Most hunters are aware that we have far more big game species now than we did at the turn of the 20th century, when market hunting, subsistence hunting, and habitat destruction took a huge toll on wildlife. That being said, we're now experiencing a profound downward spiral of many species of upland birds, primarily due to encroachment of civilization where rural acres are lost, and habitat alteration or changes due to different farming practices and varying land uses that are detrimental to wildlife species.

The other day I walked out on the front porch to carry in some firewood, and heard a cow elk bark. I looked across the road and saw a small herd of about a dozen elk standing there in the sagebrush looking at me. They were no more than a hundred yards away from my house. As I watched them, I choked up. I don't know why. I see elk pretty much every day of the year along the highway in our valley. But the mystery here is the unexplainable fact that my brain switched from being in awe at their majesty to thinking about where I'd be applying for my cow elk tags this fall.

When my two labs were barking furiously on the deck, I walked out and saw a grizzly bear on the lawn. I put the dogs in the house, grabbed my video camera, and filmed the bear for several minutes as he rolled around playfully, ate some grass, scratched himself, and basically put on a show. The deck is 10 feet above the lawn, so I was in no danger. I was distracted to the point where I had forgotten to call the Wyoming Grizzly Bear Biologist who requested that residents call him immediately if a grizzly is seen around houses. He would then bring up a live trap, hopefully catch the bear and relocate it somewhere else. I remembered to call him, and I told him there was a bear on the lawn,

As I was flying out of Salt Lake City on my way home from the SHOT Show a couple days ago, I looked out the airplane window and saw a big lake below. Memories flooded through me as I thought about a day at that lake many decades ago.

Would you believe that in most Rocky Mountain states, there's a trout species so plentiful that there are large bonus limits where you can keep an usually large number of fish? In Idaho, for example, you can keep 25 extra; in Montana -- 20; in Wyoming --16, and in Colorado -- 10. These bonus fish are in addition to a regular limit of other trout species, if you wish to keep them.

It was a foggy, dreary day in northern Canada, with no promise of the fog lifting soon. I was sitting with an old Indian guide, waiting for it to clear up, hoping to see a moose in the beaver marsh shrouded by the fog. I noted that it was sunny on the slopes above us where there was decent visibility. Where we sat, we couldn't see 10 yards below us because of the fog. I wondered if it might be wise to climb higher and hunt where we could see, but I trusted the guide's wisdom.

I hesitate to make this photo public because I need to get to the U.S. Patent Office with this new invention. I'm talking about a nifty procedure to get rid of snow. I call it the Go Back and Forth method with your vehicle. But I really don't have time to work with the Patent people, so I'll tell my friends on my blog.

Ok, so you have some really nasty, gamey venison to cook.  It's not inedible, just strong.  Do you toss it, feed it to the dogs, or make a valiant effort to at least cook it and hope for the best?

With deer season upon us in most of the country, lucky hunters will have fine venison meals forthcoming. How about our pet canines? They can share in the bounty too, and you don't have to feed them edible meat. Here's a nifty trick to not only get rid of the inedible scraps, but make your dogs happy little campers as well. It's healthy for them too, providing plenty of necessary fat and protein.

I'm sitting here outside in my man-cave, next to my wood pile, which is my favorite spot to hang out, weather allowing of course. Blogging isn't new to me. I quit writing them in 2006 while working for Outdoor Life Magazine, when my final blog caused a bit of a stir.