Western Hunter

When I show up to a new area, I already know many of the best vantage points in the unit before I ever set foot there. This starts at home, well prior to the hunt. Here are the steps I take in order to locate what I would deem as the “best spots”. The post Picking a Hunting Spot appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

DIY western big game hunting is a lot of work. The planning, preparation, travel, and hunt all require time and dedication to put all the moving pieces together. The post BaseMap for E-Scouting appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

With thousands of days spent self-filming, I want to share the secrets I have learned over the years of capturing my hunts and help lessen the learning curve for those of you interesting in capturing your hunt on film. The post Master the Art of Self-Filming appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

We covered more than one hundred and sixteen miles total, and seeing the two float planes land on the smooth river surface made it all worthwhile. The post Alaska Afloat appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

We ventured off as planned, pulling a camping trailer with my 3500 Ram loaded down with two week’s worth of grub, 150 gallons of Avgas in drums, and 130 gallons of diesel fuel in the Tidy Tank. What could possibly go wrong? The post Of Caves and Rams appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Hearing that the results had been released, I opened up my oldest son Trey’s FWP profile and saw he was “successful” in the draw. Then I opened up my younger son, Tyson’s, and saw he was also “successful”! The post Crazy Odds appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

We rolled into camp that night very late and shared the good news with Steve and Nate. We had more meat to pack out, but our hunt was over. Four bulls in 48 hours exceeded our wildest expectations. The post 4 in 48 appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

I looked at 20 rams, walked countless miles, lost over 20 lbs, and spent the better part of summer in a tent. My goal was to take a mature ram and in the end, I surpassed my goal The post Uncharted Territory appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

I grew up elk hunting with my dad, Lonny Gabrio, and friends John Davis, Jason Phelps, Charlie Smith, Nick Schmit, and others; hunting camp with “the guys”. For this hunt, I had my other half, Kylee Kjar by my side in pursuit of her first bull with a bow. This season we were taking our […] The post Big Sky Dreams appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

After about 45 minutes, it finally happened. I felt the wind hit the back of my neck. I immediately drew back and like clockwork, the bull’s head whipped upright. The post Big Sky Dreams appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Being born and raised in Montana, I have been very fortunate to hunt big game every year. I have taken some respectable mule deer but have had a few giants escape my bullet in years prior. The post Into The Wilderness appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Lessons of failure lead to success in the backcountry Being born and raised in Montana, I have been very fortunate to hunt big game every year. I have taken some respectable mule deer but have had a few giants escape my bullet years prior. This year, I started off doing a backcountry early rifle hunt […] The post Into The Wilderness appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Nate Simmons hunts Montana’s backcountry for elk during the peak of the rut. To access this post, you must purchase Western Hunter Magazine Subscription – Super Subscription - Magazine, TV Show, Exclusive Online Content or Season 8. The post Perfect Storm Part II appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Nate Simmons hunts Montana’s backcountry for elk during the peak of the rut. To access this post, you must purchase Western Hunter Magazine Subscription – Super Subscription - Magazine, TV Show, Exclusive Online Content or Season 8. The post Perfect Storm Part I appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Chris and his son Mark join forces to try and find a mature Coues deer buck to fill Mark’s tag […] To access this post, you must purchase Western Hunter Magazine Subscription – Super Subscription - Magazine, TV Show, Exclusive Online Content or Season 8. The post Coues Camp Part II appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Western Hunter is joined by Rafe Nielsen of Browning for his first Coues deer hunt. To access this post, you must purchase Western Hunter Magazine Subscription – Super Subscription - Magazine, TV Show, Exclusive Online Content or Season 8. The post Coues Camp Part I appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Nate Simmons searches Wyoming’s high country for mule deer. To access this post, you must purchase Western Hunter Magazine Subscription – Super Subscription - Magazine, TV Show, Exclusive Online Content or Season 8. The post High & Dry appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Chris Denham heads for Nevada to explore some new country in pursuit of mule deer on public-land. To access this post, you must purchase Western Hunter Magazine Subscription – Super Subscription - Magazine, TV Show, Exclusive Online Content or Season 8. The post Few & Far Between appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

From the time light strikes the objective lens of the binocular until the time it emerges from the ocular lens, it goes through an intense array of bends, reflections, splits and re-convenes in a compressed state. How well each of the man-made components handles this task contributes to the quality of the image we see […] The post Optics Terms Explained appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

No product category has evolved more in the last decade than riflescopes. Not long ago, a 3-9x scope was the industry standard. However, with the improvements in laser rangefinders, shooters have been clamoring for more advanced riflescopes. The optics industry has responded with hundreds of new products with ballistic turrets, ballistic reticles, and with higher […] The post Swarovski dS 5-25×52 Smart Riflescope Review appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

It’s mid-afternoon. You’re laying on a rock in the sun, crumpling a candy bar wrapper and picking the last bits of ham and cheese from your teeth. You settle in behind the binoculars, but after a while, your leg falls asleep. You change positions, go back to glassing. Muffle a cough, drink some water. Glass. […] The post How To Glass Without Using A Grid appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Way back in the last century (1999), Swarovski introduced the EL binocular, which was at the time an entirely new class of optics. I was a sales rep for Swarovski in those days, but when I heard about the new binocular and the price, I was incredulous! The SLC class was spectacular and sold for […] The post Swarovski NL Pure Review appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

About 10 years back, my dad started carrying a GoPro on our hunts. You know, the clunky silver-colored one with the bulging fisheye lens? He’d wear it on his head and was constantly fumbling with it, never sure whether it was even on or off. That paired with the video quality leaving plenty to be […] The post GoPro HERO 8 Review appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Connor Gabbott is a professionally trained chef, photographer, videographer and hunter. In this episodes he shares his secrets for preparing and sharing wild game. But we also dig into his evolution as a hunter, his entry into the camera world, and career changes. Connor wrote the introduction and shared some of his favorite wild game recipes […] The post Ep 22: Connor Gabbott appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

We write a lot about physical fitness and nutrition in the pages of Western Hunter. At 57 years of age, I am convinced that physical and emotional health are the most critical components to truly enjoying a hunt. The older we get, the more likely we are to be able to afford out of state […] The post Fitness Over 50 appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article