Hunting and Fishing News Blog Articles

“Are you saying that geese have a culture?” (Image by Ralf Vetterle from Pixabay /)

My wife has been complaining lately about bursitis in her shoulder. My knees hurt, and it takes me a good mile to warm into any sort of jog.

Over coffee this morning, after exchanging Valentine’s Day pleasantries and inventorying our latest pains, I suggested that we both might be better off with younger, more physically fit, companions. She looked into her mug, then walked to the sink and rinsed it out.

I love my wife more every year. We’ve been married for 24 years this September. You’d think, after all that time, that I’d know when to share my observations and when to keep them to myself. Instead, I tried another angle.

“How does it make sense from an evolutionary perspective that we’d grow old at the same rate? Wouldn’t it make more sense to protect the wisdom gained through all our years by mating with someone more capable of protection and finding food and shelter. Even better at reproducing?”

She looked out the window at the slumping front porch posts—the ones I promised to shore up before the ground froze last fall—the way a chef looks at a hot dog. Then my mind flashed to all those old men I’ve seen at Safari Club conventions, with young ladies hanging on their arms. I tried to recover.

If you drive I-80 east, it’s approximately 430 miles between Niagara County in extreme western New York to Suffolk County on the eastern most tip of Long Island. In terms of deer hunting country, the two regions couldn’t be more different—fertile flatlands to the west and suburban sprawl to the east. Each will now be known for producing state-record bucks during the 2020 bow season. If you want to read about the new nontypical record, check out the story on Field & Stream. This is the story of the biggest typical buck ever take with a bow in New York.

The New No. 1 Typical

Dieter Herbert of Huntington, New York, is a self-admitted whitetail addict. This 27-year-old New York City carpenter spends countless days and dollars scouting, planning, and hunting whitetails. He first started hunting at age 16 with his dad, Rick, and that’s all it took to get Dieter Herbert hooked for life.

The suburban tracts of land that he hunts are generally 20 acres or less in size. In Nov. 2019 a giant buck with a split G4 appeared on one his trail cameras. Herbert said that he knew right away that it was a world-class buck and he nicknamed it “Split G4.”

In 2020, Herbert spent countless hours scouting and putting up trail cameras on different tracts of land in an effort to learn the legendary buck’s habits. In August, Herbert built himself a ground blind out of cedar boughs and other brush on a hillside overlooking the mock scrape where Split G4 originally appeared on trail cam. Unfortunately, Split G4 seemed to have disappeared as the buck hadn’t made an appearance of any kind all summer.

The shortages of everything from .22LR to .300 Win. Mag. are affecting hunters and shooters nationwide—and scalpers aren't helping. (CCI/)

Just what, exactly, is causing the month’s long ammo shortage and price increases that shooters and hunters are seeing across the country? After a series of interviews and private conversations, it’s clear that the ammunition shortage is not the result of manufacturers dragging their feet. In fact, just the opposite is true: 2020 represented the absolute manufacturing limit of the firearms industry. Many have pointed to the panic-buying mentality of American consumers and, even more acutely, at the opportunists who are buying ammo in bulk and then selling it online at increased prices. But is that happening frequently enough to cause an overall rise in ammo costs and a shortage on store shelves? Let’s take a look.

Understanding Ammo Distributors and Dealers

If we’re going to understand the ammo shortage, we must first understand how ammunition is distributed and sold. Ammunition traditionally flows from a manufacturer’s facility to a distributor’s warehouse, where it’s then dispersed to dealers based on when they placed their orders and the quantity they ordered. I spoke with a large distributor who said that they, just like their competition, are getting the same regular shipments from manufacturers and those shipments are quickly broken down and allocated to dealers based on the timing of their orders. In other words, it’s business as usual. If a dealer was asleep at the wheel and failed to plan, their order is processed when they’re next in the queue. This could contribute to what customers are seeing in their local brick-and-mortar stores, and why some have empty shelves while others are getting pallets of ammunition delivered.

