By: Jim Kushner. If you are reading this you are no doubt one of the millions(?) of hunting & fishing enthusiasts who participate and or browse the many Forums available on these subjects and much more. I am far more a browser than a participant in the many forums out there. Typically I am looking for some specific information on a particular firearm or load data etc. I also enjoy reading and seeing the many hunting stories that people post there. Recently I was compelled to start a post of my own after reading countless … Read More
Mine Is A Marlin 336 In A .35 Remington!
By: Jim Kushner. It is that time of year when there is not a whole lot going on in the world of hunting & fishing. Depending on where you live in the State of Michigan there may be good ice or not. There are some predator hunters or trappers still out there but mainly it’s that time when you are either preparing for the spring turkey hunt or in my case, just thinking about hunting. Lately, I am thinking and doing a lot of reading about rifles & cartridges. My focus on long guns has … Read More
Sometimes Its Difficult To Get The Chit Off Your Choose
By: Jim Kushner. I have officially been off work and sitting on my keister for 6 weeks now with an as yet un diagnosed illness. Knowing this my good friend Gary said maybe I was up to “hunt & peck” an article for WGD’s blog. Being in this position has allowed me to either sleep (which I do a lot), watch TV, read or surf the interweb as some like to call it. The only upside to this whole situation is that high speed internet came to my home just the week before. Now TV … Read More
Let’s Go Hunting!
By: Jim Kushner. I recently had a conversation with a couple of fellow deer hunters. One is fairly new to deer hunting the other is a long time hunter. Both of them hunt exclusively over bait. The conversation turned to the subject of the DNR announcement that all baiting will be banned starting in 2019 to hopefully help in controlling the spread of CWD. There was comment on what this would do to the deer population, one comment was that the deer population would grow out of hand because of the lack of not only … Read More
The Remington Model 141 – Made For A Michigander
By: Jim Kushner. Last year I stopped into a local gun shop because, well because it’s a gun shop. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, the shop has only been open for a little over a year and I had not been inside in a while. As I was chatting with the owner I looked over his shoulder at the rifle rack behind him and noticed what looked like a Remington 14 or 141 pump action rifle. This is one of those deer rifles that were popular with the Michigan cedar swamp hunters when … Read More
The Savage 99 Hunting Rifle – A Classic
By: Jim Kushner. I got my hands on a classic old deer rifle the other day. The Savage 1899 in .300 Savage caliber. As the name indicates, the gun first came out in 1899. As time went by, like every other gunmaker Savage chambered the 99 in several popular cartridges along with their own .300 Savage. When the new mall opened in Saginaw I remember going into the Sears store and looking at a Savage 99 rifle on display there. I was probably 12 or 13 years old. It was chambered in .308 and I … Read More
Pike Fishing – Even Better Table Fare!
By: Jim Kushner. Why would anyone want to fish for pike? I have heard this question before and the answer is that they are a lot of fun to catch, they are not real finicky about what they will hit or the time of day and they are very good to eat, that’s why. Oh, and they get pretty big, too. Try to get your hand around the back of a 40 inch pike’s head and you will know what I mean. I have always liked pike fishing but until I started regularly fishing in … Read More
Speak The Language – Grunt Calls Can Work!
By: Jim Kushner. Years ago I was looking through an archery magazine and saw a photo of a very happy hunter posing with a huge buck he had taken. The caption stated that he had called it in during early bow season. I don’t recall the date but I do remember thinking that I had not heard of a grunt call working during anything but the rut & pre-rut. Sometime later a nice buck walked by my stand in early October. It was clear he was not coming close enough for a shot. I figured … Read More
It Is Why We Hunt
By: Jim Kushner. In my opinion it’s really about the enjoyment of hunting and what really makes it fun for you, not what someone else thinks is fun. In my younger days just seeing a deer while hunting was heart pounding excitement for me. I wanted a buck so bad I could taste it, but my opportunities were few and when they did come I usually messed up ! There were a lot of reasons for that but the lack of success only increased my enthusiasm and drove me to try harder. As the years … Read More
A Wild Experience With My Father
By: Jim Kushner I first went deer hunting with my Dad when I was around 12, it was just a day trip & other than some deer that had been chased across a field we were driving past I don’t remember seeing anything. Over the years Dad & I hunted together a lot. I was with him and a younger brother on the opening day that I shot my first buck. He wasn’t close enough to help with the first field dressing job or dragging it to the truck but he congratulated me and helped … Read More