Touristing Through the Mummies Exhibit
Since I was prohibited from taking pictures, this is going to be a poorly illustrated post. I don’t know if flash photography would conjure up a curse – it was not mentioned in any of the informational displays – but cameras were strictly forbidden. My guess was the museum didn't want anyone undermining their marketing. Also banned were soft drinks, food, and cellphones,...Hogs on the Run
We spied five or six hogs slinking along a wet-weather pond on the edge of a palm hammock around 5 in the afternoon. At 250-300 yards and the wind in our favor, there wasn’t much chance of them picking us out, even though there were five of us tromping through the South Floridaunderbrush. In all reality we could have probably just walked across the field and tapped them in a cold...The Rosewood Osceola
Having a fresh turkey tale really improves my standing with others at parties, at work, or in the community at large, I feel. I enjoy the rarified air. Start to feel like a real loser when I have to dust off the photo album with pictures of gobblers past as others whip out their iPhones and entertain the crowd with recent accomplishments. Would love to bust three or four birds each...What Happened to Handloading?
I have a RCBS Neck Sizing die in .300 Win. Mag. If you didn’t know before, when you pull the trigger on any round the brass case expands due to the internal expanding pressure of the ignited propellant and fire-forms to the chamber of the firearm. Normally, one would use a full-length die to return the case to approximately the same dimensions of the original factory case. Using a...Raccoon Games
“Boy, I wish I could’ve caught him doing it. I’d have given anything to catch that %!@#* doing it. It’d been worth him doing it just so I could’ve caught him doing it.” – Vincent Vega, Pulp Fiction, on someone keying his Malibu.I purchased a Wildgame Innovations 6.5 Gallon Bucket feeder from the Wal-Mart in Sebring a month ago. I typically prefer bump feeders for...The Hunting Funk
I’m in the throes of a Hunting Funk. Like when your nose starts itching before a major sinus cold, I recognized the early symptoms. The first sniffle occurred when the nock of my arrow fell off the string while drawing back on a doe in January. The first sneeze was when I sailed a Rage over the back of another doe later that evening. By the end of duck season – after two hunts ended...Good Hunt
I apologize for the neglect I have shown towards my website and others. It’s been a long few weeks. Been sick. Been busy with work. The twins grow larger, my time away shrinks. Plus, I’ve not done a lick of good coyote or hog hunting when I have hit the woods. Also, I’ve been working on a new project. I was hired by the local paper, the Lakeland Ledger, to helm the hunting section...Theorizing the Perfect Turkey Rifle
As you might assume, just about any centerfire will lay a gobbler low. But if you want actual turkey breast to cook at home, you have to ease up on the velocity. I’ve seen things. Unpleasant things others have done to toms with a .270, .223, .300 Win Mag. Well, the last one was me. In Florida and a handful of other states, it is legal to hunt gobblers with a rifle in Spring and Fall,...Gorgonzola Stuffed Venison Sliders
I’d assume if you can make a hamburger, you can make sliders. There’s just a slight change-up in the overall design and purpose of sliders. They’ve become rather popular in sports bars and at parties.To wit, I was invited to a Daytona 500 get-together this last weekend. My plan called for venison burgers, but I couldn’t be certain how many people would show, and I couldn’t...2012 Florida Spring Turkey Primer
As of this very second, the Interweb says I’m 1st in line for a Special Opportunity Spring Turkey hunt at Homosassa WMA. I covet this tag. I’m in Homosassa all the time, and it’s a pretty successful hunt from what I understand. Out of five available quota tags for this hunt, there is one left. Unfortunately, this is Round 3 of permit pickups. The deadline to pay for this tag is...To Small Wild Animals or Whatever
Provo and I were polishing off our third-to-last or fourth-to-last evening drinks on the front stoop of Uncle Joe’s Fish Camp down in Clewiston during a duck trip a couple Decembers ago. The crowd had dispersed for the evening and left us to blather away on a tailgate about whatever subjects the Beam would lead us to. And it was quite the mess on the patio – a collection of duck...The Aging Hunter
In Jeff Bridges’ last scene in the new True Grit, he drops to his knees with the snake-bitten Maddie Ross in his arms and fires a signal shot into the night to awaken the good doctor. As he catches his breath and wheezes, trying to again fill his lungs after the many-mile marathon through the wilderness, he gasps and says, “I have grown old.”I found myself repeating this line one...2012 Sea Duck Tournament
“Well, that’s about enough of this BS,” I said as I wrapped the magnum bluebill decoys and shot-put them towards the shore.It’s not like I’ve not been skunked before. Even the recurring headaches from the rowdy night before and a pair of waders that let saltwater flow in and out like a bait bucket didn’t damper my spirits. Hell, it was a fun morning drawing into a beautiful...An Open Letter: I Hate You, Bowhunting
Dear Bowhunting,You clumsy b***h! Why must you make everything so eff-ing difficult? Really! From having to tune you, to your annoying wrist release that clinks on any piece of metal it can find to the point I’m convinced it’s magnetized, you are a chore. Anyone who claims they prefer you over a firearm I have to scan with a Jeweler’s Eye, seeking out that skin-deep flaw that'd...The Last Days of Whitetail Season
Travis and I cornered a 90-degree turn on the local hard road that halved our hunting property at the time. It was a cold, wet, blustery mid-January weekend, and the stand hunt that morning did not pay off. The rut had ended in November, and the rubs and scrapes were stale. So, as we headed back to the fire to dry off and warm up, I was astonished to see a spike lingering around a...Bush Pigs and Brush Deer
Last week PJ and I set out for a coyote hunt on our little lease in Central Florida. Largely scrub land with orange groves bordering two sides, this property is rife with predators. Turkeys were not outside the realm of possibility when we signed the lease, but certainly not what sealed the deal. It’s just not a turkey-ish looking place. Which made the land all that more exciting when...Walk-In Duck Hunting
As I wrote in my last post, Travis and I had set up in a little slime pond hoping to bust a few beaks the morning after Christmas. We’d known of the spot, as we knew mottled ducks and whistlers knew of the spot. Our hope was a few teal would swing through, as well.It didn’t happen. We spooked the whistling ducks early and had a few woodies fly overhead but it was pretty lame - which...Hunting Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks
The pre-dawn morning after Christmas, Travis and I snuck out to a wet-weather slime pond with a handful of decoys, a teal Mojo, and palm fronds to prepare an assault on the local waterfowl. In Florida this time of year, one could reasonably expect mottled ducks, teal, and black-bellied whistling ducks arriving to feed in the pinky-deep water on duck weed and other aquatic grasses. The...Easy Fried Venison Chops
I remember learning to fry venison in college. No, it wasn’t a class. Wish it was – I would have actually attended. I always had plenty of deer meat but little in the way of cooking experience, especially frying. As with other aspects of collegiate life I was inadequately prepared for, I blame my parents. My mother rarely fried foods, I guess, caring for our hearts more than our...Field and Kitchen Care for Wild Hogs
A lot of wild hogs are going to die in Florida this fall and winter. The signs are everywhere for a fine season. I’m seeing rooting everywhere – even along public roads and highways. It’s a weak acorn crop in many parts of the state, and the hogs compensate for this cash crop deficiency by increasing this destructive, hatred-breeding feeding style. Hunters are reporting plenty of...From the Publisher, Marialice Quinn
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