Outdoor Life — The Source for Hunting and Fishing Adventure

Nothing gets my adrenalin pumping harder than drawing back on a heavy-tined giant with my bow. It’s this feeling that is so addictive for bowhunters. Exactly how do you think will you react when the buck of a lifetime steps out of your dreams and into a cleared shooting lane? Will you be able to control your nerves and hold your pin on the sweet spot when the moment of truth arrives?

Well, William Stann who goes by the nickname “Spook” came face to face with that very question last season in Kansas. Spook was scouting an area during the peak of rut with his cameraman trying to hang treestands before a morning hunt. With the rut cranked up, Spook had the foresight to grab his bow before heading out—a move that would change his life as a hunter forever. Shortly after leaving the vehicle, Spook and his cameraman LJ Planner spotted a monster buck cruising along the back of a CRP field. With the wind in their favor both hunters decided that stalking the buck was definitely an option.

Pulling off a successful stalk on a trophy-class buck... [ Read Full Post ]

A friend of mine who works in the gun industry sent me an email about the voting going on for the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. Included among the bios of better-known celebrities on the ballot such as Oscar De La Hoya and David Robinson is that of Lones Wigger.

Unknown to most outside of shooting circles Wigger was a consummate Olympic athlete. A dedicated amateur (remember when Olympic athletes were amateurs?) his competitive career spanned a quarter century and included many milestones—not the least of which were the 29 world records he set as a shooter.

His profile on the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame web site says in part:

Lones W. Wigger, Jr. (70), whose career spanned 25 years, is a three-time Olympian, having competed at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico and the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, where he won a combined two gold and one silver medals. In addition, he qualified for the 1980 Olympic Team.

Wigger also competed on five Pan American Games teams, where he won five silver and 13 gold medals. During his shooting career, Wigger won 111 medals and set 29 world records in international competition, more than... [ Read Full Post ]

If you’re an Outdoor Life subscriber, chances are you read the March 2008 cover story, “Secrets of the Shed Masters,” about the Lemke family from Iowa and how they’ve amassed more than 1,000 whitetail sheds in the past few years.

And, if you’re a regular visitor to the Outdoor Life Web site, it’s likely you also caught my pal Bob Butz’s great piece about how to train your dog to become an antler-finding machine.

So, just in case you haven’t had your fill of shed antler stories, the ol' Outdoor Newshound has a special treat for you.

Meet Jim Phillips: The Antler Man.

The Three Forks, Mont. native’s phenominal shed antler collection comprises some 14,500 sheds displayed from floor to ceiling—and everywhere in between—inside a 30 x 64-foot building he constructed specifically for its display.

And, yes, he personally found every one.

Phillips, 59, has been hunting shed antlers in the Gallatin National Forest and on other Montana public lands for the past 50 years. An employee of the Montana Talcum Company, he spends most of his free time hunting—mule deer, whitetail, or their headgear—depending on the time of year.

[ Read Full Post ]

If you handle your own boat and also like to fiddle at the computer, you’re going to want to check out Mad Mariner’s new offering called The Docking Game.

It’s an Internet-based video game whose challenge is for you navigate your electronic boat into  floating docks, T-heads, fingers piers and such. You use keyboard arrows to navigate your boat, and must avoid hazards (other boats, buoys, shallows). While you’re navigating, little surprises come up like waves, traffic, wind gusts, darkness, marine life.

First two times a tried it, I first crashed, and then ran out of gas—but then I don’t play video games. Things are improving.

You get free low-level playing but if you want a higher level experience, you can opt for a 30-day free trial after which you need a paid subscription.

www.madmariner.com/docking_game    Or give a call at 888-256-5011. [ Read Full Post ]

They breed and lay eggs just like the hens without beards.

In “bearded bird” spring turkey states, they’re legal. Often that lawbook rule is established in the event a hunter sees a bearded turkey, and pulls the trigger. Whether you shoot one is still your choice in the end.

Biology tells us that some girl turkeys do wear beards—under 10% of the population some biologists will generally tell you. Some will specifically suggest it’s as low as 2 to 4 percent. If present, those beards are usually no longer than eight inches, and often thin.

Of course, sex can be determined by characteristics other than the presence of a beard. Gobblers wear black-tipped breast feathers; hens are brown-tipped. Male turkeys have pink and red faces, and when aroused, red, white and blue heads. Female turkeys have blue-gray heads, occasionally with some red splotches. Spurs: males. Gobbles: males. You get the idea . . .

Like the rest of you Strut Zoners, I’ve been watching wild turkeys all winter. For some of you in Florida, Alabama, and elsewhere, the spring season begins in March. For the rest of us, we’re still watching... [ Read Full Post ]

Included in the USA Today story on Gun Rights was a concise and worthwhile summation of the position on the issue of the top candidates in the presidential race. Both Hillary and Obama are backpeddling furiously from their pro-gun control records as senators for their respective states, offering up support for the Second Amendment that is at odds with their history of advocacy for tighter gun control. But even that support sounds rather unconvincing.

Consider that while pushing for a renewal of the assault-weapons ban (AWB) signed into law by her husband, Hillary stated: “I believe in the Second Amendment. People have a right to bear arms. But I also believe we can common-sensically approach this.” In other words, the “right” is so conditional that it can be revoked for something as frivolous as how a gun looks. Some “right.” [ Read Full Post ]

A new report released last week by the Consumer Product Safety Commission indicates that 555 Americans--including more than 100 youth--died from injuries sustained in all-terrain vehicle accidents in 2006 (the most recent year numbers are available).

The 2006 fatality numbers were was down from 666 in 2005.

The new data also revealed that an additional 146,600 people received emergency room treatment for ATV-related injuries in 2006.

The report also noted the top ten states for ATV fatalities between 1982 and 2006. In order they are Pennsylvania, 420; California, 418; West Virginia, 398; Texas, 386; Kentucky, 367; Florida, 349; Tennessee, 322; New York, 303; North Carolina, 297; and Michigan, 296.

John McCoy, my good friend and the fine outdoors scribe for the Charleston (WV) Gazette, put pencil to paper to reveal how the fatality numbers were a particular indictment of ATV riders—and ATV regulations--in The Mountain State.

Based on population, McCoy calculated that West Virginians are 2 1/2 times more likely to die in and ATV accident that residents of any other state.

By state, the chances of dying in an ATV wreck are: West Virginia,... [ Read Full Post ]