The most common questions I get from first time hunters and from out of state DIY elk hunters is about how to find the “best” hunting units.

I usually ask them what does “best” mean to them. I think most people mean easy. Some elk hunts can be easy, but don’t count on it.

Chances are, you should be able to find elk on every unit on National Forest lands, without any additional knowledge. But more information will always be helpful.

Of course the local hunters know when and where to find elk on units that have few elk, but non-residents will not, so choose a unit proven to have lots of elk during your hunting season.

For me, the best hunting unit has more to do with the quality of my outdoor camping, scouting and hunting experience, but I am also a numbers guy. So in this case, best will be a purely numeric analysis of Colorado’s elk harvest data for the three OTC hunts; 2nd Rifle, 3rd Rifle and Archery hunts.

You can research population estimates in the Herd Management Plans (DAU Reports – AKA Data Analysis Units) or you can see how many elk were harvested in the past and see the hunter success and the amount of hunting pressure.

If you are an out of state hunter, unless you have done lots of scouting before, I suggest you start researching units where at least 50 elk were harvested and also had better than average hunting success.

2021 Colorado OTC Elk Licenses

The OTC licenses are just that, sold over the counter and many of these OTC licenses are unlimited and will be on sale for 2020 starting in Early August (August 6 in 2020).

Colorado OTC Rifle Elk Hunts

Let’s start with the Over-the-counter (OTC) rifle hunts. The OTC rifle seasons are the 2nd and 3rd rifle seasons. In 2020, the 2nd rifle season will be Oct 24 – Nov. 1 and the 3rd rifle season will be Nov. 7 – 13.

These hunts are for Antlered Elk Only (Bull Elk) and are available in 93 hunt units (GMUs – Game Management Units) in Western Colorado. The latest available harvest data from Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is from 2019 (see tables below).

Looking at past harvest data is important in choosing a hunting unit. The harvest data reported by CPW are available compiled in various ways and it is easy to see harvest numbers, hunting success and hunting pressure for each unit. But it is a little more difficult to separate results from OTC tags from other hunts that occur at the same times and places.

Limited Entry (LE) elk hunts for both antlered and antlerless elk do occur during the 2nd and 3rd rifle seasons. There is no overlap in space (units are separated; LE only in some, OTC only in others) for the bull elk hunts, but there is overlap in the units for the limited cow elk hunts.

By removing the number of hunters that participate in cow elk hunts from the total, I attempt to get more accurate estimates of OTC rifle hunters and harvest data, but have to make some assumptions because CPW does not provide separated data. Those assumptions are that all hunters (OTC Bull Elk and Limited Antlerless) hunt with the same effort (days hunted) and have the same success during the 2nd or 3rd rifle seasons. This is not perfect, but I think is better than leaving them clumped together.

In the past, I reported these numbers for each new season when harvest reports were available, but decided that a three year average would be more useful since the numbers of elk harvested jumps around. For instance, for 2nd Rifle, there are only 14 GMUs that were in the top 20 in both 2014 and 2018 and only 10 GMUs in the top 20 every year from 2014 to 2018. So there is some yearly variation and some GMUs have been trending up and some trending down.

Table 1 shows the top 24 units for the OTC 2nd Rifle Season. Data were averaged for the last three years of harvest data available (2017 – 2019). The left side of the table is ranked by total bull elk taken by OTC tag holders in OTC units during the 2nd rifle season. The right side of Table 1 is same data ranked by Hunter Success.

Table 1. Top 24 Colorado OTC Rifle Units – 2nd Rifle Season – 3 year Average 2017 – 2019

For total bull elk harvest, the top 24 OTC 2nd Rifle Season elk units ranged from an average of 61 to 184 elk harvested (left side Table 1). I included harvest data from 24 units instead of 20 because half (54%) of all Bull Elk Harvest (2nd Season OTC Rifle) came from 24 of the 92 hunt units and it also allowed me to include GMU 54 which ranked in the top 23 for Bull Elk harvest and for hunter success.

For hunter success (right side of Table 1), I limited units to those with an average of at least 25 bull elk over the three years, so some units had higher success than these units, but only had a few elk harvested. So, highest hunter success (with at least 25 bulls harvested) ranged from 31.3% to 12.6%. Total hunter success for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 in OTC 2nd rifle seasons was 13.2%, 13.4% and 14.3% respectively. The top 25 units ranked by hunter success accounted for 15% of all Bull Elk Harvested for the last three OTC 2nd rifle seasons.

Also notice that 13 GMUs are hi-lighted on both sides of the table, because these GMUs ranked in the top 24 for both total harvest and hunter success.

When compared to last year’s table (2015 – 2017 average), 23 of the GMUs are the same. GMU 14 was added and GMUs 28 and 24 dropped out (I used the Top 25 GMUs for Bull elk harvest last year.

When last year’s hunter success was compared, 18 of the GMUs are the same and 6 new GMUs were added, but I also changed the cutoff from 50 bull elk to 25 to be considered.

Five units (4, 13, 22, 85 and 421) were in the top units for both the 2nd and 3rd rifle seasons for both total Bull Elk harvest and for hunter success.

Colorado Hunting Maps & Hunting Accessories

Table 2 (left side) shows the top 25 units ranked by total bull elk taken by OTC tag holders in the OTC units during the 3rd rifle season. The right side of Table 2 is ranked by Hunter Success.

Table 2. Top 25 Colorado OTC Rifle Units – 3rd Rifle Season – 3 year Average 2017 – 2019

For total bull elk harvest, the top 25 OTC 3rd Rifle Season elk units ranged from 163 to 55 bull elk (average harvest – left side Table 2). The top 25 units accounted for over half (54%) of all Bull Elk Harvest during the 3rd OTC Rifle Season(2017 – 2019), I included 25GMUs because the last two had 51 bull elk harvested and it would also include two additional units (units 5 & 551) that ranked for both total elk harvest and for hunter success.

For hunter success (right side of Table 1), GMUs had at least 29 bull elk harvest (3 year average). Remember, some units had higher success, but I only considered units that had at least 25 bull elk harvested. Hunter success (with at least 29 bull elk) ranged from 32.3% to 13.3%. Average hunter success for the 2017 – 2019 OTC 3rd rifle season was 14.9%. The top 25 units ranked by hunter success accounted for 49.5% of all Bull Elk Harvested for the OTC 3rd rifle season.

Notice the 18 hi-lighted units on both side of Table 2. These 18 units ranked in the top 25 for both total harvest and hunter success.

Colorado OTC Archery Elk Hunts

Now let’s look at the OTC Archery Hunts (Combined Either-sex and Antlered hunts). Table 3 shows GMUs ranked by total Elk Harvested (left side) and by Hunter Success (right side). There are two types of OTC Archery Elk Tags; Either Sex or Bull Elk Only. The 2021 OTC Archery season will be Sept. 2 – 30.

There are OTC Archery tags available for 122 Either Sex GMUs and 51 Antlerless Elk GMUs on public land. There is much overlap, but there are 124 total OTC Archery Elk GMUs on public land. There are also 7 additional private only units, but those data are not included. There are 49 units that offer either tag (Either Sex or Antlerless Only).

Table 3. Top 25 Colorado OTC Archery Units – 3 year Average 2017 – 2019

The top 25 units ranked by total elk harvest accounted for 70% of the total OTC Elk Archery harvest. The top 25 units ranked by hunter success (Table 3) accounted for 58.5% of the total OTC Elk Archery harvest.

I included a few extra GMUs in the table, because adding a few more allowed me to include 5 more GMUs that were in the top 25 for both total harvest and hunter success.

For total elk harvest (bulls, cows & calves combined), the top 25 OTC elk units ranged from 227 to 50 elk harvested.

For the top 25 units by hunter success, I limited units to those where at least 20 total elk were harvested. Some units had higher success, but only had a few elk harvested. So, highest hunter success (with at least 20 elk, ranged from 28.3% to 10.3%, compared to the overall average OTC Archery Success (2017 – 2019) of 10.1%.

Again, notice that after the latest update, 14 units are now hi-lighted on both sides of Table 3. These 14 GMUs ranked in the top 25 for both total harvest and hunter success.

For total elk harvested, the table changed over the last two years as Bull elk only tags have transitioned to Either Sex tags. In 2019 the Either sex tags were new and Bull Elk only still existed. Last year, the Bull Elk only tags were dropped.

High Hunter Density is not all Bad

Many days, I see other hunters at parking areas, and I hear them driving around on the roads, but I rarely see or hear hunters in the woods. I usually coordinate with other people I do see to make sure we don’t end up at the same place.

Also, if a unit has lots of hunters, that is usually a good indication that area has lots of access points to disperse the traffic. Of course, some areas can get very crowded, but with a few days to scout, you should be able to find less crowded areas.

