Yukon Hunter Education Quiz

Yukon Hunter Education Quiz: all 60 questions

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1. 1. You've climbed all day and a ram is bedded roughly 600 metres out with the light going. The farthest you've ever shot on a range is 300. What does fair chase actually ask of you here?

   1. APass the shot, because fair chase starts with an honest account of your own limits rather than the animal's
   2. BTake it, because you've already spent the day on the mountain and the ram may not be there tomorrow
   3. CTake it and plan to follow up at first light if the ram moves off
   4. DRange it, hold high, and let the wind push the bullet back on line
   Show the answer

   APass the shot, because fair chase starts with an honest account of your own limits rather than the animal's

   Fair chase gets talked about as if it were mostly about the animal. Most of the time it's about you. The ram hasn't done anything to make the shot fair or unfair; your skill has. If your honest working limit is 300 metres on paper in still air, it is shorter than that on a mountain in wind at the end of a long day. A hunter who takes the shot anyway has converted a hunt into a gamble with someone else's life. Walking away from a hard-earned opportunity is the part of ethics nobody enjoys, and it's the part that counts.

2. 2. You're driving back into Whitehorse with a moose in the truck bed and you pull up beside a school bus queue at the light. Why do hunter education courses keep returning to moments like this one?

   1. ABecause covering a load keeps the meat colder on the drive home
   2. BBecause most people build their entire opinion of hunting out of a few seconds of watching one, and that opinion eventually shapes what hunters are allowed to do
   3. CBecause drivers who see game in a truck are more likely to report you
   4. DBecause an uncovered load draws ravens at every stoplight
   Show the answer

   BBecause most people build their entire opinion of hunting out of a few seconds of watching one, and that opinion eventually shapes what hunters are allowed to do

   Almost nobody in that bus queue hunts. What they know about hunting is whatever they've seen, and right now they're seeing you. A tarp, a clean load, a truck that isn't dripping down the tailgate: none of it changes the animal, and all of it changes the story. Hunting continues in Yukon because the wider public tolerates it, and public tolerance is built and lost in ordinary moments at intersections. Treat the drive home as part of the hunt.

3. 3. It's your first successful season and you've come home with more meat than your freezer will hold. What does the ethical tradition around hunting in the North point you toward?

   1. ATake what fits and leave the rest at the kill site for scavengers, which is how nutrients return to the land
   2. BSell the surplus to cover the cost of fuel and gear
   3. CGet it shared out and eaten, because in a small northern community a wasted animal is remembered for years and a shared one does more for hunting than any argument you could make
   4. DFreeze it as long as you can and throw out whatever burns
   Show the answer

   CGet it shared out and eaten, because in a small northern community a wasted animal is remembered for years and a shared one does more for hunting than any argument you could make

   An animal is not a trophy with some meat attached. You made a decision to end a life, and the return on that decision is measured in whether the animal gets used. Yukon is small. People notice which hunters turn up at a neighbour's door with a shoulder and which ones let a hind quarter go grey in the back of a chest freezer. Plan the sharing before you plan the hunt: know who's short on meat, know whose freezer has room, and have that sorted before you're standing in the yard at midnight with a load you can't handle.

4. 4. Four hours into tracking a wounded caribou the blood sign quits on a gravel bar. Your partner wants to walk away and say nothing about it. What does the ethical standard ask of you?

   1. AWalk away, since a wounded animal usually recovers on its own
   2. BWalk away quietly, because the story will only cause trouble
   3. CGive it another fifteen minutes and then head for camp
   4. DKeep searching while there's light, grid the gravel bar and the cover beyond it, and be straight about the outcome afterwards instead of burying it
   Show the answer

   DKeep searching while there's light, grid the gravel bar and the cover beyond it, and be straight about the outcome afterwards instead of burying it

   An unrecovered animal is the outcome every hunter education course is built to prevent, and pretending it didn't happen is how a hunter stops learning from it. Gravel bars strip blood off hooves and hide, so the trail going cold there says nothing about whether the animal is alive. Grid the bar, then work the first cover on the far side and the downhill line, because a hard-hit animal tends to go down and toward water. And when you talk about the day afterwards, say what happened. Honesty about your own worst hunt is what makes the next one better.

5. 5. The trail into your hunting area has a wet spot that gets wider every season because people keep driving around the edge. You're loaded down on a side-by-side. What's the ethical call?

   1. ADrive through the middle of the wet spot or turn around, because every detour around the mud is exactly what widens the scar, and hunters are who gets blamed for it
   2. BTake the widest line available so your machine stays clean
   3. CCut a fresh bypass through the willows, which will dry faster than the existing route
   4. DWinch across the soft ground using the nearest live spruce as an anchor
   Show the answer

   ADrive through the middle of the wet spot or turn around, because every detour around the mud is exactly what widens the scar, and hunters are who gets blamed for it

   Every mudhole on every trail in the territory started as a small one that somebody drove around. Two seasons later it's twenty metres wide and there are four parallel ruts. That damage gets counted against hunters when land managers decide what stays open, and the accounting is fair, because it was hunters who did it. Go through the middle and accept a dirty machine, or turn around and walk. The trail you leave behind is the argument you're making for access next year.

6. 6. Section 14 of Yukon's Wildlife Regulation sets out how a Yukon resident hunting licence may be issued. What does subsection (1) actually say?

   1. AResidency and a hunter education course are required, with no alternative route
   2. BIt gives two routes joined by 'or': proof of Yukon residency plus successful completion of a hunter education course established or approved by the Minister, or proof that the person held a Yukon resident hunting licence in the immediately preceding licensing year
   3. CResidency plus a federal firearms licence
   4. DResidency plus a hunter education course taken anywhere in Canada within the past five years
   Show the answer

   BIt gives two routes joined by 'or': proof of Yukon residency plus successful completion of a hunter education course established or approved by the Minister, or proof that the person held a Yukon resident hunting licence in the immediately preceding licensing year

   Most summaries of Yukon's rule stop at the course and never mention the second half. The regulation is written as an 'or', and route (b) is proof of having held a Yukon resident hunting licence in the immediately preceding licensing year. Read plainly, that means the hunter education condition is written to attach at the point where a person has no recent Yukon licence to show, not as something re-proved every spring. Yukon's licensing year runs April 1 to March 31, so 'immediately preceding' is a fixed window, not a rolling twelve months. This question reports the regulation's wording and nothing more; if your own situation sits near the edge of it, the Department of Environment is the place to ask.

   Source: Wildlife Regulation, O.I.C. 2012/84 (Yukon), made under the Wildlife Act, s.14(1): A Yukon resident hunting licence may be issued to a person who completes an application in the form determined by the Minister and (a) provides proof of Yukon residency and successful completion of a hunter education course established or approved by the Minister; or (b) provides proof that the person held a Yukon resident hunting licence in the immediately preceding licensing year. Checked 2026-09-22.

7. 7. Section 14 carves out one group from having to show proof of a hunter education course. How is that carve-out worded in the regulation?

