Hunting and Fishing News & Blog Articles

Ingredients: 1 pound ground venison (70% venison / 30% pork) 1/2 cup breadcrumbs 1/4 cup milk 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 onions, sliced 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 cups beef broth 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce Salt and pepper to taste Fresh parsley for garnish Instructio...

Ingredients: 4 lbs. wild boar shoulder roast1 tablespoon salt1 tablespoon black pepper1 tablespoon paprika1 tablespoon garlic powder1 tablespoon onion powder1/2 cup apple cider vinegar1/2 cup water1/2 cup ketchup1/4 cup brown sugar2 tablespoons mustard1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauceBuns, for serving Instructions: Preheat your oven to 325°F.In a s...

Wild boar can be found in certain areas of the world, including parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. They are considered an invasive species in many areas and are often hunted to manage their population. If you're looking to purchase wild boar meat, you can check with your local butcher or specialty meat store. Some online retailers also offer...

INGREDIENTS 2 1⁄2lbs of fresh beef heart, thinly sliced and cut into squares of about 2 inches long (be sure to trim meat away from arteries)1 cup red wine vinegar4 tablespoons ground cumin1 teaspoon ground pepper1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)5 big fresh garlic cloves2 tablespoons of finely minced fresh parsley2 tablespoons of finely minced fresh ci...

Ingredients: 1 pound venison steak, thinly sliced1 large onion, thinly sliced1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced4-6 slices of provolone cheese4-6 hoagie rolls2 tablespoons olive oilSalt and pepper to taste Instructions: Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.Add the thinly sliced venison steak to the skillet, and sea...

Tying a fly for fly fishing is a skill that takes practice and patience to develop. Here are the basic steps to tying a fly: Gather materials: You'll need a hook, fly tying thread, and any additional materials such as feathers, fur, or synthetic materials to create the desired shape and texture of your fly.Secure the hook: Place the hook in the vis...

Fooled By a Toddler Okay - Travis wasn't a toddler but pretty close to it; he was 4 yrs old. Our oldest son, Travis, has loved the sport of hunting since he was old enough to admire a rifle.At 4 yrs old, he felt like Mr. Special himself if he got the opportunity to sit in a deer blind with someone. One fine opening day morning Travis was sitti...

 Something Left An Animal Carcass At This Hunter's Stand From Redditor /u/ozarkansas: I was walking to my stand early one morning (like an hour before sunup early) and I started hearing footsteps behind me. I thought I was just tripping because honestly who hasn't thought they heard scary noises in the dark? But it very quickly became apparent...

 Two blondes go hunting in the forest...As they come across some tracks one says>Hey look, deer tracks!One says>You idiot, these are obviously moose tracks!Says the other.>Deer tracks!>Moose tracks!They started shoving each other and were shouting so much they never heard the train coming...

 A pair of hunters went moose hunting and chartered a small plane to carry them. At the end of the day, they had bagged six moose and were about to load them in the plane.The pilot disagreed with them, saying the plane could only take four safely.The hunters argued, saying that last year, the pilot had allowed them to carry all six onboard on ...

I’m from Canada, and was wondering what the process is like to start hunting!!!! I think I would enjoy any type of hunting but would like to hunt deer first. Any advice or tips would be appreciated! Message me individually or just comment on this post!

I don’t hunt or fish ? but some of my friends and family members do.  I’m here for the pictures and just interested in seeing what  this lifestyle is like.  I love  the outdoors  with it’s beautiful scenery and fresh air.  Hoping to get out more after I retire from my job of 32 years.  

The author's son after his first time shooting a .410 shotgun. (Joe Genzel/)

My grandfather was an avid reloader. He would toil with rifle cartridges downstairs every night after dinner while my father and his siblings finished their homework at the kitchen table. Sometimes in the middle of their studies, a loud bang erupted from the basement and they would all gasp in panicked surprise. My grandfather built his own 25-yard range in the basement so he didn’t have to venture outside in brutal Illinois winters. He shot into a coiled lead catch that stopped his handloads from penetrating the concrete foundation, or a ricochet.

