Backcountry Merriams

The shimmering light of my headlamp blazed a path to the rickety registration box marking the canyon trailhead. It was 4:00 a.m., leaving me exactly two hours to cover the rocky, seven mile trek to my secluded, public land, turkey hot-spot. With my day pack strapped on and bow slung across my back I bounced into the dark abyss of the canyon bottom. Picking my way across boulders, downed timber, and sections of river I finally reached the area where I had roosted some Merriam gobblers the previous evening.... Read more

Dick Kirby's 25th Consecutive Grand Slam

It was May of 1970 on a calm, cloudy morning in the foothills of the Alleghany Mountains in New York State. I sat awaiting the approach of a creature I had never seen before, the Wild Turkey. He had all but disappeared from our area but with the restoration efforts of the NWTF and the NYS -DEC, the wild turkey was becoming more visible statewide. Bob Wozniak had taken a gobbler earlier and it was at his invitation that brought us on this hunt. Totally unprepared without camo clothes, no face mask or gloves, I sat motionless my heart pounded as a gobble thundered through the freshly timbered maple hardwoods surrounding me... Read more

Ducks and Geese Served Up Over Corn

It was October 4th, the day after the 2006 Connecticut River Zone opener for ducks and geese here in Vermont. My waterfowl hunting buddies, Bryan and Hank, from across the state were getting "antsy". Hank was still eager to go after only being home from Saskatchewan for only a few days, a place every water fowler has heard stories of! They also know that the part of Vermont I live in opens to duck and geese a few days earlier than the rest of the state too... Read more