5-Tips for Setting up a DIY Trophy Hunt

Jul 19 2011

1.) Set Aside Enough Time-
I always make sure to set aside the proper amount of time to hunt an area effectively. Some factors that go into this decision are of course the length of the season, the specie you are hunting and your familiarity with the country. As a general rule of thumb, I set aside five days for an antelope hunt, seven days for a mule deer hunt and up to ten days for an elk hunt. The tougher the hunt the longer it seems to take, and elk hunting…well it’s elk hunting. Some states like New Mexico which has a very short two day antelope season would make this an impossible scenario. If I am very familiar with the area or have pre-scouted it a lot I might cut a day or two out of that schedule or on the other hand I am headed into completely foreign territory I will often add a day or two to the hunt just in case.

2.) Get a Good Map-
One of the first things I do once I have drawn a tag is buy a good map of the area. I usually get a customized paper topo map of the area with the unit boundaries and the public versus private land designated directly onto the map. This allows me to then transfer any “Walk-In” areas or public access to private property onto the map for reference while out in the field. I always make plenty of notes on my map during the hunt and signify where I have seen and killed big bucks for future reference. Soon you will be able to purchase these very maps from the eastmans.com store for your specific hunt area. An additional option might be to order a card for your GPS of the corresponding state so you can double check or verify access and road/trails against your paper map. Never throw your maps away and definitely do not loan them out to anyone! I have an arsenal of almost 50 of these maps waiting for another tag to be drawn in the area.

3.) Google Earth your Area-
After I get my map in hand I always run through my area on Google Earth. Most of the time I am just trying to get an idea visually of how the drainages and ridges flow as well as to get a general overview of what the country looks like. I look for good habitat as much as anything else. Secondary would be to search out good hard to get to roadless or trail-less country that could harbor a big old buck or bull where hunting pressure is light. After doing this a few times you will get better and better at picking out good buck and bull habitat. In a nutshell, I look for water holes and sage flats for antelope, basins and the heads of creek drainages for mule deer bucks and snow slides and pockets off of steep timbered ridges for elk. If you are new to this-Google Earth a piece of country that you know well and build up your familiarity with the look and feel of the program against what you know it looks like in your mind’s eye.

4.) Check the Weather Report-
I always check the weather report before I go on any type of hunt. Not only will this give you an idea of what type of gear to bring it also can give you a rough idea of what to expect when it comes to trophy behavior and game movements. I realize that moving a hunt at the last minute might not be possible for most guys but sometimes you can shift a hunt either way just a day or two in order to hit the perfect weather envelope which can make for a lot better hunt. My favorite time to hunt is right after a hard fall snow storm. The day right before the storm can be very productive also. The worst weather you can get is a big high pressure stuck over the Rocky Mountains bearing warm temps and blue skies. In addition, a full moon can be the kiss of death on any hunt. Try to avoid this scenario, particularly on a mule deer hunt. As a side note, one exception would be-nice weather is good for antelope hunting. Moisture and gray skies can make hunting speed goats a tough endeavor.

5.) Be Smart About your Hunt Dates-
Before I actually set aside my hunt dates, I always do the math. This simply means to divide the number of hunters (the tag quota) by the number of weeks the season is long. So if you have 100 tags in an area with a five week season that would be only about 20 people per week hunting. A very manageable situation and the hunt dates for this type of hunt would be wide open as there should be very little hunting pressure in this area even on the opening weekend of the hunt. On the other hand, if an area has 1200 tags and a two week season then we have an entirely different scenario with over 600 hunters combing the area for bucks. If this pressure factor goes to over 100 hunters per week, I usually schedule to hunt during the week from Monday to Thursday. This allows the weekenders and locals to have at it on the weekends. Another thing to watch out for is the opener. Research shows that over 60% of the hunters in an area hunt on the opening day or two of the season. With only 100 tags this would not be much of a problem as only about 60 guys will be competing with you for a buck. I try to only hunt on the opening weekend if this number is below 100 or I have scouted the area thoroughly and have found the buck or bull I am after before the seasons starts. One last thing to keep in mind is the size of the area. A massive area can handle a lot more hunters than a small area. Some final rules of thumb I use: For elk hunts October 5th to the 20th seems to be a dead zone. I try to hunt before the 5th of October if possible. For a rut hunt schedule the 20th of September to be smack in the middle of your hunt, moon depending. Try to hunt the back end of a full moon phase as the moon is decreasing if possible. For Antelope: anything really goes here. I like to hunt antelope after the 10th of October in nice weather if I can. For mule deer, the earlier the better, or after the 25th of October. The first three weeks of October can be a brutal time to try and hunt a big buck. Why do you think so many of the mule deer rifle seasons are scheduled during this time period? Throw in a big high-pressure weather cell and it can be next to impossible. The exception to this is the first week of October can be a golden time to kill a big buck in the high country if you get the right weather and light hunting pressure.

Time for Bear-1st Hunt of 2011.

May 17 2011

For those of us who DON’T turkey hunt, a good spring bear hunt is about as good as it gets to get the cabin fever and the dust knocked off the old bow or rifle. Although, I do have to say I’m just going to miss all those turkey pics on Facebook each weekend…well not really. Anyhow, Nate and I are headed out to Western Oregon where yours truly was lucky enough to draw a spring bear tag after only six years of applying, yes I have terrible luck. We are looking forward using this hunt to test some new gear, a new camera and get some good shots for some upcoming DVD and promotional projects we have simmering on the stove back at the office in Wyoming. This hunt is going to be a spot and stalk endeavor for big bruins in some very steep and nasty country, Public Land/DIY just the type of hunt I look forward to most. Who knows, we might even take the bow along just in case a cagey old bear lets his guard down a little too much. Can’t wait, got a lot of gear to find and very long drive ahead of us on Friday, but given a little luck it might just be well worth it. Who knows, we might even drop a turkey or two, but don’t tell anyone.

