Field Skills
The Broadhead I Never Shot Cost Me a Buck
I spent four months telling myself I was ready, and the whole time I was setting up a miss that I could have seen…
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22 published stories
Field Skills
Practical navigation, weather, tracking, campcraft, shooting, and field safety learned through real decisions outdoors, not armchair perfection.
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Field Skills
Dropped Twice Before the Buck Was Even in Range
The first time a real buck walked under my stand, I dropped my arrow. Not…
Field Skills
Ten Years of Trusting the Wind on Your Face Reads the Wrong Air
I used to think wind was the only thing that mattered, and the wind was…
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Field Skills
A Summer of Practice Collapsed When the First Buck Stepped Out
I put a hundred arrows into a foam target last summer and called it practice. I shot every evening after…
Field Skills
The Rangefinder Was in the Truck, and the Buck Was at Forty-Five
The rangefinder was in my pack. I knew it was in my pack. I’d put it in the little side…
Field Skills
The Phone Dies and the Compass Laughs
The screen lit up with 3% and then went black, and I stood there in the dark trying to wake…
Field Skills
That Uneasy Feeling in the Woods Is Not Weakness
The first time I walked into the woods alone with a bow in my hand, I was sure someone was…
Field Skills
Two Months of Trail Cam Warnings, One Dead Hen
The first time I saw the coyote it was on the trail camera at ten o’clock at night, and I…
Field Skills
Three Hundred Yards Is Not a Reason to Buy a Magnum
I spent most of last March convincing myself I needed a new rifle. Not because there was anything wrong with…
Field Skills
Forty Pounds of Pack for a Three-Hour Sit
The first time I walked into the deer woods by myself, I carried 42 pounds of gear. I know this…
Field Skills
A Bucket, a Rope, and a Fake Exit From the Stand
Last season, opening week, I hunted the same oak flat six mornings in a row. It was the kind of…
Field Skills
You Heard It Hit. Now Find It.
The doe came out of the treeline at about 60 yards, quartering away. I had my .308, a soft-point load…