Category Archives: Research

Saving Hours of Rummaging

Leaves rustled. A wild turkey offered a weak gobble, muffled in the River Raisin’s bottoms. A gray squirrel materialized, bounded once and commenced digging. Leaves and pieces of leaves flew along with tiny scrapings of earth. The squirrel’s nose burrowed … Continue reading

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Not Worth the Risk

Thursday, 3 November 1763 Quick glances proved fruitless. Somewhere overhead little claws scratched bark. A different fox squirrel chattered in a distant slender oak. A yellow poplar leaf whip-sawed earthward. Gnats flitted about. The air smelled warm, damp and fall-like. … Continue reading

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Learn to Manage the Machine…

A half-rotted maple stump lurked in dark shadows. Elk moccasins whispered over brittle oak leaves, parallel to a doe trail that followed the spine of a narrow strip of land between two impenetrable thickets. A backcountry woodsman stalked tree-to-tree. A … Continue reading

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A Rendezvous with an Old Hen…

Two wild turkeys squabbled. The rampage continued longer than most; the altercation sounded unresolved. An hour after first light the two began dithering at each other, on the ground, to the south. Blue jays screamed, adding a sense of intensity … Continue reading

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Temptation Teased…

Temptation teased. Three broad green blades of prairie grass rolled between sweaty palms. A greasy, blackened thumb pressed the tangled ball into the Northwest gun’s muzzle. The young turkey’s gray pate again popped up in the deep grass and yellowing … Continue reading

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Gifted with an Unexpected Treasure

Half-leafed treetops rustled overhead. Day’s first gray glimmers half-lit the winding wagon trail. Elk moccasins whispered beside the left rut. Around the bend, the predawn stalk struck off on a well-used doe trail that angled northwest. A gentle breeze, perfumed … Continue reading

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“Never say never!”

A finger flipped twice. “Arrkkk…ark,” again the gravel-mouthed hen uttered two soft tones. The finger traced an imaginary line indicating the doe trail that wandered into the red cedar trees. The west face of the hogback ridge, just up from … Continue reading

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Following the Guidance of my Hunter Heroes

Windshield wipers thumped side-to-side. About Wapakoneta, Ohio, I considered turning back. A quick glance at the odometer and some simple arithmetic dispelled that folly; I was half way to Friendship, Indiana, and my first visit to the National Muzzle Loading … Continue reading

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