Sportsmans News

I have now been on two different hunts with Steve Jones Back Country Hunts and both of them were for Aoudad in west Texas.  We have been successful on every trip and I get more and more respect for these critters each and every time I chase them.  They will challenge your glassing techniques because they blend so well with their surroundings.   They are one of the smartest and most elusive animals that I have ever had the pleasure of hunting.  We always hunt them the first quarter of the year when everything else is closed. Continue Reading

It is hard to believe that it has been a year since the Sportsman’s News team originally went to west Texas to hunt with and evaluate Steve Jone Backcountry Hunts. It has been exactly one full year though. Josh Harris of Worldwide Trophy Adventures and Sportsman’s News Pro Staffer was the primary hunter on that trip and he tagged a whopper 33″ Aoudad on the 2nd day of the hunt. Sportsman’s News team member Kevin Orton whacked a good 28 incher on the last day of the hunt. I toted my bow till the end and came home empty handed, but I rebooked with Steve before we even left last year. Tomorrow will be our first day out in the field for a late afternoon hunt and I left my bow at home. I have my Browning X-Bolt in .300 WSM with me and it is topped with my Vortex HS LR rifle scope. That spells revenge for Mike Deming (I hope!) Service is very limited near the metropolis of Marfa, Texas where we will be hunting 40,000 acres of free range Barbary Sheep, but we will make additional posts if we make it back to town. If not, we will make sure we post the photos when we return to the office on the 1st of April.

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Redding California is going to be home to the 30th Sportsman’s Warehouse, but the area is also home to Jen and Norrisa who are the founders of the women’s clothing line called “Girls With Guns”. The Sportsman’s News team is visiting and evaluating what will be our next Platinum Approved Outfitter, RED BANK OUTFITTERS just south of Redding and the girls are sharing the ranch experience with the team. We have completed our first full day of hunting and the operation has already been an extremely memorable experience. I (Mike Deming) was able to make a great shot on a good pig early this morning, but the girls proved that they were all business and not going to be beat out by the boys. Jen and Norrisa tag teamed a nearly 300 pound tusker with a ton of fight dropping him in his tracks. It was impressive to be part of and we can hardly wait to see what happens tomorrow. The girls each have hog tags in their pocket and we will hopefully get to experience the fine plantation style quail hunting of the west. More information on Red Bank Outfitters can be found at www.redbankoutfitters.com

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I have spent the last couple of days on the show floor of the annual Archery Trade Association show (AKA. ATA) in downtown Columbus, Ohio. This is an absolutely awesome show to see all the new gear hitting the archery market. Many years ago the bow manufactures started rolling out the next year’s model of bows in October the year before so there isn’t the hype about new bows that there once was. However, Bowtech still waits for this show to roll out their latest and greatest. They didn’t disappoint again this year. They rolled out the Insanity which has two different models. One is a 32 inch axle to axle bow with super fast IBO of over 350 and a longer 35″ model. We did get to shoot them, but not in our own testing facility. It was impressive to say the least. Bear Archery also had a great new addition to their line in the Anarchy model. It is a little lighter than last years Carnage and a little longer. This bow was a dream to shoot and unlike a pro shop bow like the Insanity, this one will be able to be purchased at Sportsman’s Warehouse and it is guaranteed not to disappoint. Bear has also rolled out a great bow called the Widowmaker which is a woman’s model bow with a ton of versatility. There is definitely too much great stuff to list in a blog post, but we will be doing our March issue of Sportsman’s News about new products we see at these shows with more detail. Make sure you pick up your March issue of Sportsman’s News in your store location or visit us back on line.

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After three very long and extended hunts for brown bears across Alaska without success, Michael Deming, President of Sportsman’s News, finally got everything to come together on his 54th day in the field of chasing these majestic beasts. The correct combination was booking with one of our Platinum Approved Outfitters “Renfro’s Alaskan Adventures” and staying persistent. After three weather days upon arriving in Bethel, Alaska, we finally had an opportunity to get into the field. Five days of hunting later, it was starting to look like it was going to be another zero in Demings’ book of brown bear hunts. We had spotted over 25 bears with only one of them being a boar. Owner and Guide Wade Renfro was committed that we would be successful. We pulled camp out of the high country where the big bear and berries should have been abundant, but no such luck. We moved to lower ground and the next morning when we could hunt, a great 8’2″ boar gave me a great broadside shot at 150 yards. The bear went only 25 yards before he piled up. The Ruger 77 Alaskan in .375 and the Hornady 300 grain Dangerous Game Loads were a deadly combination with one well placed shot.
Now that we have gotten rid of the bad luck and 54 days in the field with no success, Wade and I are planning the next trip to upgrade my bear to the next biggest size of 9.5 feet plus.
All of this adventure was captured for the SNTV 2011 Volume 8 DVD which will be available for Christmas stocking stuffers. Don’t miss the exciting adventures.

