I have returned from an amazing adventure shared with three friends on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Narrow roads wind past horse farms and through the verdant rolling hills of central Kentucky. The weather was perfect with the fall colors at their peak. We shared great conversations and wonderful meals paired with bourbon tastings. What is bourbon? It is whiskey distilled from grain. What makes it unique is bourbon is defined by law! To prevent unscrupulous distillers from mixing turpentine, battery acid or tobacco juice into clear alcohol, the food and drug administration defined that bourbon … Read More
When rare birds suddenly arrive for a short visit
An enlightening moment for me was when my wife Ginny and I attended the annual mid-May Tawas Point Birding Festival in East Tawas several years ago and seeing the amazing amount of folks who took bird watching quite passionately. Michigan is located smackdab in the middle of both the Mississippi and Atlantic Flyways and countless songbirds flying north while following the shoreline of Lake Huron, are literally given a “right hook” at Tawas Point, which abruptly turns them south, and they perform what is known as the Great Fallout, and the birds land in mass … Read More
Road Rally or Elk Hunt?
For anyone who is experienced at hunting the mighty whitetail, and successfully draws a Michigan elk permit, you may well be in for a surprise. It’s a totally different animal out there, and we’re not just talking about the species. Whereas deer hunters settle into a blind in an area plentiful with deer sign, including buck scrapes and rubs, elk hunting mostly requires being on the constant move. Similar to deer, elk are herd animals, grouping together as they migrate to where they can find a new source of food. However, based on their increased … Read More
Whenever hunter-pressured whitetails go nocturnal, nothing beats an old-fashioned deer drive.
At high noon a few December muzzleloader deer seasons ago, I was on a deer drive with friends and acting as a stander at a likely location on the corner of a briar-infested woodlot bordering a hayfield. According to all the fresh tracks there were plenty of deer seeking refuge in the thick and snarly cover, and I was anticipating plenty of action, which can be the case with a well-organized deer drive. Deer drives don’t have to involve a lot of hunters, especially when everyone knows the lay of the land. In this instance, … Read More
Pursuing wild ringnecks in the long grass
Native only to Asia, the pheasant can be found in many parts of the world today, primarily due to the fact it is an outstanding upland gamebird. It belongs to the Order Galliformes, the same as as chickens and peacocks, a couple of reasons rooster pheasants are not only colorful, but a delight to eat as well. The first official release of pheasants in Michigan occurred in 1917, which were already hybrids from game farms involving Chinese ringneck and Mongolian blood. Subsequent private releases from hunting clubs as well as escapees from game preserves would … Read More
Reflections in The December Woods
There’s just nothing like deer hunting with snow on the ground. For those of us in Michigan, that seems to be a rare occurrence these days and your best chance of getting to hunt in some snow (while there is still no guarantee) is during the month of December. Well, my friends, if you are hunting in December and are still looking for a big buck, that means you’re either pulling your archery equipment back out of the closet or you’re grabbing the old muzzleloader. Well, at least it used to. In recent years in … Read More
Trophy doe hunting can become a challenging proposition
When I began deer hunting in my home Thumb area in 1963, deer weren’t as numerous as they are today, and just seeing one, much less one with antlers and being able to shoot it. Back then, the “bucks only” law wasn’t a bad thing, in order for deer to better propagate in a region. Whitetail deer are in fact quite resilient critters, and when given a chance, can do some serious propagating. In 1970, the DNR realized something had to be done to help keep the deer herd in check with the habitat, and … Read More
Rubbing it In… The Ones That Got Away!
Turkey hunting season is over and our local feathered friends know this. So this article is not about a special, secret rub for use on a Thanksgiving turkey, as the title might imply. Instead, this is about a particular behavior we’re observing within our local turkey population. It seems they’re rubbing in the fact that they will not be served on November 28 by making almost daily rounds, flaunting this knowledge with arrogance. Their flagrant strut is even more pronounced as Thanksgiving Day approaches. One day we’ll see the woman folk in much larger numbers … Read More
Tuscola County’s monster “Seney Buck”
The late Mack Seney of Reese had his share of memories, with a couple of them relating to being very lucky. The first relates to a day in 1944 as an infantryman with 35th Infantry Division in France during World War II. The German forces were being pushed back so fast that American soldiers had to hitch rides on any sort of vehicle they could, including on top of tanks, to maintain the front line. Mack was in the back of a truck when it screeched to a stop and everyone was bailing out and … Read More
Paradise Restored
As an outfitter and guide, Gary Morgan rarely gets the opportunity to hunt. It’s been about 10 years since his last Great Whitetail quest. Living vicariously through the adventures of his clients and friends, that is enough. However, when a surprise invite came to him for a deer hunt in what some may describe as a modern day garden of eden for Michigan Whitetail, how could he refuse? The invitation was extended by Greg Compeau, who was once a “friend of a friend,” that friend being Rodd Little, a Michigan renowned master turkey hunter. It … Read More