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Outdoors

Getting through the cold winter

The regular deer season comes to a close this weekend, but because I’m composing this column with several days left in the second week, I can only report I haven’t acquired any venison for the freezer so far. But I plan to be out trying to rectify that situation before time runs out this season. Having snow on the ground for almost all of the first week was enjoyable. One afternoon last week I sat on the side of a steep hollow. I had shot a nice 8-point at that spot a couple of years ago on opening day, so I was hoping for a repeat of that success. No deer happened by on that ...

The first one

Haleigh Coppersmith, 10 of Duncansville, recently got her first bear while hunting with her dad, Kevin Coppersmith. She shot it in the Blue Knob area with a .308. It weighed in at 135 pounds. She has also had successful hunts for turkey and deer.

Saying farewell to an old friend

Last weekend, I attended the memorial service for my longtime friend and colleague Shirley Grenoble who passed away on Oct. 22. She was 90. The past year and a half had not been an easy time for her. In August 2024, her beloved son Mark died from injuries he sustained in an auto accident. ...

Unexpected phone call leads to lifelong friendship

When I heard my friend Shirley Grenoble passed away, I cried. I cried in grief for the love I had for her, the memories shared but also, I cried in relief and happiness that she is now healed in the arms of our Lord and reunited with her son Mark. When I was growing up, the only women I ...

Turkey season has arrived at long last

The statewide wild turkey season opens this weekend on Saturday, Nov. 1. While the season opens everywhere on Nov. 1, the length of the season can be from four days to three weeks depending on the Wildlife Management Unit where you are hunting. In addition, eight WMUs will have an extra ...

Small game hunting evokes big memories

Squirrels, rabbits, ruffed grouse and ring-necked pheasants are the four primary species of small game for Pennsylvania hunters. The squirrel season opened back in mid-September, and the rabbit and grouse seasons start today. Next Saturday completes the small-game menu with the first day of pheasant season on Oct. 25. This current season structure is much different than when I started hunting 50-plus years ago. The squirrel and grouse seasons started around the second Saturday in October with rabbit and pheasant season beginning two weeks later around the end of the month. In recent ...