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Being able to hunt and fish for a living has a tendency to get you a little jaded as the years go by. There is nothing like the excitement of a young kid to bring you back to reality and get a guy grounded again.

My eight year old daughter Taylor Deming loves the outdoors and taking her hunting with me is something I need to do more of based on her performance last week.

I only had a few days to hunt during the muzzleloader season in Utah and I had already found two really big bucks during the archery season that I wanted to chase.  With Taylor wanting to go along, I just knew that I would not be able to go after those bucks. I had some access to a small private piece of property close to home. However small, it is still an excellent piece of property with apple orchards, water, and great bedding areas. Taylor and I would set up a double bull blind between the feed and the bedding area for our hunt. The first morning was very busy.  A lot of deer were moving and seven different bucks were around and presented several shots. All were very young and small two points and spikes. They didn’t even get Taylor amped up to shoot. Midway through the morning, Taylor tapped my arm and said “There is a monster right there”, as she pointed her finger around the right side of the blind. Roger (the landowner) had told me about a 190 class buck in the area and I was expecting to see this giant outside the blind. It was a 20-inch wide four point that scored in the mid 140s. I asked Taylor if that was him and she commented “Oh yeh!” I hadn’t sensed this kind of excitement in myself or anyone esle in years. It was the feeling that got me into this business in the first place and I enjoyed the moment with my daughter. Unfortunately, the buck sensed the excitement and moved back into the bushes with no chance of a shot.

Taylor and I continued to hunt for the next three days without seeing the “Orchard Monster” again. On the last day of the hunt, she asked if we could shoot the big two point that had been coming in daily. I told her that if the big boy didn’t come in, we would fill the freezer with that young tasty two point. The morning hunt was coming to a close with almost no deer activity at all. Finally at 7:30, the two point showed up. Taylor wanted me to shoot him and although this wasn’t a deer I would normally shoot by myself, there was no question that I wouldn’t be able to live with Taylor till the next hunting season if I didn’t whack this guy today. As I set up the camera for the shot and got ready to pull the trigger, I saw movement deep in the trees behind the two point. Taylor had her ears plugged and was wondering why I wasn’t shooting. I pointed at the other bucks back in the trees. Eighty  yards back in the woods was the “Orchard Monster” surveying the current situation. It took him about five minutes to make it out into the open and I found myself beginning to shake as my excitement began to build. I have harvested muleys that make the record book without the adrenaline flowing through my blood like it was then. This 140-inch buck with my daughter by my side brought me back to my youth and love of deer hunting. When the buck finally presented a shot, I hit him solid although I’m not sure I aimed the gun because it is all a blur to me. Taylor and I high fived and climbed out of the smoking blind. The CVA Accura muzzleloader had turned our blind into a cloud of smoke, which made for some great laughs. Taylor took on the job of tracking the buck and she did a great job of picking blood spots off the branches and dry dirt. Thirty yards of tracking and the buck was piled up. “Dad, he is huge” was her comment. I agreed and we shared the moment together as we snapped some great pictures. It truly was the best hunt of my life and it feels great to be grounded once again. Who would have thought that you could be grounded by your kid?

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The Sportsman’s News team has spent 4 extremely productive days of fishing the Rio Grand river with Broadacres Ranch just outside of Creede Colorado.    The area is know for some of Colorado’s best dry fly fishing and we proved it this week.   Although we didn’t land any fish over 20 inches, it was a great success.  This outfitter has been an Orvis Endorsed lodge for many years.   We enjoyed world class cuisine as well 5 star lodging with our own private pond in the back yard.   We finished the last day off with a special treat of hiking into some remote back country area for Brook Trout fishing. The experience was breathtaking.  12,000 foot peaks with gin clear water running through the meadows loaded with hungry Brookies.  Our group of 5 people landed over 100 fish in 2 hours.  It was the icing on the cake to a wonderful experience.  Anyone looking for a fly fishing destination vacation, you can’t go wrong booking a trip with Broadacres Ranch.

