Western Hunter

A History Spanning Generations As a young man, Hoyt Buck served as an apprentice to a Kansas blacksmith. In search of a new method to temper steel, he handmade the first Buck Knife from a worn file blade in 1902. His handcrafted knives really began to be appreciated during World War II. With 40 years […] The post Gear Legends: Buck Knives Model 119 appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Remi Warren has been a field editor for Western Hunter Magazine for so long that neither of us can remember! In this episode we dive into his hunting career, how he got started, and what is really doing right now. Remi is one of the most adventurous hunters I know. Long before New Zealand was […] The post Ep 13: Remi Warren appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

In this episode I sit down with Steve Opat from Fairbanks, Alaska. Steve is an avid hunter and is also a medical helicopter flight nurse. He is in a unique position to learn from peoples mistakes. We talk about the what brought him to Alaska, his experiences, and the survival mindset. Steve always has a unique […] The post Ep 12: Steve Opat appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Becoming a houndsman was one of my dreams. There were some people that gave me advice starting out, but mostly I had to do it on my own. Now my dream has become a reality, and a large part of my life. When I started raising and training young hounds, I didn’t know much. Since […] The post Selecting & Training Young Hounds appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Packing in the backcountry is fairly simple during the summer or early fall, because the weather is relatively mild and you don’t need a heat source in your tent for comfort. However, when the temperature drops below freezing and the snow begins to pile up, a woodstove makes all the difference. At that point, a […] The post Heat In The Backcountry: Woodstoves for the Hunting Horseman appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Anti-hunting hunters. Sounds weird, doesn’t it? Sadly, it isn’t a joke. What’s scary is that the anti-hunting hunter is often us. I’m sure you’re reading this and thinking that I’m not referring to you. I’ve been guilty of it in the past, and as you read on, my guess is that you might realize you’ve […] The post Anti-hunting Hunters: Apathy is the worst policy appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Although there is a lot written about navigating the backcountry on foot both on and off-trail, there is very little information written about navigating in the backcountry with horses and mules, especially in hunting situations. In this article I will describe how I have travelled in remote areas throughout the West with my pack and […] The post Navigating the Backcountry with Stock appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Today, there is more amazing outdoor gear on the market than ever before, including advanced textiles and fabrics, mountaineering style boots, waterproof down, and equipment that is lighter, stronger and more efficient than ever before. But this gear comes with a price…a high price. The average cost of a hunter’s setup has never been higher. […] The post Ready for the Long Haul: 5 ways you’ve ruined your expensive hunting gear and how to prevent it appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

A template for lifelong bowhunting satisfaction There are many reasons bowhunting is becoming more and more popular, and it goes deeper than the obvious factors like easily available tags and favorable season dates for deer and elk hunting. There’s something more primal about bowhunting that taps into our hard-wired, predator instinct. Perhaps there’s a prehistoric […] The post Getting Started as a Bowhunter appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Logging roads and western hunting go hand in hand. In much of the mountain west, logging roads are the primary access to a lot of hunting areas. While there may be roads through many of the areas we hunt. Targeting non-motorized gated roads can lead to a lot of success by providing sanctuary to animals […] The post Road Hunting: unlocking the secrets to foot hunting locked gate public roads. appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Weary from a long season, refusing to give up is still the best strategy “Sleeping in that morning would have been easy and weighed heavy on my mind. However, standing in awe of this beautiful bull, I knew all the early mornings and long miles were worth it.” It isn’t an exaggeration to say that […] The post The Extra Mile appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Part III: Eliminate your variables Recently, I was invited by Aron Snyder to be on the Kifarucast podcast. It was during this podcast discussion that he asked me about how I would rank attributes of physical fitness vs. knowledge of animal behavior and habits when it comes to hunting mule deer. It was a legitimate […] The post Blueprint For Mule Deer appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

The merits and demerits of rangefinding binoculars Archers and riflemen alike have used laser rangefinders to make accurate shots on game more reliably for years, but only recently have hunters had a practical option of getting that functionality integrated into a binocular which begs the question, why doesn’t everyone just use a rangefinding binocular? While […] The post The Shortest Yard appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

One Montana’s Innovative Hunting Access Program In our three previous articles on hunting access, we’ve reviewed state-managed hunting access programs, public land access, and private land access. In this article, we’ll review an innovative approach to private land access in Montana, facilitated and funded by One Montana, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Access: The Future of […] The post Access and the DIY Hunter appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

What I did right and wrong in getting my kids involved in hunting An Old Man’s Reflection Years ago, before I was married and before kids came into my life, I was guiding an older gentleman in his mid-70s on a deer hunt. We got to talking about his family and his grown children and […] The post Stoking the Fire appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

It’s all about being in the right place at the right time Colten Tholen, Wyoming, 2017 Our story is one of those hunts that you only dream of having or wish to have come true. It’s also the story that maybe you don’t always care to hear about. Regardless, it’s one I’ll never forget, and […] The post Better Lucky Than Good appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

My favorite way to learn anything is to jump head first into the murky depths and stay afloat. That is exactly what I had done when signing up for Outdoor Solutions’ Long Range Shooting School. I knew next to nothing about rifles and much less how to shoot them effectively. I made that painfully clear […] The post Going the Distance: From first time shooter to 1,000 yards. appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Digital file management is more important than ever Most of you take hunting photographs either with your phone, a DSLR, or a mirrorless camera. But, what are you doing to keep track of those precious moments? Are your images being dumped onto your computer – or worse – left on your phone or the camera’s […] The post Get Organized! appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Becoming a Sheep Hunter and the Quest for a Grand Slam Sheep hunting is a privilege. The pursuit is also the most coveted hunting opportunity in North America, as evidenced by hundreds of thousands of applicants applying for close to 1,000 available permits in the Western states. The simple math of this small number of […] The post One Man’s Journey appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

Tying a peep-sight in properly is one of the fundamental skills any bow mechanic should master. It’s an overlooked aspect of equipment setup that not only ensures the peep doesn’t move as you shoot, but it can also prevent serious eye injury in the event of a dry-fire or string failure. I’ve seen a number […] The post 20-Step Peep-Sight Straight Jacket appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

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 in the scope to accurately engage the target ranged. The KILO BDX rangefinders can be programmed with the […] The post Sig Sauer Electro Optics BDX appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

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 bulls in the mid 300-inch […] The post Over-the-counter Bulls appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

The bobcat came sneaking into the sounds my electronic call was sending into the cold winter air. I shot him at 100 yards for three reasons: 1) I was confident I could make the shot; 2) the large tom had been killing lots of turkeys and I had been finding his kills all over the […] The post Turning Predators Into Profit appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

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 springs that drop off into cool creek bottoms. Over […] The post Fringe Benefits appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article

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 elevations. When we think of backcountry elk camps, the picture that most […] The post Mobile Roving Backcountry Camps appeared first on Western Hunter. View the full article