MADISONBURG – Most often, attending a Wildlife Leadership Academy Field School is described as a life-changing experience by participants. Designed for participants between the ages of 14-17, the WLA is holding five specialized field schools designed to engage and empower high-school age ...
As I sat and wrote an article a few weeks prior to this one, I pondered why it seems so many more people hunt in Pennsylvania as opposed to other states I’ve visited and have lived in. Then I remembered a photo that hangs in my hallway. I walk past the photo multiple times each day and often stop to admire the men within the frame. The photo itself is a keepsake because the fifth man standing from the left is my great-great-great-grandfather, Stephen Alexander Douglas McLain. One time, when I peered at the photo, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was missing something. As I ...
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania hunters posted their highest overall deer harvest in 14 years when they took 374,690 deer during the state’s 2018-19 hunting seasons, which closed in January, the Pennsylvania Game Commission reported. The 2018-19 deer harvest topped the previous year’s harvest of 367,159 by about 10 percent. The last time the total deer harvest exceeded this season’s total was in 2004-05. After four years of successive annual increases, hunters posted a buck harvest of 147,750, which placed fourth overall since the start of antler restrictions in 2002. The 2018-19 ...
I tend to lead a fairly active lifestyle. I’ve bouldered and climbed mountains and rock faces. I’ve bungee-jumped, parasailed, jet-skied in the waves of the ocean, and zip-lined through the rainforest of Costa Rica. There are gobs of people who will not even think about doing some of those things because of the risk factor, but if it’s an adrenaline rush, I’m generally on board. I say this not to brag, or to gain attention, but rather to bring attention to a particular issue. In all the years I’ve been participating in semi-dangerous, “all about the thrill” activities, ...
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Shed hunting is a popular pastime for many outdoors enthusiasts, and an assist from man’s best friend can help take that hobby to the next level. Roger Sigler, of Smithville, Missouri, breeds and trains dogs that are specialized in finding deer antler sheds. He will be one of the featured speakers during the 2019 Topeka Boat and Outdoor Show, which runs Jan. 31 through Feb. 2 at the Kansas Expocentre. “We invented the sport of hunting horns with the dogs 13 years ago and we’ve trained almost 500 of these dogs, and we have them all over the United States ...
You’ve done it. You’ve made your shot perfectly and as your heartbeat begins to slow to a normal speed, you gather up your gear. It doesn’t matter if it was a gun, a bow, or slingshot, you’ve accomplished what you had set out to do. As you weave your way through the thick woods and underbrush, or through knee-high cornstalks of a freshly picked field, you follow the path that will lead you directly to the final resting place of the game animal you’ve successfully harvest. Once you’ve reached your trophy, you take a moment to stare and admire it. It doesn’t matter if ...
