By Bill Heavey

A recent school holiday too warm for deer movement, which meant that I had Emma until noon, when she was due to go over to her mother’s.

My daughter would have been happy as a cockroach stuck inside a Twinkie to watch videos all day. Sometimes, however, a parent’s duty is to provoke the storm to get to the sunshine on the other side. When I turned off the TV, the hysteria called to mind Britney Spears being cut off at a bar. “I don’t wanna go to the woods!” she wailed. “It’s boring!” I nodded, then gave her a choice: She could put on her clothes herself or I would put them on her. Well, her socks hurt her feet, and her shoes hurt her feet, and her pants had a seam in the wrong place that might have been drawing blood by the howls she emitted. When she ran out of clothes, she switched to general health, claiming she was sick and that her “hair hurt.” By the time I bundled her into the car, her face was splotchy with a 7-year-old’s rage.

The good thing about my daughter is that her anger often subsides as quickly as it arrives.... [ Read Full Post ]

By Scott Bestul

Today’s BuckTracker profile is special to me on a couple of levels. Like most of my entries, it features a great big deer. But this hunting tale also features a close friend of mine who is facing one of the toughest trials of his life. Bob Briggs is my former dentist (now retired), who also owns a gorgeous farm near my home in southeastern Minnesota. Bob has allowed me to bow hunt his place for several years, and wandering this wildlife paradise is a privilege I hold dear. And I have plenty of company; Bob lets several of his close friends hunt there, and his generosity is appreciated by us all.

Late this summer, Bob was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The prognosis was not good, but Bob was one of the lucky few with this particular form of cancer that could at least be treated. He was operated on shortly after diagnosis, and spent several weeks recovering. Bob missed the entire archery season, but rebounded in time for Minnesota’s first gun season.

Five days into the hunt, he scored on this incredible whitetail, a 165-inch monster that he... [ Read Full Post ]

By Kim Hiss

     Here's another great discussion topic idea that I can't take credit for! Laura Bell just emailed me this heartbreaking story of a buck that entered her life--and left it just as quick. She figured, and I agree, that most of us have had near misses like this at one point or another. Here's what Laura had to say about hers--complete with a moral at the end! --K.H.

     I'm sure there's been a few times where we've all had close encounters with an animal but just couldn't seal the deal. I remember one Ohio Gun Deer Season a couple years ago. I wasn't seeing anything and my Dad went to put on a drive for me. He was going to walk through a chunk of grape vines and brush, just to see if anything was laying tight in it. My dad walked off and I stood ready for action. Not long after he left I heard the brush cracking and small grunts. A second later a doe trots out, and not 30 yards behind and hot on her heels is a nice, I mean nice, buck! There's also a smaller buck, but my gun is up and on... [ Read Full Post ]

By Bill Heavey

Christmas, the season of obligation, will shortly be upon us. This year, give the people you love If You Didn’t Bring Jerky, What Did I Just Eat? (Atlantic Monthly Press), a best-of collection of stories by me, Bill Heavey, probably the baldest man ever to write for Field & Stream. My range is astounding, from fishing all the way to hunting. Plus I offer foolproof strategies for calling in sick to work. As a semi-gainfully-employed writer spending way too much money on scent-reducing soaps, sprays, and lotions, I’m begging you to buy a few copies. $23; available wherever books are sold/ -- Bill Heavey [ Read Full Post ]

By Kim Hiss

     It's always great to see a kid in the field. At various points, Field & Stream has celebrated that fact with different stories on introducing young people to the sport. The most ambitious effort was in the December 2005 issue, when an entire cover package was devoted to kids and hunting -- it was full of stories about kids, expert opinions on dealing with topics such as morals and death, and a poll in which kids shared their views on field sports.

     In Field & Stream's current December issue, there's a different kind of coverage on kids -- although, this time it's not about tips and advice. It's portfolio called Young Blood by photographer Erica Larsen. Erica is a fantastic person, who's infinitely curious about human nature, and endlessly respectful of all field sports. She spent over a year going on hunts with kids and capturing images of what young passion for hunting is all about.

    Whether you have kids or not, it's impossible not to be touched by the images Erica collected--and encouraged about the future of our sport. There are almost 40 images at the link above, so when you have a... [ Read Full Post ]

By Scott Bestul

Usually, I don't publish photos of me with dead animals, but this unfortunate creature, who breathed his last in Montana on November 3, reinforced a couple of shooting precepts that have always been at the top of my list.

I had this fellow in the crosshairs for a full half-hour before I was able to pull the trigger. I was lying on top of a high dirt bank next to an irrigation ditch, and the deer was between 170 and 200 yards away in a herd of bucks and does, moving between trees and brush so that I could not get a shot. He had no idea I was around. I waited, and had faith, because deer are constantly in motion, and if you're patient, you'll almost always get the shot you've been waiting for.

And when the moment came, I shot right away, because constant motion works both for and against you. When the time does come, all you are going to get is a couple of seconds. Speed and deciseiveness count for much.

I killed him with the 6.5x55 of which I've written recently. The 130-grain Swift Scirocco took... [ Read Full Post ]