My good buddy John lives just over the hill in Rapid City, South Dakota, and let me tell you, he makes the best canned venison I've ever tried. One of these days I'm going to beat that recipe out of him, I swear. That stuff is so practical. It can be made into [...]
In 1955, Roy Hoff, the editor of Archery Magazine, took a trip to the Alaska tundra. It was the kind of expedition every bowhunter dreams of—pursuing big game in Alaska, a place which he describes as “that fabulous wonderland where wildlife is so plentiful that to bag a few nice trophies is as [...]
Call me Ishmael is the first line of the iconic writing of Herman Melville's classic novel Moby Dick. The story of my search for big fish began when I was but nine or ten years old. Fishing for carp with my brother was always interesting. Especially, the day he baited his hook, loaded down with a heavy [...]
When it comes to hunting pronghorn antelope, it’s all about their eyes. After seven failed stalks, I’ll admit I was feeling whipped. There’s no sure-fire way of overcoming a pronghorn’s superior vision, at least not in mid-August, before the mating season. During the rut, a crazed buck may run in to a decoy [...]
I have often been asked the question, whether through direct or indirect means, “Why do you hunt?” It's a poignant yet perplexing question to answer. I liken it to describing the color purple to someone who has never seen the color in their life. Impossible, right? Yet if someone has seen something like [...]
Standing on the edge of the morning woods, I hesitated to step into the darkness. I listened for any sound and urged myself to walk into that seemingly black abyss and head to my tree stand. I don’t know if I am the only one who feels this way, but walking into the [...]
In a story I wrote earlier, I told of a bow I received for my 5th birthday, a wood self bow that I loved dearly. It met an early demise when an errant arrow struck the neighbor’s delivery van. Unfortunately, the neighbor was standing in his backyard when it happened and he told [...]
I simply needed some quiet time—what I like to call “me-time.” Time to chill out, reflect, think, and just relax. Everything seemed perfect that day. It was hot, sunny, and beautiful—my personal favorite time to hunt whitetails. Dressed in a camo T-shirt, sweatpants, and tennis shoes, I happily headed out the back door. [...]
My grandson, Jake, had a football game, so he, my wife, and I arrived at elk camp later than expected. The plan had been to meet my daughter and the rest of her family at camp early enough so that Jake and I could sneak in an evening hunt, but it was well [...]
As I rounded the corner of the tractor path, we saw a small rise on the edge of the corn field. I wanted to charge ahead to look over, throwing everything I knew about stalking game out the window out of shear excitement. Alan put his hand on my shoulder and reminded me [...]
