Entries for May 2011

By the end of our inaugural Black Hills Merriam's hunting trip, my hunting buddy and I were like desperate, washed-up, old men waiting at a local watering hole for any sign of action. Heck, we would've probably settled for a bearded lady (hen). By the end of the 4-day adventure, all ...

Over the years, North American Hunting Club members have had some great role models when it comes to handgun hunting! The pages of North American Hunter magazine and footage on Club videos have included great advice and insight from legends like Hal Swiggett, Larry Weishuhn and J. Wayne Fears. I’m f...

Join me as I show you what you'll see in the first episode of "North American Hunter-TV" 2011. I'd also like to share a few links so you can learn more about the products featured in my "NAH-TV" segment, "Field Test with Ainsley Beeman." Thanks for tuning in to the...

Finally, I made my long-awaited journey to the Black Hills of South Dakota for a “true” Merriam’s wild turkey hunt. My close friend and fellow NAHC member, Branigan Weber, and I drove straight through from the Twin Cities and arrived in the parking lot of a Custer, South Dakota, gas station before w...

Got to hunt turkeys last week with the boys from Down ‘n Dirty Outdoors. I had a strong suspicion that was confirmed on the hunt in southwestern Kentucky. Mark Coin and Jason Kidd are real deal, turkey killing machines. Even though weeks of heavy rain left serious flooding in big chunks of their hom...

The other day I was in the office speaking with North American Hunter Managing Editor Dave Maas. We were exchanging stories about our recent turkey hunting misadventures. I told him about a bird I had spotted with two hens, which I tried putting the sneak on. Dave gave me a light-hearted, friendly hard time about employing spot-and-stalk on wild turkeys.

The sporting clays facility at Dorchester Shooting Preserve in Midway, Georgia is tournament caliber.  They’ve carefully built the course station by station to make great use of the vegetation and terrain. With the controlled burning of the undergrowth underway while we were there and the lands...

Hey Y’all, I’m Ainsley Beeman, an avid outdoorswoman from Louisiana! Born and raised in the sportsman’s paradise, I’m happy to tell you that my love for hunting began at a very young age. While my smile never ceased as I took down one fox squirrel after another, it was a November to remember in 199...

No, I’m not promoting some sort of cruelty. In fact, the statement there should be no off-season for dogs is made with the greatest benefit to the dog in mind. What made me think of this was the great report I got from Jerry Sather on Sunday afternoon! Jerry’s the owner of Labs Unlimited Kennel a...

The Black Hills are among some of the last remaining symbols of the Western frontier. The Merriam’s birds that occupy the Hills are as wild as turkeys come. I would almost argue it fair to call them a subspecies of their own. Technically, I lack only the Osceola subspecies to complete my grand sl...