Entries for February 2013

My son, Cole, has already tagged some nice mule deer in his youth hunting career, but it wasn't until last fall that he killed his first whitetail. I finally put the video footage together from the hunt.

The 9mm gets a bad rap as a defensive handgun cartridge. You've probably heard all the stories, and if you were around when our military gave up their .45s for 9s, you probably remember the outcry. Our world seems to think that bigger is always better, and the idea of a 9mm (.355 caliber) hole as compared to a .45 caliber hole seems inadequate to many.

If you’d venture to tell someone from Douglas, Wyoming, that jackalopes don’t exist, they’d probably look at you like you were the crazy one.

YouTube is full of stupid people doing stupid things, and maybe I’ve showcased some of them on this blog. This video, however, is not one of them.

"Criminals and tyrants—tyrants especially—beware: Lockdown is not an option at the Stevens residence, and 911 will be dialed after the security of my home has been established."

I couldn't put it any better.

Last week was Alabama’s end to a very long deer season. I had a front-row seat into the closing hours as I hoped one of the big bucks that had been showing up on scouting cameras would have one final hankering for a salad meal before the end of shooting light. Despite hunting a variety of habitats and using several tactics, I failed to bring home a “'Bama bruiser.”

Shed antler hunting is a game we take seriously at the farm. We learn a lot from the time we spend in the woods looking for antlers, which taunted us all season long. For example, every year I learn my old eyes ain’t what they used to be. I have also learned that no matter how much thought and effort I put into making a deer antler necklace (the only acceptable reason for a man to look at Pinterest), my wife prefers something a little shinier on Valentine’s Day. But most importantly, we learn more about the land we manage.

If you're a media professional—reporter, blogger, editor, etc.—it's a given that at some point in your career you'll be forced to attend an event that's ... tediously boring. Sometimes it's simply a matter of stroking an ad client or industry partner by showing them that you care by just being there. Quite honestly, that's the experience I expected when I signed up for the PrimaLoft press conference at the 2013 SHOT Show.

A well-rounded predator hunter should have more than one tool in his toolbox. The old adage that says, "If your only tool is a hammer, soon every problem looks like a nail," applies to predator hunting, too. Besides calling—which we sometimes get stuck on—a good hunter knows how to stalk and how to work baits. Another valuable skill is the ability to go long.

I enjoy hunting whitetails just about anywhere. Alabama is one of my favorite states to hunt deer south of the Mason-Dixon line.