Field-to-Table Squirrel: Recipes Worth the Effort

Squirrel meat lands somewhere between rabbit and chicken in both flavor and texture, and the flavor stays mild rather than gamey. That quality makes it one of the best game meats for winning over picky eaters: in soups, stews, and casseroles, it substitutes for chicken so cleanly that most people...

By James Chen •

Should You Use Tactical-Style Optics for Hunting?

Editor’s Note: The author was provided the product for this article by Vortex Optics and Silencer Central, and creates content for both companies. The rifle was provided by Springfield Armory. As a professional photographer in the hunting and shooting industry, I spend over 100 days a year in t...

By Morgan Gregory •

Why Public Land Is Worth Fighting For

Public land is the reason you can grab a rifle, shotgun or bow and head into the woods without owning 500 acres or knowing someone who does. Across the country, national forests, Bureau of Land Management ground, state forests and wildlife management areas hold millions of acres open to hunters c...

By James Chen •

Why Many Hunters Skip Scoring Their Trophy Bucks

A hunter who kills the buck of a lifetime and then declines to run a tape over it is not being modest. For many serious hunters, refusing to have a trophy officially scored is a deliberate choice, rooted in everything from privacy to a belief that a number cheapens the whole point of the hunt. [&...

By James Chen •

Why 70% of Deer Hunters Never Fill a Doe Tag

The U.S. buck harvest sits near record levels, and the share of mature bucks in that harvest is the highest it has been in more than a century. The part of deer management that keeps herds healthy, though, is antlerless harvest. Deer numbers are climbing across much of whitetail range, and while ...

By James Chen •

Killing the Buck of a Lifetime in the Swamp

The mature buck that vanishes into a cattail marsh every day is not random about where he beds, and that predictability is the whole reason you can kill him. To hunt swamp bucks, you need to identify the dry, secure ground where an old deer feels safe, map the trails he uses to move between [&#82...

By James Chen •

Vet-Backed Habits That Keep Bird Dogs Hunting Longer

Working breeds tolerate a hard season with little complaint, but that resilience masks the fact that most gun dog routines leave performance and years on the table. The changes that matter most are small ones: when you feed, how you hydrate, and how consistently you exercise your dog outside of h...

By James Chen •
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