EBJ 78 – The Backcountry Issue

The high country is one of the few places where a bowhunter can still seek out and find an above-alpine adventure in its purest form. A sad truth is that the true backcountry hunter is slowly becoming a dying breed. These select few hunters are the toughest of the tough. The ones who will put seven days of gear, food and water on their back and trudge miles deep into the backcountry and are always willing to hike to that next basin over. They’ve encountered lighting storms above 10,000 ft. that honestly had them scared for their life and yet go back for more. So many people call themselves backcountry and high country hunters, but only those who really do it can fully appreciate the title.

This issue is full of stories from those guys. When you’re reading these stories, you’ll quickly be swept away to a deep, secluded basin and perched behind a spotting scope looking at the trophy of your dreams. The dew quickly starts to dry from the rising sun as your buck grabs a few more mouthfuls of lush, green grass before making his way toward his bed for the day. The time is now.  It’s time to put all the hard work, sweat, determination and homework to use. Sorry, got sidetracked there after thinking about a few of these stories. You’ll quickly see what I mean after diving into them.

Once you’ve finished the incredible backcountry stories in this issue, you’ll move into the staff section. Leading things off we’ve got Guy going over his pack list for a five-day backcountry hunt. If you’ve ever wondered what’s in Guy’s pack, this article is a must read.

To follow up with Guy’s gear list, we’ve got South Cox going in-depth on tripods. These pieces of gear are probably one of these most overlooked and underused items in a hunter’s arsenal. South has broken down the why and how, then went into different styles and options when choosing a new tripod. Regardless if you already use one or not, this article will teach you a few things.

South’s article will get you thinking about the backcountry, but Brian Barney’s article, High-Country Zen, will take you there. Brian is no doubt one of those “real” backcountry hunters that I mentioned earlier. In this article, he’s broken down a high-country mule deer hunt from the ground level up in hopes of providing you with information that will help you be successful. Brian has taken big high-country bucks in many of the top high-country states like Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming and Montana. This article is a page straight out of his playbook, so if you’ve ever wanted to get inside the head of a proven high-country guru, here you go.

Finally, we bring it all home in the MRS with our newest field editor, Jason Peak, doing an article on lighted pins/sights. You wouldn’t believe how many times we get this question, so we had Jason sit down and finally get all the answers. After lots of research, emails and phone calls, Jason has laid it all out there for you to see: every western state’s regulations and how they should be interpreted when it comes to these devices. If you’ve had a question about your set up and what’s legal in your state and others, you’ll definitely want to check this one out.

That about wraps up this issue’s lineup. If this issue doesn’t leave you with a burning desire to go pound some hills in search of that next trophy, you might have to check your pulse. Best of luck this fall and we look forward to seeing your backcountry success story in this issue next summer.