Also, some hunters will go deep to find elk and they almost always bump elk (I know I bump elk that other people may get to see), those elk have to go somewhere and they might just run over you.

These tables are just to help you get started with the selection process. These are the units in Colorado where the most elk are harvested and those that have the highest hunter success. Spend a little time researching the combination of these factors and also consider the size of the units, the number of access points and the amount of hunting pressure they get.

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There is also an OTC Plains Rifle season in eastern Colorado. These units obviously don’t have as many elk or public land as the western units, but they do offer long hunting seasons and the opportunity to hunt either sex elk with an OTC tag. The total harvest in the plains units is relatively low and most elk are harvested by local hunters that know the country and know when elk can be found there.

If you are considering a hunt in the plains units, make sure you know where the public land is and that elk should be using those areas at the time you want to hunt. Many of these units do not have any elk harvested during the season.

I no longer rank the Plains Rifle units because CPW makes it impossible to find or to separate the data.

For More info on Hunting Elk with OTC tags in Colorado and to see units maps, read my post here or download the newest Colorado Big Game Brochure here.

So now when guys ask we what is the best hunt unit in Colorado for an OTC tag, I’m going to start by sending them to this page. Good luck on your hunt.

The animal world can seem a little cruel and difficult to understand at times, particularly when it comes to how different species will treat their young. You might have wondered, do birds kill their own babies?

Some birds will kill off their offspring if there are not enough food resources to go around, or if they are likely to cause harm to the rest of the brood. Baby birds can also die from neglect or abandonment, though this is rarely just because they have been touched by a human.

Read ahead in this article to find out why some birds might kill their babies, and whether humans might inadvertently make this happen by interfering with a nest.

Why Would a Mother Bird Kill Her Babies?

It is not a myth that some mother birds will kill their babies, but it is not a very common phenomenon. Birds spend a lot of time and energy caring for their young and are often among the most devoted mothers in the animal kingdom.

Almost all species are instinctively driven to survive and reproduce, so why might a mother bird choose to cause the death of her offspring? There are three main reasons why birds have been recorded as actively killing their babies.

• Brood reduction: Mother birds will sometimes kill their babies because they do not have the food resources or nest conditions needed to keep their entire brood alive. Some birds may reduce their brood size so that the limited food or space they have can be given to the healthiest of their offspring, or even be kept for themselves!
• Preventing the spread of infection: If a baby bird is sick with an infection that may spread to the other nestlings or the adult birds, a mother may kill the infected baby or discard them.
• Reducing the breeding success of competing birds: As with many other species, birds have been known to kill the offspring of other parents that they are competing with so that their own babies are more likely to survive.
• To gain attention from dominant males: A rare phenomenon in birds, but the house sparrow females are notorious for killing off other females’ offspring – partly to establish dominance!They do this especially when they replace previous mates of attractive male sparrows with large territories. Partly because they do not want to spend the energy raising other females’ nestlings, but also to demonstrate some kind of dominance over other female competitors!

It is actually more common for baby birds to die from neglect or abandonment than it is for them to be killed directly by their mother. These are often accidental deaths, though, as most bird species are very caring and attentive parents.

Which Bird Species Are Known to Kill Their Babies?

Infanticide is a rare occurrence in birds, but some bird species do seem to be a little less caring than others. So, who are some of the main culprits?

Eclectus Parrots

These parrots are known to kill their young if their nests are not able to support the entire brood.

They usually choose to kill the youngest male sibling first so that older female nestlings will develop more quickly. They do this as they know (by instinct!) that females take less work and food to raise!

Black Eagles

Although black eagle mothers are not necessarily killers themselves, they often let their offspring kill each other without interfering.

When baby black eagles fight, they can sometimes fight to the death, and the mothers will rarely intervene. This allows the strongest of their young to survive.

Cuckoos

You’ve probably heard of the strange way that some cuckoos “care” for their young. They can lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, turning their own babies into “brood parasites”.

Baby cuckoos will often kill off the offspring of the host bird so that they can be raised without competition.

House Sparrows

The males of this widespread bird species are actually known to go out of their way to hunt down and kill the babies of competing males so that their young are more likely to survive. But females will actually do the same, which is unusual for birds!

In fact, more than 10% of new house sparrow nestlings are brought up in a nest where the male (or much rarer, the female) has first killed off the offspring of the previous partner to one of the parents!

Although this behavior is almost always carried out by males in other bird species, house sparrow females are notorious for killing the nestlings of competing females!

They seemingly do this to get more attention from polygamous males and to advance in the social hierarchy.

Do storks kill their babies?

Yes! White Storks have been known to kill their babies and a 3-year-long study found that 9 out of 63 nests experienced infanticide. This means that it only happens in 14% of the nesting couples, but less often if conditions are optimal and perhaps more often if food is scarce.

Why do storks kill their babies?

Storks will kill their babies if they lay too many eggs and therefore have to care for more than they can carry. In other bird species, the nestlings would outcompete each other “naturally” and the parents would not need to intervene, but not in storks.

Therefore, the stork parents will often intervene themselves to put an end to the smallest chick’s misery before it starves to death.

Will Birds Also Eat Their Own Babies?

As a biologist with a keen interest in avian behavior, I can provide insight into the intriguing topic of cannibalism in birds. While it may be unsettling to imagine, yes, there are instances where certain bird species engage in cannibalistic behaviors, including consuming their own offspring.

Although this behavior is relatively rare among birds, it has been observed in various contexts and can serve different purposes depending on the species and circumstances involved.

One important point to emphasize is that the vast majority of bird species do not exhibit cannibalistic tendencies towards their young. Parental care and nurturing instincts are deeply ingrained in most avian species, as they invest significant time and energy in rearing their offspring.

The act of killing and consuming their own young goes against the typical parental behavior observed in birds, which is geared towards ensuring the survival and well-being of their progeny.

Nevertheless, there are several factors that can contribute to instances of cannibalism in birds. These factors include food scarcity, competition for resources, stress, environmental conditions, and even genetic predispositions.

In certain cases, a parent bird may perceive their own offspring as a potential source of nutrition, especially when food availability is limited or unpredictable. By consuming their young, the parent bird gains sustenance to survive during challenging times.

In addition to nutritional benefits, cannibalism in birds can also serve other purposes. One such purpose is related to maintaining the overall fitness of the parent bird. By eliminating weaker or sickly offspring through cannibalism, the parent bird can allocate its limited resources towards raising the healthier offspring, thus increasing the chances of their survival and overall reproductive success.

This behavior, known as “culling,” ensures that the limited resources are allocated to the strongest individuals who have a higher likelihood of passing on their genes to the next generation.

It is important to note that cannibalism in birds is not limited to parents consuming their own young. In some cases, unrelated adult birds may prey upon the young of other individuals within their own species.

This type of cannibalism can occur as a result of territorial disputes, dominance hierarchies, or simply as a opportunistic feeding behavior.

Certain species of birds, such as gulls and raptors, have been observed engaging in this behavior, particularly when food resources are scarce or when defending their nesting territories.

It is crucial to understand that cannibalism in birds is not the norm, but rather an exception to the typical parental care exhibited by avian species. The majority of bird parents invest significant effort in protecting, feeding, and nurturing their young, ensuring their survival and eventual independence. Cannibalism, when it does occur, is generally a result of exceptional circumstances and environmental pressures.

In conclusion, while it may be unsettling to contemplate, cannibalism in birds, including the act of consuming their own offspring, has been observed in certain species. This behavior can be driven by factors such as food scarcity and the need to prioritize the survival of the fittest offspring.

However, it is important to remember that such behaviors are not representative of the broader avian population. Most birds exhibit remarkable parental care and strive to ensure the well-being and success of their young.

Do Birds Kill Their Babies If You Touch Them?

You’ve probably been told to leave a baby bird alone if you spot one out in the wild because its mother will kill it if it has a human smell, but is this true?

Actually, this idea is a myth, although the advice that it has produced is actually pretty sensible.

Birds will not kill their babies just because they have been touched by humans, and a human smell is not going to cause a baby to be abandoned.

The problem with touching a baby bird is that your presence is likely to scare off the parents, and the adult birds may find it difficult to locate them again.

It’s best to leave a baby bird where you find it because you want its parents to come back, and they are more likely to do so if you’re not around.

If the birds are older at the fledgling state, the bird might not belong in the nest anymore and will take care of by the parents. In if that is the case, you should not move it or try to rescue it!

What Do Birds Do When Their Babies Die?

When baby birds do die, it can seem very sad to us, but do the adult birds become upset? What do they do when this happens? Well, it’s hard to determine exactly how much emotion birds have.

There is no scientific proof that birds will mourn or grieve, but some of their behavior does suggest a level of sadness.

