Chapter 8: Outdoor Preparedness
Planning a Bowhunting Trip Far Away

After a few years in the sport, many bowhunters consider taking a special trip far away from their usual hunting places. Such trips are often set up to pursue game species that normally cannot be hunted around home.

Whether such an adventure is planned as a "do-it-yourself" hunt or as a fully or partially guided/outfitted trip, you need to decide where to go, when to go, and what to take. The following suggestions will help you get the information you need.

• Contact the wildlife agency of the state or province you are considering.
• Get a topographic map of the planned hunting area.
• Contact the area’s bureau of tourism, particularly if the economy is tied strongly to outdoor recreation.
• Get names, addresses, and phone numbers of the wildlife agency personnel working in the areas recommended to you. Contact them about game locations.
• Check bowhunting magazines for information about guided or outfitted hunts. Since many of the best outfitters are known only through word of mouth, talk to other bowhunters about hunts with which they’ve been happy. Archery and bowhunting clubs are a great source for this type of information.

Any trip of this type must be planned well in advance if it is to be enjoyable. Consider a minimum of one year ahead of departure as adequate planning time.