Mentoring Youth Hunters
It is up to the next generation of dedicated conservation hunters to protect, enhance and defend America's millions of acres of public land. Richard stood five feet, two inches and wrestled. He wrestled on the mat in college, wrestled steer carcasses from the cooler...
Why Do Women Hunt?
In her book Why Women Hunt, K.J. Houtman features stories of some of the women who are contributing to the growing percentage of women in America who hunt. If you’ve ever had the notion to take a woman hunting, you’re onto something pretty special. As K.J. Houtman...
Worshiping at the Freshwater Temple
I was worshiping at my favorite freshwater temple when my 8-year-old fishing disciple hooked an epiphany and landed one of the secrets to the Kingdom of Heaven. Well, sort of. Author’s Note: Just before sunrise on Monday, April 13, 2020, a historic, record-breaking...
Wisconsin Girl, 11, Harvests 700-pound Black Bear
An 11-year-old girl in Wisconsin recently killed her first black bear, and it may just beat the record for the largest black bear harvested in the state. On opening day of her first bear hunt and accompanied by her grandfather, the sixth-grader spotted her first black...
The Tenth Time
There were pines in between the river and the rock cliff so I could not walk downstream to catch my salmon. I had to stay in one place, cast and drift. “Fish on!” Al yelled, and we scrambled down the path that led from Dam Camp to The Basin. Three of us hung over the...
Get More for Less with Sporting Classics Digital
When it comes to our digital edition of Sporting Classics magazine, the phrase "less is more" applies in more ways than one. To some, "digital" reading seems less tangible, less interactive or even less sophisticated than thumbing through crisp pages of a print...
A Book to Stir the Sporting Spirit
A piece of artwork speaks to the soul in a fashion even the most exquisite photographs cannot accomplish. Sulkowski’s paintings do that for me. The visual aspects of life astream and afield have long captured the fancy of discerning sportsmen. Witness, for example,...
The Fall
Camp's poem, "The Fall" was originally published in the October, 1897 issue of Outing. Now soon will come the summer’s angry strife With winter foes; and many a gloomy day. The sky, the battle-ground, where blue and gray Their struggle long since dead, stirs with new...
Final Prep for Opening Day
Hunting success usually hinges on preparation. These tips from top gun-dog trainers around the country will help you and your dog get ready for Opening Day. SPONSORED CONTENT No matter what you hunt, where you hunt or whom you hunt with, Opening Day has a special kind...
Nebraska Youth Outdoors Essay Competition
Youth are invited to enter the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s Kayak Kid Essay Competition for the chance to win an outdoors prize package. The contest requires a handwritten 250-word essay expressing why growing up in the outdoors is important. Entries must...
Recipe for Hunter’s Breakfast Cups
From The Lodge at Black Pearl Cookbook, Vicky Mullaney shares her breakfast recipe that will awaken the cowboy in all of us. On one of our early fly fishing trips out West we stayed at the Diamond J Ranch in Ennis, Montana. They served us a very hearty breakfast every...
Scents of Love
A scent can conjure up emotions and even specific memories. In the brain, smell is the closest to memory; in the heart, the closest to love. She meditated. She would not eat the venison I brought her. She worshiped some Hindu holy man whose name I wish I could forget....
Among the Grouse
There is a special magic to be found in hunting this majestic bird with grouse dogs and good friends through a joyous palette of autumn colors. I never intended for grouse hunting to become such a passion. Only now, after more than 40 years of joyously stumbling about...
High Altitude Elk and Low Light Hogs
This week on Sporting Classics with Chris Dorsey... It's a high-altitude pursuit for the noble and majestic Rocky Mountain elk, and then a down-and-dirty hunt for feral hog. Chris Dorsey hunts elk in the western slope of Colorado in the rugged terrain surrounding High...
Dove-Hunting Doodle
If you're looking for a family-loving, energetic, highly trainable pet that can also be helpful in the field, a Doodle may be right up your alley. These days, when we hear of the poodle breeds, we may imagine tall, slim, pampered pups with questionable hairstyles...
Blocks of Gold: The American Decoy
Perhaps the only art form to originate in America, the decoy is, in essence, a historical document of our golden age of waterfowling. Hunting was a very normal activity for young adolescents where I grew up in rural middle Georgia. We started with rabbits and...
Hawaii Cancels Lāna‘i Axis Deer Season 2021
The DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) regretfully announces the cancellation of the 2021 Lāna‘i Axis Deer season. DOFAW has determined that cancellation of the hunt is in the best interest of public safety. DOFAW is planning to implement a combination...
