A Very Memorable “Coontest”.

Tom LounsburyA Companion Trap line, Conservation & Wildlife Management

During the first weekend in March last year, the Ubly Fox Hunter’s Club held their first annual “Coontest” in which contestants can enter raccoons they have harvested in any legal manner, such as using dogs, calling or trapping. Bringing in obvious roadkill was not allowed. Seventeen 4-person teams had entered that contest but were in for some challenging conditions when a foot of snow suddenly hit the Thumb area. Just the same, contestants managed to enter 331 raccoons, an amazing feat considering the weather. Early March is a good timeframe because raccoons are usually out … Read More

Thumbs Up Women On The Wing

Tom LounsburyHunting & Outdoor Lifestyle, Hunting News & Updates

Hunting, nationwide, has seen steadily decreasing hunter numbers in recent years. States have been trying to recruit new hunters and Michigan, for example, has developed a mentor hunting license for youth hunters 9 years old and under, and an apprentice hunting license for10 years old and older, which includes adults. There are also special youth-related hunts focused on getting new generations involved, all of which I fully support. I also fully support a new trend in the hunter statistics which represents women becoming more involved in hunting, as well as other shooting pastimes. The fact … Read More

The Anomaly Grouse

Jeff HornHunting Stories & Adventures

Sometimes hunters and fishermen have a tendency to embellish their stories, or at least the stories grow bigger as time goes by. Who knows that the passage of time may cloud the memory which causes such delusions. More often than not we add to or take away from our experiences to make the stories more entertaining than anything malicious. With this in mind I am putting to paper the story about the “Anomaly Grouse”, as best I can recall it! Wink, wink! The word, anomaly means, abnormal, peculiar, something different; you get the idea. When … Read More

Nothing beats a day spent in good “rabbitat”

Tom LounsburyGame Species Profiles, Hunting Stories & Adventures

Growing up on a Thumb area farm, I have a long association with the cottontail rabbit, a wild, carefree critter which I much admire, and it was the first game animal I ever harvested. This occurred when I was a kid and had just finished my morning chores at the barn and was returning to our farmhouse. When I walked past the corncrib, a cottontail flushed from near it and headed lickety-split to our orchard nearby. I went to the house and grabbed up my single-shot .410 shotgun, and a couple shells. A fresh, fluffy … Read More

Hail To Thee Ole Michigan Grouse

Jeff HornHunting Stories & Adventures, Wild Game Recipes

By:  Jeff Horn. The elusive one that causes the hunter to miss their shots, and say ugly words. The Historian and Geographer Herodotus called Egypt “Gift of the Nile”. Perhaps if old Herodotus had ever hunted grouse in the U. P. of Michigan he would have dubbed Michigan and the great lakes region “the gift of the grouse”. In a Grouse season so dry, that even the grouse packed water, I found myself ready to call the DNR and ask, where have all the grouse gone? My hunting party didn’t find the grouse in the … Read More

The true beauty of versatile Hunting Dogs opens the doors to many outdoor opportunities and adventures

Tom LounsburyFriends of ELO, Youth Hunts

By:  Tom Lounsbury. The first dogs in my memory were the farm dogs we used for herding our dairy cows. This was back in the 1950’s when the Thumb had countless small farms, usually entailing milk cows in the mix. A common dog in the scene was a collie-type that had been brought into the Thumb by settlers, many from Canada (my great grandfather Townsend Lounsbury came to the Thumb directly from Canada). The dogs were what we in my local neighborhood called “coallies” due to the fact most were a longhaired dark brindle-colored affair, … Read More

Wintertime Predator Hunting – The Other Season

Tom LounsburyFriends of ELO

By:  Tom Lounsbury. When January arrives, it marks the time for a favorite outdoor pastime of mine. The primary quarry these days for most Michigan hunters is the whitetail deer, which means when all the deer seasons end and winter settles in, many hunters hang it all up until the following fall deer seasons arrive once again. For a growing number of hunters however, there is the “other season”, wintertime predator hunting. In Michigan, predator hunting entails foxes (both red and gray), coyotes, and in the northern part of the state, bobcats. The red fox … Read More

Christmastime rabbit hunting – an annual family tradition

Tom LounsburyFriends of ELO

By:  Tom Lounsbury. The cottontail rabbits have it easy on our farm, that is until Christmastime. Prior to that, my focus during the fall has been on waterfowl, squirrels, grouse, woodcock, pheasants, wild turkeys, and deer. Thanks to all wildlife diversity which is found in Michigan, my hunting schedule is rather full without adding cottontails to the mix. When fall transcends into winter however, my focus takes an abrupt change with rabbit hunting stepping up to the forefront. The long, cold winters are made much shorter thanks to an abundance of local cottontails and a … Read More

Nothing Beats Wintertime Pheasant Hunting

Tom LounsburyFriends of ELO

By:  Tom Lounsbury. The 2022 October pheasant season here in the Thumb proved to be outstanding for my hunting guests and me, with plenty of wild birds and shooting opportunities. This, of course, left me quite optimistic about the late pheasant season. December happens to be one of my favorite months of the year for enjoying the outdoors in Michigan, because it offers a wide variety of hunting opportunities. There is no question the December pheasant season in my home Thumb area, which runs from December 1 to January 1, is a favorite pastime for … Read More

Drawing Attention To Michigan’s Grouse Woods

Jeff HornHunting Stories & Adventures

By:  Jeff Horn. Perhaps man has an innate desire to answer the most profound questions of our time. “Who killed Kennedy? “Are we alone?”  And, “How the blooming did I miss that grouse?” These questions seem to entangle us with an unending thought often leading to a conclusion:  There are questions we will never understand! Nevertheless, each year around mid-summer our hearts begin to draw attention to the fact that grouse season in MI is not far off. Being from a rural area in Eastern KY, where once grouse was plentiful but now they are … Read More