Why I hunt
By Mary Reid*

Many people, when finding out that I hunt, asked the question "Why"? Sometimes I get tired of hearing the same question time and time again, but then I realize that these people have never experienced what I have. To make matters worse, I am a woman, and that makes it even harder for people to take in.

I have been hunting now for about 17 years and they have been some of the best years of my life. I grew up in Canada and never heard of hunting. My family or friends didn't hunt and so it was not an issue for me. When I met my husband, from South Carolina, I was hit hard with the sport. You see he had been hunting for a good 20 years or so and it was a way of life for him. From August 15th until January 1st he was gone to the club whenever possible. I figured that if I wanted to see him, I would have to join in and join in I did. We can all look back now and laugh. This poor man opened a Pandora's box when he invited me to hunt. Not only did I take his stand and clothing but, let's face it, I had to have a gun. Click here to read the entire article.

Whitetail Pro Log
By Keith Dewars*

Do you keep track of your hunts? Do you remember what the weather was like when you shot that monster buck? Have you ever wanted to get that buck's rack measured? I recently took a look at Whitetail Pro Log, a software application designed to easily and accurately manage and store whitetail harvest data and trail camera pictures. Read the full review.

David's first buck
By Troy Basso*

There are days in every young mans life that stick with him forever. Sunday was one of those days for David Sobiek . This being the last weekend of the 2005/2006 deer season he was in the woods. Notice I said in the woods, not on a Playstation, XBox or sitting on the couch watching the television. The boy was out in the fresh air bonding with Mother Nature.

This hunt actually started Saturday after lunch. David and his father Butch Sobiek arrived at the house. The plan was to put David in a highly productive stand and hope he got to harvest a deer, preferably a buck since he had yet to tag one. At 2:30 we got to the stand, made sure his safety harness was on correctly and reminded him about being safe no matter what. I returned to the house, about 200 yards away, and waited for something to happen. The sun went down and I waited in hopes of hearing the .300 Winchester bark, but tonight was not the night. At dark I met them and he had seen nothing but a rabbit and some songbirds. It was almost painful to see the disappointment in his face. Well, we made the best of a not so productive night and decided to cook trout and doves on the grill. David decided he would try it again on Sunday morning. Read more.