Scent Control: Game animals rely on their sense of smell to detect danger. Fooling their nose is a critical part of the bow hunting equation. As the evening sun began its descent, I heard a twig snap. Adrenalin pumping I knew this could only mean one ...

Whether you’re headed to Africa, Mongolia or just one province over — a successful dream hunt requires planning and dedication. Over the past 40-odd years I have been fortunate enough to hunt in 14 different countries that pretty much covered the ...

How shooting aids will make you a better hunter. A few years back I considered myself most fortunate to have finally arranged an antelope hunt on one of those ranches in New Mexico where the opportunity to harvest a 16-inch buck was a realistic object...

Before you venture afield, any time of year, you must know the basics of orienteering, weather preparedness and treatment of injuries. There are three primary wilderness situations that can each, in their own right, spell disaster: becoming lost, acci...

Here are five hunting signs that you should pack it in for the day and start fresh tomorrow. Two more sleeps and then it is off to hunting camp. I can’t wait! I’m so excited just thinking about it. I’m going to hunt all day no matter what the we...

Most stand sites are good, but a few key ingredients make a deer stand truly great. The problem with stand hunting for deer is that rarely do you find the perfect tree right where you want to bow hunt. How often have you discovered an amazing spot wit...

Before you venture afield, any time of year, you must know the basics of orienteering, weather preparedness and treatment of injuries. There are three primary wilderness situations that can each, in their own right, spell disaster: becoming lost,...

A cup of “Bush Tea” is a sure-fire way to warm up on frosty trails. Whether you’re rabbit hunting in the frozen hollows, exploring backcountry on snowshoes or huddled in your hut hard-water fishing, nothing rids the shivers better than a steami...

Nothing flavours and adds character to meats and seafood like a good spice rub. Hi Mountain Seasonings has created their unique rubs to extract maximum flavour from the meat. There are specific spice blends in a Venison Rub, Poultry Rub and Salmon Rub...

Anyone interested in getting into reloading has to check out Lyman’s Master Reloader’s Kit. Besides having the newest reloading manual, the kit includes T-Mag or Crusher Press, 1,000-grain electric scale, powder funnel, priming arm and catcher, #5...

It’s every sportsman’s dream — a trophy room in your own house. We all start the same. We finally get a 10-point buck and we want to preserve the memory of not only the animal but the hunt as well. Or maybe it was that monster pike that finally ...

Western Canada’s 2011 Hunting Forecast: A tough, long winter and a nasty spring has paid a toll on some game species — but don’t worry, there are still great prospects for many species in all Western Provinces. Canada is the “Great White North...

New Bushnell Legend Ultra HD Compact Binoculars Offer Outstanding Optical Quality in a Convenient Size. Bushnell Outdoor Products, an industry leader in high-performance optics for more than 60 years, has introduced two new compact models to its Lege...

Taking care of your bird, fish or big game animal while in the field will go a long way toward ensuring you have a beautiful mount later on. A well-mounted trophy, be it a big game animal, bird or fish, can be a work of art, something that can provide...

Hornady unveils Zombie-MAX ammo - the first-ever ammunition designed to shoot zombies. For real. Hot on the heels of AMC's premier of the second season of the hit TV show THE WALKING DEAD, Hornady has unveiled Zombie Max (Z-Max) ammo — the first amm...

Meat Processing: Make short work of what can be hunting's most tedious chore. Processing your own game meat can bring about the same sense of self-accomplishment as reloading or tying flies. But even more so, it is the final step that binds together t...

Successful bow hunters capitalize on opportunities but they also know that understanding limits and critical decisions are part of the game. Bow hunting is an activity fraught with decisions. We all pick up a bow because of the challenge, but along wi...

If you hope to make the most of your dream hunt, you’ll need to be in top physical shape, become familiar with your gear to the point of obsession and truly understand the terrain, game and weather you’re about to face. You have waited, planned an...

The Elusive Kill Zone: A look at the fine line between a killing shot and lost game. I don’t know about you, but it makes me squirm every time I hear about “the one that got away.” No one likes to admit it, and, frankly it happens to hunters mo...

Lifelike targets set at variable distances, in a variety of simulated hunting situations … what more could the off-season bowhunter ask for? An enormous polar bear stood motionless 60 metres before me. Nocking an arrow, I drew back, anchored, and to...

Your ultimate guide to choosing rifles & shotguns for Canadian game. Just about every hunter I know has a definitive opinion on what type of rifle or shotgun they prefer. I have a friend, for example, who believes that the sun rises and sets on do...

