I was the beneficiary of a wonderful childhood. In addition to his scientific accomplishments (his pioneering work in the field of bone marrow transplantation earned him the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1990), my father was a highly skilled outdoorsman. My mother also loved the outdoors. Best of all, they always made every [...]
In the months ahead of the cold November morning that found me and two close friends, Scott and Nick White, camped under a fresh blanket of snow along the shore of a small interior lake on Kodiak Island, I considered many aspects of our planned trip, including thoughts about the unpredictable weather, big [...]
Winters are hard on the high desert of Idaho that I call home. Although I thoroughly enjoy living out in the vast Snake River Plain, the winters are long, cold, and windy. After the fall big game seasons are over, I pick up my shotgun and hunt birds out back, or waterfowl down [...]
Cresting the ridge, we crouched behind a juniper tree. I whispered to my wife Andrea, “We should move up to the next bush and the ram might walk out from between those junipers just beyond.” We checked to confirm that the ram was out of sight, and moved as quietly as we could [...]
A return to the basic principles of bowhunting makes for a more enjoyable and successful hunt. It had been raining for three days, and the forest was soaked. I had not planned on going out that morning, the last day of the season. I had given up. I hunted hard for the opening [...]
The room was getting warmer, the air palpable, and the bidding hitting levels higher than I hoped for. I had no idea who was bidding against me in the crowded banquet room Saturday night in St. Augustine, Florida, at the Professional Bowhunters Society (PBS) Biennial Gathering, but I knew my limit was soon [...]
Nervously I switched the safety on top of the double barrel 12-gauge on and off, following a footstep behind Rosey. We had closed a quarter-mile distance on an unsuspecting coastal brown bear, from where we anchored our aluminum skiff and canoed to shore. We trotted when the bear looked down and imitated washed [...]
This is a method of shooting that I developed about 10 years ago. It is a simple way to learn how to shoot a recurve or longbow. The best part is that you don't worry about yardages. No more guessing: just look, pick a spot and release. It will work at longer yardages, [...]
I pulled my truck into the opening next to the farm’s outbuildings and gathered my gear. It was a quick 250-yard walk down the gravel service road to where my pop-up blind sat ready for the morning turkey hunt. I could hear gobbles from the roost in all directions around me, as at [...]
It was one of those cold crisp fall mornings with calm winds and the promise of a warm sunny day to follow. I was spending the morning 20 feet up in my favorite red oak when a sound broke the morning silence. The sound was foot falls on the leaves and was coming [...]
