Diehard whitetail hunters eat, breathe, and sleep all things deer hunting, 24/7/365. In many locales across North America, deer seasons are over; and hunters in places where there are still a few more days on the deer-hunting calendar are burning the ...
Big Game
Wolf Fight Heats Up As Judge Restores ESA Protections
A Feb. 10 court ruling has overturned the 2020 delisting of wolves in the Lower 48, placing them back on the Endangered Species List and fueling the ongoing wolf fight between animal rights groups and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. In Oct. ...
Venison Ragu: A Classic Wild Game Recipe
“Ragu” is one of those words we see on menus and hear in conversation all the time, but most of us have no idea what it actually is. As if things weren't confusing enough, sometimes you see it spelled “ragú,” and sometimes “ragout.” There’s even a ...
Wolves in Northern Minnesota Helping Moose, Eating Beavers
When it comes to keeping their friends close and their enemies closer, research shows moose in northern Minnesota are seeing a life-saving benefit by co-existing with wolves. On the other hand, beavers in the north woods are becoming a favorite wolf ...
Anti-Hunting Orgs Targeting Big Cat Seasons, Bear Seasons, and Trapping
Anti-hunting organizations are ramping up their game and could make headway in several states and possibly on the federal level in 2022. Their victories will be measured in the number of hunting and trapping seasons that can be banned or canceled, ...
Colorado Mountain Lion Hunting Ban Is Dying, but It’s Not Dead Yet
Update – Feb. 7: A bill that would have banned the hunting of mountain lions and bobcats in Colorado died in committee last week. The bill was postponed indefinitely by the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee in a 4-1 ...
Predator Calling Contests Under Attack From Virginia Lawmaker
Predator calling competitions are currently under fire in the Commonwealth of Virginia, creating concern among some hunters about the future of their sport after a state delegate labeled such contests as violent, gruesome, and purposeless and said ...
Shed Hunting Tips From Connor Clark: How to Rule the West
The annual antler drop — a remarkable few months when antlered critters drop their headgear — is a time period that’s as eagerly anticipated as the mule deer and elk ruts. For many shed hunters, the time of year is all about family and friends; large ...
Will New Wolf Hunting Regs Kill Yellowstone-Area Tourism?
Since their reintroduction to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho in 1995, gray wolves have been a blessing and a curse, depending on who you ask. The population's strong recovery and subsequent removal from the endangered species list in ...
Washington 2022 Spring Bear Hunting Season May Be Resurrected
Everyone thought Washington state’s 2022 spring bear season was dead for good, but now, it looks like the hunt has a chance at resurrection. The state fish and wildlife commission decided Friday, Jan. 22, to reconsider the cancellation, which ...
Activists Say Grizzly Delisting Will Create “Targets for Trophy Hunters”
Anti-hunting groups are pushing back against a petition to delist grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) and open the doors for new hunting seasons, saying grizzly population numbers aren't what they appear to be. The process of ...
Wildlife Scientists Lead the Charge in Montana’s CWD ‘Zombie Deer’ Fight
Most sportsmen who travel to Montana head almost immediately for its wilds to fish and hunt. On this trip to Big Sky Country, the mission is whitetails — chronic wasting disease–infected “zombie deer” specifically, but our first stop is a veterinary ...
First-Time Hunter, Grandmother Tags Bull During Wisconsin Elk Season
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources recently wrapped up its fourth annual lottery elk hunt, which proved to be a rousing overall success; nearly every hunter who drew a tag killed an elk during the 2021-2022 limited hunting ...
Hunter Ed: Piebald Deer and Other Whitetail Genetic Anomalies
Any whitetail hunter knows that deer can move through the thickest brush or crunchiest leaves without making a sound, appearing or disappearing like smoke. Stealth is what helps that wobbly fawn eventually become a 4 1/2-year-old stud. Not so for ...
CO Rejects Blaze Orange for Bowhunters Proposal Spurred by Shooting
Colorado bowhunters will not have to remember to stuff an orange vest and hat into their packs this hunting season. State wildlife officials recently rejected a proposal that would have forced bowhunters to wear blaze orange during the period when ...
How to Make Country-Fried Deer Heart
Country- or chicken-fried steak is one of those things I can’t pass up if it’s on the menu. If you can deny yourself a tender slab of fried beef, then you’re a better person than I am. I don’t care if it comes on a sandwich or with a side of mashed ...
