All in Hunting
Some hard-core deer hunters have referred to the traditional deer gun season in the northern tier of states as holy week as they filter into deer camp in the days before the opener. Although my son Kyle and I enjoy deer season as a way to share a father-son bond and, hopefully anyway, secure a winter’s supply of free range, healthy protein, we hunt out of our home and enjoy the creature comforts it provides. This year was no different.
William Newman and his son Bill have operated Happy Hollow Hunts in Middleburg, Pennsylvania, since 1997. William purchased five sika does and a stag and began raising a herd of sika deer. Today, he has over thirty sika deer that roam his operation.
One evening, I looked through my Record of Exotic Score sheets and realized I was one animal away from completing the Cazador Slam. The Cazador Slam, through the Records of Exotics, comprises the following exotic animals: Blackbuck Antelope, Axis Deer, Fallow Deer, Aoudad, and Sika Deer.
Until recently, Pennsylvania hunters could not use tracking dogs to locate big game animals they had shot. This service could have been the difference between a filled tag and a lost animal for many hunters.
Some traits are crucial for hunters when we chase the variety of renewable natural resources available to us. An awareness of our surroundings, patience, and the determination to succeed are some of those traits. Another might be a sense of humor, because sometimes the best-laid plans turn into comedy of errors.
Tahara Bish is a seventeen-year-old from Knox, Pennsylvania. When she was eleven, Tahara started hunting with her father, Pat Bish, because she wanted to hang out with him and make fond memories. She never really took hunting seriously until she met Wyatt Smith in 2019.
There’s something unsettling, visceral even, about a bear attacking a person. It’s not the way it should be. We’re supposed to be the top predator in the food chain, not the second link. Fortunately, events like this are rare which is why they attract people’s attention as they do.
Turkey camps reinforce friendships, increase success through shared experiences, maximize fun, and bring new members into the fold. Here’s how to start this great tradition.