Like Moths to the Flame
Whether you pitch a tent, sleep in a camper or rest in the luxury of a lodge, the evening fire is what draws us together. The ring of fire, the billowing smoke and dancing flames define the place where we gather every evening at hunt camp. Whether you pitch a tent,...
A Guide to Guides
These professional hunters anglers understand there is no substitute for spending time in the field or on the water. During my career as an outdoors writer, I have worked with hundreds of fishing and hunting guides while on story assignments and worked as a guide...
Traits of the Pheasant-Hunting Dog
The relevant and meaningful question isn’t “Which breed is best for pheasants?” It’s “Which breed is right for me?” No upland gamebird engenders so much disagreement, disputation and plain, unvarnished discord as the ring-necked pheasant. Other gamebirds are rarely...
Sasquatch in Arctic Alaska
Long before I came to Alaska, I had been fascinated with the folklore and reports associated with the Abominable Snowman, Yeti, Sasquatch and Bigfoot. As a senior in high school I wrote a term paper on the legendary wild men that had been reported from so many places...
The R3 Initiative for Hunting: Rectruit, Retain, Reactivate
This week on Sporting Classics with Chris Dorsey... The R3 initiative – Recruit, Retain and Reactivate – is a national movement in response to a crisis. Hunting participation in America peaked in 1982, when 17 million hunters purchased 28.3 million licenses. In 2016,...
“Sporting Classics with Chris Dorsey” World’s Most Watched Outdoor TV Series
The series, in its second season, averages nearly one million monthly viewers on the Outdoor Channel alone, while also spreading to other networks. Officials from Dorsey Pictures, the world's largest producer of outdoor adventure programming with series airing on ten...
Aimpoint Sight Makes Aiming Easier
SPONSORED CONTENT Who would have thought I’d be ahead of the times, but I’ve been essentially enjoying the benefits of a red dot sight on hunting rifles since before they were largely promoted in the U.S. for use on hunting rifles. Back in the 1980s, the late Col....
California Upland Game Bird Stamp Art Contest
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is conducting its annual art contest to select the design for the state’s 2020-2021 upland game bird stamp. The California Upland Game Bird Stamp Art Contest is open to all U.S. residents ages 18 and older. Entries...
Reconsidering Recoil: It Doesn’t Have to Hurt
Recoil. It doesn’t have to be painful. But will a rifle with less recoil compromise your ability to terminate what you shoot? You’ll get a kick out of this. Lord knows the Kid did. His name has been changed to minimize his embarrassment. We told him the bleeding would...
10 Classic Hunting and Fishing Cartoons
This collection of classic and all-too-relatable hunting and fishing cartoons is sure to hit the sportsman's funny bone. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. This book is a collection of outdoor stories wrapped in the human condition. They were written with an eye...
Archery Traditions: Crafting Wooden Arrows
Traditional archery has a way of embedding itself irrevocably into one’s psyche, and there are a few folks for whom it goes well beyond shooting or hunting. Grandpa loved to feed his hogs. He would trudge across the narrow tar-and-gravel coal road there in the bottom...
Simple Southern Quail Recipe–Only 5 Ingredients!
Give this mouthwatering and simple southern quail recipe a try using just five tasty ingredients. You'll need: 6 whole quail 1/2 cup butter 1/4 cup olive oil 2 (10 1/2 ounce) cans chicken with rice soup 1/2 cup dry sherry Instructions: In a skillet, brown the quail in...
‘Tween Casts with Flip Pallot
There’s more to the story. The flip side of Flip. He stays busy– too busy to fish one might think, but flingin’ a fly is always on the schedule. When most of us landlubbers think of Flip Pallot, we picture a smiling, bearded gentleman casting a fly for bonefish or...
Dove Hunting and the Making of a Sportsman
Arguably the finest of all the myriad bonuses associated with a dove shoot is taking along a youngster not yet old enough to carry a gun. A late friend of mine, Roy Turner, liked to refer to the opening day of dove season as “Christmas in September.” That description...
Gun Smuggling and the Preservation of Domestic Bliss
A collective group of gun-smuggling savants advise a young, newly wed husband on plausible strategies for sneaking guns past his wife. I was at my local sportsman’s club recently, a friendly neighborhood place where threadbear flannel or last year’s camo pattern are...
The Legend of Trapper Jim
At Elkhorn Outfitters, there’s a hunting guide, With a full face beard, And a horse to ride. He isn’t short, And he isn’t slim. But today he’s known As Trapper Jim. It happened one night In a hunting shack High in the mountains, A range known as Black....
Invasive Jumping Worms? What’s Next?
