This old ram banging heads left his horn severally chipped on the driver side. Not only is the chipped horn a dead giveaway, but also the scar on his shoulder. Look how much horn growth he put on in just one year.

This is a photo of the ram the from November 2011 rut. Look at the chips on the horn and the scar on his shoulder.

Here’s a photo from this past December. The scar and chips match up identically.

In 2011, I filmed the ram fighting with a smaller ram. Notice the chips out of the horn on the driver side. He banged heads with this ram for two hours – a real fighter for sure!

We’ve gone out into the market and gained extensive knowledge on what we consider the top four western hunting arrows and are here to report just what we’ve found. Sure they may be a little pricier than the other stuff on the shelf, but heck, if you’ll spend $2,000 on a pair of binos to “find” the animal, why wouldn’t you put the same amount of attention into the piece of gear that ultimately “kills” it?

So, we’ve taken what we consider the best of the best, and given you a short synopsis of the arrow. If you want to know a little more about each or all, you’ll want to check out the May/June issue of EBJ. In it, you’ll find an entire six pages dedicated to this topic that’s full of useful information that will no doubt help you in your decision-making process.

Victory VAP – If you’re after extreme FOC (Front Of Center) in an arrow, this is your ticket. Ultrathin diameter combines with heavy FOC percentages to create a penetrating machine. Our test arrow we built had an FOC of 13.1%…almost double all the other arrows we tested.

Gold Tip Kinetic Pro – Another arrow geared toward penetration with their insert system. It’s actually quite genius in our humble opinion. You can add weight to the back of the insert via a threaded weight system and adjust your FOC accordingly – pretty cool. Also, these arrows are just downright tough and feel like they could take a beating.

Carbon Express Maxima RED – The relative newcomer to the western market, the Maxima RED looks to redefine arrow accuracy. They’ve developed this arrow with so much technology and thought that it’s honestly too much to list here. If you think you understand arrow flight, you may want to check these out and see what they’ve done…cool is an understatement.

Easton Injexion A/C – If you’re into the latest and greatest when it comes to technology, look no further than the Injexion A/C. Not only are these alloy/carbon arrows tough, but they boast Easton’s Deep Six technology. Penetration and durability are the focus and these arrows do just that – and quite well we must add.

So there you have it, the short version of what we all talked about in this most recent EBJ (May/June issue 77). Make sure you check out a copy today to get the full inside scoop on these arrows and how they stacked up against each other in an FOC comparison.

A gentleman from Wyoming came into the Salt Lake City ISE show on Saturday and asked the deer tour manager, Roger Selner, if he’d have time to score an antelope he shot with his bow last fall. Roger agreed and the hunter brought the buck back to the booth the next day. Immediately, we all started guessing as to what the buck scored and watched as Roger put the tape to him. When it was all said and done, the buck grossed 84-6/8 and netted 82-4/8. This buck was extremely deceiving as he has an enormous head, which made his horns appear smaller than they really were. Nonetheless a great trophy and one that is a truly special accomplishment.

A collage of trail cam photos of the buck from over the summer.

To have some fun with it, we posted some trail camera photos the hunter had gotten of the buck over the course of the summer to our Facebook page and let our fans guess the score. We had scores ranging from low 60s to high 80s and even in the 90s. What this told us is exactly what we all know…antelope are extremely tough to field judge and score. Properly field judging an antelope is an art form and once you’ve mastered it, you have a huge leg up on other hunters. While many said this buck scored in the 60s and 70s, someone who knows antelope looks at it and understands it’s a B&C buck.

Antelope are among the toughest animals to field judge. The trail cam photos of this buck are truly deceiving unless you know exactly what to look for in a B&C antelope…mass and length. With almost 7″ bases and 15″ length (one side busted off a full inch) on each side and over 4″ on mass above the prong, this buck grosses 84-6/8 and nets 82-2/8 B&C.

In order to get that coveted 80” antelope, a buck primarily needs great mass and length. Mass does way more to an antelope’s score than people give it credit for. A buck could be 16” tall and have great prongs and never make the book based on his lack of mass. Many guys get hung up on looking for super tall antelope. In fact, they should be looking for bucks with great mass and good length. The length of the horns is always a good base, and 15” is usually the benchmark for a buck to have what it takes to start a score heading toward 80”. However, the buck needs the right mass measurements to add onto that length in order to reach 80”.