I tell you this story because that’s how many kids in rural areas grow up. Well, maybe their father didn’t have a rifle range in the house, but most country boys and girls are around guns and ammunition from an early age, and begin shooting when they are young. That makes them far more comfortable with firearms than kids in suburbia.

In the last few years, I’ve introduced my own son to his first hunting gun—an H&R Pardner .410. My family lives in a city of about 90,000 people where you cannot legally fire a gun inside city limits. My son, who is 7 years old, knows there are guns in our house, and has held many of them under my close supervision. But since we are city folks, he had never fired a gun until recently.

That’s a far cry from how my father’s generation—and much of my generation (I’m 40)—were introduced to guns. When I was a kid, my friends and I were allowed to shoot BB guns in the backyard while our dads tipped tallboys and grilled steaks. My father showed me how gun powder burned by dumping lines of it on our driveway and lighting it on fire from the lit end of his Marlboro Menthol. This all transpired while neighborhood kids played stick ball and rode bikes on the street in front of our house.

But that’s not how it works today. My son is learning to shoot much differently than I did. Since we live in an urban area, and in a time where gun culture is under heavy scrutiny, he cannot plink at empty soda cans behind the garage with a Red Rider. Living in the city makes it harder to get your kids comfortable with guns. So, I had to think of other ways to introduce my son to his first hunting gun, while still leaving him with the same confidence a farm kid, who grew up shooting guns, would have. It’s an ongoing process that will continue for years to come. Here is how I got him started.

Iniki Vike Kapu, 27, can longer legally hunt in 47 states. (Colorado Parks and Wildlife /)

Poaching is a serious threat to wildlife and the bane of game agencies all over the country. Unfortunately, that’s because poaching is all too common. But every once in awhile there’s a case so egregious that it deserves national attention, like the case of Iniki Vike Kapu. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials recently dropped the hammer on Kapu for multiple violations related to illegal hunting. Kapu also had his hunting license revoked forever after multiple incidents spanning several years involving multiple species.

Kapu, 27, of Colorado Springs, pleaded guilty to illegally killing 12 deer, two turkeys and a bighorn sheep in three counties. The poaching began in 2019, and the investigation started shortly thereafter thanks to a poaching hotline tip to CPW.

Read Next: The 50 Biggest Poaching Fines in History

Kapu pleaded on Dec. 27, 2020, in Teller County, Colorado, and again on Feb. 3 in Fremont County to illegal possession of three or more big game animals and illegal possession of a bighorn sheep. He was sentenced Feb. 11, 2021, in Fremont County to six months in jail and three years supervised probation. Kapu got 111 days credit for the time he spent awaiting trial but was returned to finish the remainder of his time behind bars. He also was fined $4,600. Kapu was fined $900 in 2019 in Chaffee County after pleading guilty to illegal possession of wildlife.

Kapu forfeited all the weapons he used while poaching the animals. A special hearing examiner with the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission also revoked his hunting license permanently. Because Colorado is part of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, that means he cannot legally hunt in 47 other states that are part of the IWVC. The investigation began in October 2018 thanks to a citizen’s tip about Kapu’s vehicle being stuck and abandoned in Pike National Forest. It had a dead deer in the back that had spoiled.

Without the right data tools, we can't know what's actually going on with hunter numbers in the U.S. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/)

Did COVID-19 send more hunters into the field last year than any previous season? Or was the pandemic spike more like a bump? Are recent efforts to recruit younger, more diverse hunters working?

It turns out, we don’t know the answer to any of those questions, and might not know for years. That’s because the mechanism used to tally license sales in any given state, let alone on a national basis, is clunky, inefficient, and complicated by agencies’ reluctance to share their customers’ information or buying habits.

