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What the Doctor Ordered
By William Miley
The best therapy is spending time in a deer stand. I live in Abilene, Texas, but I am from Westminster in Maryland. About 17 years ago, my family attended a church picnic for 4th of July. Someone had set up a bow range as part of the entertainment, and my good friend Rick Ellis told me to give it a shot. I borrowed pastor Ed Conrad’s compound... READ MORE
Uncle James
By James Nugent
My oldest niece Briley, an eager 8-year old, had begged to go hunting with me for several years. After weeks of discussion and planning, the time finally arrived for her first trip.
Still not comfortable enough with a rifle to hunt, she was excited to watch and learn all she could. Briley is no stranger to the outdoors; she won first place in the ... READ MORE
How To End a Season
By Miranda Cheatham
Every hunting season since I was 2 years old, my dad and I have traveled from our home in Niceville, Fla., to Macon County, Alabama. It had been four years since I was able to take a nice buck worthy of mounting.
This year I had a new gun handed down to me, a 1980s Browning BAR .270. I had been letting small bucks walk until the rut hit. Then, on ... READ MORE
Dagwoods Anyone?
By Andrew Marley
How a rabbit hunter fills a freezer in just five seconds.
Spoiler alert! This story does not have any antlers involved, but it is interesting nonetheless. Fortunately, it doesn’t end with a big bowl of tag soup, either.
Opening day of Kentucky’s gun season finally arrived, and I headed to the woods, excited about what might be under t... READ MORE
Thanks for the Memories
By Christina L. Krause
I got my first buck on Dec. 12, 2009, and I remember it like it was yesterday.
I was sitting in my treestand, waiting impatiently to see the woods wake up around me.
A few groups of deer ran by in the distance, and I hoped they would go by my husband, Mike, and my daughter, Michaela. After that, it was pretty slow.
By 8:35 I started to get a lit... READ MORE
First of Many
By Lyndsey Wesner
I’ve had a lot of firsts in the past eight months, so after I caught my first 20-pound king salmon, shot my first 8-point buck with a bow, took my first doe with a bow, and my first doe with a muzzleloader, naturally I expressed desire to shoot my first turkey.
My husband Rick said, “It's not easy. They have keen eyesight, and the slig... READ MORE
Oh, Brother!
By Todd Davis
Last year my youngest brother Fred kept harvesting critters in northeast Oklahoma, while I struggled to see anything in drought stricken north Texas.
North Texas looked, smelled, and felt like being on the moon. Everything was brittle, dried up and turning to dust. After ribbing me for months, Fred finally extended an invitation to hunt with him t... READ MORE
All in the Family
By Jessica Jenderny
I’ve been hunting with my dad, Eric Jenderny, since I was old enough to walk.
He taught me what his dad taught him about hunting. His best friend Bruce Rogers also taught me a lot about hunting, so what I’ve learned about deer and hunting, I owe to them.
Now that I’m 16, I’ve become a mighty hunter like my mentors.
The we... READ MORE
Worth the Wait
By John Mitchell
It took a few years, but when Micah got his first deer, it was a good one. I started taking Micah to the dove lease when he was 7, and he started deer hunting with me when he was 9. Micah has developed a love for hunting and being in the woods. Even so, it felt like he would never get his first deer. It seemed like no matter what, something always ... READ MORE
Hey, This Actually Works!
By Michael Dickerson
There are some things in hunting you have to experience before you believe they’re true.
It was opening day of muzzleloader season in McNairy County, Tenn. The days had been getting colder, so I was hoping the rut was about to kick in. I had been scanning several areas for a place my set up my ladder stand and decided on a pine tree in front... READ MORE