   1. AA person who is 65 years of age or older
   2. BA person who has held a hunting licence in any other Canadian jurisdiction
   3. CA person who provides proof of having been born prior to April 1, 1987
   4. DA person who provides proof of having been born prior to April 1, 1997
   Show the answer

   CA person who provides proof of having been born prior to April 1, 1987

   The regulation's words are 'born prior to April 1, 1987'. Worth noticing: yukon.ca describes the same rule from the other direction, saying people born after April 1, 1987 need the course. Those two phrasings don't quite meet in the middle. Somebody born exactly on April 1, 1987 was not born prior to that date, and was not born after it either. That gap is real and this page isn't going to resolve it for you. If that's your birthday, ask the Department of Environment rather than reading a guess off a website. Note too that the same April 1 anchors Yukon's licensing year, which runs April 1 to March 31.

   Source: Wildlife Regulation, O.I.C. 2012/84 (Yukon), made under the Wildlife Act, s.14(2): Despite subsection (1), a person who provides proof of having been born prior to April 1, 1987 is not required to show proof of successful completion of a hunter education course. Checked 2026-09-22.

8. 8. Section 13 of the Wildlife Regulation sets a minimum age, and it attaches to one particular licence. What does it say?

   1. A16 years of age, proved by a birth certificate, for any hunting licence
   2. B14 years of age for a small game licence
   3. C18 years of age for a licence to hunt big game animals
   4. DAt least 12 years of age, proved by a birth certificate, passport or other similar official document, for a licence to hunt big game animals
   Show the answer

   DAt least 12 years of age, proved by a birth certificate, passport or other similar official document, for a licence to hunt big game animals

   Twelve, and the regulation wants documentary proof of it: a birth certificate, a passport or a similar official document. Read the section all the way through and you'll also see who it applies to, because it covers a Yukon resident or a non-resident being outfitted or hunting with a special guide. That second phrase is the structural hinge in Yukon's system. It is also worth keeping straight that this is a licence age, not a course age. Yukon publishes no minimum age for taking HEED itself.

   Source: Wildlife Regulation, O.I.C. 2012/84 (Yukon), made under the Wildlife Act, s.13: A licence to hunt big game animals may be issued to a Yukon resident or to a non-resident being outfitted or hunting with a special guide if the person provides a copy of a birth certificate, passport, or other similar official document to prove that the person is at least 12 years of age. Checked 2026-09-22.

9. 9. Yukon runs a seal system sitting on top of the hunting licence, which surprises hunters arriving from provinces that use tags. Which statement matches section 16(1)?

   1. AFor polar bear, grizzly bear, black bear, sheep, mountain goat, moose, mule deer, white-tailed deer, wood bison, elk or caribou, the section requires both a licence to hunt big game animals and a seal obtained for the appropriate species or type
   2. BA seal is issued automatically with every big game licence
   3. CSeals apply only to grizzly bear and wood bison
   4. DA seal stands in place of a licence for species listed in Schedule B
   Show the answer

   AFor polar bear, grizzly bear, black bear, sheep, mountain goat, moose, mule deer, white-tailed deer, wood bison, elk or caribou, the section requires both a licence to hunt big game animals and a seal obtained for the appropriate species or type

   Two separate things, and the list of species is long: polar bear, grizzly bear, black bear, sheep, mountain goat, moose, mule deer, white-tailed deer, wood bison, elk and caribou all appear in it. The regulation goes on to say that a person who doesn't hold a big game licence isn't eligible to obtain a seal at all, and that no person to whom a seal has been issued shall assign it or attempt to assign it. Seals are bought per species and they're the piece newcomers forget until the office is closed. Sort them out early in the season, not the night before you leave.

   Source: Wildlife Regulation, O.I.C. 2012/84 (Yukon), made under the Wildlife Act, s.16(1), (2) and (4): No person shall hunt polar bear, grizzly bear, black bear, sheep, mountain goat, moose, mule deer, white-tailed deer, wood bison, elk or caribou unless the person has a licence to hunt big game animals and has obtained a seal for the appropriate species or type of big game animal. Checked 2026-09-22.

10. 10. Section 17 deals with when and where a seal goes on after a kill. What does subsection (2) single out about a grizzly bear?

    1. AThe grizzly bear seal goes on the complete skull
    2. BThe person shall immediately affix a grizzly bear seal to the hide of the bear in a secure manner
    3. CThe seal is affixed once the bear reaches the departure point
    4. DNo seal is used for grizzly bear; a tag is issued afterwards at a field office
    Show the answer

    BThe person shall immediately affix a grizzly bear seal to the hide of the bear in a secure manner

    For big game generally, section 17 describes affixing a seal immediately to a recognizable part of the animal in a secure manner, and retaining that part. Grizzly bear gets its own subsection and it names the hide. That's not an arbitrary distinction. A bear is skinned rather than quartered, and the hide is the piece that travels, so the hide is where the identification has to live. Read alongside section 19, which describes recording the date of the kill, the game management zone and the sex by removing the appropriate portions of the seal, and you can see the whole design: the paperwork is meant to be finished in the field, with cold hands, before anything moves.

    Source: Wildlife Regulation, O.I.C. 2012/84 (Yukon), made under the Wildlife Act, s.17(1) and (2): If a person kills a grizzly bear, the person shall immediately affix a grizzly bear seal to the hide of the bear in a secure manner. Checked 2026-09-22.

11. 11. Yukon's Wildlife Regulation contains a second, species-specific training course that almost nothing outside the regulation mentions. What does section 29(1) describe?

    1. AA refresher course every five years for all big game licence holders
    2. BA mandatory bowhunter course before any archery season opens
    3. CA training course offered by the Minister that a person authorized to hunt wood bison may be required to complete immediately prior to the start of the wood bison hunting season
    4. DAn online recertification for anyone whose licence lapsed for more than one year
    Show the answer

    CA training course offered by the Minister that a person authorized to hunt wood bison may be required to complete immediately prior to the start of the wood bison hunting season

    Most people finish HEED thinking that's the end of course requirements in the territory. Then along comes wood bison. The regulation describes a separate training course offered by the Minister, timed to run immediately before the season opens rather than years earlier, and triggered by the species rather than by the hunter's history. The next subsection carves out a client of an outfitter guiding that client in the outfitter's concession area where the outfitter holds a wood bison quota. If a wood bison authorization ever comes your way, read section 29 before you plan anything else.

    Source: Wildlife Regulation, O.I.C. 2012/84 (Yukon), made under the Wildlife Act, s.29(1) and (2): A person who is authorized to hunt wood bison may be required to successfully complete a training course offered by the Minister immediately prior to the start of the wood bison hunting season. Checked 2026-09-22.

12. 12. Section 34.01 of the Wildlife Regulation deals with drones, and the part hunters miss is how widely subsection (2) is drafted. What does it treat as hunting by means of a drone?

