Hunting

Recently, I practically gave away the last of my plastic mallard decoys. It was such a deal, that the guy I sold them to almost felt guilty. But I didn’t have use for them any more. For about two years, I’ve slowly been building up a rig of all wooden decoys. Most come from decoy carver friends of...

The good old days of waterfowling weren’t always good. Anyone who’s waited out a cold rainstorm on the marsh wearing waxed cotton will tell you that. But we have lost a few old-school duck hunting tips and tricks along the way that are still more than relevant in a world of GORE-TEX, spinning wings...

The first time my daughters shot any gun larger than a .22, I nearly ruined them forever. The youth model 20-gauge I bought them for turkeys was sized just right for beginners, but not built for the timid. The kick that little gobbler-getter produces is about like a prime-age Tyson jab to the...

There are more new gun owners in our country right now than at any time in the last 25 years. If you count yourself among them, welcome! Gun ownership is a constitutional right in the US of A, but that doesn’t mean you should check your common sense at the gun shop door. I didn’t grow up around guns...

My first introduction to the concept of flyways, even though I didn’t realize it at the time, was spotting flocks of Canada geese in open fields on our drives home as a kid. Our continent has four major flyways—Atlantic, Mississippi, Central, and Pacific. Together, they make up the four paths...

For a long time, suppressors were associated more with elite soldiers and movie assassins than everyday American hunters. In the last few decades, however, thanks to some legal and regulatory changes, suppressors are more common and easier to get than ever before. Clever engineering, advanced alloys...

If you asked most American hunters to name every kind of rifle action, they’d probably forget about the straight pull. While fairly common overseas–most famously on the Austro-Hungarian Mannlicher rifle–straight-pull bolt guns never really caught on here in the States. The reasons for this are...

The first thing I heard as I got into my blind was the whirring of wings. I was hip-deep in muddy water, clutching my gun and staring up into the darkness above my head. Flocks of birds were zipping past just above me like wraiths, causing me to involuntarily duck in the blackness. I glanced down at...

The modern hunting world is obsessed with long-range shooting. From the rise in popularity of rifles like the 6.5 Creedmoor to thousand-yard gun ranges and shooting courses popping up like new Starbucks locations, it seems like every hunter wants to dial it in at a distance. Now, I’m not saying...

It’s finally here, the most wonderful time of the year. No more summer baseball games, no more out-of-town weddings, and no more summer lake days with the in-laws. Time to trade mowing the lawn and checking off honey-dos for something much better. We’re talking predawn coffee that’s a little too...

Despite how many times we have been out in the field, it’s always a good idea to review and reflect on gun safety and handling.  While our crew has spent countless mornings in the predawn setting up for the hunt, we still have a full-fledged safety talk before any guns get loaded and the action...

It’s tough to get a hunter to try new ammo. Like trucks and camo, brand loyalties run strong–and I’m no different. For a long time, I’ve been a fan of the Precision Hunter ammo. It’s always performed well for me, and the last deer I shot took one round from my 6.5 Creedmoor and dropped in its tracks...