The best hunters know when not to take the shot. It was day seven of a 10-day hunt with Gana River Outfitters in the Mackenzie Mountains of the Northwest Territories, and we’d put nearly 80 km on our boots already. We were finally looking at th...

For the shooter, recoil is a constant fact that must be dealt with properly if extreme accuracy is ever to be achieved. This season, take some time to learn to manage recoil. A number of years back I invited a buddy on his first Saskatchewan goos...

[caption id="attachment_1929" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Western Sportsman account manager Chris Holmes with a massive elk."][/caption] Once the animal is downed, the real work begins — here is how to get your game animal out of th...

Summer is in full-swing and archery hunting season will soon be upon us. Are you ready? It was late April as we stepped on to the 3-D range. I hate to admit it but my muscles and joints complained as I drew back my bow. Carefully aiming at the we...

Your definitive guide to selecting the correct calibre for the game you hunt.   Undoubtedly, the question of which calibre may be the optimum choice for this or that big game animal has generated more debate and campfire discussion than all bu...

Straightforward it is, but screw up your draw, anchor, aim or release and shot opportunities can go south in a hurry. Shooting a bow with accuracy requires technical expertise. Several muscle groups are mobilized and it demands both mental and ph...

Here’s a recipe for the king of campfire breads: Bannock! When I was kid growing up in Muskoka, ON, Dad and I did a lot of canoeing in the backwaters of Algonquin Park. Since there was usually a portage or two along many of the routes, everything th...

Avoid rifle deterioration! Take proper care of your rifle, and it will last you a lifetime. The time between hunting seasons is a great time to not only wistfully ponder that new rifle you want to purchase — but also how to care for it after you hav...

Accurate archery matters! Bow tuning, form and function go hand-in-hand to achieve consistent arrow placement. How many times have you visited the range to practice archery only to discover that you’re no longer shooting tight groups? Some are left...

Avoid becoming a statistic, consider safety priority one when bowhunting from the trees. Back in the late ‘80s, when tree stand hunting really caught on here in Alberta, as well as BC, Manitoba and even Saskatchewan, relatively few hunters wore safe...

Recipe Special: Baked beans with bacon cooked in an underground pit are the best beans ever. I love baked beans and, contrary to what some contemporary cooks might think, I’m not full of hot air when I boast about bean-hole beans being the best bean...

Preventive maintenance is something that anglers and hunters who boat should always be mindful of. Certain tasks are best carried out before the boating season starts and others when the boat is being prepared for winter storage. In addition, routine ...

I have used spike camps to hunt mountain sheep, caribou, mountain goat, mule deer, elk, bears and even moose. In fact, I have taken my best Dall’s sheep, mule deer, mountain caribou, grizzly bear, and moose with the aid of a spike camp. But what actually is a spike camp? I suspect any number of hunters may describe them in somewhat varying terms but, from my perspective, they are lightweight camps that are usually located in the heart of game country — at times in their very living room, minimally equipped for limited stays, and are readily portable and mobile for quick changes in location to accommodate one’s search for game.

I was asked the other day by a non-hunter if I was a “Trophy Hunter."  My immediate, emphatic, unapologetic response was, “You bet I am.” And I am.  I have several sets of trophy antlers at home.  None of them are anywhere close to getting me...

Take a rare step inside a 500-year-old collection from the world's oldest gunmaker: Beretta. Family owned for five centuries, Beretta Arms Manufacturing Company is the world’s third-oldest corporation. Based in Gardona Val Trompia, in the Brescia re...

Recipe special: Slow-cooking is the fast way to put supper on the table. What I enjoy most about crock-pot cooking recipes, aside from the fact that slow-cooked foods, especially meats, are extra tender, moist and delicious, is that I can be gone away...

Your technical archery skill may be second to none, but misjudge the distance, and your arrow will surely miss its mark I know some incredible archers, several of whom are also outstanding bow hunters. As I strive each year to improve my own skills, I...

Your essential guide to optics — the key to a successful hunt. Optics have forever changed the way we hunt. They have allowed us to become highly  proficient and better hunters. We are now able to find and take game more reliably, under poorer li...

I have to say that I’m impressed with the stable of off-the-shelf products that rifle manufacturers are offering these days. It’s pretty hard to find a factory rifle that won’t shoot at least a 1.5-inch group at 100 yards and truthfully, with a ...