Read Next: Where’s All the Damn Ammo? Federal Premium’s President Has Some Answers

The Impact of Online Retailers

When you really need to see what’s going on, clean those sunglasses with microfiber cleaning cloths. (Unsplash/)

Microfiber cleaning cloths are arguably the most efficient way to deep clean. To understand why, you’ll need a quick and dirty deep dive into the science of scrubbing.

Even if you’re using fancy formulations and cleaning supplies, old-school deep cleaning comes down to a bucket of soapy water and a rag. The key is the soap, which scientists call a surfactant. If you could zoom in and view the molecular structure of that soap, you’d see long molecules that look somewhat like a tadpole with a head on one end and a tail on the other. The head end loves water while the tail end loves grease. Together, those ends act like magnets. One end pulls grease from the dirty surface, and the other end pushes the liberated grease away from the surface with water.

Microfiber is different. This high-tech textile doesn’t rely on soap at all. Instead, its cleaning power is due to the structure of the microfiber itself. Microfiber is plastic, and the surface fibers are split to each be the size of 1/100th of a single human hair. That means a microfiber cleaning cloth isn’t a smooth surface; it’s covered in millions or billions of grippy microscopic fibers. These seriously amp up the surface area of the cloth, and each of those minuscule fiber fingers can reach into tiny crevices a smooth cloth would miss. That means if you’re cleaning your computer keyboard, your cloth doesn’t just wipe over the surface of the keys; it reaches into the spaces around each key. And those fibers carry a subtle charge called van der Waals forces (one of the forces that hold molecules together) so, as those fingers reach into the depression around your spacebar, they actually lift dust and microbes out of those crevices and hang onto them until you rinse the cloth in the sink.

And they do all that without soap or detergent, which leave behind residue.

BEST LENS MICROFIBER CLEANING CLOTH: MAGICFIBER MICROFIBER CLEANING CLOTHS

I might have known that my road to the PRS Finale was going to be rough when the day before I was supposed to leave on the two-and-a-half week, 3,000-mile road trip, I tore the handle off the inside of the driver’s side door of my truck.

I’ll admit, I was a little angry when it happened. I mean before it happened—which might explain why it happened.

I was at the range, ready to fire-form 120 rounds of brass that I needed to reload for the match, when I realized I had left my firing pin at my workshop. You’re supposed to make boneheaded moves like that only once—kind of like forgetting to put the drain plug in your first boat before launching it at the ramp.

But I’d be lying if I told you I hadn’t pulled this stunt before.

In case you’re wondering why my firing pin was not secured to the bolt of my GA Precision competition rifle, that’s simple. I had been testing my resized brass to make sure I had just the right amount of shoulder bump on my cases, and to do that you need to be able to feel how easily the brass chambers in your rifle. Any binding or resistance on the bolt close is a bad deal for PRS type shooting. And you can’t get a feel for that with the firing pin in the bolt.

This late-season hunt was a success because the author and his buddies picked off mallards coming in to a flooded field early afternoon, killing greenheads in singles and pairs and educating very few ducks. (Ryan Askren/)

More than any other group of hunters, waterfowlers wear the number of days they hunt each season like a badge of honor.

“I hunted every day of duck season last year.”

I hear that phrase proudly uttered each summer at the public blind draw, in duck camps during the fall, and from almost every ol’ southern boy I’ve ever shared a sundowner with.

One fella with the “illness” put it to me like this: “Think if your wife only had 60 days to shop at Macy’s. She’d be in the sumbitch every morning.”

As enlightening as that exchange was, it’s the absolute wrong way to approach duck hunting. Why? Because ducks hate pressure.

There are a number of suitable handgun cartridges for big-game hunting, but to obtain the best performance you need the right bullet—a lesson I learned the hard way on my first handgun hunt. When I was a teenager, I wanted to take up the mantle of handgun hunting and chose a suitable weapon—a Ruger Redhawk in .44 Magnum—that I could shoot accurately to 50 yards. When a whitetail doe came within range I fired, but there was no visible reaction from the deer. I fired again and the deer started moving, and by the third shot the deer was at a full run. I was certain that I had somehow missed the shot.

