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...
Living on the Flip Side
Sporting Classics writer Larry Chesney gets the scoop on legendary fisherman Flip Pallot in this Q&A interview LC: Are you planning to bring back Walker’s Cay Chronicles? FLIP: Well, I don’t know about that. I’m watching with great interest to see what’s happening...
Goose Hunt for the Girls
Sisterhood hunt in western Nebraska raises funds for a local breast health center. Sitting in a pit blind has its drawbacks. The daily scenes of the outdoor world are the greatest thrill of hunting. It’s like a real-life nature film playing out in IMAX 3D right in...
Bad News Buck
Sometimes bad news can bring good luck. On my second afternoon at Timberghost, morning rain clouds had drifted away and a brilliant autumn sun had turned the hardwoods into a particolored palette of red, yellow, maroon and gold. Head guide Mike Willems had just turned...
A Dog’s Tale
Of all the great moments I’ve laughed about and cried over, one keeps coming back. I’m glad to return to it as a reminder of his endless delight at life. I lost an old friend recently. Lando was as big-hearted as they come, a goer right to the end—a true companion in...
Looking Back Toward the Future
The indigenous hunting heritage of the Americas should never be forgotten. Perhaps it’s time we learn anew the lessons we should have learned generations ago—from those who learned them first. “Indigenous Peoples. First Nations. Native Americans. Indians.” There are...
Called Back Again by the Siren Song of Handgun Hunting
I sincerely encourage everyone with even the slightest interest to consider hunting with a handgun– the excitement of the stalk is magnified by a factor of ten. Life, or at least making a living, has a way of pushing us down sidetracks. After a time, we often find...
South Carolina’s Velvet Bucks: Hunt Them Now!
If you spend a good portion of your summer counting the days until fall deer hunting, here’s some good news. In the South Carolina Lowcountry, rifle season has already started! South Carolina rifle season started August 15. Yes, it’s a tad on the warm side, but not...
North Dakota Fall Turkey Hunting Applications Due September 2
North Dakota’s fall turkey season is set with 3,785 licenses available to hunters, 125 more than last year. Unit 47 (Eddy, Foster, Kidder, Sheridan, Stutsman and Wells counties), which has been closed to fall turkey hunting because of low numbers, is open due to an...
50 Years Later: Shooting Springfield’s M1A Rifle
With rising anticipation, I have just received the long box from Springfield Arms. A new M1A Standard Issue rifle. I am as excited as a kid at Christmas. As I ride back to the office to open this prize, the memories of 52 years passed are coming to the surface. The...
Solving an Environmental Crisis One Bite at a Time
What’s one man’s wild hog overpopulation problem is swine dining for another It’s so dark that I can’t see the end of the rifle I’m holding. Ahead is the enemy, a herd of perhaps 20 wild hogs that we can hear rooting, grunting and snorting like a rugby scrum. I peer...
Safe, Welcoming, Normal: The Cheyenne Ridge Signature Lodge
Get back to normal with a visit to the Cheyenne Ridge Signature Lodge, South Dakota’s wingshooting haven. SPONSORED CONTENT So far, the year 2020 has all adjusting to what many are calling the “new normal.” We’ve adapted, but often at the expense of the traditions,...
Beretta’s New Defense Training Gear
The new Beretta Defense Training Gear provides the maximum technical performance to the everyday tactical shooter and defense enthusiasts. SPONSORED CONTENT Uniting our proprietary BCMS Layering System with Polartec fabrics designed to improve thermal regulation,...
Helicopter Crash Takes Lives of Three Texas Wildlife Division Staff
A helicopter crash at the Black Gap Wildlife Management Area (WMA) took the lives of three Texas Parks and Wildlife Division staff. The team working for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) was conducting aerial surveys for desert bighorn sheep on Saturday. The...
Recipe for Chukar Piccata
Resident chef at Highland Hills Ranch, Keith Potter, shares his secrets to creating the ultimate chukar piccata. Ingredients 2 packages Chukar (total of 6 birds, or 12 breast halves) *quail or huns may also be substituted. 1 1/2 cups flour Salt and pepper for...
Maine Tips for 2020 Deer Hunting Season
The Maine deer hunting seasons are fast approaching. Take advantage of record high permit numbers and apply for your any deer permit today. Deer numbers in Maine are high in 2020, particularly in southern and central Maine where deer are as numerous now as they’ve...
Hunting in the High and Dry
The rugged desert mountains of Pakistan are home to two revered big game animals. Asia, the largest continent on earth, has fascinated Westerners since the dawn of recorded history and attracted bold adventurers and shikar hunters since Marco Polo reported of his...
Swarovski’s 1,000-yard Challenge
It's not about training snipers or preparing to shoot game animals at such distances, it is about the pure challenge and joy of marksmanship. America loves its riflemen. Whether the subject is frontiersman Davy Crockett, buffalo hunter Billy Dixon or the fictional...