Dog Eyes: Windows to the Soul

Dog Eyes: Windows to the Soul

Gaze into the eyes of a dog. When they are deep and clear, when they pulse for the hunt like bellowed coals and the reflections in them flash like lightning with the restless lights of life on fire. And where do you find tranquility? A restoration of spirit, a calming...
When the Turkeys Busted Loose

When the Turkeys Busted Loose

Me and Poach and the Window Wizard, walking this scrubby sheep pasture west of town. Sheep got buck teeth and clip the grass right down to the dirt. Canada thistle and prickly ash take over, tight clumps around the boulders the glaciers brought when they came and...
Ben Lilly The Last Mountain Man

Ben Lilly The Last Mountain Man

After the honorable David Crockett of Tennessee, Ben Lilly was said to be the greatest bear hunter in American history. He reputedly killed more bears with a knife in hand-to-hand combat than Ol’ Davy ever attempted to “grin” down. In truth, Ben Lilly no doubt killed...
Ducks Unlimited To Launch $3 Billion Campaign

Ducks Unlimited To Launch $3 Billion Campaign

On the heels of the great Dust Bowl of the infamous “Dirty Thirties,” duck hunters from across North America came together in a remarkable effort to save their beloved waterfowl. The extended drought across the Great Plains and elsewhere highlighted the importance of...
Ernest Hemingway: The Final Years (1950-1961)

Ernest Hemingway: The Final Years (1950-1961)

Despite the promise of great upland and waterfowl hunting, dear friends and a place where Ernest could escape fame and work without interruption, Mary and Papa Hemingway did not return to Idaho until the fall of 1958. During the intervening decade, Ernest spent...
Give The Gift Of Outdoor Adventure For Father’s Day

Give The Gift Of Outdoor Adventure For Father’s Day

For many hunters and anglers, the first memories in the field come from moments shared with their fathers – the pre-dawn wake-up nudge, breakfast sandwiches in the car, instructions whispered to nervous ears, and photographs that freeze time and capture memories...
Miracle Mule Deer

Miracle Mule Deer

One father-son mule deer hunt through the Arizona desert leads to an unbelievable discovery and a miraculous shot by a young hunter. It was hard to believe a whole year had passed since last deer season and, as this one approached, I considered it with great...
Samuel “Baker of the Nile”

Samuel “Baker of the Nile”

In autumn 1858, on a beautiful day in the Scottish Highlands, a remarkable sporting feat that would be recounted innumerable times until passing into legend, occurred.  During dinner the previous evening at the Duke of Atholl’s estate, Sam Baker, recently returned to...
Kermit Roosevelt: The River of Doubt

Kermit Roosevelt: The River of Doubt

On the day after Christmas in 1913, Theodore Roosevelt and Kermit were planning another day of hunting on the Taquary River in Brazil. Both father and son were hunting jaguars before embarking on their big adventure down the River of Doubt. The jaguar is considered...