It’s a magical time of year, really. As daylight wanes, the temperature begins to drop, frost appears on the pumpkin, leaves turn color and start toppling to the ground, and experienced bowhunters know the deer rut is beginning. Buck rubs on trees and scrapes on the ground are apparent. Deer movement is picking up and the bowhunter’s excitement is intensifying. The timeless tradition of waking up well before dawn compiling gear and walking to deer stands and blinds in the …

It’s the month for pumpkin-spiced everything in coffee shops. It’s the month for Halloween supplies to fly off the shelves at stores. It’s the month when campfires in rings are prevalent in the campgrounds of state parks and recreation areas. It’s the month for the crop harvest to be underway. And, it’s the month when leaves turn color. Eastern cottonwood tree leaves beginning to turn their pretty yellow color along the Platte River in southern Sarpy County, NE. Photo by …

It’s October. It’s the Halloween season. And, a witch’s brew is not complete without a moist, edible fall mushroom or two, right? Just kidding. But, guess what? We have an array of fall fungi in Nebraska perfect for your dinner plate. The cool weather and rain deluges of autumn bring forth a flush of different wild mushrooms in various parts of Nebraska. However, which ones are fairly common? Which ones are simplest to identify? Which ones are best to eat? …

National Hunting and Fishing Day is this Saturday, Sept. 28. Our Governor Pete Ricketts, an avid sportsman, has proclaimed Sept. 28 as National Hunting and Fishing Day in Nebraska. This is a significant day. No, this is not just another one of those celebratory days, not by a long shot. This day is deeply personal to me and many others as we are devoted hunters, anglers, trappers and landowners. We take our roles as stewards of the land and wildlife …

It never ceases to amaze me that more avid hunters don’t buy a turkey permit in the fall. Hunters say a lot of things about why they don’t hunt North America’s and Nebraska’s largest upland game bird during autumn. They say there are too many other game birds and animals to hunt in the fall and they may not even see turkeys. They say the fall hunt for turkeys is merely an ambush and not as challenging as the spring …

Dollars. Your dollars. That’s what’s urgently needed to keep the Hunters Helping the Hungry (HHH) program going and to greatly assist those in need of a good meal and valuable protein. Funds in HHH are extremely low right now. In fact, the total amount of tax-deductible cash donations received are even 34 percent below last year. Despite the fantastic response and increase in deer donations by hunters, the program continues to struggle with getting enough cash donations to cover the …

Scott Frost has begun his second season as the head football coach at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, but did you know that he really enjoys hunting (and fishing)? Here are two interviews that I did with the Husker gridiron head coach late last winter for my WOWT 6 Sports Outdoor Report at a charity hunt for Teammates about his enjoyment of hunting and his perspectives about Nebraska’s  outdoor scene. It is fun hanging out and hunting with Scott Frost. By …

One of the most amazing experiences in the hunting lifestyle is taking a new hunter to the field repetitively. I have mentored new hunters for some time and encourage any of you who hunt to join our cadre. Mentoring apprentice hunters should start with our own family or friend networks, however, be on the lookout for aspiring hunters in all sorts of unexpected places. It is now vital to reach out to new and different audiences who are eager to …

Everything is in place, isn’t it? Fully vetted, trained mentors/experienced bowhunters with transportation, check. Permission from parents or guardians for youth to participate, check. Young mentees who’ve successfully completed the Nebraska bowhunter education course and met the other requirements, check. The necessary equipment, check. Shooting proficiency on the target range, check. Wait, are we missing anything? Oh yeah, a place to go. Wait. What? A place to go. That is what is needed in the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s …

My wife thinks I am a hoarder. I believe I am a collector of things. I tell my wife, Polly, that a collector finds value in one type of thing but the hoarder finds beauty, thus the reason for keeping everything. I don’t keep everything. Just the cool things of value, whether intrinsically or monetarily, that I find outdoors to be displayed. Look, everybody collects stuff, right? Some folks collect baseball cards and other sports memorabilia while still others collect …