This buck had an enormous head, which more than likely caused many to guess this buck scored in the high 60s to mid 70s. Take a look at the mass though, especially above the prong…that’s where this buck really shines. With that big of a D1 and D2 measurement, plus great D3 and D4s, and over 6″ prongs this buck’s score added up fast.

A side profile of this buck shows just how heavy this buck was. Always reference the width of the eye when determining a buck’s mass from the side. If the buck’s bases look wider than the eye, the buck has good mass.

Using the 4×7 rule (7” bases, 7” D2 measurements, 7” prongs and 7” total D3 and D4 measurements) can greatly increase your antelope scoring abilities. Pick up a copy of Mike’s best-selling book today on our store, to learn all the ins and outs of scoring antelope. This book also comes with a supplemental DVD that features a section on field judging.

A page out of Mike’s book, Hunting Trophy Antelope – A DIY Guide, that shows the 4×7 rule.

Cadomin is an acronym for Canadian Dominion Mining, a coal mine located at the foothills of the Canadian Rockies in Alberta. The habitat created from the mining reclamation projects has provided outstanding habitat for bighorn sheep – big bighorn sheep. The mine areas are closed to hunting, however WMUs surrounding these area are open on a tightly controlled permit system.

The World’s Record bighorn scoring 208-3/8 B&C, taken in 2000 came from a WMU bordering the reclamation area.

February 28, 2013       Wyoming Sheep/Moose/Goat

March 1, 2013                 Utah All Species

March 15, 2013              Montana Deer/Elk/Antelope

March 15, 2013              Wyoming Deer/Antelope

March 20, 2013             New Mexico All Species

These dates should keep you up to speed for while, and we’ll do our best to make sure you guys at least know when your applications are due – it’s up to you to get them in on time.

Here’s Shawn with a couple of bucks his family took on a mule deer hunt in Wyoming a few years back and a nice whitetail he killed in his home state of Minnesota.

We are excited to announce that Shawn Vickerman of Deer River, MN is the lucky winner of Eastmans’ 2013 EHJ Trophy Mule Deer Hunt. For over two decades, Eastmans’ EHJ subscribers, gift subscription givers and recipients await mid-February with baited breath for the announcement of the winner of the annual EHJ Trophy Mule Deer hunt.

Shawn was ecstatic to hear Ike Eastman’s voice on the end of the line, announcing that he was the lucky winner of this year’s EHJ hunt.  “What a way to start the weekend,” he yelled. Shawn has hunted the Wyoming Big Horns in the past, and can’t wait to experience western mule deer hunting in eastern Montana during the rut. Eastmans’ Hunting TV enthusiasts, you’ll be able to experience Shawn’s hunt as it will be filmed for a full feature episode and will be broadcasted on a prime-time slot on the Outdoor Channel. It’s never too early to get ready for hunting season and to fuel the anticipation, we sent Shawn his non-resident Montana license application and a signed copy of Mike Eastman’s new book, Mule Deer Hunting Tactics.

“Much like the tradition of hunting, the Eastmans’ annual free hunt drawings have become a family tradition of subscription giving and getting,” said, Eastmans’ President, Ike Eastman. “Right up until the drawing, subscribers and gift givers send-in, call-in and log-on at eastmans.com to subscribe, renew and earn hunt draw entries in anticipation of winning our coveted EHJ trophy mule deer hunt drawn each February and our EBJ trophy elk hunt drawn each fall.”

“Eastmans’ Free Hunt Give-Aways remains two of my favorite annual promotions,” stated Ike. “Congratulations Shawn, I look forward to meeting you and having a great mule deer hunt in eastern Montana,” adding, “and to all the Eastmans’ Bowhunting Journal subscribers, the 2013 EBJ Elk Hunt drawing is scheduled for August. If you’re not a current subscriber, don’t hesitate; get your subscriptions and gift orders in now! I look forward to a hunt with you. Good Luck!”

For almost two years now, our readers have been able to view a full online version of the magazine on eastmans.com. However, with a recent push in tablets and the ever-increasing mobile usage, we knew we had to adapt and find a way to get our content to you easier, faster and better. Mission accomplished.

