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 I’d used for years.…
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35 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
Why Deer Disappear From Your Trail Cameras Before Opening Day
Your summer buck vanished from trail cameras right before opening day. The deer probably did…
Field Skills
147 Shots a Week for Four Months. Then the Broadhead Went On and Everything Fell Apart.
I shot my bow 147 times a week for four months. I counted. I had…
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Field Skills
Bowhunting Isn’t Rifle Hunting With Extra Steps. Here’s What Nobody Tells You.
I’ve been shooting rifles since I was twelve. I know how to find deer, how to read sign, how to…
Field Skills
The Deer That Became Local Legends
Some bucks stop being deer. They become neighbors, ghosts, characters with names — and when they disappear, they leave a…
Field Skills
Three Years in the Woods Before Learning What’s Really There
I spent my first three seasons hunting the same way: find a spot, sit down, stare at the woods, go…
Field Skills
Bench Practice Won’t Save You in a Tree Stand. Two Years of Lessons in One Season.
Let me tell you something embarrassing. For two years, I thought I was a decent shot. I’d go to the…
Field Skills
Gutting Your First Deer in the Dark With 3% Battery (Don’t Do This)
Nobody wants to talk about gutting a deer in the dark. The photos you see are always trophy shots —…
Field Skills
Your Bench Groups Are Impressive. Your Field Shooting Probably Isn’t.
Most hunters practice from a bench. Bipod deployed, rear bag under the stock, nice level concrete. Ten minutes between strings…
Field Skills
Your Bench Rest Groups Are Lying to You: How to Practice Like You Actually Hunt
I shot a whitetail at 275 yards two seasons ago. Good hit — double lung. She ran about sixty yards…
Field Skills
Lost in the Backcountry Is a Place You Walk Into by Accident
I got properly lost exactly once. Not “where’s the truck” lost. Not “let me pull up OnX” lost. Lost lost.…