Have you ever considered heading afield during muzzleloader hunting season? “Muzzleloader” is the term given to early firearms because they are loaded from the muzzle — powder, wadding and projectiles — rather having a cartridge to insert into the chamber. Muzzleloaders were common firearms during the Revolutionary War, and while these arms are often seen […]

By Jason Houser In Part 1 of this column, I talked about the details that can help ensure a person you’re mentoring goes from being a new hunter to a life-long hunter. Fun should be at the top of the list there, but you also need to cover the realities of a hunt. Safety — […]

By Jason Houser Imagine if just one out of three hunters made the pledge to introduce a new person to our sport. The difference would be felt for generations to come. That is exactly what NSSF is working to accomplish with the +ONESM Movement. Letsgohunting.org makes it easy for you to get involved. Start by […]

Treestands are one of the most popular and effective methods of deer hunting throughout the eastern half of our country. Being perched high in a tree offers concealment from a whitetail’s sharp eyesight, helps to keep a hunter’s scent from spooking game and gets a hunter above cover for a clear view and shot. Unfortunately, […]

It wasn’t that long ago that it was commonplace for kids learning to hunt to do so by chasing quail, rabbits and squirrels in the woodlots and fields around their house. For a great many families, small game made up a large part of the weekly dinner menu. Sadly, those days are mostly gone. Lack […]

While treestands for deer or slipping quietly through the woods for turkey might be more traditional hunting methods, hunting from manufactured, pop-up style blinds is rapidly gaining in popularity. Just flip through any modern hunting catalog and you’ll find ground blinds in dozens of shapes, sizes, styles and camo patterns, a strong indicator of this […]

If you’ve recently taken a hunter safety course, you were probably told that when you field dress a game animal you should wear some sort of glove as protection against cuts and possible infection. Seems logical, right? I mean, today everybody wears gloves, from the lady who cleans your teeth to those doing janitorial work. […]

The key to backcountry survival is avoiding trouble in the first place. However, as one of my hunting buddies is fond of saying, “In hunting, anything that can go wrong will go wrong—and then something else will go wrong.” The more time you spend in the backcountry, the chances of needing survival gear and the […]

Hunting is a return to nature, an exploration of the wild places left on earth, and while there are many great hunts in close proximity to settled areas and each of our own backyards, experiences in the back country—commonly known as “out there”—can be simply amazing. Still, with rugged, far from civilization terrain, things gone […]

When it comes to excitement, a good duck hunt ranks way up there. Starting with pre-dawn decoy placement, early morning flybys by ducks so close you can feel the wind off their wings and, if you’re lucky, breakfast in the duck blind, it all adds up to a great day afield for hunters of any […]