Outdoor Life — The Source for Hunting and Fishing Adventure

I am not a patient hunter. I'm successful largely because I cover lots of ground and prepare to hike longer and farther and higher than the other guy. Make me mobile and '‚m going to get game.

So it's a special kind of torture for me to spend all day in a treestand, unable to get on the ground and make my own luck. We were told in our orientation here in Illinois that "walk-abouters" weren't tolerated here. And I understand it. We have so many folks on stand that if someone started meandering around the woods would screw everyone up.

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I have heard whitetail bucks grunting only once before, and I thought it was pigs coming through the brush. Turned out to be a big Texas bruiser that blew past me so fast I couldn't swing my rifle.

Well, these Illinois bucks grunt like a whole pen full of hungry hogs. I heard three different grunts today during my 12 straight hours on stand. I grunted back to two of them, had them coming in, then they broke and disappeared in heavy brush. But the sound of that guttural, throaty roar will stay with me a long time. [ Read Full Post ]

It's starting, folks. The whitetail rut, that is.

I spent 12-1/2 hours on stand in some of the best big-buck country in America- Illinois' Brown County- and saw little bucks bird-dogging does, larger bucks intimidated by something I couldn't see up the ridge, and does starting to get good and squirrelly. [ Read Full Post ]

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It was another phenomenal day of shooting Browning Cynergy and Citori as well as Winchester 101 model over and unders loaded with Winchester Super-X Super Pheasant loads in 2-3/4 inch 4s and 6s here at R&R Pheasant Hunting in South Dakota. If you need proof, just look at the death tally: the second day in a row of 100 birds in the basket. Our three-day tally was in the neighborhood of 260 birds for 11 or 12 shooters per day.

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I’m heading off to Canada next week for a Saskatchewan whitetail hunt and pretty quickly settled on bringing a lever gun with me. Took my Marlin 336C in .35 Remington out yesterday to get my new scope dialed in (and an interesting little scope it is too…more on that later) and after I got it on paper I cranked off this 5-shot group. [ Read Full Post ]

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New York turkey camp was pretty much history. Handshakes, photos, and good wishes all around; many of the guys were heading off to hunt Ohio turkeys; problem is, we still had a little gas left in our tanks, Daryl and I did. And a couple New York tags to spare. A plan was hatched. [ Read Full Post ]

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With the quality deer management philosophy so solidly ingrained in today’s hunter’s mind, the old “if it’s brown, it’s down” approach for more and more hunters is becoming a thing of the past. I make no judgment on whichever approach you choose to pursue or to what degree you make those decisions on your own land or lease. As for myself, I suppose I have shot enough deer and see enough in a season that I am more than content to let the “little ones walk” with the rightful hope that they will grow into bigger deer—the tagging of which is always a thrill to any hunter. A big set of antlers is truly one of nature’s most awe-inspiring works of art.

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Nationally syndicated radio host, "McLaughlin Group" panelist and Fox News contributor Monica Crowley rips the Obama regime in refreshingly accurate, gloves-off terms in her Oct. 21 column in the Washington Times.

"During the eight years of the George W. Bush presidency, the left constantly told us that 'issent is the highest form of patriotism.' During the Obama presidency, dissent is routinely considered the lowest form of treachery," she writes. [ Read Full Post ]

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CANDOR, NY—New York’s first modern wild turkey hunting season commenced back in the fall of 1959. Spring hunts didn’t begin until 1968. Pete Clare of Turkey Trot Acres wanted to honor that inaugural hunt 50 years later.

No blinds, decoys or as Clare says, “supersonic-hearing enhancers,” would be permitted. Vintage shotguns were highly approved of. While Realtree and Mossy Oak camouflage could be found on vests, boots, seat cushions and even guns, nostalgic retro garb was strongly encouraged. [ Read Full Post ]

David Codrea notes in his Oct. 24 examiner.com blog that both candidates for New York's 23rd Congressional District -- including one endorsed by the NRA -- have declined top answer his Gun Rights Political Questionnaire, which he filed with their campaigns "to see if it could be useful in further defining the level of understanding and commitment the candidates have for the right to keep and bear arms. I did, and let the campaigns know I would make their responses available to readers here."

But, no response. [ Read Full Post ]

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These photos have just come in—two giant bucks reportedly from Nebraska. Can't hardly believe the size of the buck's rack in the back of that pickup truck! It looks more like a moose. Details as they come in.

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