Why a Midwestern whitetail deer hunter or a Southern bass fisherman should give a hoot about the fate of trapping is probably lost on most people, but it is more important than most of us realize.
For some time trapping has been the black sheep of the outdoor community. Less people are trapping. Yet while trappers are becoming more and more of a minority, the future of hunting and fishing might well depend on them.
It is no big secret that there are a lot of anti-hunting people and organizations that are devoted to ending our way of life. And they spend a lot of money to do so. They are constantly on the attack and trappers are the first group they go after. Trappers are the outdoorsman’s first line of defense. Trapping can be a controversial subject for some, and with the ever more urbanized mentality in society, it is often portrayed as inhumane or unfair. I’ll spare you 10,000 words of arguments on the sound ethics of trapping, but I will say that most trappers I know are also avid hunters and fishermen.
The argument between“tech” and “savvy” in the woodsmanship department seems to be come up more and more every year. It inevitably turns into an “old dog/young dog” argument and for the most part, I feel each side has some good points to be made.
Now I would agree that a lot of young guys depend on a GPS way too much, but I know just as many “old hand” 40 or 50 year olds who can’t navigate worth a damn either. Blood trailing seems to be another skill that isn’t being learned or taught as much as it should, but it’s hard to learn how to blood trail if you hardly ever shoot anything, so we can’t really blame that one on the younger generation either.
So after spending three days in a blind with a long time friend who happens to be 64 years old, we came up with list of skills that are essential to the backcountry hunter, young and old.
If you’ve ever hunted in the rain, or even just cold temperatures, you know the toll adverse weather can take on your rifle. In a few weeks I’m headed down to Afognak Island to hunt deer, and although it’s a hunter’s paradise, the conditions can’t get much worse for a rifle. Between the constant humidity, rain and salt water, even an “all weather” rifle will rust in no time at all. Here’s how to fight back…
Both of my buddies Andy and Bill are accomplished hunters in there own right, but neither had ever taken a mountain goat. For them, like many hunters, the mountain goat sat on top of their list for years. So when they finally drew goat tags in Colorado, I decided to tag along for their hunt and bring the camera. Here's what happened ...
With sub zero temperatures and winter in full swing here in Fairbanks, hunting season is long over. However, the great thing about Alaska is there is always somewhere to hunt. Next week, I’m heading out on my much-anticipated trip to Afognak Island. As with every trip, I’m being reminded of how much of an ordeal hunting in Alaska can be.
A cool opportunity came up, when my friend Josh, who runs Afognak Wilderness Lodge with his family, suggested that I come down to help out around the lodge and film video on one of their brown bear hunts. I hunted at the lodge in 2009 and it is nothing less than world class. Their camp is on the northeast end of Afognak Island and is a true paradise. The brown bears are some of the biggest in the world. The deer, elk, sea duck hunting and trapping is phenomenal.