    1. AOnly flying a drone while carrying a loaded firearm
    2. BOnly flying a drone above a game management zone that is closed to hunting
    3. COnly using a drone to move animals toward a waiting hunter
    4. DHunting wildlife within 48 hours after locating it with a drone, and equally hunting it within 48 hours where somebody else did the locating and passed the information along, directly or indirectly
    Show the answer

    DHunting wildlife within 48 hours after locating it with a drone, and equally hunting it within 48 hours where somebody else did the locating and passed the information along, directly or indirectly

    The drafting reaches past the person holding the controller. Subsection (2) describes hunting within 48 hours of locating wildlife with a drone, hunting within 48 hours where another person located it by drone and communicated the location directly or indirectly, and being the person who located it and passed that information to someone else who then hunts it within 48 hours. Section 34.02 goes further still and describes a condition on every hunting licence about hunting while in possession of a drone. A tip relayed through a friend of a friend is exactly the situation this language was written for, so know where your information came from.

    Source: Wildlife Regulation, O.I.C. 2012/84 (Yukon), made under the Wildlife Act, s.34.01(2): A person is deemed to be hunting by means of a drone if the person (a) hunts wildlife within 48 hours after locating it by using a drone; (b) hunts wildlife within 48 hours after the wildlife is located by using a drone by another person who communicates, directly or indirectly, information about the location or approximate location of the wildlife to the person hunting Checked 2026-09-22.

13. 13. The Wildlife Regulation has a division on cervid chronic wasting disease, and it opens with a flat statement about deer family animals killed outside the territory. What does section 47.2 say?

    1. ANo person shall possess or import into Yukon the whole carcass or any part of a cervid that has been killed or has died outside of Yukon
    2. BCervid carcasses may be brought in provided they stay frozen until processing
    3. CCervid carcasses may be brought in with a veterinary certificate of inspection
    4. DThe rule applies only to elk and white-tailed deer, the two species most often tested
    Show the answer

    ANo person shall possess or import into Yukon the whole carcass or any part of a cervid that has been killed or has died outside of Yukon

    The division defines 'cervid' broadly, naming moose, caribou, elk, white-tailed deer and mule deer, then states the import rule without qualification. Section 47.3 sets out specific parts that are treated as exemptions, and the list is worth knowing before you plan a hunt elsewhere: completely de-boned muscle detached from spinal column and head, quarter sections with the spinal column and head completely removed, a finished taxidermy mount, teeth removed from the head, antlers with or without a skull cap where no tissue or hide remains, and hides that were tanned before import or kept in a protective container and delivered for processing within five days. Prion disease has no cure and no vaccine, which is why the territory's approach is about what crosses the border.

    Source: Wildlife Regulation, O.I.C. 2012/84 (Yukon), made under the Wildlife Act, s.47.2: No person shall possess or import into Yukon the whole carcass or any part of a cervid that has been killed or has died outside of Yukon. Checked 2026-09-22.

14. 14. A friend argues that if Yukon simply closed moose hunting for a decade the valleys would fill up with moose. What does wildlife management say goes wrong with that picture?

    1. APopulations would keep climbing indefinitely, because predators avoid areas where prey is dense
    2. BNothing is wrong with it; a ten-year closure is the standard management tool for moose
    3. CThe habitat sets a ceiling, and a boreal range with a short growing season sets a low one, so animals above that ceiling are removed by winter, disease and predators rather than by hunters
    4. DThe moose would emigrate to Alaska, where the range is richer
    Show the answer

    CThe habitat sets a ceiling, and a boreal range with a short growing season sets a low one, so animals above that ceiling are removed by winter, disease and predators rather than by hunters

    Carrying capacity is the whole argument, and in the North it bites harder than it does farther south. A Yukon valley gets a few short months to grow browse and then eight months to test whatever is living on it. Stop hunting and you don't get a population that rises forever; you get one that runs up against the same ceiling and then comes off it through starvation, parasites and predation. Regulated harvest is one of the few removals managers can actually set a number on. That's why the season structure is a dial, not a switch.

15. 15. Yukon caribou and moose live inside a predator system rather than apart from one. How do biologists usually describe the relationship?

    1. APredators take only the sick and old, so they have no measurable effect on herd size
    2. BPredator numbers are set by hunting pressure on the predators, not by prey
    3. CPrey numbers are set entirely by weather, with predation as background noise
    4. DPredator and prey numbers track each other with a lag, and once something else has knocked a herd down, predation can hold it low for years
    Show the answer

    DPredator and prey numbers track each other with a lag, and once something else has knocked a herd down, predation can hold it low for years

    The tidy version, that predators only clean up the weak, is comforting and incomplete. Wolves do take the vulnerable, and calves and winter-stressed animals are exactly that. The part that matters for management is the lag. A hard winter or a bad icing event knocks a herd down, predator numbers are still riding high on the old abundance, and the herd can sit in that hole for years afterwards. That's a predator pit, and it's the reason managers watch calf survival and recruitment rather than just counting adults.

16. 16. Yukon asks hunters for information about their kills, and for biological samples from certain species. From a management point of view, what is all that paperwork actually for?

    1. AIt is the population data. Sex, age and location from harvested animals is a large share of what managers have to work with, so the season you get next year is built on what hunters turned in this year
    2. BIt is used for tax assessment of outfitting operations
    3. CIt is retained only for enforcement records and is never analysed
    4. DIt is a federal reporting obligation with no territorial use
    Show the answer

    AIt is the population data. Sex, age and location from harvested animals is a large share of what managers have to work with, so the season you get next year is built on what hunters turned in this year

    There is no census of moose walking around the Ogilvies. Aerial surveys are expensive, patchy and weather-dependent, so much of what a biologist knows about a population comes from the animals hunters bring in: what sex they were, how old, which zone, what condition. A bear skull tells an age. A harvest form tells effort and distribution. Skip it and the next season gets set on thinner information than it needed to be. This is the part of the hunt where you stop being a consumer of the resource and start being one of the people measuring it.

17. 17. Chronic wasting disease turns up in Canadian hunter education for a reason that has very little to do with the animal standing in front of you. What is it?

    1. AIt spreads only through contaminated feed, so it is confined to farmed animals
    2. BIt is a prion disease of deer family animals with no cure and no vaccine, and once it is established in a landscape it does not get removed, which is why the effort goes into keeping it out
    3. CIt is a bacterial infection that clears from a herd within a few seasons
    4. DIt affects only elk, so northern moose and caribou populations are not at risk
    Show the answer

    BIt is a prion disease of deer family animals with no cure and no vaccine, and once it is established in a landscape it does not get removed, which is why the effort goes into keeping it out

    Prions aren't bacteria or viruses. They're misfolded proteins, they persist in soil and plants, and there is nothing to treat and nothing to vaccinate against. That combination is why the management approach looks so different from other wildlife diseases: you cannot cure your way out of it, so the whole strategy is prevention at the boundary. Yukon's regulation reflects that thinking with a division specifically about cervid parts coming in from outside the territory. If you hunt deer elsewhere and bring meat home, read that division before you pack.

18. 18. A ten-year-old burn is thick with willow and young aspen where mature spruce used to stand. Why do moose hunters pay attention to burns?