But I hadn’t missed. The bullets I was using weren’t holding up. Even though the doe died within 100 yards I could have (and should have) ended it much more quickly. The right bullet would have done the job, and after that first experience, I’m more particular about my handgun hunting bullets.

Selecting the proper handgun bullet can be daunting, but there are several good options available today that will dispatch game quickly and effectively. Here are five cartridges hunters can depend on.

1. Federal Fusion

It’s not uncommon for centerfire bullet technology to cross over to handguns, and that’s the case with Fusion. Federal’s Fusion bullets are popular because they offer a molecularly-bonded lead core and copper jacket that ensures maximum weight retention and reliable expansion. Fusion bullets have skives in their jackets, and those skives initiate expansion even at low velocities. This combination of low velocity expansion and bonded bullet toughness make Fusion bullets a versatile choice for handgun hunters. What’s more, Fusion ammunition is relatively affordable for quality handgun hunting ammunition: the 10mm load shown here is a new addition to the line and cost $28 per 20. That load drives a 200-grain Fusion bullet at a velocity of 1,200 fps and generates plenty of punch for deer-sized game.

Explore the unbeaten slopes with a good pair of backcountry skis. (Kyle Frost / Unsplash/)

Backcountry skiing is an adventure, and can delve into the extreme. Some backcountry skiers jump out of helicopters in the deep recesses of Alaska, or launch off mountainsides in the wilds of Wyoming. And if that’s what you want to do, we have a pair of skis listed here you should consider. But if you’re just getting started, or if you were borrowing your friend’s skis and want to invest in your own, we can help break down some of the complicated features of the best backcountry skis.

BEST ALL MOUNTAIN SKIS: Atomic Backland 78 + Hybrid Skin 78 Backcountry Skis

BEST LIGHTWEIGHT BACKCOUNTRY SKIS: Blizzard Men’s Zero G 95 Backcountry Touring Skis

BEST WOMEN’S SKIS: Blizzard Women’s Black Pearl 88 All-Mountain Lightweight Skis

BEST HIGH PERFORMANCE BACKCOUNTRY SKIS: DPS Skis Wailer A110 C2 Ski

The spiny water flea is invading the Upper Midwest. (Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center/)

It seems that the next troublesome invasive species in the Upper Midwest is a tiny one. The spiny water flea has been latching onto fishing equipment, traveling the Great Lakes for decades, but now they are being transported to some of the most pristine waters in the Upper Midwest. The spiny water flea is about half an inch long. It’s a creepy little critter, with a single, distinctive black eyespot at the head of one to four spines. A barbed tail juts out of its backside, making up about 70 percent of its length. The translucent hitchhiker hooks onto watercraft, fishing lines—essentially everything and anything that touches the water—and then gets transported to new waters.

“Most water fleas eat algae, but a few of them, like spiny water fleas, also eat other water fleas. It’s kind of like wolves eating coyotes or foxes,” says Dr. Valerie Brady, Aquatic Ecologist at the University of Minnesota.

While they present no danger to humans or domestic animals, spiny water fleas rattle ecosystems that support game fish. Spiny water fleas feed on other smaller, native water fleas, which are a vital food sources for small fish and keep algae in check. When plankton populations crash, that sinks small fish numbers, which in turn decreases game fish numbers.

“It’s not just another addition to the food web, it disrupts the food web and makes it harder for small or young fish to feed. That has potential implications for the whole food web,” Brady says.

The spiny water flea is being studied and monitored in Ontario’s Quetico Provincial Park and Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. As more new anglers and boaters hit the water last year during COVID—and could be back out this spring—it’s even more critical to get the word out about this invader.

A trustworthy auger is an ice angler’s best friend. (Fiske58KL / Pixabay/)

An ice auger is a must-have piece of ice fishing gear, because the very first thing every angler needs to do is drill a fishing hole. And that’s not always easy.

