A final push through low-hanging branches provided us access into a glade that contained the baying hounds and the distant shape of the first Mountain Lion I had ever seen in the wild.

If you’re going to mess with Frances Arnold, don’t do it when she has a Daniel Defense DDM4 PDW in her hands – especially if you own a PT Cruiser.

[Kit] Carson gave off none of the mountain man's swagger....An army officer once introduced himself to Carson, saying, 'So this is the distinguished Kit Carson who has made so many Indians run.'

Cattle-men hate sheep, because they eat the grass so close that cattle cannot live on the same ground…

Frances’ and my last article/video from the 2020 Dallas Safari Club Convention appeared last night.

“Old E.S. Newman used to say, ‘Horses and cattle cost money; cowboys are cheap.’”

“Does the wind blow this way here all the time?” Asked the ranch visitor in the West.

The low point of my thoughts coincided with 1) an elevated wind strength and 2) the appearance of the young buck.

Even with our self-imposed selectivity, there were so many birds we were able to focus on ducks that would drop on the ground around our blind rather than in the water.

As typical of the hunts that went on at this favorite site, I remember one that occurred when I was eight years old.

In my mind dove season in West Texas is a September sport. It could involve some cool evenings, but more often than not I sweated under the not-yet-winter sun while buried in patches of six feet tall Helianthus annuus (the native sunflower).

If what we experienced for the next hour and a half of our hunt was shown to me on a hunting video, I would assume that it had been spliced together from several sessions.

When I first encountered Harris Bipods I had no idea what they were, or who made them.

The one discordant note from the first day came from the lack of elk.

My Dad was no saint. He could (and often did) swear like a sailor. He had a temper that was scary to behold. And he helped me understand the almost indescribable excitement of the hunt.

This time rather than heading to the next ridge, Mike suggested we head back to his truck and drive to another area and start the glassing and stalking over again.

To me still-hunting elk in the mountains, when they are calling, is one of the most attractive of sports…

His next five steps brought him to a brush pile made up mostly of mesquite and willow branches.