Hunting

Before I head out the door for the Thanksgiving holiday, let me share some thoughts with you. . . . The holiday feast we are going to celebrate this week is one that is uniquely American.  I will not bore you with all the old stories we learned in school, but it is our history, from the pilgrims to Presidents Washington, Lincoln and FDR this has been designated as a special day set aside for the celebration of harvest and …

To me the week of thanksgiving means chasing pheasant.  And by this time of the season pheasants have become wily critters that make a living…well…staying alive.  In fact, it doesn’t take very long after opening day shots are fired for the roosters to begin to use some crafty ways of dodging the hunter – both two and four-legged.  This holds even more true in years when fewer young pheasants are on the landscape.  This is when a it’s time to …

My sons Pat, Kevin and myself were joined Saturday by Nebraska Game and Parks Commission wildlife chief Scott Taylor for a duck hunt. In a conversation earlier this year Scott had told me he grew up hunting waterfowl. This would be the first hunt of the season from of our pit. Scott arrived at 7:30 to help set out the decoys and last minute prep before hunkering down below ground. I made it a point to arrive early to get …

Did you save the heart of that deer you harvested this season or did you toss it in the gut pile for the coyotes? Next time, save it, trust me! Venison heart is “muscle meat” and is as good as a piece of tenderloin! Packed with B vitamins and protein, with little fat, and a very mild flavor, venison heart is positively delicious if prepared properly! It’s actually simple to make, is best eaten fresh, not frozen, at least within a …

Whitetails Most white-tailed deer live in heavy cover offered by woodlands, and hence, are most abundant along rivers and in forested areas of eastern Nebraska. The easiest way to harvest a whitetail is to spend an evening waiting for one to arrive at its dining room: a crop field adjacent to heavy cover. Chances are you found one of these feeding areas while you were looking for a place to hunt. All you need to do now is find a …

You don’t have to spend much time around a raccoon hunter to figure out the sport has its own vocabulary. Some of the colloquialisms are self-explanatory, but those who don’t know the difference between a bluetick and a deer tick should read on: Strike – When a hound finds the first raccoon scent trail after being sent into the woods at the start of a hunt. Open – The howl a dog lets out when it strikes a track. On …

Two different deer, two different situations. The following “tale of two deer” tells the absurdities and calamities of my pursuit of this most coveted Nebraska hunting species: On a backroads drive through southeastern Nebraska a couple winters back, I spotted what had to be a 400-class buck standing at the edge of a field. Stopping the truck, I greedily stared at the behemoth before he calmly sauntered into the woods. I went home but couldn’t seem to get the deer …

Purchasing a hunting dog can do nothing but add to the pleasure of the sport – if done correctly. I have seen more than one dog point a covey a quail, wait for the flush, then point the first of many singles before the shooter has vested the first bird. On the other hand, I’ve also been on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, Kansas, chasing a dog that refused to hunt or return to the …

I’ve been in the field since Saturday firearm deer hunting in southeastern Nebraska and wanted to take a break to share some of the images of the hunt with you. It’s all about making lasting memories and creating the subject matter for dreams now, isn’t it? I definitely think so! Be sure to take a camera along on your deer hunting adventure and snap some pics! I hope you enjoy mine! Have fun, dress warmly and be safe out there!