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Uncle James
By James Nugent
My oldest niece Briley, an eager 8-year old, had begged to go hunting with me for several years. After weeks of discussion and planning, the time finally arrived for her first trip.
Still not comfortable enough with a rifle to hunt, she was excited to watch and learn all she could. Briley is no stranger to the outdoors; she won first place in the ... READ MORE
Stress Test
By Richard C. West
It’s great to finally see the buck of your dreams, but don’t get too excited. On the Saturday before Thanksgiving in 2015, an Illinois buck tested my heart. It was the second day of the firearms season, and I’d spent my first day – all 12 hours – on the stand with nothing to show for it but a couple of song birds, a re... READ MORE
Ghosts of Christmas Past
By Burnell Simmons
Far too many of us take hunting and Christmases for granted.
Thirteen years — that’s how long it’s been since I fell 25 feet from my treestand. I survived the fall and the hospital stay and made it home for that Christmas in 2001.
It happened at 8:20 a.m. on Dec. 16. I had to walk home from the swamp I was hunting because I had ... READ MORE
The Fall that Changed It All
By Allen Wall
There’s no amount of experience or luck that will stop a treestand accident. The popping in my back sounded like someone running their fingers down the keys of a piano. The moment my feet touched the ground, my legs collapsed and my butt slammed to the ground. All of the vertebrae in my back compressed with the weight of my head and shoulders... READ MORE
Half a Buck Is Better Than None
By Michael Krause
Even deer hunters get by with a little help from their friends.
For the past 30 years, I’ve been venturing back to my old stomping grounds in Deposit, N.Y., to hunt with my friends from high school. This past season resulted in a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
It happened at about 3 p.m. on the second day of the New York season. It was cold... READ MORE
Proud To Be a Cat Person
By Stephen McGrew
Who decided that only dogs could be man’s best friend?
I received a call from my uncle the previous Sunday inviting me to bow hunt with my cousins behind their house on Tuesday. I jumped at the opportunity since that meant I wouldn’t have to get up as early as I would if I were going to our lease in Coweta County.
Tuesday came and I a... READ MORE
Turkey for Two
By Krissy Jean Zimmer
I love it when a plan ... falls apart. It just makes it that much sweeter when you make a new plan, get busted twice and still manage to bloody up the tailgate. As planned, we started the morning on the ground in front of a long narrow food plot. We knew the sun was going to be highlighting us so we brushed in, settled down and waited for daybreak.... READ MORE
Hey, This Actually Works!
By Michael Dickerson
There are some things in hunting you have to experience before you believe they’re true.
It was opening day of muzzleloader season in McNairy County, Tenn. The days had been getting colder, so I was hoping the rut was about to kick in. I had been scanning several areas for a place my set up my ladder stand and decided on a pine tree in front... READ MORE
From Sinkhole to Cloud Nine
By Mat Ritchison
On a cold and frosty Sunday morning, Nov. 3, 2013, I decided to hunt one of my favorite stands about 40 yards from the edge of a half-picked, Indiana cornfield. I was aloft 20 minutes before dawn.
Shortly after daybreak, I decided to start things off with an aggressive rattling sequence – to paint the deer a picture. I grunted three times, p... READ MORE
Muzzleloader Miracle
By Mimi Miracle
During the spring of 2013, I fell in love with my very first bow purchase, a Mathews Passion. I spent the rest of that spring, summer and fall practicing with it. Because I’d been out of town, I had to miss the first few days of the season, but when I got home my first priority was to get in the stand. I put in hours and hours, and then more ... READ MORE