When you’re daydreaming it never seems like it ought to be all that difficult to get an arrow into a decent mule deer, but the fact is very few animals are what you would call easy with a bow and arrow. I shot a decent one a couple of years ago, but I [...]
For hundreds and probably thousands of years, native people of the southeastern United States used river cane for many important material goods. It was used to make dwellings, it was split and woven into strong mats and baskets, it was shaved on one side to make razor-sharp knives, and made into blowguns, spears, [...]
When people think of bowfishing, the image most will conjure up in their heads involves a boat and spotlights, trolling along a lake or river in the dead of night. Yet, that wasn’t how I began bowfishing and to this day is not my preferred method of shooting fish. I started out bowfishing [...]
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 [...]
I am not a gadget guy or an equipment junkie. I usually settle on a good solid tool for the job and stick with it until it wears out. For instance, I’ve been shooting the same bow for eleven years. I have others, but they are sitting on a bow rack gathering dust. [...]
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 [...]
Wood, aluminum, or carbon? What broadhead? How about draw weight? Over time, traditionalists will face a long list of choices, some to be decided quickly and others never at all. Beginners will have plenty of time to consider them as they consult books and videos, argue (politely) with friends, listen to veterans, and [...]
"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 [...]
The first thing my three-year-old daughter always asks for when I fill a tag, is “soup!” I was lucky enough to take two deer this past deer season and my daughter said, “Let’s make deer soup!” I’d never really used venison in soup before: stew and chili yes, but not soup. So, this [...]
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 [...]
