Editorials

By far the most asked question for us is what gear we are using. So we thought we’d put together some gear lists and let you know exactly what we’re carrying into the backcountry on our hunts. You’ve probably head the saying: “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.” This is particularly true with hunting gear and preferences …

Whether you want to take footage of animals on your hunts, the winter range, or record videos of your long-range steel target shooting, It is easy to capture and share these moments with today’s digiscoping products. Let’s look at a couple of options, the pros and cons and compare custom fit adapters to Universal Adapters. With any of these products, …

It can happen, but it shouldn’t. I’m talking about answering a question with:  “I didn’t draw anything.” Don’t let yourself come into a hunting season with no tags in your pocket. In this article we’ll look at ways to make sure you always have some opportunities to get out and hunt every year. Get familiar With Your Home State: The …

Over the past few years, shed antler hunting/gathering seasons are becoming more common. arlier this year Colorado implemented a season and this week Nevada followed suit by passing a new season through the legislature that will make gathering shed antlers illegal from Jan 1. – April 30 in Elko, Eureka, Lander, Lincoln, Nye, and White Pine Counties. This impaces the …

Hunt Application Reminder: Wyoming Elk One of the first western states to accept applications is Wyoming. The application period for Wyoming Non-resident Elk opened Jan 1 and will close on Jan 31st. Wyoming’s elk tag allocations are high with many elk populations exceeding objective. Remember the price increase this year on almost every Wyoming license/tag. For a full list of …

At a recent wildlife board meeting on Nov. 30th, the Utah Wildlife Board approved a few changes to upcoming hunting seasons in Utah. Here are the approved changes: Split Deer season into 2 seasons in nine units. The early season will be 5 days long and coincide with the general elk hunt and will run from October 10 – 14. …

When will you draw the tag you’re after? It’s almost always a pretty complicated question!

Wyoming has announced licence fee changes going into effect Jan 1, 2018. While fees are increasing across the board, the non-resident increases are significantly higher. Non-resident deer tags are increasing from $312 to $374 (regular draw) while residents are seeing a change from $38 to $42. License fee increases are part of the game and Wyoming hasn’t seen an increase …

Are you looking for the best camera for filming or photographing your hunting adventures? Honestly, most of us can’t afford the “best” camera out there. However, in this article we’ll look at a few options in a few different price ranges that are a very solid camera for filming your outdoor adventures.

Vortex Optics will be releasing a new rangefinding binocular for summer 2017. While we don’t know much about them yet, we do know that they will be called the Fury and will be in a popular 10×42 size with the ability to range out to 1600 yards. We don’t yet know what MSRP will be, although the email release does …

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. …

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. …

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. …

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. …

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. …

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. …

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. …

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. …

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. …

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. …

Our latest short elk hunting film follows Ben as he chases rutting bulls in southern Utah. It’s short, but action packed and we really hope you like it! Please leave us a comment with our thoughts!

We’re always being told that certain hunting items will make us better hunters; that we’ll kill bigger animals if we use a certain product. This product is one that has literally changed the method and duration of my glassing sessions. Introducing the binocular  tripod adapter. There are several companies making these small devices. My product recommendations will be listed at …

Elk are the ultimate hunting quarry. Combine their size, giant antlers, and in your face vocalizations, and you won’t find much more exciting. But hunting elk is a big undertaking. They are big animals, who can inhabit very uninhabitable country. They are much bigger than a deer, and getting that delicious meat out of the backcountry takes a fair bit …

I think most of us who are obsessed with hunting big mule deer love to find as much information as possible. Typically I look around online and find this information, but I’ve read a handful of books on mule deer, but there are several that stand out that provide awesome information for hunting the high country of the western states. …

Humans have been documenting their hunts for thousands of years. We find cave paintings from many hundreds of years ago adorned with images of bighorn sheep, elk and deer. The hunting tradition must have fostered fond memories for those ancient hunters, much like they do for us today. Photos, videos, taxidermy, and found objects can all serve as great reminders …

Lightweight spotters have always been a favorite of mine. While I do find value in large objective lenses that can gather more light in twilight conditions, personally, I prefer carrying lighter and smaller spotting scopes, as I find them more fitting to my hunting style. For the past few years I have used, almost exclusively while hunting in the backcountry, …

Southeast Alaska is known for  black bear hunting. Her towering forests, and lush shorelines provide plenty of cover and food for big bears. As with most parts of Alaska, it takes some work and time to get there. One of my favorite things about southeast Alaska is that solitude is easy to come by. May 13th found the four of …

