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Archives › Around the Campfire with Bill

  1. An Outfitter’s Work is Never Done

    May 22, 2013, 1:01 AM EDT

    foodplotcamera2

    We hunters too often take on an “out of sight, out of mind attitude” about outfitters. In reality, the good ones are working hard year-round …

  2. Firearm Safety and Conservation Are Topics of Free Video-for-Schools Campaign from NSSF

    May 17, 2013, 1:01 AM EDT

    NSSFVID

    The firearm safety videos teach students how to react if they should encounter a firearm in an unsupervised situation. The conservation titles educate students on how wildlife and wild lands are protected

  3. Give Me Anything By Gordon MacQuarrie

    May 15, 2013, 1:01 AM EDT

    gmccover

    So many times I’ve tried to go in and read just one or two old favorite stories, but ended up in the potato chip dilemma – you can not read just one.

  4. Quebec Leaf River Herd Stable, But Limit to One in 2014-15

    May 10, 2013, 1:01 AM EDT

    carantler

    The bright spot in this picture has been and continues to be Quebec’s Leaf River herd. This population continues to remain stable.

  5. I Knew Hank Shaw When…

    May 8, 2013, 1:01 AM EDT

    hank2

    Hank’s food doesn’t just fill you up — it makes you happy and makes your life richer. He shares recipes and cooking techniques on his blog every week that are simply the best stuff out there.

  6. New Waterfowling Gear You’ll Want This Season

    May 3, 2013, 1:01 AM EDT

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    Here’s a quick round-up of some of the newest guns, ammo and shooting gear that will have you drooling come fall like a retriever eying your Egg McMuffin.

  7. How To: Hunt Hunted Turkeys

    May 1, 2013, 1:01 AM EDT

    orspecieswildturkey

    “Traditional” means “old-fashioned” and it can also mean “successful.” But it also means it’s the way most folks do it!

  8. How To: Handle Meat Care & Transportation

    Apr 26, 2013, 1:01 AM EDT

    Meat care

    If your distant North American big game hunt is successful you’ll have game meat with which to deal. That’s a good thing, but can present headaches if you’re not prepared for it.

  9. How To: Get the GOOD Mail — Limited Draw Licenses

    Apr 24, 2013, 1:01 AM EDT

    goodmail

    Few things can make a hunter happier than receiving a coveted limited draw license on top of the daily stack of bills and junk mail. YEEEHAW! But achieving success isn’t easy and seldom happens fast.

  10. How To: Make Weight for a Bush Plane

    Apr 19, 2013, 1:01 AM EDT

    Plane weight limit

    … here are some tips for packing the lightest load, but still ensure you have everything you need.

  11. Why Are Outfitted Hunts “So Expensive”?

    Apr 17, 2013, 1:01 AM EDT

    expense

    True, professional, highly-rated outfitters are business men just as much as they are mountain men. They must be if they are to have longevity of any kind.

  12. Spring Black Bear Check Up

    Apr 12, 2013, 2:40 PM EDT

    springbb

    If this will be your first spring bear hunt, or if it has been awhile since you’ve enjoyed this amazing rite of late spring and early summer, here are a few reminders on preparing to make the most of a wonderful hunting opportunity.

  13. How To: Work a Spotting Scope

    Apr 10, 2013, 12:30 PM EDT

    scoping

    Binoculars allow you to say, “That’s a pronghorn.” A spotting scope let’s you say, “That’s a pronghorn buck worth getting a closer look at.”

  14. Five Habits of Highly Safe Successful Turkey Hunters

    Apr 5, 2013, 8:38 AM EDT

    ssturkey

    Remember the new Number 1 motto of turkey hunting safety: “If something doesn’t seem right, it’s probably not.” Don’t risk somebody’s life. Keep your wits about you. Be wary.

  15. Five Quick Turkey Hunting Tips

    Apr 3, 2013, 3:12 PM EDT

    turkspurs

    Turkey season’s here! It’s been nearly a year since most of us last pursued these wise old gobblers. Here are five quick reminders of important tactics and strategies that can boost your success.

  16. “How Do I Find a Great Outfitter?”

    Mar 29, 2013, 1:01 AM EDT

    BILL AND EASY W BEAR FB copy

    With these three easy steps under your belt, you’ve taken a great first step in finding a quality outfitter, guide or charter service to fulfill your hunting and fishing dreams.

  17. Know a College-age Hunter Who Could Use $500 in Gear?

    Mar 27, 2013, 8:15 AM EDT

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    Open to college-aged students who love the traditional outdoor pursuits of fishing, camping, hunting, the shooting sports and/or wildlife conservation, it’s a chance to describe your related career dreams and win $500 in terrific outdoor gear for the effort!

  18. You Need to Know NSSF’s Project ChildSafe

    Mar 22, 2013, 1:01 AM EDT

    logos

    One of the tremendously proactive arms of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) is its firearms safety division. And the centerpiece of its efforts is a program called Project ChildSafe which has recently been expanded to include Project HomeSafe. They are all about responsible firearms ownership.

  19. Watchword for Spring Turkey Safety is – Wariness

    Mar 20, 2013, 1:01 AM EDT

    wary

    If you’re hunting, you locate a bird, you set up, but something just doesn’t seem right – it’s probably not. What you’ve likely set up on is another hunter. Don’t be ashamed. It’s going to happen to all of us as the calls and decoys become even more lifelike.

  20. Still Time to Book a Caribou Hunt This Fall

    Mar 15, 2013, 1:01 AM EDT

    cb2

    Zoom. Focus. There they are! Caribou … strung out for a mile. I quit counting at 80, but the high-powered optics revealed many more drifting along below the line of ridge top. Best of all, they were trending our way. Time to move.

  21. Have You Considered Handloading?

    Mar 13, 2013, 1:01 AM EDT

    handload

    At least for a time in their career, every hunter and shooter should load their own shells. It teaches a great deal about how cartridges and firearms work which is critical to being a better shooter and a better, and therefore, more ethical hunter.

  22. Scoping Out Top Hunting and Shooting Brands

    Mar 8, 2013, 1:01 AM EDT

    glasspro

    Are your favorites here? If not, you can make your voice heard by signing up to take monthly surveys of your hunting, shooting and buy habits at Southwick Associates’ monthly HunterSurvey.com and ShooterSurvey.com sites.

  23. Have You Thought East for Spring Geese?

    Mar 6, 2013, 1:01 AM EDT

    DCIM100SPORT

    Though much less known, spring hunting for Atlantic flyway snow geese is conducted in the northern half of the eastern seaboard including the states of Maryland, Delaware, Massachusetts, New York and Vermont. Then it’s just a hop over the border into Quebec…

  24. Listen To Your Guide – Part 2

    Mar 1, 2013, 1:01 AM EDT

    guidance2

    The moral of the story is simple: Listen to your guide. You researched him. You put your faith in him when you signed the contract for the hunt. You paid him a big pile of money. So remember that when you’re on the mountain. Don’t let success slip from your grasp because you get antsy!

  25. Listen To Your Guide — Part 1

    Feb 27, 2013, 4:26 PM EDT

    guidance1

    Every call my guide made on this hunt had been right so far – where to camp, where to look for sheep, where there was safe water to drink, where they had cached additional supplies to hole up during the worst of the weather, what to do when we’d encountered grizzlies and moose on our trek into sheep country.