How to spot more deer and other outdoors notes
Take a quick look around the outdoors world with a tip, a new piece of gear and more: Tip of the week It takes more than just looking to see deer in the woods. Or more than just casual looking, anyway. Your best bet for spotting a whitetail is to...
6 health benefits of eating wild game
The alarm goes off in the pre-dawn dark and, rolling over, you touch the shoulder of your significant other. An affectionate yet sly smile crosses your lips. “Shh,” you say. “Shh. It’s OK. I’m just letting you know I’m leaving.” “Huh? What? Where?” he or she asks. “Hunting,” you answer....
Hibernation an amazing winter wildlife survival strategy
I never even got to say goodbye. My wife and I were hiking on a recent Sunday afternoon, following a trail through a state forest near our home. It was cool but not cold, just chill enough that the crisp leaves crunched beneath our feet with each step, like so...
Here are 8 tips for better solo bear hunting
Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto. But you? This season, perhaps, you’re hunting black bears alone, without a gang to put on drives, in a state where using dogs to chase bruins or bait to draw them in are illegal. That’s the definition of going solo. Still, don’t despair about...
Survey says firearms deer hunting leads to less violence
Deer hunters are killers, but not of each other or their neighbors. That’s what the research says, anyway. Ball State economics professor Paul Niekamp looked at the relationship between violent crime and deer hunting seasons in 21 states over 20 years. He recently released the results of that work. He...
Change likely, and finally, coming to fishing license-display rule
This might be another case where Pennsylvania is catching up with the rest of the country. Lawmakers are close to expanding Sunday hunting opportunities. A bill that would allow it on three Sundays a year is moving through the legislature and could go to Gov. Tom Wolf for his signature...
How to get more shots at ruffed grouse and other outdoor Xtras
Tip of the week Ruffed grouse are notorious for holding tight, then flushing almost from under foot in a noisy explosion. It’s intentionally unnerving. There’s a way for hunters to, if not beat that strategy, at least increase the odds of getting off a shot, though. And that’s to react...
Running down some camp-kitchen essentials for every outing
Big Blue, as it’s known for short, simply got too big in the end. It’s dimensions didn’t change. A blue 18-gallon plastic tote, one with locking handles, it’s as squarish now as it was at the start of spring. But the lid didn’t seal completely on the edges anymore, even...
Limited edition Haswell survival knife combines art, functionality
Survival situations are by their nature short on chances. In tough conditions, under difficult circumstances, with limited resources, you seize on finite opportunities when and where possible and live to fight another day. Or you don’t and become a statistic. That’s why this is so exciting. Here is a second...
Raccoon Lake proves to be consistent bass hot spot
There’s a lot to be said for this kind of consistency. Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission biologists surveyed Raccoon Lake, the 101-acre centerpiece of Raccoon Creek State Park in Beaver County, in 2008. They went back and repeated that work earlier this year. The goal in each case was to...
How to safely wade while fishing and more outdoors extras
Tip of the week Wading is a great, and oftentimes necessary, way to get within casting distance of fish in rivers and streams. It’s also potentially dangerous, especially at this time of year. Rain and snow can raise water levels quickly, and a fall into cold water can bring on...
Make a convincing argument with these 6 benefits of eating wild game
The alarm goes off in the predawn dark and, rolling over, you touch the shoulder of your significant other. An affectionate yet sly smile crosses your lips. “Shh,” you say. “Shh. It’s OK. I’m just letting you know I’m leaving.” “Huh? What? Where?” he or she asks. “Hunting,” you answer....
Mammoth Dam home to mammoth largemouth bass, crappies
To say fishermen sometimes stretch the truth is to say the sky is sometimes blue, the grass is sometimes green and oranges are sometimes, well, orange. Exaggerations, tall tales, even good-natured if otherwise bald-faced lies. Those are often their stock in trade. Often. But not this time. Biologists from the...
Pennsylvania Sunday hunting bill clears last big hurdle
There was a moment of doubt, for sure. But it looks as if expanded Sunday hunting is coming to Pennsylvania in 2020. On Wednesday, members of the House of Representatives approved Senate Bill 147 by a vote of 144-54. That was a day later than expected, but lawmakers delayed casting...
A rabbit hunting tip can help bag cottontails
Tip of the week There are situations when it pays to think big. Cottontail rabbit hunting is not necessarily one of them. Rabbits, a prey species for so many hungry predators, must learn quickly to hide in and near thick cover if they hope to survive. And often, that cover...
Pennsylvania’s Sunday hunting bill clears last big hurdle
There was a moment of doubt, for sure. But it looks as if expanded Sunday hunting is coming to Pennsylvania in 2020. On Wednesday, members of the House of Representatives approved Senate Bill 147 by a vote of 144-54. That was one day later than expected. Supporters expected things to...
Anglers will see more big and bright trout in 2020
This is going to spawn a lot of lusty dreams between now and April. Of the angling kind, anyhow. Each year, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission stocks “trophy” trout in streams and lakes across the state. That includes brood fish — or brooks, browns and rainbows held in a...
Work, health keep Americans from enjoying nature
Work and health — those are the things keeping people indoors more often than not. APM Research Lab, on behalf of The Water Main, which promotes clean water, polled a nationally representative sample of Americans earlier this year. The goal was to see how much time they spend outside and...
Birds, binoculars, more in outdoor extras
Lure of the week Lure name: Stupid Tube Company: Secret Lures (secretlures.com) Lure type: Soft plastic tube Sizes and colors: Available in a 3.7-inch model in assorted colors, including bluegill, Junebug, road kill, green pumpkin, watermelon red, black red neon and green pumpkin orange. Target species: Largemouth and smallmouth bass....
Choosing the right taxidermist requires homework
You’ve probably seen them floating around the internet and laughed. We’re talking pictures of horrifically bad, even frightening taxidermy. If you haven’t, just Google something like “really bad taxidermy” and see what turns up. Spoiler alert: it ain’t pretty. The real tragedy is that each of the animals mounted in...
Sunday hunting bill clears committee with amendment
Expanded Sunday hunting is a step closer to coming to Pennsylvania. But not without hunters having to make one more concession. The House of Representatives game and fisheries committee Monday approved Senate Bill 147. It allows hunting on three Sundays. One is in the statewide archery deer season, one in...
Some advice on building a fire in the rain
“Isn’t that sort of cheating?” That’s what a dad asked one time when a few other Scoutmasters and I were teaching a crowd of boys various ways of making fire in wet weather. One leader was going over how to light a petroleum ball with a ferro rod. Another was...
Coyotes, millennials and other outdoor extras
Gear of the week Gear name: Block 6X6 Company: Field Logic (everybodyshops.com/block-archery-target.html) Gear type: Archery target Product description: Practice is the key to getting good at anything. But that’s never more true than with archery. To be a responsible bowhunter takes time and commitment. Practice can be easy and fun,...
Accessible Hunter creator inspires others to get back into the woods
It was, for Greg Traynor, a moment of revelation. It was autumn, his favorite time of year. And he was in the woods, archery hunting, his most cherished outdoor activity among many. The sun was shining on his face, the leaves were a fiery mix of reds and golds and...
6 tips for hiking safely in hunting season
You see it in the parking lots. Visit almost any public land at this time of year. The jumping off points for outdoor exploration that often were empty, or close to it, during the muggiest, buggiest days of late summer suddenly are busy. And with good reason. The splendors of...
