By far, the most popular bowhunting tactic for pronghorns involves water holes and blinds, and many bowhunters hire outfitters to help them find a hot water hole. But you can hunt water-hole antelope on your own—and public BLM, national forest, and state land in Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona provide the places to do it. Just ask Bob Bergquist of Rawlins, Wyoming. He’s been at it for 35 years, with 26 Pope and Young antelope and 9 Boone and Crockett bucks to his credit.

1. Scout
“Scouting accounts for 90 percent of my success,” says Bergquist. “My hunting starts in July. I’ll target an area with good bucks, find the animals or the specific buck I want to hunt, then watch where they water.”

2. Set Up
Bergquist sets up a pop-up blind. “You really don’t even have to brush it in,” he says. “If you can, give the antelope time to get used to the blind. Wait at least two days to hunt. You could hunt the first day, but the pronghorns will be real antsy. ” Is wind direction important? “I’ve been using portable blinds on water holes for 10 years,” says Bergquist, “and I have yet to be winded. Scent that escapes the blind is not strong enough to turn antelope away.”

My brother once worked for a master plumber—and, yes, his official job title was a plumber’s helper—and often he would come home from work with a bit of wisdom from Lenny, his boss.

One of Lenny's favorite sayings was that there are two ends to a pipe, and he would remind my brother of this frequently and at high volume. He knew that most people, my brother included, have a difficult time staying focused on more than one task at a time as they move through life, and especially with that half of the pipe that is behind us out of view.

One of the most important pipelines for sportsmen is the one that our waterfowl migrate through each winter and spring. The end of the pipe near where I live in Montana is the famous duck factory of the Plains that extends through the pothole region of the Dakotas up into Canada.

These fertile grounds are critical nesting habitat for ducks, geese, swans and countless other birds. The National Wildlife Federation says that the prairie pothole region accounts for 50 to 80 percent of the ducks in North America — so the importance of that habitat cannot be overstated. Not surprisingly, there has been a concerted push by conservation groups for years to keep the duck factory healthy.

But there are two ends to a pipe, and at the other end of this pipe is the mouth of the Mississippi River. The Mississippi Delta in Louisiana is the winter destination for the upwards of 13 million waterfowl — 28 percent of the entire waterfowl population in Alaska, Canada and the Lower 48.

To construct a tool  with your hands that will be used for years is more satisfying than anything else. This is the motivation that drives Dan Frazee as he crafts knives in the garage of his Tumwater, Washington, home.

As a knife maker, Frazee is currently somewhere between beginner and breakthrough. The 36-year-old physical therapist began making knives in 2000, but has since taken his craft beyond the hobby phase.

“I started out doing a few kit knives, and I was hooked,” he says. But those with steel in their hearts don’t stop there. “It kind of snowballed,” he admits.