For example, penguins are known to hold onto their young for a long time even after they have died, crows have been observed gathering around their dead, and magpies will sometimes place objects over the bodies of deceased birds.

As for what actually happens when a baby bird dies, things are a little more practical. Dead bodies breed bacteria and attract predators, so they need to be removed from the nest.

The larger the baby is, the further they will be taken away. Many predatory and scavenger birds, like vultures and hawks, will even eat their young, though this does not seem to be done out of maliciousness, but simply because it is expedient.

In the end, though we may never know for sure what goes on in a bird’s mind when its young die, we can see that they do take some actions that could be interpreted as signs of sadness.

What can you do to prevent birds from killing their own babies?

You always have to be careful when trying to help birds as the reason for their behaviour can vary and you might make it worse!

Some possible reasons for bird infanticide include if the bird is sick, stressed or hungy, if the bird feels threatened, if the baby is not healthy, or if the mother bird is simply inexperienced.

If you are concerned about birds killing their own babies, you can try to provide nesting materials and a safe environment for them to nest in.

You can also try putting out extra food for them in your yard. I have already written extensively about how to feed backyard birds in each state of the US here on the site – so just go and find the bird in question and read all about what to feed it in my posts on backyards birds!

I will put some links at the end of this post as well!

Conclusion

As much as we might not understand it, killing babies is a natural occurrence in the animal world. For birds, it usually happens when the mother bird is trying to protect her (future) offspring or ensure their success.

While it’s a myth that human touch will cause a mother bird to kill her baby, it’s best to leave them alone so as not to scare off the parents. And if a baby bird does die, the adult birds usually handle it by removing the body from the nest without measurable remorse.

FAQs

Do blue jays kill their babies?

There are many factors that can affect the behavior of blue jays. Some reports suggest that blue jays may kill their babies if they perceive a threat to their safety, while other reports indicate that blue jays are generally gentle and nurturing parents. Ultimately, it is important to remember that every animal is unique and therefore reactions to different situations will vary.

Do mourning doves kill their babies?

No, mourning doves are not known to kill their babies.

Do quails kill their babies?

There is no definitive answer to this question as different quail species exhibit different behaviors. But some species might do so.

Why do quails kill their babies?

Some quail birds will kill their own babies if they perceive them to be a threat, while others will not. It is speculated that quails may kill their babies if they are sick or deformed in some way, in order to prevent the spread of disease.

Do budgies kill their babies?

Some budgies may kill their babies if they feel threatened or if they are not getting enough food, while others may not kill their babies under any circumstances.

Do geese kill their babies?

No, geese do not kill their babies. They are herbivores and would not normally be aggressive against their young.

Do crows kill their babies?

Crows will gladly eat other bird’s eggs and babies but do rarely eat their own offspring. Some crows may kill their babies if they perceive them to be a threat to their survival during food shortage.

Do Canadian geese kill their babies?

No, geese do not kill their babies. They are herbivores and would not normally be aggressive against their young.

Do swans kill their babies?

Swans, like geese, are herbivorous birds that do not normally have a taste for meat. They have very few babies so they will not let them go to waste. And whereas they will never kill their own babies, they will sometimes kill the nestlings of competing swan couples!

Do parakeets kill their babies?

No, parakeets do not kill their babies. Parakeets are small, gentle birds that typically make great parents.

Do finches kill their babies?

No, finches do not kill their babies. They are small, seed-eating birds that typically have large clutches of eggs (6-8). The female will incubate the eggs and both parents will feed the chicks once they hatch.

They may sometimes peck them by accident and kill them unintentionally. They will then throw them out of the nest where they will day from the fall if not completely dead already.

Do zebra finches kill their babies?

Zebra finches are very similar to regular finches and do not kill their babies on purpose.

Why would zebra finches kill their babies?

Zebra finches would only kill their babies by accident and never intend to do so on purpose. Especially when held in captivity where food is usually plentiful. They may sometimes peck them on accident as they are not the most intelligent birds around!

Do chickens kill their babies?

Chickens only kill their babies if they are hurt or injured. Sometimes they will eat their own eggs if they are free-range. However, they would only do this if they could not lay another egg that day and needed to conserve their energy.Chickens are omnivorous birds, but they mostly eat plants. They will only eat meat if it is available, but they do not hunt for it.

Do cardinals kill their babies?

As cardinals have very strong family bonds, it is unlikely they would kill their babies but it is possible. Cardinals will only kill their babies if they are severely disturbed or stressed.

Do robins kill their babies?

I have never heard any reports of robins killing their babies. So at least, they are not well known to do so.

Do hawks kill their babies?

Hawks are predators and will kill baby animals for food, including other birds, but they rarely kill their own babies as they do not have large broods.

Do sparrows kill their babies?

Yes! As mentioned earlier in this post, house sparrows kill almost ten percent of their total offspring if we count across and between couples!

Do mother ducks kill their babies?

No, ducks do not kill their babies.

And let’s end this post on a happy note: In fact, duck mothers are very nurturing and will often incubate other duck’s eggs and raise their chicks if given the chance!

More About Backyard birds in North America

Are you interested in how the backyard birds in your state compare to other states?

Then check out my other blog posts below:

• Backyard birds of Alabama
• Backyard birds of Colorado
• Backyard birds of Delaware
• Backyard birds of Georgia
• Backyard birds of Hawaii
• Backyard birds of Illinois
• Backyard birds of Iowa
• Backyard birds of Kentucky
• Backyard birds of Louisiana
• Backyard birds of Maryland
• Backyard birds of Massachusetts
• Backyard birds of Missouri
• Backyard birds of Nebraska
• Backyard birds of New York
• Backyard birds of North Carolina
• Backyard birds of Oklahoma
• Backyard birds of Rhode Island
• Backyard birds of South Carolina
• Backyard birds of Tennessee
• Backyard birds of Texas
• Backyard birds of Virginia
• Backyard birds of West Virginia
• Backyard birds of Wisconsin
• Backyard birds of Wyoming

And in Canada:

• Backyard birds of Ontario
• Backyard birds of Prince Edward Island
• Backyard birds of Saskatchewan
• Backyard birds of Quebec

Not on the list? Check out the rest of my posts on backyard birds here!

Maybe you would like to know if the Blue Jay or Cardinal dominates in the bird feeder hierarchy or how birds such as seagulls sleep at night? Or why mourning doves poop so much.

My Favorite Backyard Birding Gear:

If you are interested in posters and other wall arts etc. with drawings of all the backyard birds you have just read about, check out my portfolio over at Redbubble:

https://feederwatch.org/

American Museum of Natural History Birds of North America. DK; Revised edition (September 6, 2016). ISBN: 978-1465443991

National Geographic Backyard Guide to the Birds of North America, 2nd Edition. National Geographic; 2nd edition (October 15, 2019)

Birds of North America. National Audubon Society. (Knopf April 6, 2021). ISBN: 978-0525655671

https://celebrateurbanbirds.org/

https://www.birds.cornell.edu/

Great for Small Fish

Ugly Stik Elite

Length Tested: 5′ | Casting Weight: 1/32-1/4 oz

If you need a well-built, lightweight fishing rod that’s easy to tote to your favorite fishing hole, look no further than the Ugly Stik Elite. Don’t let its small size fool you. It’s perfectly strong and has impressive fighting power, which was proven on several occasions when we hauled in fish that were seemingly too big for this rod. This Ugly Stik was also versatile enough for different fishing styles, whether it be dropping a hook with a worm on it or just casting with a lure. It was also one of the best when it came to balancing, sitting comfortably in our hands all day long.

Although the upsides were plentiful, there were a few downsides to consider. This rod is on the small side, so the casting distance takes a hit. This is to be expected due to the rod’s size, but it’s still something to think about if most of your fishing involves casting. It also has a fairly short handle, which made two-handed use a little more difficult. Overall, this rod was a pleasure to use. So, if you need a small rod that can handle the rigors of everyday fishing, you might want to give the Ugly Stik Elite a try.

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Why You Should Trust Us

Our testing grounds were June Lake, California, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and the California coast, where our lead tester fished from both shorelines and boats to determine how each rod performed in different environments. Dozens of fish were hooked in the process of testing these rods, helping us decipher key performance differences between each product. Each fishing rod was taken out into the field to gain impressions about the features, as well as the versatility and portability. Professional anglers were also consulted, and their feedback was taken into consideration. We then put each rod up against the others to figure out where each one ranked in the test. The rankings and recommendations found in this review were informed by our in-depth comparisons and field testing.

Kit Smith, our lead reviewer, has been fishing for most of his life. He grew up fishing for salmon and halibut in the San Francisco Bay and the nearby Pacific Ocean. He also spent time fishing streams and lakes in Bear Valley, a small mountain town in the Central Sierras, where his family had a cabin. Later, he continued perfecting his angling craft in Colorado, where he attended college.

