Hunting

There is always innovation going on in the outdoor industry and no part is immune from the creative juices that flow from creative minds.  Take for example these relatively recent addition to the world of shotgun shells. Spectra Shot. Things just got more colorful in the duck blind.  Not only can you select your preferred gauge, length, shot size and charge but now your color of shot. Blue, yellow, green orange or even glow in the dark pellets are available.  …

I know what you’re thinking. No, this is not going to be a blog about the memorable snow storms I’ve experienced growing up in the Cornhusker State. Nope. This is a going to be blog post about the memorable times I had last year hunting snow and Ross’s geese during Nebraska’s Light Conservation Order hunting period here in Nebraska. I can favorably recall each and every experience! I saw huge flocks of light geese. I watched superb dog work. I was fortunate to harvest …

Tomorrow (1/31) marks the final day of the upland bird season in Nebraska for this season.  As mentioned in years past (Last Day 2014; End of Season 2013) I do my best to hunt it.  The reasons are many but it simply boils down to the fact that I want to be there. The day will start too early.  The walking may be too wet or slippery thanks to a front moving through tonight. But it will all end too …

A quick update on our newest hobby – trapping raccoon (A New Addiction Returns).  We hit the second weekend of this new endeavor with lots of enthusiasm and hope.  We had learned a good deal from our first go with it and looked to put this gained knowledge to work.  Armed with twice as many traps (six) we hit the dry creek bottom we had previously. The results were that we learned even more with this second session.  First of …

What is it about eating food in the great outdoors that just makes it taste so good and makes it so memorable, especially in a hunting blind? Is there something about merely being outside in an outdoor setting and eating that’s wired in our DNA? Is it purely psychological because of the semi-enclosed atmosphere and close confines of the blind with good friends? I don’t know what it is exactly. But, generally, things really do taste better when we eat them outside during an outdoor activity, don’t you think? Such …

In my college days I tagged along with a couple of good friends, Scot & Deven, as they worked their trap lines and worked nuisance animal control jobs.  Not only was this a chance to be outdoors with my buddies, it gave me an appreciation for the time and effort they put into the process.  They truly loved the challenge of out-thinking the critters they were after.  It definitely was not the money that kept them interested.  At the time …

Planning to be in Maxwell this weekend for the Maxwell Wild Game Banquet and Expo. If you are in the area, stop by, say “Hi”, tell me a fish story, expect to learn something, stay for supper!

Clear Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA) offers a great public area to hunt – located near Lewellen the WMA is a short travel distance for those in central and southwest Nebraska and a go-to destination for others. The area is owned by Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District and encompasses more than 6,200 acres of land and water depending on lake elevation. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) leases this area for wildlife management and public use access. …

We didn’t get a lot of geese, but if there was a limit on laughter we’d be way over the max. — Mark Davis, Outdoor Writer and Photojournalist for the Omaha World-Herald, reflecting on a recent Canada goose hunt.  The camaraderie part of hunting is big. Your companions can make or break a hunt. The choices you make in whom you share a blind with will ultimately determine your level of satisfaction. Trust me, it only takes one jerk to ruin a hunting trip. I’ve …

In recent weeks I have spent some time away from the computer, some time in the field and on the water doing a variety of things.  There is too much to tell in one blog post, so let me break it up and begin with a quick report from the field. . . . It will disappoint some of my fur-harvesting friends, but I have to honestly confess to you that right now I am a casual fur harvester.  My trapping …