Outdoor Life — The Source for Hunting and Fishing Adventure

Caught your latest blog entry and I have a story for you. John Kemp is a friend of mine from Edgefield SC and this is a cool tale about him and a gun he owns. Thanks, CJ Davis

As a child, John discovered his great-grandfather Samuel Marsh’s rifle in the attic of his family’s home place. The rifle, originally a .31-caliber percussion action, was built in 1850 near Lexington, SC by a gunsmith named Elijah Hall.

Although it would be politically incorrect today, John remembers playing cowboys and Indians with the old and obviously unloaded gun as a boy. This resulted in a damaged rifle that would wait many years for attention.

Realizing later on in life that he had something of great personal value, John set out to fix what he had broken. He sent the rifle’s barrel to West Virginia to have it re-bored and re-rifled. Another stop in a Pennsylvania shop got the action in order. Now a .45-caliber, the rifle was ready for its next season.

No doubt Samuel hunted with the gun in the 1800s; and John’s uncles... [ Read Full Post ]

You’ve likely seen airport baggage handlers and ground crews wearing safety vests and hearing protection while engaged in their work, but at Pittsburgh International, personnel who spend time on the tarmac might want to consider adding blaze orange jackets and bright caps to their attire.

That’s because Pennsylvania wildlife authorities say that an increase in illegal hunting on the 9,000-acre fenced facility has the potential to pose a significant danger to planes and personnel at PIA.

A spokesman for the Pennsylvania Game Commission told the Allegheny Times this week that trespassers who brazenly enter the airport compound in pursuit of deer are a growing problem for safety officers there.

Why the airport, when there’s plenty of wild hunting land available in the Keystone State?

Easy answer: Craig Swope, district supervisor for the USDA Wildlife Services Division, said there are hundreds, if not thousands of whitetail roaming the sprawling facility.

“There are certainly some very nice bucks in there—bucks of a lifetime—and many have never been hunted before,” Swope said “It’s not uncommon to see 40 or 50 together in a two-acre field. That’s not normal, and for some, hunting there... [ Read Full Post ]

An unprecedented number of grizzly bear encounters and attacks occurring in Montana during this year’s hunting seasons has sparked renewed controversy over whether hunters are justified in shooting and killing animals in potentially life-threatening situations.

In recent months, Newshounders have read about the Montana elk hunter who shot and killed a charging grizzly sow at eight yards with a single, well-placed shot from his .30-06 rifle.

In separate additional incidents this fall, grizzlies attacked a bowhunter and a pheasant hunter in Montana. There were also numerous reports of hunters who encountered grizzly bears while attempting to track and retrieve their kills.

An incident taking place last week in which yet another Montana hunter shot an attacking grizzly has prompted a vociferous response from some grizzly protectionists as well as from some federal and state game agency personnel.

That’s because the hunter, a member of the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission, is not what one would call a proponent of bear sprays and chemical deterrents. In fact, FWP Commissioner Vic Workman doesn’t mince words when asked what he thinks about the effectiveness of pepper spray versus bullets... [ Read Full Post ]

Hey Mike: Thought you might want to

see this deer that I killed with a black-powder rifle on Wednesday, November 28. 160-yard shot. He gross-scored 213-3/8 NT; 3 main beams on his left side totaled over 67" alone. And look, he even has a few little drop tines! Hope you enjoy the pics; the second one shows off his points pretty well. Thanks, Greg

Awesome buck Greg and great shot. But you’re killing me with those little drop tines man, LOL…way to go...BTW, this is the second 3-beamed monster I've posted in the last week, a trend?...hmm, anybody else ever shot a 3-beamer?..I've shot one, up in Canada a few years back on a Realtree TV show, pretty gnarly and freaky, just the way we like them. [ Read Full Post ]

I am absolutely swamped with big-buck photos and stories ya’ll. Awesome! People are shooting monsters across this great land with gun and bow, like this 195-inch typical titan shot in Iowa (where else?) earlier this week—go check it out at prairieimages.com. Is that one great whitetail or what?

Thanks for your amazing support and the submissions. I’ll post as many as I can, though it will take me a while. Keep the pictures and blogs coming. Hell, can’t ever get too much big-buck stuff :)

I also have a huge backlog of hunting questions that I am chipping away at. I’ll try to answer every one eventually, though it will take me weeks. Just gave Kenny some advice today:

Hello Mike: The other night I was walking out of a field and saw a nice buck. I shot and missed with my rifle. The deer ran off and showed no signs of being hit (we found no blood). This is twice I've seen this buck in the same field. Have I blown this spot? Will this buck stay away for a while?... [ Read Full Post ]

Now is the time for the Great American Deer Camp. At a time when so many traditions seem headed to the dogs, this one is still going strong. Why? I think it’s because deer camp is one of the last refuges for us. We don’t have to shave--or bathe--and we can revel in the smell of wet wool, wood smoke, and cheap cigars. And for a few days, out of reach of the workplace and our domestic duties, we are free.

For me, the best part of camp is the stories, and one of the best I ever heard was at a camp deep in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York.

A longtime member of the camp said, “There was this break in the trees that overlooked a cedar swamp, just off the road that led to our morning stand. And every time we passed it Dad would always stop the truck and say, ‘You know, this is a great spot to see a big deer.’ It became a running joke between us because in all those years, we never saw a deer.

“Well, the year Dad died, I almost didn’t come to camp. It was strange being here without him. Coming... [ Read Full Post ]

An ailing British angling champion and sportswriter who doesn’t have long to live wants his remains mixed with fish attractant so his angling buddies can pay their last respects by hooking carp with their old chum.

Sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun.

Pete Hodge says his last will and testament contains strict instructions about what is to be done with his body following his death. He wants his remains (cremated remains, we assume) to be added with groundbait, a popular chum used for coarse-fishing, and then scattered freely in his favorite fishing waters so his friends can have a fine day of carp angling—on Pete.

The 61-year-old angler, who is suffering from Motor Neurone Disease, has won hundreds of angling competitions in the greater London area and has held the title of National Champion. He continues to write a fishing column for Bridgwater Mercury, despite being unable to enunciate words because of the effects of the debilitating disease.

In his column dated November 2, Hodge writes that friends and colleagues may write him at a hospice located in Puriton, UK.

“As for my own health, I can’t speak... [ Read Full Post ]