Headed for camp!

Guy Eastman

The Icebreaker

Apr 12 2011

I finally found what I have been searching for the past two years for. I just wish it was made by a hunting company. But there is hope…more on that later.

As a firm believer in wool base layers I have been searching high and low for a good high quality wool t-shirt to wear on my backcountry excursions as my “against-the-skin” baselayer top. This would go underneath my FirstLite Merino Wool long-sleave baselayer. I’m a huge believer in wool. Cotton is too cold, stinks bad, and dries extremely slow, while the high performance synthetics dry fairly fast, but are uncomfortably cold, not very soft and once they get a good stench brewing you cannot get it out even after a good hard washing. I always thought a good high quality merino wool base t-shirt would be the perfect solution. And I finally found one, at Sierra Trading Post of all places and on sale to boot. A company called Icebreaker builds high quality merino wool performance gear for outdoor athletes. As a part of their performance line is an entire line of high quality t-shirts built to perform. These shirts fit fairly tight so they don’t wrinkle up underneath your other layers particularly when adding and removing layers over the top of them. They make them in two different weights, a superfine-150 and a superfine-200.

In my opinion, the wool baselayer gives the hunter/backpacker the best of all worlds, warmth even when wet, good odor resistance even after multiple days of continuous use, soft comfort, dries very quickly once wet, and extremely breathable even in hot weather. The Icebreaker garments are built with the highest quality merino wool on the planet from sheep raised in New Zealand. The cut is very athletic and they even make an ultra-high performance t-shirt (the GT version) with venting (mesh) on the back and under the arms. You can even get online and punch in a special code from the tag of your particular shirt and it will show you the actual “sheep station” (ranch)

in New Zealand where the wool for your shirt came from. This shirt is perfect for my backpacking excursions in the early fall when the weather is hot and dry.

I put my shirt to the test and wore it for five straight days, day and night without any mention from my girlfriend or co-workers about heavy odor. I also drenched one in the sink, rung it out and hung it in the wind at 58 degrees. The shirt became totally dry in less than 45 minutes with a cool steady breeze. Based on this, I suspect that under normal hunting conditions in early September no matter how much you managed to sweat in this thing, it would be dry in less than 20 minutes with a slight breeze in the sun, and all while maintaining a reasonably odor free garment.

The Icebreaker, Tech-T Light is sure to be just the ticket for my baselayer top this fall. This t-shirt is the type of high quality base that I have been searching for. A shirt that can be worn day and night for five long days in comfort while trekking the backcountry in search of big bucks and bulls.

The entire Icebreaker line of clothing can be found at: www.icebreaker.com. Beware, these shirts are far from cheap. A simple ultra lightweight merino wool t-shirt will run you in excess of $60.00 on the site, but if you do some research online you might find one for much less. I got mine at Sierra for less than $30.00.

Rumor has it that the guys over at FirstLite, a hunting friendly company are also developing a short sleeve T-shirt for the “against the skin” application as well, possibly in time for the fall hunting season. The FirstLite merino products can be found online at: www.firstlite.com and at Linton Outdoors, www.lintonoutdoors.com. I can’t wait to check out their new products later this season.

-Guy

Necessary???…

Feb 08 2011

Is a wrist top computer watch a necessary item for the backcountry hunter? The truth…probably not. But it sure is nice to have one. After all, none of us died before the advent of this little piece of technology. When you’re sitting high atop a ridge line in the head of the Grey’s River and a storm front looks to be building on the horizon is sure is nice to know how far down you have to climb to the creek bottom, what time the sun is going to set, is the barometer plunging or will you wake up without an alarm in the morning to get on that 200-inch buck before the sun comes up.

And that is just some of the useful characteristics of this type of instrument. Along with all of the normal watch functions. I just bought a new Suunto Core Everest edition watch. My old Suunto Vector was getting a bit worse for the wear, after well over 2,000 days of continual use and was about due for an upgrade. After reading an article in a past issue of Backpacker Magazine I was sold on the new version of my digital hunting partner. The new Core Everest is a limited edition of only 8,848 which un-coincidentally happens to be the elevation of Mount Everest in meters. This bad boy will run you about $400 bones but well worth the money given the watch’s functions and upgrades. Beyond the time and date needed for punching your tags this not so little sucker will; tell you your elevation, give your altitude and barometric pressure, has a digital compass, give your net altitude change, measure your depth underneath the surface of a lake, give a storm alarm warning, give the sunrise and sunset times, wake-up alarm, and give the temperature all along the way. Not to mention the case full of trophies and awards this watch has won. And for good luck the signature of Apa Sherpa is on the bottom of the watch. For those of you who don’t know, Apa holds the world record for the most summits of Mount Everest at a current summit count of twenty times. Unbelievable!!!

So far this watch has been everything it’s cracked up to be and more. The functionality of the menus and user friendliness has been seriously improved versus the older version as is the aluminium bezel and improved wrist strap design. The readout and backlight are much better than the old version as well.

I have no doubt that this little devil will be on my wrist this fall and hopefully will be with me for another six long hunting seasons just like its older brother was.

I have had the good fortune to try more than a few watches in my career and I always seem to come back to my trusty old Suunto. And the best part…it’s only available in EASTMANS’ ORANGE!!!

For more information check out backcountry.com for more information and user reviews.

Guy

MRS Correction

Feb 04 2011

We had a small hick-up in the antelope chart in the MRS section for Wyoming. The season dates for the “blue” chip units are incorrect. The corrected chart is below. Sorry for the inconvenience. Let me know if you have any questions, concerns or ideas for improvements. Good luck on your research. -Guy EastmanAntelope MRS Chart