When the winter season starts nothing is more valuable to avid outdoorsman than quality pair of boots. As easy as finding a pair of boots sounds buying the right pair for your respective needs can sometimes prove to be a difficult task. Cabela’s Snowy Range 1200 boots are the ideal footwear for any serious sportsman looking to spend long hours either on the ice fishing or in a tree stand hunting.
First and foremost the Snowy Range series of Boots offer outdoorsman extreme warmth. With 1200 grams of Thinsulate™ insulation packed into their quality construction you can bet these boots will keep you feet warm in any conditions. We all know that choosing a weight of insulation for your boots should be based on your anticipated level of activity and the conditions. As you probably already figured out these boots are made for very cold temperatures where you are not doing much moving around. Ice fishing, deer hunting and snowmobiling are all activities where the Snowy Range 1200 Boots will make your life outdoors much more comfortable.
The combination of Thinsulate™ insulation and a Dry-Plus® membrane; provides an exceptional warmth barrier that still allows for ventilation while sealing out moisture from rain, snow and standing water. Having a pair of boots that are not watertight just doesn’t cut it. For winter conditions where snow, sleet or slush can be present you need the certainty of a pair of boots that are completely waterproof. Not only are Cabela’s Snowy Range 100 percent waterproof but they also have high 10-inch sides to the boot that allow you to wade across skinny streams or any flowing water you may encounter. This exceptional boot height also provides great support to your ankles in slippery conditions where one could potentially turn an ankle. Additionally the rubber bottoms of the Snowy Range boots provide the perfect balance of tough traction and support needed for walking on icy lakes or snowy hills.
After the several test trials these boots went through there is no doubt that they have been built to withstand hundreds of miles through punishing conditions while showing little wear. The EVA side panels and rubber toe and heel guards, play a big part in minimizing scraps and punctures that can occur in these harsh winter conditions. The quick lace ring system makes putting on or taking off your Snowy range boots a breeze while also providing enough leverage to snug your boots as tight as you like them.
If you're searching the market for a new pair of insulated and waterproof winter boots for the upcoming season, it would be difficult to find a pair better than Cabela’s Snowy Range 1200 Boots. The bottom line, these boots are made from excellent materials with quality construction that will keep you feet warm and comfortable for years to come.

Blood In Motion: A Forensic Guide to Blood Tracking
by Jerry Allen

It takes a lot of work to set up and execute a hunt, but what happens after the shot will determine if the hunt is truly a success.

You’ve scouted and set up stands. You’ve sighted in your guns and bows; maybe planted a food plot and hauled bait into the woods. It’s hard work, to say the least, and finally the animal comes in and the shot is made. How long will the trailing process take you? Will you find the animal? Understanding how to track and find blood can make the difference between having meat and a trophy to show for all the hard work that you have put in — or coming home with nothing at all. You make a plan when you hunt to increase your chance of success, but if you track without a plan, your chances of success are greatly reduced.

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The moral to this story is: listen to your guide. My Canadian spring black bear hunt was booked with an outfitter in Minitonas, Manitoba – a small town a few hundred miles north of Winnipeg in the Swan River Valley north of the Duck Mountains.
 
The outpost called Northern Outfitters is run by John Eisner. I figured out the first evening why Eisner calls his organization "Northern Outfitters." That far north, it never gets fully dark in May. And, the long hours of daylight tend to modify traditional meal times.
 
Bear were plentiful. "Don't shoot the first bear you see. Learn to size them up", John preached. "They're all lean coming out of hibernation. So look for breadth in their skull and fullness of neck and limbs." A juvenile bear has many of the same characteristics of a human juvenile: gangly, awkward, and impulsive. "On the other hand," John relented, "if you want to stay in camp the rest of the week, play cards, and drink a bit, shoot the first bear you see."