An ice auger is basically a massive drill bit that creates holes in the ice that enable you to drop a line down into the water, and are large enough to haul fish out. There are several different types of augers. Some are operated by hand; others are gas powered augers. Each type of auger has advantages in different ice fishing conditions.

Best Hand Auger: Strike Master Ice Augers Lazer Hand Auger

Best Gas Powered Auger: Eskimo Quantum Auger

Best Propane Ice Auger: Eskimo HC40Q8 High Compression 40cc

A good flannel shirt is a solid choice for all kinds of cool-weather activities, indoor and out. (Kelly Sikkeman on Unsplash/)

A well-loved, heavy-duty flannel shirt is that one item in the closet that you’ll reach for time and again. The soft feel of brushed cotton provides the most comfortable warmth, and the generous cut of most flannel shirts helps you stay active for hours. And modern apparel makers have updated flannel shirt fabrics and designs to keep them current with the times. Many of these shirts can travel from the backyard to the corner bar, with snazzy patterns and fashionable design touches. Here’s your guide to best new twists on a timeless favorite.

You’ll likely wear a favorite flannel shirt three seasons in the year, so consider investing in a top-notch design with buttoned pockets, adjustable cuffs, and a fit made for active wear.

When choosing a flannel shirt, be aware that they are made in a wide variety of materials. A 100 percent cotton shirt is best for durability and breathability, and take a close look at the weight of the flannel. A lighter flannel shirt is great for indoor wear. But for active outdoor use, consider a shirt made of 10-ounce flannel or heavier.

Flannel shirts are often worn when mobility is at a premium—hiking and playing outdoors, working in the yard, maybe chopping firewood for the home woodstove. Look for pleated backs and a generous cut in the sleeves so you won’t bind while working, or playing, hard.

An attempt to ban bear hunting in California was quickly struck down thanks to push back from dedicated hunters. (John Hafner/)

Hunters recently scored a big win in California when legislation that would ban all bear hunting in the state was withdrawn before it even had a chance to gain momentum. It’s a victory that overcame what many hunters felt was a hopeless situation, in a state where so many battles have already been lost. The situation demonstrated the power that we can bring to the table as hunters when we stand up together.

The bill was withdrawn thanks to an overwhelming amount of feedback from both individuals and organizations such as Sportsmen’s Alliance and the California chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. Even the national BHA chapter—which seemingly avoids taking a stance on predators or species-specific issues— voiced opposition to this bill. The effort was almost instantaneous, and unified across a wide spectrum of hunters, many of whom weren’t from California. That was something those pushing this anti-hunting agenda likely weren’t expecting. It demonstrated that even when the odds are against us, we can still make a difference in the preservation of our hunting rights and heritage. But, it takes all of us.

Defeating this bill in such a quick manner was a big victory, but bills and proposals such as this are sure to crop up again. We need to remember that standing up for the rights and interests of other hunters, trappers, and outdoorsmen is critical if we wish to maintain our own. Make no mistake, those who want to stop you from hunting know that their best bet is to divide the hunting community. They will manipulate the public and their perception of hunters, as well as the hunting community itself.

In early 2021, Hakai Magazine published a story, Trophy Hunters Could Threaten the Social Acceptability of Hunting. It set the table to pit those who hunt for meat against “trophy” hunters. Even within the hunting community, terms like “trophy hunter” and “meat hunter” are thrown around carelessly, and hunters are often defined by these terms in a narrative perpetuated by those who have no vested interest in the future of hunting. This is often done without any consideration for context or room for individual circumstance. The article itself does not carry the weight of legislation. But it cues us in to what I believe is one of many strategies to slowly eliminate hunting altogether. It shared much of the reasoning behind the California ban, as well as the successful grizzly hunting ban in British Columbia years ago.

