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A decade ago I wrote a book,  The Urban Deer Complex . Growing up just outside of Boston, I was fascinated by the idea of whitetail deer being able to adapt so well to human environments. It inspired a whole section of the book I labeled “ The Science of Fear .” Through rapid evolution accelerated by an encroaching urbanized environment, whitetails were able to pass down behavior that would allow...

During my four-year stint at the Elk Public House in Spokane, Washington, I likely pounded out thousands of chicken breasts to prep for the grill. As line cooks—mostly greasy-haired, chain-smoking, beer-guzzling proletariat—we had our own terminology for such a process, which I’ll leave to your imagination. Nevertheless, taking a meat mallet to a chicken breast had a couple of distinct purposes. Y...

Upland hunting, for me, is as much about enjoying the outdoors as it is about hunting. For this reason, I tend to hunt very quietly, speaking to my dogs only as much as necessary. I don’t run a bell for the most part, though I will on windy days to keep better tabs on them.  Being from the northeast, wind storms can drive birds away from primary feeding areas towards more protected grounds such as...

It was the same story each time we visited the Olathe Gun Shop in  Kansas . As soon as he entered through the front door, my father would walk towards the over-under shotguns. There, neatly displayed upright, were a variety of stacked barrels. To the upland bird hunter shopping for a new shotgun, there were plenty to choose from. However, for my father there was only  one  that stood out: the Ruge...

After 35 years of bird hunting, I have been fortunate enough to harvest nearly 90 percent of the readily huntable gamebird species in the lower 48 (please don’t @ me, Himalayan snowcock hunters). While each species is special, one bird in particular holds a special place in my heart, a bird I hold above all others: the greater prairie chicken.  A lot of this comes from studying prairie chickens in...

There are three species of teal in North America: the  blue-winged teal , the  green-winged teal , and the cinnamon teal. Telling them apart is pretty easy because, long ago, someone was smart enough to name them based on their looks.  Read more at projectupland.com .

Dove hunting  is a popular and fun way to celebrate the beginning of the hunting season. One of the earliest upland bird seasons to open across the United States each year, many hunters head for public lands to chase doves, break in their hunting gear, and practice their wingshooting skills. However, when it comes to enjoying fresh dove meat, most hunters wrap skinless dove breasts in bacon or stu...

I’m finishing this story on the eve of  Montana’s 2023 bird opener , and I’m feeling very strange about the birds I’m about to start chasing. Over the past month, I’ve had dozens of conversations with some of the most passionate bird hunters and dog trainers about Senate Bill 280, Montana’s new  bird dog training  regulation. In summary, many believe this is an important regulation to get on the b...

Most of us become familiar with North America’s plains while reading accounts of Lewis and Clark’s voyage west or Laura Ingalls in  Little House on the Prairie . For some, this is where their curiosity about the grasslands stopped. My journey, however, continued well beyond that initial exposure. Growing up in the plains, I was surrounded by true naturalists—folks in tune with the ebbs and flows t...

When I first started cooking, I had no idea what a bird tenderloin was, let alone where to find it. Then I thought it was along the back—but every big game hunter knows that’s where you find the loin, not the tenderloin. But after several years of butchering birds, I have come to believe that not only is a bird’s tenderloin very easy to locate and remove, but it’s something worth doing every time...

Do you think of yourself as fashionable? Probably not, and most of the bird hunters I know would agree with you. For us, fashion is a four-letter word and as appealing as watching  Keeping Up with the Kardashians . But that doesn’t mean we’re immune to fashion-like whims. Like any group, we have things that are in ( Gunner Kennels ), things that are out (beeper collars), and things that were out b...

Small Munsterlanders, fortunately for me, are one of the  pointing dog breeds  I’ve gotten to know in person. Feisty, handsome, and highly energetic, this breed is the tenth  most popular bird dog breed  in the  Project Upland community , according to our annual survey. It’s also the  third  most popular  versatile hunting dog breed  in Europe. This is likely due to their broad skillset that inclu...

