We listened as the Brocket continued its noisy passage through the dry leaves lying inches deep on the forest floor. I continued shaking my head in disbelief. How could I possibly miss a seven-yard shot with a shotgun?!

I knew I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t help myself. I glanced straight down. The ground was some 30 feet below, and I was hanging in clear air by two knots at either end of my nylon hammock. My Mayan-descendant guide, Tigre (Jaguar), was the knot-tier. I trusted he knew what he was doing, but still, it was a long way down.

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.

I couldn’t believe it. I had a bobcat, a predator trophy I never expected. It was so much more of a success than 10 coyotes would have been.

The article from my time at the Dorchester Shooting Preserve appeared on the TruthAboutGuns.com.

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.

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

Upon reaching the spot where the hog had been feeding, I was heartened to see a large splash of blood.

It really should have been a failure, my first-ever attempt at hunting feral hogs.

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.

The first morning of our hunt dawned crisp and clear, and with the pit-of-the-stomach excitement that feels at once so good and yet so worrying.

Fifty years ago, Jack O’Connor published a story in Outdoor Life magazine in which he recounted a tale of overconfidence, bad weather and missed opportunities.

While Colby and Jacob again swapped equipment, I acquainted myself with one of the leaders of the next stage of our hunt, an 11-month-old “Rockstar” (Colby’s descriptor) named Louise.

Josie and Jessie, much to their dismay, were placed into their enclosure while Jacob suited up as the backer and Colby prepared to act as the guide.

They gave fair warning. In fact, it seemed that they exchanged a look, shrugged their shoulders and then looked back as if to say, “Please don’t look for the bird on the ground. Look up.”