Education

By now, much of eastern Nebraska is under a thin sheet of ice and while my good friend Daryl Bauer is celebrating, I the duck hunter am not…Ice challenges the waterfowl nut! Just because your area us covered does not mean your season is over. Far from it! You do need to hunt a bit smarter now as much of your action will come only when we see a push from the north, however so slight. But when this happens, …

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 brother-in-law, Dave Flanagan, has been hunting deer since he was just a young lad. His family originated from the east coast. Each year, since he was old enough, he and his father Dan would make the trek east to join the family hunting camp in Connecticut… a tradition that lasted around 20 years. They would meet up with uncles and his grand father. In all those years, Dave recalls the group only harvested a handful of deer but they …

The release of the first Hunger Games movie was followed by an unprecedented surge in archery interest.  What made this so unique is the interest came from young girls, boys, families who all wanted to be like their hero from the movie.  The cool thing is they could!  Archery is readily available for anyone wanting to get involved in the sport.  This was what drew thousands to the pro shops and archery programs over the last two years.  The second Hunger …

There are few things as thrilling as the sound of air rushing through the cupped wings of a mallard flock or the sight of committed Canadas as they extend those big, black paddles.  These are the things that make waterfowlers leave a warm bed at ungodly hours and put in long hours of work prep.  Now’s the time the effort pays off… To help out a bit for those looking to take their pursuit to the next level the Nebraska …

I am writing this from the duck blind so please bare with me! The next few days are going to br awesome for the deer hunter. Deer are moving/rutting hard and will be susceptible to rattling and or calling. The other day, I rattled in the buck below and he came in hard. Not a monster but what a fun morning! Rattling Real antlers work best. I have a set of antlers I have used for over 10 years and …

As I readied myself for the evening deer hunt the strong west winds kept hitting me with the dried-up corn leaves left behind by the combine that had passed through the field 4 days earlier.  Perfect for the Alli Way stand.  I found relief from the wind, and the dust it was kicking up, once I dropped down beside a tall north-south bluff on my walk in.  The day was warm but I made my elevated perch and hadn’t worked …

For me and my spaniels there are two time designations in the fall – BN & PT.  The BN or Before November time period is often characterized by the mostly carefree time one spends outdoors pursuing critters during the early hunting seasons.  These hunts are often rather relaxing affairs with the idea that many are a prelude to the bigger or better hunts yet to come.  Common examples of hunting at this time can include guarding puddles for early-migrating ducks, freezer-filling …

The first few hunts from our blind NE of Lincoln have been great. No major push of birds yet but enjoying good friends and good times with a flock here and there to keep our attention. Seeing Green-Wing Teal, and an occasional Norther Shoveler along with an assortment of divers. Dave and I went out Saturday with a warm heart as the skillet was to be filled with eggs, hashbrowns and sausage. He was even talking nice to me! Imagine …

We just returned from our annual pilgrimage to the Sandhills of western Nebraska and what an incredible four days!  Four days of camping, hunting, eating like kings, more hunting and taking in some of the greatest scenery our state has to offer! The Nebraska Sandhills is a special region of our state characterized by the largest region of stabilized sand dunes in the Country.  These dunes are covered by mixed grass prairie and represent the heart of ecological diversity in the …