Are Ruffed Grouse Toxic? Maybe Sometimes

Wild Game DynastyEast Lake Buzz, Friends of ELO

By:  Ben Long.  Reprinted with permission by MeatEater. Ruffed grouse are widely considered one of the more delectable upland game birds. But did you know they might also be poisonous? Odd as it seems, there is a fairly extensive—and largely forgotten—body of medical literature detailing unfortunate souls who have been poisoned by eating ruffed grouse. Curiously, these poisonings dropped off with the invention of hunting seasons, which protected grouse when they happen to pose the largest risk. A document entitled “Dietary Roulette”, posted on the University of California-Davis website, both explains the phenomenon and raises … Read More

Are You Scouting For Success?

Wild Game DynastyBucks n Bears, East Lake Buzz, Friends of ELO

By:  Gary Morgan. Much has been written about ‘scouting whitetail deer’ causing a pause before I chose to partake in ‘just one more’.  Of course, my hunting friendships offering me that phrase have rarely caused me to decline…so I shall embark.   My Peeps know where my home range is but for everyone else let’s focus on Michigan …particularly the upper peninsula.  I’ll affectionately refer to this land mass as big timber…thus, Big Timber Whitetails.  My journey for a different kind of hunt began in the late 90’s when family and work constraints had formed my…”my … Read More

Another U.P. Deer Hunting Experience

Bruce TerBeekBucks n Bears, East Lake Buzz, Friends of ELO

By:  Bruce Ter Beek. It has been almost ten years ago since I first contacted Gary Morgan at Wild  Game Dynasty and scheduled my first hunt with him.  In my previous article for Wild Game Dynasty I wrote about my first deer hunt  with my dad at age ten. He taught me to be a steward of the land and of our  game resources, to hunt ethically, and how to practice conservation. For nearly  the next six decades November 15th was our “new years day” as we prepared  for the next season. After his passing, … Read More

Wolf Management Badly Needed In The U.P.

Wild Game DynastyEast Lake Buzz, Friends of ELO

By:  Gary Gorniak. First, let me introduce myself. I am Gary Gorniak, President of the Straits Area Sportsmen’s Club (SASC), Vice President of The Upper Peninsula Sportsmen’s Alliance (UPSA) and Vice Chairmen of the Eastern U.P. DNR Citizens Advisory Council (EUPCAC). I am not anti-wolf; a gray wolf has a place in wildlife. But like all wildlife, the gray wolf has to be managed. You can’t pick and choose to manage one without affecting the other, especially a skilled predator as the wolf. Our 2020 deer season in the U.P. was a disaster and will … Read More

Have Wolves Destroyed The (Michigan) Deer Population?

Wild Game DynastyBucks n Bears, East Lake Buzz, Friends of ELO

By:  Carol Stiffler. Lou Bennett owns 20 acres of land east of Newberry and says he’s fed deer herds there for 30 years.  It was perfect, he said. The woods offered plenty to eat, and many places for deer to hide. There was no pressure. Each winter, he’d feed between 250 and 300 deer. That began to change a few winters ago, and Bennett saw the herd drop hundreds of animals at a time.  “Last year I was down to about 100, 125,” he said. “This year, not one deer came back. Not one.”  Bennett … Read More

My Hunting Obsession Came Late

Adrian ZarantonelloBucks n Bears, East Lake Buzz, Friends of ELO

By:  Adrian Zarantonello. I’ll start this story off with the fact that I’m by no means a hunting expert. I haven’t shot any “Booners” and I’m relatively new to hunting. However, for a newer hunter with limited background and experience, some components of hunting stick out more than others in terms of importance. Although my learning curve was steep, I’ve cultivated a great appreciation for scent control and prevention. I thought I’d share my observations concerning scent control and prevention, and its importance in a successful hunt. My hunting obsession started late; I was really … Read More

A look back at the christening of Wild Game Dynasty (ELO)

Jim KushnerBucks n Bears, East Lake Buzz, Friends of ELO

By:  Jim Kushner. The summer after Gary first purchased his place at East Lake I helped him out with some demo & remodel.   The “priority project” was removing a really old tub & toilet and replacing with new plumbing and shower stall.   The old pipe was black metal and came apart (more or less) in our hands. Seriously, it was as old as it was ugly! My friend, Matt,  also helped out with the project.   When fall rolled around we planned a 4 day hunt with Gary. I believe we were the first to actually … Read More

Mine Is A Marlin 336 In A .35 Remington!

Jim KushnerBucks n Bears, East Lake Buzz, Friends of ELO, Uncategorized

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

Predator Hunting – especially for coyotes – is a great winter pastime day or night

Tom LounsburyEast Lake Buzz, Friends of ELO, Youth Hunts

By:  Tom Lounsbury. There is no doubt the coyote has become the star in regards to predator hunting in Michigan, and for a good reason because it is a highly prolific, adaptable and efficient predator.   I’ve watched how its numbers have spread throughout our state during the last three decades (not to mention all of North America and now it has also crossed the Panama Canal and is presently invading South America) and it can even do well in an urban environment. A great book, “Master Coyote Hunting” by Michael Huff (available on Amazon for … Read More

Dr. Bastion Discovers CWD Testing Breakthrough, Paves Road for Vaccine

Wild Game DynastyBucks n Bears, East Lake Buzz, Friends of ELO

By:  Bruce Billingsly, contributed by John Eveland. Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania (Unified or USP) and Louisiana State University (LSU) have recently entered into a mutually beneficial agreement to raise research funds for Dr. Frank Bastian toward eradicating chronic wasting disease (CWD) from Pennsylvania and throughout America and protecting human health. Unified has taken the national leadership role on The CWD Project. (Visit www.gousp.org to join the partnership.) Impacts of CWD. CWD is a fatal neurological disease of deer, elk, moose, and other members of the cervid family of wildlife. It is rapidly expanding throughout America, … Read More