You are a deer hunter and you’re mentoring a new, young hunter in the field. The young deer hunter has just successfully shot their first deer. Congratulations! Knuckle bumps and high fives! Now, the opportunity is there for you to photographically capture the moment with the young hunter and their deer for all your friends and family to see and to upload a pic to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s website for the new Take ‘Em Hunting challenge and …

“I wish more deer hunters would forget about all the stuff they have read or heard over the years and focus their deer hunting on the does in order to be more successful in the field,” says Jeff Rawlinson, longtime deer hunter and outdoor educator at the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. And he’s right! Far too many of us who hunt bucks get wrapped in a rub and scrape lines, grunt calls, rattling antlers, decoys and a multitude of …

Someone once said: “Deer hunting is a lot about nothing.” “Nothing,” really? In my view, that statement is so far from the truth. It is the time of year for archery deer hunters and soon, firearm deer hunters, to be on their stands or in their blinds all day long, up to 12 hours. Doesn’t sound like it’s too difficult to do, does it? But it is. Deer hunting for long periods of time demands complete fortitude, conviction and tenacity. To …

Let’s face it. We are living in an era where people do not fully understand where their food originates. We are living in an era where urbanization is spreading like wildfire. We are living in an era where there is a decline in rural populations. Yes, we are living in an era where for the first time in history most of the world’s population lives in a city. Enter agriculture (ag). Enter youth. Enter my nearly 4-year old grandson – …

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 …