Sheyk-doun; verb A shakedown is a period of testing or a trial journey undergone by a ship, aircraft or other craft and its crew before being declared operational. Statistically, a proportion of the components will fail after a relatively short period of use, and those that survive this period can be expected to last for [...]
Everybody has that one hunting spot that, regardless of how productive it has been, it’s just special. It’s your favorite place to hunt and you will stubbornly return nine times out of ten. It makes you happy! I had just a spot for elk. I knew it like the back of my hand [...]
You’ll often hear me mention that I usually hunt alone, and when I decide to bring someone along it often spells trouble. In my adult life, the only consistent hunting partner that I’ve ever had, is my best friend since almost birth. But life has a way of shifting things around and it [...]
Raise your hand if you consider yourself a diehard, through-and-through traditional bowhunter. Also raise your hand, if you’ve found that any time you try to deviate from the creed…things have a way of going south. Well, I’ve come to find that in the thick and steep country where I live and hunt, walking [...]
On a recent, crisp morning, I stepped outside of my front door and caught myself musing how much I loved the month of October. For years, the month of September has been my favorite time of year, and I have always figured it as the one month that I looked forward to, and [...]
The one time of the year that I look forward to the most is the month of September. And given the high level of anticipation and long wait time, I tend to have equally high expectations. But how often do we let the anxieties of our everyday life ruin something that’s pure, muddying [...]
Even though I didn’t start elk hunting until I was about 27 years old, it’s the one thing that I look forward to throughout the year. In the areas that I hunt, the terrain is often limiting and the low elk densities make for a challenging hunt. In 12 years of elk hunting, [...]
Doing my best to get through the work day, I couldn't sit still...couldn't concentrate. Everyone kept asking me if I'd "had too much sugar"..."had too much coffee"... "why are you so hyper?" At first, I really didn't have an answer for them, but as the day drew on and I couldn't sit still [...]
You’ve heard it likely thousands of times throughout your life: “The early bird gets the worm.” I suppose that it’s true; especially with elk hunting. I recall one September, being frustrated that “my mountain” suddenly hosted triple the amount of pickup trucks, and therefor triple the amount of competing bowhunters. Opening day found [...]
I usually hunt alone, so I often do things along the way that I barely give a second thought to. This often means that something that may constitute as a "good time" for me may not even register on another's fun meter. In fact, bringing someone new along with me, often is a good [...]