Analysis and Test Results

During testing, we measured each rod on five metrics: Balance/Feel, Features, Portability, Construction, and Versatility. We lay out each below and highlight some top performers in each area.

Value

As the old adage goes: When you buy cheap, you buy twice. Case in point here is the KastKing Blackhawk II Telescopic. Its glass tip broke after a few uses, and we had to order another one. We didn’t have any problems with the second rod, so we’ll chalk it up to getting a lemon. Overall, we ended up really enjoying this rod for its versatility, portability, and exceptional balance. The real stand-out for its great price-to-performance ratio is the PLUSINNO Two-Piece Spinning Rod, which is ultra-affordable and surprised us with its great functionality on the water. The Daiwa Megaforce Tele Spin is a bit pricier, but overall, it’s a well-constructed, highly portable rod with great casting capabilities that is a good value we think most fishermen would be happy with.

Balance & Feel

A rod’s balance is a crucial component to consider. It not only helps with casting, but it also makes fishing a whole lot more comfortable. If the balance is off, the weight of the rod will be shifted to the rod tip or handle, and you’ll notice it. Feel is also an important metric here. Feel comes down to the sensitivity of the rod. If a rod has a great feel, you can sense the smallest bites and the action of a lure in the water.

While telescoping rods don’t traditionally provide great balance and feel, the Daiwa Megaforce Telescopic was an exception. It was extremely comfortable to fish with and let us sense every little movement in the water.

As far as the most well-balanced and sensitive rod goes, the St. Croix Triumph Travel and the Ugly Stik Elite were neck and neck. While the St. Croix Triumph Travel is the most balanced and sensitive fishing rod we tested, letting you feel everything that was happening underwater, the Ugly Stik was right there with it. It helped us feel the tiniest nibbles and set the hook like a pro.

Features

This metric is sometimes overlooked when considering a fishing rod. Sure, you can get the job done without all the bells and whistles, but smart features can make the experience even better. What kind of features are we talking about? Things like a cork grip, hook holder, and oversize guides. But having a lot of features doesn’t automatically make it a winner here. They have to be features that really work and add to the fishing experience. This category’s standout is the PLUSINNO Two-Piece Spinning, with an abundance of useful features. A couple of our favorites? The oversize ceramic guides helped guide the line smoothly for long casts, and the double locking structure on the reel seat held the reel tightly in place and never loosed up, even after bumpy boat rides.

With our favorite handle, the Cadence Fishing CR5 Spinning Rod also proved strong in this metric. Some of these rods have foam handles, but this one features a premium cork handle that fits perfectly in hand and makes all-day fishing comfort a reality. The High Altitude Lightweight Telescopic packed plenty of features, too. We especially liked the hook keeper that lets you store your hook while moving between fishing holes.

Portability

This is a crucial metric if you plan on traveling with your rod. Of course, it’s hard to beat a telescoping rod for portability, but some of the two-piece rods we tested were quite easy to take apart and put back together. The Cadence Fishing CR5 was one of these, and it made transporting a breeze.

One of the most portable rods we tested was the High Altitude Lightweight Telescopic. It was one of the lightest and easiest to transport of our test fleet. But many of the other telescoping rods were just as portable, including the Daiwa Megaforce Telescopic and the KastKing Blackhawk II Telescopic. If portability is important to you, we suggest trying out one of these rods.

Construction

While this isn’t the most exciting metric, it does make a big difference in how well a rod works. Depending on the material, you can get more sensitivity, strength, and fighting power. On top of that, the construction may be what determines if a rod lasts ten days or ten years.

There were a few standouts in this metric. The Daiwa Megaforce Telescopic was clearly built to last among the telescopic poles. Its carbon fiber construction combines strength and sensitivity to pick up little nibbles on our bait.

The true king of construction, though, is the St. Croix Triumph Travel. Built with a unique graphite fiber, this rod provided incredible sensitivity and fighting power. Of course, that quality doesn’t come cheap — it also comes with a high price tag.

Versatility

Another important metric to consider is versatility. And in this category, not all rods are created equal. Some are specifically made for fishing off the bottom of a lake, while others are made just for casting in saltwater environments.

The KastKing Blackhawk II Telescopic is a clear winner here. With its equally great performance in both fresh and saltwater, exceptional casting distance and sensitivity, and impressive fighting power, it can handle everything from small trout to large sea bass.

In comparison, while it’s built with quality in mind, the Ugly Stik Elite is really only made for freshwater fishing. Its fast action and light power design were clear indications of this. With that said, its versatility score took a hit.

Conclusion

Selecting the right fishing rod puts the odds more in your favor. Your personal fishing style is an important consideration. Do you plan to spend most of your days dropping a line off a boat, or will you be casting from the shoreline more often? Whatever it is, there’s a rod here designed just for you. We hope this article has been helpful in selecting a new rod. So, plan that next fishing trip, get out there, and snag that trophy fish.

To make many of the more advanced tools and weapons associated with wilderness survival you will need two animal products, sinew and rawhide. What sinew is, how to obtain it, and how to process it is the subject of this post.

What is Sinew?Sinew can be obtained from the tendons of any mammal. Tendons are the tough stringy things that attach muscles to bones. When these tendons are processed into sinew they provide a wonderful material that can be used to make super strong cordage, good sewing thread, and they can be used as a binding twine to attach arrowheads, arrow fletchings, knife blades, spear points, drill points and etc. Sinew is as tough as nylon, and it is impregnated with its own natural glue that can be activated with a little moisture. Sinew shrinks a little when it dries so that is binds things together tightly. Sinew will last for hundreds of years if it is protected from moisture. In short, sinew is a super material that has no modern equivalent. The only down-side to sinew is that it must be kept dry. If you get it wet it will soften and stretch, and whatever you have bound together with it will come apart. If you think that any sinew that you have used may be exposed to moisture, you must coat it with pine sap or some other agent that will waterproof it.

How do You Obtain Sinew?One of the most widely available sources of sinew is from the deer, although elk or buffalo will work just as well. The most useful sinews are located in the lower legs and along the upper back lying over the back straps. If you hunt deer you can remove both the leg and back sinews when you are butchering. If you have friends that hunt you can ask them to bring you the lower legs when they butcher. The lower legs have no usable meat on them and most people just cut them off and throw them away. Hunters will usually be glad to give you this part of their kill even if they do think you’re a little strange for wanting it. You can even go to most packing houses during deer season and they are often glad to get rid of any legs that they have. All of my friends know that I want deer legs and I usually get anywhere from twenty to fifty a year just for the asking. Pictured below: deer legHow do You Process Sinew?To remove the sinews, you need a sharp knife or a good sharp flake of flint. Slice down the back of the leg from knee joint to just above the dew claws and peel the skin back. Lying just below the skin is a white membrane. This membrane encases the tendon which lies in a shallow groove down the back of the leg bone.

Split open the membrane and you will see a milky white cord looking thing. This is the tendon. You can usually slip your finger under the edge of the tendon and lift it up out of the bone a little. When you get the tendon up out of the groove, run your knife up and down to loosen the tendon even more. I usually run my knife down toward the hoof, and when I can’t go any farther, I turn the blade up and slice through the tendon freeing that end. You can then grab the tendon with you hand and peel it out down toward the knee joint. When you pull up as much of the tendon as you can get, cut that end off with your knife. There may be some membrane left sticking to the tendon (kind of a slimy case) and if you can remove this it will be helpful although it’s not vitally necessary.When you have a white floppy tendon in your hand, the hard part is done. Just set the tendon out in the sun or on the kitchen drain board if your spouse is out of town. In less than twenty-four hours the soft wet tendon will be hard, dry, and kind of a translucent yellow color. It looks a lot like plastic. Now take the dried tendon and use a smooth round rock or the round end of a ball peen hammer and start pounding. What ever you pound with, it needs to be rounded. Flat edges, like the flat of a hammer or axe, will cut the fibers in the sinew. As you pound, the sinew will start to turn white, and it will begin to separate into fluffy white fibers. You can now take you fingers and pull apart the fibers is small bundles about the thickness of a pencil lead or smaller. These little fiber bundles are what you’re looking for. You can use them to back a bow, make a bow string, sew leather together, tie on arrowheads etc.To use the sinew to, for example, tie on an arrow head; all you have to do is pop a piece in your mouth and chew on it a little. Don’t be squeamish. It’s no different than chewing on a piece of deer jerky. The saliva in your mouth and the gentle chewing will soften the sinew in seconds. Don’t chew too long or you will wash all of the glue out of the sinew.

