Listening, really listening, is an art form that takes practice. Some of the sounds we hear in the woods are nothing more than distracting noise that we sometimes try to ignore, some of the sounds are native to the environment and are enjoyable, even entertaining, and some are so subtle that we have [...]
It was just after 5 p.m. on Halloween when I slipped into the tall grass on the edge of a 30-acre cut corn field. A strong wind gusted from the north and gave me a clean entry from the southeastern edge of the field. The noise of my steps was covered, and my [...]
Back in 1878, a little over a decade after the Civil War, a southern gentleman named Maurice Thompson wrote a remarkable book titled, The Witchery of Archery. Though small in physical size, that little tome had big results as far as the sport of archery was concerned. It regenerated within the public of [...]
"Mr. Lewis, how do I talk to girls?” The question took me by surprise and snapped me out of the typical “is it 3:15 yet” daze you can find on any middle school teacher’s face on a Friday afternoon. After a stuttering start, I did the best I could. First, I admitted that [...]
Saxton Pope and Arthur Young’s hunting adventures in the early part of the last century are well documented. In Pope’s book Hunting with the Bow & Arrow, published in 1923, the author devotes many pages to descriptions of days spent in the rugged California hills stalking deer, bear, and mountain lion. Pope tells [...]
As all my regular backcountry hunting partners know, I have never, ever been lost. However, I will admit that I’ve come close. Years ago, Lori and I were hunting hogs and turkeys in Florida with our old friend Don Davis. Late one afternoon, Don dropped me off on a road several miles from [...]
The car shuddered to a halt. A large gum tree had been ripped from the ground during the night’s storm and the gritty gravel road to the cliffside edge had become impassable by car. Visions of first light shot opportunities on wandering billy goats were quickly replaced by premonitions of sweat and struggle. [...]
The sea breeze was noisily rustling the palm fronds when I heard a slight splash from the freshwater slough just to my south. The water was hidden by thick palmetto ground cover. A trail ran parallel to the slough between prehistoric sand dunes covered by thick palmettos that grew head high in places. [...]
I first met Phillip about 10 years ago in the Frank Church Wilderness of Idaho. He was packing a rifle and hunting elk, while I had my trusty recurve and was chasing bighorns. We both failed to connect on game, but we developed a lasting friendship. Under the tutelage of fellow traditionalists Mike [...]
As I drove home from Arizona last year after our first successful javelina hunt (“First Dance with the Desert Ghost” by Alex DeGeorgey, Dec/Jan 2022 issue of TBM), I couldn’t stop thinking about applying again the following year and taking one or both of my kids with me. They’ve joined me afield since [...]
