Mallard Tornado
Mind-boggling numbers of mallards, mallards like blackbirds, tornadoes of mallards, more mallards than sky. Way down in October, in The Moon of Falling Leaves, me and Joe Merganser on the back loading dock of the farmer’s co-op elevator. Joe Merganser was full-blood...
Hunt Season Closure Social Media Posts Are Hoax
Despite false rumors floating around on social media, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish reassures New Mexico hunters the results of the 2020-2021 big-game draw will be released by April 29, 2020, if not earlier. Over the past week, there have been prank posts...
New Shed Antler Boundaries Now Law
New regulations on shed antler and horn collection in Wyoming are now in effect. The updated regulation expands the seasonal closure area to include expanded critical wintering habitat and enact a new opening time of 12 noon on public lands. The annual closure is to...
Nest Predator Bounty Program Begins April 1
South Dakota's 2020 Nest Predator Bounty Program will begin on April 1. However, due to concerns of COVID-19, the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) will not be accepting tails for the program until a later date. Participants are asked to freeze all tails until...
Giants Of The Earth
A close encounter with a huge grizzly or brown bear can be an unforgettable experience—if you survive to remember it. Come the end of September, there are few places I’d rather be than in Last Chance, Idaho, so named because enlightened lodge owners incorporated a...
The Kanda Man-Eater
One can suffer a bad case of mixed emotions when trying to call in a man-killing tiger. However little faith we have in the superstitions we share with others—13 at a table, the passing of wine at dinner, walking under a ladder, and so on—our own private...
Neil “Gobbler” Cost (1923-2002): King Of Turkey Callmakers
With the death of Neil Cost on May 29, 2002, at the age of 78, the turkey hunting world lost the most renowned of all callmakers. I was also fortunate enough to personally know this extraordinarily skilled craftsman whose callmaking earned him national acclaim and to...
Bighorn Sheep Season Will Have Increased Opportunities
The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Commission voted to allow up to a total of eight bighorn sheep licenses for the 2020 season. Of the eight licenses, one will be an auction license and the revenue specifically used for bighorn sheep management. The...
2020 Lanai Mouflon Sheep Hunting Season
The State of Hawaii, Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, announced that applications for the 2020 Lanai mouflon sheep hunting season, together with instruction sheets, will be available at all Division of Forestry and Wildlife...
Great Dogs
The most difficult part of nurturing a great dog is keeping yourself straight. I think of the dogs I have loved. Bird dogs. Yours and mine. I think of the ways I have loved them. This time, aside loyalty and devotion—almost a given within kind and understanding...