    1. ABurned ground stays warmer through winter, which draws animals in to bed
    2. BBlackened ground makes animals easier to spot at distance, which is the whole advantage
    3. CFire resets succession, and the shrubby regrowth that follows is moose browse, so a young burn is usually carrying more moose than the mature forest it replaced
    4. DBurns hold no moose at all until the spruce has fully returned
    Show the answer

    CFire resets succession, and the shrubby regrowth that follows is moose browse, so a young burn is usually carrying more moose than the mature forest it replaced

    Mature spruce is a poor grocery store for a moose. Fire clears it, sunlight hits the ground, and what comes back first is willow, birch and aspen at exactly the height a moose feeds. That window doesn't stay open forever. Give it thirty or forty years and the canopy closes again and the browse goes out of reach. So a burn is a clock: too fresh and there's nothing growing yet, too old and it has moved on. Learning to read burn age off a map and a satellite image is one of the more useful northern hunting skills, and it's pure wildlife management wearing field clothes.

19. 19. Most of the hypothermia cases that hunter education courses describe did not happen at forty below. What conditions actually produce them?

    1. AStill, dry air below minus thirty, where breathing cools the core directly
    2. BClear cold nights, because heat radiates away fastest under an open sky
    3. CAny temperature at all, provided the person has not eaten in twelve hours
    4. DWet and windy weather somewhere around freezing to ten degrees, where a soaked hunter keeps working and loses heat faster than food can replace it
    Show the answer

    DWet and windy weather somewhere around freezing to ten degrees, where a soaked hunter keeps working and loses heat faster than food can replace it

    Forty below frightens people into dressing properly. Plus four and raining doesn't. That's the trap. Wet clothing conducts heat away from you many times faster than dry clothing, wind strips the warm layer off the outside of your shell, and the hunter who is working hard through willows feels fine right up until the moment they stop. Watch for the early signs in your partner before you look for them in yourself, because the first thing to go is judgment: shivering, fumbling hands, slurred speech, and a person who has stopped talking. Get them dry, get them insulated from the ground, and get calories into them.

20. 20. You're heading four days up a drainage off the Dempster, alone, with no cell coverage anywhere on the route. Which single piece of preparation do the courses treat as non-negotiable?

    1. AA trip plan left with a specific person who knows your route, your vehicle, where it will be parked, and the time at which they should start making calls
    2. BA second rifle in case the first one is damaged
    3. CA paper map of the whole territory rather than of the drainage
    4. DEnough extra food for a full second week
    Show the answer

    AA trip plan left with a specific person who knows your route, your vehicle, where it will be parked, and the time at which they should start making calls

    Search and rescue is a search first. Everything else you carry only helps once somebody knows to come looking and roughly where. A trip plan is three pieces of information: where you're going, what you're driving and where it's parked, and the hour at which silence from you becomes an emergency. Give it to a named person, not to a group chat, because a specific person will act and a group will each assume somebody else has. Then stick to the route you wrote down. A satellite messenger is a fine addition, but it is an addition.

21. 21. A glacial creek that was ankle deep when you crossed it at eight in the morning is thigh deep and grey by late afternoon. What is that telling you?

    1. AThe creek is fed by a lake that has overtopped, and the level will keep climbing all night
    2. BMelt water peaks late in the day, so the crossing you made in the morning is not the crossing waiting for you on the way out
    3. CSomebody upstream is working the creek bed, which is what has coloured the water
    4. DGlacial creeks are deepest at dawn and drop through the day as the ground absorbs runoff
    Show the answer

    BMelt water peaks late in the day, so the crossing you made in the morning is not the crossing waiting for you on the way out

    Sun works on ice and snow all day and the water arrives downstream hours later, so a glacier-fed creek runs lowest in the early morning and highest in the late afternoon and evening. Plan the crossing for the morning in both directions if you can. If you can't, look upstream for a braided section where the flow spreads out, face upstream and shuffle rather than stepping across the current, undo your pack waist belt so you can shed it, and use a pole as a third point of contact. Fast grey water at thigh depth takes people who were sure they were fine.

22. 22. Your hands have gone clumsy, it's been raining for two days, and you need a fire in willow country. What do experienced northern hunters rely on instead of hunting around for dry tinder?

    1. AGreen willow shavings, which hold enough resin to catch
    2. BA pile of the driest moss available, lit directly with a match
    3. CTinder they brought with them and can light one handed, kept dry in a pocket rather than in the bottom of a pack
    4. DFuel siphoned from the machine, poured over the wood pile
    Show the answer

    CTinder they brought with them and can light one handed, kept dry in a pocket rather than in the bottom of a pack

    Cold takes fine motor control before it takes anything else. The person who needs a fire most is the person least able to build a delicate one, so the plan has to be stupid-simple: a lighter and a purpose-made tinder that burns long and wet, carried in a chest pocket where body heat keeps it warm and dry. Cotton balls in petroleum jelly, commercial fire paste, a length of rubber inner tube. Build the lay before you strike anything, get the small stuff standing up rather than lying flat, and have the next size of wood already in your hand. And practise it once at home, in the rain, with gloves on.

23. 23. You're camped a week in grizzly country with meat hanging. What does the preparation side of the course actually emphasise?

    1. ASleeping close to the meat so you can hear anything approaching it
    2. BKeeping a fire burning through the night, which reliably keeps bears off a camp
    3. CStoring food inside the tent vestibule so the smell stays contained
    4. DSeparating the sleeping area, the cooking area and the meat cache by a good distance, and keeping bear spray on your body rather than in the tent
    Show the answer

    DSeparating the sleeping area, the cooking area and the meat cache by a good distance, and keeping bear spray on your body rather than in the tent

    Think of it as three points of a triangle with real distance between them: where you sleep, where you cook and where the meat hangs. A bear that comes in for the meat then has no reason to walk through your tent. Hang the cache well off the ground and away from the trunk, keep cooking smells and food out of your sleeping clothes, and carry bear spray on your belt or chest where you can reach it in the two seconds you'll get. Spray in the tent at three in the morning is spray you don't have. And if you leave camp, assume you're walking back into an occupied one.

24. 24. A bear is feeding on a hillside 400 metres off and its coat is blond, so colour has told you nothing. What does an identification check actually look at?

    1. AThe shoulder hump, the dished profile of the face and the long front claws, together with where the highest point of the back sits when the bear is on all fours
    2. BBody size alone, since grizzlies are always larger
    3. CWhether the bear climbs a tree, which only black bears will do at any age
    4. DThe colour of the muzzle, which is the reliable separator between the two species
    Show the answer

    AThe shoulder hump, the dished profile of the face and the long front claws, together with where the highest point of the back sits when the bear is on all fours

    Both species come in the whole range from near black to blond, so colour is the first thing to throw out. Build the picture from structure instead. A grizzly carries a muscular hump over the shoulders and its highest point is there rather than at the rump; the face dishes in between the brow and the nose; the front claws are long and pale and often visible at distance through glass. A black bear has a straight roman profile, no hump, taller ears for the size of the head, and the highest point of the back is behind the shoulders. Size fools everybody, because a big black bear and a young grizzly weigh the same. Watch it for several minutes through binoculars before you decide anything.

25. 25. Caribou break a rule that most hunters carry over from deer and moose. What is it?

