Connecticut Hunting

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For the deer hunter, winter is a long period of nothing but waiting. The fall hunt is over and there is little activity related to hunting deer, plus it seems like the new season is such a long way off. Around here, winters are tough, so even the fun stuff like getting out and shooting the bow or going to the rifle range is out of reach. There is one thing winter is great for, and it is a way to stay connected to your favorite hobby. Winter is the best time to get out and scout to see what the deer have been doing at your hunting spots.

For the Traveling Sportsman

Every year thousands of hunters across the continent book outfitted hunts. Some are booked in their home state or province; others require considerable travel by air. For those with the means, exotic trips abroad are a unique privilege. But regardless of where a hunter goes, the research, booking and travel aspects are imminent. Simple or complex, logistics are a part of the game. I've seen it more than once with first time traveling sportsmen.

Dropping the Hammer

If you're a serious gun nut and you haven't noticed the increased interest in shooting, reloading and hunting with old style guns in the last decade you've probably been in a coma. Rifles and shotguns that haven't come out of the closet in eighty years are being brought into the daylight, getting cleaned off and carried out to ranges and hunting fields. This particularly includes classic old lever action and single shot rifles. I haven't been immune from this old-gun bug myself, as an 1894 lever action in .38-55 is one of my current project guns.

Foul Weather Whitetails

A cold November rain beat down on the hunt camp's old tin roof, forcing everyone in the bunkhouse to crack open one eyelid and smile quietly in the dark. The hard rain brought relief as well as a tinge of guilt - the former because it provided the tired hunters of our camp with a good excuse to sleep in; the latter because it was only day three of our hunt.

Whitetail Scents & Sensibility

"Always hunt into the wind" - Sage words of wisdom, this is perhaps the single most important tip any neophyte hunter learns at the outset of their hunting career. Deer rely heavily on their sense of smell. So it stands to reason that if we're to avoid detection, we should use the wind in our favor. Combine this with the appropriate use of scents or scent-blockers, and you're off to the races!

Hiding in Plain Sight

Then I saw him out of the corner of my eye. He had approached from behind and was standing 30 yards to my right and glared in my direction. His eyes seemed to search through every inch of the grass that I lay in, trying to locate the rabbit that lured him in. I remained still, waited for his shoulder to appear in my scope and squeezed the trigger. As I made my way to the coyote, I couldn't help but to admire the ghillie suit that had kept me hidden so well among the grass and wonder why I hadn't tried this before.

The Other Hunting Rut

When the word "rut" is mentioned in a conversation among hunters, chances are the discussion will include talk of screaming bull elk, or big whitetail bucks, that for a brief period of time drop their defenses and act like teenage boys. There is another rut out there, however, that doesn't receive a lot of attention. This one affects the hunter rather than the animal and actually decreases our odds of success.

Shed Hunting - In Search of Lost Bone

Any antlers are always appreciated, but I was searching for one set in particular. Worn by a mature buck, I guessed he would be dropping approximately 180-inches of bone. Picking up the matched set the year before, this year the buck was in his prime. Although I’d only seen him once myself, I’d heard rumors that he was still skulking through my favorite deer woods. I’d made it my personal mission to find his sheds.

Hunting in Suburbia - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Northeastern United States boasts a diverse habitat for whitetail deer. Its' unparalleled ability to adapt and evolve has made it a perfect inhabitant for this region of the country. But that same ability to survive (and thrive) in New England is setting up one of the greatest challenges for the regions' deer hunters. How do we hunt this wily animal while it makes itself at home in backyards, next to highways, and in areas where hunting is at worst, dangerous, or at best, generally not accepted? It's a complicated question, with a more complicated set of answers.

How to Select a Good Pocket Knife

Since the beginning of time, mankind has had both the desire and need for good quality knives. Earlier in history this need was often hunting or protection based. In the beginning knives were usually made of flint or crudely shaped from wood, but as man developed, so did the knife. It was only natural as man discovered and put new metals into use the knife blade was soon made of these fresh materials.