By Ben Carter I believe that hunting elk during the rut is the most fun and most exciting hunt when it comes to western big game. I played the application game with the Utah DWR until finally my name was drawn for a Utah elk hunt. I would be hunting elk in southern Utah in 2014. I had a pretty …

If you have followed us here at Hunt Addicts for very long, you know we put on a hunting photo contest every fall. This year’s contest is bigger and better than ever. In order to streamline the process, we’re using Woobox to run our contest this year which makes it very easy to integrate with our partner facebook and instagram …

If you’re dreams are filled with 200″ mule deer, you want to hunt in big buck country as often as possible. After all, the more time you can spend in the bedroom of a big deer, the better your odds of seeing or killing him. As DIY hunter’s we’re often left with two options — purchase a landowner tag, or …

What is hunting all about for you? Here’s one of our first digital shorts we produced with Grayback Productions. Hopefully we’ll have many more to come. Let us know what you think in the comments! [featured-video-plus]

The Salomon Speedcross 3 CS is an incredible shoe. I can honestly see why these shoes are getting very popular among hunters. They are very light, but maintain a rigid and strong sole which sets them apart from many of the lightweight “running” type shoes I’ve tried in the past. The speedcross also provides good traction, strong construction, and breathability. …

2014 started off with a bang for me. Well, more of a whack. The whack of a broad head into the side of a Coues Whitetail. This was my first time hunting Coues Deer. I have only hunted whitetail deer a few times (being from Utah) and everything I had heard is that they are even more elusive. That proved …

Build your own bow rack with one 10 foot piece of PVC. This detailed tutorial will show you how to make a sturdy rack for shooting in your backyard or even your favorite range or 3d shoot. A great How to tutorial written by Travis Long. Only on HuntAddicts.com!

[featured-video-plus] One thing is certain, mule deer are some of the most amazing animals in the world! Thanks to GPS technologies, a recent study has found that the Red Desert Mule deer of Wyoming migrate 150 miles north into the Hoback basin. This herd, of approximately 500 animals travel across major highways, fences and development in the longest known migration …

We’re stoked about the new project we’re doing with Grayback Productions: SAGE PURSUIT. We got some great footage and hope to adequately portray our story and the challenge of spot and stalk bowhunting for open country Pronghorn. Check out the teaser — feedback is appreciated! [featured-video-plus]

This harness from FHF Gear has been making waves with western hunters and rightfully so.  This is one of the most well thought-out products I’ve seen. Sure it’s simple and holds your binoculars, but this design truly fits the western DIY spot and stalk lightweight style of hunting.  The great thing about this system is it is available in several …

Getting so close a few weeks ago and coming home empty handed changed our plans for the rifle opener. Initially we were planning on scouting for 2 days, and rifle hunting the rest of the week. But after tasting the challenge that spot and stalk archery hunting provided, we modified our plans and headed over 4 days earlier, hoping to …

As a kid, Dad and I would always put in for Antelope together. We’d typically spend a single day hunting. I’d often be tagged out by 9 am, and then we’d drive around for a few hours until Dad would take one in the mid afternoon. Then we’d drive home — after all it was archery elk season and we’d …

Take a minute to check out this edit from Sitka as the Foss family chases Desert Sheep with archery tackle. The conservation project at the end is pretty cool too! [featured-video-plus]

We’ve introduced a great new way to win and earn free gear on our online forum. If you already participate in forums, or want a great way to learn and interact with fellow hunters, come over and sign up and spend some time each week posting and reading ours. We’re the only hunting forum I know of that has incentives …

By paying attention and understanding the clues animals leave behind we can find more success in the field. Izzy walls shares his experience learning to pay attention and look for clues when in the field.

Are you looking for the best pack for hunting Big Game for under $250? Look no further. We spell out our picks for the best DIY hunting backpacks, with links of where to pick them up at a great price! These packs were chosen because they can carry heavy loads, but come in small packages. The perfect day pack for the Western DIY Big Game Hunter!