When the sinew is soft remove it from your mouth and wrap it around your arrowhead. You don’t have to tie it off because the sinew will stick to itself. Set it in the sun for twenty or thirty minutes and it will dry hard and tight. Coat the sinew with melted pine sap or carpenter’s glue and let it dry. Pictured below: sinew bow string, arrowhead, spearhead, and knife blade all attached with sinew; and sinew backing on an elm wood bow.That’s all there is to it. Amazing isn’t it!

When I was in my early 20s, I used to hang a couple dozen tree stands every summer. The work was tedious, hot and extremely time consuming. And I always felt like I was acting like an outfitter for myself and members of my hunting family at home. Sometimes these stands wouldn’t even get used in the fall, and I’d have to burn more time and energy pulling an unused stand in the winter. The entire process just seemed extremely inefficient. Now that I’m in my early 40s, I have even less time and energy than I did back then, and I desperately try not to waste either.

Now my family and I hunt much more mobile and hang 75 percent of our stands in real time.

Occasionally, I grow tired of passively sitting in a tree waiting for a big buck to come by for the ambush. Also, some conditions are just plain poor for a tree stand location, and the advantage of sitting aloft is lacking. In recent years, I’ve grown fond of switching up hunting techniques and giving the bucks in my area a different look. When I get to hankering for some action, grow bored with tree stand sitting or just need to do some in season speed scouting, my go-to method for chasing deer is old school still hunting.

Defining The Practice

I will preface the remainder of this piece with a statement of pure truth: I am by no means a master still hunter. I live on the prairie in southeastern Illinois, far removed from the big timber and rugged country where the method is used much more frequently. In my hunting youth, I read T. S. Van Dyke’s book from 1883, The Still Hunter. His tales and illustrations of sneaking up on whitetails on foot seemed like pure fiction to me. Around the same time, I read several books authored by Larry Benoit and his sons. They told spinning tales of tracking down monster Adirondack bucks on foot for miles, in the snow no less, before closing in on the animal for a kill shot with a rifle.

After digesting a pile of literature on the subject, I made up my mind. I was going to learn how to still hunt.

I’ve always thought the term still hunting was a bit of a misnomer, because you’re on foot and you’re moving very slowly. Still hunting is the simplest form of active pursuit there is, a process by which one literally creeps through a whitetail’s habitat on foot as slowly and methodically as possible. The goal is quite simple: use all your senses to see, hear and sometimes even smell the whitetail before they return the favor. But that’s only the first part of the still hunting equation, for the hard part is pulling off the shot at eye level. For my tastes, still hunting lends itself to be a fantastic method for the deer hunter with a firearm tag in his or her pocket. But, given the proper conditions, an archer can also use the still hunt. Let’s study these elements in detail.

The Proper Conditions

In order to up your odds of still hunting success, you need to have the proper conditions. In my opinion, a calm, sunny and dry day is just terrible for the task.

I want damp conditions to allow for quiet footfall in the timber on a calm day. Also, dry leaf litter under foot is less apt to spook game if the wind is up and covering your sound signature. Noise mitigation is paramount to the still hunter.

On sunny days, keeping the sun at your back and slowly working through the shadows is a fine way to get the drop on bedded deer. But cloudy days seem to make for better overall visibility. Keep in mind that shadows can help hide the human form, but they can also hide the whitetail just as easily.

Rain and snow can make for some excellent conditions to still hunt. However, if the ground is too wet and muddy, it can throw off your balance and make for a noisy boot slurping through the muck.

Falling snow is my absolute favorite helper. While I’m wearing some white snow camo and easing through whitetail habitat on foot, the fresh powder helps dampen one’s noise signature and ups the odds of catching a big buck on his feet.

The terrain and undergrowth also need to be considered before attempting a still hunt. Too many snags make for difficulty in slow navigation where minimal movement is desired. Terrain that is pancake flat sounds advantageous, but it is not, nor is extremely sharp terrain. Flat ground gives game the advantage of seeing you way before you see them, and aggressive contours take your mind off the task of spotting game, and you become consumed with not slipping and falling. Gentle rolling timber or hill country is a still hunter’s best ally. Terrain should be diverse enough to allow for camouflaging hunter movement, but not so sharp it is extremely hard to traverse.

A word needs to be mentioned about the condition of the still hunter themself. Being in sound physical condition with a strong core, legs and feet is a good idea. If I still hunt for a few days straight, my hips and calves get tired and sore, and I am less balanced on the trail of game. Physical form aside, by far the most important condition of any still hunter is a soundness of his or her mind. On a still hunt, you must try and remain focused and adaptable. If your mind is on work, bills, your phone or other distractions beyond the woods, you will fail in this endeavor.

When I begin a still hunt, I try to mentally check out of day-to-day life and check into the metaphysical “force” of the hunt. I try to be hyperaware of the task at hand. If I can control my mind, I can control my pace. And if I control my breathing, I control my mind. Speedy travel and a racing mind are poison to the still hunter looking to bag a buck on foot. The mental aspect of still hunting cannot be overstated. If you have a slow foot and a calm mind, you can shoot any deer in North America on a still hunt given the proper conditions.

Still Hunting Gear

A minimalist approach to still hunting is usually a good idea when choosing essential gear. I prefer to still hunt with a short-barrel firearm with a 2-7X scope, or open sights, and a quality sling. A short barrel seems to balance in both hands well, and it wields nicely while sneaking through the timber. The scope is almost exclusively on 2X, and I find it much easier to zoom up in power to spot a deer at ground level than it is to have an encounter and need to quickly zoom down in a hurry up close.

Still hunting with archery gear is challenging, but it can be done. I use a short axle-to-axle Mathews with their quick detach quiver. Personally, I hate carrying a bow during a still hunt. And mine resides on my back attached to a backpack with a device called a Bow Spider. This allows me to quickly deploy it when action calls for it, but it also allows for more balanced and streamlined travel.

As far as other essentials, I like to still hunt with a Guide Series chest harness from Vortex. It houses a pair of their 8×42 binoculars, a range finder, a wind checker and my knife and tags. This leaves no gear in my pants to snag on brush and makes it easy to get to.

For camouflage, I prefer neutral tones of tan, brown, gray or olive green, opposed to commercially available patterns meant for tree stand hunts.

In the footwear department, I despise rubber knee-high boots for still hunting. They are helpful in the mud, but I like a nimble, lace-up boot like a Danner Pronghorn. If conditions call for ultimate silence, sometimes I go barefoot or with a thick wool sock. Then I’ll attach my boots to the back of my binocular chest rig with rubber coated wire gear ties. This fall, I plan on adding a pair of Silent Pursuit brand moccasins to the list. Ultimately, still hunting gear needs to be simple, functional, easy to access and silent.

Still Hunting Techniques

Still hunting your way to a big buck may sound simple, but it is quite challenging. Once you’ve got the proper conditions and gear, it’s time to start slipping through whitetail habitat. Whenever possible, the approach should begin with the wind in your face and the sun at your back or off to one shoulder. I tend to break up my approach in 10- or 20-yard increments, and I slowly creep forward step by step to the next landmark to stop beside. But these are not ordinary walking steps. I like to “fox walk” with a stride about half as long as a normal walking stride. The “fox walk” is a three-cadence stride, where you raise your knee high above the underbrush to step forward, then gently place the ball of the foot to the ground, and finally roll your foot to place it flat. Repeat the process with short strides from your trailing leg and feel the ground below your feet for obstacles as you go.

The process is slow and tedious, and it takes a lot of focus and balance. However, with enough practice, you can effectively sneak through the timber.

Spotting bedded whitetails can be immensely tough, and the reason for the snail’s pace is to take the time to visualize everything. Looking for an antler tine in the brush or the flicker of a white tail can be a giveaway for a bedded buck’s location. You must be as thorough as possible, scanning the terrain and habitat for sign of prey. Use the terrain to your advantage and slowly peek over the next ridge or down into the next bottom.

If you can get it, snow helps the still hunter tremendously. It more easily allows you to cut a big set of buck tracks and stalk their maker, creating a very intense hunting experience. Sometimes, I’ll stop and rest a spell in some natural cover and take a mental break. I’ve found this helps restore my vigilance when I continue. For added versatility, I’ve taken to still hunting with a stand on my back during the rut in somewhat of a hybrid combination.

Though I never climb very high on these hunts, one climbing stick or a couple screw-in steps can get me six to eight feet high up in natural cover very quickly. This method is a ton of fun when big bucks are chasing does all over, and I like to chase them too!

My Successes and Failures

Before everyone reading this figures me as some authority on still hunting whitetails, I assure you I’m not. Though I know how to do it, I fail more than I succeed. No doubt, when practicing this ancient method, I spook deer way more often than I kill. But like most things in whitetail hunting, it is the few and far between successes that make up for the struggle.

