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
Gun Clubs Are A Great Way To Share The American Pastime.
By: Tom Lounsbury. Shooting for fun or competitively (which is still a lot of fun) is truly an American pastime shared by a whole lot of people of all ages today. When folks have a shared interest, they often get together and form a group to organize and enhance matters, and in the case of firearms these groups become known as shooting clubs, or in my vernacular, gun clubs. One can only imagine how many gun clubs exist from coast to coast across America. I know my Thumb area of Michigan has quite a few, … Read More
Dealing With The Whimsies Of Mother Nature
By: Tom Lounsbury. The 2017 firearms deer season was real interesting, not to mention somewhat challenging in regards to weather, at least in my Thumb area. Opening morning although a touch breezy was at least dry, but you could sense wet weather was on the way, which arrived around noon with the increased wind intensity of a typhoon. It didn’t take me long to put boots on the ground, because trying to accurately hit the mark from my weaving ladder-stand, would have been similar to trying to shoot from the back of a galloping horse. … Read More
Anticipation For Hunting Season
By: David Derusha. It is commonly called ‘fall’…but its really ‘hunting season’. The leaves are changing colors, dropping from the trees and forming a blanket to cover the green grass. I live for that moment. I love raking leaves, because I know in the back of my head that it is my favorite time of the year. It is the time I work so hard for year around, the time to go to those tree stands for the first time and hunt that buck you have on trail camera, or shoot that first Ruffed Grouse … Read More
My Buck From Dad’s Blind
By: Brian Smith. These trips are not about getting a deer. It’s about the drive up in the truck; leaving at 4am, having breakfast in a small town diner, hearing stories from Grandpa’s past 70 years of hunting in the UP. It’s about sharing a week with guys closest to you, but also having 12 hours a day by yourself sitting, waiting for something to move. 17 years ago, I made my first trip to the UP with my Dad and Grandpa. We stayed in one of the small cabins at the West Shore Resort … Read More
What’s New Is Old … Again?
…reflecting… In today’s society, instant gratification is virtually nonnegotiable. We want it, and we want it now, whether “it” entails grabbing a burger from McDonald’s or speeding down the highway on your way home from work. Simply put, we don’t like to wait around for stuff anymore. If we don’t have to, we won’t. That attitude has trickled down to nearly every aspect of our lives, including deer hunting. Growing up, the U.P. looked to me like a paradigm of the great outdoors. It was brimming with wildlife, a special, almost mythical quality surrounding all … Read More
Wisconsin Example of How Michigan Bears Could be Better Managed
By: Richard P. Smith. Wisconsin is a perfect example of how Michigan could better manage their bear population. During 2016, Wisconsin issued 11,520 bear licenses to hunters in the state and those hunters registered 4,682 bears, according to a report issued by the Wisconsin DNR. Michigan only had 6,896 bear licenses available in 2016, resulting in 1,636 bruins being registered by hunters. Wisconsin hunters harvested almost three times as many bears as Michigan and almost twice as many hunters (1.7x) had the opportunity to hunt bear in Wisconsin than Michigan even though Michigan has more … 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
KENYA: A TIMELESS SAFARI
By: Bruce Ter Beek. Last June my wife Nancy and I had just returned from a four week European trip. We were both tired and suffering from jet lag. She said she was all adventured out and just wanted to enjoy our home but commented “You have that funny look on your face. What are you planning now?” “Africa” I replied. Thus began the odyssey of a life time. Over the next few weeks we defined the type of trip we wanted to take. We both wanted to learn about the culture of the people … 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