasons offered exclusively to archery hunters. Utah also has a limited number of peak rut archery seasons offered. The extended archery seasons in Utah offer seasons that include the entire month of November. Arizona and Idaho both have over-the-counter archery tags available that offer season dates that will allow you to hunt during the rut. WHAT ABOUT MIGRATION?
Peak rut date: average fawn drop period minus 205 days.
34 | Hunting & Fishing News
Most units across the West have migratory mule deer herds. In many locations, this migration will coincide with some phase of the rut. The pre-rut is the most commonly found behavior among bucks as the migration is taking place. Regardless of the phase of the mule deer rut, when you combine migrating deer with bucks chasing does, you could be in for the time of your life. This scenario is exactly what most western hunters are trying to find.
NOVEMBER IS KING! Across the West, the large majority of mule deer hunters take to the field in the month of October. Although some states like Montana have their general rifle mule deer seasons scheduled in November, most states (Utah, Colorado second rifle, Wyoming rifle, Nevada) have their high tag quota seasons scheduled for the month of October. According to Boone and Crockett, the month of November stands supreme for producing the highest scoring bucks since 1990. Taking this into consideration, it is evident that the majority of B&C qualifying bucks are harvested during pre-rut and rut behavior patterns. Top 200 B&C typical and nontypical mule deer since 1990 Month July August September October November December January February Unknown**
Typical Nontypical 0 1 2 3 23 17 69 58 56 76 16 13 12 2 0 1* 22 29
TOTAL 1 5 40 127 132 29 14 1 51
* February buck was picked up. **Boone & Crockett lists unknown months **Data updated October 23, 2019
Photo credit: Shutterstock
IN SUMMARY If an exciting hunt and a chance for a long-haired cape on a hard horned muley is what you are after, then hunting the rut is your answer. Truly understanding the rut will help you to make this dream a reality. Use our Unit Profiles and Filtering 2.0 to search out areas that will provide the terrain and habitat that should provide rut action. The profiles will also help you find the units with the trophy quality you seek. Do your homework and go make a memory!
Hunting & Fishing News | 35
OTC Black Bear Hunting Opportunities In Arizona (continued from page 8) Once you do, don’t let go, pat yourself on the back, and learn that area. You can also check out a recent podcast episode where I talked with the guys from the Hunt Backcountry Podcast about the mental struggles of hunting the backcountry. You can listen to the episode below. https://soundcloud.com/huntbackcountry/049-mentalbattles-of-hunting-the-backcountry TROPHY POTENTIAL Because of the rugged country that our bears live in, they get a chance to get big! I would venture to say that there are plenty of bears here that have never seen a person. If a bear has everything they need in a certain drainage or canyon system, then they really have no reason to leave. All they have to do is be a bear and keep getting bigger. In my favorite bear hunting spot, I have never seen another human. That is probably because not many people are as dumb or as dedicated as I am to hunt this nasty country.
Beyond the size of our bears, we also have some amazing color phases here. I have seen black, blonde, strawberry, cinnamon, and chocolate colored bears. Some of the bears are even a combination of both! Earlier this year, I saw a bear that was blonde with chocolate socks. Never before had I seen a bear like that. Unfortunately, he gave me the slip and I couldn’t get an arrow in him. I don’t know the reason behind all of our differently colored bears, but I’d guess it has something to do with our climate. We don’t have a whole lot of rain forest type areas like up north. I hear up there, bears are mostly black—possibly because they live in a darker environment. Here, even though the bears prefer thicker areas, they are way more exposed to the sun and drier environment, including the desert. I think the coloring is possibly genetic and what helps them blend in better to our area.
A great looking chocolate colored bear with a blonde back. Photo credit: Josh Kirchner.
Josh Kirchner with his fall 2016 Arizona black bear. Photo credit: Josh Kirchner.
For the folks that do hunt bears regularly in Arizona, you know what type of country I’m speaking about: areas so thick that you get an upper body workout bending oak trees out of the way; hillsides so steep that you have to grab onto the trees and shrubs to pull yourself up. The bears love these areas because they are safe and secure. If you get down on your knees in these spots, sometimes you can actually see the “bear tunnels,” as I call them. If you aren’t down there to see them, you would never know that these little paths exist. I assure you, they do, and the bears use them. This is how so many 20” bear skulls come out of Arizona.
36 | Hunting & Fishing News
IN CLOSING Bear hunting in Arizona, although difficult, offers a unique type of bear hunting that you can’t find anywhere else. Between the climate they reside in, the vast array of colors, and trophy potential, there is surely adventure to be had within Arizona if one takes the time to have it. That is the last thing worth mentioning: time. Aside from a yearly season, I don’t think someone could ask for more hunting opportunity thanks to the five potential seasons for bears here (four if you don’t draw a spring tag). Besides the spring draw, our tags are general OTC tags. Grab your bow and call one into spitting distance or grab your rifle and shoot across the canyon. Whatever your method, it’s one more reason to get off of the couch, lace up your boots, and head into Arizona’s rugged backcountry. Get out there and write your own adventure.
Recipe: Real Texas Venison Chili (continued from page 24) INGREDIENTS Chili Paste Ingredients 3 ounces whole dried chilis 1/4 cup water Photo courtesy 1 Tablespoon salt www.huntingandcooking.com 2 Tablespoons adobo sauce Four chipotles in adobo sauce peppers Real Texas Chili Ingredients 2 and 1/2 pounds deer, elk, or pronghorn steak cut into bite size chunks 3 Tablespoons fat (lard, bacon fat, butter, bear fat, vegetable oil) 1 medium onion, diced 1 jalapeno, diced 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 cups bone broth 2 cups vegetable broth 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar 2 Tablespoons masa harina 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder 1 Tablespoon brown sugar 1 Tablespoon cinnamon 2 teaspoons cumin 2 teaspoons coriander 1 teaspoon all spice 2 teaspoons oregano
INSTRUCTIONS Chili Paste Instructions Place whole dried chilis in a skillet over high heat and blister for about one minute per side, taking care not to burn the chilis. Place in a large bowl and cover with hot water. All chilis to rehydrate for thirty minutes. Drain chilis, snip off tops and bottoms, and shake to remove seeds. Place in a blender with the quarter cup of water, salt, chipotle peppers, and adobo sauce. Blend until smooth. Real Texas Chili Instructions In large dutch oven over high heat, melt two tablespoons of your fat of choice. In small batches, brown the deer chunks for about two minutes per side. Set aside. Add another tablespoon of fat to dutch oven, reduce heat to medium, and add diced onion, jalapeno, and garlic cloves. Cook until onions are soft, about five minutes. Add two cups of bone broth, vegetable stock, and two tablespoons apple cider vinegar. Bring to a simmer. Whisk in the masa harina, stirring vigorously until all the corn flour has dissolved. Add cocoa powder, brown sugar, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, all spice, and oregano. Return the browned deer to the pot. Stir in the chili paste, drop the heat to low, and cover the pot while leaving a small opening at the side of the dutch oven. Simmer for one hour, preferably two if possible. Enjoy topped with fresh diced onions, jalapeno slices. cheddar cheese, sour cream, cilantro, frito chips!
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Select Boone and Crockett Club’s license plate the next time you register or renew a vehicle in Montana and help us preserve your hunting heritage for future generations, maintain big-game records, promote hunting ethics, and continue our youth conservation and hunting education programs on Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front. B&C receives a $20 sponsor fee for each plate.
Thank you for your continued support!
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