I kicked off this season hunting the entire month of September without ever pulling the trigger—for birds, not for big game, not for a once-in-a-lifetime tag draw. I never even came close. True, the Himalayan Snowcock might be the most challenging hunt in the country. This was my second attempt at those demons and I […]
View Post Desert Quail, Gambel's Quail, Mearns Quail, New Mexico, Quail Hunting, Scaled Quail
When I hunt in North Dakota, my thoughts often drift to Teddy Roosevelt’s days at Elkhorn Ranch — He named his Dakota home for a pair of locked elk skulls he found at the site. Today, centrally located within the million acres of the Little Missouri National Grasslands, Elkhorn is a great place to visit […]
View Post Badlands, Grasslands, Grouse Hunting, Pheasant Hunting, Public Lands, Teddy Roosevelt
The first half of the 2014 Upland Season is over and it’s been a whirlwind of travel all across the country. But this last trip to South Dakota hunting in brutally cold conditions was a great reminder that some of the best memories afield come from facing adversity and overcoming. Share/Bookmark
View Post Pheasant Hunting, South Dakota Pheasant Hunting
It’s easy for me to get caught up in this solo pursuit. The rhythm of walking to the horizon with shotgun in hand appeals to my obsessive nature. Shut out the world and follow the dogs. Simple. Quiet. Rewarding. But decades ago I came to be a bird hunter because of friends sharing their experience […]
View Post Grouse Hunting, Montana Bird Hunting, Sharptail Hunting
Something is wrong with me. Any other sane bird hunter would have packed up and moved to the interior where the bird numbers and density are greater. But I’m entrenched in the Kenai and I can’t get away from it. I’ve shot a Whitetailed Ptarmigan already. I’ve seen where they live. I know their confounding […]
View Post Alaska Bird Hunting, Bird Hunting, Ptarmigan Hunting, Whitetail Ptarmigan
Alaska and I are at odds. I’m here to take her birds. She’s not giving them up easily. I’m to earn them one vertical foot at a time until she has determined that sufficient toll has been collected. She’s happy to show amazing places, jaw-dropping beauty, an abundance of nature viewing unrivaled anywhere else in […]
View Post Alaska, Alaska Bird Hunting, Alaska Hunting, Grouse Hunting, Ptarmigan Hunting
Driving endless hours. It’s the not-so-glamourous part of this upland hunting pursuit. Thankfully the days afield tend to erase the days of pavement. The two longest drives of the year are always the first and last of the season. The anticipation of getting underway and the dread of completion make the toughest slogs. The 4,200 […]
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The sun is dipping into the horizon and the thermometer reads 19° when the dogs and I return to the truck after hunting the final day of upland season in Kansas. A quick check of the fitness band reveals I’ve hiked over 12 miles in eight inches of new snowfall. The dogs never stopped hunting […]
View Post Kansas Bird Hunting, Oklahoma Quail Hunting, Upland Hunting
When you are about to drive 1500 miles to hunt birds, the last thing you want to do is forget something. Rural Montana isn’t the easiest place to find gear that you left behind. Because it’s the first hunt of the year, I try and pack over the course of a couple weeks. Sounds crazy, […]
View Post Montana Bird Hunting, Sharptail Hunting
The US Drought Monitor Map gives a pretty depressing view for more than half the country. There is a distinct yellow to deep red tone painting most of the areas west of the Mississippi and south of the Oregon Trail. The Drought Monitor uses a number of factors – soil moisture, streamflow, precipitation and more […]
View Post Pheasant Forecasts, Quail forecasts, Upland Bird Forecast