There are a few things that serve as reminders that fall has officially arrived – and dove season is one of them. Taking the time to plan a successful dove hunt can be easy if hunters do a few simple things when they locate the ideal dove field. Here are three dove hunting hacks that can be utilized in the early season when doves are naïve and easier to shoot, as well as for hunters who venture ou...

It wasn’t quite noon on the prairie and the light northwest breeze made the early season hunt seem almost cool. Usually on these early  September prairie grouse  hunts I would call it quits by noon, but after a rough summer at work and this being my first outing of the season, I decided Emma and I could make one more loop. Read more at projectupland.com .

While many people associate the mourning dove with quiet suburban neighborhoods, perhaps perched on a utility line or visiting a backyard birdbath, dove hunting is a very popular pursuit for many across the country. But if you haven’t gone before, how would you know where to go? Surely, you can’t hunt in someone’s suburban backyard, right? If you fit into that bucket of understanding, here are som...

“We need a name for this place. Every special hunting spot is given a name, and this one is no exception.” Leaning back on our elbows, the four of us pondered the assignment. It was a cold, gusty November afternoon on the  South Dakota  prairie, but we had found a perfect resting spot on a leeward slope dotted with junipers. The sun warmed our spirits as we gazed across the expanse and reflected o...

I will say it upfront: I am far from being an expert on bird dogs. But if there is one thing I have become certain of over the years, it is that there is not enough information out there for new people to understand the proper etiquette of hunting over someone else’s bird dog. Now more than ever, the influx of mentoring in the upland community coupled with a real thirst for knowledge from novices...

As any owner of a rare hunting dog knows, the reputation of that breed often rides on your shoulders when you show up for a hunt test or a day afield with friends. Your dog may be the only representative of the breed that your fellow hunters ever encounter, so it’s likely to leave a lasting impression—good or bad. For Domenick Muoio and his Standard Poodle, this pressure isn’t overwhelming; on the...

As a new hunting season approaches, we all begin the process of digging through our upland gear. We check over the vests and chaps for tears and holes from last season’s briars, and if you’re like me, find shotgun shells in various pockets or crevices of my hunting gear containers laying wherever it was that they last fell at the end of the previous season. Looking these items over it brings to mi...

What is the difference between a ruffed grouse and a partridge? The answer lies in physics; one is flying, and one is not.  Jokes aside, ruffed grouse stand as one of the most challenging birds to hit on the wing. I credit this more to do with their habitat than anything else. Ruffed grouse reside in dense foliage, shrubs, young trees, and conifers near water in many forms, whether a river, stream...

I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but as best as I could tell, my  quail  seemed as happy as could be. I’d just moved the young quail that were approaching four weeks of age into their new pen outside – a modest 4’ by 8’ encloser that gave them birds enough space to be happy, plenty of shade to stay cool in the heat of the afternoon, and enough exposure to sunlight to keep them warm and conten...

The Norwegian Hound, also known as the Dunker, is one of the seven Norwegian native dog breed varieties—a  scent hound  with outstanding hunting qualities. The mottled color and glassy eyes make it quite distinguished and different from other hare hounds. Read more at projectupland.com .

“The Congressional Sportsman’s Foundation is very concerned with how some of the BSCA language is being implemented by the Department of Education,” said Taylor Schmitz, the Federal Relations Director for the Foundation. “We are hoping we can get the Administration to reverse course, and that a legislative fix by Congress will not be necessary, but it might come to that.” The Administration is bei...

Most waterfowlers have a favorite image, one that captures the essence of the hunt along one of North America’s migratory flyways. It might be sculling boats and rafts of bluebills on the Great Lakes,  canvasbacks  and sink boxes on Chesapeake Bay’s Susquehanna Flats, or flights of  mallards  navigating impossibly tight Arkansas timber. In  Texas , one of the most endearing images might just be a...

Weatherby’s addition of a  new side-by-side shotgun  can be viewed as a welcome newcomer or a resurrection story. The original Weatherby Orion side-by-side shotgun was first produced in Spain from 2002-2003. Next came the Athena D’Italia side-by-side shotgun, which was Italian-built. The newcomer is a very exciting play on the entry-level side-by-side Turkish market called the Weatherby Orion SxS....