GEAR
Sig Sauer Electro Optics BDX
Sig Sauer Electro Optics has brought some game-changing technology to the hunting market with their Ballistic Data Xchange (BDX) rangefinder and riflescope. The system uses your ballistics, environmental conditions, and Bluetooth to illuminate the exact holdover dot...
Introducing the Swarovski dS 5-25×52 Smart Riflescope
No product category has evolved more in the last five years than riflescopes. Not long ago, a 3-9x scope was the industry standard. However, with the invention of the laser rangefinder, shooters have been clamoring for more advanced riflescopes. The optics industry...
Outfitting Your UTV: Part 2
A Quick Recap In our first installment of our UTV series, we outfitted our project UTV with essential equipment for hunting the West. We covered the basics with a roof, skid plate, lower doors, and a half wind-screen to offer the minimum protection from the elements....
TACTICS
Over-the-counter Bulls
For most western hunters, the elk areas we dream of hunting and the elk areas that we actually get to hunt in are two completely different things. Of course, everyone dreams of taking a 400-inch bull, but the reality is these types of elk are few and far between. Even...
Trail Cameras for Predators
When most people think of using trail cameras, they usually think of whitetail deer. They are also used routinely for bear, elk, mule deer, antelope, etc. However, I rarely hear of people using them to locate predators or to help pattern them for more success when...
Making The Impossible Possible
Making the Impossible Possible Stalking antelope with a bow, made easier The American pronghorn is perfectly suited for the terrain of the West. Their eyes – the largest of any North American ungulate - are their best line of defense against predators. They survive...
INFORMATION
Mobile Roving Backcountry Camps
Flexibility is often the key to being a successful hunter. Colorado wilderness areas, with their unique topography and abundance of mule deer and elk, provide interesting opportunities for horsemen to use mobile roving camps to access a wide range of habitat types and...
The State of Colorado’s Mule Deer
Almost eight years ago, I authored an article for Western Hunter on Colorado mule deer hunting and management. In it, I addressed population trends, big buck potential, and record-class mule deer potential and history. I also made some assertions and predictions. The...
ADVENTURE
Fringe Benefits
Go against the grain to find hidden treasures Like most hunters out there, when I dream of elk hunting, I tend to paint a picture of the most picturesque landscapes. Personally, mine consist of steep sage slopes that melt into thick timbered bedding areas full of...
When It’s In Your Blood: A solo elk trip in rough country proves to be the ultimate test
Jeff Bruce, Idaho, 2015 I should have known that on a year when I’d just taken a new job with part of the busy season landing in September, I would draw an archery elk tag. That’s just the way things go, and it created a problem - little time for preparation and...
The DNA of a Mule Deer Hunter
A journey of a lifetime…and then some It’s hard for me to decide which I like more – massive, deep-forked mulies or the hunters back in the old days who pursued them. I’m equally as drawn to a big non-typical mule deer rack as I am to an old-time hunting photo of...
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