    1. AThey shed their antlers in mid-summer rather than in winter
    2. BBoth sexes grow antlers, so antlers on their own tell you nothing about whether you are looking at a bull or a cow
    3. CThey have no antlers at all in their first three years
    4. DOnly cows carry antlers, and bulls are identified by the mane
    Show the answer

    BBoth sexes grow antlers, so antlers on their own tell you nothing about whether you are looking at a bull or a cow

    Caribou are the one North American deer where the cows are antlered too, and it catches out people whose eye was trained on moose. A cow caribou in autumn can be carrying a respectable set. So you look at everything else: bulls are heavier through the neck and shoulder with a pronounced mane, their antlers are far more massive with a wider spread and often a broad shovel coming forward over the face, and a cow's rack is slighter and more spindly. Look for a calf at heel too, which is decisive information even though it takes patience to establish. Glass first, decide second, and if the animal will not hold still long enough to be certain, you have your answer.

26. 26. Both mule deer and white-tailed deer turn up in southern Yukon, and whitetails have been expanding north. Which pair of features separates them at a distance?

    1. ACoat colour and body size, since mule deer are grey and whitetails are always smaller
    2. BThe presence or absence of a throat patch
    3. CThe tail and the ears: a mule deer has oversized ears and a narrow rope-like tail with a black tip, while a whitetail has smaller ears and a broad tail it throws up and flags white when it runs
    4. DAntler colour, which is pale on mule deer and dark on whitetails
    Show the answer

    CThe tail and the ears: a mule deer has oversized ears and a narrow rope-like tail with a black tip, while a whitetail has smaller ears and a broad tail it throws up and flags white when it runs

    Tail and ears do most of the work, and both are visible long before antler detail resolves. The mule deer earns its name with ears that look too big for its head, and its tail is a thin white rope tipped in black. A whitetail carries a wide tail that is brown on top and white underneath, and when it's alarmed it lifts that tail and shows you the whole white flag. Then watch how it leaves. A mule deer often stots away in stiff-legged bounds with all four feet landing together; a whitetail runs flat out and low. Antlers add a third check: mule deer tines fork and fork again, whitetail tines rise off one main beam.

27. 27. Dall's sheep and Stone's sheep both occur in Yukon and they belong to the same species. What actually separates them in the field?

    1. AHorn shape, since Dall's sheep flare outward and Stone's sheep curl tight
    2. BHabitat, because Dall's sheep stay below treeline and Stone's sheep stay above it
    3. CBody size, with Stone's sheep roughly twice the weight
    4. DCoat colour, essentially: Dall's sheep are white, Stone's sheep are dark grey to near black with a white face and rump, and intermediate Fannin sheep fall between the two
    Show the answer

    DCoat colour, essentially: Dall's sheep are white, Stone's sheep are dark grey to near black with a white face and rump, and intermediate Fannin sheep fall between the two

    They're colour variants of the same thin-horn sheep, and where their ranges meet in southern Yukon you get the intermediates that people call Fannin sheep: a pale or white head, neck and rump on a darker body. That intergrade zone is exactly why colour alone is a weak basis for any decision that depends on which one you're looking at. The features that do stay constant across both are the slender, flaring, amber horns that separate thin-horn sheep from the heavy tight curl of a bighorn. Get the animal in a spotting scope and take your time; nothing about sheep hunting rewards hurry.

28. 28. A bull moose is standing quartering away from you at 90 metres. Where does the aiming point go?

    1. AOn the point of the near shoulder, to break it down where it stands
    2. BThrough the near ribs and angled forward, so the bullet travels toward the off-side shoulder and takes both lungs on the way
    3. CHigh on the spine behind the shoulders
    4. DLow in the brisket, under the front of the chest
    Show the answer

    BThrough the near ribs and angled forward, so the bullet travels toward the off-side shoulder and takes both lungs on the way

    On a quartering-away animal you have to shoot the line, not the silhouette. Picture where the off-side shoulder is and drive the bullet toward it: entering back in the near ribs, crossing the chest diagonally, taking both lungs and often the far shoulder. Aim at the near shoulder from that angle and you'll cross in front of the vitals or plough the length of the paunch. A moose is a big animal that can absorb a poor hit and travel a surprising distance into the worst cover in the valley, and then your afternoon becomes a blood trail instead of a butchering job. If the angle isn't right, wait for it. Moose are not in a hurry.

29. 29. You drop a bull at midday on a warm September afternoon, eight kilometres from the truck. What spoils more northern meat than anything else?

    1. AFlies laying eggs in the first hour after the kill
    2. BDragging the carcass over gravel, which grinds grit into the meat
    3. CHeat held inside the carcass, which is why opening it, quartering it, getting the hide off and hanging the meat where air moves matters more than anything else you do that day
    4. DRoad dust on the drive out, which is the main source of contamination
    Show the answer

    CHeat held inside the carcass, which is why opening it, quartering it, getting the hide off and hanging the meat where air moves matters more than anything else you do that day

    A moose is a very large insulated container of warm meat and it will hold that heat for hours. Bone sour starts deep in a hind quarter where you cannot see it and you don't find out until you're cutting at home. So the clock starts at the shot: open it, get the guts out, quarter it, pull the hide because the hide is the blanket, and hang the pieces separately in moving air, preferably in shade with a game bag on each. Yukon weather will help you if you let it, since the nights cool hard even in early September. Deal with the meat first and take the photographs afterwards.

30. 30. The bull ran into thick willow after the shot and you have sign where it was standing. What comes first?

    1. AFollow the direction it ran at a steady walk while the trail is fresh
    2. BCircle the willow patch first to cut the exit trail on the far side
    3. CGo back to the truck for a second person before touching anything
    4. DMark the shot site and the last sign you're certain of, then work slowly and mark each new spot, so you can always get back to a known point when the trail goes thin
    Show the answer

    DMark the shot site and the last sign you're certain of, then work slowly and mark each new spot, so you can always get back to a known point when the trail goes thin

    Trailing is a discipline of known points. Flag the place the animal stood when you shot, flag the first blood, then flag each confirmed piece of sign as you go, and keep the flags in a line you can look back down. When the trail dries up, and it will, you return to the last certain mark and start a slow arc from there rather than wandering. Give a gut-shot animal time to lie down rather than pushing it. Look above ground level too, because blood on willow leaves at knee height tells you more about the hit than what's on the moss. Go slow. Hurrying is what loses animals.

31. 31. First-time moose hunters underestimate one thing more or less universally. What is it?

    1. AThe sheer amount of work and meat involved. A bull can produce far more than two people can move in a day, which means repeated trips on a pack frame and planning the pack-out before the shot rather than after
    2. BThe difficulty of finding an animal in the first place
    3. CHow hard a moose is to kill with a well-placed shot
    4. DThe amount of ammunition a hunt consumes
    Show the answer

    AThe sheer amount of work and meat involved. A bull can produce far more than two people can move in a day, which means repeated trips on a pack frame and planning the pack-out before the shot rather than after

    The shot is about a second long. Everything after it can take two days. Before you pull the trigger, ask where the animal will be standing, how far that is from water or a trail, whether you can get a machine anywhere near it, how many trips it will take and who's carrying them. Plenty of experienced hunters simply won't shoot across a river or down into a hole they'd have to climb back out of loaded, because they've done the arithmetic on the carry. The pack frame, the game bags, a sharp knife with a way to keep it sharp, and a headlamp with fresh batteries all belong in the pack before you leave the truck.

