Extreme
Gear Testing
Gear Testing
field from mild to frigid. After 40 years of hunting in 3 provinces and a territory there is not much that I have not been exposed to. We now call Northern Alberta home and in this region I have hunted in a tee shirt and light weight pants and been over warm and worried about getting my animal or birds dressed and out of the field before heat rot sets in. I have hunted in gear that keeps you warm and comfortable for that long stalk in 3 feet of snow and 25 below worried about getting my animal or birds out of the field before the animal or my goose blind are frozen stiff and unmanageable. Same month, same day, one year apart, if you think you decide think again, Mother Nature is in charge and if you are like me, passionate about hunting you want the gear that can survive the extreme swings in weather that can come your way.
Get your gear right and you can have the best time in any temperature get it wrong and it can be your worst nightmare. 5 years living and hunting in the Yukon where I successfully hunted Dall, Fannin sheep, Rocky Mountain Goat, Yukon Moose, Barren Land Caribou, Woodland Caribou, Grizzly Bear, Black Bear, and fishing for Salmon and Lake trout. Where, on any great day in the field, you can expect the unexpected in hunting conditions in the heart of the Pelly Mountain Range. In the Yukon you can go up the mountain in great fall weather. The forecast was for great fall weather for the week we planned to hunt. Dropped our sheep and we were happy hunters; as we walked up on the sheep the weather began to chill, the wind picked up and by the time we were done preparing the sheep to take off the mountain we were in a blinding blizzard. By the time we made it down the mountain we had been using our guns for walking sticks; mine was ready to shoot when we made it down the mountain my buddy’s were toast. He had hyperthermia and I was cold but good to go. A life threatening event, in the span of a few hours would better choices of gear have made a difference for my friend in facing the elements that Mother Nature can throw at you. In Saskatchewan, I found the Whitetail Deer and Mule Deer are plentiful and a trophy head with proper effort and planning can be a fulfilling reality year over year. I also remember some of the coldest falls and frigid early winters with snow that never seemed to stop coming. I was never restricted by the weather with the gear I choose to take into the field with me. In British Columbia on Vancouver Island you can hunt the sub species of Black Bear known as the Vancouver Island Black Bear. You will not freeze but you will be chilled to the bone with the drizzle that can go on for days during hunting season. The damp is everywhere and you can’t escape it with the right gear you can spend hours out in the field hunting and keep warm and comfortable. In the Peace region of Northern Alberta, world renowned area for deer, moose, bear, wolf, wild free range Bison, and waterfowl hunting in the Boreal forest and grain fields of the peace region you can sure get a mixed bag of weather. I have been guiding for waterfowl for 6 years and I have sat in our lay down blinds in a tee shirt and shorts in September and October. I have also guided when it has been -20 below Celsius (-5 F) when without the proper gear you will be so frozen you will want to leave the field. With the right gear we have stayed out and experienced some of the best waterfowl hunting of the season. Fishing on Slave Lake a body of water that can test your spirit and resolve like the ocean; any sailor that has spent time on Slave Lake will tell you that when you feel the wind on your neck you had better set your heading for a safe harbour because the weather is coming in and it moves fast on Slave. You can’t find better Walleye fishing in the Peace region, numbers of fish keep you coming back the weather can change up in a matter of minutes and your gear needs to stand up to the Alberta change up. The difference between success and failure is the quality of your gear. I don’t want my gear to fail when I have waited and planned to be successful. I want to know that what I am looking at purchasing can withstand what I may need to endure to be successful. If the gear I
Get your gear right and you can have the best time in any temperature get it wrong and it can be your worst nightmare. 5 years living and hunting in the Yukon where I successfully hunted Dall, Fannin sheep, Rocky Mountain Goat, Yukon Moose, Barren Land Caribou, Woodland Caribou, Grizzly Bear, Black Bear, and fishing for Salmon and Lake trout. Where, on any great day in the field, you can expect the unexpected in hunting conditions in the heart of the Pelly Mountain Range. In the Yukon you can go up the mountain in great fall weather. The forecast was for great fall weather for the week we planned to hunt. Dropped our sheep and we were happy hunters; as we walked up on the sheep the weather began to chill, the wind picked up and by the time we were done preparing the sheep to take off the mountain we were in a blinding blizzard. By the time we made it down the mountain we had been using our guns for walking sticks; mine was ready to shoot when we made it down the mountain my buddy’s were toast. He had hyperthermia and I was cold but good to go. A life threatening event, in the span of a few hours would better choices of gear have made a difference for my friend in facing the elements that Mother Nature can throw at you. In Saskatchewan, I found the Whitetail Deer and Mule Deer are plentiful and a trophy head with proper effort and planning can be a fulfilling reality year over year. I also remember some of the coldest falls and frigid early winters with snow that never seemed to stop coming. I was never restricted by the weather with the gear I choose to take into the field with me. In British Columbia on Vancouver Island you can hunt the sub species of Black Bear known as the Vancouver Island Black Bear. You will not freeze but you will be chilled to the bone with the drizzle that can go on for days during hunting season. The damp is everywhere and you can’t escape it with the right gear you can spend hours out in the field hunting and keep warm and comfortable. In the Peace region of Northern Alberta, world renowned area for deer, moose, bear, wolf, wild free range Bison, and waterfowl hunting in the Boreal forest and grain fields of the peace region you can sure get a mixed bag of weather. I have been guiding for waterfowl for 6 years and I have sat in our lay down blinds in a tee shirt and shorts in September and October. I have also guided when it has been -20 below Celsius (-5 F) when without the proper gear you will be so frozen you will want to leave the field. With the right gear we have stayed out and experienced some of the best waterfowl hunting of the season. Fishing on Slave Lake a body of water that can test your spirit and resolve like the ocean; any sailor that has spent time on Slave Lake will tell you that when you feel the wind on your neck you had better set your heading for a safe harbour because the weather is coming in and it moves fast on Slave. You can’t find better Walleye fishing in the Peace region, numbers of fish keep you coming back the weather can change up in a matter of minutes and your gear needs to stand up to the Alberta change up. The difference between success and failure is the quality of your gear. I don’t want my gear to fail when I have waited and planned to be successful. I want to know that what I am looking at purchasing can withstand what I may need to endure to be successful. If the gear I
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Profile: Kevin McNeil
Kevin will tell you he lives to hunt. Do you live to hunt? I did for years and then I turned my work world into my hunt world. We have lived and hunted in Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Yukon, and Alberta and we have experienced the weather swings that can hit you while you are out in the
Kevin will tell you he lives to hunt. Do you live to hunt? I did for years and then I turned my work world into my hunt world. We have lived and hunted in Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Yukon, and Alberta and we have experienced the weather swings that can hit you while you are out in the
am looking at comes tested through the extremes I have had thrown at me in the field then I am looking to buy it.
I don’t know about you but I plan to be successful and being successful means knowing and trusting the gear you take in the field with you.
I don’t know about you but I plan to be successful and being successful means knowing and trusting the gear you take in the field with you.
