When I met my wife, we would get together and play cards with her parents and once in a while. As time went on and we got married, that tradition continued. My father in law, Robert and I share an interest in the outdoors so the conversation over those card games eventually turned to hunting or fishing. I’m more of a deer hunter than a fisherman but fishing has been something that I have enjoyed since I was a small boy when my grandfather used to take me. Robert loves to fish and has been … Read More
Doubling Down On Turkeys
What have you been doing since the close of the last deer season? Maybe you’ve been doing a little rabbit or coyote hunting? Maybe you’ve hunkered down in your nice warm house for the winter. Well a spring turkey hunt is a great reason to head back to the woods and get that blood flowing again and of course being in the woods again is good for the soul. As we approach turkey season each spring, my thoughts always seem to drift towards the fond memories of turkey hunting with my good friend, Andy. Of … Read More
Frozen Waterfalls & Ice Caves
What comes to mind when you think of a winter getaway? Probably some place warm right? Maybe a beach somewhere just lying in the sun with a cold drink in your hand. I would have to guess that most people don’t think of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as a winter destination. I mean unless you are into snowmobiling or skiing why would anyone want to go where it’s colder, right? Well, what if I told you that there are things to see and do in the U.P. during the winter months that you can’t see or … Read More
Restoring An Old 870 Wingmaster
My buddy Jim loves to go to auction sales. So when his son Nick told him that he wanted to buy a 12 gauge shotgun for deer hunting here in Michigan, it was no surprise to me when Jim called me to ask what kind of gun he should keep his eye out for when he was visiting auctions in the area. Obviously there are several good shotguns out there but I told Jim, if he wanted to buy a used shotgun, he could hardly go wrong if he picked up an old Remington 870 … Read More
A Father And Son Double
The Michigan DNR sent out emails to thousands of Michigan deer hunters this year asking us all to take a doe if we had the opportunity. My son, Jacob and I were both sitting on our second combo tag and I still had a doe tag going into Christmas weekend, so I figured we should try our luck in the woods one last time for the year. It was a bit warmer than I like it this time of year but the weather was kind of rainy so I figured that might get the deer … Read More
A Bear Hunt That Sparked A Friendship
By: Bob Weller. Going on a bear hunt was one of those, “I want to do that someday” ideas. Well this past fall “someday” arrived. Conversations about going on a bear hunt started to take place between me and a friend of mine named Joe shortly after he acquired some property in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. I mentioned to Joe that my friend Andy and I had talked about going bear hunting for years but it just hadn’t happened yet. Joe had said that he thought all of us could go in together and have a … Read More
The Bedded Buck
By: Robert Weller. I was having a busy October. Busier than I had wanted it to be that’s for sure. I had intended on taking every weekend off in October and November so that I could get some quality time in the woods, especially during the early archery season here in Michigan. I think I made it out a total of five or six times to sit in the tree stand the entire month of October. To say I was getting frustrated with how my 2023 archery deer season was going would be an understatement. The … Read More
A Muzzleloader Season “Double”
By: Bob Weller. With muzzleloader season right around the corner, I am reminded of one of my favorite hunting success stories. Many years ago, I had spent a month of Sundays late August into early September driving over to my buddies place with a trailer, loaded with a garden tractor towing a small wagon full of tools and a generator. We were building my first box blind and we were building it on site in a small section of hardwoods on my friend Andy’s Uncle’s property. Andy and I had been hunting together for several … Read More