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Mark Morrison

From stumps to 3Ds: Summer training for the archery shot that counts

Featured, Featured, Features, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

Right now, as the temperature hovers about a sultry 95 degrees with a dewpoint that makes it feel more like 105 degrees, we’re a far cry from the cool days of early fall that all bowhunters anticipate.
In my case, I would gladly hibernate during summer, shirking the heat to wake when western seasons open. That ideal is not possible, so I make up the time heading afield to practice with my bows often, readying for the one vital shot opportunity that may come with a moment’s notice in a couple of months.

From stumps to 3Ds: Summer training for the archery shot that counts Read More »

A beginner’s guide to building your own hunting arrows

Featured, Featured, Featured, Features, Gear & Gadgets, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

No matter what type of bow you use to pursue critters, whether it be longbow, recurve, or compound, it’s the projectile that finishes the job.
A good number of bowhunters derive satisfaction from their arrows, building special shafts suited perfectly to their bow set-up and their personal tastes. As a dyed-in-the-wool traditional bowhunter, I go all in on creating my own arrows, from tapered cedar arrows to aluminum and – the most common shaft material – carbon.

A beginner’s guide to building your own hunting arrows Read More »

Meet Jim Ploen: A bowhunting and target archery icon still shooting strong at 98

Featured, Features, Home Page News, Hunting, Minnesota, National Hunting /

Last August, I attended a 3-D traditional archery shoot at Cedar River Archers just outside of Austin, Minn.
Glancing at the sign-in sheet, I recognized names of archers who’d arrived before me, and one stood out: Jim Ploen. I hurriedly paid the fee and caught up with Jim’s group.

Meet Jim Ploen: A bowhunting and target archery icon still shooting strong at 98 Read More »

Troubles with Minnesota’s shrinking duck habitat have led to slow hunting, may require controversial solutions

Featured, Home Page News, Hunting, Minnesota, National Hunting, Opinion /

Like many other Minnesota waterfowlers, I monitor several of the Midwest’s waterfowling social-media pages. This year, even more so than any other year I can recall, users are consistently bemoaning a lack of birds in their area.
As of this writing, I am right there with them. We just experienced a nice cold front replete with 20-degree temperatures and 20-mph northwest winds that normally would have ushered in a day or two of frantic shooting at new-arriving birds.

Troubles with Minnesota’s shrinking duck habitat have led to slow hunting, may require controversial solutions Read More »

Here’s how to effectively jump-shoot ducks

Featured, Features, Home Page News, Hunting, Minnesota, National Hunting /

This is a good time to plan hunts for those days when birds are just not moving or are gun-shy from encounters with myriad waterfowling setups due to the hunting pressure of the early season. My solution for this is jump-shooting. It may seem to be a simple plan, but jumping ducks comes with certain requirements for it to be successful.

Here’s how to effectively jump-shoot ducks Read More »

Waterfowl pre-season prep: The time is now to get organized

Featured, Features, Home Page News, Hunting, Minnesota, National Hunting /

From my perspective, summer had been passing agonizing slowly. The seemingly unending hot, humid streak made autumn appear far way, so I put hunt plans on the shelf.
Until now. I was nearly in shock as I recently realized that bird-hunting seasons are right around the corner. Suddenly, there are myriad tasks to accomplish, such as finishing my Hydro-Turf boat floor installation, organizing decoys and, importantly, scouting for hunting locations and brushing up on low-light duck identification.

Waterfowl pre-season prep: The time is now to get organized Read More »

Sporting-clays efficiency equals shotgunning confidence and more birds in the bag

Featured, Featured, Featured, Features, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

Summer is fading fast, and that’s fine with me. I don’t have the same passion for angling that I do for bird hunting, so when fall draws near, I concentrate on wingshooting gear and skills.
Chief among those is shotgun practice, which sees me and friends hitting sporting clays ranges with greater frequency. Putting in time on clays courses will pay dividends once bird seasons open. My pheasant-hunting companions all know I loathe missing a pheasant after my dogs worked to flush it in good range.

Sporting-clays efficiency equals shotgunning confidence and more birds in the bag Read More »

Can’t get enough bowhunting? Some Western options remain

Featured, Features, Home Page News, Hunting, Minnesota, National Hunting /

Summertime can be tough for serious Midwestern bowhunters who would rather be hunting critters than punching paper or foam. It’s also the time when we cross our fingers, hoping for tag draws from other states. 
As Minnesotans, we’re lucky that our western neighbor, South Dakota, has private-land deer and pronghorn tags that are 100% draw for archers. Licenses for that state’s public lands are available through a lottery.

Can’t get enough bowhunting? Some Western options remain Read More »

Hunting Dogs: Here’s why two are sometimes better than one

Featured, Featured, Featured, Features, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

If you’re a frequent bird hunter who targets waterfowl or upland birds, having a pair of game dogs is always better than one. If watching a single dog is a pleasure, then two must be even better, right?
Well, that’s the way I see it.

Hunting Dogs: Here’s why two are sometimes better than one Read More »

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