Night Hunting Detail: Putting the pinch on poachers
December 12, 2001 — Ranger Mitch Oliver looked tired. His eyes already showed the wear of a full day’s work. And we still had a long night ahead of us.
“There are days when you might work four or five hours,” said Oliver, 26, of Buford. “And there are days you’ll work 16 hours. Today is [...]
Bear Stalking: It’s not fear, it’s excitement
September 18, 2001 — “I just can’t believe that anybody would do that to anybody,” Jim Collins said to me, staring at the road in pained puzzlement. “I don’t care who they are. That’s just beyond my comprehension.”
The same conversation, I’m sure, was likely going on in pickup trucks across the country last Thursday. America [...]
Turkey Calling: He’s not just talking turkey
February 6, 2001 — Seven-year-old Joshua Turner likes to ride his dirt bike.
He likes to play Nintendo, too. And basketball and soccer and baseball.
Little Joshua sounds like [...]
Falconry: Hunter hawks excitement
January 30, 2001 — It was just a squirrel. That’s what I keep trying to tell myself.
But when that rodent ran toward me, it stirred something. My heart quickened. My palms became [...]
Duck Hunting: Duck, duck … shoot!
January 16, 2001 — The scene was quite peaceful, actually.
A luminous moon brightened an otherwise pitch-black, early-morning sky. Its reflection made the [...]
Squirrel Hunting: ‘Get your gun ready, Bubba’
February 15, 2000 — The squirrels in my front yard scurried out of my path a bit quicker than normal Saturday morning.
Perhaps they knew what I [...]
Turkey Hunting: Thank God for turkey hunting
March 30, 1999 — “Dan, did you ever think last summer that in March you’d be in a truck riding down a road in Georgia listening to one fanatic preacher and one fanatic turkey hunter talk to you at five o’ clock in the morning?” asked Tim Strickland, the particularly pious pastor sitting between me [...]
Archery: ‘Being precise is important’
February 9, 1999 — Sam Banks eyes his prey quietly in the forest.
He is trying to determine how far away his unassuming target is. Thirty-three yards? Thirty-five? Being precise is important.
Sam sets the sight on his elaborate compound bow. He then studies his game through binoculars, trying to locate the perfect kill spot on its [...]
Rabbit Hunting: ‘I just took a pot shot at him’
February 2, 1999 — Three shots from Jason Brown’s 12-guage shotgun barked through the morning haze.
The blasts, from somewhere in the thick briers surrounding me, were startling — and for a moment halted the caterwauling of the hunting beagles tracking the targeted rabbit’s scent.
“Do you think he got him?” I asked Stanley Brown, 50, of [...]