When the late Gary Clancy asked me if I wanted his deer, I told him I’d take it. We were hunting whitetails in Saskatchewan with a film crew from Realtree, but the weather was all wrong for a big buck. Instead of cold temps and plenty of snow, it was balmy. The woods were dry, and deer weren’t cooperative. Gary, a well- known outdoor writer who lived in Minnesota, had flown to the hunt. I drove my pickup to Canada from Wyoming. He had taken a modest 6 point buck, the only deer killed on the hunt, and decided not to ship the processed meat home. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was about to be involved in a profoundly frustrating adventure.

Once upon a time I was an official card-carrying member of the Cat Haters Club of America. It didn’t matter what kind of cat — housebound cat that never goes outside, house cat that goes outside and kills stuff, or a feral ( wild) cat.  My dislike for cats was based on their prey favorites, not mice and rodents, which is acceptable, but songbirds and baby rabbits, squirrels, and the young and adults of upland game.  Then too, I never appreciated a cat’s personality. Independent bastards, totally disloyal, (in my experience), don't give a damn attitude, and unresponsive to commands, unless you say, “here kitty, kitty,” while holding some catnip or other treat, and then it may still give you the finger.  I base this behavior on the few cats in a former life that I never bonded with. I figured bonding was not possible when it came to the cat-human relationship, at least with me. 

        Of all the birds we hunt, I think the wild turkey is the most under-utilized when it comes to enjoying all the body parts. Many hunters will “breast” the bird, cutting off only the breast and discarding the rest. To me, that’s a cardinal sin, but that’s just me. I must have a weird chromosome, because I see every gram of wild meat, whether it’s on a dove, moose, or fish, as a precious piece of flesh that should be enjoyed at the table. And, I should mention that each state has rules regarding the edible portions of wild game. You could be in violation of the law if you toss the turkey carcass after removing the breasts.

Part 2. Continuation of my writing career.

Elk season is here or about to start, depending on where you hunt. Most hunters traditionally head to the range to insure their rifles are still zeroed. Having confidence in your firearm is all-important. Before I hunt, I want my rifle to be as accurate as possible, as we all are. We should demand the best performance possible. My sweet-shooter is a Mossberg .308 equipped with a Timney trigger and topped with a Swarovski scope. With that combination, I'm ready to hunt.

As one who lives in wolf country, with wolves commonly seen around my home in northern Wyoming, and as one who has been researching and writing about wolves long before they were introduced into Yellowstone and Idaho more than 20 years ago, I'd like to clear the air. At least -- my perspective.

My cameraman and I had flown into Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, to film a black bear hunt with Linda Powell. She was Press Relations Manager for a firearms company and was hosting a hunt with a group of outdoor writers. My cameraman, who I'll call Larry, and I were going through customs. He was carrying a huge camera that was probably two feet long. I breezed through customs, but a female agent who spotted the camera confronted Larry and asked him a number of questions. We were vaguely aware of a Canadian work permit, but didn't have one. We'd been to Canada many times before with no problems but we'd heard the agents were cracking down. Larry invented fib after fib as the agent kept up the interrogation. He said he was just tagging along as a friend and filming the hunt for personal use. Finally, the agent stuck her finger in Larry's chest and said, "I'm tired of your bullshitting. You guys are up here on business. I'm deporting you right now." And she led Larry away where he went to a departure gate for a flight back home. Work permits protect Canadians who could do the work, rather than an American. In other words, I could have hired a Canadian cameraman. I was ok to go because there's only one me. No one else could obviously fulfill my role on my TV show.

Of the most common big game species to hunt in the lower 48, excluding hogs and bears, the most popular are, in descending order, whitetails, mule deer, elk and pronghorn antelope. Of the four, elk require the most complicated logistics because of the difficulty of hunting mountain terrain, unfamiliar hunting strategies, and simply transporting them out of the woods. Then too, an elk hunt may mean a long drive from home if you don't live in the west, an expensive nonresident license, and, if you choose to hire an outfitter -- an expensive hunt. Over the years, I've heard many folks lamenting the fact that they couldn't afford an elk hunt. The perception of an expensive hunt is due to assumptions that aren't necessarily true. Notice the word "expensive" here, used many times.

