This is a tough time of the year for those of us who love hunting and fishing - especially when winter just won't go away.

The ice-fishing season is all but done and even though crappie fishing is always open there's very little reason to risk your life on the ice at this time of year. And good luck getting your boat on the lake!

Turkey hunting season isn't quite here yet and the walleye opener isn't until May. The snow is melting from the hilltops at local ski resorts and from the groomed snow...
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While many organizations and experts preach getting youth involved in the outdoors in a positive manner, few push that agenda with as much conviction as the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association and their partners involved with the Forkhorn Summer Camp programs held each year across the state.

The idea behind Forkhorn camp, which according to the MDHA was started in 1985, is to teach kids between the ages of 11 and 17 the ins-and-outs of the outdoors and hunting through a unique hands-on, intera...
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Even after a snowstorm this past weekend that dumped upwards of eight inches to a foot of snow on parts of northern Minnesota, the winter of 2012-2013 has been pretty tame, according to Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials.

That's great news for a deer population still rebounding from one of the toughest winters on record just two years ago.

The DNR measures winter severity by assigning a point for each day the snow depth is 15-inches or more and one point for each day the temper...

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Well, after bowhunting multiple times nearly every week since the Minnesota deer archery opened on Sept. 15 I've figured out two things - don't hesitate when a nice buck walks up to you on the first day of the season regardless of how many deer you think you will see the rest of the year and I need more stands.

Make that three things: I also learned I really, really love it!

For those who forgot, are just joining us or don't really read my stuff to closely, on the opening morning of the 2012 ar...
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My daughter, Audrey White, has been wearing an ear-to-ear grin since 8 a.m. Friday, Nov. 9, just moments after she harvested her first deer ever – a five-point buck.



So have I and so has her grandpa.

Audrey, who turned 12 in August, has been hunting with me and my crew – which includes my dad (her grandpa), my uncle, and a longtime family friend – since she was 10. Deer hunting is a tradition in our family like no other. I've been in the woods with a rifle nearly every November si...

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Hayden Meyer has a long, long, LONG deer hunting career to look forward to.

Unfortunately for the two-year-old boy he might have a hard time living up to his first season in the field!

Hayden's dad, Joe Meyer, made sure of that during the first week of the season.

The 29-year-old Aurora man, who has been hunting for more than 20 years, introduced his boy to the joys of the Minnesota whitetail season by shooting one of the most unique 11-point bucks you're ever going to see.




"I enjoy hunting becau...
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When 32-year-old Chuck Johnson of Virginia, Minn. pulled the trigger on a big deer just moments after the 2012 Minnesota Firearms Deer Season opened Nov. 3 he had know idea the end result would be bagging the buck of a lifetime.
But that's exactly what the longtime hunter did Saturday morning near Tower.

Johnson, who has been hunting for more than 20 years and spends the seasons in the woods with his dad, shot a 210-pound (field dressed) 10-pointer with a large rack, just minutes after the l...
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As deer season approaches each year, memories of hunts gone by flood my mind each night when I lay head to pillow. I can hardly remember what I did last week but every year at this time I can conjure up, with great detail, just about every hunting experience I’ve ever had.

And it’s not just the kills that I recall. No, I think some of my best memories revolve around time in the woods when we weren’t gutting deer or dragging them across the snow.

I still remember my first season i...

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It’s nearly here.

My favorite time of year and probably yours too if you’re reading this - The 2012 Minnesota Firearms Deer season opens at one half-hour before sunrise on Nov. 3 and runs through one half-hour after sunset on Sunday Nov. 18.

(Note: Sunrise on Nov. 3 is 7:54 a.m. but it will be at 6:55 a.m. on the second day of the season, Sunday, Nov. 4, because of daylight savings time).

So what kind of season will 2012 and be? Record setting? Slow as can be?

How about something in ...

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    So far this fall, after four mornings and roughly 16 hours in the deer stand chasing Minnesota whitetails with a bow and arrow, I've seen 10 deer.
    That's a pretty good average if you ask me and I have a feeling it's going to be a another great season for my crew and I. In fact, it should be a lot like last year where we didn't see a lot of deer but four out of six of us bagged deer.
   Of course, not everyone in northern Minnesota is going to have a great season this year. In some place...
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    One hour into the 2012 archery deer season - and my archery hunting career - two does came storming out of the woods heading west to east.
    One doe ran right by my stand, not passing 15 yards in front of it, while the other one stopped directly in front of the stand and immediately turned back toward the west, ears high and on full alert.



    Being the professional journalist that I am (even though I don't get paid anymore, which isn't really that much of a difference from when I was get...
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  Saturday morning, Sept. 15, (and plenty of mornings after that) I'll be in one of my favorite deer stands hunting big bucks with a bow and a couple of arrows and I'm pretty excited about that.
   I've talked about trying the Minnesota archery deer hunt for years now but never got around to it. One thing or another has always come between me and hunting deer in the most basic of forms.
   But this fall I'm going to go for it. In July, I bought a bow worthy of the challenge and I've spent eve...
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   While doing a little research for this blog I came across an old magazine advertisement for the Marlin 336 that had the following statement on the page: "This one puts meat in the freezer."
    Talk about truth in advertising!

     For my money, the Marlin 336c .30-30, which has been in production since the late 1940's, is arguably one of the best guns for hunting deer ever made.
     In fact, I'd argue it is THE best deer gun for hunting in northern Minnesota: Great caliber, compact ...
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