32. 32. The bull is down and hasn't moved for a minute or two. What do you do before you sling the rifle?

    1. AWalk straight in to check the animal while it is still warm
    2. BWatch it from behind and above with the rifle still ready, then approach from the rear rather than the head, and touch an open eye with something other than your hand to test for a reaction
    3. CFire a second shot into the body from where you stand, as a matter of routine
    4. DApproach from directly in front so the animal can see you coming and is less likely to startle
    Show the answer

    BWatch it from behind and above with the rifle still ready, then approach from the rear rather than the head, and touch an open eye with something other than your hand to test for a reaction

    An animal that looks dead sometimes isn't, and a moose that gets back up while you're standing at its head is a genuine emergency in country where help is hours away. Wait. Watch through the scope or the binoculars for movement of the ribcage and the ears. Come in from behind and slightly uphill so the animal's legs point away from you and you keep the high ground. Check the eye with the muzzle or a stick, because an open eye that doesn't blink is the standard test. Only then do you put the rifle down, and put it somewhere you can reach it, not somewhere you'll spend ten minutes looking for it later.

33. 33. You and a partner are crossing a wall of blowdown with rifles. What is the standard practice before anyone starts climbing?

    1. ASling both rifles muzzle down and climb with hands free
    2. BHand both rifles to one person so the other can climb unencumbered
    3. CUnload both, then pass them across one at a time or set them on the far side, and climb with empty hands
    4. DKeep them loaded but on safe, since a chambered round is quicker if game appears
    Show the answer

    CUnload both, then pass them across one at a time or set them on the far side, and climb with empty hands

    Obstacles are where the accidents happen: a fence, a creek bank, a boat, a pile of blowdown. Your hands are busy, your footing is bad and the muzzle ends up wherever the rifle wants. So take the ammunition out of the equation first. Unload, open the action, pass the firearms across one at a time or lay them down on the far side with the muzzles pointed where nothing matters, and use both hands to climb. It costs you thirty seconds. The safety catch is a mechanical part that can fail and it is never the plan; an empty chamber is the plan.

34. 34. You bring a rifle that has been sitting at minus thirty into a warm cabin for the night. What happens, and why does it matter in the morning?

    1. ANothing happens, because steel does not hold moisture
    2. BThe stock swells and shifts the point of impact, which is the only real concern
    3. CThe lubricant thins and runs out of the action, leaving it dry
    4. DMoisture condenses on the cold metal and inside the action and bore, and it can freeze solid once the rifle goes back outside in the morning
    Show the answer

    DMoisture condenses on the cold metal and inside the action and bore, and it can freeze solid once the rifle goes back outside in the morning

    Warm cabin air holds water; cold steel pulls it straight out of the air the moment you bring the rifle in, exactly as it does on a window. Now the action is damp inside, and at daylight you carry it out into minus thirty and that moisture becomes ice in the firing pin channel or the locking lugs. Northern practice is to leave the rifle outside, in a porch or under the cabin eave in a case, or if it has to come in, to strip and wipe it and let it dry properly. Grease also behaves badly in real cold, so a light oil that stays fluid beats a heavy one that turns to toffee.

35. 35. A caribou is standing on a ridgeline with open sky behind it. Why do hunter education courses treat that as a shot to leave alone?

    1. AYou cannot see what lies beyond it. A skylined animal means an unknown backstop, and a rifle bullet carries a very long way past that ridge
    2. BThe light behind the animal makes the crosshairs hard to see
    3. CAnimals on ridgelines are usually moving too fast for an accurate shot
    4. DThe angle of the ground makes the bullet drop unpredictably
    Show the answer

    AYou cannot see what lies beyond it. A skylined animal means an unknown backstop, and a rifle bullet carries a very long way past that ridge

    This is the fourth rule in every version of it: be sure of your target and what is beyond it. On a skyline there is no beyond that you can see, and a centrefire bullet that misses or passes through will travel kilometres before it stops. On the other side of that ridge could be another hunting party, a camp, a trail, a cabin, or a road you didn't know was there. Wait for the animal to move off the crest and put a hillside behind it, then take the shot fifteen minutes later with a backstop.

36. 36. You're loading gear onto a side-by-side at the end of the day and the rifle has to go somewhere. What does safe practice call for?

    1. ALaid across the rear rack with a round chambered, in case something is standing on the trail out
    2. BUnloaded, with the action open or the firearm cased or scabbarded, and the muzzle pointed where a discharge would harm nobody, because a machine bouncing over roots is the wrong place for a chambered round
    3. CMuzzle up between the seats so it stays clear of the load
    4. DWedged into the load itself so it cannot shift during the ride
    Show the answer

    BUnloaded, with the action open or the firearm cased or scabbarded, and the muzzle pointed where a discharge would harm nobody, because a machine bouncing over roots is the wrong place for a chambered round

    A side-by-side crossing roots and rock does things to a firearm that you cannot supervise while you're driving it. Unload it before it goes on the machine, every time, and think about where the muzzle is pointing for the whole ride and not just while you're setting it down. A scabbard or a case does two jobs: it keeps the action clear of dust and rain, and it stops the rifle walking loose over a few kilometres of rough trail. Then remember the other half, which is that the firearm comes out of the case unloaded too, and the first thing you do is check the chamber yourself rather than trusting the version of you that loaded it.

37. 37. From your snowmachine you spot a band of caribou on open ground. Your partner wants to drive closer and push them toward a ridge where you can shoot. What does fair chase say?

    1. AUsing a machine to chase or steer animals takes away their fair chance, so park it and stalk on foot
    2. BIt is fair as long as you slow right down before the shot
    3. CIt is fair on open ground, where the animals can see you coming
    4. DIt is fair once the animals have stopped running and stand still
    Show the answer

    AUsing a machine to chase or steer animals takes away their fair chance, so park it and stalk on foot

    Fair chase means the animal keeps a real chance to sense you and get away. Running animals with a machine burns energy they need for winter and can injure them. It also looks terrible to anyone who hears about it. Use the machine to reach the country, then hunt on foot.

38. 38. A group of caribou is swimming a wide river below your camp and your partner lifts his rifle. Why do ethical hunters wait?

    1. ACaribou swim too slowly to give a clean shot
    2. BThe sound of a shot over water carries too far
    3. CAn animal in deep water has no fair chance, and getting it out of the current is hard and risky
    4. DA wet hide is much harder to skin afterwards
    Show the answer

    CAn animal in deep water has no fair chance, and getting it out of the current is hard and risky

    A swimming animal cannot escape, and a hit animal can sink or drift off. Hauling a carcass out of fast, cold water puts you at risk as well. Let the caribou reach land and settle, then decide whether there is a clean, safe shot. Some places forbid shooting swimming big game, so know the local rules.

39. 39. You have one caribou down five kilometres from camp at dusk when a second steps out. Your licence allows two. What does ethical hunting ask of you?

    1. ATake it, because the licence allows two animals
    2. BPass unless you can care for and pack out both before any meat spoils
    3. CTake it and come back for both in a few days
    4. DTake it and leave the first one for scavengers
    Show the answer

    BPass unless you can care for and pack out both before any meat spoils

    A licence sets the limit, not the plan. Each animal needs to be dressed, cooled and carried out, and that work takes hours. If you cannot care for both before the meat spoils, the second animal would be wasted. Passing is often the more respectful choice.