Thanks again to all of those who sent in their photos from 2012! We had a hard time choosing the winners – but finally got it done with the help of our judges. We’d also like to thank our sponsors – without them we’d just have a collection of photos and no prizes to give out… Nielson Productions Taxidermy, Timberline …

We had some great entries in our contest this year. Check out all of the photos in the gallery below! Judging is going on now – results will be out within a few days! Thanks again for a great contest. We’ve had some great sponsors again this year – support them! Below is a list of our prizes: Grand Prize: …

Earlier this week I was a guest on “The Revolution with Jim and Trav.” They run a popular outdoor related podcast/radio show that is aired on over 400 radio stations nationwide. This week they are talking about whitetail hunting, and they had me run them through our famous “DIY European Mount” article. Be sure to check their show out this …

It’s that time of year again. We’re excited to get our annual photo contest rolling again this year. This year’s prizes will be bigger than ever. A special thanks to our sponsors: Nielson Productions Taxidermy, Wac’em Broadheads, and Quick Draw Decals. Last year we had a great contest was a great success, so we’re ramping things up a bit this …

Hunts have either started or are starting within the next few weeks in most western states. This time of year seems to sneak up on a guy. Sure, we’re always looking forward to the upcoming hunt –shooting  bows, sighting in  rifles, anticipating the opener. But every year, I feel like I’m rushing around, trying to get the last few items …

Last year’s photo contest was a big success, so of course we’re putting it on again this season. Be sure to send in your photos from 2012. We aren’t judging inches, but rather our favorites — whether its wildlife in the wild, scenery pics, or a trophy shot with your buck, bull, doe, cow, ram, etc. Here’s a few entries …

Check out our newest vinyl graphic for all of you elk hunters! Get your’s today! We’ve also got a bunch of exciting things in the hopper – coming to you soon. The hunts will be starting before we know it!

[singlepic id=225 w=320 h=240 float=right]Thanks to two of our great sponsors (Nielson Productions Taxidermy and Golden Valley Meat Snacks) our contest for 2011 was a huge success. We had a lot of great entries — here are the winners: (The winners were chosen by a panel of judges in early February): Travis long went home with the grand prize – …

Getting in shape for hunting season is very important. Contributor Izzy Walls tells a few stories of his training and results while chasing bugling bulls in Idaho!

You can easily spend over $100 for a good European Mount of your trophy. Why not do it yourself for under $15. The process explained in this tutorial involves simmering the head and can be finished from beginning to wall in one afternoon.

By John Barsness — A spotting scope’s use in hunting often begins before the season actually opens. A spotting scope allows the hunter to “scout” big game animals without disturbing them. This works not just in the wide-open West but anywhere some distance can be found, whether across a Midwestern farm field or from ridge to ridge in the Appalachians.

By Chance Thompson It’s early in the morning, you get tucked in behind your keyboard and log onto the Wyoming Game and Fish website. Today is the day you find out your draw results. You’ve waited a long time for this. You just know that you drew that premium Pronghorn Antelope tag you applied for way back in March. You …

(The musings of a stage three and a halfer) By Allen Carter Aside from the obvious “to eat”, I find I want to hunt even when I’m not hungry. Notwithstanding I prefer my meat free range, low fat, antibiotic and steroid free (that’s another article), and cleanly processed in my kitchen, I still like to hunt. I especially like to …

WITH A LITTLE PREPARATION, YOUR FIELD PHOTOS CAN BE WALL WORTHY by Brad Carter “While photos of animals in the back of your pickup, or outside your tent can be very nice, it is hard to beat a good field photo…” The above pictures are a great example. Everyone loves the old time pictures of twenty or thirty deer hanging …

By Brad Carter I watched my Dad peer through the eyepiece of his binoculars. Barely old enough to keep up, I desperately wanted to take a look. I tried to search with my eyes in the direction that the binoculars were pointed, and finally could make out small tan spots in a meadow on the very top of the highest …

By Chance Thompson Many of us in the hunting community have certainly noticed the trophy class animals that have been taken the last few years by hunters who have acquired auction or governors tags. As I’m sure you know these tags are often sold for tens and sometimes even hundreds of thousands of dollars, making them completely out of reach …

2012 Application Season is here! We’ve put together a deadline table of when you need to apply for every western state! Don’t lose your points – or start building them today!

