Lessons learned the hard way By Garrett Golding   The temperature began to plummet as we parked at the trailhead. By the time we settled at the base of a small fir tree, the north wind was casting waves of snow over the meadow that lay before us. The setting could not have been more perfect, like a painting of what a Colorado elk hunt should look like. I fought back visions of a mature bull stomping out of the tree line ahead of us. And then that’s exactly what happened. How did we get ...

News for Immediate ReleaseMarch 18, 2022Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org  The newest issue of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers’ magazine is available today MISSOULA, Mont. – The spring issue of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers’ quarterly magazine, Backcountry Journal, is arriving in mailboxes across North America. Check out some highlights of an issue that will inform and engage, drive action and advocacy on critical issues, and fuel plans for public lands ...

  BY JIM KIEDROWSKI   He got me hooked at a young age.  My brother and I were too young to hunt, but he got us involved every chance he had: scouting, tracking deer or sitting with him in a tree stand. We lived for that time in the woods with him. We anticipated every time he came back from the woods, hoping he had shot one we could go track. The anticipation was even greater when we waited for the first phone call after he came out of the mountains. We always hoped it was a successful call ...

  BY JOEL GAY It’s not easy for resident hunters to draw an elk tag in New Mexico, even for kids. As in many states, demand for tags far outstrips supply. But that’s only part of the equation. New Mexico also has the most liberal private land elk hunting program in the U.S. In recent years, up to half – HALF! – of all available elk tags have been given to landowners to sell to the highest bidder. Whatever is left goes into the big game draw. And even then, residents’ share of the draw is ...

Faces of BHA is a regular column in Backcountry Journal, which spreads light on the incredible volunteers working behind the scenes to ensure the organization succeeds. This installment was published in the Winter 22 issue.  RYAN BURKERT Helena, Montana     Veteran Programs Lead, Armed Forces Initiative Photo by Josh Bent   “Our goal is to give veterans and service members a new mission, and that mission is conservation.”   What brought you to BHA? I discovered BHA not as a hunting and ...