Chris Bee Q&A: How Archery Competition Improves Bowhunting Accuracy
If you pay attention to social media, perhaps you’ve noticed that some of the deadliest bowhunters are also competitive archers. Folks like Levi Morgan, John Dudley, Brady Ellison, and Chris Bee shoot tons of arrows all year round. They constantly ...
Coyote Calling: Match Prey Sounds To Kill More ‘Yotes
When I first started coyote calling some 15 years ago, my go-to was the Superjack distress call on my Johnny Stewart electronic caller, and it was money. I'd turn it on — softly at first — then boost the volume for a few minutes. Then, I'd hit the ...
How a Pennsylvania Whitetail Hunter Arrowed a Public Land Booner
As a Pennsylvania whitetail hunter, you just don’t expect to shoot a Boone and Crockett deer. Pennsylvania is far from both Iowa and Wisconsin, but since the state implemented an antler point restriction in 2002, it feels like that distance has ...
Wild Hunting Tactics: How 7 Apex Predators Do What They Do Best
As all hunters know, putting meat on the table requires patience, skill, know-how, and a healthy dash of luck. That formula isn’t exclusive to human hunters. All of Nature’s best hunters, the apex predators, possess these same traits. Some ...
‘Alarming’ Wolf Hunting Tallies in Yellowstone Not Alarming At All
Wolf hunting in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho in areas bordering Yellowstone National Park has legally taken 20 gray wolves this season, causing concern for the future of the park’s iconic canines and some alarmist headlines, despite thriving ...
The Time is Now: How to Apply and Draw Western Hunting Tags
In 2019, I purchased an over-the-counter, or OTC, archery elk tag in Idaho in August to hunt that following September. Two years later, on the day the tags dropped, I was number 11,873 in an online cue for this same OTC tag — and I didn’t get it. ...
How Virginia’s First Tag Lottery for Elk Management Zone Bulls Will Work
The return of elk hunting in Virginia is expected to draw many people to the Commonwealth in 2022. And soon, hunters will have a shot at drawing for a chance to pursue Virginia bulls. The Department of Wildlife Resources recently announced formal ...
8-Year-Old’s Bear Dogs Saved After 100-Foot Fall Into WV Cave on Hunt
Bear dogs are known for being tenacious and tough — as you’d expect from any dog that’s willing to risk life and limb running down an animal three or four times its size. Sometimes, that drive can get a dog in trouble. On Thursday, Dec. 30, ...
Hunter Tags Two ‘Albino’ Deer with One Arrow in Texas
When David Santini spotted the doe from his stand, he knew immediately that it was the “albino” deer the property owners had seen numerous times on the adjacent lot. The rare blond-colored doe had successfully eluded hunters on this Texas ...
Watch: Polar Bears Are Apparently Hunting Reindeer Now
Recent footage of a polar bear hunting down a reindeer off the coast of Norway is fueling debate over the effect of climate change on the threatened species. In August, scientists filmed the bear chasing the deer into the sea and dragging it ...
Coyote Hunting: Intense Scouting and Planning Pay Off
There was a time when one could head to the prairie, turn on a fairly low-quality e-caller, and bring in song dogs at full tilt before blasting them in the face. Hell, it didn’t even have to be an e-caller. As a young man on the plains, I got coyotes ...
North Carolina Black Bear Hunting May Be Expanded to 3 Sanctuaries
While Washington state has canceled its spring bear hunting season for 2022, wildlife officials are considering opening three sanctuaries to North Carolina black bear hunting in the western part of the state this year to address an increasing number ...
Utah Wildlife Board Bans Trail Cameras for Hunting Big Game
Hunters and wildlife lovers will no longer be allowed to use trail cameras for hunting big game animals in the Beehive State. The measure passed with a 4-3 vote by the Utah Wildlife Board, which also banned the use of thermal imaging night vision ...
Grizzly Steals Kill From Yellowstone Wolf Pack – Again
A grizzly stealing a kill from a Yellowstone wolf pack is not particularly new news. It’s actually a pretty common occurrence for a grizz to grab an easy meal from wolves after they’ve done the heavy lifting. The two apex predators have been at odds ...