Every year about this time I experience a bit of what could probably be described as “calendar shock.” It happens one day as I check the calendar and realize that the holidays are just about here. Remember, however, that as a hunter (and with no disrespect to Thanksgiving, Christmas or ...
Saturday marks the opening of the regular fall black bear season. This is the week to be doing the final preseason scouting for bear sign, mainly droppings. There’s no mistaking a bear dropping for anything else. If droppings are fresh and in the vicinity of any corn fields or other ...
Last week the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed legislation that would permit hunting on three Sundays: one within the archery deer season, one within the firearms deer season, and one on another Sunday selected by the Game Commission. The state Senate now needs to pass the bill ...
After the rosy predictions of how great this fall turkey season was supposed to be, I have found my season so far to be dismal. I have discovered many of my favorite turkey haunts, where I always found no sign of turkeys. Leaves cover the forest floor right now but everywhere I have gone, ...
The Associated Press MIDWAY ATOLL, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands — Flying into the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Midway Atoll appears out of the vast blue Pacific as a tiny oasis of coral-fringed land with pristine white sand beaches that are teeming with life. But on the ...
Personal computers and Internet access have changed the lifestyle of most of us over the past 20 years. Everything I’ve done to make a living during that period has required sitting in front of a computer to some extent. I most appreciate the access to all the information and resources ...
On a recent trip I was on where the senior and junior antlerless season was taking place, it turned out to be such an exciting and successful time for both me and the hunters. First and most important, a couple of junior hunters bagged their first deer and that was so exciting. Two young ...
Last week I had a pleasant visit with a local ladies club called The Kosmo Club. When they phoned me and asked me to come speak to them I had no idea what sort of club they were and was trembling at the thought of this being some space-minded group or perhaps a garden club and worst of all, an ...
The State Farm insurance company recently released a report confirming what most Pennsylvania drivers already know: Pennsylvania is one of the top states for animal (primarily deer) collisions. According to the report, Pennsylvania drivers rank third in the nation with a 1 in 52 chance of ...
The Associated Press PORTAGE, Ind. — The state environmental agency said a northwestern Indiana steel mill knew it was leaking dangerous chemicals into Lake Michigan but failed to report the spill or act quickly to mitigate the risks. The cyanide and ammonia spill in August at the ...
One of the greatest pieces of advice I’ve ever heard is, “You are entitled to your own opinion; you are not entitled to your own facts.” As someone who for many years has been paid to express my opinions, I’ve always felt a deep obligation to investigate and understand the facts of ...
No doubt, there are more opportunities to hunt black bear this year than there have been in the past. Of course, bears in Pennsylvania are afflicted with the scourge of Mange this year. Here are the seasons as the Game Commission has sent them out. Be careful to note that some rules do not ...
The traditional fall small-game seasons will get underway next Saturday with the opening of the squirrel, rabbit and grouse seasons statewide. Pheasant season will begin a week later on Saturday, October 26. All the seasons for these popular species have been extended in recent years, ...
The spectre of CWD haunts every deer hunter in Pennsylvania. Opinions are flaring in every direction. Some time ago, it was brought forth that the only solution to wiping out CWD was bringing in snipers to shoot the deer found in the heavily infected areas of the state, namely Blair, Fulton ...
The Associated Press KUTZTOWN — In the Great Spotted Lanternfly War, Pennsylvania’s citizen-soldiers are fighting back with fly swatters and vacuums, dish soap and sticky tape. They’re stomping and spraying and zapping and bragging about their kills on social media. “DESTROY THEM,” ...
Shannon Gladfelter won $20,000 for finishing with the second-best buck killed in the Bone Collectors North American Whitetail Championship in Kansas last month. But Gladfelter, 42, of Tyrone, insists that the most important thing for him about the experience was not the bucks, but the ...
An article in the Altoona Mirror last week made me think! It was about the decrease in the number of songbirds in our environment. Last spring, during the spring gobbler season, was the first I realized that I was not hearing or seeing as many birds as usual. One of the things the spring ...
The statewide archery season for deer opened yesterday, kicking off a full slate of fall hunting opportunities, including several new and expanded seasons. The special season for squirrels and rabbits for junior license holders also started yesterday. Junior hunters also get a head start for ...
Getting back on the Juniata River for smallmouth bass this summer was a welcome relief after the unprecedented rains of 2018 that maintained river levels ranging from unfishable to flood stage the entire year. Even this year, the river was much higher than normal most of the spring and early ...
Who doesn’t love October? This Saturday, Oct. 5 is the opening day of archery deer season. Everything that happens in the woods in October is framed in color, the weather is nippy but not too cold or too hot. All sorts of sounds assail the hunter’s senses: a flock of geese passing ...