This strategy is to embolden an exceptionalism-type mentality of a “food hunter,” who hunts for meat and no other reason. In addition to falsely reducing the hunting experience to a single motivation—food—this sets the “food hunter” up as morally superior to the “trophy hunter,” who only hunts for ego and bragging rights (also false). Because much of the general public finds it acceptable to hunt for food, it’s suggested that “food hunters” should distance themselves from “trophy hunters,” which is very quickly interpreted to include those who hunt predators, like bears and mountain lions (even though we’re usually eating those critters). In fact, it’s suggested that meat salvage requirements for some predators is only an indication that people are hunting them for the thrill and nothing more. This misguided logic could lead to getting rid of all predator hunting. In this mode of thinking, science and population management don’t matter, only good PR.

The author doubled up on this evening set. (Abner Druckenmiller/)

Coyotes, foxes, and bobcats are all cautious critters, and that caution only increases when they are hunted hard (if you have ever pursued any of these predators when they have been pressured, you know how difficult it can be). But predators have this stigma for being ultra-tough to kill, and that’s often not the case...if you understand how to hunt them. It’s critical you know the right places to hunt, how to approach a stand, what time of day to hunt them, calling strategies, and how to setup the e-caller so you can take an optimal shot. Put all these elements together and you’re bound to pile more pelts on the sled. You just have to remember to stick to a few simple tactics, and avoid costly mistakes. Employ these strategies, and your success rate will skyrocket.

1. Scouting For Stands

Having multiple places to call predators is the main ingredient for better hunting, so you have to scout and secure places to make more stands. I’ll hunt public land but like to focus on private tracts, if possible, because the pressure on coyotes is usually lower there. OnX Maps is a great tool for e-scouting. Look for timber-lined areas around agriculture fields, chicken and turkey farms, or if you are out West, focus on large parcels of land that may have cattle feed yards and/or pastures. These are all places where I’ve killed a lot of coyotes. Also, gather as much intel from landowners as you can. Ask them where they have seen coyotes. It will give you the best chance to call in a predator.

2. Where You Sit Matters

Before you go bombing into one of these locations, pay attention to wind direction and try to sit some place with a good vantage point where the wind is blowing in your face. A small rise in the landscape that gets you elevated to better see coyotes coming in will do nicely. If you’re sitting in a low spot, it’s less likely you will see the coyote before he sees you. Also, find cover as well, or a backdrop that will breakup your outline.

Keep the little bloodsuckers off of you with a quality mosquito repellent bracelet. (Anuj / Pexels/)

It’s the most dangerous animal on earth. It’s less than a quarter inch in size, buzzes around your backyard or campsite, and drinks your blood. And is there anyone on earth who has never gotten attacked by a mosquito?

Only female mosquitoes drink blood. Males enjoy an all-nectar diet. When it’s time to lay eggs, females tank up on blood to develop their brood. That mosquito knows you’re there way before you know she is, thanks to a suite of receptors on her antennas and mouthparts that sense things like the heat and chemicals your body gives off, and the carbon dioxide you breathe out. She lightly lands on you, searching for a blood vessel close to the surface of your skin. When she finds it, she pierces your skin and then uses mouthparts like drill bits to saw through your flesh, while another portion of her mouth acts like a surgeon’s retractor to hold the wound open. Then the mosquito drools specialized saliva into the wound to keep your blood from clotting, and begins to suck. As she takes that blood meal, she concentrates it inside her body, separating the water from the blood cells and dribbling that water out of her rear end.

The site then becomes inflamed, and it itches. It’s a most common annoyance in summer for just about anyone who’s outside, but can be more than that. Viruses can hitch a ride with mosquitoes and enter your bloodstream through the mosquito’s saliva. Some of those viruses cause deadly diseases like malaria, yellow fever, and various types of encephalitis. Mosquitoes are so deadly they kill hundreds of thousands of people worldwide every single year. Wolves and sharks each kill about 10.

The Centers for Disease Control recommend using a mosquito repellent registered by the Environmental Protection Agency, since these are tested and proven effective against mosquitoes. These repellents include DEET, Picaridin, IR3535, Oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD), and 2-undecanone.

