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Perhaps the only art form to originate in America, the decoy is, in essence, a historical document of our golden age of waterfowling.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...
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...
Allen Bolen’s Record-Book Grizzly Hunt
When I prepare for a hunt, I spend time visualizing how it will happen. So, for months leading up to last spring, I pictured a big grizzly calmly feeding at 35 yards and a well-placed arrow striking him from an unidentifiable source. Just how a bear hunt should play...
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...
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...
Wolf Wars Move to the Ballot Box
Colorado Initiative Latest Effort to Manage Wildlife Through Public Opinion In 1990, California voters passed Proposition 114 which banned mountain lion hunting in that state and set into motion scores of similar ballot measures across the country, usurping the...
25 Heartbeats
Along with common sense rules such as “don’t litter” and “don’t remove anything that was already here,” there’s this: “No groups larger than 25." Occasionally, Congress does something right. In 1975, the assemblage designated an area of the San Juan and Rio Grande...
The Cocker World’s Dog Whisperer
Gundog handler and trainer, Jordan Horak, is known as the "dog whisperer" of cocker spaniels, beginning as a young up-and-comer to becoming a national pro. A few years ago— late-October 2015, to be precise—I had the pleasure of hunting woodcock in central Wisconsin...
Oregon Free Pheasant Hunts for Youth Hunters During September
Youth hunters (age 17 and under) can sign up now for ODFW’s free pheasant hunts happening around the state starting in September. ODFW and partners stock pheasants at these special hunts that give youth a head start on regular pheasant seasons, which don’t begin until...
Why Fly Fishermen are Flocking to South America for Golden Dorado
Argentina’s vast Ibera Swamp is an other-worldly setting for one of the planet’s great game fish. Argentina’s seemingly endless Ibera Wetlands span some 7,000-square miles, the second largest marshland in the world, behind only Brazil’s great Pantanal. It is a...
Sign Up to Participate in Gun Deer Hunt for Hunters with Disabilities
Eligible disabled hunters hoping to participate in the 2020 gun deer hunt for hunters with disabilities must contact a hunt sponsor to sign up before September 1. As of the June 1 sponsor application deadline, 76 sponsors have enrolled over 70,000 acres of land across...
Nebraska Dove Hunting Seasons Begins September 1
Dove hunting season begins soon and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has some reminders for hunters, as well as recommendations for areas to hunt. Dove hunting is fun and a great way to introduce someone to hunting or to kick off your own upland game hunting...
Lessons Only the Outdoors Can Teach
There are lessons out there that aren’t taught in any public school classroom, lessons that only a good parent can provide. And then there are lessons that only time spent outdoors can teach us. The Ides of August have come and gone, the fellowship of the orange cloth...