Today, rather than give up a sport that has been a passion for so long, I have learned to somewhat compensate for the nasty little surprises my aging body has waiting for me: diminished energy, painful joints, a bad back, neuropathy, hammertoes and muscle cramps. There are also paybacks for an assortment of freaky accidents like a falling tree crushing my shoulder and my snapping both Achilles tendons a year apart in overly optimistic and ridiculous attempts to play basketball again.
As few as 15 years ago, pheasant hunting for me was an uncomplicated affair. I arose at 5:00 a.m. so I could be in my favorite draw by dawn. I dressed, laced up my boots, grabbed my 12-gauge, my shells and my dog, a Thermos of coffee, a jug of water, a couple Snickers bars and an apple; I was out of the house in 15 minutes. I’d hunt until I had my threebird limit or until dark – whichever came first – and on weekends, I’d do it all over again the next day.
Esta historia es de la edición Spring 2023 de The Upland Almanac.
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Esta historia es de la edición Spring 2023 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.