In the coming weeks you’ll be able to kick back in your recliner and scroll through the pages of EHJ and EBJ on your iPhone as you watch the 5 o’clock news. Or maybe you’d like to kick back and read about the latest tips and tactics on your flight to a business meeting on your iPad. While all of this is already available through the website, we realized that the Internet shouldn’t determine how/when you get our magazines. So, we’re fixing that for you. Now you’ll be able to download issues right to your device and look at them whenever you’d like, no wireless or data plan needed. Slick huh?

Stay tuned. The digital world is always advancing and we pride ourselves in keeping you on the leading edge when it comes to the western outdoor publication industry.

If you’d like to try the “digital magazine experience” for yourself, click here!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

“Mule deer and pronghorn are already in poor condition going into this fall and there is simply not much for them to eat on their transition and winter ranges. We anticipate increased mortality in many parts of Wyoming even if we have a mild or normal winter.” –Doug Lutz, Wyoming Game and Fish Department

Based on the information in the latest press release by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department it seems as though the mule deer herds in Wyoming just can’t seem to get a break. Coming off of a brutal 10-year drought, Wyoming experienced a few near normal winters causing the deer herds make slight rebound as a result, but this slight uptick was then crushed by the winter of 2010 that decimated the deer herd in some areas by as much as sixty percent. Now it appears like the worst single year drought on record has put our mule deer and antelope herds into a corner where significant losses seem to be inevitable no matter what the winter and spring bring.

“The upcoming winter could present a double-edged sword to mule deer populations. If a heavy snowpack comes, especially in lowland deer wintering areas, significant mortality could occur. If the snowfall is light, the moisture-starved plants will be stressed further and the quality of the habitat will continue to deteriorate.” -WY Game & Fish Dept.

An unfortunately unique situation where a heavy snow year will certainly kill large numbers of deer that are already in poor shape for the winter because of the lack of feed caused by the drought. And on the other hand, if we don’t have a good snow year, which seems to be the case thus far, too many deer will certainly perish as further lack of forage is created by continued drought conditions, a double-edged sword that does not seem to bode well for Wyoming’s deer and antelope herds no matter what the weather brings our way.

If you’re sitting on a load of preference points this year for Wyoming deer and antelope, you might want to seriously consider holding out for a year or two longer to see how this situation turns out. The best-case scenario we can hope for would be a mild winter with good late spring and summer rain clear into early fall, particularly in the lower elevation sage habitats.

“Deer taken at higher elevations had decent fat reserves, but deer at lower elevations were in noticeably poorer condition.” –Lee Knox, Laramie region biologist, WY Game & Fish Dept.

The MRS section of the February/March issue of EHJ should shed some additional light on this dire situation by putting some numbers and statistics to the Wyoming deer and antelope hunting conditions.

-Guy Eastman, Eastmans’ Hunting Journal

As most of you know, the MRS and application season is right around the corner already. Most of you probably already have the Wyoming Elk MRS in your hands by now. The “master” data chart for Wyoming elk alone has over 3,500 data points covering almost every aspect of Wyoming elk hunting possibly known to man. There is no other place you can get this wealth and depth of big game hunting information in one place. This is the type of information that will help to guide you to make the right decision when applying for your next Western big game tag. Louie Kitcoff carefully poured through the information in last year’s Wyoming Sheep MRS and made the right decision by putting in for Area 2 and selecting the right outfitter to suite his needs and hunting style. The decision paid off, as Louie was able to put it all together high atop that Wyoming peak a few months ago and put the ram of his dreams on the dirt for good.

Smart application decisions are critical in this day and age of preference points and high-dollar application costs, and the MRS section of the magazine is the place to get you started on your quest for the trophy of a lifetime. With the addition of Washington and California this year, the MRS sections now cover all the Western states with plenty of information to get your research started off on the right foot and save you loads of time. Of all the letters and emails we get here at the office on a weekly basis, the hunt-success feedback like Louie’s letter with a photo attachment are my favorites by far. Keep them coming fellas and good luck with your research. And as always, let me know if there is something else we need to include in our MRS that would make your research project a little bit easier. I better run and get started on the Wyoming Sheep/Moose/Mt. Goat write-ups. -Guy Eastman