Outdoors

New parents leading by fitness example

FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. (AP) — On Oct. 27, Fayetteville residents Wendy and Brad Scott took to the waters of the Tennessee River to compete in the Chattajack 31, a paddling event that features 500 to 600 competitors annually. It was the Scotts’ second go at the competition — they competed individually on stand-up paddleboards in 2017 — but it was the first time they competed as a team, as they paddled a tandem canoe across the finish line. The competition, Wendy Scott says, was marked on their 2018 calendar as soon as they completed the 2017 event. “This race has a special ...

Wing shooting and migratory birds

If you’ve never felt the satisfaction of knocking a grouse out of the air with a shotgun while it darted seemingly effortlessly through the dense woods, or dropped a pheasant as it rose from the thick underbrush, you’re missing out. If you’ve never witnessed a flock of ducks or geese locked in and about to land on your spread of decoys before taking them down and watching a retriever work a marsh or field collecting birds, you’re definitely missing out. With thousands of hunting tales swimming through my mind, some of my fondest memories “plucked from the pool” come from ...

Joys of hunting and parenthood

This past spring, I had the opportunity to share in a turkey hunt that has, in a way, become a yearly tradition. One of my best friends, Chase Savage of Annapolis, Maryland, comes once a year to hunt long beards with me here in Virginia. Chase is a combat wounded Marine Corps Veteran who lost ...

When the horn calls, fox hunters, hounds and horses respond

SEWICKLEY (AP) — The horses! Before you see them, you hear the clip-clop sound of metal-shod hooves striking the pavement. Then 15 big beautiful horses in hues of brown, black and gray slowly walk into view. Their riders wear jackets of scarlet or black. The hounds! Trotting briskly beside the horses is a pack of tricolored foxhounds. They look disciplined, regal and focused on the task at hand. The hunt! The presence of Shiloh, Sampson, Happy, Hannah and nine other dogs transforms what would be a simple trail ride into the centuries-old sport and spectacle of fox hunting. ...

Variety of experience will help the next generation

I’m lucky to have been able to travel and hunt many different states in my adulthood. I’ve taken beautiful bucks, harvested a boatload of long beards and a lot of other various game animals, both big and small. Yes, I believe that constitutes as somewhat of a humble brag. Although I have come into my own as a hunter, I owe almost all of my hunting passion and skills to my father, Rick Knouse. With no legacy and youth hunter programs like we have instituted today, the legal hunting age for me wasn’t until I hit 12 years old. Dad took me hunting well before that just to let me ...

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