Outdoor Life — The Source for Hunting and Fishing Adventure

Canine mortality has crossed my mind more often then I would care to acknowledge—I have a 13-year-old English bulldog, and after Kona's cancer scare. Then I saw a post on Facebook about dogs going to heaven and greeting us when we get there. The caption asked: "Do you believe our dogs go to heaven?"

I'm conflicted when I think about this topic; emotion and logic run headlong into each other and it combines with a good bit philosophy, too. [ Read Full Post ]

Before Dave "Cozz" Cozzolino began hunting turkeys at age 16, no one ever suspected he had attention deficit disorder. He had no more trouble staying seated at his desk than other students and was no less attentive than the other boys. No, it was the sound of gobbling that stirred Cozzolino too deeply to stay put. Instead of calling and waiting like most turkey hunters, Cozzolino routinely makes hen talk as he moves in on gobbling birds. In fact, he argues that because of his aggressive style, he regularly dupes savvy gobblers that have evaded more patient hunters.

Here are some of Cozzolino's favorite aggressive tactics. Try them where you have room to maneuver. [ Read Full Post ]

Commercial fishermen in Western Australia accidentally netted this 13-foot great white shark just 100 meters off a popular beach earlier this week. The big shark died in the net because it was unable to move water over its gills.

Cheyne fisher Dumpy Wheatcroft (yeah, apparently his first name is Dumpy) told thewest.com that tourists flocked to watch the shark being loaded on to a forklift. [ Read Full Post ]

As we’ve blogged about on numerous occasions, the Gulf of Mexico's red snapper management has long been a contentious (the understatement of the decade) issue for recreational anglers lamenting severe restrictions based on faulty data. A prized food fish of great sporting value, red snapper is one of the main offshore species that drives fishing-related expenditures, which significantly contribute to coastal economies throughout the Gulf.

Short seasons in federal waters – this year's set at 12 days for Texas, nine for Louisiana, 28 for Mississippi and Alabama, and 21 for Florida – not only limit recreational enjoyment of the resource, but also the economic impact on bait/tackle shops, charter services, marinas and the hospitality industry. War cries and battle whoops have been heard from all sides. Now, it’s the governors’ turn. [ Read Full Post ]

Oregon authorities, along with search-and-rescue crews, have been looking for an Oklahoma teenager who is believed to be in trouble in a remote area of southeastern Oregon.

Dustin Self, 19, decided that he wanted to live off the land after watching the movie Into the Wild. A dedicated vegetarian, Self reportedly wanted to see if he could live in a wilderness area subsisting only on wild foods, other than meat. The teen had also mentioned that he wanted to investigate some “churches” that practice a South American religion that uses a hallucinogenic tea as part of their religious practices, one of these groups being in Oregon. [ Read Full Post ]

When your morning setup on a roosted gobbler doesn’t work out as planned, it’s time to make a decision. You can sit patiently and call for a few hours with the hope that the bird will return, or you can make some strategic moves with the hope of striking a longbeard that is more motivated by your calling efforts. Now’s not the time for aimless woods roaming. Make a midmorning hunt plan and stick to it, because the next gobble you hear may come from the bird that fills your tag.

[ Read Full Post ]

When you get cut out in the field, it can be hard to tell just how bad the injury is until the bleeding subsides. After applying pressure for a few minutes, and once you can actually see the nature of the wound, you’ll probably be wondering if the wound needs stitches or not? It’s a simple question, but it opens up a big gray area in field medical care.

The first advice I would give is the obvious advice, find a medical practitioner to make the call about either using stitches or simply bandaging up the wound. But if you are hell and gone from any normal medical care, or you are away from your group’s medic, you may have to make your own assessment. Just don’t “Rambo” your way through the wound’s care, trying to use fishhooks and foolishness to stitch yourself up. Make sure you have a proper suture kit and the knowledge to use it correctly. [ Read Full Post ]