I’m excited to spread the word on our latest sponsor – Golden Valley Natural Meat Snacks. These guys have been in the jerky business for a long time and we’re excited to team up with them and provide their products to our contest winners. Check them out at: www.GoldenValleyNatural.com You’ve probably heard about our contest that is going on this …

In anticipation of an Archery Elk hunt this year, I had a chance to test out the “Lumenok.” I was not planning on hunting with them because I didn’t want to adjust my bow with only a few days to go until the hunt started. I was already dialed in and didn’t want to take any chances. However, those plans went out the window one evening as I was practicing as the sun was going down. I tried a Lumenok to see how it worked. Needles to say I had them in my quiver while I chased bugling bulls a few days later. Here’s what I found:

I’ve been getting a bunch of great pictures from this hunting season and will be choosing a bunch of winners over the next few months. To those of you who have taken some great photos this season — send me some more pictures! Not only can you have braggin rights for being featured on the coolest hunting website, but you …

I’ve often heard hunters speak of the highs of hunting, as well as the lows. I think sometimes the magnitude of this emotional transition is forgotten after a tag is notched. Part 1: A good friend of mine had a similar tag late last year and came home empty-handed. His biggest regret wasn’t necessarily coming home empty handed, but rather, …

Those of you who follow the forum closely, or follow HuntAddicts.com on Social Media sites are probably aware that the HuntAddicts decals are here and showing up on a vehicle near you. We’re proud to be giving them away to winners of our Weekly Fix contest as well as having a few giveaways on facebook. Hunting season is upon us, …

By Steve Huhtala   At 11,800 feet there wasn’t a whole lot of air to gulpdown. The only sign of trees were a couple thousand feet below us, with the exception of a few tree stumps from millions of years ago. Petrified tree parts littered the near vertical slopes around us and the stumps of an ancient forest still protruded …

By Ben Carter My adventure began the day I opened that envelope from the Wyoming Game and Fish. Unit 20 type 1 successful. My excitement was rehearsed because it was essentially a guaranteed draw. My 10 points would have been plenty now that my residency status had changed from resident to nonresident. I had been applying for Wyoming Moose since …

By Ben Carter The 2008 Utah General season Muzzleloader hunt was a brand new experience to me. It was actually pretty new for our whole group. I didn’t even own a muzzleloader at the time. I met up with my brother and our friend Thursday night. They had been hunting since Wednesday when the season had opened. We had scouted …

By Dale Nielson Well, the moment finally came. The moment every hunter dreams of his whole life. The $180 big game permit charge on the credit card and the long waited successful in the e-mail draw results.  I have been dreaming of hunting bull elk every since my dad started taking me hunting when I was a kid.  I have …

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s 2011 Elk Forecast – a state by state breakdown of elk populations and hunt expectations for 2011. This is great information for every elk hunter!

First off, thanks for subscribing to our email list, it’s growing daily! For those of you who haven’t subscribed, go to any page on the Hunt Addicts website (except the forum) and enter your email address in the orange bar below the logo. It’s free, confidential, and every update I post will be sent right to you! Secondly, I’ll apologize. …

Wyoming has finished the draws for both residents and non residents – results are posted online.  To see your results click the link: http://gf.state.wy.us/DrawResults/frmSearch.aspx Leftover lists are also available – maybe you can still get that tag you wanted! http://gf.state.wy.us/QuotaAvailability/SelectionCriteria.aspx How did you do?

We’re all addicted to touch screens – so why not have a GPS with a touch screen as well. In walks the Garmin Oregon 450. This is the base model of the Oregon line. You can get preloaded maps and a few extras for a few hundred extra bucks as well. So the touch screen is cool, but there are …

With state draws coming to a close across the west (I know we’ve got a couple more to go) it’s very common to hear friends, coworkers, and even strangers shout with joy, or moan and complain about their personal draw results. Many of us have been in both of those situations, if you haven’t — either you don’t apply for …

Get your trophy mounted for free! Announcing our 2011 Photo Contest. You could win a free shoulder mount! Send in your photos today!

On my wallet! I will be spending the fall chasing bugling (hopefully) bull elk in the Central Mountains Manti Unit of Utah, so I bought a new (to me) bow. It’s actually used, but it should be an upgrade. If you’re in the market for a bow check out the ArcheryTalk Classified Ads. It’s a great place to sell or …

It is time to start checking the cards and application status. A lot of states are trickling in. There are reports tonight of Utah’s draws hitting the credit cards, so check your online statements. Idaho also posted their Moose, Sheep, and Mtn. Goat results. Best of luck to all of you…and let us know how it goes.

If you’re interested, Utah has released their proposed tag numbers for the hunts this fall. Take a look at the following link: http://wildlife.utah.gov/public_meetings/info/2011-04-01.pdf Still almost 2 months until results are posted…I wish they did it in a week. The wait is killing me!

Check out this awesome video. A friend showed me this video and I thought I would share. The old boy with the limp shows a couple of other bulls what’s up!

