Gifts and Lessons From Dad
By Jess Wickizer Two, just two Christmas gifts in my 34 years of life do I clearly remember opening, they both gave me chills, a rush of excitement and a feeling of wonderment. Both of these I received before I was 10 years old and I still have them both to this day. Both of […]
Alpha Tom and the Mountain Thunder Chickens
Until a few years ago April and May were just part of the long painful stretch of time between late winter coyote calling and go time, AKA September. However, after picking up turkey hunting and getting my first Kansas Rio in May of 2013, I look forward to hearing the loud gobbles in the […]
The Cure
I would venture to guess that every hunter experiences the same feelings come mid to late February through mid March. You may feel bored, lost, sad, lonely, useless, or like you have no purpose in life. There is no more muley stalking, no more upland bird pointing, no more elk packing, and no reason to […]
Rustic River Hogs and Kansas Mayo Omelettes
My first hog hunting experience was mid-March, 2014, when two co-workers and I made last minute plans to do a three day hunt in Texas. I had heard of a place called Rustic River Ranch (www.rusticriverranch.com) near Childress, Texas, so knowing nothing about hog hunting I gave them a call, not long after we were hunting […]
Creating an Addiction: My First Bowhunt
I wanted to hunt deer for as long as I can remember. As a little kid growing up in Middle-of-Nowhere, KS, it seemed like if you looked hard enough you could always see mule deer, maybe a lone giant buck, maybe a whole herd. Whether I was on the bus going to school, riding […]
Elk, Napalm, and Tube Sock Coffee: A Tale of Hunting with Jim
Ever since I can remember, my brother Travis and I talked about chasing elk in the Rockies. Years ago (late 80’s to early 90’s) our Uncle Jim had shot a Boone and Crockett monster in the Sangre de Cristo’s which further fueled our dreaming of a high mountain elk hunt. I remember the first time […]
New Year’s Evolution
ev·o·lu·tion ˌevəˈlo͞oSH(ə)n/ noun 1. any process of formation or growth; development As I was pulling into the parking lot at my gym this morning I noticed it was about half full. Not too out of the ordinary for a week day morning, but definitely different on a holiday morning. But this was no […]
Where The Wind Blows
I place 50% of the blame on Garrett Roe from Heads Up Decoy(http://headsupdecoy.com/) for this whole blog idea! About a month ago he asked me if I would like to write up a story about the buck I took in KS in 2013 for his blog. The last time I tried to write some type of entertaining story […]
Caught in the Act: The Tale of Floppy Ears
Covered in dirt and sweat, your muscles are burning as you continue a painfully slow and grueling stalk that has taken you several hundred yards through a CRP field or along a creek bed. The buck you have been watching grow for years on trail cam pictures is now one hundred yards ahead of you, […]
Symmetry and the X-factor
“There is no decision that we can make that doesn’t come with some sort of balance or sacrifice.” -Simon Sinek In the pre-sunrise hours of November 29, 2014, I was quietly walking across a soft drilled wheat field towards a small locust tree on the bend of a creek. The property around the creek is […]