Upland hunting gets a bad rap for being an expensive hobby. Certainly, the idea that upland hunting is expensive is perpetuated by the industry. Flip through most upland hunting magazines or follow one of the many upland hunting social media influences and you’re bound to get lost in a sea of premium name brands. Although most of us (if not all of us) aspire to tromp through the uplands in Russel-Moccasin boots, donning Filson Tin-Cloth head to toe, while carrying an Arrieta side by side, the price tag on those items can be cost-prohibitive to some of us.

By most standards, I was a spoiled kid. I was blessed with upland and waterfowl opportunities from the onset. My first memory in the field was in the duck blind beside my dad – he let me (illegally) carry a BB gun into the marsh so I could feel like more of a man. In my defense, I didn’t fire a shot and the statute of limitations has passed.

It's no secret that sage grouse populations have been declining for decades. Between climate change fueling hotter, longer wildfires and the expansion of the extractive industry into the bird's ranges, agricultural development and the invasion of conifer woodlands and annual grasses, habitat loss has accelerated.