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These images were sent to me of a Buck that has been growing an abscess behind his right ear. It has grown considerably over the past few weeks. The buck has already shed, but seems to be getting along okay for now. We’ll have to see if he makes it through the winter. Got any interesting photos of bucks in …

All that anticipation for about 3 hours of hunting. I’m not complaining, but sometimes it is funny how things work out. This year’s general muzzleloader hunt in Utah was short, but very cool. Hunting rarely turns out as expected… After planning this hunt with my brother and long time hunting partner, Ben, I expected to spend opening day hunting alone, …

This year has been a hectic one. I have only donned the camo twice and both times were for evening  jaunts with a good friend looking for a poor little buck in Northern Utah. No bucks were seen on either of these occasions. Typically by this time of year I have put in 8-10 days of hard hunting with my …

Hello fellow HuntAddicts! I am putting together a story and video from the Alaska hunt. But I thought you might like to see a few pictures, as I have had several people ask me when I was going to put them up. This spring has been a busy one for me, so I will at least put a few pics …

It is application time! For those of you applying in Arizona, it is a week away. So get your applications in by February 9th. Other states now have open applications, like Utah and Wyoming, with others coming up soon. So get out your calendars, tally up your points, and start applying! Good Luck to all. All I ask is for …

Texas is an amazing state. It contrasts sharply with what I have been accustomed to in the Rocky Mountain States. Texas has very little private land, but a lot of big game opportunities. While Whitetail deer are the primary wild big game in Texas, there are a number of Exotic species that have claimed Texas as their own and now …

We were all loaded up, just leaving for the Manti on Friday when my buddy got a call on his cell phone. His face went solemn and serious. He kept asking “What’s wrong? Is this a joke?” When he hung up the phone we knew something serious had happened. He and his wife rushed to the hospital as they were …

We’re geared up and ready to go chase some elk on the Central Mountains Manti unit of Utah. We’re hoping for a 350 class bull for my buddy. I’ll post updates when I get back. Happy Hunting!

The rumors are true…there are some proposed hunt date changes for Utah. It seems to cater primarily to the archery hunters by moving dates a little later in September. It appears there are two different options being considered. Of the two I like option 2 better. Option one, it seems, advoctates running the archery and muzzleloader LE elk hunts at …

If you read about the bow hunt below, Dad finally put a bull down on the opening day of the rifle. He looked this bull over for a long time, and after already investing so much time during the bow hunt decided to fill his tag. It looks like he made a pretty good decision by taking this beautiful Wyoming …

I thought I would jump on and post an update of the past couple of weeks. I spent thurs – sun of last week in area 31 with my Dad trying to find an elk for him to call in. The elk were pretty quiet, but we saw quite a few bulls. We have a few pictures and video, but …

I’m headed off to Wyoming’s unit 31 tomorrow to meet up with my father for his Elk hunt. He’s been there most of last week and this week trying to get one with his bow. He’s seen a fair amount of elk (as can be expected) but not too many big bulls. I hear that is typical of that hunt …

A quick redesign of the blog…I liked the layout of the other one, but didn’t like how the photos didn’t show and the whole thing couldn’t be read from the main page. So I’ve changed it. Hopefully this will be a little bit more user friendly.

We’re excited to announce the relationship we’ve formed with MuleyCrazy magazine. They have started a new program and will be providing some great stories and photos. While I don’t expect these stories to be exclusive to our site, they are really good, and I’ll throw some up periodically for your viewing pleasure. Check them out in the stories section of …

Story Courtesy of MuleyCrazy.com We have all heard stories about waiting an eternity for that perfect tag and my dad, Jeff, is no exception having waited since 1989 for his “Strip” monster mule deer tag. I am only 16 and have taken three elk, two mule deer, a buffalo, and three javelina. But what is even more amazing is that …

I need your opinions on some HuntAddicts gear that we are in the process of making. As of right now, we have some designs ready to hit the press, but I thought I would post them up here for some possible feedback. This is the potential Hat logo – we’ll see if they can embroider it. I’ll post up some …

Before moving to Utah, I was unaware that they had a state holiday celebrating the mormon pioneer movement to the Salt Lake Valley. Now that I live in Utah, not only am I aware of it, but thankful for it, because it give me another holiday to spend in the outdoors. I decided to take advantage of an extra day …

Obviously I didn’t. But I’m not too surprised that I was completely unaware of what went into a website. Having no prior web experience, or html, I took on the task of founding HuntAddicts.com. Building this new site in the midst of the rest of life is interesting. (I say that as I type at 1:10 a.m.) My wife has …