40. 40. After a long climb you top a ridge and find another party already stalking the rams you came for. What is the ethical call?

    1. AHurry to get a shot off first, since the sheep belong to no one
    2. BStay put and take a shot if their stalk falls apart
    3. CShow yourself so the rams spook in your direction
    4. DBack off and leave them to it, then look for other sheep or another basin
    Show the answer

    DBack off and leave them to it, then look for other sheep or another basin

    The party already on the stalk got there first, and cutting in can ruin their hunt. Two groups closing on the same animals may not know exactly where the other is, which is a safety risk too. Give them room and move on. You would want the same courtesy.

41. 41. A 14-year-old with a Yukon big game licence wants to hunt moose this fall. According to yukon.ca, who must be with them?

    1. AAn adult licence holder who is at least 19 years old
    2. BAny adult 18 or older, licensed or not
    3. CA licensed outfitter or special guide
    4. DNobody, once the youth holds a big game licence
    Show the answer

    AAn adult licence holder who is at least 19 years old

    Yukon lets youth hold a big game licence from age 12, but not hunt alone. Under 16, they must hunt with an adult licence holder who is at least 19. This question reports what yukon.ca says. Check the current Yukon hunting regulations summary for details on youth seals and permits.

    Source: Government of Yukon, Get a Yukon hunting licence: Youth under 16 need to hunt with an adult licence holder who is at least 19 years old. Checked 2026-09-30.

42. 42. Why do moose seasons in many northern areas limit the harvest to bulls?

    1. ABulls carry more meat, so fewer animals need to be taken
    2. BCows are harder to see in the fall, which leads to wounding
    3. CBulls are more likely to carry disease into the herd
    4. DOne bull can breed several cows, so sparing cows keeps the calf crop up while hunting goes on
    Show the answer

    DOne bull can breed several cows, so sparing cows keeps the calf crop up while hunting goes on

    Cows set how many calves are born each spring. A population can lose part of its bulls and still have most cows bred during the rut. Taking cows cuts future calf numbers directly. That is why bull-only seasons are a common way to allow hunting on slow-growing northern herds.

43. 43. A new mine road is pushed up a valley that used to take a week to reach on foot. What usually happens to the moose along it?

    1. AMoose gather at the road for the salt and their numbers grow
    2. BHarvest piles up along the easy access, and local numbers can drop unless managers respond
    3. CNothing changes, because moose stay well away from roads
    4. DPredators abandon the valley, so moose numbers climb
    Show the answer

    BHarvest piles up along the easy access, and local numbers can drop unless managers respond

    Easy access lets many more hunters reach animals that distance used to protect. Wolves and bears also travel roads and cut lines. Managers may respond with closures, permit hunts or limits near new roads. Access is a major concern for wildlife managers across the North.

44. 44. A late-winter survey counts very few calves per 100 cows in a caribou herd, year after year. What does that tell managers?

    1. AThe herd is healthy, because the cows are clearly doing well
    2. BThe bulls have split off from the herd for the winter
    3. CFew young are surviving to join the herd, so the population is likely to shrink
    4. DHunters have been taking too many of the calves
    Show the answer

    CFew young are surviving to join the herd, so the population is likely to shrink

    Calves counted in late winter have made it through their first hard season. If few survive that long, not enough young animals are joining the herd to replace adults that die. Over several years, that adds up to a decline. Managers watch this ratio closely when setting seasons.

45. 45. Why can taking the same number of animals hurt a small, isolated woodland caribou herd far more than a large migratory herd?

    1. AEach animal is a bigger share of a small herd, and no outside animals move in to replace losses
    2. BWoodland caribou are harder to hunt, so each kill counts for more
    3. CSmall herds always live in poorer habitat than large ones
    4. DLarge herds grow faster because each animal eats more
    Show the answer

    AEach animal is a bigger share of a small herd, and no outside animals move in to replace losses

    Ten animals from a herd of 200 is a big bite. Ten from a herd of 100,000 is barely noticed. Small, isolated herds also get no new animals from outside to fill the gap. Managers often allow very limited harvest, or none, from herds like these.

46. 46. Your partner's toes are frozen and you are still a day's travel from the truck in deep cold. Should you thaw them in camp tonight?

    1. AYes, by rubbing them hard with snow to bring back the blood
    2. BNot if they are likely to freeze again, because thawing and refreezing does worse damage
    3. CYes, by holding them near the fire until feeling returns
    4. DYes, since frozen tissue always has to be thawed right away
    Show the answer

    BNot if they are likely to freeze again, because thawing and refreezing does worse damage

    Tissue that thaws and then freezes again is damaged far more than tissue that stays frozen until proper care. If refreezing is likely, walking out on frozen feet can be the lesser harm. Never rub frostbite with snow, and keep numb skin away from direct heat, which can burn it. Get medical care as soon as you can.

47. 47. Heading for sheep country in late fall, your route crosses a steep, open slope loaded with fresh wind-blown snow. What is the safer choice?

    1. ACross it quickly in a tight group so you spend less time on it
    2. BCross it at midday, when the snow is warmest and softest
    3. CGo around it on a ridge or through trees, since fresh wind-loaded slopes can release as avalanches
    4. DKick the slope first to settle the snow, then cross
    Show the answer

    CGo around it on a ridge or through trees, since fresh wind-loaded slopes can release as avalanches

    Wind piles snow onto steep lee slopes, and fresh loads are often unstable. A person's weight can be enough to set one off. Ridges and dense trees are usually safer routes. If you must cross, go one at a time while the others watch from a safe spot.

48. 48. A grizzly across a creek rises onto its hind legs and looks toward you. What is it most likely doing?

    1. AGetting set to charge across the creek
    2. BSignalling that its cubs are close by
    3. CWarning other bears away from its food
    4. DTrying to see and smell you to work out what you are
    Show the answer

    DTrying to see and smell you to work out what you are

    Standing up gives a bear a better view and helps it catch your scent. It usually means curiosity, not an attack. Talk in a calm voice so it knows you are a person, and back away slowly without running. Keep your bear spray in your hand.

49. 49. You are stranded and a search plane flies over. How do you signal from the ground that you need rescue?

    1. AStand with both arms raised overhead in a Y
    2. BWave one arm back and forth down at your side
    3. CStand with both arms held straight out to the sides
    4. DLie flat on the ground with your arms at your sides
    Show the answer

    AStand with both arms raised overhead in a Y

    Arms raised in a Y is a standard ground-to-air signal that means yes, I need help. One arm up and one down means you do not. Signals show up far better against snow or open ground, so move into a clearing if you can. Bright fabric or three fires in a triangle also help searchers find you.

50. 50. It is late winter and a moose with no antlers stands broadside in the willows. Which feature points to a cow rather than a bull that has shed?

