If you have followed my blog for a certain amount of time then you’d probably know that I have two favourite times of year. The time of year that is especially obvious the fall hunting season, but there is another season where I am able to live out my passion for hunting that comes a little earlier in the year, and that season is the Spring Bear Season! I never hunted bears growing up or much of anything during that time of year quite honestly. This was mostly due to the fact that where I grew up we never actually had a spring, rather we’d get a prolonged winter. The only time we would get out ..read more

Three generations of Mercier men made their way into what could only be described as an elk hunters paradise on a gloomy October morning. It was apparent that the rut had kicked off later than usual as it was now nearing the end of elk season, but the rut appeared to be in full swing. Elk were everywhere unfortunately the three of us showed up a little too late to the party that morning. I headed out solo the next day knowing for sure that I had briefly seen at least one legal six point bull amongst the large group we located one day earlier. The sun wasn’t even all the way up and the forest f ..read more

Early Archery season 2022 came and went just as quickly as it does every year. This year was a marathon; Only this time instead of finishing the race with a victory we found ourselves restarting. Shaking off the feeling of defeat as I was going over every possible scenario in my head on how things could have gone wrong in that fateful moment of truth on the evening of September 8th is something that didn’t come easy. However, it was something that I needed to do in order to move forward with the season. I’d like to be able to tell you that once rifle season had arrived we immediately got into ..read more

The evening of September the 8th 2022 was a night that perfectly illustrated both the challenges and the pure adrenaline one can endure while bowhunting for elk. I had located a small group of bulls while on my way to check trail cameras with high hopes of maybe even turning up an elk that I could attempt to arrow. I made what I believed to be a slow well calculated stalk down a small drainage that ran parallel to the opening I had last seen the bulls in. I heard one of the bulls raking a tree not too far in the distance, the thick cover surrounding where the creek flowed prevented me from get ..read more

Writing hasn’t been on my priority list for some time now. The last couple years enduring all of the sh*t has left me to re-evaluate some things. One of those things being how to categorize my priorities depending on importance. Clearly writing hasn’t fallen in the category of high importance. With the time to spare I figured I might as well write an article for my devoted readers that have followed ahuntersjournal through out the years. Hunting season 2022 was different in a lot of ways, and with out getting into too much detail troublesome. Despite that we experienced a lot of new things, an ..read more

Once again we find ourselves in the final month of summer and quickly approaching the fall season. Normally, when we get to the month of August I’m far more prepared for the upcoming hunts than I am this year. Whether, it’s due solely to the events that have transpired in the last two and a half years or a it’s accumulation of multiple things in this crazy life. As of the first of this month regardless of how unprepared and unmotivated I was decided that it was time to start getting my ass in gear because September was going to be here before I knew it, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one. Befo ..read more

When most people think of the month of September they think of leaves changing colours, cooler temperatures, hoodies, and pumpkin spice lattes. Not this guy, when I think of September I think of bugling bulls and that’s it! Now during the 2021 season my mind was of course focused on hunting a big ol’ whitetail buck known as blitz, that didn’t mean during the times that were slow and predictable my mind didn’t shift towards elk hunting. How could it not the sounds of September are intoxicating. As I previously stated in “5 years in the making| a whitetail story | a deer called blitz” I would co ..read more

After moving to the area at the beginning of 2016 finding new hunting locations was high up on my priority list. That summer I discovered a new area that seemed to hold tonnes of velvet whitetail bucks and with that loads of potential. Having a small amount of familiarity of some of the local hunting spots, and me being my stubborn self I stuck to those spots and never even considered giving that new area a second look. Fast forwarding to one year later; One, hunting season filled with indecision, and doubt. My dad and I were determined to be more prepared by the time the 2017 season arri ..read more

Where I live I am fortunate enough to say that we have a plethora of big game animals to hunt. Which can honestly make it challenging choosing your primary animal to pursue when it comes time to take to the woods each year. I admit it’s sort of a stupid problem to have but it’s a problem nonetheless. Each year like many other Bc hunters my family and I apply for “LEH.”limited entry hunting draw tags.” Whether, you manage to successfully pull a draw tag or not will indicate which animal will be your primary focus. But if you’re unsuccessful in pulling a draw tag year after year like I am, you w ..read more

You’ve done it, you have completed your C.O.R. E or whichever hunting course you have available to you in your province/state now you are officially ready to begin hunting. But wait a minute you didn’t just want to become any ol’ hunter traipsing through the forest, you wanted to become a bow hunter. You have no previous archery experience and are unsure on where to even start? Does this sound like you? Learning how to proficiently shoot a firearm is one thing, learning how to shoot a bow accurately enough to confidently take to the field, and take an animals life in an ethical manner is ..read more