Beware of jumping worms in soil and gardening mulch – invasive worms are not appropriate for bait. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is cautioning gardeners and anglers to be on the lookout for invasive jumping worms. These destructive worms can quickly...
Words of Wisdom from Old Flintlock: 13 Archibald Rutledge Quotes
Rutledge was wonderfully quotable. Here are a few memorable examples of what anyone who reads his work can expect: “Establishing oneself in a dog’s confidence is the foundation of training.” –Hunter’s Choice “Every puppy begins by conceiving his master to be a god; it...
Patagonia Wild
This week on Sporting Classics with Chris Dorsey... Chris Dorsey takes in the best of land, sea and air in "Patagonia Wild" as he visits the outdoorsman’s paradise of Tipiliuke Lodge in Argentina. Chris and his brother Joe chase free range red stag, wild boar, quail...
Must-Have Cookbooks for the Sportsman
An eclectic compilation of favorite game and fish cookbooks from one avid disciple of wild edibles. In recent years, Steven Rinella has used the catchy moniker “Meat Eater” as a pathway to a popular television show, a means of conveying an important conservation...
27 Nosler Passes the Test in the Texas Desert
As development of the 27 Nosler neared completion, it was time to put the cartridge to its final test to see if it was worthy of the Nosler stamp. SPONSORED CONTENT The crucible chosen for the test: Texas and its whitetail and feral hogs. To properly put the 27 Nosler...
How Safe is Hunting?
If you have been around firearms long enough, the chances are good that you have witnessed, committed or even been the unlucky recipient of unsafe hunting practices or careless firearm handling. The cottontail rabbit zig-zagged toward me across the freshly powdered...
Treat Your Optics Right with Badlands’ Bino XR Case
It’s not too far of a stretch to say binoculars are a hunter’s best friend. SPONSORED CONTENT Other than the rifle and ammunition, no other piece of gear has as big of an impact on a hunt’s success. And when you figure in the amount of time you spend on glass compared...
New York Wildlife Photo Submissions
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation's Bureau of Wildlife seeks photographs from the public to use in various DEC materials. This includes reports, social media, posters and the New York DEC website. New York's wildlife is as busy as ever with their...
Velvet Elk at Poso Creek
A mid-summer fly fishing trip turns into an impromptu elk hunt. There before me stood 80 elk or more, the nearest ones no more than 70 yards away. I love hunting elk! And these elk clearly needed hunting. There were four of them—three cows and one young bull, his...
Home-Cured Honey/Brown Sugar Ham with Blackberry Jam Glaze
I made the very best ham I have ever tasted and after reading this week’s column, I have absolutely no doubt you can easily accomplish the same. Don’t get the wrong Idea when you read some of my columns that pertain to outdoor cooking. I’m certainly no chef but I...
Yucatan’s Ocellated Turkey
This week on Sporting Classics with Chris Dorsey... The eastern wild turkey of North American is one of our nation's great conservation success stories and hunters played a direct role in this recovery. Today, the ocellated turkey – the iridescent cousin of the...
Deer Urine: Cologne of the Gods
South Carolina has recently passed laws restricting the use of deer urine. Not a day too soon, if you ask me–especially after the nightmare experience that I survived last year. Code Red. Code Blue. Miss Majestic. Doe in Heat. It goes by many brand names. But the...
Fishing From a Kayak?
Fishing from one of Hobie's kayaks can be a fun and effective way to locate and stalk tailing reds, even in the shallowest waters. Being a South Carolina native, I've never resided far from saltwater. That's provided beaucoup opportunities to fish for my favorite sea...
Choosing the Right Bait for Your Fish
With fishing bait, you can use things fish want to eat, or things that look, smell like or mimic things fish think they want to eat. You can use live, artificial or prepared baits to attract the fish to your hook using movement, vibration, color and/or scent. New...
Safe Gun Travel with Ease
Keep your shotguns and rifles safe from theft with the easy-to-carry luxury vault that fits in virtually any truck or SUV trunk SPONSORED CONTENT Fatigued from a long day of hunting adventures, you and your entourage of sporting buddies look forward to unwinding with...
Dear Deer
The heart wants what the heart wants, dear deer, and that’s you. Dear Deer, Why do you make me chase you? If you only knew what I had to go through, the trials I must endure, the obstacles I must overcome in order to spend time with you, you would throw your hooves up...
Iowa Teal Hunting Begins September 1
Iowa’s 16-day statewide teal-only hunting season begins September 1 and all indicators are pointing towards hunters having a good year in Iowa. “We likely had good production on our marshes this spring. Currently wetland conditions vary across the state with many...