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It is hard to imagine that a person can actually hunt big bulls in the Velvet without being a governor type tag holder (not many can afford that these days).  One of the Sportsman’s News Platinum Approved Outfitters has a great opportunity to do just that.  Atkinson Expeditions has secured a great lease with lots of elk that fall under what is considered a “C” license in Colorado.  A depredation type hunt for velvet bulls.  The Sportsman’s News team will be headed to Colorado for our first elk hunt of the year.  We have high expectations of getting a Colorado bull.   We will be posting blog pages during the entire trip as well as “Forum” posts.  Follow us along and let us know what you think about this amazing hunt.

The Sportsman’s News team visited west Texas over the last week to hunt with Steve Jones Back Country Hunts for free range Aoudad and Javallina. The Aoudad is one of my new favorite hunting species. These animals can see a human being hiding behind a bush at well over 1000 yards and do a great job of making you look stupid. The team was able to put a true monster on the ground with horns that stretched the tape out to 33″. That is a great feat for a high fence operation, but when you consider that it was free range and after these guys had been chased all during the deer season, it is even more impressive. Josh Harris (pro staffer) made a great shot at just under 400 yards to secure this beast and it was all on film for a future episode of SNTV. Steve Jones runs one of the finest operations that I have ever visited and he truly cares that all of his customers have e great time. We are all booked to go back in February of 2012 to do it again. It is a great place to practice your long range shooting as well as your stalking techniques in the off season.

Sportsman’s News has put together an absolute great group of guns to give away during the 2011 year to those who qualify and participate in our forum. This forum is a great place to share your stories, photos, and video from all of your hunting, fishing, and other outdoor excursions. We will be giving away one gun a month starting at the end of April for those who participate in the forum. Registration is the very first start. We will be drawing one winner out of every person who registers at the end of April. We will be giving away a Smith and Wesson M&P .223 rifle (black gun). Qualifications are fairly simple. You will need to register on this Sportsman’s News website and start participating in this forum. Every time a person gets an additional 25 posts, they will get another draw in the hat for the following month’s give away. You will also need to meet all legal requirements of regular gun purchase to win. The gun will be sent to either the nearest Sportsman’s Warehouse or a licensed FFL dealer in your area. Best of luck to all and I look forward to all of your posts. Click here to get the ball rolling and register on Sportsmansnews.com.

Wyoming starting a bonus point system 5 years ago. So, if you were interested in hunting Wyoming back then, you could have as many as 5 bonus points going into this years application period. Wyoming is a great place to hunt. They have some great elk, deer, and antelope and you won’t have to wait a lifetime to draw. I hunt Wyoming every year with a 2nd choice on my application which allows me to build a bonus point each year and still get to hunt. You only use your points if you draw your first choice. Wyoming is a great state and everyone should apply for the species they desire to hunt. The elk draw is already out, but if you missed it, there will be a points only time to apply later this summer. This buck was a great heavy horned 3 point that was 5 years old and taken in a unit that can be drawn with a second choice every year.

The team of Sportsman’s News is in Las Vegas for the 2011 Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trade Show. Thousands of vendors will be there to launch their new products and the Sportsman’s News team will bring them all to life for you right here on the web and printed pages of the Sportsman’s News. Check back daily to see what is new.

Hunting Montana for mule deer gives you a chance to hunt deep into the rut. Season goes into late November, but the Sportsman’s News team only had 5 days to get the job done and today is our last day to hunt. We spent the first few days of our hunt in the Missouri River Breaks off of a boat. It was a full do it yourself hunt and extremely adventurous. After a couple days up north, we relocated to eastern Montana and took 2 great bucks on the last day.

My trip to northwestern wyoming to hunt with Justin Jarret of Wapiti Ridge Outfitters started out a little slow due to some hotter than normal weather conditions, but with a storm a brewin, our luck changed. We saw numerous bucks today and many being shooters. This heavy horned five year old got me pretty excited and I was able to make a clean one shot kill at 400 yards and I captured it all on film. No cameraman on this trip, so I pulled double duty as the hunter and the cameraman. Another great hunt for the pages of the Sportsman’s News as well as the DVD series.

Temps here in WY getting to the high 60s making the deer migration a little slow. Still seeing lots of bucks, but no shooters yet. Beautiful morning to be in NW Wyoming though.

Hunting in Wyoming is always a great time especially when it is with Justin Jarret (AKA JJ) of Wapiti Ridge Outfitters. This late season hunting on the migration route out of Yellowstone park is nothing short of spectacular. We see hundreds of deer each week and the possibility of taking a trophy is always there. I was scheduled to leave on the 5th, but a late night call from JJ that said to get your butt up here because they are killing lots of really good deer and since the migration is on it has me tying up loose ends and will be on the road this morning. We will be posting highlights of our trip all along the way. So be sure to check our results.