If you don’t hunt, you might wonder what’s so appealing about this activity. Why, for example, would anyone sit for hours in a chilly duck blind? Or trudge mile after mile through soggy cattail sloughs? And what’s the thrill in trying to kill an animal, anyway? If hunters want to be outdoors and see animals, can’t they just watch wildlife without shooting them?
 
Hunting, with a half-million Minnesota participants, must certainly stir the curiosity of those who don’t take part.
 
Why someone hunts is a personal matter. Many do it to spend time outdoors with friends or family. Others hunt to continue a tradition passed down from their parents and grandparents. Some go for the satisfaction of providing their own meat or the challenge of outwitting a wild animal. Many hunt simply because they feel an urge to do so. As environmentalist and hunter Aldo Leopold put it, “The instinct that finds delight in the sight and pursuit of game is bred into the very fiber of the race.”

Hanging the bear in the towering oak tree overnight after the hunt was as much practical as tradition. The carcass has to drain and the meat needs to "season." The clients welcome the "Kodak moment" after awaking late on the morning after the hunt. And, I suspect, there's something primeval in a hunter that finds satisfaction in displaying the body – "hung from the highest tree" using the old west terminology.
 
But there we were in Minitonas, Manitoba – some 300 miles north of Winipeg – in the Swan River Valley north of the Duck Mountains on a spring black bear hunt. Pedro and I had traveled two days by air and rent-a-wreck to reach this outpost called Northern Outfitters run by John Eisner – father of seven daughters, no sons.

Mr. Decoy
The Decoy Man
The Duck Man
Mr. Duck
Professor Decoy

Others just call me Steve!

I am like anyone of you reading this story. I have loved the outdoors since I can remember. My Father said I started hunting as soon as I could carry decoys . My Mother said I started about month before I was born.

It must be true what they say about imprinting. We all have heard stories about letting a new hunting pup smell you and the memory stays with them. There is countless advice out there for the mothers to be,music and sound for your baby to enjoy.

In October 2004 I climbed aboard an eastbound jet and left my home and the mountains of Oregon behind me. My brother Mike Gaskins lives only a few miles from where we were raised near Chillicothe, Illinois. He and his friends are accomplished whitetail deer archers and shot gunners, and I’ve “been going to” join them on a hunt in Illinois for years. For me, however, the most appealing part of this long overdue visit would be our trip to Three Lakes, Michigan to the home of Al and Gladys Hodges. Al and Gladys are owners of the Edgewater Motel in Three Lakes, and Al has been guiding clients to bears for the past ten years. I heard tales of Al’s patrons taking over two hundred bears, with weights averaging well over two hundred pounds. I wanted to investigate this bear bonanza for myself.

ROBERT LOEWENDICK

More than 11,000 apprentice hunting licenses have already been sold in two states that recently passed Families Afield measures to improve hunter recruitment. Apprentice licenses allow youth to try hunting under the direct supervision of an experienced adult hunter, before taking the required hunter education course. The concept derives from the Families Afield program established by the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, National Wild Turkey Federation and National Shooting Sports Foundation after results of a study called the Youth Hunting Report revealed declining youth involvement in outdoor sports and pointed to reasons for the declining numbers.

By Randy R. Mabe
Staff Writer

For those who hunt whitetail deer in the central North Carolina district, opening day of muzzle-loading season started Saturday and ends Friday. The opening date for the gun season is Saturday and the season runs through Jan. 1.

Before sportsmen enter the woods trying for a shot at that buck of a lifetime, they need to spend time preparing and practicing with their equipment.

Question No. 1 to ask yourself: "Is my firearm ready?"

Modern muzzle-loaders have come a long way from the days of flintlocks and side-hammer caplocks. Today's muzzle-loaders have weatherproof primers, concealed hammers, bolt-actions and accuracy beyond 150 yards. But for the most part one thing remains the same. Muzzleloaders must be properly cleaned and sighted in, perhaps more diligently than conventional modern smokeless center-fire rifles.