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The top story in the outdoors this past week has been well-documented and dramatically over-reported on, so staying true to journalistic form, I’d be remiss if I didn’t beat it into the ground a bit more! Here’s the headline: “The majestic White Stag from Narnia was bludgeoned to death by a heartless murderer in the name of fame, fortune, and evil, and now the good townsfolk are arming themselves with pitchforks and torches and aiming to lynch the accused.” That might had well been the headline anyway, but at the end of the day, the only thing that happened was a deer hunter killed a deer, and a pretty nice one at that. Jerry Kinnaman from Cape Girardeau, MO took

After hearing my woeful stories of past youth-hunt failures, my son and I were invited to a farm just outside of Poplar Bluff. My 10-year-old son and I arrived at the beautiful farm in the hills and every deer in the county began either burrowing in the ground or submerging themselves in the creek and using reeds to breathe, and the only thing we saw was a set of ears as a doe tunneled past us at 250-yards. We were taken in via ATV across a large pasture filled with cows, down a trail in the woods, across a knee-deep creek, back up a longer trail in the woods, across an even larger pasture, and down two trails in the woods

PHOTO: Sara Scott Stafford with her brother Case and Dad Scott, with her 7-point buck killed in Missouri's youth deer season Youth deer season, that time honored tradition when precarious adolescences are escorted into the wild by the seasoned outdoorsman in their life, in hopes of encountering the majestic whitetail deer, and subsequently assassinating your majesty by means of a lead projectile through the lungs. A challenging adventure for both; the youth, thrust into the woods in the dark, surrounded by sights and sounds that are quite foreign, and the instructor, tasked with both protection and patience, in a constant attempt to muffle the young hunter while holding their fickle interest and answering their relentless questions. That is the essence

PHOTO: Josh Gowan with a couple Lake Kinkaid, Illinois crappie Oh sweet fall, how I adore thee! The leaves are a turnin’ my friends, and if there was anything I could do to accelerate the process I’d be on it. The crappie are biting at every lake in the Midwest right now, so if you're not in a tree waiting on a big buck, get out there and go fishing! Being that I will be afield and “awater” for the next three weekends, I was intent on spending every minute with my wife and son, and getting some real quality family time in the books. We watched movies, played some board games, and kicked the ball around in the yard,

New Madrid - October is a wonderful month for us outdoors-folk, and having already picked out my Halloween costume (I'll be revising my role as an underpaid outdoorsman: same camo, new boots) I intend to take full advantage of all early fall has to offer! The deer herd is thriving, the waterfowl outlook is outstanding, and the fall feeding frenzy should be kicking off in waters near you any day now! This past weekend the Bass Pro Shop’s Big Cat Quest National Championship was held in New Madrid, MO. The county seat of historic New Madrid County rolled out the red carpet for the professional anglers who traveled from all over the country for a chance at their sport’s biggest