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 ...
Big Game
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 ...
Get a Little Classy With This Venison Wellington Recipe
Beef Wellington is an iconic British dish that lends itself well to a wild game adaptation. In fact, plenty of you will probably prefer the venison Wellington you're about to learn how to make, and that's a good thing. In the traditional recipe, a ...
The 8 Greatest Hunting Dog Breeds of All Time
When it comes to flushing birds, retrieving waterfowl, treeing big cats, or tracking wild game, every hunter has a dog in the fight. Many hunting dog breeds are absolute killers when it comes to the chase that’s coursed through their veins for ...
Hunting Big Air and Big Game: Meet Olympic Gold Medal Skier David Wise
Freestyle skiing and big game hunting are rarely mentioned in the same conversation — unless you’re chatting with two-time Olympic gold medalist David Wise. The 31-year-old Nevada native has been in the field hunting for wild game as long as he’s ...
AK Caribou Herd Decline Could Shut Out Nonresident Hunters
The Western Arctic Caribou herd in Alaska has shrunk by an estimated 23% over the past couple of years. For Alaskan communities that depend on an abundant caribou herd for their very existence, this is a major wake-up call that says better management ...
Montana Deer Season Extended to Combat CWD, Booming Population
Whitetail hunters in the Big Sky Country have received an early Christmas present: the Montana deer season has been extended through Feb. 15, 2022, in several southwestern districts. This is good news for hunters who ate tag soup during the ...
After 40-Year Wait, Maine Hunter Draws Moose Permit, Bags Grand Slam
Ronald Argraves Sr. has been waiting patiently the past 40 years for a Maine moose permit. At 73 years old, he knew his odds were not getting any better with each passing season. But, after all that waiting, the Castle Hill resident finally ...
Fred Koontz, Controversial Washington Fish and Wildlife Official, Resigns
Less than 12 months after being appointed to a six-year term on the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, Fred Koontz has resigned because he says the commission is “currently stuck in a politicized quagmire.” Gov. Jay Inslee ...
Yellowstone Grizzlies Closer to Delisting: WY, MT Approve Revised MOA
UPDATE – Dec. 15: The Montana Fish and Game Commission unanimously endorsed the revised tri-state Memorandum of Agreement for Yellowstone grizzlies at its Dec. 14 meeting. Montana has now joined Wyoming, which had already approved the agreement, in ...