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Tar Heel Traditions
In the faded light of his driveway, down the road a piece from his hunting lease, Chris Fuller hastily shoots a photo of the biggest deer he’s seen in his life and texts it to his buddies. This was not just any whitetail mind you, this was one that later would qualify for the “Book”. You’d never…
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Ode To A Chesapeake
I walked behind her as she drove back and forth through the milo. She worked ahead of us, moving in no real pattern, but we had a routine, her and I: She would get twenty or so yards ahead and then look back at me; I would whistle to bring her close, and…
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Questionable Medical Advice
There are certain times in your life when you look back and recognize the exact origin of your current misery; the poorly made decisions that eventually flourished. The chickens came home to roost… or in my case: turkeys. We were camping along one of the many tributaries of the Columbia River, hoping for salmon but settling…
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Before it was “Old School” Camo
Long before it was "old school”, it was just camo. Before it became the preferred camouflage of North American duck hunters, its story began on the backs of Marines and soldiers in the Pacific campaign of WWII.
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Sheep Hunt for a Flatlander
There in the scope of my .30/06 were the two rams we had seen two days and two mountains back: both past prime breeding age and fine trophies. As I lay there on the side of a grassy mound, I hesitated. Not only for the purpose of taking a careful shot. Many other thoughts raced through my…
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Afghanistan Duck Decoys
I deployed to Afghanistan in December of 2001 and was operating out of Bagram Airbase. Bagram was a former Soviet airbase and the scene of intense fighting as the Taliban retreated under pressure from the Northern Alliance with the help of United States Special Forces.
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Gray Ghosts of Sonora
The first time I saw a mule deer trophy mount I couldn’t look away. I was awestruck by its bulk and antler mass. To my surprise the deer was from Sonora. I was mesmerized by that buck and I knew one day I had to go there.
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A Western Hunt
There is no better representative of the American West to me than the Pronghorn Antelope. Its the first animal that comes to my mind when I think of the Western states. The journey to hunt Pronghorn began in 2010 when my professor my professional mentor, colleague, friend and father figure Grady Stilley and I were discussing hunting when the…