The result is that journalists like me use whatever data we can find to report on hunting-participation trends. We often turn to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s annual census of National Hunting License Data. But it turns out that even those austere federal numbers aren’t particularly reliable.

“Even though the USFWS reports show ‘Calculation Year 2020 and Calculation Year 2019,’ they are in fact using sales data from 2018 and 2017,” says Jim Curcuruto, a consultant to the outdoor and conservation industry. “I bet less than 10 percent of people know those are 2-year-old data.”

Hunters who purchase lifetime licenses are not usually counted as participants in subsequent years—only in the year they actually shelled out for the license. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/)

License-sales numbers are further confused by the crazy quilt of license types that each state sells. For instance, Pennsylvania sells a lifetime license, but the hunter who buys it is counted as a participant only in the year of purchase, even though they’re probably going afield for many years afterward. And if a fishing license comes with a bonus hunting license, the sportsman or woman who bought it is often not counted in the national census.

It takes gear to get a bird this close, and a good turkey vest will carry it all. (Shoeib Abolhassani / Unsplash/)

Successful turkey hunting requires specialized turkey hunting gear. None of it is big or heavy, but you’ve got lots of little things to carry and keep track of: Calls, clippers, shells, snacks, water, decoys and more all help make hunts more successful. A turkey hunting vest gives you a place to organize and carry your hunting gear so it’s at your fingertips when you need it. A vest can also carry a dry, soft cushion to sit on, or even function as a chair. Some kind of vest is an essential part of your turkey hunting apparel, and certainly the most important item of hunting clothes you have to choose. Here’s how to find the best turkey hunting vest for your style of hunting.

Features to Consider When Shopping for the Best Turkey Vest

Finding the best turkey hunting vest begins with taking an inventory of the turkey hunting gear you carry, and considering where and how you hunt. If you’re a run and gun type hunter you’ll want a lightweight turkey vest, while gear junkies who carry as many calls as they can may prioritize storage space over all else.

Regardless of how you hunt, there are some features you’ll want to consider whenever you shop for a turkey hunting vest. Be sure it has enough pockets to carry your gear. Some hunters insist on a vest with a game bag for carrying decoys and blind material and as a place to stash extra layers as the day warms up. Dedicated pockets are a nice feature, especially box call pockets that carry a call securely enough so it doesn’t squeak when you’re walking. Fitted pockets that hold and protect fragile pot calls are very useful, too.

The best turkey hunting vest for you is the one that lets you organize your essentials in such a way that you can easily find them, even in the dark.

Life packed with winter adventure? A puffer jacket keeps you warm and travels well. (Olya Adamovich, Pixabay/)

People have been looking to the animal kingdom for clues on how to keep warm for millennia. Thankfully, we’ve moved well beyond bear skins—but we still owe our warmest technology to waterfowl. The best puffer jackets get their coziness from stuffing that’s either made from or inspired by the fluffy plumage found under the feathers of geese and ducks. The insulation inside puffer jackets works because it traps tiny pockets of air between your body and the elements, so your body heat actually becomes the source of warmth for these coats and jackets. Puffer coats come in a wide variety of styles, but they’re all designed to keep you warm when the weather turns chilly.

Best Down Puffer Jacket: Cotopaxi Fuego Hooded Down Jacket

Best Hooded Puffer Jacket: Flylow Roswell Insulated Jacket

Best Packable Puffer Jacket: Eddie Bauer CirrusLite Down Jacket

Best Lightweight Puffer Jacket: Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer/2

Shawn O'Shea's Alberta bull is the new archery elk non-typical world record. (Pope & Young/)

Shawn O’Shea is the new Pope & Young archery non-typical elk world record holder after his Alberta bull was officially measured 449 4/8 inches on March 20. O’Shea killed the bull on Sept. 14, 2020 in Minburn County, Alberta. According to a press release from P&Y, O’Shea first had the 8-by-7 bull on trail camera in 2017.

“The few pictures caught by the camera served only as teasers,” O’Shea told P&Y. “You only had to but look at the photos to realize the massive potential of this animal.”