During muzzleloader season in 2013, I watched a big buck and a few does feed in a morning snowstorm. Then they headed into a small patch of cover to bed for the day. Around noon, I put some snow camo on and still hunted their way. Not an hour into the hunt, I peeked over a ridge to find the group bedded in a bottom out of the wind. I rested my smoke pole on a small tree and killed the buck when he stood from his bed.

In 2016, I still hunted my way through the timber on a sunny day during the rut, and I found an old target buck tending to a doe in a brush pile. He finally gave me a shot, but my arrow missed high. During the following year’s gun season, I took off on foot for that same buck in a drizzling rain. By luck, I found him in the back of a cattle pasture, down in a valley out of the weather and made my play. He spotted me in my final approach and sprang from the cover, giving me a short window to make a shot. And I dropped him before he fled. I knew the buck to be old, but to my surprise, using tooth cementum analysis, he was aged at 9 1/2 years old!

If I never live to shoot another trophy buck on a still hunt again, tagging an ancient whitetail with the most primitive of hunting methods is a feat I assume I will never top! Hopefully, you can apply this tactic with success, too.

If you have decided that shooting sports are now your thing or just want to purchase a handgun for self-defense, you must have already googled something like gun store near me or where to buy ammunition. Well, the whole topic of firearms possession is complex. But while ammo is not as regulated as firearms, you still must know federal and local ammo-related laws to avoid legal consequences. That is why you should read on, as this article provides an in-depth examination of the several legal issues surrounding ammunition. But before we begin, a little disclaimer – we are not lawyers, and the information given here is only for reference. Always check current gun and ammo legislation and consult professionals.

Federal Ammunition Laws

Ammo regulation is a topic that has gained significant attention in recent years, particularly due to the increasing frequency of mass shootings in the United States. While guns are subject to federal restrictions, ammunition sales are generally less regulated. This disparity in oversight has led to concerns about how easy it is for individuals to stockpile large amounts of ammunition without raising any red flags.

Many laws apply only to guns and not to ammunition. For instance, firearms sellers must generally be licensed as dealers and retain records of gun sales, providing a paper trail that can be used by law enforcement to trace firearms involved in criminal activity. There are no such requirements for businesses selling ammo.

Another example is the requirement for people to show ID and pass a background check, intended to prevent those with criminal records or other disqualifying factors from obtaining firearms. However, typically, no such checks are required for ammunition purchases.

Furthermore, there is a law saying that handgun sales across state lines must be processed by a local seller, which helps maintain some level of control over the distribution of firearms. In contrast, ammunition can often be purchased online or across state lines with relative ease.

Lastly, high-volume handgun sales are regulated to prevent individuals from buying multiple guns at once. Ammunition, however, is not subject to the same restrictions, allowing people to amass significant stockpiles without any legal barriers.

As of 2024, federal ammo regulations mainly focus on banning sales to specific individuals and forbidding the production, import, and sale of armor-piercing rounds. Although federal law stops certain buyer categories from acquiring ammunition, it doesn’t mandate sellers to perform background checks, leaving room for prohibited purchasers to slip through.

By the way, there is a common misconception regarding green-tip 5.56 NATO ammunition closely related to .223 ammo. It has often been mistakenly labeled as armor-piercing due to its steel penetrator tip. However, it does not meet the legal definition of armor-piercing ammunition. Back in time, the purpose of the green tip was to signify a steel penetrator within the bullet (instead of a plain lead core), intended to enhance its performance against hard targets.

California & Other State Ammunition Laws

State laws regulating ammunition sales vary across the US, with some states implementing stricter regulations than others. For instance, six states – New York, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New Jersey – have enacted laws regulating ammo sales and requiring background checks. Other states impose ammunition access restrictions through age limits or by banning specific categories of potentially dangerous individuals.

Let us consider the laws of these six states. New York and California mandate point-of-sale background checks for ammunition purchases, ensuring that only eligible individuals can buy ammo. In Connecticut, state agencies issue ammunition certificates, which must be renewed every five years. Illinois takes a slightly different approach by requiring residents to obtain a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card to legally purchase or possess firearms and ammunition. Massachusetts necessitates residents to obtain a firearm permit or license to purchase ammunition. Lastly, New Jersey enforces strict regulations on handgun ammunition purchases. Residents are typically prohibited from acquiring any handgun ammo unless they present a valid firearm purchaser identification card or a permit to purchase a handgun.

Ammunition Serialization

For several years now, gun reform advocates have been discussing the implementation of ammunition serialization technology as a potential solution to improve firearm regulations. Ammunition serialization is a process that involves assigning unique identification numbers to individual cartridges, providing a traceable link between the ammunition and its point of sale. This system can help law enforcement track the origin of bullets used in criminal activities, potentially leading to the identification of firearms and their owners. By marking each round with a serial number, either on the casing or the bullet itself, investigators can more efficiently connect recovered ammunition to specific purchases, sellers, and buyers. While ammunition serialization has the potential to significantly improve the crime-solving process, it also raises concerns about logistical challenges, increased manufacturing costs, and potential privacy issues for lawful gun owners. Despite these concerns, the concept of ammunition serialization continues to be explored.

Yes, it’s time to answer the age-old question of who would win in a fight: the ferocious grizzly bear of sub-Arctic North America, or the hulking polar bear from the frozen tundra.

Both are formidable opponents, as they both sit on top of their respective food chain, but what if these two were to meet each other in less-than friendly circumstances?

How would their differences in stature and hunting strategies measure up? In order to answer this question, we will have to take a closer look at each animal’s individual stats.

The Weigh-In

Height

5-8’ 7-10’

Weight

400-1000 lbs 775-1,300 lbs

Paw Width

7” 12”

Claw Size

2-4” 2-4”

Bite Force

975 PSI 1200 PSI

Speed

35mph 25mph

As you can see from the table above, the polar bear has a HUGE advantage in size. Quite simply, they’re massive.

With their extreme size and weight, they are perfectly evolved to endure the harsh winters of their arctic habitats.

Polar bears do not really hibernate, because the Fall and Winter months provide the best environment for accessing food.

This is because when the ice forms, the bears have access to their main food source: the seal.

They are able to venture further out from land and hunt in the seal-rich waters.

Furthermore, their thicker fur and fat supplies make them a harder target to defeat, as teeth and claws have a much farther distance to go in order to do any damage.

While still being huge, the Grizzly is a much leaner predator.

Their size is more suited for warmer climates, thicker vegetation and faster prey.

The Grizzly does not have the same need for insulation that the polar bear does because unlike polar bears, they hibernate during the cold months.

Oppositely to their arctic cousins, Winter is a lean season for the Grizzly, as migratory animals move south and food becomes scarce.

Paws and Claws

In order to support their great size, their paws need to be huge as well.

Also, their broad size gives them much needed traction as they traverse snow drifts.

Their paws also make them incredibly adept swimmers, as they work like flippers and help propel them to hunt aquatic prey.

Claws, on the other hand (pun intended), the Grizzly might see a slight advantage.

While being roughly the same size, the Grizzly’s claw is built for digging and doing damage to any opponent it might face in the wild.

The polar bear’s claw is more built for giving traction in the snow, and for taking hold of seals, which make up most of its diet.

Much like the polar bear, seals have large fat reserves to insulate them from arctic climates. Because of this, polar bears’ claws must be good at grabbing hold of them so they can then eat them.

A sharper, more slender claw might eviscerate their prey’s flesh, but cause them to lose it in the ocean in the process.

As far as paw size, the polar bear has the advantage.

Mouth and Bite Force

Not only is their mouth much larger, but their teeth are more designed for delivering the fatal blow than the Grizzly’s.

As mentioned before, grizzly bear’s claws are the most powerful weapons in its arsenal.

As the Grizzly’s diet is more varied, it has more rounded molars than the polar bear.

This helps the Grizzly grind down vegetal food in the absence of live prey.

Now, let’s talk about bite pressure.

Measuring at 1200 PSI, there are only a few animals on earth that have a greater bite force than that of the polar bear (the top of the list being the saltwater crocodile).

Not to say the grizzly bear’s bite is weak, as it certainly is not. At 975 PSI, it is only a few spots down from the polar bear in ranking.

But what do these numbers mean?

In more practical terms, these animals can easily bite through a cast iron pan, a cinder block or even a bowling ball. Imagine what it would do to you!

The polar bear has the advantage when it comes to mouth and bite force

Head Games

On the topic of robustness of skulls, this one goes to the Grizzly.

Their heads are built like a battering ram with incredibly thick bone all around.

In fact, their skulls have been known to deflect rifle bullets.

They are built for fighting and raw aggression.

Polar bears have much more slender skulls in comparison.

This makes them more streamline in the water, making them stronger swimmers, but more vulnerable to trauma in the head region.

