Hunting Magazine Advice Needed??

[havgunwilltravel]

Hi guys,

For many years i have enjoyed subscribing to a few hunting magazines over in your region to keep up to date a little with hunting, game management, big game units etc. I would like to know if there is anything really good i have missed or don't know about.
I am primarily interested in reading information on backpacking and general hunting for Western game like Elk, Sheep, Deer, Goats, Moose etc. Bow or rifle it doesn't matter. I have been applying for a few years in a number of states building points and as i am getting close to drawing some of these DIY hunts i want to make sure i am keeping up to date a little with what is going on. I do not use the magazines as my only reference point for hunt research, they are just a form of reading and to an extent do assist with me building knowledge on a few aspects of hunting Western Game.

At the moment i subscribe to:

Muley Crazy,
Extreme Elk,
Eastmans Bow and Rifle,
BC Mountain Hunter,
Alaskan Hunter,

previously i have subscribed to:
QDMA (i'd like to renew as i enjoy the game management reading)
Trophy Hunter,
Big Game Adventures in Canada, (long gone, but had a few interesting articles at times)
Ovis Foundation, (Good read, just don't have a sub at the moment)

I have enquired about the Huntin Fool, but a subscription to Australia was crazy priced and i don't have anybody who wanted to split it and make it easier financially to justify it. If anybody has some back issues from 2011 or 2012 they want to sell for a reasonable figure, please PM me. I have downloaded a few copies off the net to read of this when they have old editions online.

I have also read Bowhunting World, and enjoyed the diverse topics, i am waiting to hear back from an email to them.

Is the RMEF a good overall read? I have never read an issue.

So if anybody has some good ideas on something i am missing out on, please let me know. Or even if there is any online Emags out there to subscribe to.

My other theory is i can never have enough hunting magazines lying around for my two young boys to pick up and look at and whilst it annoys the other half at times, they are in the house to stay!!

Thanks.

 

[bigeasygator]

While they don't do much for providing information on units, Western Hunter and Elk Hunter are two magazines that I subscribe to that I absolutely love. I think there are great informational articles in those magazines, and in my opinion, those are the two best publications on hunting the West. The Huntin' Fool offers an eMagazine option (it's not cheap) but I like them for the information they provide on units -- something to consider.

 

[CabinFever]

Through work, I have access to almost all the magazines you mentioned and many more, and as bigeasy mentioned, Western Hunter and Elk Hunter are probably the only 2 I pretty much read cover to cover. Their writers, info, and layout just seem to me to be a notch above the rest. As mentioned above they don't offer the unit info that you find in Huntin' Fool and even Eastman's MRS section, but IMO they offer a higher quality product on Western big game than anything else.

You asked about RMEF, and I thoroughly enjoy the stories and conservation info in Bugle, it is a good read as well.

If you like stories with high quality writing, not necessarily kill stories, Gray's Sporting Journal leans a little more towards the abstract, and I really enjoy it's stories. There are a lot of professional writers that contribute to it on a regular basis, including Pete Fromm, who I'm a big fan of. It is definitely a little more on the "artsy" side but very high quality writing.

 

[ihuntelk]

+100 on gators comments on Western Hunter and Elk Hunter. PM me your address and I'll drop a few in the mail. Just keep posting your cool stories from OZ and New Zealand in return. Been fun reading and dreaming about hunting over there.

-Cade
www.HuntForeverWest.com

 

[Spitz]

HuntinFool started putting out an emag for an extra $50 here in the US. I bet if you gave them a call and didn't want the paper mag due to the cost, they'd set you up online for a decent price.

 

[havgunwilltravel]

Thanks for the feedback, really appreciate it.
I had a look at Western Hunter and Elk Hunter and got a two year sub for both of them and i have to admit their online page for an international order to be processed was actually easier then some Preference Point applications i have to do for various states!! So off to a good start there. Look forward to the read.

Cabinfever: Thanks, i had a look at the RMEF site and i think i will also join up to them once i have checked out the Huntin Fool emag option. I will also have a look at Grays Sporting Journal, as you say, so much more to magazines then just killing and big trophies although it is hard it seems for the editors to find the perfect balance to please everybody, hence the need to subscribe to a few.

Spitz: Thats good news, thanks for the heads up, sounds like it shouldn't be too much more to send that emag from the HF a little bit further West..

Ihuntelk: Appreciate the offer, i will PM you my address and cover the postage with Paypal. And no need to dream about the hunting over here, we will be climbing Tahr and Chamois hills from the 26th of April onwards, if you can get yourself to Christchurch, well there isn't much more you will need after that....