O’Shea heard the massive bull fighting with another bull on Sept. 13, but could not get close enough for a shot before running out of legal shooting light. He set out the next morning, but never saw the bull. During the afternoon hunt, O’Shea came across fresh elk sign, and with his target bull in the same area, he was hopeful this would be the opportunity he had been waiting on for three years.

O’Shea tried calling, but the bull never responded. So, he decided to wait him out, setting up a ground blind near a well-used game trail that was full of fresh elk sign. The bull eventually came in from O’Shea’s left and stopped at about 30 yards, but he couldn’t get a shot off right away. He waited about five minutes, and the elk walked inside 20 yards of his blind.

“He closed the gap to 18 yards, and I was able to draw back and make the shot,” O’Shea said.

Phil Duracz of Chesterson, Indiana with his state record whitefish. (Indiana DNR/)

If you’ve ever wanted to hold a state fishing record, targeting whitefish in Indiana might be like going all in with a royal flush at a Vegas poker table. Indiana’s whitefish record has been broken eight times since 2012. Phil Duracz of Chesterson, Indiana, is the latest to hold the title of Hoosier Whitefish King. Duracz caught a 9.34-pound whitefish from Lake Michigan near Portage while fishing on March 6. That toppled the record set in 2019 by 1.65 pounds.

According to Michigan Outdoor News, Duracz spotted the fish on his Garmin Electronics in about 50 feet of water.

“I dropped down my bait (a Berkley 3.5 Power Swimmer rigged on a half-ounce jig head) down there, popped it off the bottom and she ate it,” he told Michigan Outdoor News. “I thought it might be a small lake trout because we caught several of those and lakers tend to fight harder.”

Duracz and his buddy Clint Marler are experienced anglers who have caught several whitefish that were close to breaking the record. When they saw this fish near the boat, they knew it’d be a record breaker.

Read Next: Wisconsin State Record Whitefish Caught in Lake Michigan

Your turkey spots are going to be crowded this spring. Don't let that stop you. (John Hafner/)

Last year I was caught off guard by how many other hunters I encountered at my usual turkey hunting spots. Coronavirus lockdowns lead to increased turkey hunting participation in states all around the country, but also more hikers, mushroom hunters, and anglers. While I personally and professionally love to see more folks getting outside, I know that it also means there will be a whole bunch more people out there who could accidentally mess up my morning turkey hunt.

It’s too early to compile complete turkey license sales data, but anecdotally I can say that in Wisconsin (where I do most of my turkey hunting) tags are already almost sold out in all but two zones. I can’t remember a recent season when tags went so quickly. So this year, I’m not going to be surprised by the crowds in the woods—and you shouldn’t be either.

I mostly hunt public land, but I don’t like competing with other hunters for turkeys. Besides the safety aspect, turkeys that are pressured are way harder to kill. The research on this is pretty concrete: highly pressured toms are less likely to gobble. Hunting silent turkeys is just not that fun to me. So in these next three weeks before the season starts, I’m working hard to find public and private land that I think will see fewer hunters and hold more birds. The real key here is to create a lot of options. I can’t fully predict where other hunters are going to be, and I can’t predict where the birds are going to be, either (more on this later). So the plan is to identify as many promising properties as possible and then start narrowing them down during the season. That way if I pull up to a prime spot and find it’s already crowded with hunters, I can just roll to the next one. No blood-vessel popping frustration needed. Here’s how it works.

Come Down Off the Public-Land High Horse

I get it bro, we’re all public landowners. I’ve got a #keepitpublic t-shirt too. Last spring I killed four turkeys on public ground, but man did I have to work hard to scratch them out. I hunted a lot, including during weekdays, and not everyone has that option. If you don’t have the whole spring to grind away on public-land birds, or if you’ve been let down by your regular public spots (which were likely crawling with people last year), then you need to start locking down some private land hunting access.