Even with the polar bear’s stronger bite force, if a fight were to be decided by a head chomp, it might go in the favor of the Grizzly.

Speed

If the fight comes down to a chase, or they decide to settle the squabble peacefully with a good old fashioned woodland foot race, the grizzly would once again have the advantage.

A common misconception with grizzly bears is that they’re big and slow. In fact, they are big and fast, clocking in at 35mph!

That means a bear could run the entire 360 foot length of a football field in 7 seconds!

It’s huge paws and streamline body make a swimmer of Phelpsian proportions.

If the race is a swim-off, than the polar bear is going to edge out the competition.

Agression

Both are incredibly aggressive creatures and would have no problem with defending themselves if provoked.

There have been more accounts of humans being attacked by grizzly bears, but that is mostly due to the population density in which they live.

However, polar bears alone claim a very impressive title: they are the only species on earth that considers humans food.

While other animals are known to attack, kill and eat humans, this is usually due to provocation.

Polar bears see humans as a viable food source and will stalk and hunt people as a means to survive in the barren arctic.

I’m calling this one a draw.

Intelligence

The polar bear is widely regarded as one of the planet’s most intelligent hunters.

Their ability to stalk prey over long distances and outsmart and outmaneuver makes them absolute master tacticians.

Seeing as how they often use their wits to prey on humans speaks volumes to their prowess.

If our Ursidae melee involves some level of hide and seek, the decision would go to the polar bear.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Both animals are evolutionary masterpieces and are perfectly equipped to reign supreme in their respective habitats.

This means that their strengths may prove to be weaknesses if transplanted into a different environment. And vice versa.

For example, the polar bear has incredibly dense fur and heavy fat reserves. It is perfectly suited for life in the arctic.

However, if you were to bring a polar bear into a sub arctic summer, it would tire easily and need to cool down before long.

They are bears from very different environments, which makes it difficult to parse out strengths and weaknesses.

Final Verdict

If we were to somehow create a neutral arena, one that plays to neither the polar or the grizzly bear’s advantages, we would have a very even fight, despite the size difference.

If it came to a close-quarters brawl, the polar bear might have an advantage.

While not possessing the sharp claws of the grizzly, its huge paws and strength could deal a fatal blow to the smaller opponent.

It’s thick coat and skin would help shield against any minor lashes from the grizzly.

If the polar bear gets close enough to use its powerful jaws, it might be a done deal.

However, if the grizzly bear can get a bit of distance, its speed could prove to be a huge advantage.

Quicker and more mobile than the hulking polar bear, it could dip in for quick strikes and tire it out.

If we’re not talking about an all-out brawl, this could all change.

As mentioned before, polar bears are master hunters and swimmers.

If this fight were to happen in an uncontrolled environment with each animal’s location being unknown, the polar bear would edge out the grizzly bear.

In real life?

There have been no recorded instances of a grizzly fighting a polar bear, but over the last decade there have been sightings of either encroaching on the other’s territory.

As climate change continues to thaw the polar ice drifts, grizzlies have been seen venturing further into polar bear territory.

While this may pique the interests of those wanting a battle royale between these two juggernauts, it almost certainly spells disaster for the future of their kind.

As human’s impact on the earth’s environment continues to worsen, these habitats are being destroyed and food sources are being depleted.

So, if you ever witness a grizzly fighting a polar bear, it’s not a great sign.

Final Thoughts

On the topic of who would win this battle, I have to defer to environmental variables.

Both are perfectly in tune with their habitat and will surely be victorious if this fight happens on home turf.

Nature always proves to be more complex, and less generous with easy answers than we hope, but can keep thinking about it all the same.

Advances in fishing electronics have been moving forward by leaps and bounds in the past few decades. Keeping up with technological innovations is a challenge, even for a techno-junkie such as myself. Sonar, imaging, and GPS have given anglers unparalleled access to what is going on below the surface of the water. However, a decade spent selling fish finders in the retail business taught me a few things. One, many anglers struggle with understanding the different features of modern fishing electronics. Secondly, many anglers are paying for features they simply don’t need or use. If you are buying your first fish finder or looking to upgrade here is a quick course on the features you might look for.

How It Works: Sonar

The majority of anglers rely on sonar. Whether you spend the majority of your time trolling open water or hovering over structure you will find sonar useful. Sonar is useful for identifying your depth, locating fish quickly, identifying the depth of fish, and can provide information on the types of bottom substrate beneath your watercraft. Sonar works by generating a signal that travels outward from your transducer in a cone shape. The signal reflects off surfaces and travels back to the transducer. Your fish finder then translates those reflections into a visual representation. Harder surfaces, such as rock, will reflect more signals than soft surfaces, such as vegetation. The hardness of a surface reflection is often represented by a color gradient that you determine on your fish finder’s settings. Using the color and shape of the return an angler can interpret what the benthic or bottom structure of the lake or river they are fishing looks like. Sonar signals bounce strongly off of air which is why fish with large air bladders show up extremely well on fish finders.

Most modern fish finders broadcast in alternating low and high frequencies. Lower frequencies produce a narrower cone that better penetrates deeper water whereas higher frequencies produce a wider cone that is better at resolving fish and structure in shallow water. Many fish finders will automatically use the best frequency depending on your depth or will cycle back and forth to generate the best signal. However, anglers can select particular frequencies that best suit their fishery and may even opt to buy transducers specific to the types of fishing they do. However, sonar does have several weaknesses. First, due to the narrowness of the signal cone, it is very poor at detecting fish shallow and under your watercraft. Secondly, because it is compressing a three-dimensional cone into a single dimension it is very difficult to separate fish from structure or multiple fish or bait fish from each other. Lastly, learning to interpret sonar output takes time and can be especially challenging for color-blind individuals.

How It Works: Down and Side Imaging

For those anglers that fish structure, whether that be brush piles, weed beds, or rocky reefs, you will find imaging useful. Imaging fills the gaps in sonar’s weaknesses. Unlike sonar, imaging is generated by your transducer generating a razor-thin high-frequency signal. These imaging frequencies can be directed downward, for down imaging, or out to the side, for side imaging. This data is then used to generate detailed and lifelike images of the structure below or off to the side of your watercraft. Unlike sonar images which can be very nebulous and confusing, especially around layered structure, imaging results are much easier to interpret. A tree looks like a tree and rocks look like rocks and so on. Additionally, fish can be separated from structure much more easily.

Imaging uses a high frequency and thus has limitations in deep water applications. In general, I find it most useful down or out to 100’. If you spend a lot of time targeting structure directly under your boat then you will find down imaging especially useful. Side imaging is useful in quickly locating structure off to the side of your watercraft and measured distances on your fish finder unit will allow you to cast at those targets. I’ve also found side imaging to be helpful in locating schools of suspended fish off to the sides of the kayak when trolling in open water.

How It Works: GPS-Enabled Fish Finders

GPS-enabled fish finders provide a wealth of information to any angler. Coupled with bathymetric depth maps GPS allows you to identify and navigate to potential fish-holding areas. Waypoints and tracks of your movements can be saved for future reference as well. Additionally, many fish finders like the Humminbird Helix have advanced features such as Autochart Live that allow anglers to build custom detailed maps of their local body of water. For anglers that troll GPS units provide real-time troll speeds. Finally, GPS can assist in safe navigation to and from your favorite fishing spots.

Advanced Fish Finder Features to Look For

In just the past few years, even more advanced fish-finding features have emerged. These include Humminbird’s 360 imaging which gives you complete imaging all around the watercraft. Additionally, live sonar and live imaging are now available on many fish finders. Live sonar/imaging gives you real-time direction target separation and you can watch fish chase your lure or bait and in some instances you can identify fish species by shape. These advanced features require specialized transducers and cost more but when used correctly can help put more fish in the boat.

If anyone has ever hit a deer with their car that seemed to jump straight in front of their vehicle, you might be wondering exactly how dumb deer are.

There are several reasons why deer come across as dumb compared to humans or other intelligent animals like dogs and cats. Keep reading to learn about why deer are so dumb.

Why Are Deer So Dumb?

1. Deer Don’t Understand Traffic

While deer might come across as dumb when they stand in the middle of traffic, this isn’t necessarily lack of intelligence. Deer just don’t understand the context of roads or vehicles.

For thousands of years, deer have evolved to evade predators like wolves, coyotes, hunters, and wild dogs.

Some smarter deer have been observed waiting for breaks in traffic, but many don’t get how it works on a fundamental level.

Deer also have a limited ability to tell how fast a car is going or how close it is to them in the road. This can cause them to be struck by cars when they misjudge how close cars are to them.

2. Deer Get Distracted During Rut

A situation that can make deer act reckless and dumb is when deer go into rut. This is a deer’s mating season where male deers compete with each other for sexual attention from females.