BEST MOSQUITO BRACELET OVERALL: BUGABLES MOSQUITO REPELLENT BAND

A good pair of snow pants are essential for any activity that puts you into contact with the white stuff. (Unsplash/)

Puffers and parkas may get the lion’s share of winter gear attention, but snow pants are an essential item for keeping comfortable in cold weather—particularly when any form of precipitation is present. But pants can look like...pants, and at a glance it’s harder to intuit which pair may be your best choice. For instance, what’s the difference between snow pants and ski pants? Snowboard pants? Insulated pants? Are all snow pants waterproof, and does it matter?

We did the research to make your purchase choice easy. Here’s what you need to know to find the best snow pants for you.

Best Waterproof Snow Pants: Flylow Foxy Bibs Ski and Snowboard Pants

Best Insulated Snow Pants: The North Face Freedom Insulated Snow Pants

Best Ski Pants: Flylow Cage Ski and Snowboard Pants

This pike was lured to the spear with a brightly-colored perch decoy. (Richard P. Smith/)

I first attempted to spear northern pike through the ice with a buddy of mine who had a touch more familiarity with the winter sport than I did. He had been out once or twice in a shack with a spear, both of which were borrowed from a friend. It was neat having a fish-tank-like window into what was happening underwater by way of the large hole we laboriously chopped through the ice, and it was exciting when a large pike swam into that hole.

Truth be known, my buddy missed the pike; not once, but three times. Whenever he worked the decoy after retrieving the trident, the pike came back. Talk about thrilling action. That experience whet my appetite for more. Since then, I’ve learned that some of the largest pike ever taken in Michigan were speared from the Great Lakes waters of the Wolverine State.

Michigan’s Giants

The official state record northern pike for Michigan is a huge fish that was 51.5 inches in length and weighed 39 pounds. It was speared through the ice on Dodge Lake in the Upper Peninsula’s Schoolcraft County during the winter of 1961. The unofficial state record is a monster 49-pounder of unknown length that was skewered on Lake Superior’s Huron Bay during the winter of 1955 by father and son Ben and Don Pickard from L’anse. The Pickards speared two more enormous pike from Huron Bay that same year, one of which equaled the weight of the current state record. The other was a pound lighter.

Huron Bay and other protected waters of the Great Lakes are still home to eye-popping pike. Most, if not all, bays, harbors, and marinas of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie harbor northerns, some of which would rank as the biggest ever for many spearers.

The first Remington 870s rolled off the production line in 1950. (Mathew Every/)

In 1950 Remington debuted what would become the most popular pump shotgun ever made (11 million 870s have been produced in the last 70 years). You can find them in the mud rooms of duck clubs, on the trap field, in the turkey woods, and they even serve as capable home-defense shotguns (many police forces still utilize them as well). In short, the 870 is one of the most versatile guns a sportsman can own.

Remington has endured some long-standing financial troubles. The more than 200-year-old company entered bankruptcy and was sold off in blocks in 2020. Ruger now owns Marlin, Vista Outdoor has the ammunition, and a little-known entity, the Roundhill Group, bought two factories in New York and Tennessee. It’s rumored Roundhill will start production on 870s again as early as the spring of 2021. Time will only tell if the company is capable of bringing the vaunted pump gun back.

Meantime, the iconic 870 is ripe to be replaced by a modern pump shotgun. The 870 Wingmaster and Express are both still fine pumps, but with Remington in limbo, there’s an opening for another manufacturer to dominate the pump gun market. Here are some of the best pumps that could take the crown from the 870.

1. Mossberg 500

The 500 has the best chance to eclipse the 870. It’s been around for a half-century and more than 10 million have been sold. There are multiple configurations of this pump gun that include turkey, waterfowl, upland, deer, and home defense in 20- and 12-gauge, plus .410. Mossberg also smartly designed the 500 Flex series, which allows shooters to switch out recoil pads, stocks, fore-ends, and barrels without any tools. It’s a fabulous system to start a young shooter on because the gun can grow right along with your boy or girl (and the gun’s typically cost under $500). But even if the 500 supplants the 870, Remington will still be king in a roundabout way. The design of the 500 was based off the Remington 31, which was one of Big Green’s most well-built shotguns. It was just too expensive to produce, and thus the 870 was born.

