Hunting
Aim at the Deer, Miss the Deer
My Uncle Ray used to tell me that a man’s first buck is a coin flip between the best day he ever had and…
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Field guide
39 published stories
Hunting
Honest hunting stories and practical lessons on preparation, ethics, habitat, public land, shooting, and the mistakes that shape better hunters.
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Hunting
A Season of Pheasants Without a Dog
I have hunted pheasants for six years and for five of them I had a…
Hunting
The Orange Sign That Stole My Season Was a Lie
The first time I saw the sign, I believed it. That was my whole problem,…
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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…
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Sixteen Hours of Pavement for a Hog That Never Showed
My buddy Dale had been telling me for two years to come down to Texas and shoot some pigs. “They’re…
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The Buck That Walked Under a Sleeping Hunter
I didn’t plan to fall asleep. Nobody ever does. But there I was, 16 feet up a white oak in…
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Field Dressing Your First Deer Alone in the Dark. It Goes Exactly How You Think.
I killed my first deer on public land in western Nebraska, 45 minutes before sunset, with nobody within three miles…
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From Mammoths to Managed Herds: A Short History of Hunting in America
When the first humans walked into North America roughly 15,000 years ago, they walked into a continent absolutely stacked with…
Hunting
Still Hunting Is a Lost Art. A Guy Named Jake and Four Blown Chances Taught Me Why.
I was 26 the first time I tried still hunting. Not the kind where you walk to a stand and…
Hunting
240 Miles to the Hunt, Zero Rounds in the Gun
I drove two hundred and forty miles with an empty gun. Let me rephrase that. I drove two hundred and…
Hunting
Your Hunting App Will Die When You Need It Most. Trust Your Eyes.
I don’t know why I thought it would be different this time. I’d hunted the same public land spot for…
Hunting
Five Years in the Woods With a Gun Before It Became Hunting
For the first five years I hunted deer, I didn’t really hunt. I walked into the woods with a rifle,…