How To

LINCOLN – With more than 85 hands-on activities showcasing outdoor education, sports and recreation, there is something for everyone at the Missouri River Outdoor Expo Sept. 17-18 at Ponca State Park. Those who attend the expo will be able to try a variety of outdoor activities, including archery, kayaking, fishing and more. The expo will also include live wildlife exhibits, exhibition shooting, a canine aquatics competition, a lumberjack show and much more. All activities are offered at no cost. A …

Deer season is open!  Since September 1, archers are have been taking to the field.  So some review on tree stand safety is a good thing. According to the groups Treestand Manufacturers Association and Tree Stand Safety Awareness, falls from tree stands account for 36% of all hunting accidents nationally and are the number one cause of serious injury and death during deer hunting season in the US. ALWAYS use a fall arrest system rated for your personal weight.  Ropes …

I am not a big fan of hot dogs, but I kind of have a hankering for corndogs.  Everyone knows the best corndogs are the freshly-dipped, deep-fat-fried ones at the fair.  If you have yourself a fair corndog and a big, freshly-squeezed, cherry lime-aide, well, life don’t get no better than that! Just recently my buddy Ron taught me something about corndogs that I never knew!  Apparently, they grow along the edges of Nebraska waterbodies.  Here is his explanation: Mother Nature …

Each September, I get a subtle first-hand reminder of the influence of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s communications efforts. About 15 or 20 years ago, a how-to story inspired me to construct dove decoys out of plywood, metal hooks and a little paint. I’m not sure who wrote or delivered the narrative, but I’m certain it came from the Commission – NEBRASKAland Magazine or something else. Nobody is going to mistake my work for a Michelangelo or Rembrandt, but …

I believe from the moment we are born we have this desire to be independent, on-our-own, free.  Those of us who recognize the hunter and fisher in our human DNA feel the urge even more.  We start our adventure into independence by rolling, scooting, and crawling, but that is not enough.  We walk as soon as possible and then comes that glorious day when we master some form of mechanical transportation.  For must of us that was a tricycle followed …

Each year on September 1, around sunrise, it happens.  My ego as a hunter and wing-shooter is assaulted by a gray-streak that was a mourning dove. Generally, I stand in open-jaw, amazement with three empty shotgun hulls laying around me as the winged-speedster is off to another location. But every once in a awhile something truly magical happens as I reload and the dove – for reasons still unknown to science –  circles back around, just a little closer, and …

About 56.7 million people — 19 percent of the population — have a disability, according to the the latest U.S. Census done in 2010. It revealed that nearly one in every five people in the United States, has a disability that significantly limits one or more major life activities such as walking, seeing, hearing, breathing, thinking, and so forth. Furthermore, the population of the United States is aging. By the year 2030, 110 million people will be older than 55. …

Most that know me will admit the “kid” has never left me.   My wife would likely agree with that and then some.  Part of my childhood was chasing bushy tails in oak trees on my uncle’s farm.  From the first hunt…I was hooked.  I have been ever since! Early season squirrels (our season starts August 1) can be a lot of fun and a real challenge.  We can finally get back into the field and that in itself is …

I have been hearing some “chatter” recently on the ole inter-webby about Gar.  Gar tend to have the reputation as being an ugly, toothy, vicious, despised predator.  There are a lot of misconceptions about Gar; let me talk about a few. . . . Alligator Gar Most of the current talk about Gar comes from some news stories that have circulated recently about Alligator Gar.  Even though all Gar have a relatively narrow snout full of sharp teeth, NOT ALL …

LINCOLN – The following is a listing of Nebraska Game and Parks Commission events and important dates in September: Aug. 26-Sept. 5 – Nebraska State Fair, Grand Island Sept. 1 – Hunting seasons open for cottontail, jackrabbit, dove, snipe, grouse, rail, raccoon and opossum Sept. 1 – Archery, Season Choice, River Antlerless Private Lane Only, Statewide Whitetail Buck, Gifford Point Wildlife Management Area (WMA), Youth, and Landowner deer hunting seasons open Sept. 1 – Niobrara-Verdigre High School Cross Country Invitational, …