What if you took a moment before setting out on a hunting trip, maybe planned just a bit more, got somewhat organized? I can almost guarantee it would be a better trip. Believe me, I speak from experience – learning the hard way so you won’t have to.
First, some philosophy: abandon all the woulda-shoulda-coulda thoughts that creep in as you cross the county line. Once on the road, it’s time to begin living in the moment. Make do with what you have, adapt, enjoy. Maintain an open mind, be flexible, optimistic. Nobody likes a whiner, so quit bitching about your forgotten lucky hat.
Next, a more practical lesson: Take a duplicate of anything that would – if lost, missing or forgotten – kibosh your trip, force you to go home or worse yet, watch your buddy have all the fun. This category includes shotgun, ammo, license, boots, glasses, medicine and dog (don’t ask how I know this). Along the same lines, before you go, test everything that is critical. I’ve found shredded space blankets and leaky water bottles in my vest and had a boot sole tear off on a chukar hunt. Talk about buzzkill.
OK, you have the critical stuff. Now, on to the things that have helped me maintain most of my sanity while hunting in 26 states with few regrettable incidents (other than questionable taste in hunting partners).
Your four-footed companion
Esta historia es de la edición Spring 2021 de The Upland Almanac.
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Esta historia es de la edición Spring 2021 de The Upland Almanac.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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Tail feathers - STANDARDS AND PRACTICES
\"An armed society is a polite society,\" the NRA says in one of its dicta, cribbed from Robert A. Heinlein, a 20th-century American science fiction writer.
Day's End - IN PRAISE OF FENCEROWS
Driving north along the Hudson River, I gazed at a pastoral autumn scene: sere fields of faded yellow harvested corn, stubbly and broken amongst the clods of black earth, almost smooth from my vantage point. Spiky brown veins of wild growth marked barriers between plots. Occasionally, the gray bones of a mature oak rose among the brown shrubs to stand over the yellow fields. A sentry, keeping silent watch as white frost crystals slowly melted into invisibility.
That Time of Year Again
Without doubt. The most idyllic form of hunting in Ohio is seeking the woodcock. - Merrill Gilfallan, Moods of the Ohio Moons: An Outdoorsman's Almanac (1991)
I Don't Wanna'!
I'm an old hand at being retired, though - have been practicing for 25 years.
Hunting the Huns: Alberta's Big Sky Country
The prairies of southern Alberta are vast, beautiful and full of prime bird habitat. Crop fields are interspersed with abandoned farms, rolling hills are intersected by coulees and creek beds, and Hungarian partridge and sharptailed grouse occupy some of the best and most picturesque habitat on the continent.
Side Dish - End of Season
Sporting trips are not only about sport, as many other experiences are discovered alongside. And my trip to Lakewood Camps in Maine was certainly just that.
AN EXTENDED STAY
There is no reason to leave Michigan in the fall unless the opportunity of a cast and blast adventure at a historic sporting lodge in Maine comes calling.
KEEP IT HANDY
If you think shooting a ruffed grouse on the wing with a shotgun is tough, try shooting one in flight with a still camera.
A Longtime Love Affair
It's possible to hunt your favorite birds in a lot of different places, I suppose, but I don't do that.
Profile of an Artist: Harley Bartlett
Harley Bartlett was born in 1959 near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. However, having lived in Rhode Island for most of his life he considers himself a Rhode Islander.