When bucks get excited about sparring and mating during rut, it overrides their survival instincts. This can lead bucks into risky situations they normally wouldn’t engage with outside of rut.

For example, deer that normally bed down during the day will be active during rut. This can lead them to run into trouble that they normally wouldn’t run into if they were hiding normally.

Along with becoming more careless, rut also makes deer more aggressive. While most normal deer would never be dumb enough to attack a human hunter, a buck in rut becomes aggressive.

3. Deer Evolve Slowly

It might seem like deer have been exposed to cars and other human obstacles like fences for a long time.

However, in the history of a deer’s evolution over several thousand years, traffic and human hunters are recent developments.

Many animals can evolve faster than the millions of years humans initially guessed that they could.

Deer have made large leaps to adapt to human encroachment, but they still make mistakes when it comes to dealing with stimuli they haven’t evolved to evade.

4. Deer Are Freeze Or Flight

When it comes to deer survival instinct, deer fall back quickly on two major modes of operation: freezing in place or escaping as quickly as possible.

For problems that aren’t solved by camouflage or flight, deer are woefully underprepared. This makes them seem dumb to people who are able to easily assess dangers that deer can’t.

Freezing in place might save a deer that is trying to hide from a hunter or another predator, but will kill a deer that freezes in response to a car’s headlights.

5. Limited Problem Solving Skills

Deer have been shown to have some problem solving abilities, but they are still limited in how they can react to situations with reason.

On an objective level, deer have been shown to have fewer problem solving abilities than domesticated intelligent animals like dogs and cats.

This limited problem solving skill in deer is a direct result of their environment. Since deer don’t have to manage much except find food and escape predators, they are designed for that.

Deer do have some capacity to solve problems. Deer often won’t return to an area where they have encountered hunters or humans before.

The ability of deer to learn long-term lessons from these encounters is limited compared to other animals.

6. Bright Lights Stun Deer

Deer might appear dumb when they stand directly in the headlights of an oncoming car without moving, but this doesn’t actually reflect on their intelligence.

What actually happens when deer stare into car headlights and become frozen is that they are hypnotized by the lights and become disoriented.

The few seconds it takes deer to realize that the bright lights are an incoming car are long enough for many deer to be struck. This isn’t lack of intelligence, but sensory confusion.

A big problem that deer have with being spotlighted in bright light is that they have evolved strong night vision to fend off predators in the dark.

This heightened vision makes them extra vulnerable to being blinded by bright lights at ight.

7. Deer Have Specialized Intelligence

Deer aren’t as dumb as many people believe they are based on videos of them breaking through bay windows or jumping straight into oncoming traffic.

Rather than putting cognitive energy into learning how to solve problems, deer use their intelligence to pursue their two most important goals: food and safety.

8. Deer Are Sensory Animals

Deer don’t have a lot of intelligence dedicated to higher or abstract thinking, but that doesn’t mean they’re dumb. Instead, deer are geared towards processing sensory input.

Deer have much stronger senses of smell, hearing, and sight than people do. Their sense of smell is equivalent to a dog’s.

Deer can hear higher frequency sounds than humans and can see as well at 100 feet as humans can see at 20 feet.

These sensory capabilities leave them in a better position to protect themselves in the wild than higher problem solving skills would.

Since many of the problems deer face on a day-to-day basis are simple, simple thinking and sharp senses are the solution to many of the trials they face in survival.

To learn more, you can also read our posts on why there are so many spiders in Australia, why photographers can’t touch animals, and why alligators roll.

9. Deer Are Built To Adapt

Even though deer are considered dumb by many people, the ability of deer to adapt to their environments should not be underestimated.

Deer have adapted to many different settings. These include deserts with little access to food and water as well as urban environments where they have to compete with humans.

Deer may have some habits that make them seem dumb to human observers, but there’s no denying that they’ve evolved over thousands of years to live and thrive in varied environments.

After months of filming wildlife, it’s time to see just what your trail camera captured. Here’s how to view trail camera photos on your computer. The methods vary from simple to fastest. Some methods are automated and require monthly data plans.

There are 4 ways to view your trail camera photos on a computer. They include using a USB cable, using an SD card reader, connecting via WiFi, or syncing photos with a cellular trail camera. Each method will connect your camera and upload your footage to a computer.

How to View Trail Camera Footage on a Computer

Here’s how to view and upload your photos and videos to your computer.

They are listed in order of easiest to more complex. It’s worth noting that the easiest method isn’t the fastest.

1. Connect With Supplied USB Cable (Easiest)

This is an easy method because most trail cameras ship with a USB cable.

This cable is for viewing your photos on a computer. It isn’t for charging, because trail cameras recommend against using rechargeable batteries.

Once connected, your trail camera should automatically display in File Explorer. Your trail camera will display “Mass Storage” or an equivalent term.

Most trail cameras will automatically turn on when connected via USB, regardless of the position of their power button. If it doesn’t power on, turn the power switch on.

1. Connect your USB cable to your trail camera.
2. And insert the other end into your computer. If the camera isn’t recognized automatically, press Window Key + E. This will open File Explorer.
3. Navigate to “This PC”, in the left sidebar. Your trail cam should be visible under this header. It will likely show as “USB Drive”. One folder should be visible: DCIM
4. Open the DCIM folder. You’ll likely see two folders: Movie and Photo. The number of folders may vary, depending on the manufacturer of your trail camera.
5. From here, just drag and drop the files to your computer.

Two Requirements: This method requires that your trail camera have a battery charge. And that you know where your USB cable is.

These are two reasons I prefer the next method. It cuts the camera right out of the equation. This means that battery levels don’t matter. And I don’t have to worry about locating that random cable.

Plus, the next method is faster too.

2. SD Card Reader (Fastest)

This is also a pretty simple way to view your trail camera footage. And if your computer has an SD card reader you won’t need any additional gear.

If you swap out SD cards, your camera can continue to film with its new card, while you’re uploading footage from the old one.

Just pop out your SD card and drop it in the SD card reader. If your computer doesn’t have one built-in, you’ll need to pick one up.

I’ve been using this one by Anker for a few years and I love it. It is USB 3.0 for fast connection and it has slots for standard SD and Micro SD cards.

Here are the steps to view and upload your trail camera footage:

1. Remove the SD card from your trail camera. Make sure that the camera is powered off.
2. Insert the card into either a USB card reader or SD card adapter.
3. Now insert this into your computer. If the card isn’t recognized automatically, press Window Key + E. This will open File Explorer.
4. Navigate to “This PC”, in the left sidebar. Your trail cam should be visible under this header. It will likely show as “USB Drive”. One folder should be visible: DCIM
5. Open the DCIM folder. You’ll likely see two folders: Movie and Photo. The number of folders may vary, depending on the manufacturer of your trail camera.
6. From here, just drag and drop the files to your computer.

This is my favorite method. I have an SD card reader on my desk. And it’s also how I connect my other cameras (GoPro, Canon, Sony, and Olympus) to my computer.

If you don’t love waiting for file transfer, you should consider using an SD card reader. This method is faster than using a USB cable. This is because transfer rates are faster with the USB 3.0 reader than with the supplied cable.

How much faster is a SD card reader? In my test, the USB cable method averaged around 9 MB/s. And the SD card reader transferred the same set of photos and videos (14.1 GB) at a speed of 88 MB/s. That’s almost 10X faster.

• Via USB Cable: 26 minutes
• Via SD Card Reader: Under 3 minutes

Variables: I used the same USB hub and the same SD card (rated for 80 MB/s.

Once you have your SD card connected to your computer, it’s a good idea to format it. Make sure you do this AFTER you upload your footage!

Here’s more about how to properly format your SD card for a trail camera.

3. Connect via WiFi

If you have a WiFi module on your trail camera, you can try to connect this to your home network, and to your phone, via the manufacturer’s app.

A few notes about viewing via WiFi. Your camera will need to be close to your connection. This feature is not made for long-range transmission. Or to deal with physical barriers, like a few trees.

The WiFi module in the camera is underpowered because the batteries are small and power is reserved for filming, not transmitting.

4. Sync Footage From Cellular Trail Camera

If you’re using a cellular-connected trail camera, the images are automatically uploaded to cloud-based storage, where you can access them from your phone or computer.

This is a pretty great option if you have the budget for the purchase of the cellular trail camera and the monthly fee for the data plan. Here’s an explanation of this by Moultrie.

The Final Result

Follow these simple steps and you’ll have your footage and photos uploaded and ready to view.

Here are some clips that I uploaded this morning from some birds this past winter.

Keep reading: Here’s how to troubleshoot a trail camera that won’t turn on.

Your Turn

How do you view trail camera photos on your computer? Have a tip to share? Let me know below!