Raising my gun at the sound of wing beats, I hoped for a wild rooster to flush from the under brush. Nothing materialized. Moments later my precocious pup came out of the brush with a hen that was a little too slow getting off the ground. It was Christmas Eve 2008 and I was, Read More
Clean white snow covered the faint two track. Nobody had been into the basin since the last storm. The truck pitched forward and we cautiously made our decent. Without talking my dad and I both had the same feeling in the pit of our stomach; a level of excitement for elk we hoped to, Read More
Darkness slowly begins to give way to light. Slight hues of grey yield to orange while the world is still and quiet. The hour before sunrise has become somewhat of a sacred time. For years I rarely noticed it. I either just plain missed it or during my childhood, when I would get up, Read More
Pop, pop, pop. “Dada, what’s that noise?” asked Everett, excited. “That would be hunters shooting at birds.“ I explained. “Why don’t you shoot at birds?” he whined. “We have to find them first son. But we’re trying” I answered, the picture of paternal patience. We were hunting pheasants near home with a few stolen, Read More
Someone once described my brother Ryan as a combination of Greg Brady and Davy Crockett. An odd pairing, yes, but in some ways it made a lot of sense. At age 12, Ryan was on the Pro Staff for Matthews bows and one of the best under-18 archers in the country. As a chubby-cheeked, Read More
Filled with energy and as stubborn as her mother, she used to have a motor that never quit. She’s helped raise two kids and has pointed birds for over a dozen years. I didn’t know her in the early days, but as a grey faced elder she’s hard not to love. A few weeks ago, Read More
Noses down, tails cracking in the cool morning air, the dogs worked in-between the Russian Olives. As the tails moved faster their pace became more methodical. The morning had been kind already, and with a limit in the truck I was able to focus solely on handling the dogs. My friend was one shy, Read More
Turns out I’ve only owned one pair of binoculars and I lost those in a horse wreck in Wyoming’s Red Desert circa 2003. As a kid I borrowed a compact pair of Nikons from my dad. Since the horse wreck, I’ve had some 20 year old 8×32 Pentax’s, on semi-permanent loan from my brother., Read More
To a Lab nothing else matters once the smell of a rooster fills their nostrils. These majestic birds display colors that are almost other worldly. The bird is reward enough but a little petting is always appreciated. All the attention goes to the head, but the subtle shades of turquoise and silver on the, Read More
At 60 power, it felt like the deer were in my lap, like the scope was transporting me across the ravine and into the herd.