Even though I'm no longer writing for Outdoor Life or hosting my TV show, I constantly get requests from people who want information about hunting elk. Most of these folks have never hunted in the west, and most live east of the Mississippi.

"What's that?" Madonna asked as we drove up the forest road. None of us in the truck saw what she saw. "Probably nothing," she said. "Keep driving." Maybe it was the shadow of a willow bush or a stump. But something told me to back up. When I did, I saw a huge bull moose in a willow swamp, slowly walking away from the road. I'm no stranger to moose hunting, and quickly realized what I was looking at. This was a world class bull. Larry Weishuhn was in my truck, and he was as impressed as I was. Larry also had a moose tag, but in a unit adjoining mine. We were both fortunate to have drawn Colorado moose tags.

Wanna laugh? Shake your head in disbelief? With the 2016 spring turkey season over in most states, and still open in a few, I thought I'd offer a few funny stories of my past hunts.

Every hunter misses shots at birds or animals. It's a fact of life in the hunting woods and fields. If a person has never missed, he or she hasn't hunted very much or they have a bit of a problem with the truth. Missing is caused by many factors. No two shot opportunities are alike, and a variety of external and mental conditions can contribute to the miss.

Want to start an argument among turkey hunters, or get a lively discussion going? Then announce to your group that you plan on shooting a jake if one comes along. In most instances, that's guaranteed to cause some consternation and gnashing of teeth among some of your hunting pals.

I've been asked many questions about hunting over the years, given my full-time career as a hunting journalist, especially with Outdoor Life magazine. Of all those questions, the one most asked is my opinion on elk rifles. Most of those were from folks who didn't live in elk country and were coming west for the first time, but some came from experienced hunters who were no strangers to the elk woods.

     So I'm sitting here, feeling sorry for myself, because I'm missing the SHOT show, which is the biggest event in the hunting and shooting industry. It's winding down now. It is the 38th show, having its beginnings in St. Louis in 1979. SHOT stands for Shooting, Hunting Outdoor Trade.

     Taste is in the tongue of the beholder. Every individual has personal food preferences. When it comes to venison, all sorts of factors come into play. That's because deer, elk, and other big game animals are wild. Totally organic, never manipulated with feeds, steroids, growth hormones or antibiotics to produce a certain quality of meat.

So I was out hunting for an antelope yesterday, any antelope. I had an either sex license and wasn't trophy hunting. I was meat hunting, so a small buck or doe would work nicely. My neighbor Rick was with me.

Hunting season is here in many areas, and various forms of transportation will be used to get to the hunt location. Most people will travel in their own personal vehicle. While in might seem simple, transporting firearms can be complicated, since states have different rules. Check the laws before you hit the road to be sure you're complying with them.

Kenny Jarrett stepped away from the bench and nodded. "Any time," he said. I followed his instructions and squeezed the trigger. Amazingly, the bullet hit the target. I figured it was pure luck. Two more bullets followed, and I was astounded to see a three inch group. I figured I'd be lucky to simply hit the three by three foot sheet of wood the target was attached to. The range was 600 yards. That happened about 10 years ago, at Kenny's personal range in South Carolina. The only reason I shot that group was because I was using Kenny's rifle, and he coached me as to exactly where to hold on the target, considering the wind direction and distance. Kenny has been making quality rifle for more than 30 years, and, in my opinion, is the master of long range shooting. Many years ago, his rifles were coined the "Beanfield Rifles" because they could shoot accurately across a beanfield, which, I expect, is a considerable distance. I believe Jim Carmichel, former Shooting Editor of Outdoor Life magazine, coined that name.

     The whole world pretty much knows that Cecil, a collared Zimbabwe lion, was shot by Walter Palmer, a Minnesota dentist. What we don't know are all the facts, though a "conservation charity" stated the lion was wounded and had to be tracked for 40 hours before being killed. There are other statements, maybe true, maybe not. Of course, the press dug into Palmer's life, and found that he was arrested for poaching a black bear, and, he was involved in a sexual harassment charge. There has been a case made that this aging lion was 13 years old, and was no doubt driven out of his pride by stronger, younger lions. He was at the end of his life. That, however, in the eyes of many, did not justify killing him. This lion was collared and photographed thousands of times by tourists in a park. He was beloved by many.