    1. AA long bell of skin hanging under the throat
    2. BA darker, heavier face and muzzle
    3. CA pale patch of hair just below the tail
    4. DA bigger body standing taller at the shoulder
    Show the answer

    CA pale patch of hair just below the tail

    Bulls drop their antlers in early winter, so a moose without antlers is not always a cow. Cows have a pale patch below the tail, and bulls lack it. Bulls also tend to have a darker face and a larger bell. Look for several clues together rather than trusting one.

51. 51. Two white sheep are feeding high on a slope. How do you tell a Dall's ewe from a ram?

    1. AA ewe is pure white, while a ram has a dark tail
    2. BA ewe has short, slim horns with little curve, while a ram grows heavy horns that sweep back into a curl
    3. CA ewe has no horns at all, so any horns mean a ram
    4. DA ewe's horns are black, while a ram's are amber
    Show the answer

    BA ewe has short, slim horns with little curve, while a ram grows heavy horns that sweep back into a curl

    Both sexes of Dall's sheep grow horns, which trips up new hunters. A ewe's horns stay short and slender, a bit like a goat's spikes. A ram's horns are thick at the base and curl more as he ages. Young rams can look ewe-like, so study the horn base and body build with good optics.

52. 52. You glass a lone canine crossing a frozen lake, and your partner calls it a coyote. What would tell you he is wrong and it is a wolf?

    1. AA narrow, pointed muzzle and tall, upright ears
    2. BA small, slender build and a quick, light trot
    3. CA reddish coat and a bushy tail carried low
    4. DA much larger body, a broad muzzle, and ears that look short for the head
    Show the answer

    DA much larger body, a broad muzzle, and ears that look short for the head

    Wolves are far bigger than coyotes, often two or three times the weight. A wolf has a wide, blocky muzzle and ears that look small for its head. A coyote has a narrow, pointed face and tall ears. Coat colour varies in both, so it is a weak clue on its own.

53. 53. A white animal is feeding on a cliff face in the mountains of southern Yukon. Which features mark it as a mountain goat rather than a Dall's sheep?

    1. AShort black horns shaped like daggers, a beard, and a long shaggy coat
    2. BAmber horns that curl back around the ears
    3. CA slim build and a short, smooth coat
    4. DA white coat with a dark stripe down the tail
    Show the answer

    AShort black horns shaped like daggers, a beard, and a long shaggy coat

    Both animals are white and live in steep country, so colour will not help. Mountain goats have short black horns, a beard and a blocky body in a long coat. Dall's sheep have amber or yellowish horns, and a ram's horns curl. Look at the horns first, through good binoculars.

54. 54. In open mountain country, why do experienced hunters spend hours sitting behind binoculars before they walk anywhere?

    1. AWalking in the mountains is too dangerous before midday
    2. BAnimals only move at midday, so there is no point starting early
    3. CSitting still keeps the rifle scope from fogging up
    4. DCareful glassing finds animals that walking would only spook, and lets you plan a hidden stalk
    Show the answer

    DCareful glassing finds animals that walking would only spook, and lets you plan a hidden stalk

    Mountain animals watch the country below them and pick out moving hunters from far off. Sitting still and glassing a slope in sections finds animals bedded in shade or among rocks. Once you locate one, you can plan a route that keeps you hidden with the wind in your face. Good optics save miles of walking.

55. 55. You have spotted rams bedded on a slope below a ridge. Which approach is most likely to get you within range?

    1. AClimb straight up at them from below, moving only when they feed
    2. BCircle out of sight and come in from above, keeping the wind in your face
    3. CWalk along the skyline so you can watch them the whole way
    4. DWait at the bottom for them to come down to water
    Show the answer

    BCircle out of sight and come in from above, keeping the wind in your face

    Sheep spend much of their time watching below for danger, so they seldom expect a hunter from above. Use ridges and gullies to stay hidden as you work around. Keep the wind blowing from them to you. Skylining yourself on a ridge makes you easy to spot.

56. 56. You are calling bull moose in the rut and hear grunts and breaking brush coming your way. What must you confirm before shooting?

    1. AOnly that the sound is close enough for a shot
    2. BNothing, since only moose answer a cow call
    3. CThat you can clearly see a legal moose, and that it is not another hunter answering your calls
    4. DThat the wind is behind you so the bull smells the cow
    Show the answer

    CThat you can clearly see a legal moose, and that it is not another hunter answering your calls

    A moose call can draw in another hunter as easily as a bull. Never shoot at sound or movement in the brush. Wait until you see the whole animal, confirm it is legal, and know what lies behind it. Calling brings animals close, which gives you time to be sure.

57. 57. You slip on a snowy slope and the muzzle of your rifle plunges into a drift. What do you do before your next shot?

    1. AUnload, look through the bore for snow, and clear it before firing
    2. BFire a shot into the air to blow the snow out
    3. CNothing, since the bullet will push the snow out
    4. DBlow down the muzzle to clear it
    Show the answer

    AUnload, look through the bore for snow, and clear it before firing

    A plug of snow or mud in the barrel can make pressure spike and burst the barrel. Unload, open the action and look through the bore from the breech end. Clear it with a cleaning rod or pull-through. A muzzle cover or a strip of tape helps stop it happening.

58. 58. You are riding into sheep country with your rifle in a saddle scabbard. What condition should it ride in?

    1. ALoaded with the safety on, in case game shows up on the trail
    2. BUnloaded, and loaded only once you have dismounted and are ready to hunt
    3. CLoaded, since the scabbard covers the trigger
    4. DCocked, with the bolt handle lifted
    Show the answer

    BUnloaded, and loaded only once you have dismounted and are ready to hunt

    A horse can shy, stumble or roll, and a rider can be thrown with the rifle still on the saddle. A loaded rifle can go off when it is knocked or pulled from the scabbard. Keep it unloaded while riding. Load only once you are on the ground and ready to shoot.

59. 59. At minus 30 you are hunting in thick mitts. Why do they call for extra care around the trigger?

    1. AMitts make the trigger freeze in place so it cannot move
    2. BMitts keep your finger warm enough to shoot faster
    3. CA bulky mitt can press the trigger without your feeling it, so keep the chamber empty until you are set to shoot
    4. DThe trigger guard keeps any mitt away from the trigger
    Show the answer

    CA bulky mitt can press the trigger without your feeling it, so keep the chamber empty until you are set to shoot

    Thick mitts dull your sense of touch and fill the trigger guard. It is easy to press the trigger by accident while handling the rifle. Keep the chamber empty until you are ready, then slip your shooting hand out of the mitt. Some hunters wear a thin glove inside the mitt for this.

60. 60. Two hunters in camp carry a .270 and a .30-06, and they keep all their cartridges in one shared pouch. What is the risk?

    1. AThe two kinds of cartridge can set each other off in the pouch
    2. BMixing brands in one pouch voids both rifles' warranties
    3. CThere is no risk, since neither will chamber in the other rifle
    4. DSomeone may load the wrong cartridge, which can wreck a rifle and injure the shooter
    Show the answer

    DSomeone may load the wrong cartridge, which can wreck a rifle and injure the shooter

    A .270 and a .30-06 cartridge look much alike, and the smaller one can chamber in the larger rifle. Firing the wrong cartridge can destroy the rifle and hurt the shooter. Carry only ammunition for the rifle you are using. Check the head stamp against the barrel stamp every time you load.