Big Game

The following is a press release from The Mule Deer Foundation. The Mule Deer Foundation (MDF) today announced significant strides in expanding its conservation work on black-tailed deer and their habitat. MDF has dedicated thousands of man-hours, funding, and conservation work to both Columbia...

I’ve been driving through antelope country my whole life, often on the way to hunt other game. I’d see them out there, walking through the sea of grass, staring blankly into the distant horizon. And not just one, but hundreds. It almost seemed like they weren’t worth pursuing for fear of ease, as if...

Many people hunt hogs nowadays, employing a wide range of weapons and tactics, all of which offer fun and excitement. Still, for hair-raising episodes, wrestling a live hog to the ground might prove to be the most exhilarating—and dangerous. The adventures of a few hunters from forty-five years ago...

I’ve dedicated a full week to hunting black bears for the last three seasons, and I’ve come to a conclusion: this isn’t for the faint of heart. Black bear populations are less dense than elk, they don’t run in herds, and their powerful noses can sniff you coming from, literally, a mile away. That’s...

Mammals differ from species to species, but inside the chest, they are remarkably similar. Here, we’ll take a detailed look at the anatomy of feral hogs to better understand where shots will have the most impact. The following dissection of a hog demonstrates proper shot placement for that species...

In the realm of the average hunter, elk are king. While the one-percenters busy themselves with $50,000 sheep tags, or African safaris to quickly fill up their trophy rooms, the Rocky Mountain elk remains at the top of the heap for most hunters. Why shouldn’t it? Bulls can weigh four times that of a...

For most hunters living on the East Coast, hunting elk usually involves traveling hundreds of miles to the Western wilderness stronghold states of Montana, Wyoming, or Colorado. But, after decades of absence in the East, they’re starting to reclaim their former range. They’re not as abundant as...

There are plenty of ways to kill a pig. As a Texan, I’ve heard them all, ranging from guns and bows to explosives (not recommended) and stone-age spears (also not recommended). In many ways, these creative pursuits were born out of necessity—to thin out the ever-growing population of wild swine...

There isn’t a more coveted game animal for the common hunter than a bull elk. Sure, the one-percenters might get glossy-eyed over some type of sheep that lives in the mountains of some country most folks have never heard of, but for the average hunter, it’s the Rocky Mountain elk. This is a hunt...

If you’re feeling a little too cheerful about hunting, and you’re interested in inducing a bout of depression, do a quick search on over-the-counter elk hunting odds. They aren’t great, but what’s worse, is that most info you’ll find that is focused on easy-to-get tags, is far worse. The bitching is...

More bear come into the taxidermist screwed up than not. The skinning cuts are made in the wrong places, the hides are full of holes, or the faces are ruined. Since it's a tragedy to see such a badass animal not taken care of properly, I worked with John Hayes, from Hayes Taxidermy Studio, to...

Blue whales have them. Songbirds have them. Turns out bugling bull elk have them too. Not just a song of their species, but local dialects that separates their tunes from others in geographic locations. In a discovery that may stir the coals of campfire debates for many Septembers to come...