Spring 2022

Description

4 Hunt Alaska Online

    6   Hunting for a Compliment

    8   Gear Shop

   14  Backcountry Nutrition

   20  Gun Dogs

   22  Trip Tips

   26  Red Gold

   56  Ad Index

   58  Recipe

On The Cover

Clay Brown and Ben Moore persevered through many obstacles to successfully hunt sheep during the pandemic.

© Ben Moore

FEATURES

28

Calling Spring Black Bears 
by Scott Haugen

Black bears are plentiful in some parts of Alaska, including Southeast, Prince William Sound, and Southcentral. Scott Haugen has hunted black bears in a variety of environments. Calling them into range is one of his favorite methods. In this piece, he discusses black bear behavior, setting up to call, the sounds to make, and black bear field care.

36

Gunning the Farthest North 
Ruffed Grouse

by Jim McCann

Jim McCann has been hunting ruffed grouse for most of his life. The ruffed grouse around the Fairbanks area are generally thought of as the northernmost population. In this story, Jim weaves in valuable information on how ruffed grouse arrived in Alaska, Alaskan ruffed grouse habitat, food preferences, behavior, hunting strategy, and shooting grouse.

42

Hunting in a Pandemic

by Clay A. Brown

With the COVID 19 pandemic roaring at full speed, 2020 was a challenging year for many hunters. Clay Brown drew the Tok Management Area Dahl Sheep tag in late 2019. However, he and his hunting partner, Ben Moore, ran into many logistics difficulties trying to make the hunt happen, mostly due to the pandemic. Happen it did, though, and Clay has the horns to prove it.

48

Doubling Down

by Casey L. Dinkel

The author and his 72-year-old father paired up for a fly-out caribou hunt last fall. On the very first hunting day, before 7 a.m., they each bagged a bull in a 10-minute window of time that neither Casey nor his father will ever forget.