Hunting

Buying into bowhunting tech trends

The hard part about evaluating archery gear is trying to separate the buzz-word hype from real performance. Often we are sold on mere catch phrases conjured up by marketing and sales magicians working in the smoke-filled back rooms apart from product development and manufacturing. […]

Freshwater Fishing

4 great options for May crappie

What is finer in life than a platter of hot and crispy crappie fillets? Well, sure bass fillets are pretty good, and so are flounder, redfish and speckled trout. Fresh fish is good, and that’s the reason a lot more outdoor enthusiasts fish than hunt. […]

Turkey Hunting

Three primo public turkey hunts

It’s April. Spring has sprung, and we are in the throes of prime time for turkey hunting. Big toms are heating up their gobbling action. Hen groups are starting to bust up a bit and separate. This is the time when a big gobbler can be coaxed into gun range with some seductive hen calls. The trick is where to go to find these gobbling toms. […]

Turkey Hunting

The best two turkey calls

I stood amazed at the display. Walking the jam-packed turkey hunting gear aisle of a local big box store checking out the latest in turkey calls, I was simply blown away by all the options. I lost count twice before I finally headed up a mind calculation of 75 different calls spread across a huge variety of brand names, call types, materials and package deals including instructional tapes and DVDs. […]

Hunting

Primitive hunts no longer primitive

Old-school deer hunters used to have a clear idea of what was meant by the term “primitive weapon” when it was applied to deer hunting. However, since the rule changes in 2005, the clarity of the term has gotten considerably cloudier. So let’s shed some light on its current status. […]

Hunting

Gear up now for gun season

Just before the start of the first firearms season last year, which the state officially calls “Gun Season with Dogs,” I made the rounds to several of the top hunting gear outlets in the Jackson area. What I found were full parking lots, a buzz of folks coming and going with some acting like they were in a sort of panic like the supplier was maybe going to run out of the exact item they needed. […]

Deer Hunting

October is the interlude month

For many deer hunters, the month of October is it. Me included. The weather is starting to change. Cool fronts are coming in. Bowhunting is in full swing, and archers are already bringing bucks in for mounting and public appreciation. The saws and meat grinders at the venison processors are whining at high speed. Anticipation for the upcoming gun season in November is whelming up inside hunters of every age and sex. […]

Hunting

Two-week bow season prep plan

What would you say was one of the most inexcusable acts in deer hunting? Certainly the list could be quite long. But perhaps at the top of the order is when a hunter falters on the most elemental responsibility of undertaking proper preseason preparation. […]