A Marlin lever gun chambered in .30/30 Winchester. (Marlin/)

The .30/30 Winchester, it is often claimed, has hung more venison from meat poles than any other cartridge in history. But does that mean the .30/30 lever-action is the best deer rifle ever created? Maybe not. It depends on how you define “best.”

The challenge with judging things based on their popularity is that it doesn’t take into account human nature. Those weird, inexplicable, sometimes incomprehensible tastes and behaviors we suffer often make no sense. For instance, at this moment, the 6.5 Creedmoor is popular with hunters and shooters, but ballistically, the .260 or 6.5x55 Swede are both better options.

Similarly, the .30/.30 is thought of as the ultimate lever gun load. But is it? Only the ballistic data will tell. So, let’s do it. Here are how the .30/30, .45/70, and .300 Savage stack up against one another.

Lever-Action Rifles

The lever gun was invented for simplicity sake. A lever that opened the rifle breech to expose its chamber, a convenient device easily integrated into what had been muzzleloaders. The firing hand pushed the lever down to open the breach, the cartridge was inserted, and the lever closed. By 1860 B.Tyler Henry had concocted a mechanism to feed cartridges from a tube onto a loading ramp also activated by the lever. And the race was on: Winchester, Marlin…Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley. The all-American lever-action became THE rifle to own.

The author, navigating the flooded Arkansas timber. (Courtesy Jonathan Wilkins/)

I have lived most of my life looking for a place that I belong.

When my wife and I purchased a derelict building in Brinkley, Arkansas, in the spring of 2017, I was just looking for a place in town where I could sleep and keep a few supplies during duck season. It was a practical way to be closer to the areas where I hunt, and a place to relax after a long morning of hard work and cold temperatures.

I started to realize, though, that this building could be more than a bunkhouse for me and maybe some friends. As I peeled back the musty layers of other folks’ jackleg repairs made with scrounged materials, I began to want this place to be more.

In its lifetime, the building had been used for many purposes: a home, place of worship, parsonage, and corner store. In its most recent incarnation, the place was a small, old-style Southern church. Coupled with Brinkley’s steady population decline and the aging-out of its few remaining members, the Heartline Christian Fellowship could no longer sustain services, and closed its doors in 2014. Why couldn’t it be a duck camp in its next life?

The idea of creating a purpose-built facility for duck hunters formed quickly. With access to some of the best public waterfowl hunting in the world just a stone’s throw away, I figured I could recoup some of my renovation costs by offering the spot as a weekend rental to out-of-state hunters. A beautiful floor plan and recreation area took shape as I gutted the old church and transformed it into a modern hunting lodge for the do-it-yourself hunter. I learned to frame walls, and cleaned 100-year-old cypress beams. I made costly mistakes, took apart my work, and re-did many jobs many times over.

New and exciting challenges that crop up during outdoor pursuits—like carrying a canoe—build confidence and skills in kids of all ages. (Courtesy Northern Lakes Girl Scout Council /)

With school closures and state shutdowns, human connection has become nauseatingly virtual. Zoom calls seem to run together; weeks of indoor isolation blends into an unmemorable mush. Loneliness levels were already on a steady incline before the past year and have compounded since, exacerbating anxiety, depression, and other mental health crises.

Some people have found an unlikely cure to their isolation gloom: more solitude. An isolated trip in the wilderness may be just the fix for what’s ailing us. It’s an opportunity to look inward, to better connect with ourselves, our families, and the great outdoors. And it’s often possible in our own backyard.

Pre-pandemic, kids went on 15 percent fewer outdoor outings in 2018 than they did in 2012, according to the Outdoor Industry Association.

Since then, hunting license sales in Wisconsin have risen 10 percent in 2020; in Vermont, sales of fishing licenses have increased by 50 percent. In a recent survey on how behaviors are changing because of the virus, 18 percent of respondents say they are spending more time outdoors, where transmission rates of Covid-19 are believed to be lower.

Read Next: Being a Parent, and a Kid, Hasn’t Been Easy This Year