By: Rebecca Morgan. My dad fished a lot over his many years. He’d take me fishing every now and then, but as a child, I never really understood the allure. Distracted with the things of childhood, and then later as an adult raising children, I didn’t really make time to appreciate this complex yet simple sport. I remember my dad organizing many a fishing trip to Canada, his oftentimes weekly trips to Atlanta to challenge or be challenged by the many difficult to access fishing streams. The hunt for the elusive stream trout demanded patience, … Read More
Hitting the mark during some youthful shooting competition
By: Tom Lounsbury. Trapshooting was first developed as a competitive sport during the 18th Century, using flintlock fowling pieces (the forerunners of today’s shotguns) firing shot. This would be done using live pigeons, with the birds being placed in a wooden box, called a “trap”, on the ground out in front of the shooter. Upon the shooter saying “pull”, a cord attached to the box was used to release the pigeon. Several traps were spread out in different spots, and the shooter had no idea which trap was going to release the pigeon. The typical … Read More
The Quest For A Grand Slam Began Near Spring Training
By: C.J. VanWieren. Several months ago I received a text message from my dad asking me if I would be interested in a Florida turkey hunt. Without hesitation, I said I was absolutely in for a hunt. One, I have never hunted the Osceola turkey and would need that feather in my pursuit of the Grand Slam. More importantly than that, it was the last feather that my dad needed for his Grand Slam and I wanted to be a part of that moment. My dad had waited 27 years to complete his slam and … Read More
Youthful Fun Times Spent In The Rabbitat
By: Tom Lounsbury. When it comes to weather, March can be quite a fickle month. One day you will think spring is coming early, and the next day winter is back, and with a vengeance. That is what was on my mind when the date of March 12 was set for a rabbit hunt on my farm, entailing youth hunters. Just like the month of March, cottontail rabbits can be real fickle, too, according to the weather. One day they are out and about, and suddenly they have literally gone to ground, and can remain … Read More
The Annual Spring Malady Known As ‘Wild Turkey Fever’
By: Tom Lounsbury. When April arrives I automatically develop a case of “wild turkey fever”, an annual spring malady that has been afflicting me for over 50 years. I find myself habitually sorting out turkey hunting gear, practicing with various turkey calls (when I do this indoors it eventually nets a rather blunt complaint from my wife, Ginny, who says some turkey lingo, such as hen purrs, are as annoying as fingernails scratching on a chalkboard) and patterning my turkey shotguns, of which I have a few favorites, at my backyard shooting range. To assure … Read More
Are Ruffed Grouse Toxic? Maybe Sometimes
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
The Hunter, The Dreamer
By: Bob Morgan. There is movement. Rich bronze against a maze of greens The muscled neck swings gracefully upward and intelligent eyes search the difference. Nose raised to the air, a search for unfamiliar scents. A slight snort, sharp hooves paw the earth and the whitetail moves back into the maze of green, completely obscured. I, too, am obscured. From my stand high in a tall oak, I have watched the buck reveal himself, then once again hide. His wariness, his wiliness impress me. I did not move, I could not have been seen or … Read More
Are You Scouting For Success?
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
Rare (Michigan) Bear Behavior
By: Richard P. Smith. After more than 50 years of bear hunting in the UP, I experienced something I’ve never seen before during the 2021 bear season. Before discussing that rare event, some background information is important. I drew a bear tag for the third hunt in the Baraga bear management unit, as did some friends from the Traverse City area who I usually hunt with out of Lac La Belle Lodge in Keweenaw County. The group included father and son Amos and Doug Esman along with father and sons Kent, Shamus and Seth … Read More
Atlanta Muzzle Loading Adventures
By: Keith Kinyon. For the 2021 muzzleloader season I headed north to Atlanta Michigan, just like I had for the previous two seasons, to hunt with Gary Morgan of Wild Game Dynasty. The 2019 season Gary acquired a new 40 acre piece of property to hunt and what a surprise that turned out to be for me! I shot a nice 9pt. that is the biggest buck I’ve taken during muzzleloader season. The 2020 season is a blur, not having had as much time to go up and hunt, I did not harvest a … Read More