Small Ducks and Big Memories
“So, what are you guys thinking?” Will asks Austin and Luke, our guides, from the other side of the pit blind. The guides, constantly scanning the horizon, give a hopeful mumble and continue looking for the big groups of teal that should be there. We are in central...
It Was the Dog’s Fault
December 17th, 2018 Mrs. William Crawford Grant 102 Gold Street, Cloud City, Heaven Dear Grandmother, I apologize. Yes, I know you said never hunt or fish on Sundays. Yes, ma’am you raised me better than that. But I was thinking that you might make an exception just...
Field Dispatch – The Hunting Commute of 1/2/19
As six wood ducks banked and dropped low over the head of Lukas Allen this morning, I could sense the impatience with his watch. Only a few more minutes listening to that whiny whistling and the rapid but somehow synchronized beating of wings before things would be...
Why We Miss Birds in Upland Hunting
The pointer was facing me, and I could see that he was locked up tighter than a tick. His head was high, his tail set was ramrod straight, and there was no question there was a covey of quail under his nose. The birds were between him and me, and since it was my turn...
Excerpt from “Amid Whirring Wings”
“Bob White” Shrill and clear, from thicket near, A song within the woodland ringing, A treble note from silver throat The siren of the fields is singing— “Bob White! Bob White!” And from the height, an answer sweet Floats gently o’er the rippling wheat— “Bob White!...
Sporting Classics 10 Years Ago – A Woman’s Place
From the November/December 2008 Woman's Place column of Sporting Classics Magazine. Augusts full moon – the “dog days” moon relating to the rising of the Dog star Sirius - has a chorus of coyotes baying at the fringes of mv suburban neighborhood. My aging Shetland...
A “Typical” Duck Hunt
Many of my non-duck hunting friends often inquire about what is so special about crawling out of bed way before the sun even thinks of spreading its golden rays, swigging down a couple of quick cups of coffee, then loading the duck boat with decoys, shotguns and all...
A Walk on the Wild Side
By two weeks into the season, I’m convinced that every pheasant in South Dakota has handily passed a Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) program worthy of any of our elite special operations units. These birds are sneaky smart by nature and, with their...
Kent Bismuth Waterfowl loads bring your classic shotguns back to the duck blind…with a wallop!
It is always a good sign when ducks are buzzing the decoys before the sun shows up. For my birthday this year, I could not think of a better place to be than hunkered down underneath flooded timber waiting on the birds to arrive. It has been a wet year in Central...
Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge Honors Veterans
RIDGEFIELD, Washington — From an ADA-accessible blind at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, Sal Trujillo watched as the first rays of sun peeked above the surrounding hills. Flocks of mallards, pintails and tundra swans soon filled the sky. Trujillo and 10 other...